benji_dw's reviews
36 reviews

Gut: An Owner's Guide by Austin Chiang

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informative lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

Great introduction. Not the book for a bio-dork like me.
Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg

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informative relaxing slow-paced

3.0

Maybe I’ve read too much of the genre but this book felt like a lot of the basic emotional intelligence and soft skills stuff I know. Mind you, this book is an amazing first book or intro on the subject. I’d give it five stars to someone beginning in the field.
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

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adventurous funny hopeful mysterious tense 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

4.25

Great novel. Elevator pitch is: the grown up version of the golden compass without daemons focused on saving the protagonist’s daughter who is a Muslim pirate and the book is set in the Indian Ocean? That meets Sinbad the sailor. My only critique is I think the book could be 30% shorter and retain all its charm/depth - and I’d have given it 4.5 ⭐️ if that were the case.
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Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Great book. Uncomfortable but perfectly balanced. I don’t have many book analogies to describe this other than saying it’s a modern tell-tale heart driven by modern understandings of race , identity, and the politics of their borders
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

3.75

Fascinating and novel take on a common science fiction story. Really saves its rating in the last 20% of the book, but you have to read the other 80% for the pay-off. Think the Truman show meets Deep Black. That said, the writing is good and people give Asimov’s writing a passing grade (howww) so who am I to judge?
Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

Amazing great sci-fi. Think the Deluge meets children of time. Funny and original dystopian climate sci-fi 
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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

4.5

Amazing debut novel. Almost historical fiction in a  grimdark world N.K. Jemisin could have written. Know the content warnings before reading though.
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Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.5

Amazing fantasy read that’s genuinely original. Mix of “would you love me if I was a worm” meets spinning silver 
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Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World by Mike Davis

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challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

Everyone of British descent should read
The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The system of shadow blood capitalist condo magic is so fascinating that it saves my review. It’s a good book, but so grimdark that finishing it felt more of a chore than a good read. But it’s a book set in Toronto that pushes new boundaries so I don’t regret reading it.
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