clacksee's reviews
1116 reviews

The 34th Rule by David R. George III, Armin Shimerman

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adventurous dark medium-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
Among the Ruins by Ausma Zehanat Khan

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dark mysterious 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
I’m starting to worry the author is planning a romance between Rachel and Esa and that’s just … ugh. No. Mainly because Rachel’s so clearly a lesbian. But also because they have such strong friend chemistry, not anything other. 
Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi

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

4.5

This is my second novel by Onyebuchi. He very much drops the reader in at get deep end and leaves you to sink or swim. The characters here are rich and vivid but, honestly, I had no idea what was actually happening most of the time. 
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Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper

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challenging funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Powerful, insightful, and  inclusive.

I have a complex relationship with feminism because I’ve had a complex relationship with womanhood in general and with White women. 

Cooper comes to feminism with a complex relationship to White women. So, while her experiences are vastly different from my own and I am neither Black nor exactly a woman, I strongly relate to much of what she said. 

Feminism has always felt like an exclusive club that I’m simultaneously not welcome in but expected to be part of. But Cooper makes a case for why we should all be feminists – even those of us who  feel like much of the movement doesn’t want us there. 
The Magician and the Mechanical Doll by Gaius J. Augustus

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The constant endnotes were a distraction. I don’t think they were necessary. The ending sort of … wasn’t. I quite liked the characters and the world was interesting. 
Capitalism and Slavery by Eric Williams

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challenging dark informative slow-paced

4.25

If you’re looking for an impassioned argument, outlining all the ways in which slavery and capitalism are interlinked, this isn’t that. But it does set about forensically examining the history of the British slave trade in the Caribbean. 

A few interesting talking points…
1. ‘Racism didn’t cause slavery; slavery caused racism.’ Look, I’ve no idea if it’s true, but it’s worth think about. 
2. The most productive workers are happy, well-compensated, and respected. Enslaved people are none of those things. 
3. Slavery was abolished in Britain because it became more inconvenient to keep it going than to outlaw it. 
Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams

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

4.5

This one feels like a side quest rather than a main novel in the series. I still very much enjoyed it … it just doesn’t feel like it’s a single cohesive story at the same level as the rest of the series. 

Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch

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adventurous funny mysterious 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 Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

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challenging dark tense slow-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

Absolutely chilling.
Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward

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dark informative medium-paced
Turns out Trump was even more chaotic than we knew at the time. The only reason we didn’t end up in WWIII is because key people around him practised bureaucratic sabotage, malicious compliance, and the art of enthusiastically agreeing (but not delivering).