katokaitlyn's reviews
71 reviews

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

I am obsessed with this book. A friend recommended it while I was deep in a reading slump and I’m so so so glad she did. It was everything.

My Husband by Maud Ventura

emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

4.75

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Look, it’s fine. I liked the first book better, mainly because this one dragged on a little bit. Also, for some reason, the plot was a bit confused + merry and it was difficult to care TONS about characters I had cared about in Ninth House. Super weird. But the book is an ok sequel.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Troubling Confessions: Speaking Guilt in Law and Literature by Peter Brooks

challenging informative medium-paced

4.75

Excellent book on confessions and the law + literature movement. Wish it had more on Freud but I appreciated the Miranda focus!

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Probably my favorite book in a long while and the only book I’ve read in a minute where I said “oh my god this is me” on every page

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I would read this book forever but the pain of it—how Machado so brilliantly captures domestic violence—might keep me from doing so again for some time. I loved it; I related to it; it hurts to read and yet I didn’t want to stop for the joy of being understood.

Mythologies by Roland Barthes

challenging informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.5

There are amazing insights here that I think will be extremely useful for my thesis! Definitely a text to return to for its breakdown of semiotics.

The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Man, I really wanted to like this. At times it’s stylistically brilliant autofiction and at other times it’s boring, long winded, obsessed with its own aesthetic in a way that lacks self awareness. It begs the question around who the psycho in American Psycho might actually be—and, in some sense, does Ellis believe that psycho is a reflection of himself? Or his friends? Or some mysterious other? Which is cool, except the mystery is predictable and could’ve been cut by 300 pages.

Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film - Updated Edition by Carol J. Clover

challenging informative slow-paced

4.75

It’s the first great exploration of horror as a cinematic mode and it is a masterpiece. At times it’s a bit dense but it’s hard to fault Clover as there’s much ground to be covered in very little time!