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sophronisba's reviews
2464 reviews

George IV: The Rebel Who Would Be King by Christopher Hibbert

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informative slow-paced

3.75

Was this book well-researched and well-written? Yes. Did I learn a lot about George IV? Yes. Do I think that this man merited a 900-page biography? I DO NOT.
The Wedding People by Alison Espach

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emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.0

I was so entertained by this novel that I can't really rate it lower than 4 stars but at the same time, Phoebe might be a little too rootable and the ending might be a little too pat. Happy endings all around can be fun and even soothing but these felt a bit too neat to work.
Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

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

2.5

I would not hire this woman to educate my children. The book itself is shapeless, wandering about in search of a plot, the writing is suffused with trite moralism, and the central romance just kind of happens. Not my cuppa.
Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

I picked this book up to read about Survivor and Big Brother but the parts that really entranced me were the early chapters on Queen for a Day and Candid Camera and The Dating Game, which I knew virtually nothing about.
Le Divorce by Diane Johnson

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Well-written and witty. The main character isn't entirely rootable -- although she's young, and sometimes young people do dumb things -- but she isn't really supposed to be. The focus is lost a bit in the second half but overall, rereading this after a twenty-five year hiatus, I thought it held up pretty well.

(It's not chick lit. It's a comedy of manners.)
Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times that Made Handel's Messiah by Charles King

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This was a pleasant surprise, an account of the writing of Handel's Messiah from several viewpoints. Encompasses race, gender, and class issues while also telling an interesting story.
Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner

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

3.5

Eh. Well-written but by-the-numbers account of a "good" sister dealing with the continual fallout of the "bad" sister. It's essentially a retelling of the parable of the prodigal son from the brother's point of view. Didn't seem to have much new to say.
The Unruly Queen: The Life of Queen Caroline by Flora Fraser

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informative sad

3.5

Was Caroline a lot? She was absolutely a lot. Was she still better than her husband, King George IV? Probably.
Kingmaker: Pamela Harriman's Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue by Sonia Purnell

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adventurous informative reflective

4.75

What an unexpected treat this book was. It's just this side of a hagiography, and I'm not entirely buying what Purnell is selling: I strongly suspect, for example, that you do not want Pamela Harriman as your stepmother. But so many juicy details and anecdotes and quotes -- it's hard to put the book down and impossible to resist its pleasures. In the end I could not disagree with Bill Clinton's appraisal of his longtime friend: “Was she calculating? . . . Yes, tell me someone in politics who isn’t. Was she ambitious? Yes, she was a child when she married the [soon to be] prime minister’s son and found a way to make herself useful during the war at some risk to herself. Did she have a good time living? Yes, she did. Good for her.” 
Orbital by Samantha Harvey

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reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

I picked up this book with every intention of falling head-over-heels in love with it and then I -- just didn't? There are some really beautiful sentences and paragraphs here but it never really came together with me and it all felt a bit too self-conscious for me to become  fully immersed.