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tasto777's reviews
83 reviews
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
since i am not american i didn't have to read his in school. i picked it up because it was on sale and i heard the title before.
well. it took me longer then i planned to to read this because at times i just couldn't continue. i couldn't care less about the protagonist then. but other times i read like 20 pages in one go and really got into the story.
i can't say i enjoyed it much but the opposite wouldn't be true either. it's an okay book and i probably would read it again if i had nothing else. even if it's just to look at it with different eyes again.
would i recommend it?
maybe. it's better then classical books i had to read in german schools. it feels closer to the actual experience of teens then e.g. Schiller or Hesse or whatever. so i apperciate that. but it's not really a fun book to read if you want to have some down time
well. it took me longer then i planned to to read this because at times i just couldn't continue. i couldn't care less about the protagonist then. but other times i read like 20 pages in one go and really got into the story.
i can't say i enjoyed it much but the opposite wouldn't be true either. it's an okay book and i probably would read it again if i had nothing else. even if it's just to look at it with different eyes again.
would i recommend it?
maybe. it's better then classical books i had to read in german schools. it feels closer to the actual experience of teens then e.g. Schiller or Hesse or whatever. so i apperciate that. but it's not really a fun book to read if you want to have some down time
Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Vol. 2 by Dr. Pepperco
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
the story really started in this one and i really want to read part 3 now.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
i found this one as an audio book and started listening to it not knowing it is a childrens book. so i was expecting a darker novel adult novel. what i got wasn'T really that but i was pleasently surprised.
the premise of the book (a boy growing up on a graveyard with ghosts) is really interesting and for me atleast new. Bod was a nice person to hear about and his friend was enjoyable too. i think the whole secret organisation was a bit much and kind of run over me in the end but that might be because i was multitasking when listening and didn't get some parts. so maybe this is resolved by just consuming the whole novel completely.
would i recommend this book?
yeah. if i had little siblings or knew any other children i would totally get them a copy of this. it's cute and lighthearted and the protagonist is really ntersting and nice. and even for adults the book is a quick and easy way to kill some time.
the premise of the book (a boy growing up on a graveyard with ghosts) is really interesting and for me atleast new. Bod was a nice person to hear about and his friend was enjoyable too. i think the whole secret organisation was a bit much and kind of run over me in the end but that might be because i was multitasking when listening and didn't get some parts. so maybe this is resolved by just consuming the whole novel completely.
would i recommend this book?
yeah. if i had little siblings or knew any other children i would totally get them a copy of this. it's cute and lighthearted and the protagonist is really ntersting and nice. and even for adults the book is a quick and easy way to kill some time.
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
funny
informative
fast-paced
3.75
it's an interesting book with some cool answers. i just wish he wouldn't take them all to explosions or destroying earth because i think some of those questions weren't about this but about other specifics of the scenario they asked about. and after 3/4 of it it got a bit stale because it was just so much about destruction and death. and physics or science ingeneral is more than just that.
i had no problems understanding the things he talked about but i do study physics education so i am not completely new to most of it. but there is not much maths or anything in this so i think it can be easiyl uderstood or at least enjoyed by anybody.
all in all it's a good book. i wouldn't read it again but i don't regret the time i spent with it either. the audio book read by will wheaton was good and he narrated the book very well.
would i recommend it? yrah i guess. for anybody interested in weird questions and a bit of science.
i had no problems understanding the things he talked about but i do study physics education so i am not completely new to most of it. but there is not much maths or anything in this so i think it can be easiyl uderstood or at least enjoyed by anybody.
all in all it's a good book. i wouldn't read it again but i don't regret the time i spent with it either. the audio book read by will wheaton was good and he narrated the book very well.
would i recommend it? yrah i guess. for anybody interested in weird questions and a bit of science.
The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai
challenging
slow-paced
3.0
maybe i didn't take enough time with this one but i just couldn't get into it.
Animal Farm by George Orwell
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.25
after i've read 1984 years ago i stumbled over this audiobook. i don't have much to say. it's not something to read the way you would read other books because it is very allegorical. it's about the connections to the history of the sowjet union under Stalin. the analgy to the animal farm makes an interesting read but it still feels more like a history book then a novel.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
wow. this book got to me more than i thought it would.
i picked the audio book up because the book was in my recommended, it was said to be about a gay romance and i had seen people praise it before on social media. i was not really familiar with the myth of Achilles and Patroclus before but i knew a bit from the story about Alexander the Great and him comparing his and Hephaistions relationship to the former two's.
there were parts in the book where i was a bit bored and zoned out just listening to the narrator as background noise. but i think that's okay i listened to a lot of audio books and didn't expect full concentration on this.
i liked the part where they were at the centaurs the most because it felt so light and just beautiful. the whole troy thing bored me more. but i know it is just part of the myth and it was well written after all. the way they had to face their responsabilities after their escape into the mountains hurt but it was absolutely apropriate. it was interesting to see them face a sort of homophobia then and how they worked with it (i know it's not really possible to apply our modern termes onto ancient stories but i think it descibes it best for my purposes) differentiating the childish interest in same sex experience to their own desire for each other that the other men show for women. it felt really natural how this was described.
the ending of the book is really heart wrenching. how Achilles' own son does not want to hear about what his father would have wanted and who he loved. how he ignored all his wishes just so Achilles wouldn't be dragged down in his honour by being buried with Patroclus. i really enjoyed how the growth (kind of) of Odysseus was shown as he was trying to change the mind of Achilles's son. and the growth of Achilles's mother as she had to realize her son is dead and she wanted him to be remembered but he wouldn't be remembered for something he was if she did't changed the tombstone and the engraving. he was not just the fighter he was born to be but a caring human.
Patroclus stayed a bit blunt during the whole book but since he is the ine telling the story and experiencing it we don't need too much from him. standing up to Achilles a to do the right thing was a nice thing to see from him though.
tl:dr
would i recommend this book?
yes. just yes. to all the lovers of greek mythology or lgbt books and those who want to look into either of those. it is a beautiful story very beautifully written and you don't need any knowledge of greek mythology to understand this book. it tells you all you need to know for the story.
i picked the audio book up because the book was in my recommended, it was said to be about a gay romance and i had seen people praise it before on social media. i was not really familiar with the myth of Achilles and Patroclus before but i knew a bit from the story about Alexander the Great and him comparing his and Hephaistions relationship to the former two's.
there were parts in the book where i was a bit bored and zoned out just listening to the narrator as background noise. but i think that's okay i listened to a lot of audio books and didn't expect full concentration on this.
i liked the part where they were at the centaurs the most because it felt so light and just beautiful. the whole troy thing bored me more. but i know it is just part of the myth and it was well written after all. the way they had to face their responsabilities after their escape into the mountains hurt but it was absolutely apropriate. it was interesting to see them face a sort of homophobia then and how they worked with it (i know it's not really possible to apply our modern termes onto ancient stories but i think it descibes it best for my purposes) differentiating the childish interest in same sex experience to their own desire for each other that the other men show for women. it felt really natural how this was described.
Patroclus stayed a bit blunt during the whole book but since he is the ine telling the story and experiencing it we don't need too much from him. standing up to Achilles a to do the right thing was a nice thing to see from him though.
tl:dr
would i recommend this book?
yes. just yes. to all the lovers of greek mythology or lgbt books and those who want to look into either of those. it is a beautiful story very beautifully written and you don't need any knowledge of greek mythology to understand this book. it tells you all you need to know for the story.
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
i've listened to this as an audio book and it was my first novel by Murakami. i am a bit unsure hwat to think about it because i really enjoyed the writing in general. the relfective thoughts on life and emotions and relationships were really interesting and memorable. good potential for nice quotes too.
but jeez this guy can't write women. the way every woman in this book had to be reduced to nipples and soft skin and whatever at some point bothered me beause i don't think the story needed those parts really. and it felt weirdly voyeristic and objectifying. i don't think the book needed all the detailed nsfw scenes either. it focused so much on sex and the characters relationships with it instead of on the characters themselves. and please don't get me wrong i do read erotic writing sometimes but the way it was done in this book just didn't feel right to me. it didn't feel natural and all the talk of potential r*pe or taking advantage of girls just put me off. maybe i'm just used to nsfw writing by other not cis male writers who focus on different aspects of the act.
would i recommend this book?
yes it is nice. but you have to distance yourself a bit from his way of seeing womin to enjoy it if you identify as female yourself.
but jeez this guy can't write women. the way every woman in this book had to be reduced to nipples and soft skin and whatever at some point bothered me beause i don't think the story needed those parts really. and it felt weirdly voyeristic and objectifying. i don't think the book needed all the detailed nsfw scenes either. it focused so much on sex and the characters relationships with it instead of on the characters themselves. and please don't get me wrong i do read erotic writing sometimes but the way it was done in this book just didn't feel right to me. it didn't feel natural and all the talk of potential r*pe or taking advantage of girls just put me off. maybe i'm just used to nsfw writing by other not cis male writers who focus on different aspects of the act.
would i recommend this book?
yes it is nice. but you have to distance yourself a bit from his way of seeing womin to enjoy it if you identify as female yourself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Sexism and Sexual assault
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
i listened to this as the unabridged audio book which made it easy to feel immersed. Tartt did a good job voicing her characters and especially the voice she gave Bunny and his family was interesting.
the book itself took a while to get started but it builds a nice atmosphere of dark secrets and high academics. i totally get why people love this book for its dark academia aesthetic. but for me it was a tiny bit too slow especially since the characters aren't that interesting or lovable themselves but rather quite flat. after some time it just gets boring hearing about them getting drunk again.
what made me appreciate the book despite those flaws is a review i had read after i finished it. it said that the book isn't about the characters or even the plot itself but tries to mimic the structure of a greek tragedy where once the plot started it comes inevitable and every step after the starting points follows from the ones before. this really fascinated me since my thoughts during most of this were that they wouldn't have had all those problems if they just went to the police. i know this is addressed in the book but what they did after the first death is just so much worse. they truly are caught in this spiral of trageday and are just all miserable in the end.
talking of the ending it felt rushed too. the book takes so damn much time for everything but the ending especially after julian got the letter was just so fast and sloppy. it felt like Tartt reached a point where she just wanted to finsih and had no patience for her writing anymore.
well i don't have much more to say. i like the vibes of this book but the characters are just rich spoiled brats and need to ground themselves in the real world to realize what happens around them.
would i recommend this book?
i guess. i don't know anybody who i might recommend it to right now but i think people folowing the dark academia trend already know this book. language majors might also enjoy this look on high education and classics. but in its core the book is just a mediocre murder story with mostly flat characters and an unsatisfying ending.
the book itself took a while to get started but it builds a nice atmosphere of dark secrets and high academics. i totally get why people love this book for its dark academia aesthetic. but for me it was a tiny bit too slow especially since the characters aren't that interesting or lovable themselves but rather quite flat. after some time it just gets boring hearing about them getting drunk again.
what made me appreciate the book despite those flaws is a review i had read after i finished it. it said that the book isn't about the characters or even the plot itself but tries to mimic the structure of a greek tragedy
talking of the ending it felt rushed too. the book takes so damn much time for everything but the ending especially after
well i don't have much more to say. i like the vibes of this book but the characters are just rich spoiled brats and need to ground themselves in the real world to realize what happens around them.
would i recommend this book?
i guess. i don't know anybody who i might recommend it to right now but i think people folowing the dark academia trend already know this book. language majors might also enjoy this look on high education and classics. but in its core the book is just a mediocre murder story with mostly flat characters and an unsatisfying ending.
The Magnus Archives: Season 1 by Jonathan Sims
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
the first season of this pocast gave me sleepless nights in a way i hadn't experienced for years. i love that there is one statement per episode and especially in this season there is not too much plot around it. but it amazes me that there are so many hints to upcoming plot points