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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Usually, when I read a book I know how I feel about it—whether I loved it, really liked it, thought it was just okay, or disliked it—and I have an idea of how to articulate my feelings. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is one of those rare books that has me really torn up and…
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, 3 STARS, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, academia, Adult, age gap, America, anxiety, asian american, big books, books that make me mad, California, cambridge (us), class, coming of age, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), disabilities, drama, female authors, friendships, Gabrielle Zevin, gay side characters, GRIEF, growing up, GUILT, Harvard, HISTORICAL FICTION, horrible friends, Jewish, korean american author, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, los angeles, m/m side, Massachusetts, mental health, nostalgic reads, Not Like Other Girls, orphans, published in 2022, queer side characters, ROMANCE, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, toxic relationships, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love, videogames, work culture -
Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón
Lighting does indeed strike twice and so does Ava Limón’s poetry. This past summer I was very much taken by Limón’s latest collection, The Hurting Kind, so much so that I was keen to make my way through her backlist. In Bright Dead Things Limón showcases not only her skill for language, but her ability…
1st pov, Ada Limón, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, beauty, belonging, Bright Dead Things, Contemporary, DEATH, environmental, female authors, female poet, GRIEF, Kentucky, language, latin american diaspora, latinx author, lgbtq+, Longing, lyrical prose, melancholy, MEMORY, nature, NEW YORK, Nonfiction, nostalgic reads, POETRY, published in 2015 -
Stay True: A Memoir by Hua Hsu
This memoir is definitely all about the vibes. Hua Hsu captures the aesthetics and culture that characterized his college experiences. Hsu recollects the music, clothes, and cultural influences that shaped this time in his life. The memoir is also about his unlikely friendship with Ken, someone whose tastes didn’t really match Hsu’s. The two nevertheless…
1990s, 1st pov, academia, Adult, adulthood, America, ART/CREATIVITY, asian american, asian diaspora, belonging, biography, BOOKS ON WRITING, California, campus, coming of age, Contemporary, friendships, GRIEF, grunge vibes, Harvard, Hua Hsu, identity, it’s about the *aesthetics*, male authors, male friendships, MEMOIR, MEMORY, no plot just vibes, Nonfiction, nostalgic reads, Stay True, Stay True: A Memoir, style over character, taiwan, Taiwanese American Author, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
Dead-End Memories: Stories by Banana Yoshimoto
“And yet, when I traveled to other cities, I always found that a view without a river was of no interest to me at all. Perhaps that was because the inherent stillness of my nature made me crave the sight of things that moved.” Whenever I am in a reading slump or going through a…
1st pov, 2000s, 3 STARS, Adult, Banana Yoshimoto, collection of short stories, Contemporary, Dead-End Memories, Dead-End Memories: Stories, dreamlike quality, Dreams, female authors, ghosts/spirits, GRIEF, heartbreak/breakups, incest-y, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, loneliness, Longing, melancholy, MEMORY, nature, navel gazing, nostalgic reads, published in 2003, read in 2022, short stories, SLICE OF LIFE, surreal -
The Hurting Kind: Poems by Ada Limón
“How funny that I called it love and the whole time it was pain.” The Hurting Kind is a dazzling collection. Ada Limón’s poems are luminous, and I was struck more than once by her ability to espouse a graceful language with such vivid imagery. Limón has proved that I am not only able to…
4 STARS, Ada Limón, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, beauty, belonging, environmental, female authors, female poet, GRIEF, language, latin american diaspora, latinx author, Longing, lyrical prose, melancholy, MEMORY, nature, Nonfiction, nostalgic reads, POETRY, published in 2022, read in 2022, summer reads, The Hurting Kind, uplifting reads -
The Arena of the Unwell by Liam Konemann
“At any given moment, I have no idea what’s true about any of us.” The Arena of the Unwell is a gritty and exhilarating exploration of loneliness and longing, obsession and jealousy, queerness and male intimacy. tw: self-harm & suicidal ideation Our narrator is Noah, a 22-year-old gay man who lives in London. He works…
1st pov, 4.25 stars, addiction, Adult, ALIENATION, atmospheric, AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR, bad love, bi side characters, cheating, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, DEPRESSION, england, feverish, gay, gritty realism, grunge vibes, introspective, jealousy, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, Liam Konemann, LONDON, loneliness, Longing, m/m, masculinity, mental health, music, nostalgic reads, obsession, psychological, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, self-destructive, self-harming, sex, SEXUALITY, strong sense of place, suicide, The Arena of the Unwell, the male malaise, toxic relationships, unreliable narrators -
Either/Or by Elif Batuman
This sequel needs a sequel. “Was this the decisive moment of my life? It felt as if the gap that had dogged me all my days was knitting together before my eyes—so that, from this point on, my life would be as coherent and meaningful as my favorite books. At the same time, I had…
1990s, 1st pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, Adult, adulthood, America, American, arc, ART/CREATIVITY, autumn, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, cambridge (us), campus, coming of age, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, cultural dissonance, Either/Or, Elif Batuman, existentialism, favourite authors, female authors, first love, friendships, Harvard, identity, introspective, language, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, Massachusetts, mumblecore, My reviews, netgalley, nostalgic reads, philosophical, psychological, published in 2022, re-reads, read in 2022, reading, RUSSIA, sex, SEXUALITY, SLICE OF LIFE, spring, strong sense of place, Summer, the female malaise, The Idiot, toxic relationships, travel, Turkey, turkish american author, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love, WINTER, womanhood/femininity -
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden
“I wanted to be the diametric opposite of who I was; am. To get gone.” T Kira Madden’s bold and unsparing storytelling makes for a brutal yet ultimately kaleidoscopic coming of age. This is easily one of the best memoirs I’ve read this year. Madden’s memoir makes for a bittersweet read, one that I look…
1990s, 1st pov, 2000s, 20th century, 4 STARS, addiction, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, family, fathers & daughters, female authors, female friendships, FLORIDA, friendships, GRIEF, growing up, hawaii, HIGH SCHOOL, identity, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, MEMOIR, mental health, middle school, mothers & daughters, My reviews, nostalgic reads, published in 2019, queer, RACE, read in 2021, reading, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, T Kira Madden, teen angst, trauma -
Skim by Mariko Tamaki
Who knew that I would come across something that would make me feel nostalgia for the mid-2000s? Skim is a compelling coming-of-age story that is bound to make you feel nostalgic for the mid-2000s (even if you, like me, didn’t strictly ‘come of age’ in that time). Skim captures the angst, confusion, heartache, and loneliness…
1990s, 4 STARS, age gap, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, canada, coming of age, DEPRESSION, f/f, female artist, female authors, female friendships, first love, friendships, Graphic Novels, HIGH SCHOOL, identity, japanese canadian author, Jillian Tamaki, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, Mariko Tamaki, mental health, My reviews, nostalgic reads, occult, queer, re-reads, read in 2022, reading, sapphic, seances, Sequential Art, SEXUALITY, Skim, suicide, tarots, Toronto, unrequited love, YOUNG ADULT -
Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy
Sweet Days of Discipline is a slim dagger of a novel. Written in a prose so sharp it will cut you, Sweet Days of Discipline is a work of startling and enigmatic beauty, a study in contradictions: order and chaos, sublimity and abjection, clarity and obfuscation, illusion and reality. Fleur Jaeggy is in absolute command…
1950s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, Adult, all girls school, ambiguous protagonist, atmospheric, beauty, bildungsroman, boarding/private school, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, CLASSICS, cold tone, dark academia, Dreams, existentialism, favourite authors, female authors, first love, Fleur Jaeggy, girlhood, HISTORICAL FICTION, Italian classics, Italy, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, melancholy, modern classics, My reviews, nostalgic reads, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, obsession, psychological, published in 1989, queer, re-reads, read in 2018, read in 2021, reading, sapphic, SEXUALITY, Sweet Days of Discipline, swiss italian author, Switzerland, terrific prose, unnamed narrator, unreliable narrators, unrequited love
luce [is reading] 