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ashleigheva's reviews
60 reviews
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
dnf @ 26%
i enjoyed the language from what i read a lot, but either than that the plot was so hard for me to stay interested in
i told myself i wouldn't shelve this away because maybe i just might revisit it to complete it when i'm in the right mood, but it's been almost four months so i think it's fair to say that mood might be a scarce resource that won't be coming so soon lol
i enjoyed the language from what i read a lot, but either than that the plot was so hard for me to stay interested in
i told myself i wouldn't shelve this away because maybe i just might revisit it to complete it when i'm in the right mood, but it's been almost four months so i think it's fair to say that mood might be a scarce resource that won't be coming so soon lol
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa
2.0
for all who have ever pondered the meaning of life and purpose of our existence— this book answers that, in the context of real humans in a real human world
edit:
what the hell was past me on that sounds so pretentious i don't think i even really liked this book lol
edit:
what the hell was past me on that sounds so pretentious i don't think i even really liked this book lol
Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami
4.0
3.75/5
this was my 4th murakami novel
reading a collection of his short stories really helped to distill the essence of murakami down to its most concentrated form
words would fail me if i tried to describe what i mean in a literal sense so here's the analogy that pops up in my head:
when you start a murakami story, however many open containers are laid in a line beneath the midnight sky
throughout the course of the story, it rains and it rains and it rains
but it's always stays night
and each container gets filled up with rain at different rates
once it's filled its lid is replaced
some never have their lid put on, some are filled to the brim perfectly and covered with a lid, some continue to be showered with rain even once their lid is on
but you don't really know why the hell there are these containers out there or why it's always nighttime
this was my 4th murakami novel
reading a collection of his short stories really helped to distill the essence of murakami down to its most concentrated form
words would fail me if i tried to describe what i mean in a literal sense so here's the analogy that pops up in my head:
when you start a murakami story, however many open containers are laid in a line beneath the midnight sky
throughout the course of the story, it rains and it rains and it rains
but it's always stays night
and each container gets filled up with rain at different rates
once it's filled its lid is replaced
some never have their lid put on, some are filled to the brim perfectly and covered with a lid, some continue to be showered with rain even once their lid is on
but you don't really know why the hell there are these containers out there or why it's always nighttime
After the Banquet by Yukio Mishima
4.0
[3.75/5]
interestingly enough, i found the setting up and the resolution; the start and the end of this book to be the most enjoyable.
the initial chase kazu indulges in is thrilling because it's easy to see why from her perspective as quite the character, noguchi's contrasting manner is appealing but also baffling
her expressions of fondness are also just endearing to read
the post-election arc was so enjoyable. pretty much from after kazu and noguchi get married, their relationship had been dissatisfactory. it was nice to see it finally be resolved.
i also absolutely loved the ending letter. it had lots of beautiful statements that i noted down :-)
i think i would've really liked more exploration of kazu and yamazaki to have been done
in terms of the election arc: man i plodded through this. honestly from a story building perspective, i think it did well. it included elements such as the old friend who wrote the blackmailing book in a timely and precise fashion that i could see would culminate to aid the bigger picture. but perhaps politics just really isn't my thing because whew.
i was originally gonna give this a 3.25-3.5 but the ending pulled it up for me :-) i think i'd still like to read some other of mishima's work~
interestingly enough, i found the setting up and the resolution; the start and the end of this book to be the most enjoyable.
the initial chase kazu indulges in is thrilling because it's easy to see why from her perspective as quite the character, noguchi's contrasting manner is appealing but also baffling
her expressions of fondness are also just endearing to read
the post-election arc was so enjoyable. pretty much from after kazu and noguchi get married, their relationship had been dissatisfactory. it was nice to see it finally be resolved.
i also absolutely loved the ending letter. it had lots of beautiful statements that i noted down :-)
i think i would've really liked more exploration of kazu and yamazaki to have been done
in terms of the election arc: man i plodded through this. honestly from a story building perspective, i think it did well. it included elements such as the old friend who wrote the blackmailing book in a timely and precise fashion that i could see would culminate to aid the bigger picture. but perhaps politics just really isn't my thing because whew.
i was originally gonna give this a 3.25-3.5 but the ending pulled it up for me :-) i think i'd still like to read some other of mishima's work~
This Is Not My Memoir by Todd London, André Gregory
4.0
[listened to the audiobook]
i technically didn't finish this one because it doesn't feel like something i can just hop back into but i remember finding this really interesting and very fun to listen to while working on my art project!! :")
i technically didn't finish this one because it doesn't feel like something i can just hop back into but i remember finding this really interesting and very fun to listen to while working on my art project!! :")
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
4.0
[4.25/5]
if it wasn't for the fact that i googled whether or not jace and clary actually end up being siblings i don't think i would've been able to sit through this one, oh boy
the way the whole simon clary jace thing wrapped up felt a little forced tho
the shifts in attitudes of primarily simon and jace felt slightly unnatural and it was painfully evident that it was done to advance the romance aspect of the plot
also valentine is one annoying ass motherfucker i hate this guy
-
on a other note, i think cassandra clare's writing is just my style
she strikes a delicate balance between description, narration and exposition which leads to prose that really captures your attention
if it wasn't for the fact that i googled whether or not jace and clary actually end up being siblings i don't think i would've been able to sit through this one, oh boy
the way the whole simon clary jace thing wrapped up felt a little forced tho
the shifts in attitudes of primarily simon and jace felt slightly unnatural and it was painfully evident that it was done to advance the romance aspect of the plot
also valentine is one annoying ass motherfucker i hate this guy
-
on a other note, i think cassandra clare's writing is just my style
she strikes a delicate balance between description, narration and exposition which leads to prose that really captures your attention
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
4.0
[4.75/5]
please say sike please say sike
i was loving this so much and then the whole sibling thing happened and now i am so torn between dropping this series because i am so uncomfortable and reading on in hopes of being disproved or there being some kind of consolation
FUCK
edit: i googled whether they were actually siblings and willed myself to spoilers but honestly it was worth it, at least now im open to continuing the series although i don't know how to feel about jace anymore
SERIOUSLY I HAVE BEEN POST ITing ALL THE CUTE MOMENTS BETWEEN THEM THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE BOOK AND THEN YOU PULL THAT SHIT ON ME OF COURSE I WAS FREAKED OUT
please say sike please say sike
i was loving this so much and then the whole sibling thing happened and now i am so torn between dropping this series because i am so uncomfortable and reading on in hopes of being disproved or there being some kind of consolation
FUCK
edit: i googled whether they were actually siblings and willed myself to spoilers but honestly it was worth it, at least now im open to continuing the series although i don't know how to feel about jace anymore
SERIOUSLY I HAVE BEEN POST ITing ALL THE CUTE MOMENTS BETWEEN THEM THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE BOOK AND THEN YOU PULL THAT SHIT ON ME OF COURSE I WAS FREAKED OUT
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
4.0
[4.4/5]
ok i listened to about two chapters of this as an audiobook while i was on a walk because i didn't want to have to stop experiencing this book while i was out so that was pretty great :-)
i was a big dumbass and googled sebastian verlac about 25% into the book because i was charmed by him and wanted to know what he looked like lol
and then i was semi spoilt and i pieced together that he was jonathan morgenstern from that point so unfortunately the big reveal wasn't super satisfying for me :-(
i really love how throughout the books little traces have been left to ponder about; it's so fun to speculate and wonder
i know a lot of people say clary is annoying but i kinda feel like clary is a good kind of annoying. i don't think she's annoying actually, she more so has annoying tendencies perhaps lol, but don't we all?
everyone say no to incest
ok i listened to about two chapters of this as an audiobook while i was on a walk because i didn't want to have to stop experiencing this book while i was out so that was pretty great :-)
i was a big dumbass and googled sebastian verlac about 25% into the book because i was charmed by him and wanted to know what he looked like lol
and then i was semi spoilt and i pieced together that he was jonathan morgenstern from that point so unfortunately the big reveal wasn't super satisfying for me :-(
i really love how throughout the books little traces have been left to ponder about; it's so fun to speculate and wonder
i know a lot of people say clary is annoying but i kinda feel like clary is a good kind of annoying. i don't think she's annoying actually, she more so has annoying tendencies perhaps lol, but don't we all?
everyone say no to incest
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
4.0
[4.5/5]
oh gosh the way i absolutely adore jem mAN
i was really hesitant about this because fantasy and historical fiction are two genres i tend to stray far away from and yet here i am, having thoroughly enjoyed reading this
trying to piece together the familiarities from tmi is also so so fun, i can't wait to find out what happens that bridges the two
this was perfumed with brief hints into things more loaded than they appear and boy do i love not knowing what's going on and being given little pieces of the puzzle to try and figure out what the truth is
oh gosh the way i absolutely adore jem mAN
i was really hesitant about this because fantasy and historical fiction are two genres i tend to stray far away from and yet here i am, having thoroughly enjoyed reading this
trying to piece together the familiarities from tmi is also so so fun, i can't wait to find out what happens that bridges the two
this was perfumed with brief hints into things more loaded than they appear and boy do i love not knowing what's going on and being given little pieces of the puzzle to try and figure out what the truth is