eatyourphone's reviews
116 reviews

Closer by Dennis Cooper

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dark 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? It's complicated
i think so far my least favourite in the george miles cycle, but still as always, coopers choice in structure is deeply engaging.
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The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

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

5.0

i struggled to get through the first 100 or so pages (almost gave up even) but im sooo glad i kept going. it picks up a lot when you get used to the world Le Guin creates and by the end i felt very attached to the characters. it is completely original and very understandably a classic! (i never read dune but i imagine this is dune for nonbinary people? is that accurate)
Period by Dennis Cooper

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mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
nothing else quite like it! it hurt me
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Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 34%.
i gave up! maybe if i owned this instead of it being a library book i couldve finished it. but it needs patience and should be consumed in bite sized sections because it is very slow going. maybe one day mr byrne, but not today!
Weight of the Earth: The Tape Journals of David Wojnarowicz by David Wojnarowicz

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reflective medium-paced
i found this at the right time, thank you david.
Boy Parts by Eliza Clark

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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
its american psycho for tiktok teens.
pretty surprised at how highly this is rated! as far as “transgressive” fiction goes its very timid. it feels like a first draft almost,  as its missing a lot of the pieces that make these types of stories effective. i feel like the author straight up didnt do enough research into the ideas shes pursuing. 
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7 Miles a Second by Marguerite Van Cook, James Romberger, David Wojnarowicz

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

"if i could attach our blood vessels so we could become each other i would. if i could attach our blood vessels in order to anchor you to the earth to this present time i would if i could open up your body and slip up inside your skin and look out your eyes and forever have my lips fused with yours i would."

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

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emotional reflective medium-paced
i loved this book. hearing david wojnarowicz's story made me feel so very understood. i have new respect for warhol, continued love for solanas, and am so excited to continue researching the others mentioned throughout the book. 

the structure is great and the final passage hit HOME! i cried through the last majority of the last chapter and sobbed by the end of those final sentences :o')) 

heres some quotes that i loved that im keeping here to have before i can purchase this book! :

'i  think we have to be conscious of what we're after when we're posting our photo. i think we all desire not to feel alone and to feel connected....but in our society celebrity has become the golden lamb...if i can get that, I won't feel alone and will always feel loved."

"...loneliness, longing, does not mean one has failed, but simply that one is alive."

"...remember that the pursuit of individual happiness does not trump or excuse our obligations to each another. We are in this together, this accumulation of scars, this world of objects, this physical and temporary heaven that so often takes on the countenance of Hell. What matters is kindess; what matters is solidarity."
Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
everytime i started to get super into it the author would shoe-horn in some half baked commentary on social media/human nature that was obnoxiously surface level and spoon fed to the reader. 
and in regards to it being like lord of the flies, the exploration of the deeper themes was far too general to be nearly as effective as the latter!
however the chapter about the guy that hid in the hotel, freaked me the fuck out ! so loved that part.
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Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
really enjoyed this! great pace and couldnt put it down after the half way point

my only criticism is the frustrating depiction of yet another sexual deviant gay man….it is a problem if your only lgbt representation in your book is portrayed as a pedo! this was published in 2020 so theres no excuse for it. stop reinforcing this harmful stereotype plz & thank u