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torishams's reviews
295 reviews
The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz
3.25
Super interesting concept, but just didn’t really do anything for me. All the twists felt super predictable. I wouldn’t say it was bad, just a really long book without much special stuff going for it other than the initial concept.
Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski
2.0
I may have enjoyed this more if I had more time to read it in a shorter time frame and really dive deep into it, but I just couldn't really connect.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
3.5-3.75
This book is very much out of the realm of books I tend to read, so considering that, I actually enjoyed it more than expected! It was definitely giving the manly sexist vibes that I HATE (also see 1984) but it wasn’t as bad as 1984 so there’s that I guess. It was a very interesting structure, which I think is its main selling point.
This book is very much out of the realm of books I tend to read, so considering that, I actually enjoyed it more than expected! It was definitely giving the manly sexist vibes that I HATE (also see 1984) but it wasn’t as bad as 1984 so there’s that I guess. It was a very interesting structure, which I think is its main selling point.
Mother in the Dark by Kayla Maiuri
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
3.25/3.5
I think my feelings about this book may have been impacted by my inability to just read it all in a few days. Sometimes I have trouble enjoying a book when I can't just read it all at once so that may have altered this. However, I very much had high expectat ions for this book that weren't really met. It didn't seem to have a ton going on plot-wise, which is fine, but when there isn't much plot, there has to be more substance to the greater meaning (in my opinion), which I feel like just wasn't there as much. I did think the writing style did convey the relationships between family members well, which I enjoyed. And it made the characters complex, discussing the nuances of both loving and hating a family member.
I think my feelings about this book may have been impacted by my inability to just read it all in a few days. Sometimes I have trouble enjoying a book when I can't just read it all at once so that may have altered this. However, I very much had high expectat ions for this book that weren't really met. It didn't seem to have a ton going on plot-wise, which is fine, but when there isn't much plot, there has to be more substance to the greater meaning (in my opinion), which I feel like just wasn't there as much. I did think the writing style did convey the relationships between family members well, which I enjoyed. And it made the characters complex, discussing the nuances of both loving and hating a family member.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
4.0
Ok sooooo now I understand why everyone loves this book. It's such a heartwarming exploration of a friendship over time and really considers the idea of platonic love (which I've never seen depicted in a book, and I loved it).
Favorite Quotes:
* the alternative to appropriation is a world in which artists only reference their own cultures… a world where white European people make art about white European people, with only white European references in it. Swap African or Asian or Latin or whatever culture you want for European. A world where everyone is blind and deaf to any culture or experience that is not their own. I hate that world, don’t you? (21%)
* because she won on this day, with this particular set of people. we can never know what else might have happened had other competitors been there. .. and this is the truth of any game—it can only exist at the moment that is being played. it’s the same with being an actor. in the end, all we can ever know is the game that was played, in the only world that we know. (22%)
* we are all living, at most, half of a life, she thought. There was the life that you lived, which consisted of the choices you made. And then, there was the other life, the one that was the things you hadn’t chosen. (36%)
* throughout his life, Sam had hated being told to “fight,” as if sickness were a character failing. Illness could not be defeated, no matter how hard you fought, and pain, once it had you in its grasp, was transformational. (47%)
* the way to turn an ex-lover into a friend is to never stop loving them, to know that when one phase of a relationship ends it can transform into something else. It is to acknowledge that love is both a constant and a variable at the same time. (75%)
* “what is a game?” Marx said. It’s tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It’s the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you keep playing, you could win. No loss is permanent, because nothing is permanent, ever.” (84%)
Favorite Quotes:
* the alternative to appropriation is a world in which artists only reference their own cultures… a world where white European people make art about white European people, with only white European references in it. Swap African or Asian or Latin or whatever culture you want for European. A world where everyone is blind and deaf to any culture or experience that is not their own. I hate that world, don’t you? (21%)
* because she won on this day, with this particular set of people. we can never know what else might have happened had other competitors been there. .. and this is the truth of any game—it can only exist at the moment that is being played. it’s the same with being an actor. in the end, all we can ever know is the game that was played, in the only world that we know. (22%)
* we are all living, at most, half of a life, she thought. There was the life that you lived, which consisted of the choices you made. And then, there was the other life, the one that was the things you hadn’t chosen. (36%)
* throughout his life, Sam had hated being told to “fight,” as if sickness were a character failing. Illness could not be defeated, no matter how hard you fought, and pain, once it had you in its grasp, was transformational. (47%)
* the way to turn an ex-lover into a friend is to never stop loving them, to know that when one phase of a relationship ends it can transform into something else. It is to acknowledge that love is both a constant and a variable at the same time. (75%)
* “what is a game?” Marx said. It’s tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It’s the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you keep playing, you could win. No loss is permanent, because nothing is permanent, ever.” (84%)
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
3.0
Despite loving Celeste Ng's previous 2 books, this one fell quite flat for me. Perhaps it was partially due to the dystopian setting (which isn't typically something I gravitate towards reading about). I think it definitely touched on some important topics, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.
Favorite quotes:
Favorite quotes:
- he turned away, so she wouldn’t have to pretend to be brave. To let her be alone with her grief, or whatever heavier thing she’d put on top to hold it down. (17%)
- How porous the boundary was between him and the world, as if everything flowed through him like water through a net. She’d worried about him, moving through a rough world as a tender bare heart, beating out in the open where anything could cause a bruise. (46%)
- maybe sometimes, she thought, the bird with its head held high took flight. maybe sometimes, the nail that stuck up pierced the foot that stomped down. (71%)