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saramdeuri's reviews
296 reviews
Bangtan Remixed: A Critical Bts Reader by Vernadette Vicuña Gonzalez, Yutian Wong, Patty Ahn, Mimi Thi Nguyen, Rani Neutill, Michelle Cho
4.0
a real feat! lots of these articles had something new and interesting to say, but a lot of it felt a little surface-level - confined by the limits of such a collection. i would love to see some of these ideas expanded on in full-length papers.
a lot of these were more personal than i thought they would be - some were even nearly entirely accounts of personal experiences and how bts and bts fandom affected them. interesting, still, but not what i was looking for or what i'd expected here.
it was really fun to take a dive back into army culture from another side. i've been a fan since 2015 so i've seen pretty much everything described or mentioned in this collection happen in real-time, which made reading this quite the experience. i would recommend this to any bts fan mature enough to handle some more critical looks at fandom and the group. nothing really critical is said here - a shame, i think - but all the same i know some people are more sensitive than they perhaps might feel. so yeah, it would have benefited from a starker look at fandom culture without such a serious focus on the upsides of it. undoubtedly it's important to emphasise that Not All BTS Fans Are Like That, but some are and it's also deeply important to analyse why fandom culture facilitates such behaviours. it would have at least been interesting to see someone talk about this less-loved aspect!
yeah. next time, a little less biased (ha ha) look at fandom and perhaps more diversity in topics would be beneficial.
a lot of these were more personal than i thought they would be - some were even nearly entirely accounts of personal experiences and how bts and bts fandom affected them. interesting, still, but not what i was looking for or what i'd expected here.
it was really fun to take a dive back into army culture from another side. i've been a fan since 2015 so i've seen pretty much everything described or mentioned in this collection happen in real-time, which made reading this quite the experience. i would recommend this to any bts fan mature enough to handle some more critical looks at fandom and the group. nothing really critical is said here - a shame, i think - but all the same i know some people are more sensitive than they perhaps might feel. so yeah, it would have benefited from a starker look at fandom culture without such a serious focus on the upsides of it. undoubtedly it's important to emphasise that Not All BTS Fans Are Like That, but some are and it's also deeply important to analyse why fandom culture facilitates such behaviours. it would have at least been interesting to see someone talk about this less-loved aspect!
yeah. next time, a little less biased (ha ha) look at fandom and perhaps more diversity in topics would be beneficial.
셰이커 by 이희영
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
드디어.... 내 한국어 읽기 능력이 나아졌다.... 잘 못 쓴 소설을 알아볼 수 있을 정도까지... 정말요 이것보다 더 잘 쓴 알페스 읽어 본 적 있어.
셰이커의 전제와 주제는 재미있긴 한데 문체는 너무나 지루한다. 창의적인 부분이 없는 것 같았고 백 페이지에 넘어 아직 시작하지 않은 느낌이 들었는데 계속 읽어도 시작하지 않을 느낌도 들었다. 인물도 별로 좋아하지 않았고 뭐... 그냥 다 지루하게. 이것보다 더 흥미로운 소설이 있어서 이거 놓을게
셰이커의 전제와 주제는 재미있긴 한데 문체는 너무나 지루한다. 창의적인 부분이 없는 것 같았고 백 페이지에 넘어 아직 시작하지 않은 느낌이 들었는데 계속 읽어도 시작하지 않을 느낌도 들었다. 인물도 별로 좋아하지 않았고 뭐... 그냥 다 지루하게. 이것보다 더 흥미로운 소설이 있어서 이거 놓을게
St Lucy's Home For Girls Raised By Wolves by Karen Russell
4.0
ohhhh this one was far more heartbreaking than I thought it'd be. maybe because of my inherent fondness for werewolves, because I identified with them a lot as a young girl (that's the undiagnosed autism, probably), their forced loss of what attached them to nature, to their family, to their identity, felt that much more painful. I wonder if this is somewhat of an allegory about colonialism? I'll have to read around it to find out. but a lovely piece regardless.
I also read another piece in the short story collection named after this, which was so wonderfully atmospheric as well. Russell does a great job at environmental description.
I also read another piece in the short story collection named after this, which was so wonderfully atmospheric as well. Russell does a great job at environmental description.
The Kite Maker by Brenda Peynado
5.0
this piece is an absolutely feat of beauty. what sorrow. we've all got to be kinder
quote to remember:
quote to remember:
I understood Tove, wanting the biggest, best thing you couldn't have. I wanted his unexhausted hope, that's what I wanted. I wanted forgiveness without having to name my sins, I wanted tenderness to feel real to me again.
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
4.0
loved reading this especially because I borrowed my friends lovingly annotated copy so I got to know all its secrets... so much fun to see exactly how the twist is foreshadowed and how obvious it feels. I saw the film beforehand so of course I can't judge it on how good that twist was executed but it did very well describing violence and getting that dread pooling in my stomach! characterisation is super well done, and it's so cool to see Tyler bleed into the narrator. excellent all round!
Eniale & Dewiela, Vol. 1 by Kamome Shirahama
4.0
a cute little series of short stories, illustrated as beautifully as you'd expect from Shirahama. I'll definitely read the next few volumes! the two of them are so much fun <33
Mismatched by Anne Camlin
1.5
ok so as a preface to this review: I've never read (or experienced an adaptation of) emma, so this will just be a review based on the merits of this graphic novel as itself and not as a retelling.
i... did not really like this at all. i do not like any of the characters, and not in a "they're complicated and i appreciate that"-way, they're just all flat and boring. the main character is just mean, and at times borderline malicious with some of the choices he makes. i understand that he's got his own self-confidence issues but it barely even makes an appearance in the story and has no bearing on the plot or romance - so like, what was the point? why place emphasis on it if not to use it? or at least have a tender moment with the main couple? did i just skip pages accidentally or something?
also, the chemistry between the endgame romances is meant to be assumed - the authors seem to think that you'll simply see their romance without them doing very much to prove it. yes, davi and evan (? i forgot his name. wow) are childhood friends, butthey don't really get much time alone together to talk and learn about EACH OTHER instead of speculating on other people's issues and arguing about whether or not someone else was gay. you are not given very much as a reader to feel like they actually love each other, just that they have a connection of some kind as childhood friends. overall a pretty boring and emotionally uninspiring romance.
the lesbian couple literally doesn't get ANY time at all - they just happen off the page at the very end while the main character worries about whether his bi friend is gonna be sad that he bagged "her crush". there's not even another lesbian in the book to balance it out. just het girls and their jock boyfriends. and they don't get very much time at all either! they barely get time to explain to the main character how it felt when he was super mean to them. they're just there to be haha funny "token" gay has "token" het girlfriends. who do nothing. don't even get to show that friendship, actually.
what struck me was that the main character really doesn't get time to understand where he went wrong, he just... apologises. no scene to show how he makes it up, or that he's really learned. just a load of scenes of him saying sorry. the bare minimum will do, i suppose. the social media aspect is also weird and never really gets to be part of the plot - i thought it'd be more of an element but i guess not ?? like ?? why wouldn't he use it for matchmaking or whatever ??
so. overall this novels greatest problem is pacing. everything is fast fast fast, and doesn't leave for moments of contemplation. it would benefit from a few more pages but frankly i'd prefer if they overhauled the whole thing. would've benefited from another round of editing in the storyboard phase. or whatever that is when it comes to graphic novels. i've forgotten 75% of this novel and i finished it just this morning. oh dear
i... did not really like this at all. i do not like any of the characters, and not in a "they're complicated and i appreciate that"-way, they're just all flat and boring. the main character is just mean, and at times borderline malicious with some of the choices he makes. i understand that he's got his own self-confidence issues but it barely even makes an appearance in the story and has no bearing on the plot or romance - so like, what was the point? why place emphasis on it if not to use it? or at least have a tender moment with the main couple? did i just skip pages accidentally or something?
also, the chemistry between the endgame romances is meant to be assumed - the authors seem to think that you'll simply see their romance without them doing very much to prove it. yes, davi and evan (? i forgot his name. wow) are childhood friends, but
the lesbian couple literally doesn't get ANY time at all - they just happen off the page at the very end while the main character worries about whether his bi friend is gonna be sad that he bagged "her crush". there's not even another lesbian in the book to balance it out. just het girls and their jock boyfriends. and they don't get very much time at all either! they barely get time to explain to the main character how it felt when he was super mean to them. they're just there to be haha funny "token" gay has "token" het girlfriends. who do nothing. don't even get to show that friendship, actually.
what struck me was that the main character really doesn't get time to understand where he went wrong, he just... apologises. no scene to show how he makes it up, or that he's really learned. just a load of scenes of him saying sorry. the bare minimum will do, i suppose. the social media aspect is also weird and never really gets to be part of the plot - i thought it'd be more of an element but i guess not ?? like ?? why wouldn't he use it for matchmaking or whatever ??
so. overall this novels greatest problem is pacing. everything is fast fast fast, and doesn't leave for moments of contemplation. it would benefit from a few more pages but frankly i'd prefer if they overhauled the whole thing. would've benefited from another round of editing in the storyboard phase. or whatever that is when it comes to graphic novels. i've forgotten 75% of this novel and i finished it just this morning. oh dear
A Witch's Love at the End of the World, Vol. 1 by KUJIRA
3.5
it was cute but nothing much past it. very typical cold girl x sunshine type ship, didn't feel like it had much to it past that - I know it's just the first volume, but I've been much more invested in stories that had less. I don't think I'll be continuing this one.
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
wow i just cannot be bothered with this one. something about the writing. a pity, because i have this gorgeous riddell-illustrated edition, but it'll be a nice donation for my local library <3
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
i just cannot get into these characters ..... there's something a little tiring about the way this is written, too, to me. getting past the footnotes is bothersome to me as well - I know, I know, I don't need to read them, but they might just have something relevant to the story... anyways, I've got more interesting things to read right now.
my one slightly nitpicky thing is the way Ruth the character "translates" — no, babe, writing mobile phone out in romaji isn't necessary. in fact, most of the words she keeps in romaji and then adds a footnote to explain what it means simply don't need to be kept in romaji—theyre universal concepts and a japanese mobile phone really isn't that different from an american one. it just gave "thing in Japan" vibes, although I understand that Ruth is meant to be all about the heritage thing (wanting to reclaim anti-japanese American history, joking about WW2 alliances with her German husband, wanting to translate as a way to connect to her heritage) all of that just felt stupid to read. if the footnotes were meant to read like her personal translation notes, the tone and contents should've been different. the way it's done sounds like she's "um actually"-ing me about what the etymology of otaku is when I just mentioned I went to shibuya once and met someone else who liked the same anime I did. annoying as hell actually
my one slightly nitpicky thing is the way Ruth the character "translates" — no, babe, writing mobile phone out in romaji isn't necessary. in fact, most of the words she keeps in romaji and then adds a footnote to explain what it means simply don't need to be kept in romaji—theyre universal concepts and a japanese mobile phone really isn't that different from an american one. it just gave "thing in Japan" vibes, although I understand that Ruth is meant to be all about the heritage thing (wanting to reclaim anti-japanese American history, joking about WW2 alliances with her German husband, wanting to translate as a way to connect to her heritage) all of that just felt stupid to read. if the footnotes were meant to read like her personal translation notes, the tone and contents should've been different. the way it's done sounds like she's "um actually"-ing me about what the etymology of otaku is when I just mentioned I went to shibuya once and met someone else who liked the same anime I did. annoying as hell actually