samahcanread__'s reviews
915 reviews
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
funny
medium-paced
2.75
oh, boy, where do i start? the book had a lot of potential. I've seen many romcoms with somewhat similar plot lines, like the Proposal starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. But many things gave me the icks. The fact the book was self-conscious about the tropes taking over romance books was used not to call out the over saturated tropes being dumped on books, but to do fall under the same over-saturated field of tropes, which made Nora judgmental. She hated being put into a box and fitting into a stereotype, which to be honest I don't think she hated that much. Still, she was categorizing people in her head and judging their way of life based on stereotypes she is trying to abolish.
I felt no connection to the characters, mainly because of the way the flashbacks were written into the story. Flashbacks are a way to give characters more dimensions, but instead, they were used either to give us a break from the dialogue, or explain why Nora was feeling a certain way after an interaction with someone. I don't need a flashback to come after an interaction to sympathize or feel for Nora. But when it comes to Charlie, his flashbacks and backstories are used during weird moments, most of the time when they are about to boink. Like, can men only be in touch with their feelings when they are horny?
I really wanted to like this book, to prove everyone online that despite being a cold hearted person who is rarely called a romantic, I can enjoy a fluffy romance book now and then.
I felt no connection to the characters, mainly because of the way the flashbacks were written into the story. Flashbacks are a way to give characters more dimensions, but instead, they were used either to give us a break from the dialogue, or explain why Nora was feeling a certain way after an interaction with someone. I don't need a flashback to come after an interaction to sympathize or feel for Nora. But when it comes to Charlie, his flashbacks and backstories are used during weird moments, most of the time when they are about to boink. Like, can men only be in touch with their feelings when they are horny?
I really wanted to like this book, to prove everyone online that despite being a cold hearted person who is rarely called a romantic, I can enjoy a fluffy romance book now and then.
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
medium-paced
5.0
you may be bold, but you won't be as bold as Mikhail Bulgakov writing a book criticizing the curent state of the soviet union and asking Stalin himselg to let him publish his book openly and act surprised when he was rejected
Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout
adventurous
challenging
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I always read books about couple in their twenties and thirties managing their love life; marriages, falling out of love, second chances and being head over heels with each others. But I never understood the level of maturity age brings to love when you read a certain age; when you have lived a full life, when you had every chance life can offer, when you have enough time to rethink your life and how different things would've been, coming face to face with the choices and the trauma and the journey you took.
Lucy and William has been divorced for many years, but kept a close friendship, where Lucy was always trying to understood this mystery of her ex-husband. There is an understanding of each other that only come with time and many uphill battles and many trials they faced.
There is a sense of being comfortable in your own skin that comes with age, that I wish and pray I reach when I'm over the uncertainties of my twenties.
The writing style is something I never read before; there is a warmth, a coziness between the lines, despite the fact that the style of narration is jumping between years and not as coherent as I most stories come to be. Maybe it is a reflection of that sense of being in your sixties and things are running in your head in a way that isn't linear; you lived a full life, and everything is connected through memories and scents and places, that make things come to you in waves.
I loved this book. It made me miss my grandparents. I wish I had more time with them.
Lucy and William has been divorced for many years, but kept a close friendship, where Lucy was always trying to understood this mystery of her ex-husband. There is an understanding of each other that only come with time and many uphill battles and many trials they faced.
There is a sense of being comfortable in your own skin that comes with age, that I wish and pray I reach when I'm over the uncertainties of my twenties.
The writing style is something I never read before; there is a warmth, a coziness between the lines, despite the fact that the style of narration is jumping between years and not as coherent as I most stories come to be. Maybe it is a reflection of that sense of being in your sixties and things are running in your head in a way that isn't linear; you lived a full life, and everything is connected through memories and scents and places, that make things come to you in waves.
I loved this book. It made me miss my grandparents. I wish I had more time with them.
Bonjour Tristesse and A Certain Smile by Françoise Sagan
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
rip françoise sagan, you would've loved daddy issues by The Neighbourhood and Lana Del Rey
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Reasons why I read Macbeth
- Macbeth is mentionned in Hamilton the Musical
- Florence Pugh plays Lady Macbeth is Lady Macbeth(2016)
- I bought the most beautiful copy of the book in an antique shop
- I NEED TO WATCH The Tragedy of Macbeth(2021) STAGE ADAPTATION STARTING SOIARSE RONAN
- Macbeth is mentionned in Hamilton the Musical
- Florence Pugh plays Lady Macbeth is Lady Macbeth(2016)
- I bought the most beautiful copy of the book in an antique shop
- I NEED TO WATCH The Tragedy of Macbeth(2021) STAGE ADAPTATION STARTING SOIARSE RONAN
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
when i first read Franz Kafka books five years ago, it was like being claustrophobic in my own skin, faced with the question of the necessity of life, and if life should be lived with purpose and passion, and if not, if one find themselves not living life and questioning its purpose, was the answer suicide. All these ideas stayed in the back of my head, till the day I read The Outsider (L'Etranger) by Albert Camus, about a man living unapologetically in this world, not questioning his purpose, who rather die than conform to society. Then this led to discovering Camus' philosophy, and then reading The Myth of Sisyphus
I'd be lying if I said I didn't struggle with this book. Mainly because Camus was bringing many other philosophers' ideas that I wasn't familiar with; Kierkegaard's existentialism, Husserl's phenomenology, Jaspers' humanistic existentialism, and many more were more or less new notion I was learning about, the same time I was reading how Camus was using them to defend his philosophy, which is embracing the absurdity of human existence and creating value and meaning, arguing that by putting efforts and showing resilience, not suicide and despair, are the appropriate responses.
He also argued that Sisyphus, despite his eternal punishment of rolling the boulder all the way up, knowing his fate and how it will roll down before reaching the top, is the poster oy of absurdism, happy and values life over death and wishes to enjoy his existence as much as possible and we must emulate his resilience.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't struggle with this book. Mainly because Camus was bringing many other philosophers' ideas that I wasn't familiar with; Kierkegaard's existentialism, Husserl's phenomenology, Jaspers' humanistic existentialism, and many more were more or less new notion I was learning about, the same time I was reading how Camus was using them to defend his philosophy, which is embracing the absurdity of human existence and creating value and meaning, arguing that by putting efforts and showing resilience, not suicide and despair, are the appropriate responses.
He also argued that Sisyphus, despite his eternal punishment of rolling the boulder all the way up, knowing his fate and how it will roll down before reaching the top, is the poster oy of absurdism, happy and values life over death and wishes to enjoy his existence as much as possible and we must emulate his resilience.
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
i tried, i cant, it's getting ridiculous
Public library and other stories by Ali Smith
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
I always find it hard to explain Ali Smith's book, not because they are hard to explain, but how can someone explain a feeling? Reading this collection of stories made me realise how I love reading about other people mundane lives; their mourning routines, their random thoughts, their weird dreams that lead nowhere.
The 12 stories in this collection are interrupted by conversations and reflections made by Ali Smith's friends and circle about public libraries, their history, their importance in communities and their future in this capitalist society.
I didn't grow up with public libraries, i read the books we had home. I don't remember having a public library in my community, once we had it in our school, but it was so poorly underfunded, the place was used for gossip and snacking. The only public library I had subscribed to was my university library, which was a blessing because I got a discount for being enrolled in the same university. I see so many people talking about why reading isn't popular in our community, and many forget to point at how underfunded and scarce public libraries are.
Overall, I found my favourite author.
The 12 stories in this collection are interrupted by conversations and reflections made by Ali Smith's friends and circle about public libraries, their history, their importance in communities and their future in this capitalist society.
I didn't grow up with public libraries, i read the books we had home. I don't remember having a public library in my community, once we had it in our school, but it was so poorly underfunded, the place was used for gossip and snacking. The only public library I had subscribed to was my university library, which was a blessing because I got a discount for being enrolled in the same university. I see so many people talking about why reading isn't popular in our community, and many forget to point at how underfunded and scarce public libraries are.
Overall, I found my favourite author.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The premise of the book was that humanity conquered everything, even death. People don't die from diseases or even old age; technologies are made to make people de-age and look as young as 21, despite how old they truly are. But, to keep the balance in the world, a new monk-like organisation is put in place to "glean" people, which is basically select randomly people to kill.
I don't understand the concept. Why make life easier, conquer death, basically invent immortality, when you still have to kill people to keep the balance? I mean, it sounds fun to not worry about diseases like cancer or about accidental deaths like road accidents or dangerous labours that cause mortal accidents, but from what I understand, death sounds crucial to humanity, so why abolish it, then invent a new order that is doomed to be corrupt anyways?
We're scared of death because we don't know when it might happen. Despite our arrogance as a species, we are pretty vulnerable. We're scared of death because we feel like we can do more, we haven't met our full potential, made our dreams come true, when these dreams are usually cut short or unattainable because of money or time or health issues. But when all these problems are eradicated; poverty is eradicated, diseases don't bother humanity, why are people so scared when they are face to face with their gleaning?
We can conquer death, but never our greed for more.
Back to the book. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing. It's obvious that I'm not the targeted audience with this book, but that doesn't deny the fact that we shouldn't simplify books just because they targeted at a younger audience. I needed more world buildings; I found myself scrapping together the little information that is dropped casually in conversation or the journal entries that interrupt the chapters of the stories. Also, I wanted a map. Normalise having maps in dystopian books.
I don't understand the concept. Why make life easier, conquer death, basically invent immortality, when you still have to kill people to keep the balance? I mean, it sounds fun to not worry about diseases like cancer or about accidental deaths like road accidents or dangerous labours that cause mortal accidents, but from what I understand, death sounds crucial to humanity, so why abolish it, then invent a new order that is doomed to be corrupt anyways?
We're scared of death because we don't know when it might happen. Despite our arrogance as a species, we are pretty vulnerable. We're scared of death because we feel like we can do more, we haven't met our full potential, made our dreams come true, when these dreams are usually cut short or unattainable because of money or time or health issues. But when all these problems are eradicated; poverty is eradicated, diseases don't bother humanity, why are people so scared when they are face to face with their gleaning?
We can conquer death, but never our greed for more.
Back to the book. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing. It's obvious that I'm not the targeted audience with this book, but that doesn't deny the fact that we shouldn't simplify books just because they targeted at a younger audience. I needed more world buildings; I found myself scrapping together the little information that is dropped casually in conversation or the journal entries that interrupt the chapters of the stories. Also, I wanted a map. Normalise having maps in dystopian books.
The Plague by Albert Camus
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
actual rating: 3.75 stars
After living through a pandemic that brought with it a long quarantine, and after the WHO announcement that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, I read the plague by my favourite philosopher, Albert Camus.
Everything in this book felt familiar, like that pair of worn socks you threw once in the corner of your room that you find yourself one day picking to wear because everything is in the washer and that pair escaped the washing machine sentence. I was once again hit with the emotional weight of confinement as the citizen of Oran are put under an exile in their own house. Rethinking life, our intimate relationships, the meaning of our life as individuals and as a society, the shared experience of the same ordeal that cancel one's selfishness in the face of it all, all of these feelings were vividly portrayed in the book. I was having war flashbacks.
One thing to add is that after finishing the book, I'm grateful for tiktok because unlike the citizen of Oran, we had something to numb our reality.
After living through a pandemic that brought with it a long quarantine, and after the WHO announcement that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, I read the plague by my favourite philosopher, Albert Camus.
Everything in this book felt familiar, like that pair of worn socks you threw once in the corner of your room that you find yourself one day picking to wear because everything is in the washer and that pair escaped the washing machine sentence. I was once again hit with the emotional weight of confinement as the citizen of Oran are put under an exile in their own house. Rethinking life, our intimate relationships, the meaning of our life as individuals and as a society, the shared experience of the same ordeal that cancel one's selfishness in the face of it all, all of these feelings were vividly portrayed in the book. I was having war flashbacks.
One thing to add is that after finishing the book, I'm grateful for tiktok because unlike the citizen of Oran, we had something to numb our reality.