shmandanas's reviews
118 reviews

Decolonization is not a metaphor by K. Wayne Yang, Eve Tuck

challenging informative medium-paced

4.0

There's a lot in here that I didn't understand. I definitely need to read it again, but pretty much everything in this essay is something that I haven't considered before, so I'm glad it was written. Also very interesting to see how much the conversation has (not) changed in the last 10 years. I thought that this was written recently until it got to the Occupy example.

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

challenging reflective medium-paced

5.0

I often find historical writing difficult and therefore hard to get through, but this felt mind blowing every step of the way.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

mysterious 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

3.5

It was good. It was definitely good. But as a bisexual biracial person who's had a long time interest in closeting in Hollywood, it was also nothing groundbreaking. I personally just didn't find it that engaging.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Oh this was lovely. The story worked very well and the only short comings I can think of were based only in my own expectations of what this book would be. 

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was everything. Like, literally, it covered everything that goes through my head on a daily basis. You might think that a book as broad as that would get lost in itself or be hard to digest but no. This was perfect. It was absolutely everything I wanted.

A Shinagawa Monkey by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami

funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It was just okay. Probably didn't help that I listened to it on a podcast and didn't like the sound of the person reading it.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

funny reflective slow-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

3.5

Never before have I wondered what the inner monologue of a butler sounded like, and for good reason. It's incredibly boring. Ultimately, the philosophies and lifestyles discussed in this book were interesting, but boy did it take a lot to get into.

T. S. Eliot Selected Poems by T.S. Eliot

challenging medium-paced

3.0

This is the first book of poetry I've ever read, and I think largely its taught me that poetry isn't something I can go into cold. Honestly I just had no idea what was happening a lot of the times, and then the poems really took a turn for the catholic.

I don't think I can call this a negative review since all the negative parts seem to fall on me, but yeah, I definitely could have gotten more out of this.

Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

So for most of this book, I thought it was pretty good. Then, when it reached part 4 I started to lose interest. It was just as fast paced, just as much action, but something just wasn't landing for me. Until I got to the very very end. No spoilers, but damn. The range of emotions that made me feel.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Oh man. The racism. The sexism. The intersectionality. This story hit unbelievably close to home, and makes me very glad that I was born a generation after this took place. But wow. This book contained my absolute favorite type of miscommunication which is just complete fundamental misunderstanding because characters have different backgrounds and need different things.