lillyoftheval's reviews
76 reviews

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

podría ser mi libro favorito. me gusta cuando una obra me conmueve al punto de las lágrimas, pero que me haga llorar de alegría y tranquilidad y por darme paz en el alma es un sentimiento nuevo que no quiero dejar ir. 

Los desposeídos by Ursula K. Le Guin

informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

2.25

sometimes you just gotta read letters to Véra by Vladimir Nabokov and admit to yourself as an author that no one else can portrait the feeling of being deeply in love better than him.

i despise when dramatic art shows me people sickly loving to each other and making the characters say the most cheesy poetry to each other without even telling me what they like about each other. the only thing they admire about the other is their capacity to harm their opponents and how good at military action they are. and that's really weird to me. i also hate when there's time and space and somehow a small American city is as relevant as Plato or the opium wars. please travel more.

i didn't get the love story, it never felt sincere. i wonder if this would've been as successful if it portrayed a straight relationship, because it's so unseasoned even its queerness. 

Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber

informative slow-paced

4.0

i'm so bad at reading non-fiction!!  this took me many months, however, i found the criticism towards corporate lawyers really on point and they hit home with the strength of a thousand suns. i deeply enjoyed his unapologetic use of feminist lenses to analyze labor and how workplaces have made the caring labor the least valuable and yet, the least possible task to automate and essential to human health and development.

i wish i didn't feel like a tool in my field. hope we all find meaningful labor in our lifetime. 

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

dark hopeful informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

i also have a quite complex relationship with my academic field (law), in which, while i understand its necessity to make the country run, i tend to find its unique ability to make people suffer over terms that are not translated to the common folk so strikingly cruel. i've my professors mocking students for not memorizing antique roman laws and the napoleonic civil code, and i've heard some of my classmates complain about how bad companies have it when they have to ask for permission to use natural resources from the people who live there. and they also protect the rights of the investor when the law mandates to protect the consumer.

the thing is, i deeply understand the dilemma Robin is going through, not only because i have experienced the sexism during commercial law lessons but also because the labor of the solicitor is to repeat what corrupt lawmakers wrote down and it's so depressing most days. but i also know it's one of the few fields where i am respectable and deserving of a decent salary in a country where most of its population it's below the poverty line.

i don't know what else to say, except that maybe academia needs to stop the debates and on 1800s philosophers, and start creating actual tools to protect the citizens with the knowledge that they are paying for in their taxes.

the characters are rightfully angry, i like that R.F. Kuang refuses to portray an actual act of deep human suffering because she wholeheartedly believes that those are unnecessary to beg for your humanity. i enjoyed the footnotes a lot and it made me feel like i could look for Robin or Victoire's work on Wikipedia, my favorite character was Ramy and his dry sense of humor mocking a society that refuses to admit they are disgustingly racist.

finally, to the people claiming this a modern take on the 1800s British morals, the whole point of the book is that the revolutionary thoughts and ideas where already being written and discussed there, and even when it's a little on the nose, i beg of you to read any law before 1940 and the words that came out of the mouth of senators and judges at the time, it's on the nose because they were so explicitly sexist and racist back then with zero shame and by pointing it out, who is really being criticized? are you people relating to the 1850 white Oxford educated man?

it's not five stars because the personal bonds between the characters never really felt sincere, but aside from that i loved it. 

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ese capítulo final me recordó tanto al Hot Priest de Fleabag diciendo "why would you believe in something awful when could believe in something wonderful?"

estoy profundamente conmovida y agradecida por cada persona que me decía que Sanderson era un must read desde hace tantos años. no tengo palabras para describir lo... esperanzada que me dejó este final. quiero tanto a Sazed. 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

hopeful lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

The vibes were immaculate and the prose was gorgeous. Bit of a pacing issue for me, but I do think the story needed to be slow in order to build necessary tension.

Los peligros de fumar en la cama by Mariana Enríquez

dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

2.5

siento que, si leíste a Mariana Enriquez una vez, ya leíste todo lo que tenía por decir. su fuerte es la incomodidad y la sexualidad torcida, pero no hay nada nuevo bajo el sol las siguientes veces. mi cuento favorito fue "Chicos que faltan" por su concepto tan bizarro. se lee rápido y es entretenido pero todas las historias se parecen con su final abrupto que no te cuenta lo que pasa sino que te deja imaginar la desolación del protagonista de turno. pero bueno.

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

emotional informative reflective sad

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

4.25

 different women from a variety of backgrounds explain part of the female experience to a bland main character who seems easy to talk to since everyone decides to confine on her their darkest secrets and lengthy opinions. i want to clarify that i am not complaining, and i loved reading every woman's rage and opinion on motherhood. not for everyone, tho. 

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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? No

5.0

so cute and wholesome, i had such a nice time with this one, i want more cozy fantasy in my life.