issyd23's reviews
130 reviews

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman by Alan Rickman

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

2.0

Not the book he deserved: a really lazy memoir 2šŸŖ„ instead of ā€˜curating diary entriesā€™ (not well curated as it couldā€™ve been an 1/8 of the length - I donā€™t need his Christmas shopping lists every year!) why not interview Rickmanā€™s friends, family and coworkers and write a biography instead? 

Despite the disappointment of this book I enjoyed hearing his opinions/tea/quips about various actors, their performances and their partners. NB Emma Thompsonā€™s foreword was truely a highlight! (why couldnā€™t the entire book have been like that?) 
 
Things I learnt:
  • Kathy Lette is the worlds biggest flirt 
  • He loves Alanis Morissette and owns a copy of Jagged Little Pill
  • He was very anti-Iraq war 
  • Brian Cox yells too much (on stage)
  • Produced the play ā€˜My name is Rachel Corrieā€™ about a pro-Palestinian journalist crushed to death by the IDF
  • His line ā€˜take out your wandā€™ keeps cracking up Helena BC on HP6
  • He loves GoggleBox, Donā€™t tell the bride and Say yes to the dress
  • Had a jungle curry at Chin Chin in 2015
  • Thinks Melbourne architecture is ā€˜terribleā€™ 
  • Emma Thompson is really the best! 

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Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey

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dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad 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

4.0

ā€œYouā€™ll like dating, everyone eats ass nowā€. Maggieā€™s like a more unhinged version of Fleabag going through a divorce 4šŸ”

NB can someone please make this into a limited series staring Barbie Ferreira?

This is full of zingers! My favourites include:
- I walked passed him into the living room. It was mid century modern like everyoneā€™s elseā€™s. 
- Youā€™ve caught me at a good time. Iā€™ve been reading a lot of Ester Perel. 
- She pulled her pashmina (her pashmina!) around herself.

TLDR really REALLY good, actually 

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Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall: From Outcast to Future Queen Consort by Angela Levin

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funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.0

Tina Brown did it better 3šŸ“ NB a very flattering portrait of Camilla + plenty of Harry & Meghan shade towards the end.

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Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

KAREN IS THE BEST!!! 4šŸŽ¤ NB the audiobook I listened to was insanely good 5šŸŽ¤

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Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This melted my cynical cold unromantic heart 4ā¤ļøā€šŸ©¹

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The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

2.0

Too boring 2šŸ§ 

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The Secret History by Donna Tartt

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

2.0

The OG dark academia book: basically Pretty Little Liars meets Rope but for nerds who like Dante 2šŸŗ

Really disappointed this book didnā€™t live up to the hype: pacing was way too slow - like just get to the murder already. 

Tbh PLL did it better and the play/Hitchcock film Rope is a way better version of this story in terms of suspense, pacing and exploring themes of ethics, academia, eruditeness, class and queerness.

NB the audiobook I listed to narrated by the author herself gave the most annoying voice to Bunny: he sounded like that little bitch in the Polar Express and so I wasnā€™t even sad when he was killed. 

Also I found the main 6 characters so detestable I was indifferent to their
murders and suffering from trying to evade their crimes.
 





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The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner: A Memoir by Grace Tame

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

Tame is a fucking legend! Go Grace 4šŸ‘€ NB writing style was difficult to follow (itā€™s often scattered and her thoughts are frequently sidetracked and is a symptom of her autism and ADHD) but I appreciated getting an insight into her nuro-divergent mind. 

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The Fall of Boris Johnson: The Full Story by Sebastian Payne

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challenging informative reflective fast-paced

3.0

BJ by name BJ by nature 3šŸ„³ NB writing is fast paced and laser focused šŸ‘€ 

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My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

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

3.0

Ironically I listened to this while struggling to fall asleep and it really helped me doze off 3šŸ’Š NB This bitch really couldā€™ve just booked a 1yr holiday in Bali and got the exact same result  šŸ˜­ 

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