| title |
author |
score |
review |
| in pursuit of lavender |
akiko itoyama |
6/10 |
extremely similar to 'vibrator'* insofar as voices in the head and road trips with strange men, but this story is far more straightforward and a little more scenic. i always find the translations of regional dialects kind of awkward but found the main character charming nonetheless. the guy not as much but he was ok.. realistic at the very least! very short book so cant really fault it!!! i want to read 'it's only talk' sooo bad. * i found both these books through ryuichi hiroki film adaptations i dont even really like him [yet] |
| the piano teacher |
elfriede jelinek |
9/10 |
sooo well written; used the word 'vociferously' twice in a two page spread i know jelinek is the woman 4 me. the abundance of crochet in a literal sense and in analogies i love... i want to read everything jelinek has ever written |
| the anomalies |
joey goebel |
6.8/10 |
kind of silyl dumb but good - like houellebecq it feels like reading a reddit post but in this case it is one that elicits at least a few laughs. love a large cast of characters love hearing from so many different perspectives. the plot was a little lackluster and the ending was bittersweet af but such is life! |
| vibrator |
mari akasaka |
7/10 |
i love stream of consciousness so muhc but it is a little tedious/aimless - for better or for worse! probably best suited to reading in one sitting but alas. still love the unique voice of the narration, and it feels like the translator has perfectly preserved the spirit of the original text, not sterilized in any capacity. |
| villain |
shuichi yoshida |
10/10 |
i just felt so much love 4 this book i cant describe it... sonoesque TRULY. cannot even recall another book in which i felt so deeply about nearly every single character, of which there are many. ending made me cry so hard my head is throbbing now. the movie adaptation is by the same guy who directed the adaptation of 69 by murakami which i think i gave 3 stars just bc i didnt even like the bobok that much but anyway i hope the movie is good i guess ill stfu and write a review of it later on review page i just cant get over this. what do i even read now i just want to reeread coin ocker babies now because thats the only book that compares... i CANT get over this - edit after looking at this page for one second and this bk made me up my score on the little friend by donna tartt bc that IS the last book i read where it was so cinematic to me and i felt the characters to be very human. didnt like them tas much as these humans but nonetheless |
| z for zachariah |
robert c. o'brien |
7/10 |
I heart radiation. kind of boring but kind of good also definitely schoollibrarycore |
| exit carefully |
elizabeth ellen |
9/10 |
cured all of my ailments. iw ant to be an actress |
| the buddha of suburbia |
hanif kureishi |
7.5/10 |
annoying in a godardian type of way; artistic and aimless in an inspiring fashion. watched 'beware of a holy whore' the day i finished it, very good companion piece |
| sweetbitter |
stephanie danler |
5.5/10 |
intermittent spurts of interesting writing and characters/plot were relatively bearable but that's all. many reviews complained about the narrator's naivete, etc or said truly dumb things like "why would a 22 year old woman talk like that" or whatever but that's one of the few elements i appreciated, as all the other characters are often telling her how stupid and dumb she is, i think it may be the point... but really i am so glad i'm done w/it that i dont even want to watch the tv adaptation |
| perfect blue: complete metamorphosis |
yoshikazu takeuchi |
6.75/10 |
far better than paprika! very different from the film, much more straightforward in its horror elements. i liked it a lot for the focus on mima, she felt especially human, more relatable etc. genuinely unnerving despite the ummmmm okay translation |
| inherent vice |
thomas pynchon |
8.5/10 |
idk if it is the gaps i took between reading or the marijuana infesting my brain or just the way the book is but i was a little confused. loved it so much though; atmospheric, likable characters, funny, etc. have to rewatch the movie to decide which i really like better though. probably the book. but it is one of the best adaptations that i can think of |
| salmonella men on planet porno |
yasutaka tsutsui |
6/10 |
author of paprika; i love the whimsy, the focus on automobiles, the juxtaposition of the dreary and the surreal, but also this guy hates owomen bro... yall think murakami is bad at writing women??? sorry for saying 'yall' but i stand by this will still read the girl who leapt thru time though |
| her lesser work |
elizabeth ellen |
9/10 |
this book unexpectedly came with my order of the author's play 'exit carefully', there's titties on the front so i covered it with a little god pamphlet that i stole from the goodwill bins so that no one looks at me or talks to me when i read it in public. i kind of want them to though. another lovely funny deranged woman novel, a collection of short stories somewhat reminiscent of 'slaves of new york' in its slight interconnectivity. i love trains and strippers and suicide and alcoholism -- described [the narrators in] this aloud as 'emotional like a woman, evil like a man' |
| men without women |
haruki murakami |
7.4/10 |
this book is almost a week overdue. i renewed it like 3 times why havfe i waited this long. i LOVED drive my car and scheherazade is the best |
| the pisces |
melissa broder |
7.7/10 |
i love crazyu women!!!! this was engrossing and fun to read i love books with tinder dates, especially in hotel bathrooms. i finished this book the same day i watched the russian movie 'mermaid' which doesn't really have as much correlation as u may think but... just enough... this book was also a little sexy to be reading in public but yeah... this felt very human and more importantly female:) |
| leave society |
tao lin |
8/10 |
this bk making me cancel my dentist appointment and drink green juice. autofiction is so fascinating. boring and confusing but also quite captivating and obviously inspiring. i want to microdose lsd and read non-fiction. |
| make something up: stories you can't unread |
chuck palahniuk |
7.5/10 |
very strange collection of stories. i like the violence and insanity; i love anything gruesome/grotesque. the defibrillator lobotomies were my favorite, as well as the cat marriage crimes. everything was very vivid. palahniuk definitely has a distinct voice/style which is inspiring. feel a little sad that im done with it after all this time |
| slaves of new york |
tama janowitz |
9/10 |
the depravity and lack of humanity in some of these characters seemed a good match for the palahniuk i was still reading. vivid settings and an admirable sense of humor. i liked all the characters, no matter how stupid they all were. i love new york and the 80s, specifically when the two are combined. should i book a vacation 2 new york right now? it would be better with a time machine for sure. anyway this is probably the most cohesive anthology of all time, very fun to read |
| the kingdom |
fuminori nakamura |
6/10 |
about a pseudo-prostitute political poisoner; it was interesting enough, especially with its short length. i couldn't really connect to the MC, her backstory was barely even her own. the ending seemed a little unrealistic. all in all, i preferred 'the gun' by the same author but i'll keep reading his shit because it's short and sweet. the male energy behind this female mc was definitely noticeable here??? |
| n.p. |
banana yoshimoto |
10/10 |
significantly darker in its themes than 'kitchen', n.p. follows a translator timidly trying to tackle a translation which has led those who attempted in the past to suicide, including her ex-boyfriend. the main character begans as more of an observer of the drama but quickly becomes entangled. the sticky summer heat is palpable, and enviable. a lot of the lower rated reviews complained about the unhinged character, but that's my favorite kind of character so i fell in love. there's a author's note at the end with a jodorowsky quote, remember wiping my tears and thinking "wow she's just like me (epic and cool)". i love the taboo topics that were touched upon, it was written so beautifully, no complaints |
| the fasting girl |
michelle stacey |
6.8/10 |
made up entirely of tangents but im not NOT enjoying it/even though i left the book feeling just as confused as when i'd started it, i had a nice time reading it, learned some things though i'm not sure what. i want to be a hysterical girl :( |
| snakes and earrings |
hitomi kanehara |
6.9/10 |
dumb characters but i relate, i liked that it was sexy and i like split tongues. very short so that is also a plus. going to watch the movie |
| the decagon house murders |
yukito ayatsuji |
7/10 |
vapid characters a little bit. im not a mystery fanatic actually kind of a hater so not really my cup of tea but. i was intrigued enough to finish it and i like architecture so |
| convenience store woman |
sayaka murata |
6.7/10 |
engrossing little book but overall felt a bit bleak for me, was expecting a light-hearted comedy and it just made me depressed. though it also made me want to go to a japanese convenience store but what else is new |
| the little friend |
donna tartt |
7.9/10 |
terribly overlong, tedious to read, anticlimactic ending, complained about it the entire time... but now that i'm done with it i feel a little empty. through the 600 pages u really get attached to all the characters... reading other books now i feel like i've left my friends behind [danny ratliff is my best friend]. it's like having an annoying friend who talks too much but then realizing u miss their presence, they filled the silence? the descriptions of plants and shit were slightly excessive but such a vivid picture was painted in my mind for every scene of this novel... though it was wholly futile it was also an atmospheric world that sucked me in and wouldn't spit me out... no matter how many times my mom told me to 'quit reading it if i hated it so much'... u just wouldnt understand, moter.... |
| psychomagic: the transformative power of shamanic psychotherapy |
alejandro jodorowsky |
10/10 |
love dreams/poetry/mexico. this is the literary equivalent to taking psychedelic drugs; realizing many things that you knew innately, largely forgetting them after it's over but feeling a general sense of greater understanding?! really this book is a total journey. every time i opened it i would instantly feel cured from all my many, many ailments! love the imaginative exercises, cannot stress the comparison to psychedelics enough; everything u need to know is in ur head already i dont know it may be mumbo-jumbo but it made sense to me |
| i, etcetera |
susan sontag |
8.2/10 |
each story is very different, some i hated but most i loved. really love the clone one and all the secret societies. overall a fantastic experience... |
| why men love bitches |
sherry argov |
5.7/10 |
pretty self explanatory.... FDS teachings but less full of hate still made me feel empty/wary of men but whahtehver some good advice |
| like a hole in the head |
jen banbury |
8.4/10 |
idek why i was drawn to this book... i cant even see the title on the spine of it, ther e is nothing that would have stood out to me at all... so i can only attribute it to fate . a couple days l8r i read the first page and knew there was no other book i wanted to read... and then read it in the next few days. this follows a smartass who works at a bookstore and kind-of accidentally buys a stolen book to sell for motorcycle money. even now i cannot contain my jealousy; getting to read all day and sometimes flirt with child-stars who are addicted to gambling... it's my dream job. anyway it's sexy but it gets sadder as it goes along. it reminds me of 'less than zero' in that it has a very distinct narrator following deranged californians. however, this narrator feels much more like my friend, and i didnt absolutely despise every character in this book. they were great characters, disturbed, annoying, but ultimately charming, my favorite kind of characters!!! so sad after finishing it as the narrator truly felt parasocial. i tried to look for more sexy woman books at the bookstore afrer this but just got two books about prostitutes. why... tghis book... not perfect but... very captivating, will haunt me, etc. would recommedn it to any one but esepcially idk women who r assholes, like me. almost cried. also monica or rachel or both read this on friends i guess kinda seixc |
| popular hits of the showa era |
ryu murakami |
9.3/10 |
"damn is this guy referencing real Life asongs ? should i be lisstening for immersive expereicne damn." did not listen still did i miss something vital... moreover is tihs guy referencing real life weapons and bombs??? OK so thsis book made me cry thrice, but other than that, it was the funniest book i've ever read. how many books havfe made me LOL? much like kitchen, this conjured myriad beautofiul images [bro i dont know how to use the word myriad lol] but also disturbing ones!!! i should really read more because wow its like watching a movie in ur head.... crazy who knew.... when i do watch the actual film adaptation of this i am sure it wont live up. but we'll see i probably will download it tonight. i still havent watched the movie for brave story should i do tha. ANYWAY such a great book, such interesting characters idk it's a really awesome fast-paced, gruesome murakami vehicle |
| kitchen |
banana yoshimoto |
10/10 |
love love song / cried so much... like so much.... don't know if i've ever cried httis much at a book, a pretty short one at that... smiled too. very beautiful, engaging, and healing, feel deeply for every character, conjured beautifl images in my mind |
| brave story |
miyuki miyabe |
9/10 |
love dragons / cried at this too, i didn't expect it to be 800 pages, nor did ie xpect my walls to collapse towards this cheesy little isekai tale. great characters |
| the elephant vanishes |
haruki murakami |
7/10 |
love dancing dwarves / took me a long time to read this, i domnt remembber a lot of them now, i like the movie 'burning' and i dont remember the ending to 'sleep' but iliked it. because i am a girl who cant sleep |
| story of the eye |
georges bataille |
6/10 |
slightly too depravd for me but only slightly. still written in nice poetic language and engaging enough for me 2 have read it in one sitting |
| in the miso soup |
ryu murakami |
9/10 |
re-read this as i made my bf read it but when he wanted 2 discuss it i had forgotten so much of the plot. it all came back to me while reading and it's truly depraved and i dontk now wjhhy they cant make murakami adaptations in japan? feel like sean lennon wanted to make this or somethign too idk |
| paprika |
yasutaka tsutsui |
6/10 |
i mean iw rote a review. i love dreams so much so i loved the dream sequences, but the characters were not particularly charismatic, and too much emphasis on like office work and sciecnce for my taste. still want to read tsutsui's girl who leapt through time though, obviously |
| less than zero |
bret easton ellis |
5/10 |
the point of it may to be to exaggerate the depravity of trust fund teens in L.A. and make me hate them, but i dont like reading books to despise each and every character in them. epitomizes many of the things i hatr aboujt the world, not enjoyable, and the concept is, a real trust fund kid writing a likely semi-autographical novel at the age of a teen because of the privilege he was given?? no im not mad im not a juknie in thw 90s who now has a podcast all because my parents lived in california becuahese the y wrere rich. |
| the melancholy of resistance |
lászló krasznahorkai |
9/10 |
better than the movie imo, immediately captivating from the first page & situation. one of the best endings of all time, well-written, good characters, however feels very distant -- u always feel like an outsider in their world. need to read satantango ! |
| nausea |
jean-paul sartre |
7.5/10 |
made me depressed, remember thinking if i had read it at a more vulnerable time i would've just had a breakdown, lots of feelings written that i've felt before, definitely more relatable nihilism than camus' the stranger !! |
| valerie and her week of wonders |
vítězslav nezval |
8/10 |
very good for making me feel like i completely understand the movie. kind of lackluster everything considered, but a quick, nice read and one of my favorite movies ever so whatever.... love surrealism and vampires and shit |
| my mother/madame edwarda/the dead man |
georges bataille |
8.5/10 |
my first venture into bataille, picked up at goodwill, published after his death, i believe. well-written and discomforting, not overly disgusting, as i'd likely imagined, from the title/subject matter. maybe i like madame edwarda the best. need to watch the isabelle huppert adaptation lol |
| sixty-nine |
ryu murakami |
8/10 |
was cool to read as it name-dropped genet and godard when i'd just read 'our lady' and watched a myriad of godard films, really read this at the right time.. not as impactful as all the other murakamis i've read but fun, simple, quick, earnest, and charming as usual... love this guy, the movie was cute mainly because it had that one guy |
| our lady of the flowers |
jean genet |
9/10 |
read this on a friend's recommendation, started on my kindle, couldn't handle it, ordered a copy that was pretty destroyed but i made it through... genet's [sagittarius btw] canonisation of an interesting, troubled drag queen called divine. written while imprisoned, the line between reality and fiction is definitely untenably blurred. a stream-of-consciousness poetic but simultaneously relatively repulsive look into many sides and edges of human nature and values. |
| you can make anything sad |
spencer madsen |
7/10 |
been reading this since like 2015, makes me nostalgic for when i thought alt-lit writers were really cool and stuff.. i don't remember much but i thinnk everyone likes these poems |
| record of a night too brief |
hiromi kawakami |
8.5/10 |
bought from kinokuniya because it looked cool, this book contains three dreamlike and ephemeral novellas/stories. they revolve around subjects like the spiritual realm to varying degrees, something i really enjoy[ed]. i want to read it again, and everything else by hiromi kawakami. most of what i remember now are the images these stories conjured in my mind, clear as day like a recurring dream, a wonderful sign ! |
