eralbesu's reviews
329 reviews

Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte

dark funny medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was so funny and interesting. I’m not even sure how to put into words all the thoughts and feelings I had while reading it. 

A Broken People's Playlist by Chimeka Garricks
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.

I was very bored

Colored Television by Danzy Senna

funny medium-paced

3.75

At first, I would not enjoying this one very much because so much of the discussion was about being mixed race and some of the discussions about the races made me uncomfortable. (Mind you, I am a Black woman lol). But the story itself was very interesting. I am a writer and my heart broke for Jane because I definitely understand the feeling of pouring yourself into a project for years

and it not being received as intended and a huge fear amongst creatives is to have our work rejected or stolen. So she really got a one, two punch with this one.

Anyway, the story won me over in the end. 

Rosewater by Liv Little

emotional medium-paced

4.0

I enjoyed this book. It firmly sits within a genre that I really like, which is young women, figuring life out and the fact that there is a black protagonist really makes this book special to me. I 
enjoyed the references to music, which is something I don’t usually like, but it was done well and if music I listen to lol. Also, I really enjoy stories about writers so it hit that mark too.  

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.5

I feel like I picked up a bit on Baldwin through his characters on this one. The ending was abrupt and ambiguous but this story was very compelling. 

Temporary by Hilary Leichter

2.5

I started out intrigued by this but eventually got lost in the absurdism of it all and ended up skimming the last 15 pages just so I could be done with it. 

I can’t say there is anything in particular wrong with the story or bad but I generally struggle to stay engaged with absurdist books. Though, when I was engaged I was enjoying the story. 

The story with Anna towards the end really hit home and made me sad. This bit of the story made me not want to dnf but it wasn’t enough to keep me from skimming to the end. 

This was a failed buddy read bc my buddy finished it long before I did lol

Berlin by Bea Setton
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.

Finally giving up on this one. And it wasn’t bad. I just never felt like picking it up. 

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

5.0

This was such a fun read. I don’t like scary or gory and I’m not familiar with the slasher genre but I really enjoyed this story.

Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai
Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.

I was bored. 

Hard Copy by Fien Veldman

3.5

It’s possible I didn’t give this book enough attention because I was underwhelmed at times but the premise is interesting. I totally understand the anxiety element of the story and I think that was wonderfully portrayed.