srm's reviews
1038 reviews

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

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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

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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

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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?

Content Warnings

Olav Audunssøn: II. Providence by Sigrid Undset

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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.

Content Warnings

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

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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

Capture the Sun by Jessie Mihalik

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

Enjoyable enough, but not really anything new that hasn't been covered in the first two books.

Content Warnings

Dom Casmurro: A Novel by Machado de Assis, Machado de Assis

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challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Such a hard book to describe in a short review. It's a middle-aged man remembering the great love of his life, his jealousy, and possible betrayal. The tone is magnificent and even harder to explain than the plot.

Content Warnings

Social Justice Fallacies by Thomas Sowell

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov

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emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

What an absolutely charming and weird (and nearly impossible to describe) little book!

Content Warnings

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srm's reviews 1038 reviews

srm's reviews
1038 reviews