srm's reviews
1032 reviews

Opera 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera by

informative slow-paced

4.25

There's a lot of this I already knew, but it was still incredibly enjoyable, and would be a great choice for someone really just beginning. 

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A disturbing, fascinating, and brilliantly written account of an ill young acolyte at Japan's most famous temple in the years following WWII.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Violence, and Sexual content

All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Lovely with compelling characters and story. It's my favorite Kay yet.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, War, and Violence

Minor: Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Sexual content, Racism, Murder, Alcohol, and Medical content

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

adventurous dark informative medium-paced

3.0

Perhaps my expectations were too high. Maybe I've read too many other books about shipwrecks and men stranded at the ends of the earth and naval mutinies, but the simple fact is, I've read better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Death

Moderate: Violence and War

Minor: Murder, Cannibalism, and Gun violence

Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe by Judith Herrin
Did not finish book. Stopped at 61%.

We only listened to this much out of inertia. There's some interesting stuff in here, but everything is treated as equally important and interesting when it's clearly not, and it became monotonous after 11 and a 1/2 hours. We didn't have 7 and a half more hours in us.

The Rise of the Dragon: An Illustrated History of the Targaryen Dynasty, Volume One by George R.R. Martin
Did not finish book. Stopped at 47%.

A straightforward list of "This happened, and then this happened, and then that happened," is just as boring a way to write a fake history book as a real history book. 

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard

adventurous informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Beard's ability to make complex histories with a cast of thousands entirely readable and easy to follow is always magnificent. Anyone wondering why the Roman Empire matters can do no better than this book. 

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Bittersweet love story spanning millennia with a nice helping of smut. What's not to like?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Sexual content

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Death, Blood, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Religious bigotry

Olav Audunssøn: II. Providence by Sigrid Undset

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It's so heartbreak, and yet realistic, to see the path the relationship between Olav and Ingunn takes from Book 1 through this one. And I was not expecting it to ultimately go where it did. It makes me all the more curious to see what could possibly happen in the next two books. Of course, as always, Undset's writing and characterization is brilliant, and Nunnully's translation is fantastic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Child death, Pregnancy, Death, and Grief

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0