sianjkh's reviews
29 reviews

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Blood is thicker than water, my mother had always said when i was growing up, a sentiment I'd often disputed. But it turned out that it didn't matter whether she was right or wrong. They both flowed out of my cupped palms.

I started this book at 8am in a small coffee shop before my therapy appointment. I spent the following hour and a half trying not to bawl my eyes out. Cheryl Strayed has managed to write the most honest autobiography I have ever seen and made me fall into a world of her making. I also desperately want and need to hike the PCT now.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

it was very hard to snap out of the mindset that i was reading those cute little instagram posts of animals having birthday parties and hanging out (you know the ones). the drawings are gorgeous and the words are warm but i cannot find a way to see this as anything but a motivational quotes booklet. I expected more from the hype i heard over it 
The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante

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challenging emotional reflective slow-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

3.75

i wanted to like this so bad. i wanted this book to become a necessity for my life as i know it. when i read the opening line, "[t]wo years before leaving home my father said to my mother that I was very ugly" i texted everyone i knew a picture of the page with the caption "holy fuck"

the writing is gorgeous. i mourn the writing lost in translation if the writing that was kept is this good. unfortunately, this book drags on for an eternity; spanning the course of two years and a miriad of issues only rich people deal with. however i will in fact be reading the rest of ferrante's work.
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People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
literally i was just not enough of a millennial for this. i remember nothing of this book except how it felt similar to buzzfeed quizzes and grown adults saying "hashtag" out loud
Somebody Loves You by Mona Arshi

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

i honestly didn't like the first few sections (chapters?) of this book. it was pretty and succinct but without direction. then i remembered how much my mother said she wanted to read this and decided it was likely a good book. i kept reading. even now i am not sure what exactly it is i've read, however it was very good. 
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Mr Salary by Sally Rooney

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mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

many lines reminded me of how my friends talk about their boyfriends and I can't tell if it would be mean to tell them this
the witch doesn't burn in this one by Amanda Lovelace

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fast-paced

1.0

bad from the start and only got worse. i can't exactly put into words how disappointing this collection was. it was repetitive, bland, surface level - laughable at points. i have seen better feminist prose in cave drawings. 

somehow this is rupi kaur's fault 
Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

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

5.0

gonna think about this one for a while i fear
Small Bodies of Water by Nina Mingya Powles

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emotional informative reflective

3.5

started so incredibly strong and dulled out in the middle. an interesting read that felt like looking through someone's highly edited notes app. i was longing for more of the descriptions of swimming - of the pools and ponds and oceans. I feel the inclusion of the pandemic, while true to character, does not serve this book at all given everyone on the face of the earth would like to forget about it as soon as possible 
Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins by Emma Donoghue

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

5.0

I know now that I would have liked her if we could have met as girls, ankle deep in a river. 

i spent most of my time reading this book putting it down and screaming silently. it has been a very long time since i have let myself be caught up in the whimsy of a fairytale, let alone ones with prose that make me rethink my entire life.