brenticus's reviews
657 reviews

The Invincible Shovel Vol. 6 by Yasohachi Tsuchise

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-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

This volume is sort of a weird middle volume that starts in an odd spot and ends on a cliffhanger, but overall is still goofy and fun. It feels like it edges towards being too serious at times, but overall it still pushes to be absolutely ridiculous when given half a chance.

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

mysterious tense medium-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

It took me a while to churn through this book. I didn't exactly dislike it, but I didn't enjoy it, either. It takes a long time before the plot really starts, and all that time is spent making Bonner unlikable. The twist was kind of obvious, but the author spends so much time trying to throw you off the trail that it's kind of surprising when it finally happens. The ending is kind of sudden, and mostly an info dump of things we pretty much already knew. 

I thought the concept was cool, but the execution really didn't do it for me. I was engaged, but unsure whether I was enjoying that engagement pretty much the whole way through.

The Invincible Shovel Vol. 5 by Yasohachi Tsuchise

adventurous funny fast-paced

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

4.0

Fun volume as usual. The pacing feels pretty weird, the chapters just didn't line up with volumes very well, but on the whole goofy and confusing in the right ways.

Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai

emotional reflective 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

This is one of those indescribable stories that is just... good. It speaks to some deep, human experience that we all go through as we grow up, and it's the sort of book that reminds you that those feelings never really went away, and Dazai knows it, but his protagonist does not. 

Just a really clean example of what makes Dazai so great to read. Quietly brilliant.

The Art of War: The Definitive Interpretation of Sun Tzu's Classic Book of Strategy by Sun Tzu, Stephen F. Kaufman

reflective fast-paced

2.0

I think there are some interesting reflections in here, but I found my translation to feel sterile to the point of being boring while also having several editorial errors and also having some odd word choices that seem to try to make it more relevant to the business world but not being consistent about it.

Honestly, it's probably a reasonable baseline for wartime strategy and politics, but it doesn't actually have much wider applicability. It is too focused on deception, even among allies, to really feel like it can be applied broadly. 

Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 7 by Afro

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-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

5.0

Nadeshiko solo camps, everyone worries, wholesome on all parts.

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

adventurous funny tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Shortly after I started this book I got to see it live - my first time attending a Shakespeare play! - and I have to say it tainted my perception of this book greatly. The comedy of the situation is a bit hard to notice at times, and the plot is quite serious on the whole, but it really does share a lot of structure with other Shakespearean comedies and, if you poke at it a bit, it really is quite funny. Trinculo is a gem. 

If it was just that it would probably just be 3 stars, I quite like how it eases some reflections on colonization in among the rest. Caliban is presented as decrepit and stupid next to the others, but when he is on his own we see that he really is more intelligent than he is given credit for. While many of the themes to consider are things that Shakespeare discusses elsewhere, and often better, this is a concept that is both unique to this play and adds a layer of depth to the characters and their interactions that is very interesting.

If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution by Vincent Bevins

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This was much more focused on the historical context and fallout of specific events than I expected - which is good, I think. It highlights well how there was a global trend, but individual movements had their own circumstances that led to the world we live in today.

There are a couple of events that I think it covers a little worse than others, but there is simply so much detail in the Brazilian example that it would be unreasonable to expect everything to be at that level. It really delves into the issues with horizontal power structures, the realities of putting yourself against various types of regimes, and the larger geopolitical realities that these idealistic protests fit into. Very good read with a lot of interesting events to learn about and ideas to reflect on.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

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? It's complicated

3.0

It's a trip to be sure.

I'm not really sure how much I enjoyed this. The perspective is sort of interesting, in that it's basically Alice's dream so the brattiness of all the characters makes sense, but it's also just a bunch of fantastical creatures being dicks to a girl who is also kind of a dick. Which is, uh, weird?

The Detective Is Already Dead, Vol. 1 by nigozyu

adventurous lighthearted 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

2.0

What sounds like it will be some sort of interesting mystery novel turns out to be a fairly generic shonen-like battle series with a heck of a lot of semi-relevant flashbacks. Nothing special here except that the concept makes little sense for the execution.