The Bibliophile's Compass

Title : The Children of Men Author : P.D. James Publication Year : 1992 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐ Pages : 241 Source : book Genre : Science fiction, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic I am going to keep this short and fast, unlike the book, which was extremely slow despite the blurb on the cover boldly claiming it was “fast-paced”. Dear blurb writer, you lied. Not elegantly. Not subtly. You lied with confidence. I liked the premise: the end of humanity through sudden global infertility. That is a brilliant, not-so-terrifying idea. Unfortunately, that is also where most of my enthusiasm ended. What follows is the angry review of a book I somehow did not DNF, and yes, I would like recognition for my endurance. This is science fiction, but there is barely any scientific explanation for why infertility suddenly happens — unless the explanation was hidden somewhere inside the glacial pacing and I simply missed it while losing the will to continue. Then there are the random groups of people who appear...

Title : John of John Author : Douglas Stuart Publication Year : May 5, 2026 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pages : 416 Source : audiobook Genre : literary fiction, LGBT, historical fiction Awards : Finalist for the 2026 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction; Longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize Have you ever read a book about a deeply personal pain that you know will stay with you for a long time? Douglas Stuart’s John of John is one of those books. It is a novel that shows, rather than tells, how institutions meant to protect the soul and body can become the very forces that condemn both. Stuart does not shout this message at the reader; he lets it emerge through family, silence, shame, faith, and the damage they leave behind. The novel follows Cal, who is summoned back home from the city under the pretence of caring for his grandmother. What he returns to is an oppressive family dynamic filled with secrets, control, and unspoken violence. At first, it may seem that Cal is the one carrying the...

1996 | 📖 Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood | Canada | 468 pages | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 | @therealmargaretatwood 2009 | 📖 The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood | Canada | 431 pages | 🏆🏆🏆🏆 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ✅ | My Review | @therealmargaretatwood 2011 | 📖 The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach | United States | 512 pages | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 | 2021 | 📖 Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden | United States | 325 pages | @fmcfaddenauthor 2021 | 📖 Matrix by Lauren Groff | United States | 260 pages | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 | @legroff 2021 | 📖 Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney | Ireland | 337 pages | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 | 2025 | 📖 Shades of Yellow by Wendy J. Dunn | Australia | 353 pages | 🏆 | @wendyjdunnauthor

2006 | 📖 New Moon by Stephenie Meyer | United States | 563 pages | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 | 2017 | 📖 Sex and Lies by Leïla Slimani | France / Morocco | 176 pages | 2018 | 📖 Transcription by Kate Atkinson | United Kingdom | 343 pages | 🏆 | 2022 | 📖 If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery | United States | 260 pages | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 | @jonathanescoffery