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Kafka On The Shore: a review

Hello, it’s been a while. But I’m alive and well and back with a good one. I’ve finally finished Kafka on the Shore—probably Haruki Murakami’s most well known work. And I have to get it out and be honest with you guys. I did not enjoy this. While the premise, the shock, the eccentricity, I get, I enjoy even, there were things that it failed to do for me. The prose lacked the kind of vividness and depth I know Murakami is capable of giving. And you could see it too, in many places in the book. SPOILER AHEAD. The scene where Johnny Walker eats the cats and his murder is truly Murakami’s vividness at its peak. It disturbed me. It made me shut the book and have to prepare myself to continue ahead. I’ll never forget it. SPOILER ENDED. But for the most part, the prose was unremarkable. The dialogue seriously lacked the depth and intelligence Murakami’s characters have. Many times it seemed like the character was trying to say something profound, that the book wants me to be moved, but it mostly sounded tumblr-deep and cringe. Any opportunity to explain the absurdity of the plot, to assign any metaphorical meaning to it was shrugged off by the characters saying something like “I can’t explain it well”, “I don’t know what it means but I’ll know when I see it” which was incredibly annoying because he really wasn’t obliged at all to explain the plot, and he never did either, but it seemed like he wanted it all to have some overarching profound meaning but didn’t himself know what that was. The build-up for the climax of the novel, the way multiple stories started at different points and you slowly find out that they’re all related kept me hooked in, but only for so long. By the last 100 pages I was starting to get bored, and eventually the climax was so underwhelming it only added to the disappointment.

Looking back at it after a few days, I feel like I understand a little what the book was trying to do. I was very consumed by it when I had finished it, but even that lingering feeling faded away faster than most good books. And the whole experience is just more disappointing when you’ve read a Murakami before and know what he’s capable of.

Perhaps I haven’t understood this book. I’m fully considering the possibility that I’m simply too dumb for it 🥰. I might return to it sometime, to see if maybe I have missed something. But until then, ⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars.

#kafka on the shore #murakami #haruki murakami #norweigan wood #studyblr #studyblr community #bujo #bookstagram #bookblr #book review

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Rebecca: a review

I write this weeks after I actually finished a book, because it occurred to me that this book deserves 5 stars, not 4. I picked up this book for a very obvious reason to anyone that knows me: Taylor Swift wrote a song about it. Tolerate It is one of my favourite songs from Evermore so of course, when Taylor mentioned that it’s about Rebecca I was immediately hooked. This book is a slow burner, that’s for sure. Even though the prose isn’t boring at all and the mystery of Rebecca and Manderley is immediately gripping, it reads slow, and so picking it up on my first week of college was probably not a good idea. As a result it took me about 2 weeks to finish it and at first I thought it was the book’s fault but it really, really wasn’t. This book gives you all it promises- a suspenseful mystery that edges on horror, the complexities of an obviously unequal dynamic between two lovers, and the anxiety of feeling like you’re not good enough, and the person that you love just tolerates you, all packed around in one single word: Manderley. It’s rare that I keep thinking about a book for as long after I’ve finished it as I have for this, and I often come back to some line or excerpt of this book. It only made sense for me to give it 5/5 stars and recommend this to anyone who will listen to me and wants to read a book that will consume them in its prickly vines.

#studyblr #study #studyblr community #bujo #studygram #bullet journal #bookstagram #study inspo #bookblr #books #rebecca #daphne du maurier

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Dune: a review

*** this is a review for Dune aka the first book of the Dune series. The picture is of the trilogy because that’s the only copy I have 🥲***

I started Dune about a million years ago (10 days to be exact) and haven’t felt this relieved that a book is over this whole year. Okay, exaggeration aside, I bought this book because of the movie and the hype and thought was really excited, and then I read some reviews of it on goodreads saying it’s the most boring book they’ve ever read, and then I was really not excited anymore. But truth is, it’s really not as bad or as good as people will lead you to believe. For the first 50 pages or so, I was very interested. The premise is so promising, there’s science fiction, there’s Game of Throne-like kingdoms and religion and culture, it pulled me right in. But after 100 pages, you start to notice how hard it is to sit and just finish this book. After 200 pages, you’ve entered a reading slump. After the midway point, you just want to finish it. And while the last 50 pages will get you excited again, the ending leaves an underwhelmed feeling. In reality, the premise is all this book is hanging by. The narrative is incredibly boring, there’s not enough detail about the planet’s ecosystem and functioning (in the first book atleast) as you’d expect when an ecologist writes a book. And none of this is helped by the fact that Paul is quite possibly the most boring and bland main character I’ve ever read. While he starts out just like any teenager, he progressively loses any touch of relatability or personality that would make reading about his thoughts worthwhile. If anything, his pride and arrogance will annoy you so much at times you don’t wanna continue at all. The characters that are enjoyable either get thrown around by Paul, or don’t have enough share in the story. Despite these obvious flaws, like I said, the premise is interesting and it’s what keeps it readable. Being one of the blueprints of sci fi media, it gives everything from high-tech suits and weapons, to the hero’s journey of self realisation through a long voyage, to the build up of The War, to plot twists. The good parts are harder to describe without giving away spoilers, but when I say it’s not as bad as some people will have you believe, take my word for it. 3/5 stars.

Also, if you’ve read the book, Alia is my favourite character 😭😭. Let me know your thoughts <33

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The Selected Poems of Sylvia Plath: a review

I don’t read poetry books very often (I read a lot of poems but I find collected works a bit hard to get through) , but I love Sylvia Plath and I loved the bell jar, so I was already excited for this. And though I don’t have a lot to compare it to, I think it served. For lack of a better phrase, Sylvia Plath came and served emotions like it’s her job (it kinda is). She evidently has a very detailed knowledge on a variety of topics, which becomes clear from her complex metaphors and imagery, as well as a pool of precise and emotion provoking vocabulary. She writes about everything from a hypothetical mountain hermit, to a lesbian friend (?), to some deep rooted father issues and I was here for all. of. it. My favourite of the collection was Daddy, although Full Fathom Five, Cut, Nick and the Candlestick, Letter in November also really stayed with me. That is something Plath’s poetry will do– it will bring out some deep buried emotion and it will stay with you. I greatly enjoyed reading it, the only tiny problem I had was that since her topics of writing are so varied, there is something for everyone but not everything is for someone reading it and while some poems made me cry, some left little to no impression on my mind. Regardless, it’s worth a read. 4/5 stars.

What other poetry collection would you recommend? I’ll probably try Emily Dickinson’s next.

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The Song Of Achilles: a review

I finished this book at 1:30 am last night, and at 8 am today I’m still in shock. Not because the plot of shocking, but simply because how good this book was. Needless to say, I’ve found another one of my favourite books of all time. As you may already know, the characters of this book are from greek mythology, and having read about the War of Troy at school, I knew most of them. But when I tell you, that the way this book has written its characters, I’ve become so attached to them that I would die for them, I really mean it. Yes, I’m professing my love for fictional beings. This book made me laugh, it made me cry (I mean it made me CRY), it kept me so gripped that I read it in one sitting. And cried for a good time afterwards (not because it’s a sad book, but- you’ll see when you read it). I’m still lost somewhere in its beautiful descriptions of Greece, and can’t even think about reading another book for the rest of the day. All this is to say, that this is the easiest 5/5 stars I’ve given.

This book made me practice a new skill of reading through teary eyes, as I was crying for the last 70 pages or even more 🥲 you learn new things everyday !!

#studyblr #study #studyblr community #bujo #studygram #bullet journal #bookstagram #study inspo #bookblr #bookshelf #book review #the song of achilles #madelline miller

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Metamorphosis: a review

I’m a big fan of Kafka in general, but I had never read one of his stories until now. So, Metamorphosis is a very quick read (and by that I mean it’s literally 99 pages long) and very accessible, language wise. Kafka’s attention to detail and ability to create a gripping narrative is clearly evident. And yet, it’s not the most enjoyable read you’ll have. For starters, this book is about a person that wakes up one day as a “horrible vermin”, so the ick factor is impossible to ignore. And yes, I’m sure that’s on purpose but it still makes this book hard to get through. On another note, the main character is just.. kinda bad? To be clear, I love me a good unlikeable main character, but I feel like when the narrative is from their perspective, you should still be able to understand where they’re coming from a little bit, if not sympathise with them. And that just wasn’t happening here. He is extremely diligent and selfless one minute, and completely selfish the other. A lot of his mood swings in the later pages come out of nowhere, and this doesn’t seem intentional. It reads like Kafka wants us to sympathise with him, but either because of his unrelatable thought patterns, or just lack of investment because of the short length of the book, it didn’t happen. 3/5 stars

Have you read this or any other Kafka books? Which is your favourite?

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The Handmaid’s Tale: a review

So I read The Handmaid’s Tale this week and it was quite the experience. I haven’t read a lot of dystopian novels, but I can still say this as far as fictional futures go, this one seemed very well built and even plausible. I love the way the narrative is broken and confused at times to reflect on how Offred is actually thinking. The way we see glimpses of this society through her eyes was unique, and the mystery of it all added to the tension. Really, there is nothing that bothered me in the book at all. I gave it 4/5 stars because it’s not my favourite? but it does what it sets out to do very well.

Have you read the sequel “The Testaments” ? I’ve heard mixed reviews but I’d definitely want to try it, since the story comes to such a good end I’m curious to see how Margaret Atwood continues it for a sequel.

#studyblr #study #studyblr community #bujo #studygram #bullet journal #study inspo #bookstagram #bookblr #margaret atwood #the handmaid's tale

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Beautiful World, Where Are You: a review

Here it is: the finale of the three part series of me worshipping Sally Rooney and every word she writes. Beautiful World, Where Are You is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. It has made me laugh many times, bawl my eyes out twice, and rethink how I look at the world throughout. With a simple story of four people and their relationship with each other, told on the backstage of political crises, climate change, capitalism, marxism, traditional relationship norms, etc., this book paints as realistic an image of millennial lives in our times as I’ve ever seen. I finished this book about 3 days ago, and still thinking about it makes me want to cry, not because it was particularly sad or anything, but because I felt so connected to the story and characters that I’m going through withdrawal. It’s a lot more mature than Sally Rooney’s previous works which makes me happy, to see her grow along with her books. I’d recommend this book to anyone who asks, or doesn’t ask, or is simply in my vicinity. 5/5 stars, obviously.

Sally Rooney, if you’re reading this, I will read your grocery list and probably give it 5 stars, btw.

#studyblr #study #studyblr community #bujo #bullet journal #bookstagram #studygram #bookblr #sally rooney #normal people #conversations with friends #beautiful world where are you

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Norwegian Wood: a review

I finally read a Murakami!! And I believe Norwegian Wood was a good place to start. This book is GOOD. The prose is wonderfully written, and some phrases from this book will stay with me forever. Murakami has an amazing ability to paint the background well, and the picture of Japan in the late 60s-early 70s is truly one of the most beautiful ones I’ve read in any book ever. There are some writers that write so well that they’ll make you think “wow they write so well”. Murakami writes so well that he’ll make you think “wow this place is beautiful”. His ability to disappear into his writing is so unique and immersive that you won’t be able to put this book down. Another thing I noticed is how aware and intentional he is as a writer. One of the first things you’ll notice when you read this book is that it reads like Catcher In The Rye. I don’t know how, I couldn’t point out what was so similar even if I tried (because all else considered, Catcher in the Rye and Norwegian Wood would probably be on opposite ends of the spectrum) and yet, it reminds one so strongly of that book. And then way later into the book, a character asks the narrator if he’s trying to imitate Holden from Catch in the Rye. When I tell you this blew my mind. I, in retrospect , knowing that Murakami did this on purpose, still can’t point out what exactly he did that caused this similarity and he managed to conjure it out of nothing. This sounds more like a Murakami review than a Norwegian Wood review lol but really, I’ve come to admire both.

The ***only*** thing that bothered me was that this book is horny. There’s no other way to say it, it’s an extremely horny book. There isn’t one woman in this book whose body isn’t extremely sexualised, or that doesn’t want to sleep with the narrator. It did pull me out of the experience at times, so I give this book 4/5 stars. And if you don’t like that kind of stuff in your books then I wouldn’t recommend this one, because there’s a LOT of it.

I’m really excited to read Kafka on the Shore next. What is your favourite Murakami? Let me know your thoughts on this book if you’ve read it<3

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My cute little book review corner has a 100 followers now 🥺 thank you for taking the time to read about me losing my mind over every book I read <33 I love you, have a great day xx

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Conversations with Friends: a review

Okay. It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for since I lost my mind over Normal People. I read Conversations with Friends. And I. Am. Speechless. Sally Rooney came in with this book and emotionally destroyed me like it’s her freaking job. In true Sally Rooney Fashion, this book isn’t plot driven. But quite literally, conversation driven. The way every character thinks and expresses themselves in this book is so out of this world. And it’s got anti capitalism, and it’s got feminism, and it talks about wealth inequality, and it’s got bisexual representation. In fact, this book has one of the most accurate and authentic bisexual representation I’ve ever seen. And yes, every person in this book is judging you for your lack of knowledge about socio-economic issues and calling you dumb in a way that you’ll have a crush on them. This book really changed me. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head and probably never will. Please, don’t miss on this experience . 5/5 stars.

Let me know what you think of this book or Sally Rooney’s other works <3 Also absolutely cannot contain my excitement over the fact that Joe Alwyn is playing nick in the show adaptation of this book. Are you excited for it?

#conversations with friends #sally rooney #normal people #beautiful world where are you #studyblr #studyblr community #studygram #study #bullet journal #study inspo #bookstagram #bookblr

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Home Body: a review

Before I even start, this is not one of those reviews that dismiss "tumblr poetry" before even reading it. I love Rupi Kaur. Milk and Honey is one of my favourite books. So when I say this book pissed me the hell off, I really tried to like it. I really did. For starters, structurally, this book confused me. The chapters characteristic in Kaur's books didn't work in this one. There were poems about immigration and consumerism in "rest" and so many poems about sex just scattered around that could've been in a "body" chapter. The sequence was also really confusing. I'd get a little emotional at a poem and the next would expect me to be rejoicing and being grateful?? Just to be clear, I know poem collections aren't always in some plot-like sequence and can be random but Kaur's previous work hasn't been like that. And to get to the biggest problem, most of the poems were just bad. Most of them read like literal tweets. And not even good tweets. Noah Centineo tweets. There's one poem that literally says "you are lonely / but you are not alone / there is a difference" like??? Should've stayed in the drafts, Rupi. Should've stayed in the drafts. The book actually talks about her feeling pressured to write when inspiration wasn't striking her and I feel like that's very evident here. I just wish she'd just taken a little more time with this and that her editor had done her job well because clearly, it seems like nobody even bothered reading this book because they just assumed it will sell.

All in all, I was really disappointed. Knowing how impactful Rupi Kaur can be in such a simple and accessible language, this falls even more flat. 1/5 stars. Have you guys read it? Let me know what you think <33

(Goodreads: @ lunarbae)

#studyblr #studyblr community #bujo #studygram #study #bullet journal #bookstagram #bookblr #rupi kaur #home body #the sun and her flowers #milk and honey

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Sapiens: a review

"Sapiens: A Brief History Of Humankind" really seems like a huge task. And when I first bought it I was unsure if the book will be able to really do it. But in a rare case, this book title really undersells what's inside. This is not just a history book. It's political text. It's feminist text. It's queer text. This book is like, all the great intellectual discussions you've ever had combined into a beautiful, emotional, funny, interesting, page turner that will make you laugh, cry, question your entire existence and make you want to sell all your possessions and move to a faraway mountain while reminding you that that's a stupid idea and won't help you at all. And if that just confused you, PLEASE read this book. 5/5 stars.

What do you guys think of Sapiens? Follow me for some other reviews and if you want <3. (goodreads: @ lunarbae)

#studyblr #study #studyblr community #bujo #studygram #bullet journal #bookstagram #bookblr #sapiens: a brief history of humankind #yuval noah harari

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And Then There Were None: a review

So, as a surprise to absolutely no one, this book is really good. I mean, it was voted the favourite Agatha Christie for a reason. The fascinating thing is you know what's going to happen. Right from the start. It's literally in the title lol. And yet, the prose is so well written that you feel invested in every little detail even if you know the result. The language is extremely accessible and it's a pretty short book (I finished it in half a day) but just long enough to explain how everything happened in detail without stretching it too long. I would highly recommend this for a trip/journey because it will keep you entertained without requiring too much mental space to understand. 5/5 stars.

Let me know what you think about it if you've read it and what other Agatha Christie books you'd recommend (this was my first) <3 also can we stop making movie/show adaptations the book covers cause what even is this.

#studyblr #study #studyblr community #bujo #studygram #bookstagram #bookblr #and then there were none #agatha christie

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The Complete Novels Of Sherlock Holmes: a review

I usually try to keep my language very clean and formal on this app, but holy shit you guys. This book is GOOD.

I'm not too much into crime genre, in books or movies or shows. Sherlock, the BBC series is one of the only crime mystery shows I've loved and it's one of my favourite series over all, so I was excited to read this as soon as I bought it. And I was not disappointed.

The book I have contains only the Sherlock Holmes novels i.e. A Study In Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Valley of Fear. My favourite one of all is definitely The Hound of the Baskervilles, but all of them individually could be one of my favourite novels. The mystery is captivating without seeming forced, and (what often disappoints me in other detective stories) Sherlock Holmes isn't made clever by plot conveniences or sheer luck, but genuinely seems to deduct his way out of very difficult but plausible problems. One of the major things that I loved was how accessible and modern the language was. This book easily could've been written today and it wouldn't need much change in the language. Sherlock and Watson was charming in a very endearing way, and it's because of this that I find only one and a very small problem with this book, which is that their characters are so captivating that any backstory to the crimes, feels slightly unwelcome. I sometimes felt that I would much rather read Sherlock summarizing the villain's motives than hear his whole life story from his own mouth. But that frustration isn't long lasting because even the backstories are written is such a good way that a couple pages in, you'll forget that you were reading a Sherlock Holmes story.

I personally found it book very tolerable in terms of racism and sexism for a book written in its time. I don't know a lot about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character or his life, so I won't comment too surely, but this book is one of those where even when such discrimination is present it's that it is the character who is discriminatory, not the author. What I mean is that any racist remarks are generally made by the criminals, or characters you're sure not to like anyway. And occasionally when it's not so, it's condemned in the book itself. But I did find someone on goodreads pretty flustered about this topic so I did have to warn you.

To be honest, I found the book amazingly diverse, which was a huge surprise considering the whiter-than-white cast of the show and the movies. It's truly disappointing when a 1890s novel is more diverse than its 2010s adaptation.

To conclude, though I haven't read a lot of this genre, I can easily say this is a great crime mystery book which lives up to its name in every way. If you like the show or the movies, you will definitely love it. 5/5 stars.

Do let me know what you thought if you've read it! And hmu on goodreads @/lunarbae. I'm kind of new there and would love to have some friends :)

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The Great Gatsby: a review?

Sooo.. I read The Great Gatsby. And I don't have a lot to say? There are some books that make you feel like you're too dumb to fully understand them, and while I've read more complex books than this, both in plot and language, this is the book that made me feel like that. After the first 100 pages (almost half of the book) I felt almost empty. I wasn't able to attach myself to the characters or the visuals as I thought I should've, mostly because out of the 100 there were hardly 20 pages dedicated to the actual characters, and while the other 80 pages gave a detailed description of this lavish world, I only looked at it with the same unimpressed lack of interest as Nick did, and so hardly found it enjoyable. The climax was truly shocking and captivating, but over before I even knew it. The ending was emotional, but soon enough ripped away from the very thing that was making it emotional.

All that is just a very complicated way of saying that I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. But considering in the week of slow reading that I took to complete this book, I was entirely distracted by my birthday, I'm more than willing to admit that me not enjoying it has more to do with my external circumstances than the book itself. And I will surely read it again after enough time has passed. But as of now, I'll give it 3 out of 5 stars.

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Normal People: a review

Let me start this off by saying, this book is *chef's kiss* amazing. 5 out of 5 stars.

Now, unless you've been living under a literature rock, you have heard of this book EVERYWHERE. I am not kidding. Every booktuber was talking about it. Taylor Swift wrote a whole album inspired by it. It has its own show? So, going into it I was definitely more skeptical than usual. I had this feeling that it might not live up to the hype. And I. was. wrong. The title of this book paints the picture perfectly, this book is about two normal people- Conell and Marianne, living their normal life. But that's the beauty of it. By sacrificing a plot full of twists and turns and going for a simple journey of two young adults, Sally Rooney was able to put her entire focus on building the characters and she did it so well that throughout the book, I was happy when they were happy, depressed when they were depressed, and really crying when they were (all of this happened within a day, btw. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down until I finished). This isn't an easy feat considering these characters were incredibly complex. With the simple language of the book, it would be very easy to create one dimensional characters and add enough fluff and emotion to make it a good enough book. But Sally Rooney utilised every little thing in each scene, from the weather to the choice of drink to the outfits to show, rather than saying, her characters' state of mind- a thing many, many writers fail to do. Without giving any spoilers, the ending ripped me apart, and I will think about this book often, and will most probably read it again.

As always, do let me know what you thought of it. I love hearing other people's impressions of books I liked. And check my profile for more reviews xx

#normal people #sally rooney #conversations with friends #studyblr #study #bujo #studyblr community #studygram #quarantine #bookstagram