word_enjoyer22's reviews
43 reviews

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

rents a real slag fir that, ken?
The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet by Jeff Goodell

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challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

3.75

This book awakened a new fear of heat for me and I’m not sure if I should thank it or curse it for that. Probably some combination of both. Goodell’s storytelling adds a welcomed twist to climate reporting, and gives this book some well appreciated character.
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

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adventurous dark funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

A unique perspective on small town life in the US West Coast. Quaint, if not a little too cartoonish at times. 
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

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challenging dark sad fast-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

4.0

I’ve never seen someone paint a scene like McCarthy. The subject matter here is difficult and I don’t always agree with his approach but the relentless power of this story is undeniable. Certainly worth a read.
Cicada by Shaun Tan

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dark funny reflective sad fast-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

4.0

I’m crying ok I’m crying 
Solaris by Stanisław Lem

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

3.75

Lem is miraculous in his sheer ability to create a story truly alien. The frustration of trying to understand that which is not meant to be understood, in a sense it seems to be an analysis of life in general.
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells

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challenging dark hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Equal parts exhausting and mesmerizing, The Uninhabitable Earth provides a wide overview of a topic that seems impossible to comprehend at once. It’s safe to say I will never view the world the same way after reading this book, and I will see the coming years as a testament to either human greed or human intelligence.
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

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dark funny sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Charles has returned to share with us his unrivaled sense of anarchic terrorism. He says some awful things in this book, but he also says some beautiful things. I can’t give him the benefit of the doubt, but I can appreciate the project as a whole being powerful nonetheless.
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Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer

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challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

4.0

Krakauer is back at it again, this time with the most wildly interwoven set of crazy people you’ve ever seen.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

Ocean Vuong has written a poem that happens to be 246 pages long.