kou
in through the noseout through the mouth
I am in awe! The cover and some of the art inside while I flipped through the book caught my eye, but now that I've read it all.. It left deep thoughts, reminders, and inspiration (now I want my own pocket-sized Moleskine!). I didn't know that it was about Covid, but it was an impactful way to put what families went through this time (even today). It affected us all, and this book reminded me to breathe and keep what is close. Now to go search for a copy for myself!
Copy/paste from BLC: I'm lingering around 3.5 and 4/5. Overall I enjoyed the story and chuckled here and there. And then I also gasped a lot at the comments and racial slurs, or the discrimination. I thought it was a nice mix of both. The timeline took a bit to get used to as it moved back and forth. I think my favorite part was when Evelyn made a comeback on those youngsters and smashed into their car ‘accidentally' six times lol I really enjoyed the audiobook.
TWs: Abuse, OCD, eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia
Rating memoirs still feels weird, but the way McCurdy has delivered her story and messages made it really impactful and worth reading (or, listening to. I appreciate her narrating her own memoir). Wishing for a good and steady recovery for her and the best that is to come.
My first Dostoevsky book!
The thing I liked about this (but it was also creepy, and thriller-vibes) were getting a glimpse of Raskolnikov's downfall with his psychological thoughts, dreams, and actions, eventually testing himself and his words. The comparison between Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov was also a great way to look at consequences and ways of "redemption". Though, both were creepy in their own ways *sweat* Some parts I struggled with and kind of skimmed due to very long paragraphs or dialogues. I appreciated this translated version - maybe one day I can pick up a different one and compare!
Copy/paste from BLC: Wow I really enjoyed this book! The narrator was amazing with the different voices (she made sure Noelle was terribly annoying like her existence :dogelol: ), I think right off the bat the characters were intriguing, I definitely laughed here and there. I loved all the main characters, and how they acted on friendships, relationships, and trust. Like Fen trusting Jupiter, and Morrigan proposing to leave Nevermoor so it doesn't jeopardize Jupiter. It had fun parts but also the painful ones too. In addition, it was a nice, easy read/listen to in between harder reads, so it was a nice change!
Copy/paste from BLC: This was quite scary and heavy, being controlled on what we consume, and how the roles of firemen changed over time to burn. I think the scariest was when the woman refused to leave the house and burned herself alive. ;-; I liked Clarisse's role in shifting Guy's mindset but oh why did she have to be gone so quickly..
Why was I incapable of stopping?...What was it that I wanted?Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh boy. How do I even rate this book. TWs: child abuse, sexual assault, rape, animal abuse, suicideLike [b:A Little Life 22822858 A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446469353l/22822858.SY75.jpg 42375710], it is certainly not an easy read, and it makes you really question ethics, morality, human life... Yanagihara sucked me in with her writing again, but the content.. the content is so disturbing. Taking place mostly on a fictional island of Micronesia, Norton finds a discovery that earns him a Nobel prize. But at what cost? Endangerment of the tribe and people who lived there, the turtles they, Norton and the ones that come after him, hunted for their experiments, and harming the lives of the children he adopted. And for what? The warm feeling he felt with a child that 'comforted' him. attempt to kill an adopted child because he's an animal. Calling his adopted children "creatures" and his "extravagant collection".Another thing that disturbs me is the ending. The editor for Norton, Ronald, has also disappeared with him. For him to say he needs to prove Norton's innocence, or at least his commitment in science and providing his research, then run away with him? Guilty, guilty, guilty.
Finished with a lot of zooming! I liked this book slightly more than [b:Red, White & Royal Blue 41150487 Red, White & Royal Blue Casey McQuiston https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566742512l/41150487.SY75.jpg 61657690]. The concept and the characters were lovely, but I think I was struggling with the writing. A lot more swearing than I'd like personally (is it just me?), but familiar feelings and things/items to make the story a whole lot more relatable.
“Just be happy. Do good. When you mess up, do better.”
Finished the audiobook within one day right after the first one, and I'm actually not angry at the cliffhanger! lol
The pacing of it was great and the plot intrigued me more in this book. I loved all the characters and their relationships with each other – lovers, friends, family, parents.. they were wholesome. (gosh Vic and his dad made me tear up a bit (TヘT) ) RIP Adam's car through books one and two xD
The narration was also awesome, and it made it so enjoyable. Happy it's on Audible Plus! (will probably go and get the paperbacks some time soon haha)
Another notable quote for me:"I think you're loved. And while I cannot hold you, I would. You are my son."
Very excited for #3!
Interesting read! Went in with just reading the first couple sentences of the synopsis, wondering what this “Sight” was (and what the title means and how it ties in with the plot!). Fun concepts of spirits, elves, wanting to belong, and some (or more like a lot? lol) romance (M/M). Jumping right into the sequel!
“We're a book club,” Maryellen said. “What are we supposed to do? Read him to death?”
Yes, exactly that. (Just kidding, they didn't but how fun that would've been lol)
Dang, the narration was so good, and Hendrix's way of writing kind of sucks you in with all that detail that you don't need to hear but you listen anyway LOL
Another book I went in blindly, only hearing good things about it, so I gave it a try! And what a ride it was.
I was only a couple of pages/minutes into the book, and it immediately peaked my interest, and I was laughing already. Continuing on, it was a lot of emotions of sadness and humor, Ryland's narration of what was going on and trying to make sense of what had happened was relatable. I didn't think he would meet an alien, let alone someone who was a teacher and be sent off to space to save Earth! Something I really enjoyed throughout the book was the progression of his relationship with Rocky, like understanding his language, habits, body language, and eventually living with him. Yes, learning a whole new language in one or two weeks seems so unreasonable, but what can you do when you're all alone in space? I loved the aspects of science, linguistics, and all the space stuff, then a sprinkle of humor; it was a good mixture of all of them! I loved the ending too. I didn't think he would ever get to teach again, but I'm glad has that opportunity, even on another planet. The narrator of the audiobook was also amazing; he made everything so much more fun.
I don't think I've read a book taking place in outer space, so I'm glad this was my first. I will definitely pick up The Martian soon!
“Life is so sad. It's so sad, and yet we'll do it. We all cling to it; we all search for something to give us solace.”
4.5 I think???? Maybe.
Non-spoilers: The writing of this book is beautiful, but it has some parts that seemed unnecessary to elongate the story where it didn't really have to. Once knowing the focus characters and incidents, it's easy to skim over parts that didn't connect too much to the story. The synopsis of the book threw me off, as it is true, but the centerpiece of the story is slightly off from it, particularly regarding the friends. I was more frustrated and angry with many of the parts of the story, shocking images of all that's happened.
Spoilers: I was so angry at Jude throughout the entire book because he refused therapy, the idea of "I deserve this", and rejection of help for the majority of the book. But now with the ending, I'm not sure what to feel. How do you even feel after that? All the anger poofed after Willem's death; the most impacting moment for me was when Jude imagined himself with Willem's arms around him, the sandalwood scent on his clothes that eventually faded, desperately trying to conserve and save it in the closet. Can I think about sandalwood the same way before I read the book? Probably not. I feel that pretty much everything in this book is all unfortunate things that happen in life. It's so sad, yet we do it. It's so painful, yet we resort to dark thoughts and pain. Can we help people? Yeah. Can we try to fix someone? As much as we want to, people won't accept, won't see how much you care, won't give in. And that's reality sometimes.Edit: After some discussion in the BLC, it's understandable that Jude didn't want to accept therapy because he didn't want to expose himself and relive everything of the past. It seemed easier just to keep it in. It's still just heartbreaking that nothing would, will, and can heal someone like Jude.
2023 reread before the movie: ended up dnfing again after about 4 chapters in. The writing is just not for me.2022: First of all, thank you to those who recommended the book! It's been quite a while since I picked up a romance book, so thank you for helping me start my romance journey haha!Okay now to the review..(；・∀・) 2.5 round up; I can't say I was fully engrossed.. I was already slightly disengaged during the first 50 pages, maybe even 20. Maybe because I don't read politics as much? But as I went on, I feel like the characters weren't necessarily loveable (Alex being my least favorite), there's excessive swearing I feel could have easily been replaced with other vocabularies to deliver the same message/tone. Why resort to swearing every page when you can replace it with more colorful vocabulary? I also think because the plot was so predictable, I tried to read as much as I could catch the more essential parts, and move on. I think I also didn't personally enjoy the author's writing style.. Argh. I'm going to give it another shot with [b:One Last Stop 54860443 One Last Stop Casey McQuiston https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1598019346l/54860443.SY75.jpg 71323146] that I'll pick up soon.
Copy/paste from BLC: I thought the concept of the book was pretty cool, despite everything going over my head lol I think Shadow's journey and progression through all of this helped with that. He's such a nice guy and I thought his voice actor did such a great job with his role. The ending was really sweet, though I was sad about Laura ;-; I need a lot of brushing up on mythology, gods, and folktales, so I think that might be my next step before I tackle [b:Anansi Boys|57281615|Anansi Boys (American Gods, #2)|Neil Gaiman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614643230l/57281615._SY75_.jpg|1007964]!
**Read with Full-cast audiobook
Copy/paste from BLC and added comments; This was quite an interesting book! First, I really enjoyed the way it's written, quite addicting I thought! I'd also agree that the 'magic' or ability that Travis had was not used enough, so I felt like it was.. 'useless', for this plot. I thought going in, Travis would be constantly using it throughout the book to better understand it and capabilities beyond what he can do and how to use it, which I was excited for. Instead, it just came up in the beginning and at the end, and I feel like it could have probably just been taken out entirely, and the story would have still made sense. The build-up in Part 1 was great! Travis travels and shares his story of his father, his power, and his sister's death. But again, a great ability fell short as it was only brought up after (for him). I expected the story to further explain his ability, so I guess it's a good thing it gave me a totally different plot..? I'm not sure what to think. The fact that Levi used hypnosis to brainwash and control everyone.. I kind of guessed it by the end of Part 2 but I was still surprised lol I guess my theory behind the inkblot works! (loss of reality, psychosis, seeing unusual things, etc.) Frustrating that the mom kind of strongly nudged her daughter to go to Pastoral, but I'm glad Theo and Calla decided to stay together and continue with their 'new' life, leaving their old, painful past aside. Edit: Since it seems I missed the chuck at the ending, it brings the attention of what is happiness? Do you leave everything behind and back to a place where you were thinking who you actually weren't?
My first time reading and I wished I picked it up sooner! It covers all sorts of topics like synonyms, wordplay, figurative language, visualization, poetic devices, and math (kind of, like the 0.58 kid lol, it covers decimals!) And gosh, the characters are so fun, Reason and Rhyme giving self-help motivational speeches and Milo realizing all the things he has in his room to provide the fun he needs. Would be great for those who love wordplay, and a bit of supplemental reading to build English phrases/words.
