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venusinlove's reviews
330 reviews
Good Grief by Brianna Pastor
dark
emotional
fast-paced
3.5
Good, sad with a lot of wisdom inside. I might want to read it as a physical cope because everytime i try poetry in audio form it goes over my head no matter how hard i try to get into it.
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
It very much reminds me of Kurt Vonnegut's The Cat's Cradle because of the weird comedy in them both. The thing is I was too stubborn to drop the latter and did not gain a thing from it but merely a number in my read list. There is too much misogyny in this one and i cannot finish it. Thanks.
Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World by Neil Gaiman
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
4.75
the audiobook has additional notes from Neil Geiman that the book doesn't and I loved that about it. it gave it even more character and he does say many wise things in it.
i will just go and make some good fucking art and be happy about it. also read some more good fucking books.
i will just go and make some good fucking art and be happy about it. also read some more good fucking books.
Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
5.0
i went on reading this one without knowing a thing about this book and I'm glad I did so. it's just so good and if I were to know what it is about beforehand it would have ruined it.
i really don't have much to say as the book speaks for itself imo but!! i am so grateful for a woman who touches on such topics as abortion, disability, religion and more. all topics are already heavy enough but to speak on also the topic of the daughter who killed herself because she did not want to take care of her mother anymore... that hurt a lot. it hurt mainly because I am the daughter of a disabled mother and one day that may be me. it's both heartbroken for Elena and Rita and my heart breaks for them both - to know your child has taken away the life she has because she cannot bear to help you anymore and for Rita to be imprisoned like this, along with her mother... it takes some fucking guts to write such literature.
i hope I get to find more books like this one in they future.
i really don't have much to say as the book speaks for itself imo but!! i am so grateful for a woman who touches on such topics as abortion, disability, religion and more. all topics are already heavy enough but to speak on also the topic
i hope I get to find more books like this one in they future.
GLEEM by Freddy Carrasco
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
the cover of this book is just so pretty !! it made me expect so much more. unfortunately, I did not like it as much as I had hoped. it was so abstract and roam-y. i mean, the art was cool but I needed a constructive story to go with it. it really did seem more like an art book than a graphic novel. one positive I can note is the few pages that were in colour - those were phenomenally drawn. i loooved the purples.
The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I'm going back and forth between giving this book 2*s or 3*s but in all honesty - I did not like it. it had no character despite the characters (and they were interesting!).
my main problem with the book was that it felt so much like a lecture on literature that it was quite inaccessible for other people to enjoy. i was expecting more of a story and I got a bunch of paragraph on different works/authors that I did not care about! all I wanted to read was a story about a guy and his dog that becomes somebody else's but that was like 2% of they whole book! btw, I totally blame the blurd that threw me off so hard. fuck that.
another thing I have to add is that this book is really messy and inconsistent. half of the read I spent wondering where I was in the story and what the hell was happening. it's always not a great sign if I push myself to read it only to finish another book for the year.
maybe this book is good for writers and people who grieve and/or are going through something like that. perhaps also people who like dogs and since I connect only on 1/3 of these 3 I did not enjoy my time. it was almost like a diary on grief and dogs with a pinch of lit. which should probably be a psa not to always share your diary with the world. the end.
my main problem with the book was that it felt so much like a lecture on literature that it was quite inaccessible for other people to enjoy. i was expecting more of a story and I got a bunch of paragraph on different works/authors that I did not care about! all I wanted to read was a story about a guy and his dog that becomes somebody else's but that was like 2% of they whole book! btw, I totally blame the blurd that threw me off so hard. fuck that.
another thing I have to add is that this book is really messy and inconsistent. half of the read I spent wondering where I was in the story and what the hell was happening. it's always not a great sign if I push myself to read it only to finish another book for the year.
maybe this book is good for writers and people who grieve and/or are going through something like that. perhaps also people who like dogs and since I connect only on 1/3 of these 3 I did not enjoy my time. it was almost like a diary on grief and dogs with a pinch of lit. which should probably be a psa not to always share your diary with the world. the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
Haruki Murakami Manga Stories 2: The Second Bakery Attack, Samsa in Love, Thailand by Haruki Murakami
adventurous
mysterious
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
2.75
The Second Bakery Attack - 2.5 stars
I remember reading this one in Desire and I loved it back then, I still do in fact. The illustration did nothing for me as I had already built up the story in my mind.
Samsa in Love - 2 stars
I feel like i've read this one before but I know I have not. It did not leave the imprint I wanted to on me but Sansa's genitals burned my retinas and I might sue.
Thailand - 3.5 stars
I loved the colours and the story itself as well. It was a bit refreshing and I was very intrigued by it! The part of having a rock inside yourself, heavy and you are dragging it along as the years go by... I haven't seen such deep thought from Murakami in a long while. I really would love to read the actual story of this one.
Just like the previous Manga Stories, I did not like the art itself (except for the colours in Thailand). I would read the 3rd book but oooonly to see if there is any improvement. But never take my comment on this man's art as something significant as I did not follow my dream of an art degree and understand nothing. :)
I remember reading this one in Desire and I loved it back then, I still do in fact. The illustration did nothing for me as I had already built up the story in my mind.
Samsa in Love - 2 stars
I feel like i've read this one before but I know I have not. It did not leave the imprint I wanted to on me but Sansa's genitals burned my retinas and I might sue.
Thailand - 3.5 stars
I loved the colours and the story itself as well. It was a bit refreshing and I was very intrigued by it! The part of having a rock inside yourself, heavy and you are dragging it along as the years go by... I haven't seen such deep thought from Murakami in a long while. I really would love to read the actual story of this one.
Just like the previous Manga Stories, I did not like the art itself (except for the colours in Thailand). I would read the 3rd book but oooonly to see if there is any improvement. But never take my comment on this man's art as something significant as I did not follow my dream of an art degree and understand nothing. :)
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
this is my 17th book that i've read by Murakami and i'd say amongst all reads this one felt like a very subdued version of 1Q84. it was not as intertwined and weird, though, so maybe a good start if you're getting into his works.
i do not think it was one of his best ones, something was missing and it might have been the mysteriousness of the characters. where in his other books you were wondering up until the end if someone was a ghost or if the story was unfolding currently, in this one it was all laid out bluntly which was quite unusual so I'm unsure whether I liked it or not.
i feel like I've grown out of liking this mysterious writing and setting that Murakami usually puts into his books so that's why I'm left so unaffected. it was just a mediocre book and not your typical shocking, disgusting and misogynistic Murakami, which was v weird. I guess it was fine. I will most likely forget all about this book in a month or so. Or maybe even a week, who knows?
P.s. The cover is just magnificent and I will always root for Vintage's covers of any Murakami book!
i do not think it was one of his best ones, something was missing and it might have been the mysteriousness of the characters. where in his other books you were wondering up until the end if someone was a ghost or if the story was unfolding currently, in this one it was all laid out bluntly which was quite unusual so I'm unsure whether I liked it or not.
i feel like I've grown out of liking this mysterious writing and setting that Murakami usually puts into his books so that's why I'm left so unaffected. it was just a mediocre book and not your typical shocking, disgusting and misogynistic Murakami, which was v weird. I guess it was fine. I will most likely forget all about this book in a month or so. Or maybe even a week, who knows?
P.s. The cover is just magnificent and I will always root for Vintage's covers of any Murakami book!
Haruki Murakami Manga Stories 1: Super-Frog Saves Tokyo, The Seventh Man, Birthday Girl, Where I'm Likely to Find It by Haruki Murakami
adventurous
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? It's complicated
2.5
Super-Frog Saves Tokyo - 2.5 stars
Nothing too interesting here honestly, I liked the mystery but it was so messy andI did not need the graphics of the sex scene, thank you very much! I liked the drawings of Frog as it reminded me of the book series by Thomas Brezina Pssst! Unser Geheimnis. (This is a special note for myself: The illustrator of the Pssst! Unser Geheimnis series is Rolf Bunse is somehow I do remember his way of illustrating a frog being very similar to this one, although I cannot prove it at this moment. Note to future self: please find the books and check for yourself.) It is so cool to go back in time just by looking at a frog illustration. :)
Nothing too interesting here honestly, I liked the mystery but it was so messy and
Where I’m Likely to Find It - 1.5 stars
Of course he'd turn the talk with the little girl into something sexual... Oh, how much I hate Murakami for being an old creep. The story was boring and dull, I literally wasted my time.
Birthday Girl - 3 stars (2 stars taken mainly for the disturbing art of the owner)
I'm reading this one for the third time so by now I have created my own visual of the story. I don't want to be mean to the illustrator but his art did not seem all that pretty to me, in fact it was quite disturbing at times. I actually like this story very much and it leaves me mystified that the wish is never revealed.
I'm reading this one for the third time so by now I have created my own visual of the story. I don't want to be mean to the illustrator but his art did not seem all that pretty to me, in fact it was quite disturbing at times. I actually like this story very much and it leaves me mystified that the wish is never revealed.
The Seventh Man - 3.5 stars
Probably the one that I liked the most. The story was interesting and I might even read the actual story someday.
All in all, the art was disturbing and I've wasted my time. At least the cover is pretty. I like frogs.
Probably the one that I liked the most. The story was interesting and I might even read the actual story someday.
All in all, the art was disturbing and I've wasted my time. At least the cover is pretty. I like frogs.
On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
i still stand behind my words that this is one of the most magical and beautifully drawn lgbtq+ comics. i love it so much and will never shut up about it. i read this comics almost 3 years ago now and it might become a comfort one as well.
p.s. the physical copy I've got is so much prettier than the digital one! such a pleasure to have this precious book in my tiny home library.
p.s. the physical copy I've got is so much prettier than the digital one! such a pleasure to have this precious book in my tiny home library.