Take a photo of a barcode or cover
That's something I'm doing. That's not my reason for being. When I am done with this, I will do other things. I do not have a purpose any more than a mouse or a slug or a thornbush does.
My favourite robot names: Two Foxes, Morning Fog, Wolf-and-Fawn, Mouse Bones, and Termites.
Because I know that no matter what, I'm wonderful.
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Death is wonderful to music. It makes the singers sound like ghosts.
When I started reading this, I didn't expect it would take me seven months to finish! You might wonder why I stuck with it for so long, but it was nice to have a book like this around, something light and simple, easy to pick up and easy to put down, especially for those tedious waits at bus stops when you still need to be half aware of your surroundings. There were a few things about Klune's writing style and worldbuilding which didn't hit the spot for me, but I dearly loved all of the children, and Linus and Arthur were quite sweet together.
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Fatphobia, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
I am not emotional enough in the ways people expect, and too emotional in ways they do not like to see. [...] I don't ask the right questions or care about the right things. I don't thank people as much as they seem to want to be thanked. I like to be alone a lot more than other people, and I need things to be a certain way. [...] I have felt like the wrong kind of daughter, the wrong kind of sister, and the wrong kind of friend.
I have yet to see someone who hasn't been correct in their self-diagnosis. People are experts on themselves.
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry
Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship
He took only as much as he needed of something, and that was enough.
I read the first half utterly confused. I read the second half uncontrollably crying.
The doors of bland suburban houses now looked possible, outlined, pulsing—for behind any one of them could be hidden a bright and private glory.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief
Moderate: Abortion, Pregnancy
Minor: Ableism
I said that I too sometimes did not understand what I saw in galleries, or read in books. Though I understood the pressure of feeling like you had to have a view or opinion, especially one that you could articulate clearly, which usually only came with a certain education. This, I said, allowed you to speak of history and context, and was in many ways like a foreign language. For a long time, I had believed in this language, and I had done my best to become fluent in it. But I said that sometimes, increasingly often in fact, I was beginning to feel like this response too was false, a performance, and not the one I had been looking for. Sometimes, I looked at a painting, and felt completely nothing. Or if I had a feeling, it was only intuitive, a reaction, nothing that could be expressed in words. It was all right, I said, to simply say if that was so. The main thing was to be open, to listen, to know when and when not to speak.
A soothing, sensory experience. Like reading through a stranger's (gorgeously written) travel journal. I'd almost classify this as "cosy fiction". I've never even been to Japan, but everything else about this book felt strikingly familiar—a variation on some of my own core life memories. It's a reminder that I should seek out more Australian fiction. I usually love this tangental, character-focused style of writing, but I'm not sure if it works as well for me in a novella-length story. I can appreciate the individual snapshots, but there's not enough there to create a bigger picture. Au is incredibly gifted at using words to awaken sensorial memories, and I look forward to reading more of her work.
I wanted to walk in the woods and among the trees. I wanted not to speak to anyone, only to see and hear, to feel lonely.
Moderate: Death, Stalking, Death of parent, Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Confinement
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Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity
Minor: Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Alcohol
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Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship
Minor: Ableism, Biphobia, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Alcohol
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Slavery, Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Homophobia, Death of parent