Scan barcode
ladybugwrites's reviews
217 reviews
If Cats Disappeared From The World by Genki Kawamura
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There's a lot of thoughts in this book that, no matter what, keeps you thinking even after you've put it down. Things to reflect about your own habits, your own life, wondering how to deal with the prospect of your own future or even the possibility of your lack of a future. Things to reflect about our society, our addiction to the things we care for and love, or that are just there as a natural part of everyday life.
What would you give up to live just one more day?
I did enjoy this book, and I really liked how reflective it was and how the things that disappeared had a very strong thing to say about the way we live, especially now in the 21st century. However, and this may be cultural differences but im not sure, I didnt really agree with all his conclusions. Some of them seemed, to a degree, to take away the point of it all.
An enjoyable book, which stays after you put it down.
What would you give up to live just one more day?
I did enjoy this book, and I really liked how reflective it was and how the things that disappeared had a very strong thing to say about the way we live, especially now in the 21st century. However, and this may be cultural differences but im not sure, I didnt really agree with all his conclusions. Some of them seemed, to a degree, to take away the point of it all.
An enjoyable book, which stays after you put it down.
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There's nothing exactly to say other than that this book, just like the first one, feels like a safe place to just take a break.
Fuglane by Tarjei Vesaas
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is one of those books that is written so unusally you don't know how to explain them. One of those books that just places itself on a shelf in your brain and decides to recide there, ready when you need it. One of those that leave you a little bit speechless.
It's about how worlds unravel because of the simplest things, how things change, familal relationships, and everything in between. I don't actually know how to explain this book, or what to say about it other than that I really enjoyed it. The writing is amazing. I'm completely awestruck with Otsuka's way with words and might come back to reread that first chapter alone just because of how much I enjoyed it.
It's about how worlds unravel because of the simplest things, how things change, familal relationships, and everything in between. I don't actually know how to explain this book, or what to say about it other than that I really enjoyed it. The writing is amazing. I'm completely awestruck with Otsuka's way with words and might come back to reread that first chapter alone just because of how much I enjoyed it.
Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is a beautiful blend of poetry and prose, offered up in a somewhat uncomprehensible comprehensible way to explain the unexplainable; grief. It's beautifully written with an understanding of the absurdity that grief actually is, with the knowledge that grief lasts forever, and there are no words to really tell the depth of this book.
There are a few moments where there is a lot and I got a little lost in all of the absuridty in it, but, in reality, it's a book you just have to give way to and it hits if you've experienced grief yourself because there's a definite truth to every word the book utters.
There are a few moments where there is a lot and I got a little lost in all of the absuridty in it, but, in reality, it's a book you just have to give way to and it hits if you've experienced grief yourself because there's a definite truth to every word the book utters.
Idol, Burning by Rin Usami
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book touches on some themes that are important for idol culture, for the worship fans do when they are obsessed with a public figure, but specificaly idols at that. It definitely understands the thought of an idol being what has you get out of bed, and the impact someone you don't personally know can have on your life, and especially how your world is upended when they catch fire.
There's certainly a story here, but it lacks nuance. It doesn't comment on anything with idol worship in a way I think is beneficial. It isn't a commentary as much as it's a story about someone dedicated to one thing and it's detrimental for the every other part of her life. But that needs commentary that is much more nuanced than this was. I actually think that this book rather proves the ones that hate on idol worship and calls it an 'unhealthy obsession' correct, just because that's kind of what it shows. To some extent, idol worship can be unhealthy, definitely, but that's only one side of it and there's definitely nuance as to how you go about liking an idol, and that lacks in this story.
It's mostly just a book. It's okay, it's half-way fun in the way I understand a lot of what's being mentioned, but it lacks the nuance that a story like this could need. And if it had that nuance, maybe showed how the catalyst for this story affected other types of fans or in general showed other types of fans, or rather showed how you don't really know the people you're hoping to when you're just behind a screen (which it to some extent kind of shows), it would've been a lot better.
I had higher hopes, so honestly, this review is also colored by some mild disappointment.
There's certainly a story here, but it lacks nuance. It doesn't comment on anything with idol worship in a way I think is beneficial. It isn't a commentary as much as it's a story about someone dedicated to one thing and it's detrimental for the every other part of her life. But that needs commentary that is much more nuanced than this was. I actually think that this book rather proves the ones that hate on idol worship and calls it an 'unhealthy obsession' correct, just because that's kind of what it shows. To some extent, idol worship can be unhealthy, definitely, but that's only one side of it and there's definitely nuance as to how you go about liking an idol, and that lacks in this story.
It's mostly just a book. It's okay, it's half-way fun in the way I understand a lot of what's being mentioned, but it lacks the nuance that a story like this could need. And if it had that nuance, maybe showed how the catalyst for this story affected other types of fans or in general showed other types of fans, or rather showed how you don't really know the people you're hoping to when you're just behind a screen (which it to some extent kind of shows), it would've been a lot better.
I had higher hopes, so honestly, this review is also colored by some mild disappointment.
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It's hard to put this book into words.
It's about a lot of heavy and important themes. It's about the nuances of something that's more often than not seen in black and white. It's about growing up, being a teenager. It's about being a girl in a western society.
This book is about how we often don't see the things that are happening to ourselves even if we recognize it with others, and it's about knowing what happened and not being ready to call it by its real name.
My Dark Vanessa is an important book. Mainly because it makes you discuss the themes with others, themes we should talk about to be able to make society better. It's definitely an interesting story, and whilst I don't particularly like Vanessa all that much, her story is important and I wanted to listen to it.
This is a well-written book, with a good narrator that I give all the credit to have managed to separate the voice of Vanessa between the two parallell stories - she sounds like a teenagre during the teenage years, and more grown up when she's supposed to be - and it makes it feel realistic, like listening to a person telling the story. And even better, a lot of the things happening are realistically written. It's something that can happen, that does happen, and it's not over the top or too little, but shows the reality of a situation like this with a lot of nuance.
I do think the book was maybe a little too long. Whilst I understand the choice of having a lot of things in it, some things fell flat and it dragged out the story more than necessary. Some parts of the plot were so-so to me, and I think it got a little too much with all the literary references at some points. I get it, it just felt like too much.
But I did like the ending. It didn't feel like an ending as much as peace, and that felt a lot more realistic than it could've ended.
It's about a lot of heavy and important themes. It's about the nuances of something that's more often than not seen in black and white. It's about growing up, being a teenager. It's about being a girl in a western society.
This book is about how we often don't see the things that are happening to ourselves even if we recognize it with others, and it's about knowing what happened and not being ready to call it by its real name.
My Dark Vanessa is an important book. Mainly because it makes you discuss the themes with others, themes we should talk about to be able to make society better. It's definitely an interesting story, and whilst I don't particularly like Vanessa all that much, her story is important and I wanted to listen to it.
This is a well-written book, with a good narrator that I give all the credit to have managed to separate the voice of Vanessa between the two parallell stories - she sounds like a teenagre during the teenage years, and more grown up when she's supposed to be - and it makes it feel realistic, like listening to a person telling the story. And even better, a lot of the things happening are realistically written. It's something that can happen, that does happen, and it's not over the top or too little, but shows the reality of a situation like this with a lot of nuance.
I do think the book was maybe a little too long. Whilst I understand the choice of having a lot of things in it, some things fell flat and it dragged out the story more than necessary. Some parts of the plot were so-so to me, and I think it got a little too much with all the literary references at some points. I get it, it just felt like too much.
But I did like the ending. It didn't feel like an ending as much as peace, and that felt a lot more realistic than it could've ended.