en-US Tue, 23 Jul 2024 05:31:37 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 28391 The Captive and The Fugitive - contained in this volume, Proust's narrator is living in his mother's apartment in Paris with his lover, Albertine. However, this is far from an idyllic state of affairs. His obsessive love for her means that their relationship is shadowed by jealousy and headed for tragedy.]]> 693 Marcel Proust Sophie 4
The writing is beautiful, and the story is enjoyable, but Marcel is one of few protagonists that I really dislike.]]> 4.39 1923
author: Marcel Proust
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1923
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/23
date added: 2024/07/23
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, classics
review:
Marcel doesn't know what he wants. He's bored with Albertine, but still jealous and obsessed. He emotionally and physically restrains her in order to possess her, but when he is away from her he feels separation-anxiety, but when she's near she irritates him. Her life ends in tragedy, and it should be a lesson for Marcel to mature in love and to appreciate people, but whilst he mourns her it is a selfish grief - he knows he will forget her, just as he has his previous loves, and he pities himself.

The writing is beautiful, and the story is enjoyable, but Marcel is one of few protagonists that I really dislike.
]]> 14848391 The Diary of a Young Girl is an inspiring and tragic account of an ordinary life lived in extraordinary circumstances that has enthralled readers for generations. This Penguin Classics edition is edited by Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler, translated by Susan Massotty, and includes an introduction by Elie Wiesel, author of Night.

'June, 1942: I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.'

In Amsterdam, in the summer of 1942, the Nazis forced teenager Anne Frank and her family into hiding. For over two years, they, another family and a German dentist lived in a 'secret annexe', fearing discovery. All that time, Anne kept a diary. Since its publication in 1947, Anne Frank's diary has been read by tens of millions of people. This Definitive Edition restores substantial material omitted from the original edition, giving us a deeper insight into Anne Frank's world. Her curiosity about her emerging sexuality, the conflicts with her mother, her passion for Peter, a boy whose family hid with hers, and her acute portraits of her fellow prisoners reveal Anne as more human, more vulnerable and more vital than ever.

'One of the greatest books of the twentieth century'
Guardian

'A modern classic'
Julia Neuberger, The Times]]> 351 Anne Frank 0241952441 Sophie 0
What I will say, is that Anne clearly had a talent for writing - she, and the others in the annex, come to life in these pages with vibrancy and relatability, and at moments Anne is wise beyond her years. I think we can all learn something from Anne. Whilst (thankfully) I have never had to hide due to persecution, I have been a teenager, and Anne's diary is relatable in that sense. As this is her diary, she shares both the good times and the bad, the terrifying and the loving, and in her frankness (excuse the pun) a bond is connected between her and the reader. As an historical document it is highly important as it humanizes those statistics, those numbers, those images from concentration camps, and thus reinforces that we should never allow such attrocities and persecutions to ever happen again. The fact that her life, and six others from the secret annex, were lost days, weeks and months before liberation is even more heartbreaking. This book really hit me in the heart, and it's one I think I will continue to think back to. I'm glad I read it.

On another note, I listened to this edition read by Helena Bonham Carter, and I would highly recommend it.]]> 4.45 1947
author: Anne Frank
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.45
book published: 1947
rating: 0
read at: 2018/07/18
date added: 2023/10/22
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, non-fiction, classics
review:
How do you rate this? Nothing is appropriate.

What I will say, is that Anne clearly had a talent for writing - she, and the others in the annex, come to life in these pages with vibrancy and relatability, and at moments Anne is wise beyond her years. I think we can all learn something from Anne. Whilst (thankfully) I have never had to hide due to persecution, I have been a teenager, and Anne's diary is relatable in that sense. As this is her diary, she shares both the good times and the bad, the terrifying and the loving, and in her frankness (excuse the pun) a bond is connected between her and the reader. As an historical document it is highly important as it humanizes those statistics, those numbers, those images from concentration camps, and thus reinforces that we should never allow such attrocities and persecutions to ever happen again. The fact that her life, and six others from the secret annex, were lost days, weeks and months before liberation is even more heartbreaking. This book really hit me in the heart, and it's one I think I will continue to think back to. I'm glad I read it.

On another note, I listened to this edition read by Helena Bonham Carter, and I would highly recommend it.
]]> 36655084
In this follow-up to the critical and commercial hit, Nagata Kabi uses engaging diary comics to explore her personal issues surrounding mental health, identity, and intimacy. Her relationship with her parents is growing more difficult than ever, and she struggles with the idea of living alone for the first time. Join her on her heart-wrenching, relatable journey through the challenges of adulthood.]]> 168 Kabi Nagata 1626928894 Sophie 4 4.16 2016
author: Kabi Nagata
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2018/11/11
date added: 2021/08/19
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, manga-comics-graphic-novels, lgbtqia
review:
Kabi Nagata has a real talent of making her mangas so true-to-life and relatable, and I particularly enjoyed the latter half of this manga. Some of it was a bit meta - focusing on her response to the success of MLEWL, which was less of a relatable and shared experience than her other writing, but otherwise, I really enjoyed this book.
]]> 39318563 160 Fumi Yoshinaga 1947194100 Sophie 3 4.08 2017
author: Fumi Yoshinaga
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2018/09/09
date added: 2021/08/19
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge, lgbtqia
review:
After the disappointment of the previous volume, where Shiro genuinely considered cheating, this volume thankfully brings a close to that. However, there wasn't a lot of character development in this volume. The food, as always, looks delicious.
]]> 25455012
When television producers approached Alan Cumming to appear on a popular celebrity genealogy show, he hoped to solve the mystery of his maternal grandfather's disappearance that had long cast a shadow over his family. But this was not the only mystery laid before Alan.

Alan grew up in the grip of a man who held his family hostage, someone who meted out violence with a frightening ease, who waged a silent war with himself that sometimes spilled over onto everyone around him. That man was Alex Cumming, Alan's father, whom Alan had not seen or spoken to for more than a decade when he reconnected just before filming for Who Do You Think You Are? began. He had a secret he had to share, one that would shock his son to his very core and set into motion a journey that would change Alan's life forever.

With ribald humor, wit, and incredible insight, Alan seamlessly moves back and forth in time, integrating stories from his childhood in Scotland and his experiences today as the celebrated actor of film, television, and stage. At times suspenseful, at times deeply moving, but always incredibly brave and honest, Not My Father's Son is a powerful story of embracing the best aspects of the past and triumphantly pushing the darkness aside.]]> 294 Alan Cumming 1782115463 Sophie 5 4.20 2014
author: Alan Cumming
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/01
date added: 2021/08/19
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, non-fiction, lgbtqia
review:
I chose to read this book because I've always liked Alan Cumming - he's a great actor and always seemed like a really nice guy. So I was completely shocked to hear about the abuse he endured during his childhood (and even emotionally as an adult) from his father. The first chapter perturbed me, but I was compelled to keep reading. This book is a fascinating story, weaving together Cumming's distressing and abusive childhood, his love for his mother, brother, and partner, and the emotional roller-coaster he experienced when uncovering his grandfather's life history whilst simultaneously being emotionally manipulated and abused by his father's (false) revelations that he was not his biological son. A sad, yet truly amazing story, Cumming's expression, moments of humour and detailing traumatic experiences is compelling - so much so that I binged reading the whole thing. I would love to read more of his writing, though I hope for his sake that, if autobiographical, it holds more happiness.
]]> 30969915
The Answer: Sexy, sex!

Meet Ana, the asexual parodist with no filter. Her life has one crucial difference, which changes everything; she has no sexual attraction and no sexual urges “You’re more like a disembodied mind/feelings.” As one of her friends once expressed. So how’s life of an asexual in a sexed up world? Quite bizarre, actually! From adamant bloggers claiming she was the antichrist, to her brother raising his eyebrows out of his head, to other hilarious and misconstrued theories and interactions, read up as Ana is exposing the juicy, often quirky, tell-it-how-it-is, short and never before written memoir Sex or Icecream?
]]> 53 Ana Navarro Sophie 4
Not going to lie - sometimes it gets a bit disjointed, and there are numerous spelling errors - it isn't perfect. But it's comforting and insightful to read about someone else's experience with asexuality when there doesn't seem to be too many of them out there (and fewer candid books).]]> 3.48 2016
author: Ana Navarro
name: Sophie
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2018/07/02
date added: 2021/08/19
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, non-fiction, lgbtqia
review:
If you're feeling alone as an asexual, or just wondering what 'one of those' is, this is a light-hearted introduction to asexuality and the experiences some Aces go through. Really, it's like having a conversation with another Ace, and it's pretty cool.

Not going to lie - sometimes it gets a bit disjointed, and there are numerous spelling errors - it isn't perfect. But it's comforting and insightful to read about someone else's experience with asexuality when there doesn't seem to be too many of them out there (and fewer candid books).
]]> 262147
In his introduction, David Leavitt explores the significance of the novel in relation to Forster's own life and as a founding work of modern gay literature. This edition reproduces the Abinger text of the novel, and includes new notes, a chronology and further reading.]]> 232 E.M. Forster 0141441135 Sophie 4
A truly wonderful read.]]> 4.11 1971
author: E.M. Forster
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1971
rating: 4
read at: 2018/06/22
date added: 2021/08/19
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, lgbtqia, classics
review:
Of course I enjoyed this - it's E.M.Forster and he writes beautifully! I think what I liked the most was how honest it was - Maurice spends a lot of the novel discovering his sexuality, denying it, and finally coming to terms with it and is ultimately prepared to alter his life dramatically to live happily and true to himself. That is REVOLUTIONARY for a book written in this time, where a gay man is not demonized, but ultimately allowed to be true to himself even if that sets him at odds with society. Additionally, Maurice isn't perfect - he's a misogynist conceited snob - and yet, relatable, honest and humanized.

A truly wonderful read.
]]> 33276986 160 Fumi Yoshinaga 1945054255 Sophie 2
This couple show their love through food, so when Konihita tries to broach cheating in a restaurant, I just couldn't understand it, and I couldn't fathom why Shiro would even CONSIDER cheating. At no moment was there ever a suggestion that their relationship had gotten to a place where they were unhappy, so why did Shiro even contemplate cheating on Kenji? It was confusing, and really weakened the strong bond I thought those characters had in their relationship. It was out of place, and the fact that cheating was handled so lightly, a little worrying. Disappointing volume and a shame, as I love this series.]]> 4.09 2016
author: Fumi Yoshinaga
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2018/04/01
date added: 2021/08/19
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge, lgbtqia
review:
This manga is about food, and yet it is about MORE than food. I enjoy the subtle plots about a gay couple and their life, the simplicity of the joy they find together when sharing a meal, and how food is at the centre of their life and they use food to show friends and family that they love them. Important moments happen over food, but food is also central to the humble everyday.

This couple show their love through food, so when Konihita tries to broach cheating in a restaurant, I just couldn't understand it, and I couldn't fathom why Shiro would even CONSIDER cheating. At no moment was there ever a suggestion that their relationship had gotten to a place where they were unhappy, so why did Shiro even contemplate cheating on Kenji? It was confusing, and really weakened the strong bond I thought those characters had in their relationship. It was out of place, and the fact that cheating was handled so lightly, a little worrying. Disappointing volume and a shame, as I love this series.
]]> 33113683
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness is an honest and heartfelt look at one young woman’s exploration of her sexuality, mental well-being, and growing up in our modern age. Told using expressive artwork that invokes both laughter and tears, this moving and highly entertaining single volume depicts not only the artist’s burgeoning sexuality, but many other personal aspects of her life that will resonate with readers.]]> 144 Kabi Nagata 1626926034 Sophie 5 4.11 2016
author: Kabi Nagata
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2018/01/09
date added: 2021/08/19
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, manga-comics-graphic-novels, lgbtqia
review:
Refreshingly honest and relatable, this was a joy to read. As someone who struggles to marry my wants and desires with those of society, I could very much relate to the desperation and alienation expressed so honestly here. A great new manga, and I can't wait to read more from this author.
]]> 926365 Fun Home is a fresh and brilliantly told memoir marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst and great books. Like Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis it's a story exhilaratingly suited to graphic memoir form.

Meet Alison's father, obsessive restorer of the family's Victorian home, funeral director, high school English teacher, icily distant parent and closeted homosexual, who, as it turns out, is involved with his male students and a babysitter.

Through a narrative that is alternately heartbreaking and fiercely funny, we are drawn into a daughter's complex yearning for her father. When Alison comes out as homosexual herself in late adolescence, the denouement is swift, graphic -- and redemptive.]]> 235 Alison Bechdel 0224080512 Sophie 4
(I don't know why it took me so long to read this! Just a reading slump I'm in at the minute).]]> 4.00 2006
author: Alison Bechdel
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2018/03/21
date added: 2021/08/19
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, non-fiction, lgbtqia
review:
A deeply personal autobiography about finding yourself and trying to connect to a loved one who is no longer with you, and was an enigma during the time spent together. Many moments were touching, but there was also a dark humour that made the read more enjoyable.

(I don't know why it took me so long to read this! Just a reading slump I'm in at the minute).
]]> 434631
Billy's efforts to fit in and stand out at the same time are both hilarious and heart warming. In this novel from adult author and media personality James St. James, readers are in for a wild ride as he tells Billy's fascinating story of bravado, pain, and unexpected love, inspired by his own experiences.]]> 304 James St. James 0525477993 Sophie 4 3.82 2007
author: James St. James
name: Sophie
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2018/08/18
date added: 2021/08/19
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, lgbtqia
review:
This book is a god-damn hot mess - I loved every minute of it!
]]> 35187436 2017年10月刊。

Chapters: 243-248]]> 176 Yoshiki Nakamura 4592216415 Sophie 5 4.51 2017
author: Yoshiki Nakamura
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/03/19
date added: 2020/03/19
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge, 2020-reading-challenge
review:
Fuck yes. Kyoko is such a bad-ass in this volume! I loved it, and I can't wait for the next volume!!!
]]> 25189315
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes tells an unusual coming-of-age story full of bizarre encounters and unforgettable scenes. Caring for dead bodies of every color, shape, and affliction, Caitlin soon becomes an intrepid explorer in the world of the dead. She describes how she swept ashes from the machines (and sometimes onto her clothes) and reveals the strange history of cremation and undertaking, marveling at bizarre and wonderful funeral practices from different cultures.

Her eye-opening, candid, and often hilarious story is like going on a journey with your bravest friend to the cemetery at midnight. She demystifies death, leading us behind the black curtain of her unique profession. And she answers questions you didn’t know you had: Can you catch a disease from a corpse? How many dead bodies can you fit in a Dodge van? What exactly does a flaming skull look like?

Honest and heartfelt, self-deprecating and ironic, Caitlin's engaging style makes this otherwise taboo topic both approachable and engrossing. Now a licensed mortician with an alternative funeral practice, Caitlin argues that our fear of dying warps our culture and society, and she calls for better ways of dealing with death (and our dead).]]> 254 Caitlin Doughty 0393351904 Sophie 4 4.24 2014
author: Caitlin Doughty
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2018/04/09
date added: 2019/07/02
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, non-fiction
review:
I've been a enthralled by Ask A Mortician for a few years now, so was eager to read this book. It did not disappoint. I actually listened to the audiobook read by Doughty herself, and it was captivating. Would highly recommend for anyone interested in the death industry and have an interest in death positivity.
]]> 34696235 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with “dignity.”

Fascinated by our pervasive terror of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty set out to discover how other cultures care for their dead. In rural Indonesia, she observes a man clean and dress his grandfather’s mummified body. Grandpa’s mummy has lived in the family home for two years, where the family has maintained a warm and respectful relationship. She meets Bolivian natitas (cigarette-smoking, wish-granting human skulls), and introduces us to a Japanese kotsuage, in which relatives use chopsticks to pluck their loved-ones’ bones from cremation ashes.

With curiosity and morbid humor, Doughty encounters vividly decomposed bodies and participates in compelling, powerful death practices almost entirely unknown in America. Featuring Gorey-esque illustrations by artist Landis Blair, From Here to Eternity introduces death-care innovators researching green burial and body composting, explores new spaces for mourning—including a glowing-Buddha columbarium in Japan and America’s only open-air pyre—and reveals unexpected new possibilities for our own death rituals.]]> 248 Caitlin Doughty 1474606512 Sophie 4 4.30 2017
author: Caitlin Doughty
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/06/03
date added: 2019/07/02
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, non-fiction
review:
I liked this a lot, but not quite as much as Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, and for obvious reasons - I already knew some of the customs described in this book, but I knew nothing about the behind-the-scenes of the American Funeral/Death industry. So naturally, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes was more eye-opening to me, and thus more enjoyable. However, that is not to say that I didn't enjoy this - it was very interesting, I learnt about a few death customs around the world that I didn't know before, and all with a dry wit and sense of humour. I also particularly enjoyed the part in the end, as I am fascinated with the Tower of Silence, and would love to have a similar end myself (though in the UK that is unlikely to happen).
]]> 33606119
Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. It is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of colour in Britain today.]]> 249 Reni Eddo-Lodge 140887055X Sophie 4 4.37 2017
author: Reni Eddo-Lodge
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/10/13
date added: 2019/07/02
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, non-fiction
review:
Truly fascinating insight into the experiences of black and ethnic minorities in Britain - it certainly helped to open my eyes to the systemic racism prevalent in Britain today. I recommend everyone reads this one.
]]> 38778633
When Mamrie simultaneously enters her 30s and finds herself single for the first time since college, the world is suddenly full of possibilities. Emboldened by the cool confidence that comes with the end of one's 20s plus the newfound independence of an attachment-free lifestyle, Mamrie commits herself to living life as fully as possible. She seeks out once-in-a-lifetime experiences (like meeting Dolly Parton), bucket-list goals (like visiting the Moulin Rouge), and madcap adventures (like going anchors-away on a Backstreet Boys cruise)--all while diving back into the dating world for the first time in a decade.

In I've Got This Round, readers will find the same shameless honesty and I'll-try-anything-once spirit they loved in You Deserve a Drink. Mamrie doubles down on her strong female friendships, her willingness to engage in shenanigans, and her inimitable candor, taking the reader along for a wild and unforgettable journey through adulting.]]> Mamrie Hart Sophie 4 3.87 2018
author: Mamrie Hart
name: Sophie
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/10/21
date added: 2019/07/02
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, non-fiction
review:
I think anyone who reads this (and her first book) end up wanting to be best friends with Mamrie (even if it will require a spare liver). Whilst I still slightly preferred the first book, this was still very entertaining - though I am super jealous of all her travelling! Good for a chuckle - Recommended.
]]> 23699151 Change the way you think about gender and feminism forever.

With all the revolutionary zeal, laugh-out-loud humour and intelligence of Laura Bates, Caitlin Moran and Bell Hooks, Emer O'Toole explores what it really means to 'act like a girl'.

Being a woman is, largely, about performance - how we dress and modify our bodies, what we say, the roles we play, and how we conform to expectations. Gender stereotypes are still deeply embedded in our society, but Emer O'Toole is on a mission to re-write the old script and bend the rules of gender - and she shows how and why we should all be joining in.

With game-changing ideas and laugh-out-loud humour, this book will open your mind and revolutionise the way that you think about gender.]]> 277 Emer O'Toole Sophie 5 4.21 2015
author: Emer O'Toole
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/08
date added: 2019/07/02
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, non-fiction
review:
This started as my "work book" that I would dip into occasionally at lunch time, and initially I found it hard to relate to -the first chapter in particular was not relevant to my adolescence. However, in the last month, I've read over half of this book, as it became hard to put down! For the most part, the informal relatable tone and style makes the message easier to contemplate and digest, as well as making it more fun. Definitely a book I would recommend to all, especially women.
]]> 98191 253 Bette Davis Sophie 5 4.03 1962
author: Bette Davis
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1962
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/21
date added: 2019/07/02
shelves: 2019-reading-challenge, 2018-reading-challenge, non-fiction
review:
An intriguing insight into the wonderfully talented Bette Davis - an essential read for all fans. The audiobook performance is especially good - I would have thought it was Bette Davis herself reading it.
]]> 36336078 Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. But during the restless summer weeks that follow, unrelenting buried currents of obsession and fear, fascination and desire, intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them. What grows from the depths of their spirits is a romance of scarcely six weeks' duration and an experience that marks them for a lifetime. For what the two discover on the Riviera and during a sultry evening in Rome is the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.

The psychological maneuvers that accompany attraction have seldom been more shrewdly captured than in André Aciman's frank, unsentimental, heartrending elegy to human passion. Call Me by Your Name is clear-eyed, bare-knuckled, and ultimately unforgettable.]]> 248 André Aciman 1786495252 Sophie 2 2018-reading-challenge 4.08 2007
author: André Aciman
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 2018/12/01
date added: 2018/12/01
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge
review:
Unpopular opinion: I found this slow and dull.
]]> 33032509
Chapters: 237-242]]> 186 Yoshiki Nakamura Sophie 3 4.46 2017
author: Yoshiki Nakamura
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2018/10/07
date added: 2018/10/07
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge
review:
I mean... not a huuuuuge amount happened in this one, but what a cliffhanger! My favourite parts of this series is when Kyoko is up against an obstacle (normally an audition), and we get to see how she reacts to it an overcomes her challenges. This volume is really a set up for what I hope will be an amazing, bad-ass volume coming next.
]]> 28501523 195 Virginia Woolf 1784870862 Sophie 3 3.79 1925
author: Virginia Woolf
name: Sophie
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1925
rating: 3
read at: 2018/10/07
date added: 2018/10/07
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, classics
review:
Not going to lie, whilst I enjoyed the story and admired the writing style, I found it difficult to focus on (which is why it took me so long to read).
]]> 34339979
Tawada's story follows the three men Mamoru, Manfred and Michael as they move through their lives on different sides of the globe. Though thousands of miles apart, odd moments of synchronicity form between these characters, the narrative shifting from one perspective to another as the three men's lives momentarily align and diverge. Here, modernity is rendered textual as Tawada explores the strange nature of human connection in a globalized, technologized world, and discovers what this means for contemporary storytelling.

Translated by Jeffrey Angles.

Design by Glen Robinson.]]> 40 Yōko Tawada 1911343017 Sophie 3 Now THIS is a love triangle! 3.43
author: Yōko Tawada
name: Sophie
average rating: 3.43
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2018/08/19
date added: 2018/08/19
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, japanese-books
review:
Now THIS is a love triangle!
]]> 79550
Full of brusque humour and wisdom, The Summer Book is a profoundly life-affirming story. Tove Jansson captured much of her own experience and spirit in the book, which was her favourite of the novels she wrote for adults. This new edition sees the return of a European literary gem—fresh, authentic and deeply humane.]]> 192 Tove Jansson 0954221710 Sophie 4 4.05 1972
author: Tove Jansson
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1972
rating: 4
read at: 2018/08/15
date added: 2018/08/15
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, modern-classics
review:
This is a very unique book - the writing style is very different to what I'm used to; it is scare in the word choices, structure and delivery of the story. Each chapter gives a glimpse into the world of Sophia, Grandmother and Papa during their summers on the island, and the bond between Sophia and Grandmother is magical - both are young at heart and up for adventure, but are embedded in the reality of their squabbles and misunderstandings as well.
]]> 40266552 ?
My Face for the World to See is set in Hollywood, where the tonic for anonymity is fame rather than family and you’re only as real as your image. At a party, the narrator rescues a young woman who staggers with drunken determination into a heavy undertow. He is living in Hollywood far from his wife in New York and working as a screenwriter. He has no illusions about the value of his work, though it pays well, and none about Hollywood, either. He just wants to be left alone. And yet without really meaning to, he gets involved with the young woman he rescued, who has, it seems, no illusions about love, especially with married men. Like him, she’s a survivor, even if her beauty is a little battered from years of not quite making it in the pictures, years during which she’s grown a bit paranoid, too. She’s just like him, he thinks, and as their casual relationship takes on an increasingly troubled and destructive intensity, it seems that might just be true, only not in the way he supposes.
?
Nelson Algren called My Face for the World to See “the most vivid picture of Hollywood since Nathaniel West’s Day of the Locust.” Like In Love, it is a deeply lyrical, utterly honest, and hypnotically intense reckoning with self-deception and desolation.]]> 128 Alfred Hayes Sophie 3 2018-reading-challenge 3.76 1958
author: Alfred Hayes
name: Sophie
average rating: 3.76
book published: 1958
rating: 3
read at: 2018/07/30
date added: 2018/07/30
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge
review:
A perfectly enjoyable short novel about the damaging nature of Hollywood and how despite witnessing suffering, we become immune to these disasters. Whilst enjoyable, unfortunately there was no 'spark' that transformed this into a masterpiece for me. However, at moments the prose was beautifully written.
]]> 15994573
Lucy has her rigid, middle-class life mapped out for her until she visits Florence with her uptight cousin Charlotte, and finds her neatly ordered existence thrown off balance. Her eyes are opened by the unconventional characters she meets at the Pension Bertolini: flamboyant romantic novelist Eleanor Lavish, the Cockney Signora, curious Mr Emerson and, most of all, his passionate son George.

Lucy finds herself torn between the intensity of life in Italy and the repressed morals of Edwardian England, personified in her terminally dull fiancé Cecil Vyse. Will she ever learn to follow her own heart?]]> 237 E.M. Forster 0141199822 Sophie 4 3.79 1908
author: E.M. Forster
name: Sophie
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1908
rating: 4
read at: 2018/07/08
date added: 2018/07/08
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, classics
review:
The more I read Forster, the more I enjoy and appreciate his writing. This book was pretty solid for me - I enjoyed that Lucy started having some agency, and ultimately goes against society and her family to do what will make her happy. I did not like the old Mr Emerson convincing Lucy of her love by saying it is a women's duty to marry. But, hey, times have changed. For the most part, this novel was pretty progressive, and I enjoyed it.
]]> 51496 139 Robert Louis Stevenson 0451528956 Sophie 4 3.84 1886
author: Robert Louis Stevenson
name: Sophie
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1886
rating: 4
read at: 2018/06/20
date added: 2018/06/20
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, classics
review:
Re-read and annotated for work. Studying the text really shows the complexity and perfection in Stevenson;s writing, though I will forever be annoyed that we don't get a reaction from Utterson at the end of the novel when he learns of his friends demise.
]]> 282362 AMERICAN GIRL
Julia is Mizuki's girlfriend?! As the shocking lie tears Osaka High School apart, Mizuki's classmates make their moves on the blonde, blue-eyed transfer student. Then the whole class leaves on a school trip to Hokkaido, complete with an overnight stay at the hot springs! With their "chaperone" Dr. Umeda busy getting to knowing the locals, it isn't long before people start taking off their clothes (to bathe, all right?). But how long can Mizuki's gender stay secret inside the boy's bath?]]> 192 Hisaya Nakajo 1591164990 Sophie 2 4.33 1999
author: Hisaya Nakajo
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1999
rating: 2
read at: 2018/06/05
date added: 2018/06/10
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge
review:
Sano is starting to open up about personal things, and he accidentally meets Mizuki in a hot water spring. That's all that really happens in this volume. Also, not really liking Julia - she's too much of a distraction!
]]> 282361 PRIVATE EYES
When a sports reporter comes looking for a scoop on Izumi Sano, Japan's most promising young high-jumper, Mizuki's own secrets are brought into the light! Can she hide the fact that she, Sano's roommate, is actually a cross-dressing girl? Meanwhile, Mizuki's classmate Nakatsu, unaware of Mizuki's female-ness, struggles to choose between his girlfriend and "the love that dare not speak its name." But a wrench is about to be thrown into these relationships from two thousand miles away. Julia, Mizuki's best friend from America, is coming to Japan to go to school!]]> 192 Hisaya Nakajo 1591164982 Sophie 4
Though, not going to lie, the Namba Minami story with a 14 year old and college student having a physical affair... kinda grossed me out. That's hebephilia.]]> 4.33 1998
author: Hisaya Nakajo
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/27
date added: 2018/05/27
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge
review:
This was a particularly funny volume - I think Umeda is my favourite! That "repellent"! Hilarious!

Though, not going to lie, the Namba Minami story with a 14 year old and college student having a physical affair... kinda grossed me out. That's hebephilia.
]]> 747746
In 1860 Benjamin Button is born an old man and mysteriously begins aging backward. At the beginning of his life he is withered and worn, but as he continues to grow younger he embraces life -- he goes to war, runs a business, falls in love, has children, goes to college and prep school, and, as his mind begins to devolve, he attends kindergarten and eventually returns to the care of his nurse.

This strange and haunting story embodies the sharp social insight that has made Fitzgerald one of the great voices in the history of American literature.]]> 56 F. Scott Fitzgerald 1416556052 Sophie 3 3.56 1922
author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
name: Sophie
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1922
rating: 3
read at: 2018/05/27
date added: 2018/05/27
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, classics
review:
Certainly an interesting concept with some moments of humour - perhaps my favourite Fitzgerald yet (which is saying quite a bit as I usually find him over-rated).
]]> 28405 784 Marcel Proust Sophie 4 4.45 1927
author: Marcel Proust
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.45
book published: 1927
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/27
date added: 2018/05/27
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, classics
review:
Understandingly the most contemplative segment of In Search of Lost Time, Proust finally starts to realise that his own anxieties and hangups have perhaps resulted in him projecting his own needs onto his friends and lovers. He realises that perhaps he never really knew them, because he fixed them into this perceived idea he had of them. The scene at the masked ball was particularly interesting and philosophical about the movement of time, expectations, and understanding what is most important in life. A great way to finish this series.
]]> 282360 DRAG RACE
It's the final day of the Osaka High School Festival, and two big competitions are still up in the air: the relay race and the cross-dressing pageant! You'd think Mizuki, an actual XX-chromosome girl disguised as a boy at an all-guy high school, would be a better cross-dresser than her classmates, but things are never so easy--and what if winning the contest blows her cover? That might be a relief for her classmate Nakatsu, who doesn't know that Mizuki's a girl, just that he's in love with her. But when a real girl falls in love with Nakatsu, his love life gets even more complicated...]]> 188 Hisaya Nakajo 1591164974 Sophie 4 4.33 1998
author: Hisaya Nakajo
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/26
date added: 2018/05/26
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, manga-comics-graphic-novels
review:
This volume seemed a little lost at times, but it was enjoyable overall. It's nice to see Sano come to terms with his feelings towards Mizuki, and Nakatsu has some great comedic moments in this volume. I also like that the direction seems to be returning towards Sano and his athletics, which I enjoy as a storyline...
]]> 18509117 200 William Shakespeare 1107615496 Sophie 5 2018-reading-challenge 3.83 1623
author: William Shakespeare
name: Sophie
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1623
rating: 5
read at: 2018/05/23
date added: 2018/05/26
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge
review:
Re-read for work. Still perhaps one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, and certainly my favourite Tragedy. Just absolutely stunning. The language in particular is breathtaking, and it is one of those rare instances where I think you can get just as much out of reading the play as seeing it performed. Always a joy to read.
]]> 282359 CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN
All-male Osaka High School is holding its annual war of the dorms, and for the students, there's no escape! Unfortunately, even though she'd be happy to just compete in the 500-meter relay, Mizuki is forced to enter the Cross-Dressing Pageant...and pretend to be a boy pretending to be a girl! Worse still, a rival dorm targets Mizuki as a threat to their athletic supremacy! Can dorm chief Minami Nanba make winners out of his class while dealing with his own secret traumas?
Plus a bonus story, "The Thirsty Moon"!]]> 200 Hisaya Nakajo 1591164583 Sophie 3 4.29 1998
author: Hisaya Nakajo
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 2018/05/24
date added: 2018/05/26
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge
review:
Perhaps because I have seen so many mangas and animes cover school festivals, this volume was not that interesting to me, as it trod a lot of the same paths that other mangas/animes have trod before. However, it was great to have Tennoji and Masao introduced! They were such a big part of the drama series (2007) which I loved so much, so I hope they turn up more!
]]> 18799 Sodom and Gomorrah – now in a superb translation by John Sturrock – takes up the theme of homosexual love, male and female, and dwells on how destructive sexual jealousy can be for those who suffer it. Proust's novel is also an unforgiving analysis of both the decadent high society of Paris, and the rise of a philistine bourgeoisie that is on the way to supplanting it. Characters who had lesser roles in earlier volumes now reappear in a different light and take center stage, notably Albertine, with whom the narrator believes he is in love, and also the insanely haughty Baron de Charlus.]]> 557 Marcel Proust 0143039318 Sophie 3
I listened to the BBC Dramatization, so I'm sure it's abridged.]]> 4.32 1922
author: Marcel Proust
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1922
rating: 3
read at: 2018/05/19
date added: 2018/05/19
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, classics
review:
I enjoyed this volume more than the previous one, though I'm still finding it hard to like Marcel. He just seems possessive, childlike and sociopathic, and I'm finding it hard to not hate him, but it's difficult! Interesting musings on homosexuality in this volume, though.

I listened to the BBC Dramatization, so I'm sure it's abridged.
]]> 282358 MEN AT WORK
Izumi, his friend Nakatsu and our crossdressing heroine Mizuki are hired to work at a beach chalet run by the family of weird school nurse Dr. Umeda! But when Kagurazaka--Izumi's high-jump rival--shows up with his two younger sisters in tow, the job gets personal! Kagurazaka's attractive sister Tamami has a crush on Izumi too, and she sees Izumi's classmate Mizuki as a way to find out about the object of her affections. And then someone realizes that Mizuki's actually a girl...]]> 200 Hisaya Nakajo 1591163994 Sophie 2
Overall, there are some cute, funny bits in this volume, but most of it wasn't too great, and I'm now looking forward to them getting back to Osaka Gakuen.]]> 4.35 1998
author: Hisaya Nakajo
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1998
rating: 2
read at: 2018/05/13
date added: 2018/05/13
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge
review:
It was nice to get away from Osaka Gakuen, but this volume had a lot of characters I really hated! I had a real problem with Tamami's harrassment of Sano, and Makita... I generally hate rape scenes, and so that scene where Makita tries to rape Mizuki, and the lead up to it over the whole volume, was just awful. I liked that Sano told Mizuki to never blame herself for someone abusing her, and I know it was there to help Sano realise his feelings towards Mizuki, but I can't help feeling that it could have been done just as effectively without using rape as a plot device. Additionally, the past few volumes have been irking me a little bit because there is definitely a sub-message that homosexuality is weird... and it's really uncomfortable. I know it was written a long time ago, but I just can't help but feel a bit insulted by it, which is a shame because it takes away from Nakatsu being so funny (though he is not the only character to be homophobic).

Overall, there are some cute, funny bits in this volume, but most of it wasn't too great, and I'm now looking forward to them getting back to Osaka Gakuen.
]]> 18798 In Search of Lost Time, The Guermantes Way opens up a vast, dazzling landscape of fashionable Parisian life in the late nineteenth century, as the narrator enters the brilliant, shallow world of the literary and aristocratic salons. Both a salute to, and a devastating satire of a time, place, and culture, The Guermantes Way defines the great tradition of novels that follow the initiation of a young man into the ways of the world. This elegantly packaged new translation will introduce a new generation of American readers to the literary richness of Marcel Proust.
First time in Penguin Classics


A Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition with french flaps and luxurious design


Penguin Classics' superb new edition of In Search of Lost Time is the first completely new translation of Proust's masterwork since the 1920s]]> 619 Marcel Proust 0143039229 Sophie 3
I enjoyed this volume, but not enjoying who Proust is at this moment in time. I am hoping in further volumes his beliefs and treatment of women improves, otherwise I think I will find it difficult to care for him.]]> 4.29 1920
author: Marcel Proust
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1920
rating: 3
read at: 2018/05/12
date added: 2018/05/13
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, classics
review:
Over the volumes we have seen Proust as the perpetual child - obsessing over his mother to the point that he can't sleep without her, falling for the immature and childish Gilberte and confusing love with infatuation with Albertine, Proust is still the child but now within a young man's body. He turns his attentions to the Dutchess de Guermantes, who he admires from afar, using all of his connections to stalk and obsess over her. He loves her for her grandness and her beauty, and being so immature and borderline sociopathic, he seeks to possess her, both lustfully and through finding comfort in imagining her in sorrow and stripped of her graces so she could lean on him. His love is narcissistic, sociopathic and cruel, and when he is interrupted with thoughts of his mother pre-coitus, his attachment and obsessive possessiveness of woman can be seen as a lack of maturity.

I enjoyed this volume, but not enjoying who Proust is at this moment in time. I am hoping in further volumes his beliefs and treatment of women improves, otherwise I think I will find it difficult to care for him.
]]> 10083786 Marcel Proust 1408437015 Sophie 4 4.31 1919
author: Marcel Proust
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1919
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/07
date added: 2018/05/07
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, classics
review:
Continuing where we left off, Marcel's infatuations have leapt from his mother, to Gilberte, and then Albertine. It is the story of a man discovering different kinds of love - maternal, lust, and friendship. With homosexual undertones, Within a Budding Grove further's Proust's sexual awakening and the maturity of his relationships.
]]> 12749 In Search of Lost Time is one of the most entertaining reading experiences in any language and arguably the finest novel of the twentieth century. But since its original prewar translation there has been no completely new version in English. Now, Penguin Classics brings Proust’s masterpiece to new audiences throughout the world, beginning with Lydia Davis’s internationally acclaimed translation of the first volume, Swann’s Way.]]> 468 Marcel Proust 0142437964 Sophie 4 4.12 1913
author: Marcel Proust
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1913
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/07
date added: 2018/05/07
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, classics
review:
Listened to the Radio 4 audiobook, so perhaps not getting the full complexity of Proust. However, since I was anxious about enjoying Proust, I'd glad to say that I enjoyed this volume very much, and would be interested to read the text at a later date. Proust struggles with leaving behind his young childhood, and learns of the world of scandal. He delves into the different types of memories - those that linger in your mind from youth, those you learn of from others, and those that are reignited by one sensory recollection - all of which shape his early life with fondness and educate him of the societal values of his time.
]]> 28385 In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower is Proust’s spectacular dissection of male and female adolescence, charged with the narrator’s memories of Paris and the Normandy seaside. At the heart of the story lies his relationships with his grandmother and with the Swann family. As a meditation on different forms of love, In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower has no equal. Here, Proust introduces some of his greatest comic inventions, from the magnificently dull M. de Norpois to the enchanting Robert de Saint-Loup. It is memorable as well for the first appearance of the two figures who for better or worse are to dominate the narrator’s life—the Baron de Charlus and the mysterious Albertine.
First time in Penguin Classics


A Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition


The first completely new translation of Proust's novel since the 1920s, following Lydia Davis's brilliant translation of Swann's Way


?]]> 533 Marcel Proust 0143039075 Sophie 4 4.42 1919
author: Marcel Proust
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1919
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/07
date added: 2018/05/07
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, classics
review:
Struggling with creating his own identity, trying to be and understand adults, and his first infatuation and sexual experiences turn sour - Proust is dealt a poor hand, as he learns he is not yet a man and frivolous infatuation and urges are not rewarded.
]]> 282357 PERSONAL BEST
High jump champion Izumi Sano has realized that his slender new roommate Mizuki is a girl, but he's decided to keep her secret so she doesn't get kicked out of their all-boys' high school. Now they're becoming good friends, without worrying about "guy" or "girl" stuff--or so Mizuki thought until Izumi kissed her one night! Before Mizuki has time to freak out, in steps a bigger problem: her American half-brother Shizuki, who's not too thrilled to find out that his little sister is cross-dressing 24 hours a day. But handsome Shizuki has problems of his own...]]> 200 Hisaya Nakajo 1591163986 Sophie 3 4.33 1997
author: Hisaya Nakajo
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at: 2018/05/03
date added: 2018/05/05
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge
review:
Not a huge amount happens in this volume, but Sano as a kiss-fiend is ALWAYS hilarious!!
]]> 282356 THE PRETTIEST BOY IN SCHOOL...ISN'T A BOY!
Japanese-American track-and-field star Mizuki has gotten herself a transfer to a high school in Japan...but not just any school! To be close to her idol, high jumper Izumi Sano, she's going to an all-guys' high school...and disguising herself as a boy! But as fate would have it, they're more than classmates...they're roommates! Now, Mizuki must keep her secret in the classroom, the locker room, and her own bedroom. And her classmates--and the school nurse--must cope with a new transfer student who may make them question their own orientation...
Plus a bonus story, "The Cage of Summer"!]]> 184 Hisaya Nakajo 1591163293 Sophie 4 4.16 1997
author: Hisaya Nakajo
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2018/04/26
date added: 2018/05/05
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge
review:
When I first watched Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (2007) I FELL IN LOVE. I knew I had to read the manga, and all those years later my lazy ass is finally doing it! Because I already know the story pretty well, there is nothing new in the first few chapters. But the characters are great, the humour is funny and the heart is center-stage. Looking forward to reading more volumes!
]]> 28372134
Chapters: 231-236]]> 192 Yoshiki Nakamura 4592194993 Sophie 4
I also liked that Kyoko is auditioning for a new acting role, as I love it when Kyoko is on set and the drama is part of the overall story/arc. I hoping there were hints in this volume that Ren will act as the Ronin, because I would love to see how this would help Kyoko develop her feelings for Ren as she fights over him, and that Ren might gain the courage to be truthful to himself and Kyoko about his feelings.]]> 4.48 2016
author: Yoshiki Nakamura
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2018/04/24
date added: 2018/04/24
shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, manga-comics-graphic-novels
review:
I think I now understand why the mother story-arc was brought in - to show how Kyoko has developed and matured emotionally, and although she still has things to work on, she can empathize even with someone who mistreated her so poorly all her life. I think she needs to have this emotional maturity for a relationship with Ren to work later, so I can see why it was necessary to the mangaka t include it. As much as I love Kyoko's crazy outbursts, I think she would look like a kid having a tantrum next to Ren.

I also liked that Kyoko is auditioning for a new acting role, as I love it when Kyoko is on set and the drama is part of the overall story/arc. I hoping there were hints in this volume that Ren will act as the Ronin, because I would love to see how this would help Kyoko develop her feelings for Ren as she fights over him, and that Ren might gain the courage to be truthful to himself and Kyoko about his feelings.
]]> 33839706 After years of no contact, Kyoko finally has the chance to confront the mother who abandoned her. Her friends are worried that the meeting will break her, but Kyoko’s time with Ren and the Love Me section has toned down her rage and given her an impressive inner strength. Kyoko may be ready to face her past, but is she strong enough to face her mother’s too?!

Chapters: 225-230]]> 192 Yoshiki Nakamura 1421596326 Sophie 3 4.49 2016
author: Yoshiki Nakamura
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2018/04/23
date added: 2018/04/23
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge
review:
This volume was pretty slow... the focus is shifted to Saena, Kyoko's mum, and although it could be interesting to learn more about her, there had better be a point to her arc because it seems pretty pointless at the moment. Also, I'm getting pretty tired of Ren being dishonest to Kyoko - just tell her you're Corn!
]]> 24245936
Chapters: 219-224]]> 192 Yoshiki Nakamura 4592194977 Sophie 3 4.52 2015
author: Yoshiki Nakamura
name: Sophie
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2018/04/16
date added: 2018/04/22
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge
review:
Still moving a little slowly... My God is Kyoko's mum a bitch! And I hope Ren clears up the whole misunderstanding about Corn, or Kyoko realizes, because at the moment it just infantilizes her whenever it's mentioned, and Ren is having a hard enough time as it is to not see her as a child...
]]> 15797051 704 Osamu Tezuka 1935654780 Sophie 5 3.97 2010
author: Osamu Tezuka
name: Sophie
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2018/04/01
date added: 2018/04/01
shelves: manga-comics-graphic-novels, 2018-reading-challenge
review:
This manga is epic, mind-blowing, and most importantly, engaging. The story is pretty twisted, but it's so much fun, there's such depth to the world Osamu Tezuka has created, and it's steeped in political Japanese history. Glorious.
]]>