Date Completed Title Cover Art Thoughts
Currently Reading Ice - Anna Kavan Not too sure how I feel about this yet but I'm only 40 pages in. I'm mostly just confused as to whats happening. We'll see.
April 2025 The Pearl Bastard - Lillian Halegua Sometimes I would get up and go to the sea about five in the morning. It was cool and the tide was out and the sand and the stones were smooth and cool and moist and it felt like snow that no one ever walked on. It was like God was near on the beach and it felt like organ playing and Ave Maria... - Well this one almost broke me! May I recommend reading this on a cold beach. Having the waves lapping at me and crying into this little book was crazy. A short book, a long poem. Heartbreaking and just stunning. Warning for some dated language but it makes sense in the context of the story. I'm curious if that Stone Roses song is a reference to this book, seems like it.
March 2025 Many Things Have Happened Since He Died - Elizabeth Dewberry Vaughn I am trying not to think about the past but it thinks for me. What is the passive tense of think I am thought the past is thought the past thinks itself in me - Flew through this one in less than 24 hours. Loved the writing style. Just when it starts getting monotonous things change up again. A tragic tale of a young southern woman grappling with God, her father's death, her abusive husband, etc etc. I normally don't go for things with subject matter like this but I LOVED the way it was written, like someone manically speaking into a voice recorder. Going to pick up her other book.
March 2025 I Love Shopping - Lauren Cook Sometimes just listening to what someone told you is enough of a religion for me - Thank you Nightboat Books for reprinting this!!! What a delight. I loved Sex Goblin, Lauren's second book, and his first did not disappoint. I read this in one sitting on my lunch break and it made me giggle and blush and also made me feel like I was in school (in a positive way).
March 2025 Original Bliss - A. L. Kennedy "So the time drops by you like blood then eddies with uncertainty and after days of waiting you still wait, discovering the way this feels cannot be unbearable because you bear it." - I ate this one up. I really like the author's style and the central theme of someone losing their God, and likening that to bereavement. There was juuust enough smut that I could still read it in public and not blush. I'm excited to pick up some other stuff by Kennedy. Also, this is my first time readying more than one book in a month in an embarassingly long time. Proud of myself!
March 2025 No longer Human - Osamu Dazai "I don't understand: if my neightbors manage to survive without killing themselves, without going mad, maintaining interest in political parties, not yielding to despair, resolutely pursuing the fight for existence, can their griefs really be genuine?" - When I first started this I wasn't sure about it but once I got half way through I finished it in one sitting. Quite depressing once you take into account the author's personal story. And, unfortunately, had some quotes I really related to.
August 2024 Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata Haven't related to a book this hard in a long time. Extremely excited to read her other books. Very melancholy slice of life.
Summer 2024 Kitchen - Banana Yoshimoto This was my second time reading this book. Heartbreaking, warm, beautiful. The ending feels a bit rushed, but even so, I can't recommend this highly enough.
Summer 2024 Sex Goblin - Lauren Cook Absolutely loved this. I had the pleasure of meeting Lauren and getting tattooed by them in 2019 and have been following their work online for years. I somehow need to get my hands on their previous book I Love Shopping. If anyone has a copy, please let me buy it from you. Y'all it got a reprinting we're so back.
Spring 2024 Salt Fish Girl - Larissa Lai "This is a story about stink, after all, a story about rot, about how life grows out of the most fetid-smelling places..." I enjoyed this one. Dystopian mutli-verse(?) sci-fi set in the near future PNW and 19th century China featuring a female protagonist that defies species and space-time! And another one that doesn't know what the fuck is goin on. And it's gay! But the ending kinda sucked...
Winter 2024 To Anyone who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse - Howard Fishman I was so disappointed with this book, I couldn't even finish it. The author comes off so patronizing and self-important. It's only getting two stars because of the subject matter and the lengths he went to to get interviews with some of the people Connie knew. I wanted to love this so badly and was so excited to read it. BOOOOOOOO!
Winter 2024 The Floating World - Cynthia Kadohata Coming of age story which follows 12 year old Japanese-American Olivia through her adolescence in rural America in the 50's and 60's. I loved the melancholy slice-of-life feel to this book. Almost nothing happens, but I was captivated enough to read it all in one sitting. Cynthia's style is unique and I'd like to read more of her books.
Fall 2023 A Personal Matter - Kenzaburō Ōe This one was a hard read for me. This semi-autobiographical novel follows Bird, a 27 year old Japanese man who is expecting his first child with his wife. Without giving too much away, the main charactr is extremely unlikeable, and the story that unfolds is dark and depressing.
Summer 2023 I'm Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy Jennette's autobiographical account of her relationship with her late mother. Thoroughly enjoyed this book, although it was a tough read for me emotionally. Highly recommend to anyone who has a bad relationship with their parents, and to anyone really. Jennette's writing style is fantastic.
Spring 2023 Just for Fun - Linus Torvalds and David Diamond The story of Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux operating system. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, esepcailly the last few chapters about open source philosophy and Linus's "meaning of life." Linus is very funny and endearing.
Spring 2023 Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet - Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon A really interesting history of the beginnings of the Interenet written in 1996 (the year I was born)! A little dense for those who aren't that familiar with vintage computers, but definitely worth the read.