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yunsq's reviews
145 reviews
Stay True by Hua Hsu
4.0
Took me a long while to finish this book. But so so worth it. The ending made me cry, which I think is may be the author’s intention. But I didn’t feel like these tears were manufactured. These were tears in company of the grief, letting go and staying true to the personal that I read and witness.
The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose
Not sure why I did this to myself especially just finishing a really good book - I needed something easy to read over a long travel day and I was desperate enough to finish this one.
0.0
I resonate with everyone else who found this book an atrocious read. I commiserate in our collective regret of even giving it any time of day.
What I hated most apart from the writing itself: The author can’t decide if she likes her characters. She jumps from showing empathy to them to completely turning their thoughts and actions into cliche plot mechanics.
What I hated most apart from the writing itself: The author can’t decide if she likes her characters. She jumps from showing empathy to them to completely turning their thoughts and actions into cliche plot mechanics.
The worst book I’ve read of recent times.
Not sure why I did this to myself especially just finishing a really good book - I needed something easy to read over a long travel day and I was desperate enough to finish this one.
Among the Braves: Hope, Struggle, and Exile in the Battle for Hong Kong and the Future of Global Democracy by Timothy McLaughlin, Shibani Mahtani
5.0
A must-read that’s somehow fallen under the radar. I can’t emphasise this enough.
Throughout the book, I felt like I was reading stories of familiar strangers, names that rang a bell because they were reported in the media as passing headlines and news updates. I knew about the unrest in Hong Kong, that they were having a hard time, but never about the actual struggles they faced. I excused my ignorance.
There were many times throughout my reading where I was in tears, heart aching for the people — no different from you and me and only separated by fate — who decided that this was worth fighting for.
The authors did such a good job at reporting, recounting and presenting narratives untold and largely unheard of in mainstream media. I feel lucky to be able to read about the lives of people of Hong Kong who fought for the city’s dignity and freedom in exchange for their own. The writing, empathetic but factual, portrays these people as human, not all-stars, who struggle with depression and failure and rejection. This are stories of the braves, who are not few and far between in Hong Kong. It is also about how remembering and recording are also tools for resistance — when protests are banned and voices violently silenced — this is how we resist constructed amnesia.
My only hope is that this spirit of bravery still lives in the hearts of the people of Hong Kong, no matter how buried or beaten down it is.
Glory to Hong Kong
Throughout the book, I felt like I was reading stories of familiar strangers, names that rang a bell because they were reported in the media as passing headlines and news updates. I knew about the unrest in Hong Kong, that they were having a hard time, but never about the actual struggles they faced. I excused my ignorance.
There were many times throughout my reading where I was in tears, heart aching for the people — no different from you and me and only separated by fate — who decided that this was worth fighting for.
The authors did such a good job at reporting, recounting and presenting narratives untold and largely unheard of in mainstream media. I feel lucky to be able to read about the lives of people of Hong Kong who fought for the city’s dignity and freedom in exchange for their own. The writing, empathetic but factual, portrays these people as human, not all-stars, who struggle with depression and failure and rejection. This are stories of the braves, who are not few and far between in Hong Kong. It is also about how remembering and recording are also tools for resistance — when protests are banned and voices violently silenced — this is how we resist constructed amnesia.
My only hope is that this spirit of bravery still lives in the hearts of the people of Hong Kong, no matter how buried or beaten down it is.
Glory to Hong Kong
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
5.0
🪻💌🪻💌🪻
Simple and warm. A reminder that a small life can be experienced in abundance if only you know where to look.
I have many favourite moments in this book. Namely walking horizontally like a crab, reading with the sun and moon eye, collecting sea glass on the beach and castella cake making
Simple and warm. A reminder that a small life can be experienced in abundance if only you know where to look.
I have many favourite moments in this book. Namely walking horizontally like a crab, reading with the sun and moon eye, collecting sea glass on the beach and castella cake making
None of This is True by Lisa Jewell
4.0
Couldn’t put this down. Good pacing with a tight plot (the interpersed podcast/Netflix documentary format helps) and cherry on top: deeply disturbing characters.
The List by Yomi Adegoke
2.0
Perhaps my expectations were too high, or it simply isn’t written for me, but I really struggled to find any enjoyment out of this one. It feels like a been-there-done-that trendy, stylised Netflix film that tries to do too much at once. I wish it dug deeper into Ola’s inner world, and not rely on buzzy mental health speak and internet culture language to propel its narrative.