moominlove's reviews
94 reviews

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

2.0

finally done. it sucked. maybe it sucked because all the pseudo philosophical shit went over my head. but this book was shit. I didn’t like any characters except the dog. what a slog to get through. would have been a DNF if not for libby audiobook. happy to be done

The Idiot by Elif Batuman

4.0

I really liked this! Selin is funny and witty and horribly insecure and unsure of what her role is in the world, or what her role is in the story she believes her life to be. And to be clear, she is doing nothing to actually write this story of her own she's just letting life happen to her and just assuming this is her story or her fate. Which is really funny and sad at times. She's a really smart dumb 19 year old. Her relationship with Ivan was boring yes but it was realistic in the sense that this poor girl fell for a weird older dude who led her on and nothing comes of it but heartbreak and tons of time devoted to overthinking the tiniest of things. Selin is a really funny character with an interesting perspective of the world, yet she wasn't even the most interesting character in the book imo. I just loved Svetlana. I read some negative reviews of this book and I guess I kinda agree - nothing really happens and the conversations are weird and boring. But weirdly enough I didn't really need a plot for this book. I was perfectly happy living in Selin's world for a couple months. I'm excited to read the sequel, hopefully she didn't really give up linguistics.

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante

5.0

another hit. banger after banger. i am so totally engrossed by these characters and their stories i can't wait to read the next book but I will wait because I don't want the series to end for me just yet. I can't wrangle all my thoughts here right now but I will soon. brb.

Liberation Theology: An Introductory Guide by Robert McAfee Brown

4.0

very good introductory book, clear and to the point. sometimes I didn't like his writing style but that's just me. does a good job supporting the theory with examples of praxis from base communities and connecting it all to modern america. doesn't shy away from the fact that america is not exactly living in liberation theology rn!! wish there was more on Kairos. good book to read for class

Assassination of a Saint: The Plot to Murder Óscar Romero and the Quest to Bring His Killers to Justice by Matt Eisenbrandt

4.0

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

5.0

So incredible. One of my favorite books now. wow. i love toni morrison

The Trial: A New Translation Based on the Restored Text by Franz Kafka

4.0

genuinely felt like an episode of Seinfeld

Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory by Raphael Bob-Waksberg

4.0

funny and sweet. some cliches and it isn't that that DEEP which is fine but I kinda got the sense that he wanted them to be DEEP and so it just felt extra shallow knowing there was a disconnect. some stories didn't do it for me but overall i enjoyed. i think i'm giving it a 3.5 really.
favorite stories were

- A Most Blessed and Auspicious Occasion
- We Men of Science
- Move Across the Country
- More of the You That You Already Are
- We will be close on Friday 18 July

Tremor by Teju Cole

3.0

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

3.0

ok it's fine. it's not revolutionary, but I think it's good for high schoolers, people who are feeling disillusioned by the world and capitalism, college freshmen in a sociology 101 class. the book asks us to question society and what we've accepted to be the rules of life and i enjoyed that. it is interesting to ask yourself how things came to be the way it is and this book answers that, albeit in a verrrry simplified way but it gets you thinking about it. that's good enough. I will read braiding sweetgrass for all the parts this book didn't get to. I don't think Quinn hit this point hard enough but the truth is if we want a new society we have to imagine and invent it ourselves completely outside of the rules we have now, we have to imagine a whole new world.

I didn't really like the way it's written, it took me forever to get through it because it felt repetitive and a bit tedious. i also don't understand why ishmael is a gorilla but ok. it didn't change my life. but it's ok :)