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Hardboiled & Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto
“I felt as if this place I had come to was nowhere. As if I no longer had a home to return to. That road I had been on didn’t lead anywhere, this trip would never end—it seemed to me as if next morning would never arrive.” Banana Yoshimoto is at her whimsical best in…
1990s, 1st pov, 3.5 STARS, Adult, ハードボイルド／ハードラック, Banana Yoshimoto, collection of short stories, Contemporary, DEATH, dreamlike quality, Dreams, existentialism, f/f, favourite authors, female authors, forgiveness, ghosts/spirits, GRIEF, heartbreak/breakups, hotel, illness, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, MAGICAL REALISM, melancholy, MEMORY, navel gazing, no plot just vibes, published in 1999, queer, read in 2023, right person wrong time, sapphic, short stories, SISTERS, SLICE OF LIFE, suicide, surreal, TRANSLATED FICTION, unnamed narrator, uplifting reads -
ひらやすみ (Hirayasumi) #1 by Keigo Shinzo
Hirayasumi is a wonderful slice of life manga that will definitely appeal to fans of the iyashikei sub-genre. There is a lulling, comforting even, quality to the Shinzo’s storytelling, from his characters to his art style. With little preamble the manga explores every-day experiences of its central characters, giving insight into their lives and the…
Adult, adulthood, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, ひらやすみ, Contemporary, existentialism, friendships, Hirayasumi, HUMOR, Iyashikei, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, Keigo Shinzo, light reads, male artists, male authors, manga, published in 2021, read in 2022, Sequential Art, SLICE OF LIFE, tokyo, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, uplifting reads, youth -
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 -
Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto
“That feeling of security, that sweetness, that pain, that gentleness. I felt sure that every time I saw the green of the trees in my garden awash in light from the street, I’d be struck by a sudden flicker of remembrance—the tail of that soft melody—and I’d chase along behind it, as if sniffing my…
1980s, 1st pov, 3.5 STARS, Banana Yoshimoto, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, DEATH, Dreams, f/f side, favourite authors, female authors, GRIEF, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, lgbtq+, love triangle, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, nostalgic reads, published in 1989, read in 2021, reading, restrained prose, short stories, summer reads, TRANSLATED FICTION, uplifting reads -
Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa
“And I think about how Dad gave me everything I could need. Except for the one thing that shouldn’t have terms or conditions. That should be a given. That should be so easy. Acceptance.” Written in a simple conversational style Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun is a tender love story, equal parts funny and…
1st pov, 3.5 STARS, abuse, America, American, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, California, coming of age, Contemporary, fathers & sons, found family, friendships, gay, HIGH SCHOOL, latin american, latinx author, LDR, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, los angeles, m/m, My reviews, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, reading, SEXUALITY, social issues, Summer, summer reads, texas, uplifting reads, YOUNG ADULT -
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
“I don’t write because I think I have something to say. I write because if I don’t, everything feels even worse.” In Writers & Lovers, Lily King portrays an intimate and profoundly heartfelt slice of life that brims with wry humor and precise observations on grief, loneliness, identity, and creativity. This is truly a gem…
1990s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, age gap, America, American, anxiety, bars & restaurants, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, BOOKS ON WRITING, BOSTON, DEATH, ennui, female authors, gay side characters, GRIEF, introspective, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+ side, Lily King, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, love triangle, Massachusetts, mental health, My reviews, psychological, published in 2020, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, she is not feeling good at all, SLICE OF LIFE, Summer, summer reads, teachers, the female malaise, uplifting reads, work culture, Writers & Lovers -
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
“It never ends, does it? Loving you never ends.” Seven Days in June took me by surprise. The romcom tone of this novel’s first pages belies the serious topics and issues it later delves into. Seven Days in June is the kind of read that has you laughing out loud one moment before pulling at…
2000s, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, abuse, addiction, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, arc, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, chronic pain, Contemporary, drama, female authors, GRIEF, HUMOR, mental health, mothers & daughters, My reviews, netgalley, NEW YORK, published in 2021, read in 2021, ROMANCE, second-chance romance, self-harming, Seven Days in June, sex, social issues, Summer, summer reads, Tia Williams, trauma, uplifting reads -
The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch
The Sky Blues is a wonderfully wholesome YA coming of age that makes for the perfect summer read. The novel is narrated by Sky who is in his last year of high school. After coming out as gay Sky finds himself living with his best friend, Bree, and her supportive family as his own mother…
4 STARS, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, anxiety, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, bullying, coming of age, Contemporary, drama, found family, friendships, gay, HIGH SCHOOL, identity, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, m/m, male authors, Michigan, My reviews, prom, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, Robbie Couch, SMALL TOWN, social issues, The Sky Blues, trans side characters, uplifting reads, YOUNG ADULT -
Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
She wondered if the rest of early adulthood would be like this—avoiding roommates, getting ripped off for bad fusion food, and the peculiar loneliness of being smothered by people she didn’t want to spend time with. Having recently fallen in love with Choi’s most recent novel, Yolk, I was eager to read more by her.…
3.75 stars, 3rd pov, academia, addiction, America, American, anxiety, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, BOOKS ON WRITING, campus, coming of age, Contemporary, drama, emergency contact, favourite authors, female authors, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, identity, korean american author, Mary H.K. Choi, mary hk choi, My reviews, NEW ADULT, published in 2018, rape, read in 2021, reading, ROMANCE, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social media, texas, toxic relationships, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, uplifting reads, YOUNG ADULT -
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
This was me during the majority of this novel: Packed with science and humor Project Hail Mary makes for a thoroughly entertaining high-stakes interstellar adventure. I’ve never read anything by this author nor have I watched the film adaptation of The Martian…the reason why is because I thought I would find them boring (yeah yeah,…
1st pov, 4 STARS, Adult, ALIENS, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Andy Weir, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, friendships, HUMOR, language, male authors, MEMORY, MYSTERY, Project Hail Mary, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, SCI-FI, science, scientists & co, SPACE, SPACE OPERA, spaceships, SPECULATIVE FICTION, teachers, uplifting reads
luce [is reading] 