coolfoolmoon's reviews
303 reviews

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories: A Collection of Chinese Science Fiction and Fantasy in Translation from a Visionary Team of Female and Nonbinary Creators by Yu Chen, Regina Kanyu Wang

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adventurous informative 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? N/A

4.0

At first I was like none of these have anything to do with spring! Then I got to the titular bitchular, and I see why she’s the titular bitchular. The stories were all cool. The lowest ratings I gave were 3.25, the highest were two 5 star stories (one of which was the titular bitchular). But I do wish all the stories would've had something to do with spring based on the title of the book as a whole. The book should've been something about contemporary Chinese writers instead. Very worth my purchase. I liked taking a peak into a culture I know almost nothing about really.
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Blood, Bread And Poetry: Selected Prose, 1979 1985 by Adrienne Rich

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informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

I didn't actually finish, I DNF'd with 3 essays left. But I got the gist of it. Love! The family essay blew me away, that one alone I'd give 5 stars. I'd read Comphet before and I change my rating to 4.5 for that essay off vibes alone. Very great essays all together. I wish she wrote fiction too!
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Nothing by Janne Teller

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

2.75

Peak white people behavior. Absolutely disgusting. I'm thinking to myself, is this white culture? It must be. White people long for manifest destiny, the call to colonize "new" lands is deep in their bones, and yet they do (or write) sick and twisted shit like this! If there were students of color here, or people of color in general, none of this would've happened.
The kids get put on punishment for like a week then they get famous and the parents forget about it??? Be serious. Also I know his was written in the 90s or before 9/11 but the Muslim / Arab characters being the worst depiction possible proves my point of the call of evil deep in white people's core. Sick! Twisted! Disgusting!
And I must clarify this is peak white people behavior because did me and my friends do weird shit when we were pre-teens and teenagers? Sure. Nothing to the level of what happens in this, even as many of us saw and experienced the horrors of the world. Not a single one of them had a mind to say no? Or empathy? Or, above all else, the idea to just ignore the other kid? Go get his parents? Why is there a kid in a tree all year? Did he go down to use the bathroom? What did he eat? Only plums? For six months?? His parents didn't go looking for him? Did he climb down after all the other kids and teachers went hope then woke up bright and early before anyone else and climb back up at the ass crack of dawn and get back into position? I almost bought this fuckass book because the concept is so interesting. In fact, it's the most interesting part. I'm so glad I saved my measly $10. I've ranted long enough.
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The Follower of Flowers by Natalia Hernandez

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The books are in third person perspective so starting the chapters with character names in pointless. Many plot twists / reveals in chapter 29 out of 30 which sucks because I liked the ending more than the rest of the book so that double sucks. But  I had a good time all the way through.

My rating for the short story The Rock and the Doe
4.25 stars
I love gay people!
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

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funny informative mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is like my 5th time unintentionally reading a book about myself! I love everything about it. I don't have much to say!
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Every Rising Sun by Jamila Ahmed

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

3.5

Not a single one of the woman in this book is a girl's girl. (The sister's don't count.) Negative points!
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Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

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challenging informative reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Normally I don't like when stories turn randomly anti communist but I like it here because I get it. White people have always been like that, white commies are still like that!

Loved the whole thought process. It made me think about people who are crazy or who are considered crazy and their perception of reality. Like you see everything that happens to him, his reality doesn't care about him so surely he must be invisible and you really get it. I love the raw untamed thought process. Very real.

I heard the voice actor for the audiobook version I was listening to flip the page at least three times which is kinda funny but unrelated to the book. He was really good. 5 stars for Joe Morton.
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Skyward, Vol. 3: Fix the World by Joe Henderson

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked it better than the second one and less than the first one. That's all I gotta say. Already pretty much forgot about it. Not a life changing series but I had a good time so I can't complain.
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Skyward, Vol. 2: Here There Be Dragonflies by Joe Henderson

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emotional funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

No one knows how to write anarchists and I’m sick of it!
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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

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

5.0

Moral of the story? Don't have kids in your early 20s.
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