lulu_catherine's reviews
75 reviews

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife by Ariel Sabar

challenging informative mysterious tense slow-paced

4.25

I stumbled upon Ariel Sabar's article on the Gospel of Jesus's Wife for The Atlantic earlier this summer, and I was enthralled. Sabar relayed the tale of forgery, misdirection, and questions of self-interest and faith with the skill of both a top-notch storyteller and dedicated journalist. I passed my enthusiasm onto my sister, as well, queueing up the audio version of the article for her while we were on a weekend road trip. Hearing the tale a second time around did not disappoint.

My sister and I reserved "Veritas" at our local library soon after, eager to dive into Sabar's extended research and learn all. the. details. about this forgery gone wrong. Though the book will no doubt be passed around our family before it finally makes it way back to the library, I claimed first dibs on reading it.

And it was a WILD ride.

Sabar's (thorough, detailed) work covers a lot: ancient history, Napoleonic conquests, scholarly jealousies, an obscure Florida porn genre, and more. Whether or not you have any interest in religious scholarship will likely color your enjoyment of the book; however, there are twists sure to surprise regardless of whether or not you've ever heard of gnosticism.

Though dry at times, "Veritas" was always a singular reading experience!

1984 by George Orwell

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

it seems like my man orwell really just wanted to write an essay

Everything That Burns by Gita Trelease

adventurous hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.75

Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

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

3.75

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.0