ishu_u's reviews
117 reviews

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

this was actually a super interesting read. i really like keiko's character and reading in her perspective was intriguing. the way she thinks is odd but super interesting. she makes for a compelling character. i didn't care much for the plot but it didn't bore me. i like the themes discussed in this book. it's interesting to read about how people are pressured into getting "good" jobs and getting married and being a good little member of society. i relate to keiko in some sense and i'm happy that she does what she wants at the end.

instead of marrying shiraha. i feel like, towards the end, keiko was also subconsciously thinking a bit like he was after hanging around with and listening to him rant sm. he's definitely an interesting character, but he's creepy so i don't like him.

also, i was surprised by how much i was on keiko's side reading this lol.

bc her thoughts are strange. like she thinks of making two boys stop fighting by hitting them over the head and then thinks of stopping her baby nephew from crying by contemplating stabbing him 😭 but i feel for her, in some sense. i wouldn't say i'm really like her but everyone around her pissed me off bc they're all so eager for her to get married and pop out babies and get a good job like, mind ur own business. i'm pretty young rn so i doubt i understand fully what societal pressure like that is like. but just hearing about it upsets me. if working in the convenience store and being single works for her then that's great!!! people in society need convenience store workers too, after all.

anyway, interesting read! i wasn't bored for a second.

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

made me cry at the end ☹️ this is a super cute and emotional book. i really like morrie! silly old guy. i wish i got to have conversations w him. the relationship he has w mitch is so special to me and i love how greatly he impacted mitch's life. also the reason this book was published just makes me wanna cry all over again. it's easy to read and i like the life lessons provided. i try often not to think of death but it truly is important to reflect on it and appreciate every little moment. this was a lovely read!!! 

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.5

i wish someone wrote letters like this to me fr. none of it really left that much of a mark on me but the earlier letters had useful advice to me as someone who writes.

Spectacular by Stephanie Garber

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

this sure was... something. i have to say i'm really disappointed it was centered around tella and not scarlett 😭 i like scarlett sm better. and i love julian so so much so i was excited to read thinking omg i'm gonna see my scarlett and julian again. and i did see them. for like a second or two. so yeah that sucked. i liked the magical feeling this book had, though. like i did when i read caraval. and the holiday vibes and all of that. it's like the one thing i enjoyed about this book. and this is a novella so i can't expect the plot to be good but it wasn't even cutesy 😭

like i'm reading about tella being tied up and assaulted and i'm supposed to be giggling about it?? fuck no. that scene was so weird and creepy and then it's made out to seem like tella knew who it was all along. like okay? weird. i am not matching her freak.

oh and i wanted some amount of evajacks. like. at least some amount of jacks. but no, neither of them were there. which, i can understand. but depriving me of scarlett and julian is crazy!!! not a great novella and it makes me sad it isn't bc i love caraval. oh and the illustrations are cute.

The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace

emotional reflective fast-paced

2.0

interesting bc i've never read a book like this before until now. it's just a collection of her poetry. and i was.. well.. 😭 it was funny. the poems were like s(he) be(lie)ve(d) and i'm supposed to be like omg this is so emotional. no! it was hilarious. bc the rest sounded like: dear haters, i couldn't help but notice that ugly starts with "u" and awesome ends with "me" like be so fr rn 😭 i'm gonna cry. but!!! i will say, i did genuinely enjoy some of them. mostly the ones about her mother. otherwise it was just funny tbh. i wouldn't say most of the poetry was good, but that's just me.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

this was fun to read. i wasn't expecting much bc it's so short but the way it's written makes it super engaging. i love the short chapters and the writing style, it makes esperanza an interesting character. i kind of wanted it to be longer bc i wanted to know more about the people in the neighborhood. i don't have much to say abt this book bc it's so short, but it was fun reading and i relate to esperanza in some sense.

The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm

informative reflective slow-paced

2.75

i don't have much to say and i can't say i learned anything new from this. pretty much everything talked about was something i had already learned beforehand so 👍

Dearest Father by Franz Kafka

emotional sad fast-paced

4.25

i have only read one work by franz kafka so far but i think he and i are soulmates in some sense now 😭 almost everything he talked about resonated really well with me and the relationship i have w my own father. i often feel lacking whenever i'm around my father, like nothing i do will be good enough for him and he is pretty much the reason why i've grown up to become so comfortable w doubting myself. i also feel like i'm always unconsciously seeking my father's approval. even when i say i'll do things for myself, i want him to see me succeed and tell me that i did a good job. so, yes, this book hit close to home.

Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

you know how some books absolutely do NOT need sequels? this was one of them. where am i supposed to start expressing my disappointment. better than the movies is one of my favorite romance books ever and this lowkey ruined it for me. i am going to pretend this book doesn't exist tbh 😭 bc it was literally so unnecessary. before it even came out, when i heard it was a "second-chance romance" i was already iffy about it. like, the wes ik would never break up with liz.

that boy was too madly in love with her to throw it all away over his own issues and then go as far as to say he cheated just so she'd leave him alone. he was actually the biggest dick in this book and it's casually brushed off like 'oh, i'm such a dick but i'm crazily obsessed and in love w liz so it's forgivable' no it's NOT. i love wes bennett w all my heart but reading this book actually made me dislike him. like, first of all, YOU were the one to mess things up and then you come back into her life and borderline harass her into getting back together with u. he didn't even respect that she had a new bf (nevermind that she was fake-dating clark, it's not like he knew).

and the 'new liz' shit honestly pissed me tf off 😭 do not talk to me about it being 'realistic' i don't care. i didn't come here for realistic. i literally read books to escape reality. i love liz buxbaum and wes bennett from better than the movies but them in this book? literally WHO are they. the only thing i liked was that there were some cute moments and obviously i think it's nice that wes is so obsessed with her

still, i really don't find what he did forgivable. and it just seems so out of character for wes. i tried to be sympathetic, but i just couldn't be.

and really, it didn't feel like anything was happening. this book is literally just if the miscommunication trope was a book 😭 kill me now. at least it lives up to it's title. "nothing like the movies" fuck yeah it isn't. for my sanity and bc i love better than the movies sm, i'm gonna pretend this book doesn't exist. oh, and the writing really sucked. it felt like i was reading fanfiction, not a published book. 

All This Twisted Glory by Tahereh Mafi

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this book was so disappointing i'm ngl 😭 why does it feel like nothing ever really happens. like the progress is so slowww.

alizeh and cyrus are STILL not wed and make a blood oath by the end like girl. what was really going on in the rest of the book. alizeh just becomes unconscious and then gains consciousness 4 weeks later and a bunch of stuff has happened and after that, it's like. idk. it didn't feel like anything truly significant happened at all.

i like the characters, though. i did want to see more omid and huda so i'm happy i got to see them a lot in this book. but, did their appearances have to be sooo.. like. how do i say this. it just felt like they existed to interrupt the dialogue between everyone else 😭 i hated that, as much as i love the two of them. now as for the romance... why do i feel like tahereh is kind of trying to make kamran into a bad person? like. he's really not.

the way he casually puts his hand on alizeh irks me, though. but other than that, he's fine. but here come the comparisons like oh cyrus did this and kamran would never do as much as cyrus does like yes he absolutely would. i am not forgetting how down bad he was in the first book. that doesn't just disappear and turn into "i believe alizeh belongs to me" like get out of here. do not ruin kamran for me.

i hate love triangles. and i really want to like cyrus, i do. but why is his character just being depressed and being horny 😭 am i not getting something here??

all he did was suffer and suffer some more and be a whore. his thoughts about alizeh r crazy. i wanted to giggle and i DID but like, he needs to chill out. even i'm not that freaky. alizeh horny as hell, too. like calm down, u two have known each other for such a short time. minus him seeing her in his dreams. but, i honestly really don't think that counts.

also did kamran have a pov in this book? i can't rmr. but, he should have had one. give me three povs. or just give me alizeh and kamran tbh.

bc cyrus' pov is pretty much just him being thirsty. like ok, i don't need to see all of that. and kamran and huda were honestly the best part of this book. that's real enemies to lovers. pls, make them kiss, i beg. i want a kamran pov so i can see how these two behave in private and see them make out. thanks.

overall, not that great of a book. but, i actually wasn't too bored reading this one. it was just a bit disappointing.