felicitasviviancoco's reviews
74 reviews

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read it for the second time ad part of a secret santa book exchange. The funniest part is, that I gave someone Frankenstein because it's one of my favourite books and coincidentally got Frankenstein in return.


The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A Wizard of Earthsea: The First Book of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a great book! I was immediately enthralled by Ursula K. LeGuin's storytelling and worldbuilding. I just recently read the Wheel of Time which is the exact opposite in writing style from LeGuin's but they're both absolute masterpieces. She manages to write deep characters and lets them evolve through her book eventhough it's only around 150 pages long. There were quite a few points where I would chuckle because her characters are sometimes very peculiar but in a very lovable way. 

Following Ged in his life from 12 to 19 (I think?) is an bold choice for such a short book but she managed to pull it of perfectly.
As an adult reader my heart ached when he decided to leave for Roke but from the point of view of a 13 year old boy it had to be this way. I really loved how Ged's impulse to show off and prove himself was shown to the reader through different actions and came to this really scary scene where the shadow is pulled into the world. 
The way Ged interacts with other people is also very nice to read. After the shadow-incident, he is not the same person and you can tell by his uncertainty in the interactions.

I think the shadow isn't really a being per se but more his bad conscience warping his perception. He is so afraid of his own power and potential to hurt the people around him, that it manifests into this shadow-figure which haunts him. I can't wait to re-read this book in a few years and compare my thoughts then.


I read it as an ebook this time but I will definitely get a hardcover edition (maybe with illustrations). I'm really glad that I found a new book to call one of my favourites. 
Der Schrecksenmeister by Walter Moers

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Dies war eines meiner Bücher von Walter Moers, das mich nicht so stark interessiert hat am Anfang. Ich habe es in meiner Sammlung und habe mir für dieses Jahr vorgenommen, mehr meiner physischen Bücher zu lesen. 

Die Kratze als Hauptfigur hat ihre Fehler, was auch immer wieder eine interessante Abwechslung ist zu den stereotypischen Protagonisten. Auch die Beziehung zum Schrecksenmeister selbst war nicht nur eindimensional gut oder schlecht, sondern entwickelte sich weiter und liess auch Momente der Zuneigung zu. Mir hat besonders Fjodor F. Fjodor mit seinen Fremdwörtern gefallen und ich war sehr betroffen, als
ich dachte, dass Echo ihn gegessen hat. Diese Szene hat für mich noch einmal klar verdeutlicht, dass auch wenn die Welt von Walter Moers auf den ersten Blick nach einem unschuldigen Märchen aussieht, er sich auch nicht davor scheut schreckliche Dinge in seine Geschichten einzubauen. Auch als die Schreckse Izanuela aus dem Fenster gestossen wird und Eisspin seine schauspielerischen Fähigkeiten offenbart, war ich tatsächlich überrascht. 
Das goldene Eichhörnchen mit den Erkenntnüssen hat mir eher weniger gefallen. Für mich war es zu wenig in dem bereits bekannten Zamonien verankert (wobei ich noch nicht alle Bücher gelesen habe, aber schon beinahe). Es fühlte sich manchmal ein wenig nach Plot-Armor an für Echo. Natürlich bin ich froh, dass er sein Fett behalten konnte, doch bei ihm wurde vieles seiner "Charakterentwicklung" durch Egoismus gesteuert.
 

Zum Schreibstil von Moers lässt sich auch hier das selbe wiederholen wie bei all seinen Büchern. Es ist sehr angenehm zu lesen und nicht zu anspruchsvoll aber hebt sich dennoch klar von Kinder-/ Jugendliteratur ab. Für mich wird jedoch die Stadt der Träumenden Bücher als Favorit seiner Werke bestehen bleiben und ich bin gespannt auf sein nächstes Buch.
Paris: The Memoir by Paris Hilton

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

4.75

I first gave it to my boyfriend as a present a while ago and he read it within a couple of days. Then I read it with my best friend which helped me slow down and not devour it in one sitting. I was really surprised how good this book was and kept suggesting it to my friends. 

I don't usually read autobiographies but this opened my eyes to a new genre. I am aware that the book was written by a ghostwriter. This person really knows how to write a compelling story and keep the readers attention! 
I really liked the narration and how it often mirrored the way a person with ADHD tells a story. I don't really know a lot about american pop culture and sometimes the name dropping was a bit excessive, but then again, this is probably the modus operandi for people like Paris. And it also encouraged me to search the internet for certain outfits she was describing or appearances in tv. I felt it was a really interactive read with songs and interviews to listen to.

Concerning her traumatic experiences in those camps, I was horrified to learn how long this was going on and how big the industry is. It needs a lot of courage to open oneself up to the public after all she went through with the paparazzi and tabloids in her life. While it's really important to acknowledge her courage and the good that comes from her activism, it would still be wrong to call her a saint. I think in this way she is like every human on earth. Ambivalent.


While I can't call myself a fan of hers, I can call myself a defender. When someone calls her a dumb blond in front of me, I will tell them about everything she accomplished even with that trauma looming over her and I truly admire her for her strength.

I can't really point my finger on what exactly keeps me from giving the book five stars. Maybe it's just my pretentious ego, telling me that it's weird to have Frankenstein and Paris Hilton's Memoir as favourite books. But maybe it's also the fact that my progress was slowed a bit and I didn't get to live through the emotions the way that would have felt natural for me. 
For now it's a 4.75 but maybe I'll change it to 5 stars some day.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

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

4.0

I enjoyed reading this. It's obviously very well written and I kept telling my friends about it. 
The scene where Dorian kills Basil was so terrible and good at the same time. After the murder, the body is never called "Basil". The narration kept referring to it as 'the thing' which really shows the mental distancing of the reality that he killed his friend.
 

However I really didn't like the way the women were portrayed. The women were just props for the men to interact with or to give some extra information sometimes. With the stylistic choice to switch perspectives, we could also have seen a more nuanced depiction of Sibyl for example. I know it's important to look at a story within its historical context but especially in comparison with Frankenstein (which was published around 60 years earlier) 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' gave me the impression of a book written by a gay man FOR other men.

I'm also undecided concerning the moral message of the story. On one hand the message is pretty clear: immoral actions lead to harm around and within the 'sinner'. Maybe you can escape your moral failings for a short time, but eventually they will come back to you and maybe even spread. but then, the story isn't truly consistent with it's messaging.
Dorian dies without anyone learning of his sins and his terrible actions will go undiscovered. He doesn't even want to kill himself. It happens on accident!! This really annoyed me. We got 3-4 pages of ramblings about gem stones and then Dorian gets do die within half a page!?! 
But maybe that is the grim message of the story in the end. No matter how bad your actions are and how many people got hurt, sometimes the 'bad guys' get to die without ever having to stand up for their crimes.


tl;dr: Frankenstein is better. Still happy I read this classic novel but won't reread.
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't like it more tbh. Everyone kept telling me how funny it's supposed to be but all the comedy fell flat for me. I didn't really care for the characters and so all the tension didn't really work for me.
I truly wish that I would have loved it like they all said.

Just for context, I started reading The Picture of Dorian Gray after I finished the Hitchhiker Guide and found more funny parts within the first chapter than in all of Hitchhikers Guide.....
Truly a sad day
The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

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challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Tough to get through. Not sure if I'm going to read the last book. 

There were some parts that caught my attention but I really had to push myself to finish the book.
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin

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

5.0

I read the shortstory without any additional interpretation or information about it. Afterwards I watched a video of the yt-creator Books 'n' Cats which really opened up even more interpretations.

my first thoughts about the meaning came in the paragraph talking about the child not even being able to enjoy a good life if it were freed which reminded me of the arguments used when talking about developing countries sometimes (by people I don't like). This idea that someone is beyond saving and therefore their suffering is acceptable always bothered me.


I came to realise that I truly love books which encourage reflecting my moral values and stances (like this short story or Frankenstein for example)
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The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

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challenging dark sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I got through the book relatively quickly and also really enjoyed the difficulty level of the language.

The last quarter of the book really surprised me because I was expecting a 'normal' fantasy school story, but holy hell that's not at all what this is about. I had to reflect for a while if I even wanted to continue the series because it's so dark and depressing but I'll give it a go and if I can't handle it, I can always stop. Great writing tho. 
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