174 ratings (4.02 avg)
117 reviews

Nathan Halstead

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Nathan’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (400)
currently-reading‎ (3)
read‎ (175)

did-not-finish‎ (0)
not-owned‎ (282)
owned‎ (217)

nonfiction‎ (83)
2025-tbr‎ (79)
school-reads‎ (69)

tbr-2024‎ (41)
favorites‎ (30)

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Nathan is Currently Reading

Nathan Halstead is currently reading

Red Rising (Red Rising, #1)

by Pierce Brown (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: tbr-2024, owned, currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in January 2024

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Nathan Halstead said: " After finishing the first entry in Pierce Brown’s Red Rising saga I find myself somewhat conflicted. Overall, the book is tremendously enjoyable and well written, but there are a couple glaring flaws that I feel could easily be chalked up to debut au After finishing the first entry in Pierce Brown’s Red Rising saga I find myself somewhat conflicted. Overall, the book is tremendously enjoyable and well written, but there are a couple glaring flaws that I feel could easily be chalked up to debut author syndrome. Firstly, I can’t help but feel that the story’s obvious influence from The Hunger Games undercuts the momentum that is built within the first part of the book. I know the series goes on to become a sprawling grimdark political space opera, and I truly felt the potential there in the beginning, but wound up feeling that parts of the rest of the book felt trite and derivative of the Hunger Games to a fault. My larger criticism lies in the book’s over-reliance on sexual violence as a narrative drive, especially in contrast with the sometimes YA tone and themes the book dabbles in. It not only feels out of place when Brown casually mentions rape or sexual abuse, but it feels slightly trivialized. I am certain this was not the intent, and absolutely believe and acknowledge that sexual violence is a reality of war that cannot go ignored, but I feel that its a subject that should be handled with care in a way that its unfortunately not in this book. It’s despite these criticisms that I did thoroughly enjoy Red Rising. The pace is unrelenting, the action brutal and well written, and the characters are (in their own way) likable. Darrow has a well established voice that makes him a standout protagonist and as much as I levied criticism towards the Hunger Games similarities I couldn’t help but find myself enjoying many aspects of the story’s gamification of the battle for life and death in a corrupt and dystopian future. I don’t think Goodreads ratings can capture my true feelings on this book, but because I am certain (from what I’ve heard) that the series will only go up and quality and because I did have some pretty major criticisms of the story, I’m going to give Red Rising (for now) three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ or a 7/10. ...more "

progress:

(33%)
— Apr 01, 2026 11:25AM

Jan 22, 2024 09:47PM · see review

Nathan Halstead is currently reading

The Remains of the Day

by Kazuo Ishiguro (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: owned, school-reads, currently-reading

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progress:

(page 39 of 245)
— Mar 29, 2026 07:06PM

Mar 29, 2026 06:19PM

Nathan Halstead is currently reading

Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time, #6)

by Robert Jordan

bookshelves: owned, currently-reading

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progress:

(page 74 of 1030)
— Mar 14, 2026 10:52PM

Mar 09, 2026 01:11AM

Nathan’s Quotes

“Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.”
― Donna Tartt, The Secret History

2154 likes

“Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not.”
― Susanna Clarke, Piranesi

580 likes

“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

tags: cynic

5424 likes

“Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.”
― James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room

tags: anchoring, attachment, belonging, comfort, completion, fulfillment, home, irrevocability, permanence, philosophy, psychology, safety, security, state-of-mind

1948 likes

“History says, Don’t hope On this side of the grave But then, once in a lifetime The longed-for tidal wave Of justice can rise up And hope and history rhyme.”
― Patrick Radden Keefe, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

8 likes

More of Nathan’s quotes…