t0astghost's reviews
25 reviews

Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht

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

3.75

The Sandman by E.T.A. Hoffmann

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dark emotional reflective tense 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? Yes

3.0

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Look. Is this book incredibly slow due to Hugos irrational need to go on incredibly long tangents about details the average reader has absolutely no need to know? Yes. But is there something about it that I love anyways? Also yes. He mixes political and social commentary with an actual story quite well, technically. He uses the story to prove a point, then explains that point to exhaustion. While I wouldn't say that's technically necessary, I would say its enjoyable. Even so, there is a lot to interpret from it. The cast of characters is incredibly vast and expansive, very tinged with God and realism and informed by Hugos view of the world. 
It will always be funny how he finds the need to descibe each of Les Amis personalities, yet revealing their whole names is too far. 
I wouldn't say this book is for everyone, but I would say Victor Hugo had a vision and he executed that in a mostly entertaining way. Try it out, see how it feels and maybe it'll have you in it's clutches!
The Odyssey by Homer

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

The First New Chronicle and Good Government, Abridged by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala

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informative reflective slow-paced

2.0

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

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challenging emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

4.25

Beautiful metaphors. I picked up this book not exactly knowing what to expect, other than knowing it talked about a queer woman's experience with domestic abuse. It was a great read, and the author paints their life very well. 
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Mona of the Manor: A Novel by Armistead Maupin

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

An interesting read. It was nice to see the chapter where Mona ponders over ending a relationship due to transphobia. Maupin has grown since the first book, and is better at writing other minorities that are not just white gay men. I enjoyed having Mona back; this book was a bit slower than his early novels. 
I know
Michael and Wilfred's
relationship was legal in the book, but did you have to add that
Michael
had liked him since [the younger one] was 16? Was that really needed? (for those unaware, two characters met 10 years before this book, when one was 16 and the other was in his 30s. While the younger one very obviously liked the elder, the elder did not do anything. However, Maupin made it canonical in this book that the elder had been attracted to the 16-year-old. AN interesting choice.)
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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

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dark mysterious fast-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? Yes

3.0

Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Like most of the books of this series, there were plots where I was entirely invested and plots where I was not. While entirely unrealistic, I found the end of Norman's story extremely interesting as I realized connections from books years ago. It was at times a thrilling read, which I enjoyed more than some of his previous books with more sedated plots. I felt like Maupin was trying to redeem Mary Anne, who was extremely hatable by the time she left San Francisco. It didn't really work for me? She was less annoying, but that was more because he didn't focus as much on what made her so irritating. However, she struggled a lot in this novel and I expect her to be less annoying in the next novel. Overall, fairly on-par with most of Maupins previous books from this series, I enjoyed it.
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0