moonyreadsbystarlight's reviews
472 reviews

hopeful

5.0

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

challenging emotional mysterious tense

4.0

This was a really intense collection. It's the sort of literature you really have to sit with. I felt like I should have been reading it for a class (not in a bad way). There was a lot explored in interesting and intricate ways. There was a lot thematically about misogyny, trauma and mental health, and queerness.

As with any collection, there were ups and downs. My favorite story was probably Mothers. My least favorite was Especially Heinous (though I love a lot of the ideas there, it was way too long). Overall, it was well written, intense, and definitely fucked with my mind

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Universal Harvester by John Darnielle

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reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

I read the first third or so of this a couple of years ago and stopped just because life happened. I picked up The audiobook on a whim and read it all in one night and it was quite the time.

I'm not sure that I've totally wrapped my head around the book completely. This strange story is told going between characters and between times. There were fourth wall breaks and explorations of how things may have gone differently, as well as insight on grief and memory. Thematically, there are a lot of profound things to unpack. However, if you are a plot person, you will come out of it far more unsettled that I am. There are a lot of everyday "plotless" points in order to (in theory) discover what is behind the mystery of the tapes.

I feel like this is one I'm going to have to process and maybe reread to totally get it (and there were enough compelling bits that I would like to). I had an interesting time with it nonetheless.

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Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English by Valerie Fridland

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informative

4.75

This was such a cool read! For context, my master's thesis was linguistic in nature, so this is the exact sort of thing I would have had to include in it (had it been published earlier). This was very approachable and accessible to a less academic audience while also being full of interesting information. I definitely learned some things around history! This does a great job breaking down how social biases impact public opinion on language - meanwhile, it is those marginalized groups who are the innovators.

I would recommend to anyone who is interested in linguistics. If you read Wordslut by Amanda Montel and you want to learn even more, check this out!

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Twistwood Tales by A.C. Macdonald

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adventurous funny hopeful

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This was weird, adorable, a little creepy, and a lot wholesome. This is a series of comics with interconnected characters and a few connected plots. I adored this and will absolutely be revisiting. It's so comfy!

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Drama by Raina Telgemeier

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funny lighthearted

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes

3.5

This is a story about some theater kids and the drama that can happen behind the scenes of the show. There were parts that were funny and I thought that there were some good things happening with discussions about coming out and generally coming out of your shell as a person. I did find parts clunky or frustrating at times but overall, it was pretty cute.

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Crossplay by Niki Smith

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lighthearted

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

This was a fun and sexy story that is a window into the dynamics of this friend group at a con. I enjoyed this for the most part. I liked the art style and appreciated that there were so many different kinds of people and body types. There were some cute dynamics here but I do wish we had more time with the characters to really understand all of the relationships (and to get to really know more about the characters that I did really like)

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