linneahbt's reviews
262 reviews

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

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dark mysterious 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

4.0

I found this gripping and exciting. I really liked Mariana's perspective as a therapist - a great layer to add to the plot. 
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Call Them by Their True Names: American Crises by Rebecca Solnit

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challenging informative medium-paced

2.75

Important, I didn't enjoy the whole thing. Some of the essays were tough for me to get through.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

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dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This was immersive and fascinating, and the narrator was truly detestable. Truly couldn't tell you if I liked it or not, I couldn't put it down so that's something. I think it did the job it set out to do (but I couldn't describe that to you). 
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We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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

Haunting and so moving. A people displaced, a lifetime of longing, the long journey home. I loved this. I loved the discovery of self and history, the delicate way the story was told, the way it weaved all together to share the lives of a family making a home in a place they never wanted to be. 
Here Goes Nothing by Eamon McGrath

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adventurous informative reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A slightly unpolished but undeniably honest reflection on the life of a Canadian touring musician. Eamon tells the stories of frenetic tours, relationships built and torn apart on the road, the unforgiving and unrelenting pursuit of success.

Highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by the author over his original compositions. It adds so much depth to the story.
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Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

I don't really know how to review this one. It was a breath of fresh air. It was so reflective and funny and light and thoughtful. An extremely quick read.
The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain

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

3.75

A sweet and lighthearted romantic hunt across Paris. I would like to get to know both of these characters more. Perfectly sentimental.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

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dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Racist and self-indulgent.
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton

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challenging reflective medium-paced

5.0

Quietly devastating. Kate Beaton is telling a story that we don't usually hear, sharing the very complicated highs and lows and goods and bads of an unusual, liminal society. The cartoons capture the harsh machinery against Albertan beauty, the roughness of the people against their tenderest, gentlest moments.  
How Should a Person Be? A Novel From Life by Sheila Heti

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

4.5

A thoughtful and melodic and at times confounding book about friendahip and the most noble way to love and life and.. how a person should be. Part autobiographical, part fiction, Sheila Heti has a style about her books that draws you in and keeps you. I didn't always understand and I didn't always love the moves the characters made but I did want to stay in this introspective and sometimes funny and always unforgettable version of the world.