wallflower_bookshelf's reviews
72 reviews

The Glutton by A.K. Blakemore

4.25

The thing that stood out to me the most while reading this was the beautiful, poetic writing style. It was immersive and the descriptions were so gross that I genuinely felt a little sick. I loved Tarare like a son, and I felt bad for him throughout the book. I wanted to sob whenever he was upset. It seemed like every bad thing that could happen happened which was hard to get through. He truly cannot catch a break. The book moved incredibly slowly and I ended up in a month-long reading slump because of it, but I sped through the book when it finally ended. I’d recommend this to someone who loves a thick, poetic writing style and a slow plot that allows you to get intimate with the characters. I could see someone saying that “nothing really happened” but I was entertained.

Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays by Mary Oliver

4.5

It was so beautiful. The reverence for nature and the style of writing were stunning and immersive. I’m not a poetry person, as I prefer intense, fast-paced books, but this made me feel so appreciative of life and the natural world. So gorgeous, and it might actually get me into reading more poetry.

About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks by David Rooney

4.0

This was my first non-fiction novel ever (excluding poetry books), and I loved it. When I first told people that I was reading a non-fiction about clocks, they laughed and told me that I was into really niche things. I expected to be bored to death (and sometimes I was), but I feel like I’ve learned so much. It was told entertainingly and engagingly, and I never would’ve added so much meaning to clocks despite them being part of my daily life. I barely even grasped Daylight Savings Time before this, but I feel like my brain grew three sizes. The knowledge is extensive and told in such a concise manner. I did notice, however, that there were a lot of spelling mistakes that turned clock into 🐓 which made me think I was going crazy. Other than that, it was a new and interesting experience that I am grateful for. 

Bluets by Maggie Nelson

2.0

Maybe I’m not smart, sophisticated, or deep enough for this, but this was genuinely the biggest waste of time in my life. I’ll admit, there were some good quotes, but outside of that, I was never interested or connected to any of the text, and I felt like it said a whole bunch of nothing. Maybe it was too experimental and artsy for me. It bored me as well, which was such a disappointment because I was so excited for it to read it. I was going to rate it a 2.5, but as I kept reading, I felt more miserable. I’ll try reading it again once to see if I’ll rate it higher in the future, but for now, I really didn’t enjoy it.

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng

4.5

This was SO MUCH darker than I thought It’d be. I went into this completely blind, so when the more fantastical/supernatural elements were brought in, I was thrown off guard. There were parts I thought were kind of corny and extra, but in the end, my opinion became more positive. I’m not into K-pop or celebrity drama, so I thought this was an interesting look into the other side of the screen. It showed the toxic idol culture of the industry, female friendships and romance, and a heartbreaking mother-daughter relationship. It was so very creepy at times, and Faye and Mina have my heart. I don’t like flashbacks or switching timelines because it usually gets boring or tedious, but it was executed well in this book. I was into both timelines which is very rare for me. I really enjoyed it, and the way everything fell into place was interesting. I did guess some of the ending before the reveals, but I was still left reeling. There were also a lot of twists that I was very shocked the learn. 

Out There Screaming by Jordan Peele, John Joseph Adams

3.5

Some of the stories were AMAZING!! They fit so much symbolism and plot into such a short section, and some stories genuinely freaked me out. The book totally gave “The Magnus Archive” vibes, too, which I loved. I didn’t give it a 4-star because there were some stories that I didn’t really like that much. They weren’t bad, but they were just 3 stars (which is my average rating for a short story). I was going to rate it 3.75, but there was this one story that I lowkey hated SO MUCH. I might try reading it again to see if it was just a reading slump coming on.

Mythos by Stephen Fry

3.75

I don’t really know how to rate this. It shows the Greek myths in an entertaining and understandable way, but I have no idea how accurate any of it is since I don’t know much about Greek myth. It helped me understand a lot of it though, and it was very expansive. I had a horrible headache at the time of reading it so I wasn’t fully focused, but I had a fun time.

Record of a Night Too Brief by Hiromi Kawakami

3.5

3.5-3.75/5

The stories in this book are the weirdest I’ve ever read. It was like if Paprika (one of my favourite anime movies) was put to the max and then multiplied. Despite that, I found myself really enjoying the atmospheric absurdity of everything that happened. Usually translated fiction loses a lot of the atmosphere or fanciness in English, but I found myself utterly immersed in this book. I’ve been struggling to find meaning in each of the stories and I think that’s part of the fun. The confusion did sometimes become an obstacle to my concentration, though. I didn’t give it that high of a rating because even though I liked it, this isn’t something I’ll be thinking about for a long time but I think that’s what usually happens with short story collections (at least for me). Despite that, this was a very extraordinary reading experiences. The stories were incredibly unique and I’ve never read anything like it before. 

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime by Oscar Wilde

3.75

I loved this! It was so funny and interesting to me, and the writing style was enjoyable. I got some great quotes out of this and found the main character, Lord Arthur, to be entertaining. Genuinely my favourite little black classic so far. 

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

4.0

It was such a lovely book that I could easily relax to. I felt like I was living with them and the characters were so likeable and different. The slice of life feel of it all was so wonderful to me after reading some books that were either dark or just plain bad. The morals that it teaches throughout the chapters, the friendship, the family, and everything was so pleasant and such a nice palette cleanser. The copy I have only had Little Women and not Good Wives, but I’m not sure if I’ll pick it up. I spoiled a lot of the second half for myself and I genuinely don’t think I can handle the sisters growing into adulthood and marrying off. I might watch the movie instead just so I don’t hurt my feelings because of my fear of growing up.