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pagesfromhome's reviews
440 reviews
Living with Shakespeare: Essays by Writers, Actors, and Directors by Susannah Carson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
Just not in the right headspace for this and have decided to cancel my 24BeforeBuyingMore challenge!
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
(No star review because this feels a touch like a memoir and I don’t rate memoirs!)
This was a wonderful exploration of what creativity can be if we just let go a little bit. I loved Gilbert’s focus on explaining that creative work doesn’t need to be your career and that you can fold your dreams into your day to day. I love that she also redefined creativity in a way that’s so far beyond the arts. (Although I would say this book is definitely geared towards writers - no surprise there given her work.) I’d highly recommend this one if you just need to feel a little more in tune with the fact that what you create is worthy, whatever it is.
This was a wonderful exploration of what creativity can be if we just let go a little bit. I loved Gilbert’s focus on explaining that creative work doesn’t need to be your career and that you can fold your dreams into your day to day. I love that she also redefined creativity in a way that’s so far beyond the arts. (Although I would say this book is definitely geared towards writers - no surprise there given her work.) I’d highly recommend this one if you just need to feel a little more in tune with the fact that what you create is worthy, whatever it is.
The Twyford Code: A Novel by Janice Hallett, Janice Hallett
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m not a big “code” person so this one didn’t strike me as much as The Appeal did, but Hallett is pretty genius when it comes to creating stories so I’d highly recommend it.
I loved how much it tackled and again her choice to tell a story in unique ways (this time through audio file transcriptions) is so clever.
I loved how much it tackled and again her choice to tell a story in unique ways (this time through audio file transcriptions) is so clever.
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Absolutely loved this one. While it took a minute to really get into the style and understand the characters, as soon as it clicked I literally couldn’t put it down.
Can’t wait to read more from Hallett!
Can’t wait to read more from Hallett!
Elizabeth of East Hampton by Emily Harding, Audrey Bellezza
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
This retelling of Pride and Prejudice totally blew me away. It was funny, endearing, and spicy, and the characters still felt like they carried the personalities of the original, but it was so perfectly updated for a modern time. I love the shifts in the storyline that the authors made while still nodding to the original (looking at Lydia's story here!) and I think how they are building out the retelling universe with letting other Austen characters be side characters is fantastic.
I can't wait to catch up on Emma of 83rd Street and I will be ready and waiting for their next one to come out!
I can't wait to catch up on Emma of 83rd Street and I will be ready and waiting for their next one to come out!
Funny Story by Emily Henry
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
No thoughts. Just perfect.
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'll admit that it took me quite a bit to get to the halfway point on this one, but once I did, I didn't want to put it down. Andy is such an interesting character to decide to make the main character and while I wouldn't say I enjoyed spending every page with him, I think Alderton did a great job of making him someone you both want to yell at sometimes and want to root for.
I will say that I was hoping for some more genuinely funny moments and the focus on having children during the final chapter was rough for me personally, but all in all, I would absolutely recommend this to any romance fan who wants to switch up the script a little bit.
I will say that I was hoping for some more genuinely funny moments and the focus on having children during the final chapter was rough for me personally, but all in all, I would absolutely recommend this to any romance fan who wants to switch up the script a little bit.
The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
emotional
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? Yes
3.0
I am so on the fence with this one. I don't think I actually enjoyed reading it, but I absolutely flew through it so there must have been some enjoyment there?
Both Solene and Hayes got on my nerves most of the time and I couldn't bring myself to really fall for their relationship. I did appreciate the moments in the book where Solene talked about being a mother, how she felt with her aging, and her relationships with her friends and colleagues, but the romance just always felt a little off to me, likely because that really is a giant age gap (no matter the genders of the people involved). It was also repetitive in its moments when they were together - they never felt like they genuinely connected outside of sex - they were just bouncing around to different cities, talking about really surface-level "secrets" and having so much damn sex.
But like I said, I flew through it in a matter of days so there must have been something there that pulled me along. I've just got no idea what it was.
Both Solene and Hayes got on my nerves most of the time and I couldn't bring myself to really fall for their relationship. I did appreciate the moments in the book where Solene talked about being a mother, how she felt with her aging, and her relationships with her friends and colleagues, but the romance just always felt a little off to me, likely because that really is a giant age gap (no matter the genders of the people involved). It was also repetitive in its moments when they were together - they never felt like they genuinely connected outside of sex - they were just bouncing around to different cities, talking about really surface-level "secrets" and having so much damn sex.
But like I said, I flew through it in a matter of days so there must have been something there that pulled me along. I've just got no idea what it was.
Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential by Tiago Forte
informative
slow-paced
2.0
All in all this one was fine. It had some great suggestions, but I found myself constantly bothered by how repetitive it felt. It would have been great as just a simple YouTube video or blog post - no real need for it to be a full book.
It's a good fit if you're in need of a crash course of how to manage your notes though.
It's a good fit if you're in need of a crash course of how to manage your notes though.
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
2.5
Oof. This one just did not do it for me.
While Atwood’s writing is, as usual, gorgeous, I just couldn’t get past such a deeply character-driven novel based around characters that I just didn’t enjoy spending time with. I found myself spending more time trying to figure out what it was Atwood was trying to do/show me and couldn’t get lost in the story the way that I wanted to.
There were absolutely points I enjoyed, especially Elaine’s relationship to her art and how she contended what she thought with what others thought (not unlike a writer and her readers), but I just couldn’t get lost in the story the way I wanted to.
While Atwood’s writing is, as usual, gorgeous, I just couldn’t get past such a deeply character-driven novel based around characters that I just didn’t enjoy spending time with. I found myself spending more time trying to figure out what it was Atwood was trying to do/show me and couldn’t get lost in the story the way that I wanted to.
There were absolutely points I enjoyed, especially Elaine’s relationship to her art and how she contended what she thought with what others thought (not unlike a writer and her readers), but I just couldn’t get lost in the story the way I wanted to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Abortion, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Murder