This was a fun read split across two sittings but not (especially in the middle portions) worth taking an excess of time for. I found the characterizations enjoyable and believable and the final girls likeable in light of their backgrounds, especially the MC. The ending wasn't stunning or out of nowhere, but it made the book tie up nicely. Very enjoyable for slasher film fans. 

A good collection of themed Western flower poetry, the majority of the poems were a joy to read and the choice of accompanying illustration really tied the book together as an experience. A calm and warm thing to read on a sunny day with tea in hand. 

As someone unexperienced in grief and not diaspora, I'm not at all the target audience for this book. It says something that it still reached me and brought me to tears, the authors raw emotions portrayed beautifully. At some points it felt a bit scattered, but the thread of thought was obvious. A memoir significantly above average. 

I continued this book to the end since it had the occasional insightful commentary, but in terms of Daoism I found ironically more in the "dead", from the original Tao Te Ching, then from this book. Many of his own parables fell flat compared to the ones from other sources, and his explanations of those were often simplistic. 

If you've ever had a negative thought about capitalism you've likely covered 70% of the book on your own. The other 30% might be worth something but came off as too simplistic to be convincing to me. Admittedly from the other, socialist, direction, so not the target audience, but given that most people who would want to read this book would be wasting their time reading this book, I"m not sure who an effective target audience is. 

This rating could change when I actually manage to get fully around to tidying. My "image" for my desired result is being able to take ownership of all my things before moving off to college, so its a little different from long term tidying. That said, I would recommend this book to anyone who hasn't read it, honestly. I think specifically the notes on gratitude are in fact very worth it and a good practice to get into -- being untidy is in many ways treating your things with disrespect, and accumulation of stuff can come from not taking ownership of it. 

A couple pieces of Kondo's advice aren't worthwhile to me personally. Maybe its my lack of hand dexterity but I could never maintain her folding method, and while advice on being willing to go to the store may be useful to hoarders, I see no problem with filling up extra storage, which you'll likely have after only keeping things to make you happy, with essential goods. These don't seem to be the main message of the book though, which is ultimately just being conscious of the items you own, and their meaning to you.