sleuthheroalien's reviews
138 reviews

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious 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? No

5.0

Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

If you’re looking for a good audiobook, then I highly recommend this one. Cooper’s narration was enthusiastic and so fun. It’s the story of his life leading up to an incident in Central Park that went viral during the pandemic, when a white woman called the police accusing him of threatening her and endangering her life, when he was only asking her to put a leash on her dog in a no-leash part of the park. His life story was interesting, there were a lot of fun lessons about birding, and some truly poignant and cathartic moments. My only complaint is that some of the stories went on a bit too long and didn’t seem totally relevant to the story. And, for me, there wasn’t enough about birding. I’m a fan of nature essays, but this wasn’t a nature essay book, which I thought it would be from the title. Instead it was a series of compelling stories from his life. It was a great book, though, if you know what to expect.
Kristy's Great Idea by Ann M. Martin

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lighthearted 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? No

4.0

In a fun, nostalgia moment I got myself a boxed set of the first 8 Baby-Sitters Club books at Costco, and I gifted it to myself on Christmas Eve. When I was a kid I often got boxed sets of books for my Christmas Eve present, and I loved them so much. And I was totally a Baby-Sitters Club reader. It was so fun re-reading this one. I can totally see why I loved it so much. I think it stands the test of time for being a great book! 
Fortune's Dance by Audrey Faye

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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’ve been enjoying Audrey Faye’s KarmaCorp series. This is book 3, and it was a delight. These stories take place in a sci-fi world, where the characters can work with the energetic threads around them to create harmony in the universe. If you like gentle sci-fi, then these books are for you. 
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

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adventurous reflective 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? No

4.5

 This was my third time reading Long Way, so obviously I love this book! I listened to the audio this time, and the narration was good. If you haven’t read it, expect a character driven and thoughtful space opera about how different species learn to live with each other over a long haul journey. 
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

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adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It’s Christmas in Discworld, which means it’s Hogswatch Night. But somebody is after the Hogfather. Death, his granddaughter, the Assassins’ Guild, and the wizards all get involved, and hijinks ensue. Like every Pratchett novel there is humor, satire, tenderness, and plot lines that don’t make sense until the very last page. I like Discworld, and I enjoyed this one. But I think I’ll like it better with a second reading, now that I know what was actually happening in the book. 
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-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

4.5

 I re-read this every year at Christmas. For the past two years I’ver read it on audio with Jim Dale narrating, and it’s amazing. This year, I picked it for the December book in my book club, and everyone loved it! It was everyone else’s first time reading A Christmas Carol, and they were surprised at how great it is. They loved the humor, the story telling vibe, and how beautiful Scrooge’s transformation is. 
The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana Biller

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? No

4.5

I loved Diana Biller’s 2023 book, Hotel of Secrets, so I decided to read one from her backlist. I really enjoyed this romance. Biller’s stories are romance+, meaning the main feature is the romance, but this one also featured: ballet, ghosts, murder, and the history of the Siege of Paris in the 1870’s. It’s a beautiful tale, well-told. 
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Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

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

4.5

I enjoyed Legends & Lattes, but I liked this one even more. It took a few chapters to get into it, but once it got going I was hooked. The characters were lovable. The bookish joy was great, and the adventure was low stakes but enjoyable. Highly recommend! 
Snowed In For Christmas by Sarah Morgan

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

4.0

 I really enjoyed this one! There were lots of fun hijinks and lighthearted moments, paired with depth in the characters’ journeys. I gobbled up the audiobook in a couple days.