Giuli
cara eu tô passada\n\nnos últimos capítulos eu tava sofrendo que o amor dele ia ser convertido em traição e aí veio aquele final!!!! QUE FINAL!!!!!!! Pra um livro de 1892, serviu demais\n\ntantas reflexões bonitas sobre como um espaço influencia a gente e sobre como a morte é uma presença constante mas ao mesmo tempo, apenas um estado... passageiro\n\nloucura né? arrasou rodenbach
I skipped the second short story, cause it contains incest (it is told upfront, so you choose to read it). But I found the rewrites to be weak and predictable. Not what I was expecting.\n\nTrigger warnings\nGraphic: Homophobia, Violence, Incest, and Sexual content\nModerate: Sexual assault, Injury/injury detail, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Blood
Intimations: the window to the invisible that everyone can see\n\nI don't know where to start, when trying to convince you to read this book. Because it called me to read it. I hope it does the same with you.\n\nIt's definitely that book that needs to be read at the right time - for if you read it when it won't bring you anything new, everything that is said will feel worthless. In my case, it was on my TBR for months, but in a turn of events this week, I watched a video from the same booktuber that recommended it (Jack Edwards), and he mentioned it again. And I had to pick it up AT THAT MOMENT to read.\n\nDon't look at the ““91 pages”” in the Book Info Page and assume it will be a light reading. That's why I said you'll find what you need to hear, at the right time. In my ““pandemic case””, every piece fit at the right time for me to not need to go back in person to many activities, which left me alone. I know I'm not the only one, but around the corner from two years with my life on hold, I feel very lonely lately, longing for places and people that are now just memories, because none of them is where they used to be. Yearning for intimations, for the details of my daily life that no longer exist, the invisible that was dear to me, the person I no longer am.\n\nThis book is a glimpse of the first moments of the pandemic - I would say from March to May 2020, when the ““we'll be back in two weeks”” seemed real only in social formality (because deep down, in the invisible visible to all, we already knew that it wouldn't be like that, but we didn't want to say it out loud so as to not jinx it). It is the beginning of the end of the old alternative universe in which we used to live, the moment in which this universe became strange to us, repulsive and which, two years later, we find absurd (the author mentions leaving the house without a mask on, because it was not yet something common and I was in shock). Zadie returns to the real ghost town in our minds, eternally unreachable and almost incredulous these days. The city that we will never stop missing, but that will live in ourselves forever.\n\nI can't point out any technicality in this book, I can only try to convince you to read it. Zadie doesn't sound like she's argumenting, it's more like a conversation, a story that unfolds in our minds, agitated by all of the political debates brought to us by the virus, and ironically (or very cleverly), the numbness and paralysis of ““the strange”” ends, alongside the book, when the first major political event after the beginning of the pandemic hit: the murder of George Floyd and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement.\n\nLet Zadie invade your deepest self and let her put into words what we all felt and can't verbalize. It hurts, but at the same time it brings joy and warmth, supplying the insatiable longing for what was and will never be again.
Thank you so much Maya MacGregor and NetGalley for this eARC!\n\nIf you love a wide variety of representation in books like me, this one's for you!! Even though ““The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester”” sounds like it has a very cliché whodunnit plot, it brings much more than a mystery to the table. Not only do the communities this book represents need rep in ““cliché”” plots, but this book also intertwines problems within the community to the mystery.\n\nSam Sylvester is the non-binary autistic MAIN CHARACTER we all needed, and their father is a gem too. Yes, you will be slapped across the face with MANY hurthful truths and scenes, but that's why I loved this book. It doesn't sugar coat the VERY bad situation that happens to Sam and, unfortunately, still happens to many LGBTQIA+ teens to this day. The only thing I wanted to deep dive into a little more was the autistic side of Sam (and I'm using the term used by Sam/the author in the book to refer to ASD) - but it was okay that I didn't get to though, because it made sense that the reader wouldn't be someone Sam would share something so deep and personal upfront. This was only my personal curiosity, it still is very well presented and I loved it. <3\n\nGreat for nostalgic 80's lovers - though it doesn't focus that much on this topic -, this book gives me 80's movie vibes, with many loving and interesting characters in this newcomer to town setting. It reminded me a lot of Back To The Future 1 for some reason (but it has nothing to do with it). It also felt very real, not only due to the raw scenes and situations, but because of the small things that happen that can hurt you the most, small details or even situations that come alongside mundane things.\n\nI found some things to be unlikely, even if this mystery isn't an ““epic”” one, like Agatha Christie's. But considering the absurd things that can happen to LGBTQIA+ people - and the repertoire of very bad crimes that happen to anyone who is not a cis-het white man in my country - it was plausible enough.\n\nI REALLY think everyone should give this a shot. Whether you're an adult or teenager, whether you're LGBTQIA+ or not, this book is revolutionary. This book taught me a lot!\n\nWhen I finished it, I felt happy that someone chose this book to come out of a publishing house and made it possible that we have another beautiful and respectful story with great representation of these minorities, I cried a lot. Relief washed through me and I also felt like Sam was a new friend I could count on.
Wow! Wowwwwwww!!\nI can't find other words to describe this story!! I loved it! I actually wanted more!\n\nI actually got shivers reading this. I could hear the forest and the silence, I could feel the cool wind and the darkness. I didn't expect it to be ““creepy”” (as in, leaning towards horror but not quite) and I loved it. But the golden prize goes to González's way of presenting the story visually. With faceless characters, we rely entirely on body language and ambience to set the tone of a scene. And honestly, that not only works for me but also brings some kind of suspense and mystery to the questions, contributing to the open interpretation ending all along!!\n\nIt's a simple plot that explains itself while you read it. You don't get all of the questions firsthand and it makes you move forward. ““I want to know why this character wants this.”” and then ““Why does this character want this?””, followed by ““Why does it do that?”” and so on. A rhythm of interest that I, honestly, don't find very often.\n\nWhile in the fantasy realm, it felt very real. The conversations about being a fan of something, the pace of the characters' days, the elements. It made it so much more vivid and alive - as I mentioned, making me feel the visuals, which is insane!\n\nI think that my only complaint is actually constructive criticism, while fully understanding that it's probably González's way of storytelling (this is my first experience with the author). I loved it, I truly did, I was intrigued, but I wanted more development on the main mystery. Still, I love that it remained a mystery, because the impacts of the mystery seemed more important than the mystery itself. See my internal war here? I just wanted more!!! I felt like the ending was a bit rushed, because some things left unsaid made me confused, but I know many things in life are left unsaid so it makes sense! It's a story to make you feel, reflect and make YOU find the answers and questions. It doesn't give you any. I actually wouldn't even be able to tell you what it is about.\n\nIt's an experience. Read it! Look forward to reading more from the author <3
RATING: 4.5\n\nThis book evokes sounds we all know and it's incredible how it does it in a pretty simple way.\nI loved the specificity and how the images connect to the sounds presented, focusing on the source of the sounds. It's a great reflection!\nI think I would love it to be longer though, and also wish it had more variety. It's very focused on the seasons and as I am a foreigner who does not live in a climate like this, it'd be great to have more environments touched upon, like school, sidewalk, etc. Just a personal wish though, nothing that affects my rating of the book. Great for kids and very nostalgic for adults haha <3
A antologia macabra de um jeito a là Grimm, já abre com um conto que já estabelece o tom geral da obra, sombrio e trágico, vitorioso em partes, mas nunca feliz.\n\nÉ partir daí que viajamos por diversos reinos e histórias populares, as quais sempre ouvimos e com as quais estamos familiarizados. Por isso, conforme as histórias vão sendo distorcidas diante de nossos olhos, não falham em surpreender. Moderno ao apresentar elementos discutidos atualmente, como uma princesa com questões de saúde mental, é quase como se a antologia transpusesse nosso mundo nos mundos fantásticos dos contos. Inteligente e perspicaz so discutir, porém confesso que pesado e cru aos olhares mais frágeis.\n\nSalvo algumas exceções de contos que parecem esquecer o tom “macabro”, “sombrio” e “gore” da obra, todos os contos são únicos de maneira que mesmo diante de repetições de histórias (como Branca de Neve e Chapeuzinho Vermelho), não nos incomodamos.\n\nDentre meus três contos favoritos, no entanto, só há um baseado em uma história mais “popular” (e eles ficam aqui de recomendação):\n\n•”A canção sem nome”, sobre um visitante que não é quem diz ser e aterroriza a vila.\n•”Ritual das Doze”, uma espécie de Barbie e as 12 Princesas Bailarinas com um tempero (que não posso falar pois entrega a história), o que simplesmente me cativou e gostaria de um livro completo, por favor.\n•”Capuzes vermelhos”, um novo olhar da situação vivida por chapeuzinho vermelho.\n
RATING: 3.5\n\nThe book is short and objective. Right from the start, the author makes it clear that this is very personal to her research and discoveries. The proposal is to bring a compilation of “untranslatable” words, from different languages and with useful but very specific meanings.\n\nThe personal dimension within the choices is not bad. It even makes you wonder what affected the author enough for her to choose it. However, there are 2 problems with the book:\n\nThe first is the huge amount of English words, when compared to other languages. There are several languages that have words like the ones presented and I think that the English ones presented are not as frequently used as other words in other languages. I myself have never come across any of them, with the same frequency as I have come across kummerspeck while consuming German content and saudade while consuming Portuguese content. It's not a bad thing, I was just bothered by this unbalanced selection.\n\nThe second problem derived from the first one. Among the words presented from English (but not exclusive to this group), I found words that were translatable to other languages I speak. Of course, I do remember the personal dimension of the work, the author probably chose to present them because she felt something, but the problem I want to address is: the selection is too short to cover several languages and ended up prioritizing English.\n\nThe book is good, I had fun, I found some words in other languages that I would love to be able to use. \n(which I think was the goal). However, a Google search would bring as much variety as the book, perhaps even with less focus on the words that exist but are not used.
NOTA: 5\n\nCom seus (autodenominados pela autora) “Diários de uma travesti”, Amara Moira nos retrata como foi sua vida como mulher trans tornada profissional do sexo para obter sua renda.\n\nEsse livro é surpreendente, li por recomendação de um amigo, e esperava algo completamente diferente, algo mais indireto, acadêmico, e fui completamente surrupiada. É uma porta para este mundo no qual muitas pessoas não convivem e nunca foram, e não guarda segredos nem faz cerimônia: é tudo cru, na cara e sem eufemismos, porque essa experiência de vida não tem eufemismos. É violenta, é brutal e é forte.\n\nPreciso dizer que meu estômago torceu enquanto eu lia, e inclusive tomei a decisão de ler uma boa parte do livro de uma vez só para terminá-lo, pois eu não tinha mais cabeça para ler. Eu ainda tinha esse ponto de término, depois do qual eu passasse, as sensações ruins acabariam. Mas e pra quem vive disso?\n\nNem tenho muito o que avaliar, já que Amara foi revolucionária por não ter papas na língua, além de trazer essa visão desmaquiada e sincera para o leitor. Apesar de eu querer mais capítulos como o último com a Amara atual falando, a Amara pós-experiência e que discursa e argumenta, sua fala não teria o mesmo impacto se eu não tivesse lido seus relatos anteriormente.\n\nTudo isso prova que é uma experiência única de leitura, não só porque cada pessoa trans tem uma experiência diferente, como também porque é real, aconteceu - e essa consciência leva a leitura para outro patamar.\n\nFiquei extremamente irritada com certos leitores que acusaram Amara de romantizar o trabalho da profissional do sexo. A autora nos dá diversas facetas de seu relacionamento com a situação, além de deixar bem claro que era a única forma de se sentir desejada. Se um argumento como esse te desmotivou a ler esse livro, o ignore e vá ler! É uma experiência única e diferente das outras como em qualquer comunidade - quem a taxa de romantização, teve falta de interpretação. \n\nRecomendadíssimo (+18)! Gostaria de ver mais coisas da autora daqui pra frente (:
Usually, I don't review academic or college books, but I thought it was important to comment on this one, as it is a subject that many people can be interested in without even studying / working in the area, as it is a very small field of study. And nowadays, it's a very relevant topic (video game music).\n\nKaren not only gives us an overview of the history of audio in video games, she also explains the technology behind it. Both sides are not so deeply explained that you learn everything in this book without any other references, but these days, many people understand the basics of computers (technology), so it becomes understandable. To add to Karen's ideas and explanations, I suggest looking for the infinite YouTube videos of enthusiasts demonstrating the sounds and changes in videogames.\n\nI like the book, it's great, don't get me wrong. I just think that Karen isn't as objective when it comes to separating her texts. The (very) long text format per chapter is a little difficult to understand, considering she's a pioneer in her field of study and we have no other reference when reading her. So I suggest looking for other basic texts or even posts from videogame enthusiast blogs. The Red Bull Music Academy series “Diggin' In The Carts” is recommended here as a supplement (available for free on YouTube).\n\nAlso, I find the order of the chapters very unhelpful to the rookie crowd. And considering that it is a very small area in terms of research, and Karen Collins is the number 1 reference in the world on ludomusicology, she could have paid more attention to this fluidity. She seems like a wonderful teacher who knows a lot, but whose class is a bit all over the place due to her clear enthusiasm, haha, so you need to have a little patience.\n\nSo regarding that there is no literature on ludomusicology in my country, I thought this book was great!