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elle_reads's Reviews (446)
Instagram @elle_reads
BOOK REVIEW
[White Noise] The Airborne Event pokes a small family in a small college town.
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WHAT I LIKED
White Noise is satire on steroids. I’ve never read a satirical piece that so fully encompasses such a diverse range of topics at a high level. From consumerism to academics to emergency stimulations to drugs to death to religion - the list of ideals torn by satire’s steroid-enhanced arms goes on.
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It is a dialogue-driven piece. The children often throw a wrench into the current conversation - forcing Jack to another realm of thought. I loved their conversations in the car. The family dynamic is equally realist, humorous, and heartbreaking. They are the core of this postmodern word.
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WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
I did White Noise a disservice by reading other books at the same time and reading it for a few minutes here and there between class. There are so many quick changes from topic to topic. I would have appreciated it more if I sat down and read a bulk of it in a day. I will reread this one before I give a concrete review.
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White Noise (by Don DeLillo) ?/5 will reread
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Recommended to people who enjoyed: Catch-22, Lord of the Flies, A Clockwork Orange
BOOK REVIEW
[White Noise] The Airborne Event pokes a small family in a small college town.
//
WHAT I LIKED
White Noise is satire on steroids. I’ve never read a satirical piece that so fully encompasses such a diverse range of topics at a high level. From consumerism to academics to emergency stimulations to drugs to death to religion - the list of ideals torn by satire’s steroid-enhanced arms goes on.
//
It is a dialogue-driven piece. The children often throw a wrench into the current conversation - forcing Jack to another realm of thought. I loved their conversations in the car. The family dynamic is equally realist, humorous, and heartbreaking. They are the core of this postmodern word.
//
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
I did White Noise a disservice by reading other books at the same time and reading it for a few minutes here and there between class. There are so many quick changes from topic to topic. I would have appreciated it more if I sat down and read a bulk of it in a day. I will reread this one before I give a concrete review.
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White Noise (by Don DeLillo) ?/5 will reread
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Recommended to people who enjoyed: Catch-22, Lord of the Flies, A Clockwork Orange
Instagram @elle_reads
BOOK REVIEW
[Modesty: A Fashion Paradox] Hafsa Lodi analyzes modest fashion's rise to a multi-billion dollar trend and questions if it is here to stay. (#gifted @neemtreepress)
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WHAT I LIKED
Ready your phones. this is a book to read with IG open. Lodi purposefully makes it easy for readers to connect to the brands, influencers, writers, EVERYTHING in the realm of modest fashion. I loved scanning the interviewee's profiles as I read. She even includes a little black book of key players with descriptions in the back.
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Modest fashion is a complex topic. Everyone has their own definition. It can be an upfront reflection of one's beliefs, ideals, and comfort. Lodi examines how modest fashion became mainstream and asks the question: is it here to stay? Her discussions are wonderfully divided into thematic chapters with an effort to answer the big question evolved in the conclusion.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
I wanted more details of modest clothing trends' effect on everyday people. What effect has modest fashion created outside of the realm of fashion bloggers, models, and Instagram? Lodi does a great job mentioning follow counts and brand sales to depict growing trends around the world. I want to learn about the psychology of modest fashion. How have these trends affect people's thinking? I wanted to delve deeper into this plot hole.
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Modestly: A Fashion Paradox (by Hafsa Lodi) ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️4/5
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BOOK REVIEW
[Modesty: A Fashion Paradox] Hafsa Lodi analyzes modest fashion's rise to a multi-billion dollar trend and questions if it is here to stay. (#gifted @neemtreepress)
//
WHAT I LIKED
Ready your phones. this is a book to read with IG open. Lodi purposefully makes it easy for readers to connect to the brands, influencers, writers, EVERYTHING in the realm of modest fashion. I loved scanning the interviewee's profiles as I read. She even includes a little black book of key players with descriptions in the back.
//
Modest fashion is a complex topic. Everyone has their own definition. It can be an upfront reflection of one's beliefs, ideals, and comfort. Lodi examines how modest fashion became mainstream and asks the question: is it here to stay? Her discussions are wonderfully divided into thematic chapters with an effort to answer the big question evolved in the conclusion.
//
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
I wanted more details of modest clothing trends' effect on everyday people. What effect has modest fashion created outside of the realm of fashion bloggers, models, and Instagram? Lodi does a great job mentioning follow counts and brand sales to depict growing trends around the world. I want to learn about the psychology of modest fashion. How have these trends affect people's thinking? I wanted to delve deeper into this plot hole.
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Modestly: A Fashion Paradox (by Hafsa Lodi) ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️4/5
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(Instagram @elle_reads)
BOOK REVIEW
[The Stolen Bicycle] A man searches for his lost father by following a missing bicycle’s trail.
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WHAT I LIKED
I love stories with different mediums imbedded into the narration. The Stolen Bicycle is primarily a story of a boy searching for his father’s bicycle, but it becomes an observation of war, butterflies, and elephants through other character’s bicycle clues. Not only are the other narratives material for the son to find his father’s bike, they are also holes for reads to reach into the nonfictional world of Taiwanese history.
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Taiwan’s history is a mix of Taiwanese aborigines and Taiwanese people relations, occupation by different powers, and the balance of environment and men. The language says it all. The characters have to deal with translating four different languages to form the narrative of the bike. It shows how Taiwan is ~secretly~ a very global little island country. I enjoyed the translator, Darryl Sterk, notes describing his different choices between character names, place spellings, and dialogue based on the connotations each can give the Taiwanese or English reader. Of the approximately 26 known aboriginal languages, at least 10 are now extinct.
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WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
My favorite part of The Stolen Bicycle is a small caveat into the world of the butterfly industry. It is introduced to the novel as a short story written by a side character. I wish the entire novel had this character’s writing voice. The main character’s narration slowed the overall pace. I read his words as a story frame - impatient to get to the next part when another character said something interesting. In this sense, at times I felt the work was an almost random collection of jewels. ?almost stream of consciousness? However, this book is also slightly submersed the Wu Ming-Yi’s actual journey. Sometimes wild goose chases have the answer Sometimes the answer is in front of you. Desperate people will look everywhere.
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The Stolen Bicycle (by Wu Ming-Yi) ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️4/5
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BOOK REVIEW
[The Stolen Bicycle] A man searches for his lost father by following a missing bicycle’s trail.
//
WHAT I LIKED
I love stories with different mediums imbedded into the narration. The Stolen Bicycle is primarily a story of a boy searching for his father’s bicycle, but it becomes an observation of war, butterflies, and elephants through other character’s bicycle clues. Not only are the other narratives material for the son to find his father’s bike, they are also holes for reads to reach into the nonfictional world of Taiwanese history.
//
Taiwan’s history is a mix of Taiwanese aborigines and Taiwanese people relations, occupation by different powers, and the balance of environment and men. The language says it all. The characters have to deal with translating four different languages to form the narrative of the bike. It shows how Taiwan is ~secretly~ a very global little island country. I enjoyed the translator, Darryl Sterk, notes describing his different choices between character names, place spellings, and dialogue based on the connotations each can give the Taiwanese or English reader. Of the approximately 26 known aboriginal languages, at least 10 are now extinct.
//
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
My favorite part of The Stolen Bicycle is a small caveat into the world of the butterfly industry. It is introduced to the novel as a short story written by a side character. I wish the entire novel had this character’s writing voice. The main character’s narration slowed the overall pace. I read his words as a story frame - impatient to get to the next part when another character said something interesting. In this sense, at times I felt the work was an almost random collection of jewels. ?almost stream of consciousness? However, this book is also slightly submersed the Wu Ming-Yi’s actual journey. Sometimes wild goose chases have the answer Sometimes the answer is in front of you. Desperate people will look everywhere.
//
The Stolen Bicycle (by Wu Ming-Yi) ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️4/5
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