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reader_in_the_meadow's reviews
155 reviews
Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
While this is a good book on its own, I think it shadows as a follow up to it's ptior two sinling books.
I found this heavily repetitive if the things we already saw in Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Tales from the Cafe, which kind of bugged me. I also found the location change kind if weird and not really necessary.
But I still enjoyed the characters and their stories however reoetitive the, may have seen.
I found this heavily repetitive if the things we already saw in Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Tales from the Cafe, which kind of bugged me. I also found the location change kind if weird and not really necessary.
But I still enjoyed the characters and their stories however reoetitive the, may have seen.
Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5
When I read Before the Coffee Gets Cold last year, I absolutely loved it and so I decided to finally get the follow-up novels.
Tales from the Cafe did not disappoint at all. Taking place seven years after the first novel it perfectly builds on everything that was established in it. Starring returnibg as well as new characters, who were each very unique and lovable.
Kawaguchi's characters and their stories always bring me so much emotions and I was very close to crying at the end of this novel which is always a thing to show me just how good a book truly is.
I can't wait to continue this series with Before your Memory Fades
Tales from the Cafe did not disappoint at all. Taking place seven years after the first novel it perfectly builds on everything that was established in it. Starring returnibg as well as new characters, who were each very unique and lovable.
Kawaguchi's characters and their stories always bring me so much emotions and I was very close to crying at the end of this novel which is always a thing to show me just how good a book truly is.
I can't wait to continue this series with Before your Memory Fades
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Vladimir is a very interesting novel I think.
I picked this up after seeing it in a video recommending new contemporary novels. I however didn't read it until now, letzing it sit on my shelf, unread for I think a year.
I am very happy I didn't read it earlier though, because I think had I read it a year ago I wouldn't have really understood it the way I do now.
This novel is a very interesting insight-look and deconstruction of what we as a western society have come to see and view as the "normal" marriage and just how performative marriages now-adays can seem.
Even more than that it is a novel about having to correlate ones own views about martiage and afulthood with the ever changing sociocultural landscape of the modern age.
The characters in this book are very intriguing, and even tjough the book is rather short, I felt like that was a perfect way to make the reader like and dislike them in the little time we spend with them. Their all very much multifaceted and need to be looked at very scrutiningly to really get a good understanding of them and their actions.
In conclusion I liked this book but have to admit that due to the topics it deals with and the way it does I wouldn't particularly recommend it to just anyone, which is however not to say that I would not recommend it at all. Because, as I said, this is a very multifaceted book with very intereszing character design, which I think we'll get to learn a lot from in the future.
I picked this up after seeing it in a video recommending new contemporary novels. I however didn't read it until now, letzing it sit on my shelf, unread for I think a year.
I am very happy I didn't read it earlier though, because I think had I read it a year ago I wouldn't have really understood it the way I do now.
This novel is a very interesting insight-look and deconstruction of what we as a western society have come to see and view as the "normal" marriage and just how performative marriages now-adays can seem.
Even more than that it is a novel about having to correlate ones own views about martiage and afulthood with the ever changing sociocultural landscape of the modern age.
The characters in this book are very intriguing, and even tjough the book is rather short, I felt like that was a perfect way to make the reader like and dislike them in the little time we spend with them. Their all very much multifaceted and need to be looked at very scrutiningly to really get a good understanding of them and their actions.
In conclusion I liked this book but have to admit that due to the topics it deals with and the way it does I wouldn't particularly recommend it to just anyone, which is however not to say that I would not recommend it at all. Because, as I said, this is a very multifaceted book with very intereszing character design, which I think we'll get to learn a lot from in the future.
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Even though I gound the book to be starting teally slow, keeping that pacing through the entirety of thefirst third, the second and last third gradually üushed the oacing which I liked, since I think the faster pacing suited the story much better.
The two different time periods explored and their interconnected stories were really really interesting, although I have to admit that I liked the plotlike set in the past a lot more captivating, especially because I also found the characters in it a lot more relatable and likable.
And since I'm already talking about the characters, I have to say that the cast is very diverse in its queerness, which I quite liked, as that is something not much common in horror and mystery narratives. However, I have to admit that I had a really hard time to connect to some of them in the first half of the book, especially Merritt and Audrey, which did change in the latter half however in which both grew on me.
I also liked the idea about a story set around a haunted or cursed film set, which are stories and narratives that are not new to especially horror cinema, so to see that as the idea to a horror novel was teally nice.
All in all I would really recommend the book if you're a horror movie enthusiast or just a jorrir enthusiast in general, especially a queer one.
The two different time periods explored and their interconnected stories were really really interesting, although I have to admit that I liked the plotlike set in the past a lot more captivating, especially because I also found the characters in it a lot more relatable and likable.
And since I'm already talking about the characters, I have to say that the cast is very diverse in its queerness, which I quite liked, as that is something not much common in horror and mystery narratives. However, I have to admit that I had a really hard time to connect to some of them in the first half of the book, especially Merritt and Audrey, which did change in the latter half however in which both grew on me.
I also liked the idea about a story set around a haunted or cursed film set, which are stories and narratives that are not new to especially horror cinema, so to see that as the idea to a horror novel was teally nice.
All in all I would really recommend the book if you're a horror movie enthusiast or just a jorrir enthusiast in general, especially a queer one.
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I think I had high expectationd for this book going in and while I wouldn't say that they were not met, I think my exoectations were a bit too high.
This is by all means a very interesting book dealing with a very dark but also very intriguing idea, which it also oerfectly portrays on page.
However, I do think that it was a bit shallow for my taste. I think it could have benefitted from being just a bit longer, but then, the short length it does have plays perfectly into the whole of it as an artwork.
I also couldn't really connect to the characters and even the main character only started to actually grow on me duting the last few chapters. Still, can't it be argued that the point is to dislike the characters due zo the themes and topics discussed in this book?
All in all I feel very conflicted about this novel but I fo see it as a literary piece of art working with very prominent topics that need to be discussed in relation to modern pop culture, seeing the rise of cannibalism as part of ever more mainstream media.
This is by all means a very interesting book dealing with a very dark but also very intriguing idea, which it also oerfectly portrays on page.
However, I do think that it was a bit shallow for my taste. I think it could have benefitted from being just a bit longer, but then, the short length it does have plays perfectly into the whole of it as an artwork.
I also couldn't really connect to the characters and even the main character only started to actually grow on me duting the last few chapters. Still, can't it be argued that the point is to dislike the characters due zo the themes and topics discussed in this book?
All in all I feel very conflicted about this novel but I fo see it as a literary piece of art working with very prominent topics that need to be discussed in relation to modern pop culture, seeing the rise of cannibalism as part of ever more mainstream media.
Watching Women & Girls by Danielle Pender
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
When You Call My Name by Tucker Shaw
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Jay's Gay Agenda by Jason June
Did not finish book. Stopped at 80%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 80%.
It made me feel really uncomfortable, especially the way Jay acts and it really brings up old feelings I hate so yeah. Not a finish for me.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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
This book...wow, just wow. I genuinely didn't expect this book to touch me like it did.
I'm getting more and mire into east asian literature in recent years and this book once again showed me why exactly. There is just something about, especially Japanese, books that just get to me like no other books really can. I think it's the way Japanese authors like Yagisawa can describe characters and landscapes as well as their inner going-on's in such a magical way.
Of course I also have to give credit to the translator Eric Ozawa whose translation is just as much a work of art as the szory itself!
I'm getting more and mire into east asian literature in recent years and this book once again showed me why exactly. There is just something about, especially Japanese, books that just get to me like no other books really can. I think it's the way Japanese authors like Yagisawa can describe characters and landscapes as well as their inner going-on's in such a magical way.
Of course I also have to give credit to the translator Eric Ozawa whose translation is just as much a work of art as the szory itself!