The Commons

Reviews

Reviews from across the whole catalogue, written as the back cover closes. A score out of ten and a summary that earns it.

Showing 145 to 168 of 613 reviews

Sort

Der Große Gatsby / The Great Gatsby reviewed by @mx_marginalia
7 out of 10
Set texts ruin novels. This one waited fifteen years, ambushed me on a delayed train outside Crewe, and won. Fifteen years!
Der Große Gatsby / The Great Gatsby@mx_marginalia15 Jul 2026
The Fifth Season reviewed by @tinyapartmentbigtbr
9 out of 10
No idea how the second-person thing works as well as it does, and I've stopped asking. Tore through it, bought the next two immediately, have not opened either of them (they're in the tower by the door).
The Fifth Season@tinyapartmentbigtbr14 Jul 2026
Project Hail Mary reviewed by @hollowknightfan99
8 out of 10
made me cry in a Screwfix car park
Project Hail Mary@hollowknightfan9912 Jul 2026
Small Things Like These reviewed by @quietcarriage
9 out of 10
Read it door to door, Reading to Paddington, one sitting, didn't look up once. Coal dust, cold hands, the small daily cowardice of a whole town. I was still thinking about it at the ticket barriers.
Small Things Like These@quietcarriage11 Jul 2026
American Gods reviewed by @rereader
7 out of 10
Third, and it's going down a point a go.
American Gods@rereader11 Jul 2026
Meditations reviewed by @thebigsleepy
8 out of 10
Four pages a night suits this one better than most. He wasn't writing a book, he was talking himself round, and you can take him in small doses without losing anything. I've been through it twice now.
Meditations@thebigsleepy11 Jul 2026
Beloved reviewed by @the_slow_reader
9 out of 10
Took all summer.
Beloved@the_slow_reader11 Jul 2026
When Breath Becomes Air reviewed by @quietcarriage
7 out of 10
The medical parts are far stronger than the literary ones. He was thirty-six. Seven feels mean.
When Breath Becomes Air@quietcarriage10 Jul 2026
Educated reviewed by @the_slow_reader
7 out of 10
Seven, and the missing three are all after Cambridge.
Educated@the_slow_reader9 Jul 2026
5 readers agree with this review
Crime and Punishment reviewed by @the_slow_reader
8 out of 10
Three editions on one table.
Crime and Punishment@the_slow_reader9 Jul 2026
Wolf Hall reviewed by @bookclubdropout
5 out of 10
He. He. He. Who is he?
Wolf Hall@bookclubdropout8 Jul 2026
The Silent Patient reviewed by @libbyoverdrive
4 out of 10
I already knew the twist.
The Silent Patient@libbyoverdrive8 Jul 2026
The Salt Path reviewed by @nightshiftnurse
7 out of 10
slow, sad, salty. I liked the sea bits
The Salt Path@nightshiftnurse8 Jul 2026
Becoming reviewed by @margaretreads
7 out of 10
The South Side chapters are the book. Everything after the second campaign reads as though a committee sat in on it, politely. I've reserved it twice for other people since, which is my only real measure of anything.
Becoming@margaretreads7 Jul 2026
Quiet reviewed by @nightshiftnurse
7 out of 10
useful, and also maybe not about me
Quiet@nightshiftnurse7 Jul 2026
7 readers agree with this review
Stoner reviewed by @the_slow_reader
9 out of 10
Quiet. Not small.
Stoner@the_slow_reader7 Jul 2026
The Hound of the Baskervilles reviewed by @verity_lane
9 out of 10
Fog, moor, dog. Nothing further from me!
The Hound of the Baskervilles@verity_lane7 Jul 2026
In Patagonia reviewed by @quietcarriage
8 out of 10
Writing this on the bus. The BUS.
In Patagonia@quietcarriage7 Jul 2026
1 reader agrees with this review
All the Light We Cannot See reviewed by @pageandvine
8 out of 10
Short chapters, which suited me — twenty minutes at a time over about a month. The model of the city, and that house in Saint Malo, are what I kept. The shortness is also why it never quite got its hooks all the way in.
All the Light We Cannot See@pageandvine7 Jul 2026
The Diary of a Young Girl reviewed by @nightshiftnurse
8 out of 10
nobody told me she was funny?
The Diary of a Young Girl@nightshiftnurse7 Jul 2026
Just Kids reviewed by @pageandvine
9 out of 10
Read this on the balcony in September with a beer — it wanted beer, not wine. Two broke kids and one hotel room and I believed every word. The bit where they decide who works and who makes art broke me.
Just Kids@pageandvine6 Jul 2026
Never Let Me Go reviewed by @dnf_diaries
8 out of 10
Finished, then sat in the car a while before going in. Eight. He tells you what it is early on and it doesn't help at all.
Never Let Me Go@dnf_diaries6 Jul 2026
Rebecca reviewed by @quietcarriage
8 out of 10
A woman got on near Twyford, saw the cover, and did not stop talking for eleven minutes.
Rebecca@quietcarriage6 Jul 2026
The Fellowship of the Ring reviewed by @thebigsleepy
9 out of 10
Read some of it aloud to myself, quietly, which I'd never done with any other book. Bree, the Barrow-downs, the long stretch of walking that everybody complains about. I liked the walking best.
The Fellowship of the Ring@thebigsleepy6 Jul 2026

Every review starts with a finished book. The stacks hold your next one.

Browse the stacks

Member reviews

Der Große Gatsby / The Great Gatsby reviewed by @mx_marginalia

The Fifth Season reviewed by @tinyapartmentbigtbr

Project Hail Mary reviewed by @hollowknightfan99

Small Things Like These reviewed by @quietcarriage

American Gods reviewed by @rereader

Meditations reviewed by @thebigsleepy

Beloved reviewed by @the_slow_reader

When Breath Becomes Air reviewed by @quietcarriage

Educated reviewed by @the_slow_reader

Crime and Punishment reviewed by @the_slow_reader

Wolf Hall reviewed by @bookclubdropout

The Silent Patient reviewed by @libbyoverdrive

The Salt Path reviewed by @nightshiftnurse

Becoming reviewed by @margaretreads

Quiet reviewed by @nightshiftnurse

Stoner reviewed by @the_slow_reader

The Hound of the Baskervilles reviewed by @verity_lane

In Patagonia reviewed by @quietcarriage

All the Light We Cannot See reviewed by @pageandvine

The Diary of a Young Girl reviewed by @nightshiftnurse

Just Kids reviewed by @pageandvine

Never Let Me Go reviewed by @dnf_diaries

Rebecca reviewed by @quietcarriage

The Fellowship of the Ring reviewed by @thebigsleepy