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literatureaesthetic's Reviews (540)
read for uni — THANK GODDD THIS IS OVER
shakespeare's historical plays are so boring, i can't deal.
shakespeare's historical plays are so boring, i can't deal.
Where do I even start?? If you've heard of this book, you probably know by now that it is VERY sad. I'm talking about the 'rip your heart out and stomp on it and you'll never recover' kind of sad. I don't think I've ever been so emotionally affected by a book before, or so distraught for a character. Hanya Yanagihara's writing can seem quite tedious at times, but she excelled in multiple things, and one of these things is giving her characters so much depth and such distinct personalities that I actually felt like they were real people.
This book has been described as torture porn, and I can definitely see why. A lot of triggering or traumatic events have been put into this book and I don't think they were all necessary, however they are in there, and there isn't really anything we can do about it. One thing I will say, is that I do feel like the author has done her research into the sensitive topics discussed.
I recommend this to adults who are a looking for a emotional read, with very strong characters and balances a lot of sensitive themes. I do think many of these topics were portrayed well, I believe some could have been removed from the book but I don't think this should stop you from reading it.
This book has been described as torture porn, and I can definitely see why. A lot of triggering or traumatic events have been put into this book and I don't think they were all necessary, however they are in there, and there isn't really anything we can do about it. One thing I will say, is that I do feel like the author has done her research into the sensitive topics discussed.
I recommend this to adults who are a looking for a emotional read, with very strong characters and balances a lot of sensitive themes. I do think many of these topics were portrayed well, I believe some could have been removed from the book but I don't think this should stop you from reading it.
2023 goals:
✓ read 50 books [ 56 / 50 ]
• finish 8 series [ 3 / 8 ]
• read more hard sci-fi [ 5 / 10 ]
✓ read more classics [ 7 / 5 ]
favourite book each month:
january | harrow the ninth by tamsyn muir
5 books read
februrary | hell bent by leigh bardugo
5 books read
march | a psalm for the wild-built by becky chambers
8 books read
april | dune by frank herbert
8 books read
may | all's well by mona awad
8 books read
june | dune messiah by frank herbert
11 books read ▪︎ 1 dnf
july | my brilliant friend by elena ferrante
11 books read
august |
september |
october |
november |
december |
series completed
book of the ancestor ; mark Lawrence
monk & robot ; becky chambers
our lady of endless worlds ; lina rather
2023 priorities
• caliban's war - james s a corey
✓ endymion - dan simmons
• storm of swords, part one - george r r martin
✓ grey sister - mark lawrence
• chasm city - alastair reynolds
• redemption ark - alastair reynolds
✓ dune - frank herbert
• pandora's star - peter f hamilton
✓ harrow the ninth - tamsyn muir
• shadow of the gods - john gwynne
• memories of ice - steven erickson
• house of chains - steven erickson
• midnight tides - steven erickson
• the sword of kaigen - m l wang
• all the lovers in the night - mieko kawakami
• the bone shard daughter - andrea stewart
• shadow of what was lost - james islington
• illborn - daniel t jackson
• jade war - fonda lee
• secret project 1-4 - brandon sanderson
• a day of fallen night - samantha shannon
✓ fractal noise - christopher paulini
• the ikessar falcon - k s villoso
• chain of thorns - cassandra clare
✓ seven blades in black - sam sykes
DNF (✗) – 0
Completed (including DNF's) – 6 / 25
2023 anticipated releases
✓ secret project 1 - brando sando
• secret project 3 - brando sando
• secret project 4 - brando sando
✓ fractal noise - christopher paolini
• a day of fallen night - samantha Shannon
• penance - eliza clark
• chain of thorns - cassandra clare
✓ hell bent - leigh bardugo
• on the savage side - tiffany mcdaniel
• rouge - mona awad
[ 3 / 10 ]
newfound all-time favourites
harrow the ninth ; tamsyn muir
✓ read 50 books [ 56 / 50 ]
• finish 8 series [ 3 / 8 ]
• read more hard sci-fi [ 5 / 10 ]
✓ read more classics [ 7 / 5 ]
favourite book each month:
january | harrow the ninth by tamsyn muir
5 books read
februrary | hell bent by leigh bardugo
5 books read
march | a psalm for the wild-built by becky chambers
8 books read
april | dune by frank herbert
8 books read
may | all's well by mona awad
8 books read
june | dune messiah by frank herbert
11 books read ▪︎ 1 dnf
july | my brilliant friend by elena ferrante
11 books read
august |
september |
october |
november |
december |
series completed
book of the ancestor ; mark Lawrence
monk & robot ; becky chambers
our lady of endless worlds ; lina rather
2023 priorities
• caliban's war - james s a corey
✓ endymion - dan simmons
• storm of swords, part one - george r r martin
✓ grey sister - mark lawrence
• chasm city - alastair reynolds
• redemption ark - alastair reynolds
✓ dune - frank herbert
• pandora's star - peter f hamilton
✓ harrow the ninth - tamsyn muir
• shadow of the gods - john gwynne
• memories of ice - steven erickson
• house of chains - steven erickson
• midnight tides - steven erickson
• the sword of kaigen - m l wang
• all the lovers in the night - mieko kawakami
• the bone shard daughter - andrea stewart
• shadow of what was lost - james islington
• illborn - daniel t jackson
• jade war - fonda lee
• secret project 1-4 - brandon sanderson
• a day of fallen night - samantha shannon
✓ fractal noise - christopher paulini
• the ikessar falcon - k s villoso
• chain of thorns - cassandra clare
✓ seven blades in black - sam sykes
DNF (✗) – 0
Completed (including DNF's) – 6 / 25
2023 anticipated releases
✓ secret project 1 - brando sando
• secret project 3 - brando sando
• secret project 4 - brando sando
✓ fractal noise - christopher paolini
• a day of fallen night - samantha Shannon
• penance - eliza clark
• chain of thorns - cassandra clare
✓ hell bent - leigh bardugo
• on the savage side - tiffany mcdaniel
• rouge - mona awad
[ 3 / 10 ]
newfound all-time favourites
harrow the ninth ; tamsyn muir
i feel like crying
'the adult' is a "sad girl", coming-of-age novel following natalie as she moves to university. she develops a relationship with an older woman. it's primarily about this toxic relationship and the power disparity between the two, all while natalie is navigating stepping into the world for the first time
i can't explain why this worked so well for me. i didn't relate to it much; natalie is so different from me personality-wise that i found it difficult to resonate with her and the way she perceives the world, but this book still managed to impact me so deeply. it was gentle, tender, and intimate. with a soft but vivid style of writing, fischer depicts the all-consuming power of first loves and heartbreaks. she captures post-adolescent confusion and the clumsy awkwardness of entering adulthood perfectly.
this book was beautiful, i can see myself rereading it many times in the future. definitely the best 2023 release i've read so far this year <3 what a stunning surprise
'the adult' is a "sad girl", coming-of-age novel following natalie as she moves to university. she develops a relationship with an older woman. it's primarily about this toxic relationship and the power disparity between the two, all while natalie is navigating stepping into the world for the first time
i can't explain why this worked so well for me. i didn't relate to it much; natalie is so different from me personality-wise that i found it difficult to resonate with her and the way she perceives the world, but this book still managed to impact me so deeply. it was gentle, tender, and intimate. with a soft but vivid style of writing, fischer depicts the all-consuming power of first loves and heartbreaks. she captures post-adolescent confusion and the clumsy awkwardness of entering adulthood perfectly.
this book was beautiful, i can see myself rereading it many times in the future. definitely the best 2023 release i've read so far this year <3 what a stunning surprise
3.5☆ - if you see me repeatedly changing this rating, i'm sorry lmao
the only way i know how to describe this book is eccentric—it's odd but full of charm. in ‘big swiss’, beagin completely deviates from the blueprint for trauma plots. rather than a burdening and bleak look into female trauma, this book is a wry, witty, and sexy dark comedy that delves into queer desire, therapy and medical biases, and coping with formative wounds
beagin presents us with two women that function as opposite models for processing trauma. our protagonist, greta, struggles with a tragic childhood incident. the love interest, flavia (aka big swiss), was brutally assaulted by a man. where big swiss maintains a pedantic approach to life and refuses to play the victim, greta allows her past trauma to shape the present, causing her to live a life void of comfort. these two opposing perspectives clash, creating a seductive and confronting whirlwind of a novel that borders on the absurd
this book approaches a few controversial topics (adultery being a big one) without self-seriousness. it's refreshing to read and is a nice tonal change from a lot of 2023 contemporary “sad girl” or “unhinged woman” releases. it was very bizarre (which won’t be everyone’s thing) and completely unserious at times, while still managing to hit on darker themes and topics with care. despite its quirkiness, 'big swiss' is vulnerable when it needs to be
however, a big issue for me with this book was the frequent racist and microaggressive comments towards asians. ‘big swiss’ is a novel that is meant to be uneasy, but it still rubbed me the wrong way? i think it's sad that the unhinged woman trope is morphing into something that not all women can enjoy
the only way i know how to describe this book is eccentric—it's odd but full of charm. in ‘big swiss’, beagin completely deviates from the blueprint for trauma plots. rather than a burdening and bleak look into female trauma, this book is a wry, witty, and sexy dark comedy that delves into queer desire, therapy and medical biases, and coping with formative wounds
beagin presents us with two women that function as opposite models for processing trauma. our protagonist, greta, struggles with a tragic childhood incident. the love interest, flavia (aka big swiss), was brutally assaulted by a man. where big swiss maintains a pedantic approach to life and refuses to play the victim, greta allows her past trauma to shape the present, causing her to live a life void of comfort. these two opposing perspectives clash, creating a seductive and confronting whirlwind of a novel that borders on the absurd
this book approaches a few controversial topics (adultery being a big one) without self-seriousness. it's refreshing to read and is a nice tonal change from a lot of 2023 contemporary “sad girl” or “unhinged woman” releases. it was very bizarre (which won’t be everyone’s thing) and completely unserious at times, while still managing to hit on darker themes and topics with care. despite its quirkiness, 'big swiss' is vulnerable when it needs to be
however, a big issue for me with this book was the frequent racist and microaggressive comments towards asians. ‘big swiss’ is a novel that is meant to be uneasy, but it still rubbed me the wrong way? i think it's sad that the unhinged woman trope is morphing into something that not all women can enjoy
