unread's reviews
206 reviews

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs

challenging funny hopeful informative slow-paced

4.25

fascinating how this holds up in 2024

Ordinary Disasters: How I Stopped Being a Model Minority by Anne Anlin Cheng

challenging informative reflective

3.75

mixed feelings on whether i liked this — perhaps the parts that i enjoyed the most centred around aging?

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

really really loved these, i think some moments i was like “wow that’s gross (visceral)” but i think this touched a strange part of me. favourites — Three Women of Chuck’s Donuts, Superking Son Scores Again, Human Development, Somaly Serey Serey Somaly, Generational Differences.

My favourite thing is that it’s all part of the same universe.

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

4.0

i think the pacing in the second half (or maybe even last third) really picks up a lot, in a good way

Almond by Won-pyung Sohn

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Who Is Wellness For?: An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who It Leaves Behind by Fariha Róisín

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad

3.25

i do genuinely wish i read content warnings and the genre list a bit more thoroughly before starting — it was much more memoir-based than i would have preferred, and i wasn’t quite prepped to listen to that

The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

adventurous informative reflective

4.5

really refreshing perspectives mixing ecology, biology, sociology, and so much more

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee

funny hopeful inspiring reflective

3.75

You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue

funny reflective

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

3.25

I think this book could be funny and insightful, however I was not smart enough/into it on this read to get it. A reread would be better probably?

Cocoon by Zhang Yueran

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

really slow buildup to the main intrigue, I found it a bit hard to be interested, also the format of no chapter breaks (only POV switches) was hard for me