sheonceread's reviews
74 reviews

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

5.0

I said I'd go looking for the England of English literature, and he nodded and said: "It's there."

what a charming read. now it has become my greatest regret that i only found out about this book and of the Marks & Co. bookstore almost two years post my study in London in 2023. i spent half of my time sailing around london for its bookstores, this should have been my personality!! it is right up my niche!! alas, i understand why this book is so beloved. this is the first book i read of this letter-correspondence format and it’s magnificent how much you are able to feel for these people through their letters. im more than ever yearning to set foot back in london just so i can see the plaque in Charing Cross with my own two eyes.

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

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

You are yourself, and so remain, as I remain,

Yours,
Red

holy shit. this one was out of my comfort zone genre wise but i see why everyone that recommends this book says to just dive into it. the book does just that; it plunges you into the intensity without much context. as a lot of reviews say, i do wish there’s a bit more world building so that i can immerse myself more to the story but i guess it worked the way it did because of the lack of it all. what these two got going on is so intense??? maddd madd props to both authors. this is truly one for the ages, nothing i’ve read feels like this. even though i spent most of the reading experience not really knowing wtf is going on i still feel everything i needed to feel out of it. 

The Houseguest: And Other Stories by Amparo Dávila

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

every story felt like a fever dream.. they’re all so vague that all of them almost blends into each other. im not sure whether i love it or im just like very indifferent. i like the writing style and i definitely like the absurd, dreamlike vibe of the concepts. interesting read but i find myself drifting in and out of it a lot. 

The Gothic Body: Sexuality, Materialism, and Degeneration at the Fin de Siecle by Kelly Hurley, Kelly Hurley

informative medium-paced

4.0

longing for a master's degree and a phd and this is the closest i'm getting to them

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

4.0

took everything in me but thank god for audiobook and the concept of being bored at a data entry job

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.0

some parts of this one is hard to read if you read it back to back from the first book... but as the first one was this is also just ok. 

Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection by Julia Kristeva

challenging informative slow-paced

3.75

absolutely horrendous to finish but only because it takes me so so long to read each sentence to properly digest it. i even forgot to actually log this book during the process bc i read this as a pdf file in my laptop (i always read theory this way.. uni ruined me). i adore how kristeva writes bc her structure really embodies the grotesqueness of the topic, i find that it reads like an actual horror book. in other words her writing style made more of an impression compared to the actual thesis but also i did find it very profound and an interesting thought practice. definitely needs a lot of prerequisites to understand, might read it back from time to time just to revisit the idea. 

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

very easy read to get out of the reading slump but surprisingly not as good as i thought it would be. very endearing though!

Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna

emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

4.75

This was like a summer version of Love Actually, and way more irish. so many characters, so many povs, and it was done very well. many books with this style feels overcrowded with all the povs but this one felt just right. the short ones from random side characters are very nice to read, i think i really like knowing all sides of the story. 

aside from that, this book takes you all around london. i never got to experience london in the summer but this is exactly how everyone describes it. i feel very nostalgic and maybe thats half why this book endears me so much but also Oisin Mckenna is one hell of a writer. looking forward to his future works!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Drug abuse, Homophobia

Minor: Abortion

Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

Very very haunting and folklore-ish. some feels like im reading an ancient story, some feels very modern. kinda feels like watching black mirror. Though, with all my respect to Anton Hurr, im not a big fan of the translation. i dont speak korean but i can sense a bit of a stiffness in the language, particularly the use of “youth” to translate what im sure was meant for like “a young man/woman”. other than that, i want to study more of Bora Chung’s mind because these concepts are sick as hell. very relevant to the climate of korea’s politics and struggles.

My favorites:
The Head
The Frozen Finger
Cursed Bunny 
Scars