samarakroeger's reviews
550 reviews

The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt

Go to review page

dark funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really enjoyed this!  It was the perfect book to read in bed on a lazy morning.  Helen DeWitt is, indeed, quite witty. 

Absolutely obsessed with the font size of these New Directions hardbacks - I feel like a child. 
Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex: Science and Pseudoscience in Everyday Life by Joe Schwarcz

Go to review page

adventurous informative lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

‘twas decent but I would prefer longer in-depth pop science essays instead of tidbits.  don’t think I really learned anything new here. 
An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong

Go to review page

adventurous informative medium-paced

4.5

this is essentially the ideal format for science nonfiction for me — it’s readable and engaging while it shows you a different way to sense the world around us. I think the Ed Yong hype is real.  Super excited to get to I Contain Multitudes soon. 
I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.25

my nomination for most disappointing book of the year!!!
To Be a Machine: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death by Mark O'Connell

Go to review page

funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I’m kind of obsessed with Mark O’Connell. he’s quickly becoming my new favorite narrative nonfiction writer. 

would love to get an update to this book — there’s a lot to say about the pandemic and the rise of AI. 
The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany by Gwen Strauss

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced

3.75

very compelling!
After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz

Go to review page

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

I’ve never read a book with a narrative structure quite like this. Big fan!
East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

surprisingly pulpy given its high regard. it ended up being too melodramatic for my taste, with too much religious symbolism to boot.  i MUCH prefer the story and themes of The Grapes of Wrath. 
Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs

Go to review page

challenging dark funny
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

what a confusing fever dream of a book.  I mean, it’s a drug book so idk what I was expecting, but still. don’t think I really got it. 
Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History by Philippa Gregory

Go to review page

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

loved how much queer history was included!