Ben Saufley - Reading

Books I've Rated 4 / 5

Ratings Breakdown

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

146

3.5

4

194

4.5

5

Women & PowerA Manifesto

by Mary Beard

Finished 2019-05-28
The Grey King

by Susan Cooper

Finished 2019-05-25

This has been my favorite of the series so far. It had a bit more of an actual arc. I’m getting the impression that Susan Cooper is really good with words and description, and great at creating some compelling hints at the mythology of her world (it may sound silly but the book titles are just… so good), but not as good at creating overall plot, story arcs. Each book seems to have Will or another kid just kind of bounce around while big things happen to them, which is I think common in children’s literature but here those big things often don’t even swell to any sort of climax and denouement—they just sort of happen. I had some of the same trouble with the Narnia books. This book, though, broke out of that a little. Having finished the book I have a general sense of what the arc was, what the purpose of the adventure was, etc. I liked it better than the previous ones for that reason, and I’m definitely interested in picking up the next one.
The Socialist ManifestoThe Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality

by Bhaskar Sunkara

Finished 2019-05-12
The Bird King

by G. Willow Wilson

Finished 2019-04-15
No Time to SpareThinking About What Matters

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Finished 2019-04-10
The Clockmaker's Daughter

by Kate Morton

Finished 2019-04-09
The Goldfinch

by Donna Tartt

Finished 2019-04-01

I ran really hot and cold on this book. It reads very much like a familiar and kind of insufferable subgenre of literary fiction where white men pine for some timeless golden youth in Manhattan, and I didn’t like that. I also didn’t like the intro, which immediately flashes back in a disorienting way that indicated to me that we’d flash forward again… but we never did. The flashback was the book, leading back to the present. But by the end, I had been won over. It was pretty interesting and I wanted to know what happened. Which is why the ending, which doesn’t tell you what happens, and ends so abruptly I thought something was wrong with my copy , left me cold all over again. I’m averaging this out as a 3. I don’t regret reading it; I’m glad I did. But man. __ __ Update: something was actually wrong with my copy of the audiobook! There’s a whole chapter (1/12 of the book!) remaining. So I’ll update this once I’m done.
Age of Swords

by Michael J. Sullivan, Marc Simonetti

Finished 2019-03-25
In the Woods

by Tana French

Finished 2019-03-13
Rosewater

by Tade Thompson

Finished 2019-02-13
Beneath the Sugar Sky

by Seanan McGuire

Finished 2019-01-23
The Communist Manifesto

by Karl Marx

Finished 2018-12-21
The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood

Finished 2018-12-08
The Spy and the TraitorThe Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

by Ben Macintyre

Finished 2018-11-20
A Reaper at the Gates

by Sabaa Tahir

Finished 2018-11-13

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Books I've Rated 4 / 5

Ratings Breakdown

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Women & PowerA Manifesto

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Grey King

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Socialist ManifestoThe Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Bird King

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } No Time to SpareThinking About What Matters

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Clockmaker's Daughter

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Goldfinch

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Age of Swords

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } In the Woods

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Rosewater

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Beneath the Sugar Sky

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Communist Manifesto

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Handmaid's Tale

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Spy and the TraitorThe Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } A Reaper at the Gates

Women & PowerA Manifesto

The Grey King

The Socialist ManifestoThe Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality

The Bird King

No Time to SpareThinking About What Matters

The Clockmaker's Daughter

The Goldfinch

Age of Swords

In the Woods

Rosewater

Beneath the Sugar Sky

The Communist Manifesto

The Handmaid's Tale

The Spy and the TraitorThe Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

A Reaper at the Gates