dyslexzak's reviews
249 reviews

Folk by Zoe Gilbert

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense 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

5.0

When coming across Zoe Gilbert, I skipped this one and jumped straight to Mischief Acts expecting to enjoy that one more because I’ve an interest in Herne the Hunter.
As much as I loved Mischief Acts, this book was special.

I can’t wait to see what Zoe Gilbert writes next. She’s got a reader for life.
Dark Folklore by Mark Norman

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dark informative lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.5

To be honest, the only criticism I can think of is that I wish it was ten times longer.
Wonderfully detailed into each topic. I really hope they write more.
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

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

4.5

Cormac McCarthy is a real hit or miss author for me. This title is by far a hit.
There's something about the way he writes people that just feels real. Like these people are really out there somewhere, and that quality makes his villains all the scarier for it.

This is a brilliant book that doesn't outstay its welcome. I personally preferred Blood Meridian, but this is up there with my favourites from McCarthy.
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

I'd heard great things about Maus, and finally got round to trying it for myself. The way it was written as a conversation -- jumping back and forth in timelines -- was perfect. It felt like I was getting a direct first hand account.
It was a genius way of telling a story that isn't easy to tell. It was definitely worth the hype for me.
The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology by Robert Wright

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challenging informative lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

3.5

Interesting mix of biography of Darwin and a more typical book on the subject of evolutionary psychology.
Linking the topics to Darwin's life worked for me in places, but in others made it feel a little bloated -- as you had to wade through a detailed passage on a time in Darwin's life, before finally getting to the part that tied it back to the topic, in a way that occasional felt like a stretch.

Definitely worth reading.
ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer's World by Thom Hartmann

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informative lighthearted medium-paced

3.0

Having finished this book, I remain somewhat unconvinced that ADHD is in fact adaptive. Despite this, I think the book is worth a read and includes some interesting anecdotes at the end too.
Derren Brown's Boot Camp for Emotion by Happy by Derren Brown

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funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.0

Interesting ideas. Each chapter being devoted to a different emotion was great.
Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It: The positive self-help phenomenon by Kamal Ravikant

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informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.5

I didn't think this would be my thing. It feels like it should be quite airy-fairy and spiritual. But I enjoyed it. It feels like the methods in here could really work for people whether you're a spiritual person or not.
The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I found it a little tricky to keep track of all the names at first.

I enjoyed the low magic setting.
Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things by Richard Wiseman

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challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

4.0

Keep a notebook handy with this one.
Fascinating all the way through.

One criticism would be that sometimes numbers from studies are referenced as ‘negligible’ etc. when I’d have preferred specific numbers.