brianreadsbooks's reviews
796 reviews

Selamlik by Khaled Alesmael

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reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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

2.5

Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick

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3.0

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

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mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari

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informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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

5.0

The Heart in Exile by Rodney Garland, Adam De Hegedus

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hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

1.5

If this were about 50% shorter it might have been an okay read. But it’s so repetitive and tedious. The plot was not compelling, even if it attempted to be shocking. There wasn’t a single particularly likeable character. And in the end I wonder why Murdoch wrote 450+ pages about a horrible, unlikeable misogynist. 
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

Gorgeous. The premise (ok, the fax machine specifically) drew me to this book, but I hadn’t anticipated a beautiful deep dive into humanity.
The Glamour Boys. The Secret Story of the Rebels who Fought for Britain to Defeat Hitler by Chris Bryant

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informative lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0