Tessa Portuese

The final in my back-to-back Sally Rooney audiobook binge. Nearly developed an Irish accent

Inspired a rewatch of the show. Love these characters so much tbh

I have a theory that I liked this more than most because I listened to the audiobook and the Irish accent is charming enough that the characters weren't annoying, but I understand the complaints. Glad it was the first Sally Rooney book I read/listened to because it was all uphill from here!

Extremely well-written but even as a person who generally likes horror and gore, this was so disgusting and dark I kind of wish I hadn't read it!!

This is so Big Little Lies

Really wanted to love Moshfegh because it would be cool if I did. The way she writes about people is the literary equivalent of “the ick” and it's cool that she has such a distinct perspective, but it's not for me.

If you liked Tàr, this would be a good companion book. Lots of similar themes! As a result, I kept picturing the main character as Cate Blanchett.

I can see why this book is so famous! It is so effectively unsettling that a page-long footnote has a threatening aura and an asterisk in the margins can feel like a jumpscare. However, it is a LOT of work to read–I felt like I was studying or solving a puzzle for most of it and it took me nearly three months to finish. Somehow worth the effort!

Good one to read during this snowy week!

Apparently this is the first in a trilogy, will definitely read/listen to the next one! The audiobook was very well-acted. Also I love this book cover

Praying that Yorgos Lanthimos is still slated to direct the film adaptation of this

A fun concept but distressingly british

I loved the surreal/horror aspects and the writing was great. However, there are a couple major things I can't get past that prevent me from loving it.

Most importantly was that the story is about this group of women manufacturing men–then being torn apart by fighting over a man–without much textual evidence of real life men being dangerous, disappointing, or otherwise lacking felt pretty bad from a feminist perspective, right?? I think it could have worked if the theme leaned into why these women needed to make their drafts/darlings/whatever. It felt close to suggesting that the women only wanted to spend time with men created by other women, that they sought fulfillment in the minds of women and not men, but it didn't follow through on that or have much of a queer reading that would support that.

Secondly, I just couldn't get a mental image of the four “Bunnies.” Maybe it's a generational thing, but I just can't picture literary grad students who love Kate Bush and Sylvia Plath and also love kittens/cupcakes/sparkles. This just didn't compute to me, but maybe it's intentional to be off-putting.

Grateful that Angress's writing style is so effectively evocative–the book tackles visual art in a written medium and somehow I have clear mental images of all the characters' different art styles. Also awesome that the author studied at the U of M, which I found out after I checked it out from the library!

Frankenstein's monster has one of the best villain origin stories ever. Queen Mary Shelley really invented the science fiction genre at age 19

I wanted to love this because it might be my favorite book cover ever. Each story is written extremely well to the point of reminding me of literary short stories we studied in English classes, but the book is full of female characters who seem to hate all other women, short story after short story, which gets old.

Absolutely loved this, much of the book felt like it could have been plucked from my future self's mind (the motherhood and relationship parts, not the turning into a dog stuff). I am so nervous for the movie adaptation because I'm not sure how anyone could pull this off in film, but it deserves any traction it gets.

Took me a while to get through this. Something about this alternate universe where all the slasher movies are based on real events and Final Girls are a cultural phenomenon felt off to me–the way the public treats them didn't feel justified or make much sense. Still, the premise was fun and the end was really good, so I'm glad I stuck with it. It would make a great movie.

This felt like a gothic lesbian Jane Austen book which really worked for me. Of course, I say this as someone with a limited catalogue of 1800s novels–they are many decades apart and not that similar to some.

Need a quality film adaptation of this ASAP

Since this is a compilation of essays from different writers, there is a range of quality which is to be expected. Overall, super fun exploration of how media can resonate with personal identity in unexpected ways!

While this book wove together a lot of mysteries into a satisfying end, it was... not good. The storytelling felt redundant, the characters flat, and I felt the teenagers were written especially poorly (which it seems is hard to get right for most stories).

I think it would make a good movie or show, though. Read it if you want cursed church in the English countryside vibes and aren't looking for anything deep or flowery.

I read the first half of this book two autumns ago, got into a reading slump, and didn't pick it back up until now. Perfect, coincidental timing for the AMC show adaptation of it!

Definitely had some sections that felt like they dragged on, but I loved the vampire ennui of it all. Plus the character dynamic reminded me of NBC Hannibal.

So well-written (and well-read, since the audiobook is read by Jennette herself). Written in present-tense, the traumas of her childhood experiences are candid and potent, undiluted by commentary of her older self. The later parts of the book are a great look into how much work healing takes.

***Be sure to check TWs because it is a hard read with a lot of potential triggers

Written in a witty, digestible style, though a little meandering in structure. The conclusion was so good it bumped it up a star rating for me

Perfect timing to finish this book just when the chill of fall begins! I really loved 2/3 of these stories, but Deanna's fell short. This is almost always a problem with media that has multiple stories, but it's worth it to weave a larger picture of this small Appalachian community.