Every book I've finished, with ratings and reviews. Synced from Goodreads.
On GoodreadsAverage 3.73 across 45 books.
Most read: J.R.R. Tolkien (4), Andy Weir (3), Matt Dinniman (3).
Very engaging plot, and do I sound pretentious if I say it’s excellently written? It starts off pretty bleak and I enjoyed it more when it wasn’t quite so doomy (I dunno why but I thought it’d be a fun kind of dystopia). Also my edition ended with book club questions which was cute.
Damned porkers
A collection of mostly unhappy endings for the heroes (all the women have a bad time). The length of the chapters was great for hearing a full story over the course of a run/cook/chore, and it was great to learn about some of the lesser known characters.
2nd time reading, I guess at school I forgot everything about the characters and only remembered the symbolism. This time round, I was only focused on the horrible young men and women.
I haven't read many books with a female protagonist, so maybe I can't judge fairly, but I'm not sure this is the best execution. The plot was interesting enough; some sections about welding dragged.
Too much dialogue and the humour felt dated. Weirdly I found it hard to picture the setting. Usually I have a pretty clear image of characters and scenes in my mind, but I couldn’t do it here. Basingstoke roundabout got a shout out at least, so it gets some unexpected nostalgia points!
This was great because I spent the whole book waiting on the answer to 3 questions: why are the Martians here, how will it end, and what is his wife called - only one went unanswered... idk if this narrator was a great husband.
Finally read the history / stories myself instead of a reliance on In Deep Geek
This was a really fun reminder of the story, before I watch Spiderman take on Batman and run off with Catwoman. I’ll definitely read more of Fry’s myth series, this was excellent.
Would recommend! I enjoyed all the little problems that get solved (e.g leaks with smoke) - it's simple when you think about it but never something I'd consider. I would have liked to hear a bit more about what happened on Earth towards the end, I found that dynamic very interesting as it was in Project Hail Mary. On that comparison, the science felt a little drier here, and it surprised me how much landmass it takes to sustain one person on potatoes.
Another book to turn me into a complete sociopath. I liked the elephant anecdote
Not as good as the earlier books. Aside from a few good moments, it felt quite samey, confusing and a bit longer than it needed to be.
A couple of interesting ideas, but nothing that felt like a particularly new or nuanced explanation. I went in with some opinions on labels, and the book didn't challenge or reinforce them. It's probably why it felt a little dry for me.
Bit depressing
I didn’t want to like it
Loved all of it. The time jumps felt perfectly spaced and the constant curiosity of how it would ultimately end was addictive. But would’ve preferred a different cover so I didn’t have to stare at Ryan Gosling’s perfect hair as a thinning 30 year old.
A book that tells you to think properly about things and challenges you to not take shortcuts when considering problems. Luckily it says nothing about circumventing thinking to using AI.
I didn’t read the blurb until it was too late. I wasn’t looking for a romantic story, and despite this I really enjoyed it. The only downside was the unbelievable relationship between perfect Achilles and ordinary Patroclus, which is unfortunate given how easy the book makes it to suspend one’s disbelief of all its mythical features.
