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dmathuna's reviews
22 reviews
Driven: A Pioneer for Women in Motorsport - An Autobiography by Rosemary Smith
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A very insightful read that highlighted the career of an Irish motorsport legend in her own words and gave an incredible look into what early rallying was like and recounts her numerous larger than life tales on those rallies.
Under the Hawthorn Tree by Marita Conlon-McKenna, Donald Teskey
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? No
4.5
4.5 stars, this was a brutal read and I honestly didn’t realise how much I was holding my own emotions in until the end. It was hard to read the last few pages, not because it was bad but because it was hard to see the page through my tears
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child death, Blood, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Such a fun read, especially having acted as Shylock in this before. The characters flow off the page and come alive with Shakespeares words. It’s crazy how 500 years after it was written it’s still such a great story.
Foster by Claire Keegan
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I first read this when I was a young lad in secondary school and I wanted to reread this now that I am so much older. This is absolutely beautifully written with descriptions that bring the characters and places in the book to life. It’s such a good and poignant piece that looks at the pettiness of people in rural Ireland, the manifestations and physical reminders of grief, and how the people that love you the most aren’t always the ones you’re born to.
Peacemakers: Six Months that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
An excellent look at the peace treaties and nation building that occurred after World War I by the peacemakers. This book gives a good base understanding of the treaties that have shaped the world in so many ways. A good insight into how all of the decisions were driven by imperialism and a good few by anti Bolshevism.
Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Man was Dr King one of the best of us, smart, eloquent, polite but utterly dedicated to his people’s cause, firm in his insistence that he was right and that he would prevail. Essential reading.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
A hard book to get through tbh, I don’t like Hemingways writing style and I didn't care about the characters. The ending hits like a ton of bricks tho.
Wax & Wane by Saoirse Ní Chiaragáin
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An extremely well crafted fast paced narrative story set in modern Ireland. There was high tension throughout this entire book that never ceased to pull me in and kept me turning the pages. It starts off as a very real scenario and just gets more intense as you keep reading. An incredibly chilling story of how someone can be so radicalised so quickly with some life changing consequences. Highly highly recommended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
On Palestine by Ilan Pappé, Noam Chomsky
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
This was a very interesting book when it gets going and certainly gave me a greater understanding of the situation and how it came to be the way it is currently. I found the writing style very tough to read and understand at some points as it became so academic like and this caused me to have to reread sentences to properly get what was being said. The meat and potatoes of this book is well laid out as it’s just a moderator asking questions and two people answering them with a few essays after. Some points were repeated a lot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, Religious bigotry, and War
Minor: Murder