occasional_owl's reviews
301 reviews

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

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

4.25

The Odyssey by Homer

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

4.0

Tried reading this maybe six months ago with the T. E. Lawrence translation but couldn't get through it.
This time I've been reading it for a university course, and picked up the Emily Wilson translation which I heard good things about. It was much easier to read and I enjoyed it much more, and even read the whole thing despite only needing to read select parts for the course. A few specific turns of phrase felt too modern to me, but no translation is perfect.
סיפורי חייו של מר פיקרי by Gabrielle Zevin

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

1.0

Very disappointing after how much I enjoyed "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow"
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

מוזרים 2 - פנטזיה אימה ומסתורין by Fritz Leiber, Alphonse Daudet, Georges-Gustave Toudouze, M.R. James, M. John Harrison, Kenneth Cook, Oscar Wilde, Dino Buzzati, Macedonio Fernandez, Fredric Brown, Horacio Quiroga, Tsutsui Yasutaka, Felisberto Hernaandez

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde

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adventurous funny reflective slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

קלאופטרה הולכת לכלא by Claudia Durastanti

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emotional reflective 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

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 69%.
Gratuitous treatment of women
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

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

2.25

What a disappointing goddamn twist. I had hopes for this book given the concepts I heard about and it's high status in scifi circles. My expectations were much too high.
Also, I don't speak Chinese but the translation still felt clunky at points.
קולות של עשרות רגליים זעירות צועדות בכעס על אדמת כדור הארץ by אדם קומן

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challenging emotional 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? Yes

2.5

What the fuck was that