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emily_britton's reviews
833 reviews

The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America by Christopher C. Gorham

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challenging funny informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

How had I never heard of this woman??? I owe her so much, as does every American, but especially as a female veteran.  It's infuriating that she has been written out of the textbooks so thoroughly.  Kudos to Gorham for bringing her to my attention.  I would not say his writing is the most elegant that I've read, especially since it is so substantially peppered with partial quotations of correspondance and news media, but it is certainly effective at bringing this phenomenal character and historical dynamo to life.  Highly recommended.
Band of Angels by Robert Penn Warren

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challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Not quite as successful as All the King's Men, which was a knockout.  It was great in spurts, but the confusing political situation during Reconstruction was hard to follow.
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong about the World--And Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Ola Rosling

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challenging hopeful inspiring fast-paced

4.75

Very positive and inspiring!  
Spending: A Novel by Mary Gordon

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challenging emotional funny 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

4.75

 I really enjoyed this look at the female artist. It did have a lot of sex in it -- mostly in service of the story but occasionally a little gratuitous -- but Gordon does write sex well. 
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The Shoe Bird by Eudora Welty

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

Cute -- lots of puns!  Maybe a tad dated but still fun for the kids.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

I never read this as a kid (I think my mother wouldn't let me for some reason), but it's in Mustich's book of 1,000 Books to Read.  It was sweet, a little dated, but definitely would have resonated more when I was a kid.  Not a ton more -- I was not too much like Margaret, from what I remember.  But it was cute.
Arcadia by Lauren Groff

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

4.0

 There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed, and some of Groff's writing blew me away, but there were also parts that I didn't quite get the point of. I will probably be mulling this one over for a while. 
Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music by Alex Ross

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challenging dark informative slow-paced

4.75

 Alex Ross' compendium of everything related to Wagner is eminently thorough and enjoyable. If, like many musicians, you struggle with many of the elements of Wagner's legacy, this is a great way to educate yourself as to how much that struggle is relevant and important. In neither content nor style is it an easy book, but it is worth the effort. 
The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

 I'm not sure this is an instant classic or even if the moral of the story makes much sense, but it was a good story, with interesting world building. Tamsin adds that it was very emotional -- she does tend to have strong relationships with her stuffies, so that makes sense. We enjoyed it. 
A Different Kind of Christmas by Alex Haley, Alex Haley

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inspiring 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

2.5

 Not nearly as good as Roots (although I did read that as a teenager) and only peripherally about Christmas. Meh.