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readingtheother's reviews
249 reviews
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
3.5
YA books often fall into the trap of making their protagonists too good, too easy to root for. All their mistakes and flaws come from a good place. But in this, the protagonist is so real and human, often making poor choices, that it becomes an even more gripping read.
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
I don't like romance books and I ended up reading this two times, back to back. I loved the characters, the whole "miscommunication" trope was used in a very convincing way, and the sex was hot. It's now one of my top recommended books whenever someone asks me what they should read!
Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
White male authors are not really a demographic I engage with a lot. But a friend recommended J.M. Coetzee's writing, so I dove in, trying to keep an open mind.
The premise is not exactly what I had thought would be my cup of tea. A 53 year old professor of Literature in a South African university has an affair with his 20 year old student, for which he gets fired. He then moves in with his daughter who runs a homestead in a rural area. Exiled and disgraced, he learns there's a lot further to fall.
At first, I was a little disgusted. Here is an old man, lusting after young women and using his power to coerce her when she is unwilling. But then he reflects on what he's done, acknowledging it as sexual violence. I was shook. Self awareness? From a white man? In 1999? He's convinced that there's no changing for him. He's too stuck in his ways to repent and seek to be better; better to exile himself to the countryside and have that be his punishment.
And then, when he moves to his daughter's homestead, he's forced to contend with power. The power that he has as a man. The power he has, specifically, as a white man in Africa. The power he has as an agent, or as a result, or colonialism and imperialism. And his vulnerability when the people, who see him as a symbol of that power, decide to seek revenge.
What starts as a me too situation turns into a very insightful look into power, gender, colonialism and race. Coetzee is an undeniably powerful writer, who can draw you in with his dry prose and lightning strikes of insight. So if you think you might be willing to give a white male author a chance, Coetzee is a great choice.
The premise is not exactly what I had thought would be my cup of tea. A 53 year old professor of Literature in a South African university has an affair with his 20 year old student, for which he gets fired. He then moves in with his daughter who runs a homestead in a rural area. Exiled and disgraced, he learns there's a lot further to fall.
At first, I was a little disgusted. Here is an old man, lusting after young women and using his power to coerce her when she is unwilling. But then he reflects on what he's done, acknowledging it as sexual violence. I was shook. Self awareness? From a white man? In 1999? He's convinced that there's no changing for him. He's too stuck in his ways to repent and seek to be better; better to exile himself to the countryside and have that be his punishment.
And then, when he moves to his daughter's homestead, he's forced to contend with power. The power that he has as a man. The power he has, specifically, as a white man in Africa. The power he has as an agent, or as a result, or colonialism and imperialism. And his vulnerability when the people, who see him as a symbol of that power, decide to seek revenge.
What starts as a me too situation turns into a very insightful look into power, gender, colonialism and race. Coetzee is an undeniably powerful writer, who can draw you in with his dry prose and lightning strikes of insight. So if you think you might be willing to give a white male author a chance, Coetzee is a great choice.
Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I hate these two white ladies who write books with "representation". Can they simply stop.
Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann
funny
lighthearted
slow-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? It's complicated
1.5
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez
challenging
dark
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
This is a collection of short stories that deal with the horror of not the things that go bump in the night, but the darkness that resides in human beings. If you’ve read “Things We Lost in the Fire”, you need to read this as well. Urban realism meets horror meets social consciousness in this collection where children go missing and reappear, where the smell of rotting meat permeates a city, where an entire neighbourhood is cursed by mysterious forces, and more! (Imagine that last bit in a jaunty tone, delivered by a cartoonish mascot in a top hat)
This collection is not only good, it’s somehow her DEBUT collection of short stories. An alternate caption could simply have been “Mariana Enriquez please step on me” and the emotion behind the post would have been the same.
BLEASE read this. It gave me one (1) nightmare bc I read it just before bed but I’d do it again no questions asked.
This collection is not only good, it’s somehow her DEBUT collection of short stories. An alternate caption could simply have been “Mariana Enriquez please step on me” and the emotion behind the post would have been the same.
BLEASE read this. It gave me one (1) nightmare bc I read it just before bed but I’d do it again no questions asked.
No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
What is the Internet doing to our brains? What will snap us out of the endless cycle of virality and outrage? Why do we spend so much time on “the Portal” that leads, essentially, nowhere?
This book was a dizzying look at the Internet as it exists today. Waking up to a feed full of other peoples’ full lives, satisfying videos, ego clashes and socially conscious posturing disguised as public debate. Feeling lonely when we separate ourselves from our phones, the content we’ve curated (or are being fed) by our scrolling choices. Lockwood often uses the pronoun “you” which implicates the reader in this activity, making it all the more hard hitting.
The first half of the book reads like tweets, like Instagram info graphics. Short, discrete paragraphs, each about a different topic: a picture of a nipple, stimming, videos of disasters. But then, halfway through the book, there’s a shift. The protagonist’s sister is pregnant, and the child is diagnosed with a life threatening genetic disorder. It then becomes about this child’s life, and how it impacts the adults around her. How the Internet changes for the protagonist in the face of illness and death. What does life mean? What does it mean to live and love? And what have we sacrificed to the Portal?
A stunning read, written by someone unhinged in the way only ironic Internet shitposters can be. I was fully sobbing by the time I finished it, and came out of it with a desperate desire to leave my career in social media so I could finally delete Instagram and Twitter off my phone. 10/10 do recommend to people who’s screen time report scares them every week.
This book was a dizzying look at the Internet as it exists today. Waking up to a feed full of other peoples’ full lives, satisfying videos, ego clashes and socially conscious posturing disguised as public debate. Feeling lonely when we separate ourselves from our phones, the content we’ve curated (or are being fed) by our scrolling choices. Lockwood often uses the pronoun “you” which implicates the reader in this activity, making it all the more hard hitting.
The first half of the book reads like tweets, like Instagram info graphics. Short, discrete paragraphs, each about a different topic: a picture of a nipple, stimming, videos of disasters. But then, halfway through the book, there’s a shift. The protagonist’s sister is pregnant, and the child is diagnosed with a life threatening genetic disorder. It then becomes about this child’s life, and how it impacts the adults around her. How the Internet changes for the protagonist in the face of illness and death. What does life mean? What does it mean to live and love? And what have we sacrificed to the Portal?
A stunning read, written by someone unhinged in the way only ironic Internet shitposters can be. I was fully sobbing by the time I finished it, and came out of it with a desperate desire to leave my career in social media so I could finally delete Instagram and Twitter off my phone. 10/10 do recommend to people who’s screen time report scares them every week.
The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
First, a warning. Check the content warnings for this book before you read it.
Jas is 10 when, after an argument with her brother, she prays to god - keep my rabbit safe, take my brother instead. It’s a moment of cruelty, born from fear, but it means nothing. Until her brother actually dies.
This death breaks the family. We see them unravelling through Jas’s eyes. Her childlike understanding of the world rules her thoughts and actions. She does strange and sometimes horrible things, to try to make things better again. Rijneveld doesn’t shy away from the dark parts of Jas’s psyche, or the other siblings. They engage in dark, often sexual games with each other, in search of... I don’t even know. It’s just written so simply and unflinchingly that it feels like a disservice to look away.
I really don’t know what to think about this book. It was suffocating and hard to read (it took me 24 days) but I was magnetised to the writing. The ending was simultaneously unsatisfying and a relief.
You can definitely skip this book if you don’t think you’re in the headspace for it. It’s not an un-missable book. It was well written, but I think a lot of the hype around it came from shock value.
Jas is 10 when, after an argument with her brother, she prays to god - keep my rabbit safe, take my brother instead. It’s a moment of cruelty, born from fear, but it means nothing. Until her brother actually dies.
This death breaks the family. We see them unravelling through Jas’s eyes. Her childlike understanding of the world rules her thoughts and actions. She does strange and sometimes horrible things, to try to make things better again. Rijneveld doesn’t shy away from the dark parts of Jas’s psyche, or the other siblings. They engage in dark, often sexual games with each other, in search of... I don’t even know. It’s just written so simply and unflinchingly that it feels like a disservice to look away.
I really don’t know what to think about this book. It was suffocating and hard to read (it took me 24 days) but I was magnetised to the writing. The ending was simultaneously unsatisfying and a relief.
You can definitely skip this book if you don’t think you’re in the headspace for it. It’s not an un-missable book. It was well written, but I think a lot of the hype around it came from shock value.
Eleven Ways to Love: Essays by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan, Dhrubo Jyoti, Nadika Nadja
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.0