laurenrussell's reviews
61 reviews

Belonging: A Culture of Place by bell hooks

emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

Very interesting and insightful perspectives—I loved the quilt essays. However, the grammar and editing in this book is out of control and I truly have no idea how in the world this passed to publish. Insane amount of typos and then long hard to follow sentences but that just might be her style

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this, it was a sad and visceral read that truly nauseated me sometimes. But it was also very warm and comforting; Lauren’s appreciation for community and then building one of her own was really sweet and I liked learning about each character and seeing them all interact with each other. It makes me hope that people like that exist. I wish I understood the religious references but it was extremely well written and an interesting plot/themes to ponder. I would say the old man/fresh 18 yo relationship was weird though

Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach

hopeful reflective slow-paced

3.75

last 100 pages were trash but everything else was good to read. nothing groundbreaking but it’s nice to read my own feelings/experiences and see them put into words and how to approach them 

The New Me by Halle Butler

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Literally not a single thing happened in this book but that’s ok. I finished it and realized I have no idea what the plot was or what I read but I still enjoyed the book for the most part. It was extremely relatable at times and highlights how self absorbed ppl get and the delusions they come up with to feel less insecure about their own weaknesses. I liked Millie and understood her struggles but damn this book sent me into a spiral and made me quite sad. The silver lining is it seems to challenge everyone to go beyond capitalistic “self care” and go deeper into community support and relationships. Sarah and Millie were abhorrent and I’d rather die than have a ”friend” like that. Life is depressing and work makes it even more, and while Millie does not really seem to find a happy ending, this book serves as a tale for truly caring for yourself. 

later: this book is cold and depressing and compared to other books that tackle these themes, i feel this one is lackluster. 

Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler

adventurous mysterious reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

wow this has made me
into an octavia butler stan!! my favs were bloodchild, morning/evening one, and amnesty. each story is extremely detailed and rich, and transports you to the insane world of the characters. loved everything and loved the commentary at the end of each story.  

Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

very bizarre book but the stories are so rich and complex. I feel like in each story you learn and feel so much about each odd character and moshfegh truly gives such visceral feelings when she writes. everyone in the book is gross and the best way to describe the book is tense and disgusting. however i did very much enjoy it, especially the surrogate story. enchanting stories that are very creative. i will prob be thinking about them for awhile! 

Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

I really love how grief was explored via their relationship, and also how they are both old. While I loved how this book only captured a very small time period and really only 2 things happened, I can’t stand the way it was written. Sometimes it was extremely confusing to read and having the “oh, x” got annoying after awhile. I guess I just couldn’t match it with the character or something. Also the sentences would ramble and be hard to follow. 

i keep coming back to this in my head!!! this book has carved a cavern in my brain and lives rent free. i’ve come to the conclusion that this book is mainly uneventful and not gripping HOWEVER the messages and dialogue really sticks. i simply love and relate to a lot of what the narrator says, and the realistic nature of the plot + relationship makes the book charming and warm. 

Milk Fed by Melissa Broder

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

-the ending is abrupt but i like that—it’s realistic 
-good and interesting book but not the best

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

funny mysterious reflective 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

5.0

this is definitely the most bizarre book i’ve ever read but oddly enough it’s one of the most comforting. i too want to be unconscious 24/7/365. while the whole background of the narrator is quite sad, i did think this book was funny—both in the writing and also the concept of the book as a whole. her sleeping for 3 days straight and repeating for 120 days is an insane idea to run with as a writer, but i think it was executed perfectly. i think it’s dumb that people get mad that the narrator is selfish and privileged or whatever. that’s the whole point of depression—you’re a selfish ass. u don’t have to love characters of a book and she literally recognizes she’s privileged and states she would never throw away her opportunities so like what are these people pressed about ?? im not denying that she was shitty person and friend because she most definitely was lol and no one should strive to be like her. 

anyway i loved the writing i’m not sure how to describe it but it was lovely. i feel like the narrator was floating and could just drift away at any moment (i honestly thought she would die at any given time). i liked the darkness of it, the humor blah blah blah it was realistic as life can be and i can see why people might hate that but personally i love it. i liked the contrast between reva and the narrator but let me say—i HATED reva !!!!! if there’s one thing this book taught me it’s that i do not ever want to be a reva. i would rather hibernate and be drugged for a year than fall into the wellness and girlboss schemes reva tortured herself with. people complain about the middle being boring but to me that signifies life—we’re just drifting with the narrator through her dismal and uneventful life of course it’s going to be boring.

 lastly, i loved the ending and very clear shift in writing/narrator personality. i loved the narrator, and i found myself happy she could have some peace in the end.

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

adventurous emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

This book is truly magical! Such a gem of a book. I thought it would be corny, especially with the tree POV but now it’s insane to think I could’ve hated it. The Fig Tree is so so soooo touching and something about her just warms my dead empty soul. 

I’ve never read a book with magical realism, but I think this was a great introduction and I want to read more of it. The characters were cute and it was truly painful reading about their stories. I didn’t know anything about Cyprus so the historical aspects of the book were very educational and I learned a lot—the author gives a ton of information and resources at the end of the book which was super neat. 

-so endearing and darling but sad !!
-very very well researched, u can really tell how much work the author put into every aspect of the book it’s quite amazing 
-writing is pretty, especially when describing the environment but sometimes the dialogue was weird and didn’t seem realistic (too movie-like) and Ada’s “gen-z” character was ATROCIOUS and so cringe —i truly hated her with a passion
-i loved each character (except ada) and the development of the story throughout the book was amazing 
-the fig tree omg she had me tearing UP i loved how that was a pov in the book it’s very unique and her storyline was precious 

-defne merging with the tree didn’t make a lot of sense to me in the end but i do like how defne=daphne in mythology

-ada…literally such a whiny annoying little bitch who has 0 compassion for others and 0 cultural sensitivity. i hated her and the way she was like always on her phone (gen z always being on technology blah blah blah) and being some weird social justice warrior (like calm down) (and not in a good way) the writing of her character was heinous and poor which is disappointing but the rest of the book makes up for it. 
-the folklore was interweaves very nicely…idk who the author is so idk if it’s an accurate representation so :/ seems nice though 
-at first i didn’t like the similes/metaphors but over tjme (paired w the overall language + vibe) they became sweet and i liked them 
     
my favs: tree strangling itself, someday pain will be useful, and the sea love/foam love bit 
-this book made me appreciate all life and how everyone can be so beautiful and touching. like the little honeybee. and seeing defne’s and kostas’ relationship change kept me on my toes and i loved being in this little world even if it was very sad.
-honestly just makes me want to lay down and cry because everything is beautiful !!!