katokaitlyn's reviews
73 reviews

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!

Autotheory as Feminist Practice in Art, Writing, and Criticism by Lauren Fournier

informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

Really amazing piece of academic writing! I appreciate how Fournier explores a variety of autofictional and autotheoretical frontiers in this text.

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I had been recommended this book countless times and fought hard against reading it because I knew it would alter everything for me. It did. This book is beautiful, disturbing, powerful, weighty; the language here is used effortlessly and with somehow obvious effortful intention. One of the best books I’ve ever read.

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Meh it’s ok? It’s just the Mousetrap but a bit more kitschy. I got bored tons but it was mostly enjoyable.

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.

Maybe I’ll really give this a shot some other time but maaaaaaan nothing happens and I’m losing my mind trying to pretend to care about this book

Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

The prose made me want to love this book. Erpenbeck is masterful and I feel I learned a lot about writing from this book. Further, the metaphor surrounding the book—an abusive and intrusive relationship as compared to East Berlin right before the Wall’s fall—is powerful but at times heavy handed. I think the metaphor slips sometimes into the uncomfortably ridiculous and sadistic, but perhaps that’s part of the point here. Like others, I can’t say I loved this book but it has given me much to consider and I think I’ll think about it for some time.

Bunny by Mona Awad

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.25

It’s really good! If you’re someone who works in the arts, then I especially think this book is for you. It grapples with what it means to create—who can create and why and how and when does it feel real—and what it means to get lost in narrative (for good, for bad, for whatever reason). I think the second half of the book stalls slightly and drains itself of momentum, but the twists and turns are solid and well grounded.

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

One of the best memoirs I’ve had the pleasure of reading. McCurdy is reminiscent of a Carrie Fisher-type writer, focusing on the demands of Hollywood, the demands of demanding family, and the demands on women for simply deigning to exist. I hope that she keeps writing and exploring these major themes and keeps this humor in her tone.

The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I got this book because a bookseller said that while it was weird, it was probably their favorite book of 2023. I was really hopeful this would be my favorite book of 2024 and I’d start the year with a bang. And truly there were parts of this book I found beautiful and chilling. Parts of the book were addictingly disturbing and I kept waiting for the ball to drop (it never does). It like a premonition: you sense what will happen next and wait, nervous and eerily quiet, for it to happen. And it does. And while I loved that uncomfortability the book wanted to dwell in, I also felt rattled and like I hated some of the major themes in the book (check the content warnings provided by others as they’re pretty thorough). I wanted to give it a 5 for just some of the imagery and the flowing, beautiful characters and language, but something about this book felt just off enough for me to feel unable to do it.