A's bookshelf: read en-US Sun, 30 Mar 2025 12:59:52 -0700 60 A's bookshelf: read 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg I Who Have Never Known Men 60811826 Deep underground, forty women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before.


As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl¡ªthe fortieth prisoner¡ªsits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.


Jacqueline Harpman was born in Etterbeek, Belgium, in 1929, and fled to Casablanca with her family during WWII. Informed by her background as a psychoanalyst and her youth in exile, I Who Have Never Known Men is a haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic novel of female friendship and intimacy, and the lengths people will go to maintain their humanity in the face of devastation. Back in print for the first time since 1997, Harpman¡¯s modern classic is an important addition to the growing canon of feminist speculative literature.]]> 184 Jacqueline Harpman 1945492600 A 0 to-read, feminism, sci-fi 4.11 1995 I Who Have Never Known Men
author: Jacqueline Harpman
name: A
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: to-read, feminism, sci-fi
review:

]]> Against the Loveless World 52761023 Washington Black; My Sister, The Serial Killer; and Her Body and Other Parties.

As Nahr sits, locked away in solitary confinement, she spends her days reflecting on the dramatic events that landed her in prison in a country she barely knows. Born in Kuwait in the 70s to Palestinian refugees, she dreamed of falling in love with the perfect man, raising children, and possibly opening her own beauty salon. Instead, the man she thinks she loves jilts her after a brief marriage, her family teeters on the brink of poverty, she¡¯s forced to prostitute herself, and the US invasion of Iraq makes her a refugee, as her parents had been. After trekking through another temporary home in Jordan, she lands in Palestine, where she finally makes a home, falls in love, and her destiny unfolds under Israeli occupation.]]> 384 Susan Abulhawa 1982137037 A 0 to-read, historical-fiction 4.52 2019 Against the Loveless World
author: Susan Abulhawa
name: A
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: to-read, historical-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Vol. 1 (Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, #1)]]> 25893817
Tsukimi Kurashita has a strange fascination with jellyfish. She¡¯s loved them from a young age and has carried that love with her to her new life in the big city of Tokyo. There, she resides in Amamizukan, a safe-haven for girl geeks who regularly gush over a range of things from trains to Japanese dolls. However, a chance meeting at a pet shop has Tsukimi crossing paths with one of the things that the residents of Amamizukan have been desperately trying to avoid¡ªa beautiful and fashionable woman! But there¡¯s much more to this woman than her trendy clothes! This odd encounter is only the beginning of a new and unexpected path for Tsukimi and her friends.]]> 379 Akiko Higashimura 1632362287 A 0 to-read, manga-and-comics 4.34 2016 Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Vol. 1 (Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, #1)
author: Akiko Higashimura
name: A
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: to-read, manga-and-comics
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rose of Versailles, Omnibus 1]]> 28577172 The Rose of Versailles.

The Rose of Versailles focuses on Oscar Fran?ois de Jarjayes, a girl raised as a man to become her father's successor as leader of the Palace Guards. A brilliant combatant with a strong sense of justice, Oscar is proud of the life she leads, but becomes torn between class loyalty and her desire to help the impoverished as revolution brews among the oppressed lower class. Also important to the story are her conflicting desires to live life as both a militant and a regular woman as well as her relationships with Marie Antoinette, Count Axel von Fersen, and servant and best friend Andr¨¦ Grandier.]]> 496 Riyoko Ikeda 1927925932 A 5 4.22 1994 The Rose of Versailles, Omnibus 1
author: Riyoko Ikeda
name: A
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1994
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: favourites, manga-and-comics, historical-fiction
review:

]]> Anna Karenina 15823480 Anna Karenina provides a vast panorama of contemporary life in Russia and of humanity in general. In it Tolstoy uses his intense imaginative insight to create some of the most memorable characters in all of literature. Anna is a sophisticated woman who abandons her empty existence as the wife of Karenin and turns to Count Vronsky to fulfil her passionate nature - with tragic consequences. Levin is a reflection of Tolstoy himself, often expressing the author's own views and convictions.

Throughout, Tolstoy points no moral, merely inviting us not to judge but to watch. As Rosemary Edmonds comments, 'He leaves the shifting patterns of the kaleidoscope to bring home the meaning of the brooding words following the title, 'Vengeance is mine, and I will repay.]]> 964 Leo Tolstoy 0345803922 A 0 to-read, classics 4.11 1878 Anna Karenina
author: Leo Tolstoy
name: A
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1878
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: to-read, classics
review:

]]> Persuasion 2156 249 Jane Austen 0192802631 A 0 to-read, classics 4.15 1817 Persuasion
author: Jane Austen
name: A
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1817
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: to-read, classics
review:

]]> East of Eden 4406
Adam Trask came to California from the East to farm and raise his family on the new rich land. But the birth of his twins, Cal and Aaron, brings his wife to the brink of madness, and Adam is left alone to raise his boys to manhood. One boy thrives nurtured by the love of all those around him; the other grows up in loneliness enveloped by a mysterious darkness.

First published in 1952, East of Eden is the work in which Steinbeck created his most mesmerizing characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity, the inexplicability of love, and the murderous consequences of love's absence. A masterpiece of Steinbeck's later years, East of Eden is a powerful and vastly ambitious novel that is at once a family saga and a modern retelling of the Book of Genesis.]]> 601 John Steinbeck 0142000655 A 0 to-read, classics 4.41 1952 East of Eden
author: John Steinbeck
name: A
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1952
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: to-read, classics
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Drifting Classroom, Vol. 1]]> 25849 190 Kazuo Umezu 1421507226 A 4 horror, manga-and-comics 3.80 2006 The Drifting Classroom, Vol. 1
author: Kazuo Umezu
name: A
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/11/07
shelves: horror, manga-and-comics
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires]]> 44074800 Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meet Dracula in this Southern-flavored supernatural thriller set in the '90s about a women's book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a blood-sucking fiend.

Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia's life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they're more likely to discuss the FBI's recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.

But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club's meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he's a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she--and her book club--are the only people standing between the monster they've invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.]]> 410 Grady Hendrix A 0 to-read, horror, fantasy 3.78 2020 The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires
author: Grady Hendrix
name: A
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read, horror, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)]]> 32758901 "As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn¡¯t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists is conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ¡®droid--a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself (though never out loud) as ¡°Murderbot.¡± Scornful of humans, Murderbot wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is, but when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth.]]> 144 Martha Wells A 0 to-read, sci-fi 4.11 2017 All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)
author: Martha Wells
name: A
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read, sci-fi
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)]]> 42036538
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.]]> 448 Tamsyn Muir 1250313198 A 0 to-read, fantasy 4.19 2019 Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)
author: Tamsyn Muir
name: A
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Beyond Order: 12 More Rules For Life]]> 56019043
In 12 Rules for Life, clinical psychologist and celebrated professor at Harvard and the University of Toronto Dr. Jordan B. Peterson helped millions of readers impose order on the chaos of their lives. Now, in this bold sequel, Peterson delivers twelve more lifesaving principles for resisting the exhausting toll that our desire to order the world inevitably takes.

In a time when the human will increasingly imposes itself over every sphere of life¡ªfrom our social structures to our emotional states¡ªPeterson warns that too much security is dangerous. What¡¯s more, he offers strategies for overcoming the cultural, scientific, and psychological forces causing us to tend toward tyranny, and teaches us how to rely instead on our instinct to find meaning and purpose, even¡ªand especially¡ªwhen we find ourselves powerless.

While chaos, in excess, threatens us with instability and anxiety, unchecked order can petrify us into submission. Beyond Order provides a call to balance these two fundamental principles of reality itself, and guides us along the straight and narrow path that divides them.]]> 382 Jordan B. Peterson 0593084640 A 0 4.14 2021 Beyond Order: 12 More Rules For Life
author: Jordan B. Peterson
name: A
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: will-never-touch, author-is-a-scammer, authors-to-avoid-like-plague, pseudo-intellectual-bullshit
review:

]]> <![CDATA[World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)]]> 12983100 Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?]]> 438 Susan Ee A 5 .

*WARNING- THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MY FANGIRLING EMOTIONS AND LOTS OF GIFS!*
Please tolerate me.

Me while reading World After-







Me after reading World After-



My brother-



Me-



Okay, I'll stop putting gifs and continue with this review. World After picks up where Angelfall had left. Penryn is desperate to find her missing sister and we journey with her across the dark, twisted streets of California where we discover the vile, gruesome plans of angels who are intent of wiping the human race.

Did I love this book? Did it keep up to my expectations? Was it better than the first?



I absolutely loved World after and it was even better than the first book. I might give Angelfall 9 or 9.5 but World after scores a solid 10 for me. This book has everything I would want in an angel apocalypse book.

World After is dark, intensely gory, fast-paced, absorbing and brilliantly written. Susan Ee shows us the nature of humans in desperate times and to which extent we can go to survive. Can I say how much I love Penryn Young? Penryn is awesome! Penryn is kickass! Penryn is admirable! Penryn has considerable flaws that make her believable. She has become my favourite female character.

Annnnnd how could I forget RAFFE?



Raffe, I love you!

Me at every Raffryn scene-



¡°He is the one pocket of warmth in a sea of ice. Being in his arms feels like the home I never had.¡±



Penryn and the end of Days has become my Favourite YA series. I can't wait for the next book.

I'll leave you with two words, Pooky Bear.

]]> 4.24 2013 World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)
author: Susan Ee
name: A
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2014/02/28
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: dystopian-fiction, paranormal, books-that-should-be-more-popular, admirable-characters, amazing-plot, beautiful-writing, best, books-i-fell-in-love-with, fantasy, favourites, hilarious
review:
This review can also be seen at .

*WARNING- THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MY FANGIRLING EMOTIONS AND LOTS OF GIFS!*
Please tolerate me.

Me while reading World After-







Me after reading World After-



My brother-



Me-



Okay, I'll stop putting gifs and continue with this review. World After picks up where Angelfall had left. Penryn is desperate to find her missing sister and we journey with her across the dark, twisted streets of California where we discover the vile, gruesome plans of angels who are intent of wiping the human race.

Did I love this book? Did it keep up to my expectations? Was it better than the first?



I absolutely loved World after and it was even better than the first book. I might give Angelfall 9 or 9.5 but World after scores a solid 10 for me. This book has everything I would want in an angel apocalypse book.

World After is dark, intensely gory, fast-paced, absorbing and brilliantly written. Susan Ee shows us the nature of humans in desperate times and to which extent we can go to survive. Can I say how much I love Penryn Young? Penryn is awesome! Penryn is kickass! Penryn is admirable! Penryn has considerable flaws that make her believable. She has become my favourite female character.

Annnnnd how could I forget RAFFE?



Raffe, I love you!

Me at every Raffryn scene-



¡°He is the one pocket of warmth in a sea of ice. Being in his arms feels like the home I never had.¡±



Penryn and the end of Days has become my Favourite YA series. I can't wait for the next book.

I'll leave you with two words, Pooky Bear.


]]> Dune (Dune, #1) 44767458
When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul¡¯s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad¡¯Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind¡¯s most ancient and unattainable dream.]]> 658 Frank Herbert 059309932X A 4 sci-fi, favourites 4.33 1965 Dune (Dune, #1)
author: Frank Herbert
name: A
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1965
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/07
date added: 2024/04/07
shelves: sci-fi, favourites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Jade Legacy (The Green Bone Saga, #3)]]> 51057191
The Kauls have been battered by war and tragedy. They are plagued by resentments and old wounds as their adversaries are on the ascent and their country is riven by dangerous factions and foreign interference that could destroy the Green Bone way of life altogether. As a new generation arises, the clan¡¯s growing empire is in danger of coming apart.

The clan must discern allies from enemies, set aside bloody rivalries, and make terrible sacrifices¡­ but even the unbreakable bonds of blood and loyalty may not be enough to ensure the survival of the Green Bone clans and the nation they are sworn to protect.]]> 713 Fonda Lee 035651059X A 4 favourites, fantasy 4.62 2021 Jade Legacy (The Green Bone Saga, #3)
author: Fonda Lee
name: A
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/30
date added: 2024/03/30
shelves: favourites, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blood Red Road (Dust Lands, #1)]]> 9917938 Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the outside world, Saba discovers she is a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba's unrelenting search for Lugh stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.]]> 459 Moira Young 1442429984 A 3 dystopian-fiction
WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ?!

Blood red road is on the 'to-read' shelf of 43 friends of mine. A message to them-

What are you waitin fer? You hafta read this! I says

Blood red road was simply amazing! I couldn't put it down.

Blood red road takes place in the future where the world has turned into a great desert. Saba has spent her whole life along with her twin brother, Lugh their 9-year-old sister Emmi, their old father and a pet crow in Silverlake- an isolated, dried-up wasteland. Saba's world is shattered when four cloaked men kidnap Lugh and kill her father. She and her sister accompanied by the pet crow, Nero then embark on a journey to bring Lugh back. Saba realises that she's a strong-willed and unbeatable fighter when faced with challenges on her quest. Teamed with the revolutionaries her quest leads her to change the face of her civilisation.

Lugh goes first always first an I follow on behind.
An that's fine.
That's right.
That's how it's meant to be.


In the beginning, the dialect was hard to read. There were grammatical and spelling mistakes and no quotation marks were used. It reminded me of the dialect used in Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness *gasps* you haven't read The Chaos Walking Trilogy?! GO READ IT! Ness is a genius, he never disappoints. Ok, so coming back to BRR, as I read further I started loving the narrative style. The dialect felt distinct to the world and made it interesting.

They call me the Angel of Death

I loved Saba. She's likeable and kick-ass. I admired her determination to find her brother, I admired her fearlessness, I admired her resilience, I admired her strong-will....I admired everything about her!

Annnnd there's a love interest Jack! He's amazing, kick-ass, hilarious, happy-go-lucky, cheeky and hot. The relationship between Saba and Jack was very well developed in the book. I liked it that the romance did not cover most of the plot *cough* Shatter Me *cough*. We got to see a lot about Jack's personality in BBR and I wish we get more background story about him in the sequel.

Bloody Jack. What is it with him? What is it about him that he seems to charm everybody an everythin that crosses his path? Ash an pretty well every other Free Hawk, my sister an now my damn crow. I swear, if there was a rock in his path that he couldn¡¯t be bothered steppin over, all he¡¯d hafta do was give it one look an it¡¯d roll outta the way.

Saba's sister was very annoying in the beginning but she grew on me. Saba who previous hated her sister Emmi, changed her opinions about her and slowly grew to love and trust her. I loved the way Young showed the development of the relationship between two sisters here.

The girl revolutionaries called Free hawks were pretty awesome too. I loved that they were fiercely determined to fight for the freedom and good of the society. Young strongly portrays women power through her novel.

The plot was fast-paced, thrilling, suspenseful and full of breath-taking action. The world-building was unique and interesting.

Will I recommend it?

HELL YEAH!!! Go read it along with Chaos Walking Trilogy.
]]> 3.91 2011 Blood Red Road (Dust Lands, #1)
author: Moira Young
name: A
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2013/12/10
date added: 2024/03/26
shelves: dystopian-fiction
review:
*closes the book*

WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ?!

Blood red road is on the 'to-read' shelf of 43 friends of mine. A message to them-

What are you waitin fer? You hafta read this! I says

Blood red road was simply amazing! I couldn't put it down.

Blood red road takes place in the future where the world has turned into a great desert. Saba has spent her whole life along with her twin brother, Lugh their 9-year-old sister Emmi, their old father and a pet crow in Silverlake- an isolated, dried-up wasteland. Saba's world is shattered when four cloaked men kidnap Lugh and kill her father. She and her sister accompanied by the pet crow, Nero then embark on a journey to bring Lugh back. Saba realises that she's a strong-willed and unbeatable fighter when faced with challenges on her quest. Teamed with the revolutionaries her quest leads her to change the face of her civilisation.

Lugh goes first always first an I follow on behind.
An that's fine.
That's right.
That's how it's meant to be.


In the beginning, the dialect was hard to read. There were grammatical and spelling mistakes and no quotation marks were used. It reminded me of the dialect used in Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness *gasps* you haven't read The Chaos Walking Trilogy?! GO READ IT! Ness is a genius, he never disappoints. Ok, so coming back to BRR, as I read further I started loving the narrative style. The dialect felt distinct to the world and made it interesting.

They call me the Angel of Death

I loved Saba. She's likeable and kick-ass. I admired her determination to find her brother, I admired her fearlessness, I admired her resilience, I admired her strong-will....I admired everything about her!

Annnnd there's a love interest Jack! He's amazing, kick-ass, hilarious, happy-go-lucky, cheeky and hot. The relationship between Saba and Jack was very well developed in the book. I liked it that the romance did not cover most of the plot *cough* Shatter Me *cough*. We got to see a lot about Jack's personality in BBR and I wish we get more background story about him in the sequel.

Bloody Jack. What is it with him? What is it about him that he seems to charm everybody an everythin that crosses his path? Ash an pretty well every other Free Hawk, my sister an now my damn crow. I swear, if there was a rock in his path that he couldn¡¯t be bothered steppin over, all he¡¯d hafta do was give it one look an it¡¯d roll outta the way.

Saba's sister was very annoying in the beginning but she grew on me. Saba who previous hated her sister Emmi, changed her opinions about her and slowly grew to love and trust her. I loved the way Young showed the development of the relationship between two sisters here.

The girl revolutionaries called Free hawks were pretty awesome too. I loved that they were fiercely determined to fight for the freedom and good of the society. Young strongly portrays women power through her novel.

The plot was fast-paced, thrilling, suspenseful and full of breath-taking action. The world-building was unique and interesting.

Will I recommend it?

HELL YEAH!!! Go read it along with Chaos Walking Trilogy.

]]> <![CDATA[Snow Flower and the Secret Fan]]> 40873273
As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.]]> 288 Lisa See A 0 east-asia, to-read 4.23 2005 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
author: Lisa See
name: A
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: east-asia, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[ßM“ĤξÞÈË 34 [Shingeki no Kyojin 34]]]> 56304131 ¡¸½ø“ĤξÞÈË¡¹¤Ä¤¤¤ËÍê½á¡£±Õ±Õ> 192 Hajime Isayama 4065234174 A 0 manga-and-comics
In hindsight, I no longer have such strong hatred for the ending anymore. I admit I was carried away by the hate bandwagon back in 2021. Ever since then, I've come to appreciate the story and the journey. I still believe the conclusion is NOT very well-written and it needed more work but my criticisms from before were based on my own misinterpretation of characters and message of the story. Attack on Titan is a very important story for me, I will continue to love it despite not liking the conclusion entirely. This review will still be up as a reminder that one can grow and learn and drastically change their opinions on media over time.



May 2021


Dear Isayama,



Thank you for writing a story that thematically revolved around freedom, hope, breaking the cycle of hatred and unburdening children from sins of their fathers JUST to throw these themes out the window and end the story with war and utter destruction.

Thank you for including very heavy topics in your story such as war, racism, fascism, genocide, propaganda and handling them from a realistic perspective just for all of it to be solved by Armin¡¯s half-assed talk-no-jutsu ability which, in previous scenes had realistically got him almost killed.

Thank you for writing such complex character like Eren just to assassinate his characterization in the end and make him a hypocrite and a fking simp.

Thank you for writing strong female characters who by the end, either get killed or completely define their lives around men and misogynistic, outdated gender norms. Thanks for making Mikasa a badass just to reduce her to a damsel-in-distress who cannot get over the death of a genocidal maniac. Thanks for making Historia the queen just to make her marry her childhood bully and become a baby making machine for the fascist government. Thanks for dumbing down Hange after the time-skip so that the Yaeger brothers could look cool and then proceed to kill her off in the most terrible way. Thanks for killing Sasha and yeeting Yelena out of the story. And most importantly, thanks for making Ymir suffer thousands of years of abuse in the name of love for a man who saw her nothing more than a slave.

Thank you for condemning fascism and genocide to condoning killing 80% of humanity in the end just so all the annoying fan favorite characters can survive, Reiner can sniff Historia¡¯s letter like a pervert and Levi, Jean, Connie and Armin can play house with people who destroyed their home and killed their comrades and friends without any remorse.

Attack on Titan was always seen as genre-defying for years, it was supposed to be different from generic Shonen manga, it was supposed to set a precedent. All the retconning, poorly written dialogues, plot hole galore and poorly tied loose ends are very unlike your writing and were never seen before in this story ever. Had you just nailed the ending, this series would have been a masterpiece. Ending can make or break a story and this ending truly ruins the entire series. I cannot watch nor read this series knowing all that build-up is going to lead to absolutely no pay-off. Thank you, Isayama for ruining a perfectly good story, hope the money was worth it.]]> 4.51 2021 ßM“ĤξÞÈË 34 [Shingeki no Kyojin 34]
author: Hajime Isayama
name: A
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/24
shelves: manga-and-comics
review:
EDIT MARCH 2024

In hindsight, I no longer have such strong hatred for the ending anymore. I admit I was carried away by the hate bandwagon back in 2021. Ever since then, I've come to appreciate the story and the journey. I still believe the conclusion is NOT very well-written and it needed more work but my criticisms from before were based on my own misinterpretation of characters and message of the story. Attack on Titan is a very important story for me, I will continue to love it despite not liking the conclusion entirely. This review will still be up as a reminder that one can grow and learn and drastically change their opinions on media over time.



May 2021


Dear Isayama,



Thank you for writing a story that thematically revolved around freedom, hope, breaking the cycle of hatred and unburdening children from sins of their fathers JUST to throw these themes out the window and end the story with war and utter destruction.

Thank you for including very heavy topics in your story such as war, racism, fascism, genocide, propaganda and handling them from a realistic perspective just for all of it to be solved by Armin¡¯s half-assed talk-no-jutsu ability which, in previous scenes had realistically got him almost killed.

Thank you for writing such complex character like Eren just to assassinate his characterization in the end and make him a hypocrite and a fking simp.

Thank you for writing strong female characters who by the end, either get killed or completely define their lives around men and misogynistic, outdated gender norms. Thanks for making Mikasa a badass just to reduce her to a damsel-in-distress who cannot get over the death of a genocidal maniac. Thanks for making Historia the queen just to make her marry her childhood bully and become a baby making machine for the fascist government. Thanks for dumbing down Hange after the time-skip so that the Yaeger brothers could look cool and then proceed to kill her off in the most terrible way. Thanks for killing Sasha and yeeting Yelena out of the story. And most importantly, thanks for making Ymir suffer thousands of years of abuse in the name of love for a man who saw her nothing more than a slave.

Thank you for condemning fascism and genocide to condoning killing 80% of humanity in the end just so all the annoying fan favorite characters can survive, Reiner can sniff Historia¡¯s letter like a pervert and Levi, Jean, Connie and Armin can play house with people who destroyed their home and killed their comrades and friends without any remorse.

Attack on Titan was always seen as genre-defying for years, it was supposed to be different from generic Shonen manga, it was supposed to set a precedent. All the retconning, poorly written dialogues, plot hole galore and poorly tied loose ends are very unlike your writing and were never seen before in this story ever. Had you just nailed the ending, this series would have been a masterpiece. Ending can make or break a story and this ending truly ruins the entire series. I cannot watch nor read this series knowing all that build-up is going to lead to absolutely no pay-off. Thank you, Isayama for ruining a perfectly good story, hope the money was worth it.
]]> <![CDATA[Jade War (The Green Bone Saga, #2)]]> 41716919 Jade War, the sequel to the World Fantasy Award-winning novel Jade City, the Kaul siblings battle rival clans for honor and control over an Asia-inspired fantasy metropolis.

On the island of Kekon, the Kaul family is locked in a violent feud for control of the capital city and the supply of magical jade that endows trained Green Bone warriors with supernatural powers they alone have possessed for hundreds of years.

Beyond Kekon's borders, war is brewing. Powerful foreign governments and mercenary criminal kingpins alike turn their eyes on the island nation. Jade, Kekon's most prized resource, could make them rich - or give them the edge they'd need to topple their rivals.

Faced with threats on all sides, the Kaul family is forced to form new and dangerous alliances, confront enemies in the darkest streets and the tallest office towers, and put honor aside in order to do whatever it takes to ensure their own survival - and that of all the Green Bones of Kekon.

Jade War is the second book of the Green Bone Saga, an epic trilogy about family, honor, and those who live and die by the ancient laws of blood and jade.]]> 587 Fonda Lee 0316440922 A 4 4.39 2019 Jade War (The Green Bone Saga, #2)
author: Fonda Lee
name: A
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/09
date added: 2024/03/09
shelves: amazing-plot, fantasy, favourites
review:

]]> The Complete Maus 15195
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus tells the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler¡¯s Europe, and his son, a cartoonist coming to terms with his father¡¯s story. Maus approaches the unspeakable through the diminutive. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), shocks us out of any lingering sense of familiarity and succeeds in ¡°drawing us closer to the bleak heart of the Holocaust¡± (The New York Times).

Maus is a haunting tale within a tale. Vladek¡¯s harrowing story of survival is woven into the author¡¯s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. Against the backdrop of guilt brought by survival, they stage a normal life of small arguments and unhappy visits. This astonishing retelling of our century¡¯s grisliest news is a story of survival, not only of Vladek but of the children who survive even the survivors. Maus studies the bloody pawprints of history and tracks its meaning for all of us.]]> 296 Art Spiegelman 0141014083 A 0 4.57 1980 The Complete Maus
author: Art Spiegelman
name: A
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1980
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/04
shelves: to-read, manga-and-comics, politics-and-society
review:

]]> The Goldfinch 17333223
Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.]]> 771 Donna Tartt 0316055433 A 4 contemporary, favourites 3.94 2013 The Goldfinch
author: Donna Tartt
name: A
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/02
date added: 2024/03/02
shelves: contemporary, favourites
review:

]]> The Guest List 51933429
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It¡¯s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride¡¯s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn¡¯t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?]]> 330 Lucy Foley A 2 3.64 2020 The Guest List
author: Lucy Foley
name: A
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2023/07/23
date added: 2024/03/01
shelves: mystery, contemporary, boring-plot
review:

]]> The Myth of Sisyphus 91950 The Myth of Sisyphus transformed twentieth-century philosophy with its impassioned argument for the value of life in a world without religious meaning.]]> 192 Albert Camus 0141182008 A 5 philosophy-religion, to-read 4.25 1942 The Myth of Sisyphus
author: Albert Camus
name: A
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1942
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/03/01
shelves: philosophy-religion, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began (Maus, #2)]]> 15197 Maus introduced readers to Vladek Spiegleman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist trying to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and History itself. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds perfectly in shocking us out of any lingering sense of familiararity with the events described, approaching, as it does, the unspeakable through the diminutive.

This second volume, subtitled And Here My Troubles Began, moves us from the barracks of Auschwitz to the bungalows of the Catskills. Genuinely tragic and comic by turns, it attains a complexity of theme and a precision of thought new to comics and rare in any medium. Maus ties together two powerful stories: Vladek's harrowing tale of survival against all odds, delineating the paradox of daily life in the death camps, and the author's account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. At every level this is the ultimate survivor's tale - and that too of the children who somehow survive even the survivors.]]> 144 Art Spiegelman 0679729771 A 0 4.42 1991 Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began (Maus, #2)
author: Art Spiegelman
name: A
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/01
shelves: to-read, manga-and-comics, politics-and-society
review:

]]> The Glass Castle 7445 THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

The Glass Castle is truly astonishing--a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.]]> 288 Jeannette Walls 074324754X A 0 to-read, non-fiction 4.32 2005 The Glass Castle
author: Jeannette Walls
name: A
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/01
shelves: to-read, non-fiction
review:

]]> The Feminine Mystique 17573685 562 Betty Friedan 0393346781 A 0 to-read, feminism 3.92 1963 The Feminine Mystique
author: Betty Friedan
name: A
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1963
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/01
shelves: to-read, feminism
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return (Persepolis, #2)]]> 9517 Persepolis, heralded by the Los Angeles Times as "one of the freshest and most original memoirs of our day," Marjane Satrapi dazzled us with her heartrending memoir-in-comic-strips about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Here is the continuation of her fascinating story. In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging.

Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university. However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead her to question whether she can have a future in Iran.

As funny and poignant as its predecessor, Persepolis 2 is another clear-eyed and searing condemnation of the human cost of fundamentalism. In its depiction of the struggles of growing up--here compounded by Marjane's status as an outsider both abroad and at home--it is raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating.]]> 187 Marjane Satrapi 0375714669 A 5 4.22 2001 Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return (Persepolis, #2)
author: Marjane Satrapi
name: A
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/01
date added: 2024/03/01
shelves: non-fiction, politics-and-society, favourites, manga-and-comics
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Persepolis. The story of a childhood (Persepolis, #1)]]> 9516
Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane¡¯s child¡¯s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.]]> 153 Marjane Satrapi 037571457X A 5 4.27 2003 Persepolis. The story of a childhood (Persepolis, #1)
author: Marjane Satrapi
name: A
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/02
date added: 2024/03/01
shelves: manga-and-comics, non-fiction, admirable-characters, politics-and-society, favourites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #1)]]> 55987278 How far would you go for happily ever after?

For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings... until she learns that the love of her life will marry another.

Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic but wicked Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.

But after Evangeline¡¯s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game¡ªand that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she¡¯d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after or the most exquisite tragedy...]]> 408 Stephanie Garber 1250268397 A 4 fantasy 4.06 2021 Once Upon a Broken Heart (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #1)
author: Stephanie Garber
name: A
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/19
date added: 2024/02/19
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> The Sword of Kaigen 41886271 A son struggling to grasp his violent future,
A father blind to the danger that threatens them all.

When the winds of war reach their peninsula, will the Matsuda family have the strength to defend their empire? Or will they tear each other apart before the true enemies even reach their shores?

High on a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful warriors in the world, superhumans capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For hundreds of years, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire¡¯s enemies at bay, earning their frozen spit of land the name ¡®The Sword of Kaigen.¡¯

Born into Kusanagi¡¯s legendary Matsuda family, fourteen-year-old Mamoru has always known his purpose: to master his family¡¯s fighting techniques and defend his homeland. But when an outsider arrives and pulls back the curtain on Kaigen¡¯s alleged age of peace, Mamoru realizes that he might not have much time to become the fighter he was bred to be. Worse, the empire he was bred to defend may stand on a foundation of lies.

Misaki told herself that she left the passions of her youth behind when she married into the Matsuda house. Determined to be a good housewife and mother, she hid away her sword, along with everything from her days as a fighter in a faraway country. But with her growing son asking questions about the outside world, the threat of an impending invasion looming across the sea, and her frigid husband grating on her nerves, Misaki finds the fighter in her clawing its way back to the surface.]]> 651 M.L. Wang A 0 to-read, fantasy 4.46 2019 The Sword of Kaigen
author: M.L. Wang
name: A
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/15
shelves: to-read, fantasy
review:

]]> None of This Is True 62334530
A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix¡¯s children¡¯s school. Josie has been listening to Alix¡¯s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Josie¡¯s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can¡¯t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix¡¯s life¡ªand into her home.

But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family¡¯s lives under mortal threat.

Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?]]> 390 Lisa Jewell 1982179007 A 2 to-read, mystery 4.08 2023 None of This Is True
author: Lisa Jewell
name: A
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2024/01/24
shelves: to-read, mystery
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)]]> 61431922 Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders...

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general¡ªalso known as her tough-as-talons mother¡ªhas ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you¡¯re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don¡¯t bond to ¡°fragile¡± humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother¡¯s daughter¡ªlike Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She¡¯ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda¡ªbecause once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die]]> 528 Rebecca Yarros 1649374046 A 2 4.56 2023 Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)
author: Rebecca Yarros
name: A
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2024/01/25
date added: 2024/01/24
shelves: cringe-worthy, use-as-toilet-paper, rip-braincells, are-you-fucking-kidding-me
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1)]]> 43587154 JADE CITY is a gripping Godfather-esque saga of intergenerational blood feuds, vicious politics, magic, and kungfu.

The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It's the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities.

The Green Bone clans of honorable jade-wearing warriors once protected the island from foreign invasion--but nowadays, in a bustling post-war metropolis full of fast cars and foreign money, Green Bone families like the Kauls are primarily involved in commerce, construction, and the everyday upkeep of the districts under their protection.

When the simmering tension between the Kauls and their greatest rivals erupts into open violence in the streets, the outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones and the future of Kekon itself.]]> 540 Fonda Lee 0316440884 A 4 fantasy, favourites 4.06 2017 Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1)
author: Fonda Lee
name: A
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/13
date added: 2024/01/17
shelves: fantasy, favourites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, #1)]]> 60784546 After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again¡­

All eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow wants to do is hold her family together. With a brother on the frontline forced to fight on behalf of the Gods now missing from the frontline and a mother drowning her sorrows, Iris¡¯s best bet is winning the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

But when Iris¡¯s letters to her brother fall into the wrong hands ¨C that of the handsome but cold Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper ¨C an unlikely magical connection forms.

Expelled into the middle of a mystical war, magical typewriters in tow, can their bond withstand the fight for the fate of mankind and, most importantly, love?

An epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.]]> 357 Rebecca Ross 1250857430 A 0 to-read, fantasy 4.14 2023 Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, #1)
author: Rebecca Ross
name: A
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/16
shelves: to-read, fantasy
review:

]]> When Breath Becomes Air 28670512
'Rattling. Heartbreaking. Beautiful,' Atul Gawande, bestselling author of Being Mortal

What makes life worth living in the face of death?

At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live.

When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity - the brain - and finally into a patient and a new father.

Paul Kalanithi died while working on this profoundly moving book, yet his words live on as a guide to us all. When Breath Becomes Air is a life-affirming reflection on facing our mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both.

'A vital book about dying. Awe-inspiring and exquisite. Obligatory reading for the living' Nigella Lawson]]> 150 Paul Kalanithi A 5 non-fiction, favourites 4.50 2016 When Breath Becomes Air
author: Paul Kalanithi
name: A
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2022/11/09
date added: 2023/08/10
shelves: non-fiction, favourites
review:

]]> A Man Called Ove 18774964
Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.]]> 337 Fredrik Backman 1476738017 A 5 contemporary, favourites 4.35 2012 A Man Called Ove
author: Fredrik Backman
name: A
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2022/11/27
date added: 2023/08/10
shelves: contemporary, favourites
review:

]]> Rock Paper Scissors 56269064 Think you know the person you married? Think again¡­

Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can¡¯t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife.

Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts ¨C paper, cotton, pottery, tin ¨C and each year Adam¡¯s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn¡¯t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn¡¯t want them to live happily ever after.

Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.

Rock Paper Scissors is the latest exciting domestic thriller from the queen of the killer twist, New York Times bestselling author Alice Feeney.]]> 294 Alice Feeney 1250266106 A 3 mystery 3.88 2021 Rock Paper Scissors
author: Alice Feeney
name: A
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2022/11/30
date added: 2023/08/10
shelves: mystery
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)]]> 40916679
Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town.

But she can't shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?

Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent . . . and the line between past and present begins to blur. Someone in Fairview doesn't want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger.]]> 433 Holly Jackson 1405293187 A 4 mystery, contemporary 4.30 2019 A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)
author: Holly Jackson
name: A
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/10
date added: 2023/08/10
shelves: mystery, contemporary
review:

]]> Sadie 34810320 A missing girl on a journey of revenge. A Serial-like podcast following the clues she's left behind. And an ending you won't be able to stop talking about.

Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray¨Da radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America¨Doverhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.

Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page.]]> 308 Courtney Summers 1250105714 A 5 4.04 2018 Sadie
author: Courtney Summers
name: A
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/10
date added: 2023/08/10
shelves: mystery, amazing-plot, admirable-characters, favourites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War, #2)]]> 41118857
With no other options, Rin joins forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who has a plan to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new Republic. Rin throws herself into his war. After all, making war is all she knows how to do.

But the Empress is a more powerful foe than she appears, and the Dragon Warlord¡¯s motivations are not as democratic as they seem. The more Rin learns, the more she fears her love for Nikan will drive her away from every ally and lead her to rely more and more on the Phoenix¡¯s deadly power. Because there is nothing she won¡¯t sacrifice for her country and her vengeance.

The sequel to R.F. Kuang¡¯s acclaimed debut THE POPPY WAR, THE DRAGON REPUBLIC combines the history of 20th-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating effect.]]> 658 R.F. Kuang A 5 4.36 2019 The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War, #2)
author: R.F. Kuang
name: A
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/10
date added: 2023/08/10
shelves: fantasy, favourites, admirable-characters
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Burning God (The Poppy War, #3)]]> 45857086 The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang¡¯s acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.

After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.?

Despite her losses, Rin hasn¡¯t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much¡ªthe people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges¡ªand unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.?

Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix¡¯s intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it??]]> 622 R.F. Kuang 0008339147 A 4 4.29 2020 The Burning God (The Poppy War, #3)
author: R.F. Kuang
name: A
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/10
date added: 2023/08/10
shelves: fantasy, favourites, admirable-characters, amazing-plot
review:

]]> Under the Whispering Door 53205888 Welcome to Charon's Crossing.
The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through.

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.

And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he¡¯s definitely dead.

But even in death he¡¯s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.]]> 376 T.J. Klune 1250217342 A 0 to-read 4.11 2021 Under the Whispering Door
author: T.J. Klune
name: A
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Belladonna (Belladonna, #1) 59227936
Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested in her wealth than her well-being¡ªand each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family¡¯s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother¡¯s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.
?
However, Signa¡¯s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he¡¯s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful¡ªand more irresistible¡ªthan she ever dared imagine.]]> 409 Adalyn Grace 0316158232 A 0 to-read 3.97 2022 Belladonna (Belladonna, #1)
author: Adalyn Grace
name: A
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)]]> 35068705
When Rin aced the Keju¡ªthe Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies¡ªit was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn¡¯t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin¡¯s guardians, who believed they¡¯d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard¡ªthe most elite military school in Nikan¡ªwas even more surprising.

But surprises aren¡¯t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power¡ªan aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive¡ªand that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin¡¯s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.]]> 545 R.F. Kuang 0062662597 A 5 fantasy, favourites 4.16 2018 The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)
author: R.F. Kuang
name: A
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2023/04/14
date added: 2023/04/14
shelves: fantasy, favourites
review:

]]> The Fire Next Time 464260 The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation and gave passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement. At once a powerful evocation of James Baldwin¡¯s early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice, the book is an intensely personal and provocative document. It consists of two ¡°letters,¡± written on the occasion of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, that exhort Americans, both black and white, to attack the terrible legacy of racism. Described by The New York Times Book Review as ¡°sermon, ultimatum, confession, deposition, testament, and chronicle¡­all presented in searing, brilliant prose,¡± The Fire Next Time stands as a classic of our literature.]]> 106 James Baldwin 067974472X A 5 4.55 1963 The Fire Next Time
author: James Baldwin
name: A
average rating: 4.55
book published: 1963
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/11
date added: 2023/04/14
shelves: politics-and-society, non-fiction, favourites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1: Dog and Chainsaw]]> 55575967 192 Tatsuki Fujimoto A 2 manga-and-comics, boring-plot Jujutsu Kaisen is a trope-y manga that I enjoyed a lot because the tropes are executed well and has some interesting stuff going on with the characters, plot, action scenes etc., I can't say the same about Chainsaw Man. The constant use of juvenile humor and reducing female characters to fanservice are just off-putting.

Merged review:

I read the first 20 chapters and honestly, I don't get the hype. This series is has nice art going on at best and has generic plot and juvenile humor at worst. It's filled with shonen tropes and presents nothing new or interesting in terms of storytelling, characters, monsters etc. You can still write an interesting story using tropes of a particular genre; for example, Jujutsu Kaisen is a trope-y manga that I enjoyed a lot because the tropes are executed well and has some interesting stuff going on with the characters, plot, action scenes etc., I can't say the same about Chainsaw Man. The constant use of juvenile humor and reducing female characters to fanservice are just off-putting.]]> 4.38 2019 Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1: Dog and Chainsaw
author: Tatsuki Fujimoto
name: A
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2021/05/30
date added: 2023/04/08
shelves: manga-and-comics, boring-plot
review:
I read the first 20 chapters and honestly, I don't get the hype. This series is has nice art going on at best and has generic plot and juvenile humor at worst. It's filled with shonen tropes and presents nothing new or interesting in terms of storytelling, characters, monsters etc. You can still write an interesting story using tropes of a particular genre; for example, Jujutsu Kaisen is a trope-y manga that I enjoyed a lot because the tropes are executed well and has some interesting stuff going on with the characters, plot, action scenes etc., I can't say the same about Chainsaw Man. The constant use of juvenile humor and reducing female characters to fanservice are just off-putting.

Merged review:

I read the first 20 chapters and honestly, I don't get the hype. This series is has nice art going on at best and has generic plot and juvenile humor at worst. It's filled with shonen tropes and presents nothing new or interesting in terms of storytelling, characters, monsters etc. You can still write an interesting story using tropes of a particular genre; for example, Jujutsu Kaisen is a trope-y manga that I enjoyed a lot because the tropes are executed well and has some interesting stuff going on with the characters, plot, action scenes etc., I can't say the same about Chainsaw Man. The constant use of juvenile humor and reducing female characters to fanservice are just off-putting.
]]> Gyo, Vol. 2 564877 The Horrifying Conclusion...
Trapped on an island filled with the stench of mutating bodies, can teenager Tadashi save his girlfriend from a fate worse than death? Or will the cure prove worse than the disease? Hold your breath until all is revealed--along with the final stinking secrets of the "walking fish of Okinawa"!]]> 208 Junji Ito 1421513889 A 4 horror, manga-and-comics 4.31 2002 Gyo, Vol. 2
author: Junji Ito
name: A
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/03/24
shelves: horror, manga-and-comics
review:

]]> All About Love: New Visions 17607 All About Love offers radical new ways to think about love by showing its interconnectedness in our private and public lives. In eleven concise chapters, hooks explains how our everyday notions of what it means to give and receive love often fail us, and how these ideals are established in early childhood. She offers a rethinking of self-love (without narcissism) that will bring peace and compassion to our personal and professional lives, and asserts the place of love to end struggles between individuals, in communities, and among societies. Moving from the cultural to the intimate, hooks notes the ties between love and loss and challenges the prevailing notion that romantic love is the most important love of all.

Visionary and original, hooks shows how love heals the wounds we bear as individuals and as a nation, for it is the cornerstone of compassion and forgiveness and holds the power to overcome shame.

For readers who have found ongoing delight and wisdom in bell hooks's life and work, and for those who are just now discovering her, All About Love is essential reading and a brilliant book that will change how we think about love, our culture-and one another.]]> 240 bell hooks 0688168442 A 0 to-read 4.06 1999 All About Love: New Visions
author: bell hooks
name: A
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/02/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> My Dark Vanessa 44890081
2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager¡ªand who professed to worship only her¡ªmay be far different from what she has always believed?

Alternating between Vanessa¡¯s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.]]> 373 Kate Elizabeth Russell 006294150X A 3 contemporary 4.09 2020 My Dark Vanessa
author: Kate Elizabeth Russell
name: A
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/17
date added: 2023/02/16
shelves: contemporary
review:

]]> The Husband's Secret 17802724 At the heart of The Husband¡¯s Secret is a letter that¡¯s not meant to be read

My darling Cecilia, if you¡¯re reading this, then I¡¯ve died...

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret¡ªsomething with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .

Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all¡ªshe¡¯s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia¡ªor each other¡ªbut they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband¡¯s secret.

Acclaimed author Liane Moriarty has written a gripping, thought-provoking novel about how well it is really possible to know our spouses¡ªand, ultimately, ourselves.]]> 396 Liane Moriarty 0399159347 A 2 3.94 2013 The Husband's Secret
author: Liane Moriarty
name: A
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at: 2023/02/11
date added: 2023/02/16
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)]]> 32075671 An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062498533 can be found here.

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil¡¯s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does¡ªor does not¡ªsay could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice.]]> 454 Angie Thomas 0062498533 A 4 contemporary 4.46 2017 The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)
author: Angie Thomas
name: A
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/25
date added: 2023/02/16
shelves: contemporary
review:

]]> The Kite Runner 77203 371 Khaled Hosseini 159463193X A 4 historical-fiction 4.34 2003 The Kite Runner
author: Khaled Hosseini
name: A
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/08
date added: 2023/01/13
shelves: historical-fiction
review:

]]> Such a Fun Age 43923951 Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.

But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix's desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix's past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.

With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone family, and the complicated reality of being a grown up. It is a searing debut for our times.]]> 310 Kiley Reid 052554190X A 2 contemporary 3.76 2019 Such a Fun Age
author: Kiley Reid
name: A
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2022/11/10
date added: 2022/12/17
shelves: contemporary
review:

]]> Daisy Jones & The Six 40597810 Everyone knows DAISY JONES & THE SIX, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it¡¯s the rock ¡¯n¡¯ roll she loves most. By the time she¡¯s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she¡¯s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.]]> 368 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1524798622 A 3 contemporary 4.20 2019 Daisy Jones & The Six
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: A
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2022/12/17
date added: 2022/12/17
shelves: contemporary
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1)]]> 52397
Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren¡¯s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others.

When fire destroys their compound, Lauren¡¯s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.]]> 345 Octavia E. Butler 0446675504 A 3 dystopian-fiction 4.21 1993 Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1)
author: Octavia E. Butler
name: A
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at: 2022/12/10
date added: 2022/12/17
shelves: dystopian-fiction
review:

]]> Sometimes I Lie 32326398 1. I¡¯m in a coma.
2. My husband doesn¡¯t love me anymore.
3. Sometimes I lie

Amber wakes up in a hospital. She can¡¯t move. She can¡¯t speak. She can¡¯t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn¡¯t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident, and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this brilliant psychological thriller Is something really a lie if you believe it's the truth?]]> 387 Alice Feeney 0008225354 A 4 mystery 3.73 2017 Sometimes I Lie
author: Alice Feeney
name: A
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2022/11/15
date added: 2022/11/29
shelves: mystery
review:

]]> <![CDATA[It Starts with Us (It Ends with Us, #2)]]> 60393672 Before It Ends with Us, it started with Atlas. Colleen Hoover tells fan favorite Atlas¡¯s side of the story and shares what comes next in this long-anticipated sequel to the ¡°glorious and touching¡± (USA TODAY) #1 New York Times bestseller It Ends with Us.

Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil coparenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.

But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life¡ªand Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter¡¯s life.

Switching between the perspectives of Lily and Atlas, It Starts with Us picks up right where the epilogue for the ¡°gripping, pulse-pounding¡± (Sarah Pekkanen, author of Perfect Neighbors) bestselling phenomenon It Ends with Us left off. Revealing more about Atlas¡¯s past and following Lily as she embraces a second chance at true love while navigating a jealous ex-husband, it proves that ¡°no one delivers an emotional read like Colleen Hoover¡± (Anna Todd, New York Times bestselling author).]]> 323 Colleen Hoover 1668001225 A 3 contemporary 3.80 2022 It Starts with Us (It Ends with Us, #2)
author: Colleen Hoover
name: A
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2022/11/09
date added: 2022/11/15
shelves: contemporary
review:

]]> The Vanishing Half 51791252
Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.]]> 343 Brit Bennett 0525536299 A 3 historical-fiction 4.11 2020 The Vanishing Half
author: Brit Bennett
name: A
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2022/10/15
date added: 2022/11/03
shelves: historical-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad, #1)]]> 2459785
Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a 12-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox (his partner and closest friend) find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

A gorgeously written novel that marks the debut of an astonishing new voice in psychological suspense.]]> 448 Tana French A 2 mystery, disappointing-books
1. A female character literally claims how she's not like the other girls in a conversation meant to make the main male character and readers sympathize with her.

2. While reading this book, I couldn't shake off the feeling how the main character feels like he is written by a deeply misogynistic, repressed straight man. He treats women like shit constantly and we as readers are supposed to empathize with him because he has a bad past.

3. The only important female character is not taken seriously and ends up with a side character to spite the main character while the female antagonist is shown to falsely accuse men and destroy their lives for fame. This idea of women manipulating and hurting men is very harmful, especially when we are living in times when incels, mra and mgtow spread the false narrative about how women lie, manipulate and victimize themselves. This plot line feeds straight into this false narrative that contributes to shutting down movements and people that fight for women's rights and justice.

The resolution of the murder mystery isn't even something great, it just comes off as boring and predictable. The background mystery of the missing kids isn't even resolved. If you're looking for a mind-fck mystery read, this book is definitely not it.]]> 3.82 2007 In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad, #1)
author: Tana French
name: A
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 2021/08/10
date added: 2022/11/03
shelves: mystery, disappointing-books
review:
I can't believe this book is written by a woman, it is loaded with misogyny.

1. A female character literally claims how she's not like the other girls in a conversation meant to make the main male character and readers sympathize with her.

2. While reading this book, I couldn't shake off the feeling how the main character feels like he is written by a deeply misogynistic, repressed straight man. He treats women like shit constantly and we as readers are supposed to empathize with him because he has a bad past.

3. The only important female character is not taken seriously and ends up with a side character to spite the main character while the female antagonist is shown to falsely accuse men and destroy their lives for fame. This idea of women manipulating and hurting men is very harmful, especially when we are living in times when incels, mra and mgtow spread the false narrative about how women lie, manipulate and victimize themselves. This plot line feeds straight into this false narrative that contributes to shutting down movements and people that fight for women's rights and justice.

The resolution of the murder mystery isn't even something great, it just comes off as boring and predictable. The background mystery of the missing kids isn't even resolved. If you're looking for a mind-fck mystery read, this book is definitely not it.
]]> <![CDATA[A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)]]> 10664113 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B004XISI4A

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance¡ªbeset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys¡¯s claim to Westeros forever.

Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone¡ªa structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night¡¯s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.

From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.]]> 1125 George R.R. Martin A 5 fantasy, favourites 4.33 2011 A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: A
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2022/10/22
date added: 2022/11/03
shelves: fantasy, favourites
review:

]]> And the Mountains Echoed 16115612 404 Khaled Hosseini 159463176X A 3 historical-fiction 4.06 2012 And the Mountains Echoed
author: Khaled Hosseini
name: A
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2022/11/04
date added: 2022/11/03
shelves: historical-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer, #1)]]> 28449207 The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around¡ªand Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he¡¯s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries¡ªincluding the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo¡¯s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Welcome to Weep.]]> 532 Laini Taylor 0316341681 A 3 fantasy 4.27 2017 Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer, #1)
author: Laini Taylor
name: A
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2022/09/03
date added: 2022/11/03
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> Anxious People 53799686
Viewing an apartment normally doesn¡¯t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.

First is Zara, a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else until tragedy changed her life. Now, she¡¯s obsessed with visiting open houses to see how ordinary people live¡ªand, perhaps, to set an old wrong to right. Then there¡¯s Roger and Anna-Lena, an Ikea-addicted retired couple who are on a never-ending hunt for fixer-uppers to hide the fact that they don¡¯t know how to fix their own failing marriage. Julia and Ro are a young lesbian couple and soon-to-be parents who are nervous about their chances for a successful life together since they can¡¯t agree on anything. And there¡¯s Estelle, an eighty-year-old woman who has lived long enough to be unimpressed by a masked bank robber waving a gun in her face. And despite the story she tells them all, Estelle hasn¡¯t really come to the apartment to view it for her daughter, and her husband really isn¡¯t outside parking the car.

As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the tension mounts and even deeper secrets are slowly revealed. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.

Rich with Fredrik Backman¡¯s ¡°pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature¡± (Shelf Awareness), Anxious People¡¯s whimsical plot serves up unforgettable insights into the human condition and a gentle reminder to be compassionate to all the anxious people we encounter every day.]]> 336 Fredrik Backman 1982121602 A 4 contemporary, favourites 4.12 2019 Anxious People
author: Fredrik Backman
name: A
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2022/09/28
date added: 2022/10/04
shelves: contemporary, favourites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)]]> 13497 Crows will fight over a dead man's flesh, and kill each other for his eyes.

Bloodthirsty, treacherous and cunning, the Lannisters are in power on the Iron Throne in the name of the boy-king Tommen. The war in the Seven Kingdoms has burned itself out, but in its bitter aftermath new conflicts spark to life.

The Martells of Dorne and the Starks of Winterfell seek vengeance for their dead. Euron Crow's Eye, as black a pirate as ever raised a sail, returns from the smoking ruins of Valyria to claim the Iron Isles. From the icy north, where Others threaten the Wall, apprentice Maester Samwell Tarly brings a mysterious babe in arms to the Citadel.

Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory will go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel and the coldest hearts.]]> 1060 George R.R. Martin 055358202X A 5 amazing-plot, fantasy 4.16 2005 A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: A
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2022/09/18
date added: 2022/10/04
shelves: amazing-plot, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men]]> 41104077
Celebrated feminist advocate Caroline Criado Perez investigates the shocking root cause of gender inequality and research in Invisible Women?, diving into women¡¯s lives at home, the workplace, the public square, the doctor¡¯s office, and more. Built on hundreds of studies in the US, the UK, and around the world, and written with energy, wit, and sparkling intelligence, this is a groundbreaking, unforgettable expos¨¦ that will change the way you look at the world.]]> 448 Caroline Criado P¨¦rez 1419729071 A 4 non-fiction, feminism 4.35 2019 Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
author: Caroline Criado P¨¦rez
name: A
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/04
date added: 2022/10/04
shelves: non-fiction, feminism
review:

]]> Berserk, Vol. 1 (Berserk, #1) 248871
Created by Kentaro Miura, Berserk is manga mayhem to the extreme¡ªviolent, horrifying, and mercilessly funny¡ªand the wellspring for the internationally popular anime series. Not for the squeamish or the easily offended, Berserk asks for no quarter¡ªand offers none!]]> 224 Kentaro Miura 1593070209 A 4 4.49 1990 Berserk, Vol. 1 (Berserk, #1)
author: Kentaro Miura
name: A
average rating: 4.49
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2022/08/27
date added: 2022/08/27
shelves: manga-and-comics, fantasy, favourites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)]]> 62291 An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here

Here is the third volume in George R.R. Martin's magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Together, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall. Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. And as opposing forces manoeuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a horde of mythical Others¡ªa supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords...]]> 1177 George R.R. Martin 055357342X A 4 fantasy, favourites 4.54 2000 A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: A
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2022/08/25
date added: 2022/08/27
shelves: fantasy, favourites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)]]> 10572
It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

Here is the second volume in George R.R. Martin magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Storm of Swords. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R.R. Martin stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.]]> 1009 George R.R. Martin 0553381695 A 4 fantasy, favourites 4.42 1998 A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: A
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2022/08/17
date added: 2022/08/27
shelves: fantasy, favourites
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)]]> 13496
Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.]]> 835 George R.R. Martin 0553588486 A 4 fantasy 4.44 1996 A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: A
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/29
date added: 2022/07/29
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Death and Life of Great American Cities]]> 30833 The Death and Life of Great American Cities has, since its first publication in 1961, become the standard against which all endeavors in that field are measured. In prose of outstanding immediacy, Jane Jacobs writes about what makes streets safe or unsafe; about what constitutes a neighborhood, and what function it serves within the larger organism of the city; about why some neighborhoods remain impoverished while others regenerate themselves. She writes about the salutary role of funeral parlors and tenement windows, the dangers of too much development money and too little diversity. Compassionate, bracingly indignant, and always keenly detailed, Jane Jacobs's monumental work provides an essential framework for assessing the vitality of all cities.]]> 472 Jane Jacobs 0375508732 A 0 4.30 1961 The Death and Life of Great American Cities
author: Jane Jacobs
name: A
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1961
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/06/06
shelves: to-read, non-fiction, architecture
review:

]]> The Push 52476830 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family¨Cand a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for¨Cand everything she feared.

Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.

But in the thick of motherhood¡¯s exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter¨Cshe doesn¡¯t behave like most children do.

Or is it all in Blythe¡¯s head? Her husband, Fox, says she¡¯s imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well.

Then their son Sam is born¨Cand with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she¡¯d always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.

The Push is a tour de force you will read in a sitting, an utterly immersive novel that will challenge everything you think you know about motherhood, about what we owe our children, and what it feels like when women are not believed.]]> 307 Ashley Audrain 1984881663 A 3 4.03 2021 The Push
author: Ashley Audrain
name: A
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2022/05/25
date added: 2022/06/06
shelves:
review:

]]> Miracle Creek 40121959 Miracle Creek is a powerhouse debut about how far we'll go to protect our families, and our deepest secrets.

In rural Miracle Creek, Virginia, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine. A pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic ¡°dives,¡± it's also a repository of hopes and dreams: the dream of a mom that her child can be like other kids; the dream of a young doctor desperate to cure his infertility and save his marriage; the dream of the Yoos themselves, Korean immigrants who have come to the United States so their teenage daughter can have a better life.

When the oxygen chamber mysteriously explodes, killing two people, all these dreams shatter with it, and the ensuing murder trial uncovers imaginable secrets and lies. In Miracle Creek, Angie Kim takes a classic form¡ªcourtroom drama¡ªand draws on her own experience as an immigrant, a lawyer, and the mother of a real-life "submarine" patient to turn it into something wholly original, unputdownable . . . real. This is a spellbinding novel by an exciting new voice.]]> 355 Angie Kim 0374156026 A 3 mystery, contemporary 3.86 2019 Miracle Creek
author: Angie Kim
name: A
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2022/06/04
date added: 2022/06/06
shelves: mystery, contemporary
review:

]]> My Happy Marriage, Vol. 1 58671990
A browbeaten and mistreated daughter is cast out of her family home and sent to audition as a bridal candidate for the heir to one of the most powerful families in the land¡­

Considered nigh worthless for having failed to inherit the superhuman powers of the bloodlines into which she was born, Miyo Saimori lives her days unwanted and unloved.

She is treated as a servant by her half-sister who, unlike Miyo, is blessed with unusual powers, while her step-mother and very own father have little time or love for their eldest daughter.

Ultimately seen as nothing more than a nuisance and a drain on the family wealth, Miyo is packed off to the Kudo house as a bridal candidate for its heir, Kyoka Kudo.
But whispers abound about the Kudo clan, the most powerful in all the land. Still, will the allegedly cold and cruel house into which Miyo aims to marry prove much warmer than the family she left behind?]]> 208 Rito Kohsaka 1646091469 A 4 manga-and-comics 4.34 2019 My Happy Marriage, Vol. 1
author: Rito Kohsaka
name: A
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2022/05/12
date added: 2022/06/06
shelves: manga-and-comics
review:

]]> <![CDATA[We Have Always Lived in the Castle]]> 89724 Shirley Jackson¡¯s beloved gothic tale of a peculiar girl named Merricat and her family¡¯s dark secret

Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate. This edition features a new introduction by Jonathan Lethem.]]> 152 Shirley Jackson 0143039970 A 3 horror 3.93 1962 We Have Always Lived in the Castle
author: Shirley Jackson
name: A
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1962
rating: 3
read at: 2022/05/02
date added: 2022/05/14
shelves: horror
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany]]> 767171 No other powerful empire ever bequeathed such mountains of evidence about its birth and destruction as the Third Reich. When the bitter war was over, and before the Nazis could destroy their files, the Allied demand for unconditional surrender produced an almost hour-by-hour record of the nightmare empire built by Adolph Hitler. This record included the testimony of Nazi leaders and of concentration camp inmates, the diaries of officials, transcripts of secret conferences, army orders, private letters¡ªall the vast paperwork behind Hitler's drive to conquer the world.

The famed foreign correspondent and historian William L. Shirer, who had watched and reported on the Nazis since 1925, spent five and a half years sifting through this massive documentation. The result is a monumental study that has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of one of the most frightening chapters in the history of mankind.

This worldwide bestseller has been acclaimed as the definitive book on Nazi Germany; it is a classic work.

The accounts of how the United States got involved and how Hitler used Mussolini and Japan are astonishing, and the coverage of the war-from Germany's early successes to her eventual defeat-is must reading

]]> 1147 William L. Shirer 0671728687 A 0 4.20 1960 The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
author: William L. Shirer
name: A
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1960
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/05/14
shelves: to-read, politics-and-society, non-fiction
review:

]]> SPY¡ÁFAMILY 1 52961491 212 Tatsuya Endo A 4 manga-and-comics 4.45 2019 SPY¡ÁFAMILY 1
author: Tatsuya Endo
name: A
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2022/04/22
date added: 2022/04/22
shelves: manga-and-comics
review:

]]> Leaves of Grass 27494 624 Walt Whitman A 0 to-read, poetry, classics 4.12 1855 Leaves of Grass
author: Walt Whitman
name: A
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1855
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/22
shelves: to-read, poetry, classics
review:

]]> The Wretched of the Earth 66933 Orientalism or The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and it is now available in a new translation that updates its language for a new generation of readers.

The Wretched of the Earth is a brilliant analysis of the psychology of the colonized and their path to liberation. Bearing singular insight into the rage and frustration of colonized peoples, and the role of violence in effecting historical change, the book incisively attacks the twin perils of post-independence colonial politics: the disenfranchisement of the masses by the elites on the one hand, and intertribal and interfaith animosities on the other.

Fanon's analysis, a veritable handbook of social reorganization for leaders of emerging nations, has been reflected all too clearly in the corruption and violence that has plagued present-day Africa. The Wretched of the Earth has had a major impact on civil rights, anticolonialism, and black consciousness movements around the world, and this bold new translation by Richard Philcox reaffirms it as a landmark.]]> 251 Frantz Fanon 0802141323 A 0 4.35 1961 The Wretched of the Earth
author: Frantz Fanon
name: A
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1961
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/22
shelves: to-read, non-fiction, politics-and-society
review:

]]> Pedagogy of the Oppressed 72657 Pedagogy of the Oppressed was translated and published in English in 1970. The methodology of the late Paulo Freire has helped to empower countless impoverished and illiterate people throughout the world. Freire's work has taken on especial urgency in the United States and Western Europe, where the creation of a permanent underclass among the underprivileged and minorities in cities and urban centers is increasingly accepted as the norm. With a substantive new introduction on Freire's life and the remarkable impact of this book by writer and Freire confidant and authority Donaldo Macedo, this anniversary edition of Pedagogy of the Oppressed will inspire a new generation of educators, students, and general readers for years to come.]]> 183 Paulo Freire 0826412769 A 0 4.30 1968 Pedagogy of the Oppressed
author: Paulo Freire
name: A
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1968
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/22
shelves: to-read, non-fiction, philosophy-religion, politics-and-society
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity]]> 85767 Gender Trouble has become one of the key works of contemporary feminist theory, and an essential work for anyone interested in the study of gender, queer theory, or the politics of sexuality in culture. This is the text where Judith Butler began to advance the ideas that would go on to take life as "performativity theory," as well as some of the first articulations of the possibility for subversive gender practices, and she writes in her preface to the 10th anniversary edition released in 1999 that one point of Gender Trouble was "not to prescribe a new gendered way of life [...] but to open up the field of possibility for gender [...]" Widely taught, and widely debated, Gender Trouble continues to offer a powerful critique of heteronormativity and of the function of gender in the modern world.]]> 236 Judith Butler 0415389550 A 0 to-read, feminism 4.08 1989 Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity
author: Judith Butler
name: A
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1989
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/22
shelves: to-read, feminism
review:

]]> Intercourse 163265 Intercourse enraged as many readers as it inspired when it was first published in 1987. In it, Dworkin argues that in a male supremacist society, sex between men and women constitutes a central part of women¡¯s subordination to men. (This argument was quickly-and falsely-simplified to ¡°all sex is rape¡± in the public arena, adding fire to Dworkin¡¯s already radical persona.) In her introduction to this twentieth-anniversary edition of Intercourse, Ariel Levy, the author of Female Chauvinist Pigs, discusses the circumstances of Dworkin¡¯s untimely death in the spring of 2005, and the enormous impact of her life and work. Dworkin¡¯s argument, she points out, is the stickiest question of feminism: Can a woman fight the power when he shares her bed?]]> 349 Andrea Dworkin 0465017525 A 0 4.00 1987 Intercourse
author: Andrea Dworkin
name: A
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/22
shelves: to-read, feminism, non-fiction
review:

]]> Right-Wing Women 377163 ¡ª From the reverse cover.]]> 255 Andrea Dworkin 0399506713 A 0 4.39 1983 Right-Wing Women
author: Andrea Dworkin
name: A
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1983
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/22
shelves: to-read, feminism, non-fiction
review:

]]> The Bookish Life of Nina Hill 42379022
When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all¡ªor mostly all¡ªexcited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster! And as if that wasn't enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn't he realize what a terrible idea that is?

Nina considers her options.

1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)

It's time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn't convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It's going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.]]> 351 Abbi Waxman 0451491882 A 3 contemporary, chick-lit 3.80 2019 The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
author: Abbi Waxman
name: A
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2021/06/29
date added: 2022/04/07
shelves: contemporary, chick-lit
review:

]]> Unteachable 20877902
But life has a way of throwing her plans into free-fall.

When Maise meets Evan at a carnival one night, their chemistry is immediate, intense, and short-lived. Which is exactly how she likes it: no strings. But afterward, she can¡¯t get Evan out of her head. He¡¯s taught her that a hookup can be something more. It can be an unexpected connection with someone who truly understands her. Someone who sees beyond her bravado to the scared but strong girl inside.

That someone turns out to be her new film class teacher, Mr. Evan Wilke.

Maise and Evan resolve to keep their hands off each other, but the attraction is too much to bear. Together, they¡¯re real and genuine; apart, they¡¯re just actors playing their parts for everyone else. And their masks are slipping. People start to notice. Rumors fly. When the truth comes to light in a shocking way, they may learn they were just playing parts for each other, too.

Smart, sexy, and provocative, Unteachable is about what happens when a love story goes off-script.]]> 320 Leah Raeder 1476786410 A 2 contemporary 3.62 2013 Unteachable
author: Leah Raeder
name: A
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2022/04/07
shelves: contemporary
review:

]]> Sharp Objects 18045891
Librarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition - ISBN 10: 0307341550 (ISBN 13: 9780307341556)]]> 254 Gillian Flynn 0297851535 A 2 mystery 4.05 2006 Sharp Objects
author: Gillian Flynn
name: A
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at: 2022/03/22
date added: 2022/04/02
shelves: mystery
review:

]]> Big Little Lies 19486412
A murder . . . a tragic accident . . . or just parents behaving badly?
What¡¯s indisputable is that someone is dead.
But who did what?

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She¡¯s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline¡¯s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline¡¯s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline¡¯s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn¡¯t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.]]> 458 Liane Moriarty 0399167064 A 4
I have watched the TV show and it takes a more darker approach to the plot and characters which is understandable considering that most of the light-hearted scenes and humor wouldn't translate well onto the screen.]]> 4.24 2014 Big Little Lies
author: Liane Moriarty
name: A
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2022/02/28
date added: 2022/04/02
shelves: contemporary, hilarious, favourites
review:
I loved this book. Moriarty is very good at writing humorous scenes all the while respectfully tackling a lot of complex issues in the same book. Very few writers are able to accomplish this. The heart of this story was Moriarty's well-developed female characters and heart-warming portrayal of female friendships.

I have watched the TV show and it takes a more darker approach to the plot and characters which is understandable considering that most of the light-hearted scenes and humor wouldn't translate well onto the screen.
]]> The Secret History 70897
Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic, Donna Tartt's cult bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement - both compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful.]]> 629 Donna Tartt 0140167773 A 5 The Picture of Dorian Gray and Kubrik's Eyes Wide Shut. Due to some heavy themes and endless philosophizing, a lot of people might find it pretentious and slow but fortunately this is the kind of story I really enjoy. I found the plot line to be really compelling! I couldn't put this book down and flew through it within two days.]]> 4.25 1992 The Secret History
author: Donna Tartt
name: A
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 2021/07/02
date added: 2022/02/19
shelves: contemporary, mystery, favourites, classics, beautiful-writing, amazing-plot, books-i-fell-in-love-with, eat-the-rich
review:
I feel that this is one of the books that people would either love or hate. Apart from it being a very complex character driven story, it is also a well-written critique on the rich elite, upperclass snobbery and academic pretentiousness. I like that the story is very self-aware and the author does not condone the characters' evil actions nor absolve them of their wrongdoings. The writing is beautiful and complex and the story is rich with references to Greek tragedies and allusions to cults and Satanism. While on the surface it might seem like a lengthy whydunit story, there's so much meaning and symbolism one can unpack from the subtext of this book. The recurring motifs of madness, upperclass elitism, exploitation of poor, moral depravity, rituals, deals with the devil and wild decadence are very much reminiscent to me of The Picture of Dorian Gray and Kubrik's Eyes Wide Shut. Due to some heavy themes and endless philosophizing, a lot of people might find it pretentious and slow but fortunately this is the kind of story I really enjoy. I found the plot line to be really compelling! I couldn't put this book down and flew through it within two days.
]]> <![CDATA[It Ends with Us (It Ends with Us, #1)]]> 27362503
Lily hasn¡¯t always had it easy, but that¡¯s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She¡¯s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up ¡ª she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily¡¯s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He¡¯s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn¡¯t hurt. Lily can¡¯t get him out of her head. But Ryle¡¯s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his ¡°no dating¡± rule, she can¡¯t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan ¡ª her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.]]> 386 Colleen Hoover 1668021048 A 1 disappointing-books
Hoover fails to handle themes of abuse and poverty by presenting a very sanitized version of reality. She fails to address issues on a systemic level thereby reducing them to individual problems that can be solved by 'just making better choices'. For example, she preaches about how people should contribute to charities taking away responsibility from overarching systems that are preventing people from getting out of poverty. It's very naive to think charities help solve any issues. Another instance of this naivet¨¦ is when the mc claims that women stay in relationships out of love.

Hoover also fails to show how women are disproportionately abused due to systemic oppression that takes the form of misogyny heavily influenced by patriarchy. Hoover praising the mc for being brave to make a 'choice' to get out of an abusive relationship feels so disingenuous when she fails to address the only reason why mc has that choice in the first place is because she is magically, financially stable in her mid 20's which unfortunately, isn't the reality for so many women. This sort of praise also seems to vilify women who stay in abusive relationships. (Please stop blaming the victim, it's never the victim's fault).

Overall, Hoover fails to incorporate nuances to handle such sensitive issues. This book is seriously so insulting, tone-deaf, unrealistic. I hate it.]]> 4.11 2016 It Ends with Us (It Ends with Us, #1)
author: Colleen Hoover
name: A
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2016
rating: 1
read at: 2022/02/03
date added: 2022/02/18
shelves: disappointing-books
review:
Colleen Hoover claims to write about realistic issues in this book but completely fails to do so by relying on unrealistic scenarios and characters to further the plot. You have mid-20 year olds running successful businesses, 30 year old fully qualified neurosurgeon performing complicated surgeries, all characters around the mc being rich and beautiful and of course, men falling for the beautiful mc but.... THAT'S NOT ALL.

Hoover fails to handle themes of abuse and poverty by presenting a very sanitized version of reality. She fails to address issues on a systemic level thereby reducing them to individual problems that can be solved by 'just making better choices'. For example, she preaches about how people should contribute to charities taking away responsibility from overarching systems that are preventing people from getting out of poverty. It's very naive to think charities help solve any issues. Another instance of this naivet¨¦ is when the mc claims that women stay in relationships out of love.

Hoover also fails to show how women are disproportionately abused due to systemic oppression that takes the form of misogyny heavily influenced by patriarchy. Hoover praising the mc for being brave to make a 'choice' to get out of an abusive relationship feels so disingenuous when she fails to address the only reason why mc has that choice in the first place is because she is magically, financially stable in her mid 20's which unfortunately, isn't the reality for so many women. This sort of praise also seems to vilify women who stay in abusive relationships. (Please stop blaming the victim, it's never the victim's fault).

Overall, Hoover fails to incorporate nuances to handle such sensitive issues. This book is seriously so insulting, tone-deaf, unrealistic. I hate it.
]]> <![CDATA[A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)]]> 13642
Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.]]> 183 Ursula K. Le Guin A 0 to-read, fantasy 4.02 1968 A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: A
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1968
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/18
shelves: to-read, fantasy
review:

]]> Mexican Gothic 53152636
Noem¨ª is also an unlikely rescuer: She¡¯s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she¡¯s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin¡¯s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noem¨ª; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi¡¯s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family¡¯s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noem¨ª, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family¡¯s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family¡¯s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noem¨ª digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noem¨ª, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.]]> 320 Silvia Moreno-Garcia 0525620788 A 0 to-read, horror 3.66 2020 Mexican Gothic
author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
name: A
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/18
shelves: to-read, horror
review:

]]> Little Fires Everywhere 34273236
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned ¨C from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren ¨C an enigmatic artist and single mother ¨C who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother¨Cdaughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town ¨C and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at an unexpected and devastating cost . . .]]> 338 Celeste Ng 0735224293 A 5
I could read Celeste Ng's grocery list and still enjoy it.]]> 4.05 2017 Little Fires Everywhere
author: Celeste Ng
name: A
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2022/02/17
date added: 2022/02/18
shelves: contemporary, beautiful-writing, favourites
review:
4.5 Stars

I could read Celeste Ng's grocery list and still enjoy it.
]]> <![CDATA[The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo]]> 32620332
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn¡¯s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ¡®80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn¡¯s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique¡¯s own in tragic and irreversible ways.]]> 389 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1501139231 A 2 contemporary 4.39 2017 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: A
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2020/07/19
date added: 2022/02/18
shelves: contemporary
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas]]> 92625 Some inhabitants of a peaceful kingdom cannot tolerate the act of cruelty that underlies its happiness.

The story 'Omelas" was first published in 'New Dimensions 3' (1973), a hard-cover science fiction anthology edited by Robert Silverberg, in October 1973, and the following year it won the prestigious Hugo Award for best short story.

The work was subsequently printed in Le Guin's short story collection 'The Wind's Twelve Quarters' (1975).

Ursula K Le Guin (1929¨C2018) was an American writer who published twenty-two novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry & four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, and more. She was known for her treatment of gender ('The Left Hand of Darkness' (1969), 'The Matter of Seggri' (1994)), political systems ('The Telling' (2000), 'The Dispossessed' (1974)) and difference/otherness in any other form.]]> 32 Ursula K. Le Guin 0886825016 A 3 4.38 1973 The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: A
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1973
rating: 3
read at: 2022/02/12
date added: 2022/02/11
shelves: sci-fi, short-stories, classics, philosophy-religion
review:

]]> Everything I Never Told You 18693763
Lydia is the favourite child of Marilyn and James Lee; a girl who inherited her mother's bright blue eyes and her father's jet-black hair. Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue - in Marilyn's case that her daughter become a doctor rather than a homemaker, in James's case that Lydia be popular at school, a girl with a busy social life and the centre of every party. But Lydia is under pressures that have nothing to do with growing up in 1970s small town Ohio. Her father is an American born of first-generation Chinese immigrants, and his ethnicity, and hers, make them conspicuous in any setting.

When Lydia's body is found in the local lake, James is consumed by guilt and sets out on a reckless path that may destroy his marriage. Marilyn, devastated and vengeful, is determined to make someone accountable, no matter what the cost. Lydia's older brother, Nathan, is convinced that local bad boy Jack is somehow involved. But it's the youngest in the family - Hannah - who observes far more than anyone realises and who may be the only one who knows what really happened.

Everything I Never Told You is a gripping page-turner, about secrets, love, longing, lies and race.

Librarian's note: There is an Alternate Cover Edition for this edition of this book here.]]> 297 Celeste Ng 159420571X A 4 3.81 2014 Everything I Never Told You
author: Celeste Ng
name: A
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2022/01/01
date added: 2022/02/08
shelves: contemporary, beautiful-writing
review:

]]> Homegoing 27071490 An alternate cover edition can be found here.

A novel of breathtaking sweep and emotional power that traces three hundred years in Ghana and along the way also becomes a truly great American novel. Extraordinary for its exquisite language, its implacable sorrow, its soaring beauty, and for its monumental portrait of the forces that shape families and nations, Homegoing heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.

Two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle's dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast's booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia's descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.

Generation after generation, Yaa Gyasi's magisterial first novel sets the fate of the individual against the obliterating movements of time, delivering unforgettable characters whose lives were shaped by historical forces beyond their control. Homegoing is a tremendous reading experience, not to be missed, by an astonishingly gifted young writer.]]> 305 Yaa Gyasi A 0 to-read, historical-fiction 4.48 2016 Homegoing
author: Yaa Gyasi
name: A
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/03
shelves: to-read, historical-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Shadow Rising (The Wheel of Time, #4)]]> 9539
In Tar Valon, Min sees portents of hideous doom. Will the White Tower itself be broken?

In the Two Rivers, the Whitecloaks ride in pursuit of a man with golden eyes, and in pursuit of the Dragon Reborn.

In Cantorin, among the Sea Folk, High Lady Suroth plans the return of the Seanchan armies to the mainland.

In the Stone of Tear, the Lord Dragon considers his next move. It will be something no one expects, not the Black Ajah, not Tairen nobles, not Aes Sedai, not Egwene or Elayne or Nynaeve.

Against the Shadow rising stands the Dragon Reborn.....]]> 1007 Robert Jordan 0812513738 A 0 to-read, fantasy 4.27 1992 The Shadow Rising (The Wheel of Time, #4)
author: Robert Jordan
name: A
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/08
shelves: to-read, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Dragon Reborn (The Wheel of Time, #3)]]> 34897 The Dragon Reborn¡ªthe leader long prophesied who will save the world, but in the saving destroy it; the savior who will run mad and kill all those dearest to him¡ªis on the run from his destiny.

Able to touch the One Power, but unable to control it, and with no one to teach him how¡ªfor no man has done it in three thousand years¡ªRand al'Thor knows only that he must face the Dark One. But how?

Winter has stopped the war¡ªalmost¡ªyet men are dying, calling out for the Dragon. But where is he?

Perrin Aybara is in pursuit with Moiraine Sedai, her Warder Lan, and Loial the Ogier. Bedeviled by dreams, Perrin is grappling with another deadly problem¡ªhow is he to escape the loss of his own humanity?

Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve are approaching Tar Valon, where Mat will be healed¡ªif he lives until they arrive. But who will tell the Amyrlin their news¡ªthat the Black Ajah, long thought only a hideous rumor, is all too real? They cannot know that in Tar Valon far worse awaits...

Ahead, for all of them, in the Heart of the Stone, lies the next great test of the Dragon reborn....
]]> 624 Robert Jordan 0765305119 A 0 to-read, fantasy 4.27 1991 The Dragon Reborn (The Wheel of Time, #3)
author: Robert Jordan
name: A
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/08
shelves: to-read, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time, #2)]]> 233649
Rand cannot run for ever. With every passing day the Dark One grows in strength and strives to shatter his ancient prison, to break the Wheel, to bring an end to Time and sunder the weave of the Pattern.

And the Pattern demands the Dragon.]]> 705 Robert Jordan 0812517725 A 4 fantasy 4.25 1990 The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time, #2)
author: Robert Jordan
name: A
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2022/01/08
date added: 2022/01/08
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> No Longer Human 194746 No Longer Human, this leading postwar Japanese writer's second novel, tells the poignant and fascinating story of a young man who is caught between the breakup of the traditions of a northern Japanese aristocratic family and the impact of Western ideas. In consequence, he feels himself "disqualified from being human" (a literal translation of the Japanese title).

Donald Keene, who translated this and Dazai's first novel, The Setting Sun, has said of the author's work: "His world ¡­ suggests Chekhov or possibly postwar France, ¡­ but there is a Japanese sensibility in the choice and presentation of the material. A Dazai novel is at once immediately intelligible in Western terms and quite unlike any Western book." His writing is in some ways reminiscent of Rimbaud, while he himself has often been called a forerunner of Yukio Mishima.

Cover painting by Noe Nojechowiz, from the collection of John and Barbara Duncan; design by Gertrude Huston]]> 176 Osamu Dazai A 0 to-read, east-asia 3.99 1948 No Longer Human
author: Osamu Dazai
name: A
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1948
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/11/09
shelves: to-read, east-asia
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1)]]> 228665
Moiraine Damodred arrives in Emond¡¯s Field on a quest to find the one prophesized to stand against The Dark One, a malicious entity sowing the seeds of chaos and destruction. When a vicious band of half-men, half beasts invade the village seeking their master¡¯s enemy, Moiraine persuades Rand al¡¯Thor and his friends to leave their home and enter a larger unimaginable world filled with dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.]]> 800 Robert Jordan 0812511816 A 4 fantasy 4.19 1990 The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1)
author: Robert Jordan
name: A
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2021/10/19
date added: 2021/11/09
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]>