klor's reviews
89 reviews

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

I guess you can say she got that dawg in her

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

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dark hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

2.75

a girl and her workplace against the world (alternatively: don't let your boyfriend stop you from finding your convenience store)

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Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin

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hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

2.5

A story presented in vignettes between a girl, her hometown, and an artist. The atmosphere was captured in the writing but was just bland on some places. Her relationship with Sokcho, food, and her mother are what made this more compelling. I kind of got annoyed with our protagonist throughout her push and pull narrative but I guess that's how you can tell if her characterization is working. Quick read, cool premise.

Content Warnings

Babel by R.F. Kuang

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

Perhaps this book has one of the most monumental third act, I can't stop reading it despite the grief (and awe), after all that happened. I think this is what a modern classic feels like.

The book takes you into a world of translation and scholarship and leads through themes of not only anti-colonialism but also working class solidarity. It explores how often academia (that most people see as their way out of their struggles) can be restrictive, hard to get in, and ultimately just serves itself. It's almost there for me as a five star book but just thought that the book overexplained sometimes even when it didn't need to but maybe that's just me.

There's much more to say about this book, I'm currently just out of words.

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The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing

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emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

A character study of loneliness weaved through American artists and art history. There's a lot of love that Laing put in this book that just hits you in the chest despite the notion of loneliness getting repetitive sometimes. Now I have new artists to check out, it's almost inspiring how everyone battles their own loneliness in different ways

Content Warnings