| title |
author |
score |
review |
| sanity, madness and the family |
r.d. laing/a. esterson |
7.6/10 |
decided to read this due to passing references to Laing/schizophrenia in 'I love Dick'. astonishingly convincing + captivating though repetitive. sad/maddening, compels me to do further research on this/similar topics. |
| tales from the ant world |
edward o. wilson |
🐜/10 |
not the most captivating bug book i've read. Truly a collection of 'tales', so just too unfocused overall. half-memoir which is alright with me but idk maybe i just don't really care about ants that much. i wanted to... |
| poems |
elizabeth ellen |
8/10 |
anti-poetry poems etc, it's hard for me to articulate anything about this due to my internal extreme parasocial relationship with this woman. i feel i am making it sound more dramatic than it is but it's Embarrassing in any case. very inspiring -- another source of self-sacrifice for the sake of writing in a way that you think was that really worth it... I prefer her short stories i think but these are basically short stories as well. i could and would say much more despite my aforementioned apprehension but i am going to eat breakfast now |
| half sun half sleep |
may swenson |
7.5/10 |
i dont know how to rate poetry. a few from this are really nice and the ones i was indifferent to were also nice in their own ways. i am curious about this woman. i liked the selection of translated Swedish poetry at the end very much as well. |
| i love dick |
chris kraus |
6.9/10 |
also inspiring in the kind of life-ruining, ego-crushing kind of way; i prefer the first half, the hopeless desperation/latent perversion within the initial collection of letters, to the art-criticism/self-reflection conclusive half, but i enjoyed it all regardless. reading this i felt transported into a world i have only imagined while stalking pseudocelebrities on the internet. this i found also inspiring but annoying. which is why i preferred the first half, a shameless humanity, a bright red wreckage that one can't help but see their reflection in -- or maybe that's just me... inspired me to write more annoying things in my journal. i wish i could think of a different word than 'inspire'. Expanded my brain in a way that I am obliged 2 appreciate |
| shanghai baby |
wei hui |
7.2/10 |
written kinda annoyingly but again in a way in which i want to begrudgingly befriend her. subtly embarrassing autofiction [to an extent which i will never truly know] but that's what i liked most about it. coasting on the plot alone, the novel reads romantic, sometimes nauseatingly so, but among these elements are a heavy, foggy ~Shanghainese atmosphere, the underlying urgency in the daily life of a young [and so beautiful and so cool] novelist, and an infectious/inspirational/exceptional ability to romanticize one's life. where the romantic prospects and plotlines fail to grip me, the idea that i am reading a Cool girl's Diary acts as its parachute. a colorful/quirky cast of characters akin to a [Ryu] Murakami novel and the narrator's confessional cadence contribute to something more memorable than it may initially appear. |
| at home in the street |
tobias hecht |
8.8/10 |
always thought this would be the most boring book in the world but it's written in a pretty engaging way. cried within the first 2 pages btw. though, in the end, i'd honestly rather be reading a memoir by an actual street-child, the context given here is obviously important/impactful. also that probably does exist in some form despite illiteracy rates and i probably will continue engaging with this topic, especially because this book was written in the 90s and there are obviously a lot of different factors that have been introduced in the past few decades. by the last chapter, when the 'theoretical' had become somewhat overwhelming, the emotional overload of the epilogues of many of the kids/young adults interviewed in earlier chapters hit me like a brick over the skull. reading this has also colored my view of Pixote, a film i initially was unsure of how to rate, whether to recommend. learning that the principal actor in the film was killed by police at 19 was a devastating final blow to the harsh realities presented in the film, and i wondered if the film was exploitative overall. i don't really feel that way now, considering i may not have even actually read this book if not for the effect the film left on me. despite achieving the dreams illustrated by the vast majority of children surveyed in the book, which is: to have a wife and family, the material conditions that are warranted to perpetuate this dream just aren't there, and as i have learned, and seen in my own interactions with the homeless, are not such a simple fix. it's all extremely depressing, but Pixote is so good because the brief glimpses of hope, beauty, and humanity in it are profound and very real. for example, a few months ago i revisited the scene where Lilica is singing on the beach, right before her 18th birthday. i only looked to see which Gal Costa song it was. i found that Lilica's actor suggested that song (forca estranha btw) instead of a different Roberto Carlos song, and more importantly the version specifically popularized by Gal. in the comments i also read that the actor for Pixote rested his head on [her] shoulder out of his own volition, rather than the script, or direction. i am slightly embarrassed to admit i cry just thinking about it. all that is to say that i am retroactively rating it 5 stars. |
| going down |
jennifer belle |
7.7/10 |
cinematic and engaging. Obnoxious narrator but in a way in which you kind of learn to love her. i do think the amount of projection on the author's behalf is slightly unbecoming... note to self -- if writing fiction, make sure any physical description of the main character does not match my own to a T. there are also many occasions in which an imo necessary comma was omitted and thus broke my immersion due to the sheer frustration it caused me. nitpicking aside, reading this [which i picked up only due to Tama Janowitz' quote on the cover and the fact that it was $1] reinstilled my faith in fiction. upon assessing every other book on my shelf, i feel that this may have been a fluke, that this is a special gem similar to the feeling i got when reading 'like a hole in the head' or 'her lesser work'. all cases of women who are Somewhat annoying and craxzy; That's why we (I) love them though. Am i right fellas |
| fly: an experimental life |
martin brookes |
8.4/10 |
followed up the explosion of my bug autism with this as opposed to the parasite book i saw on the same shelf. i am not sure why. i found the lack of illustrations obviously initially offputting but i got over it. found myself begrudgingly giggling at British humor. less focused on the Fly's life per se and more what the studies of such have done for biology as a whole. now im into biology and questioning myself for my seemingly lifelong repulsion to scientific things. i still dont understand DNA but the fact that i even kind of want to is truly a turning point for me. some of the analogies were even more confusing than the thing he was trying to explain but alas. my life is changing in real time... all thanks to termites... and it feels like its meant to be in a way that i cannot explain because its so honestly schizophrenic... i feel happy and bashful.. but i still strongly dislike flies. especially the fruit variety! |
| a natural history of termites |
frances l. behnke |
8.5/10 |
ok... sometimes the syntax was soooo bad that i find it hard to believe there was an editor for this so-called 'book'. but it changed my life so it doesnt matter obviously. the illustrations are awesome. id get them ALL tattooed. its awesome that i said 'termitarium' out loud the other day. its awesome that tehre are people that consider themselves to be 'termitologists'. most underrated insect; ants who??? i spent too much money on this probably but i think its sooo lucky that i found it in the first place. i love termites!!!! |
| the kreutzer sonata and other stories |
leo tolstoy |
7.8/10 |
tolstoy seems like a very weird man. i dont really remember the different stories too well at this point but the themes resonate. my favorite part was probably the afterword where he expresses his belief that sex is a sin no matter what. procreation is bad. people are bad. id smoke a joint with that guy! |
| the year of magical thinking |
joan didion |
8.6/10 |
so sad so beautiful. this i remember reading! but if i remember too hard ill cry. need to read more by her. i read "On Self Respect" and didnt get it. glad women have stopped mentioning that. anyway My Friend Jeff's goodreads review got me i will [be] listening to Phil Elverum's entire discography thankyou |
| goth |
otsuichi |
6/10 |
forgot i read this too., what was this even about... sorry... |
| earth angel |
madeline cash |
7/10 |
one of these stories i read online and believed to be real. am i stupid. all over the place but a fun quikc read & inspiring. cute to own because the cover is cute & so me |
| after dark |
haruki murakami |
6.6/10 |
entertaining enough but i just didnt care. entirely forgot i read it |
| how to murder your life |
cat marnell |
8.2/10 |
ok fineeee illstart takintg my ADD medication |
| 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 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 *edit:* the movie was not good enough to inspire me to write a review. i only liked it because i got to see one of my favorite books on screen. locations and casting were honestly impeccable, except for the main guy who is just not good at acting, and he is actually kind of important which likely led to my distaste. distinct scenes that i NEEDED to see were omitted. if this were four hours long and directed by Sion Sono i would have none of these complaints. something to think about |
| 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 |
6.8/10 |
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 |
8.7/10 |
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 |
6.7/10 |
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 *edit:* i didnt like the movie. thats all i rember:) |
| the decagon house murders |
yukito ayatsuji |
6.4/10 |
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 |
8.8/10 |
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 |
| 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 ! |
