alisarae's Reviews (1.65k)

DNF @ 50%

I thought I would like this book because the cover told me it would have thoughtful, elegant prose and an engaging personal narrative. In fact, I found this novel by browsing Europa Editions specifically because I trust this editor to bring us exactly this type of book. Exhibit A: [b:The Elegance of the Hedgehog|2967752|The Elegance of the Hedgehog|Muriel Barbery|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347755370l/2967752._SY75_.jpg|1531887] and B: [a:Elena Ferrante|44085|Elena Ferrante|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1635020942p2/44085.jpg].

Alas, the true soul of this book is best captured by the French edition, which tells you everything you need to know:


From the clunky phrasing—the translator seemed too shy to reformulate sentence structures that work in Spanish but come across as gauche in English—to the painfully awkward lesbian lust scenes (my brother in Christ! leave that to the professionals!), I just couldn't hack it any more. Boy bye!

The best part of this cookbook is the section on speedy recipes for each vegetable. But if recipes grouped by vegetable is what you’re after, I’d recommend Milk Street Vegetables instead.

The rest of the book has a lot of information and ideas about how to reduce waste, but nothing you wouldn’t typically find on, say, instagram.

The biggest complaint I have is the photography. For some reason the photos are heavily processed to have a cool gray color and it makes nearly every dish look like grayish brown mush. Totally unappetizing! And a shame since vibrant colored vegetables are what the book is all about.

DNF @ 28%

I don't usually like insta-romances, and this book has three. I found it kind of lacking creativity to have three MCs and they are all going through the same plot points in the same order... there could have been an insta, slow burn, and enemies to lovers. Anyways life is too short to keep reading books that I am not excited about!

A Jane Eyre prequel from Rochester's wife's POV is such a great concept. I didn't love the execution of it, though. The characters felt too distant, even though it was told in first person... like their thoughts were too broad and often about nature or dreams, when I wanted them to be more introspective in the moment they were experiencing.

Even so, I want to read more of this author's books and her life sounds fascinating.

I was really impressed by how much of the humor of this bawdy satire did translate and what a remarkable job the translator did. Both the author and translator came through as really sharp. Even though I am sure some jokes were missed due to my ignorance of the Cultural Revolution and Chinese history, the crisp irony and the humor in making mountains out of molehills came through. Imagine hero Wang Er as a Chinese George Costanza, it's a hilarious concept in itself.

I have a feeling that I will like this author's essays much more than his fiction, so I plan to pick those up soon.

I loved the noir vibes and plot twists! Mid-20th century slang was something else, man

I first read this series in middle school. The library had several volumes, but they were missing some so I never got to finish the series. Ranma 1/2 was the first manga series I ever read and I am so glad that I am revisiting it after all these years. The humor and art hold up so well, no wonder it was a success around the world.

A thoughtful story that treats coming out and the lgbt community with a nuance that I haven’t seen in other mangas so far. Lovely art and the setting in a small beach town in Japan is so cozy.

Ahhh what a sweet story! Maybe got a bit teary eyed