aquamarinecadet's reviews
79 reviews

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

funny. and long.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

adventurous funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

J'ai dû lire ce livre en cours de français donc ça m'a enlevé un bon gros bout de plaisir ;(((

Mais joli petit (gros) satire sur la petite bourgeousie de l'époque tout de même. Message de l'histoire par contre à ne pas prendre au premier degré, sinon tout ce que vous allez retirer c'est que les hommes de l'époque étaient soit des lâches soit des arrogants, et que les femmes (modernes) n'étaient que des créatures vaines et déloyales et qu'en somme la petite bourgeosie toute entière était composée seulement d'idiots.

Plutôt charmant quoi.

L'Étranger by Albert Camus

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Grand respect pour les traducteurs et traductrices qui ont traduit ce mammouth. Un si petit livre mais une densité prosaïque si...dense :D

Et une belle citation pour la route:
 

"Alors, je ne sais pourquoi, il y a quelque chose qui a crevé en moi. [...] Il n'était même pas sûr d'être en vie puisqu'il vivait comme un mort. Moi, j'avais l'air d'avoir les mains vides. Mais j'étais sûr de moi, sûr de tout, plus sûr que lui, sûr de ma vie et de cette mort qui allait venir. Oui, je n'avais que cela. Mais du moins, je tenais cette vérité autant qu'elle me tenait."

 

Si vous aimez les narrateurs apatétiques, ce livre est 100% pour vous.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This whole story felt like a warm hug / eating pot pie and simultaneously receiving loving pats on the head.

Oh yes and the writing was exquisite.

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee

dark hopeful reflective slow-paced

4.5

Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

My first time ever reading a short story collection! And it did not disappoint. Maybe it was the fictional Colorado backdrop that got me so attached, but even without that bias, this collection is wonderful.

Some stories fell short of others, but the density of the best-executed and impactful ones raises the scale. And despite being length-restricted, each story feels complete, and each character is given enough time to breathe and show off the various facets of their personalities. A great cast of characters :)

P.S. my favorite stories were:
- Sabrina and Corina
- Julian Plaza
- Tomi

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

adventurous emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

The surface-level knowledge I have of Greek mythology made this read a whole lot more insightful, but I'm sure those who know near-nothing of Greek mythology would be able to appreciate this book just the same. I think it was a spot-on retelling, and also very much loved the all-female perspectives on the many-times-counted-but-only-from-male-perspectives mythical Trojan war.
And war is a heavy enough subject, but love, in this book, seems to be an even heavier one. It is inglorious and unfair, and Penelope's perspective was particularly touching. 

She actually does what any other loyal and loving wife would do after 40 years of waiting on a glory-loving husband who doesn't seem to want to come home: she gets frustrated!! :D and she writes letters that depict that frustration!! :D And her feelings of betrayal, impatience, jadedness, but of course also love.

 
A beautiful book :) 
(however only gave it 4.25 stars, as I sometimes felt detached from the writing style: first person is not my favorite thing to read)

Permanent Record by Edward Snowden

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

I loved this read. And because I liked it so much, I will let these excerpts speak for themselves.

"I liked reading the Constitution partially because its ideas are great, partially because its prose is good, but really because it freaked out my coworkers"

"The word 'privacy' itself is somewhat empty, because it is essentially indefinable, or over-definable. Each of us has our own idea of what it is. 'Privacy' means something to everyone. There is no one to whom it means nothing. It's because of this lack of common definition that citizens of pluralistic, technologically sophisticated democracies feel that they have to justify their desire for privacy and frame it as a right. But citizens of democracies don't have to justify its violation. To refuse to claim your privacy is actually to cede it, either to a state trespassing its constitutional restrains or to a 'private' business."

"I lived in Eden amid plentiful trees, only one of which was forbidden to me. The easiest thing should have been to follow the rules."

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I picked this book up mainly because of its title and the promise of a magical seabound sapphic love story, but was left disappointed and slightly frustrated.
The magical moments I was expecting to encounter were few and far between, and the overall pacing and sequencing of the events felt awkward. I also found the main cast (in particular the main couple) so wooden and unlovable; their ship (literal and figurative) could have sunken and I would not have cared.
That being said, I still finished the book, because I held onto the hope that the story and the characters would magically develop and get their redemption arcs- 

In my opinion, they did not.

Meaning, the writing wasn't half bad.
If I could name one magical moment though: 

SYMBOLISM :D in which one character teaches the other how to read, and they suddenly come across an illustration of two people (a prince and a princess, if I remember correctly) reaching out to each other: an allegory for the love that was blooming between them, and their opening up to each other.

 
However, maybe this just wasn't a read for me, and someone with a different appreciation of things would love it :)
cheers