elizlizabeth's Reviews (242)

La Venganza de la Vaca

3.5

dark tense fast-paced

Me lo leí en un día, los diálogos son divertidos de seguir aunque con el cambio de POV se me hizo un poco confuso a ratos. Argies mis respetos por darle esto a niños como material de lectura.

Content Warnings

Crying in H Mart

Michelle Zauner

3.0

hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

The overarching theme of connecting food with culture and belonging, next to the grief of loosing a parent was so interesting to explore. Sadly, the author went in many tangents that weren't as interesting or relevant and seemed to be included to make Zauner look edgy and non-chalant in a way that seemed performative instead of sincere.
As a memoir I guess everyone is allowed to write however they want but after repeatedly being told by Zauner herself about her background writing articles I expected more.

Content Warnings

Lolita

Vladimir Nabokov

2.0

dark 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

Personally I didn't like the way the prose was written and found myself skimming a lot of paragraphs. The unreliable narrator quality was weak in my opinion, as I hated HH with all my might from the get go. That man is so boring and full of himself, idk how I'm suppossed to sympathize.
Some people have pointed out how they love the book because it shows Dolores' resilience but I don't enjoy seeing her resilience and life unfold through her abuser's eyes

even though I'm glad she got a somewhat happy ending,

.
Anyway. I didn't get the hype over this before and I sure don't after reading it. Good riddance!

Content Warnings

The Martian

Andy Weir

3.5

adventurous informative lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Most of the sciency stuff was confusing to me but my knowledge of engineering and physics is close to zero. The characters were fun and well fleshed, and the dialogue bits made me chuckle out loud. Overall good but I don't think I'll be re-reading soon unless I suddenly acquire three more braincells.

Content Warnings

Pachinko

Min Jin Lee

4.5

emotional sad tense slow-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: Yes

A deeply moving generational story about race, class, and sex. The characters are well fleshed out, and even with all the tragedies that befell the family nothing seems manufactured or unnecessary. As I write this review I'm already thinking of all the people I'm gonna recommend this to.

Content Warnings

The Bullet Journal Method

Ryder Carroll

2.5

informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

The first chapters were very useful to me, as they helped me to find purpose and focus in my bullet journal practice again. However, if you're only interested in learning the method and techniques of bujo you could more easily get that info from the creator's youtube channel or even the website. Chapters 3 until the end take a strong detour into self-help territory which I was skeptic at best, and positively cringed out when a Thomas Edison quote was mentioned to further a point. I don't like the focus it takes on productivity and how Ryder's philosophy adapts management philosophies and techniques to day-to-day life, but I do acknowledge that this could be helpful for some people.
That said, the book wasn't for me, but the system sure is: going for my 8th bullet journal this year!

Sharp Objects

Gillian Flynn

5.0

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was an experience. Please do heed the content warnings though.

Content Warnings

A Discovery of Witches

Deborah Harkness

2.0

emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book's pacing is all over the place and it's long. I would recommend it if you're a fan of romance, but definitely not for anyone else, as the plot doesn't even resolve by the end of the book.

Content Warnings

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Taylor Jenkins Reid

4.5

emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Such an easy, quick read! The plot twists are really unexpected and dramatic to the point it felt a bit like a telenovela, but Evelyn is quite the opposite from a telenovela lead so it was entertaining to read her story.
Monique as a character felt cartoonish and placeholder-y at times, but *Evelyn Hugo voice* "Yeah, this ain't about her."

Content Warnings

The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina—Separating the Myth from the Medicine

Dr. Jen Gunter

4.0

informative fast-paced

Very informative, I would recommend if you have a vagina or are partnered with someone who does and want to learn more about your body, or your partner's body. The tone is lighthearted, so it's a pleasant and quick read.
This is not a general encyclopedia because it shifts so often to US medical system and data that advice could not be applied to your own country, but it definitely gives a good starting point.

Content Warnings

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