glecharles's reviews
75 reviews

Blood Dazzler by Patricia Smith

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't by Julia Galef

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informative medium-paced

3.0

Awkwardly walks the line between being open-minded and both sides-ism, while offering mostly surface-level insights and anecdotes to support an interesting concept.
Clock Striker, Vol. 1 by Saturday AM, Frederick L. Jones, Issaka Galadima

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Entertaining and energetic, like a Shonen-esque, S.T.E.A.M.punk take on Witch Hat Atelier.
Dai Dark, Vol. 1 by Q Hayashida

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

3.0

Oishinbo: Japanese Cuisine: a la Carte by Tetsu Kariya

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

3.5

If Doonesbury was a manga explainer about Japanese cuisine. Entertaining and educational.
The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop by Jonathan Abrams

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

An exhaustive (but not quite comprehensive) overview of the history of hip-hop via the memories, reflections, and biases of the artists and producers who were there.

Abrams does a great job segmenting timelines and regions, hitting most of the high points and many less-remembered middle points via a broad range of curated quotes, but it really needed a stronger conclusion from him, or someone, to pull all of those memories together.
Do a Powerbomb by Daniel Warren Johnson

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

There's no reason this should have been as good as it was, and saying it's about wrestling is true but there's a lot more to it that can't really be explained without spoilers. One of the most entertaining and unexpected comics I've read in a while. 👍🏽👍🏽
Witch Hat Atelier, Volume 6 by Kamome Shirahama

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Guerilla Green by Ophelie Damblé

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adventurous informative inspiring fast-paced

4.0

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson

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funny informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

I was ambivalent about the Peacock reality show but intrigued by the idea of Swedish Death Cleaning, so I went to the source and enjoyed it a lot more. Magnusson's pragmatic approach and authentic voice are more appealing than Poehler's snark, and at barely 100 pages, it's a refreshingly brisk and focused read.