woolgathering_jane's reviews
167 reviews

Ching Shih and the Pirates of the South China Coast: Shifting Alliances, Strategy, and Reputational Racketeering at the Start of the 19th Century by Charlie Harris, Christopher McKenna

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adventurous informative inspiring fast-paced

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Zločin a trest by Fyodor Dostoevsky

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challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

4.5

“Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing.”
 I had way different expectations about what this book was actually about, but once I got over my initial disappointment, I quite enjoyed it. For this many pages, it's surprisingly easy to read and offers a fascinating view of Russia at the time. I love how Dostoevsky plays with the themes in this book - in peak realist literature, we follow a main character who thinks of himself as a true romantic hero (while he is, in reality, a typical realistic one). I loved how vivid all of the characters were. The look into Raskolnikov's mind was fascinating, but I found myself wishing for more detail (as odd as it sounds).
 And in my eyes, the ending, the last chapter elevated the story to a whole another level.
I'm in love with how Raskolnikov chose love and a good ending for himself, and how Dostoevsky signalled to us that no person is ever completely lost. I like the sharp contrast between the main story and the ending - the main story is rather depressing and bleak, while the ending is so hopeful. And I also love how, in retrospect, we were heading to this ending the whole time - despite all of his mistakes, Raskolnikov was dearly loved by several people the whole time. And the unconditional love was what saved him in the end. Beautiful.
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Empress Zenobia: Palmyra's Rebel Queen by Patricia Southern

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informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

A relatively easy-to-read, very informative book. I've read it for my seminar work and I found it really helpful. I thought that there were some overly long chapters that were unnecessary to the story of Zenobia (like the whole Odenathus chapter). But I understand that when you have so little information, you want to share all of it, even when it's a little irrelevant. I would be glad I read it even if I wasn't doing the seminar. 
Král Lávra by Karel Havlíček Borovský

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lighthearted reflective

3.0

Ocenila jsem čtivost, jinak mě to ale moc nezaujalo. Alegorie mi přišla taková očividná, nenápadivá a nejdřív jsem nechápala, proč se děj odehrává v Irsku.
Máj / Kytice by Karel Jaromír Erben, Karel Hynek Mácha

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tense

5.0

 Kytice se mi obecně líbila, i když byly velké rozdíly mezi tím, jak se mi líbily jednotlivé básně. Nejvíc se mi líbila Kytice, Vrba, Vodník a Polednice. Bavilo mě, že má každá báseň trochu jinou strukturu. Moc mi nesedlo Záhořovo lože, Holoubek nebo Věštkyně. 
 Máj se mi asi nakonec líbil víc než Kytice, především svojí uceleností. Bavil mě jazyk, báseň mi přišla i přes své stáří a jazykovou barevnst zvláštně čtivá. Občas jsem se cítila hloupá, že jsem tomu jazyku úplně nerozuměla. Nejvíc se mi líbilo první intermezzo.  Asi logicky mi přijde jako nejslabší část ta úplně poslední, kdy se autor sám vepíše do básně, přišlo mi, že to trochu narušuje tu nadčasovost a pohádkovost básně, až jsem si říkala, co tam dělá. Možná je to i kvůli tomu, že by myslím hodně lidí, včetně mě, rádo zapomnělo, jaký člověk Máj napsal. 
Pozlacené by Namina Forna

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adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

Železná vdova by Xiran Jay Zhao

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense fast-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

5.0

One of my favourite books of all time. I loved Zetian's character so much. It was so freeing to read about a rightfully enraged (and completely unhinged) woman for once. The romance is *chef's kiss*. I don't know, somehow it felt almost cleansing reading a story that makes so much space for female rage, to be able to feel anger alongside Zetian. And the prose is so good in a way that makes the story fly by. Can't wait for the next book, although I'm quite anxious that the author didn't bite off more than they can chew (I really hope that's not the case). Truly cannot recommend this book more.
Sherlock: skandál v Belgravii 2 by Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat

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adventurous funny mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

A gorgeous adaptation of my favourite Sherlock episode. A real treat to buy yourself after some big accomplishment (or a hard day, or whenever, really).
Prázdné sliby by Lexi Ryan

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? No

2.0

A big disappointment. This felt like the Divergent of ya fantasy. The plot was predictable, nothing new, it felt like different successful YA fantasy books pieced together. I did like the potential for the main heroine's villain arc tho, although I don't believe the author will make her actually bad.
Démon z lesů by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

4.0

A nice little story to read if you want to return to the Grishaverse but don't have the time for a full novel.