wolves of the calla / stephen king (2003)
*audiobook* my favorite of the series so far! I knew going into these books that they got weird and meta, so I was veeerry excited to see those elements make an appearance. very intrigued to see how they play out. I am sort of sad that I only have two books left. at least they are long. ★★★★
the vegetarian / han kang (2016 translation)
FASCINATING. I actually wasn't super into this for the first half, but it had me in the second. everything really came together during the last section. I hate that you never hear directly from the main character, but I also don't think this story would work if you did. I will be thinking about yeong-hye for a few days. ★★★★
pnin / vladimir nabokov (1957)
truly a testament to what a wonderful writer nabokov was. the plot of this book is technically boring to nonexistent, but the descriptions of places and people make it so charming and exciting. I've never been so stressed while reading about someone washing their dishes. at this point, I consider timofey a good friend of mine. ★★★★★
time shelter / georgi gospodinov (2020)
it's so exciting to find a book that is exactly what you like to read. I thought this was fascinating. it starts off so small and personal, and then grows into something huge and scary and political. I loved all the tangents. the author really thought about the world he was writing (side eyes tender is the flesh). I am so glad I read this. ★★★★★
the wind through the keyhole / stephen king (2012)
*audiobook* okay I wasn't sure if I should even listen to this bc it was written out of order, but I did anyway. it seems very unecessary. it just sort of loiters. stephen why did you write this ★★
a clockwork orange / anthony burgess (1962)
ultra-violence is such a beautiful word, I understand why future writers/filmmakers would run it into the ground. really excellent. very unique. an original. many works came after this that wanted to be this, but they were not. ★★★★
tender is the flesh / agustina bazterrica (2020 translation)
I heard good things about this book and then it was just.. so lazily written. like no thought was put into it beyond the main plot summary. there are plot holes for days, and it can be difficult to determine who is supposed to be speaking in any given scene (this may be a translation issue?). this feels like its going to be a really bad tv show. ★★
genocide, the holocaust, and israel-palestine / omer bartov (2023)
sort of expected this to be a pop-history book, but thankfully it was just a full on essay. extremely thorough history of the lead up to the holocaust (as well as a reminder of how terribly/improperly the subject is taught in US schools), and how those happenings continue to impact the world today. the essay ends on a slightly positive note reading israel-palestine relations, which is extremely devastating given that it was published in mid 2023.
wizard and glass / stephen king (1997)
*audiobook* the cowboy odyssey continues. was very charmed by roland's gang of friends (cuthbert would be a wonderful name for a cat). the tie-ins to other books were very fun, esp all the wizard of oz stuff. as always, we continue. ★★★
in the dream house/ carmen maria machado (2019)
extremely evocative and conveys so much. I really loved the fragmented chapters/styles in this, especially in the context of it being a memoir. obviously deals with some very difficult subjects, but it is done so beautifully ★★★★★
interview with the vampire / anne rice (1976)
was very excited to read this after being a fan of the movie and show for a while. very solid story. ★★★
model home / rivers solomon (2024)
hmmm there's something odd about the pacing of this where it feels like nothing is happening?? didn't like the writing style. it felt like it wanted to be about too many things and ultimately lost itself in the process. certain endings felt unsupported or incomplete, and others felt rushed. ★★★
themystery.doc / Matthew McIntosh (2017)
not sure if this is a book as much as it is a very depressing collection of examples of loss. loss of life, loss of self, loss of autonomy. the use of photography and blank space in this book is devastating. really really intriguing and exciting formatting!! ★★★★
this is how you lose the time war / el-mohtar & gladstone (2019)
this did absolutely nothing for me, I am sorry to say. I got no sense of who the characters were, and the plot outside of the characters seemed more like a backdrop, so I had nothing to get invested in. on top of that, I really was not a fan of the prose. I struggled to finish this despite it being so short ★★
under the eye of the big bird / hiromi kawakami (2016)
had a super intense moment of deja vu while reading a part of this and I have no idea why. another very good one! really really liked the fragmented style that this was written in. it slightly lost me near the end, but still a big fan. I can't do half stars, but this would be 4.5/5 if I could ★★★★
the waste lands / stephen king (1991)
*audiobook* I am seeing a problem develop with my audiobook journey. I think my dislike for the narrator's voice/choice of accents is interfering with my ability to connect to characters. that being said: not my favorite of the series so far, but I am still in it enough to keep going. I truly have no idea where this is going ★★★
what it's like to be a bird / david sibley (2020)
this was actually a very fun (and quick) read. it reminded me of the animal books I'd read in elementary school. just a bunch of cool bird facts. did you know that murres can dive to 600 feet below sea level. isn't that amazing. ★★★★
dead astronauts / jeff vandermeer (2019)
I actually liked this a lot. my first vandermeer, so I had nothing to compare it to. it was really nice to read something that you aren't meant to understand immediately, and I thought that the experimental writing was both effective and affective. also not to make everything about her, but this book was very joanna newsom divers to me. it literally says 'joy of life' near the end. jeff I'm onto you.★★★★
the reformatory / tananarive due (2023)
so incredibly frustrating and horrific to get through but so well written. every character felt correct the entire time, if that makes sense. the last 100 pages or so were possibly the most stressful I have ever read. I then proceeded to have weird dreams about this book ★★★★
major labels / kelefa sanneh (2021)
started off so excited and had a lot of fun reading about rock and roll. but then it just keeps on going. this book is DENSE. and not necessarily in a good way. the longer this book went on, the more it just felt like a bunch of words and names. the last chapter, on pop music, barely has anything to say despite it being such a huge genre ★★★
hangsaman / shirley jackson (1951)
okay. this reminded me a lot of charlie kaufman's films, which is odd because I do not really enjoy his work, but I did enjoy this book. the writing style and ambience were fantastic. I also haven't related so much to a character in a very long time; so much of this feels like what college was for me, which I didn't expect at all. can't wait to read more of jackson's actual horror novels! ★★★★★
drag: the complete story / simon doonan (2019)
well. certainly not the complete story. I didn't realize that this was more of a coffee table book until I picked it up from the library, but I still read it. I read this right after before we were trans, and after doing so: maybe white gays should not be the ones writing these books! it just felt extremely surface level (though it did have a lot of pretty photos) ★★
before we were trans / kit heyam (2022)
hard to get through. it felt like the author was afraid of writing this book. historical examples of possible trans identities felt way too singular, so I never felt like I had a grasp on how they existed within their cultures and time periods. certain chapters seemed to be informed by personal vendettas held by the author. but there were some interesting stories that I may look into further! ★★★
the drawing of the three / stephen king (1987)
*audiobook* okay I understand the appeal of audiobooks. really appeals to my desire to do sixteen different things at once. storywise: liked the format of this one a lot, and such intense characterization of everyone that we meet. dad-a-chum, did-a-chik, etc ★★★
grendel / john gardner (1971)
couldn't get into this one either :( was very intrigued by the writing style, especially everything involving the dragon. I'm just not super into knights or that sort of thing. feel bad rating it because it's just so not my thing uhhhh ★★★
beowulf / tr. stephen mitchell (2018)
read this one purely so that I would understand the next book on my list (grendel). I don't think I have that much to say about it. I think it's very cool that this story still exists at all, and is an interesting look at stories from the past. but the story in general isn't really my cup of tea (sorry anonymous writer). rating NA
everything under / daisy johnson (2018)
really enjoyed the writing style and atmosphere of this one! I do wish more time had been spent on certain characters/ideas, but overall I thought that this was a really interesting retelling of a certain greek myth. will definitely look into more of Johnson's work ★★★★
the gunslinger / stephen king (1982)
*audiobook* okay this was my first time listening to an audiobook, and I chose this book bc I thought I had read it before. but after listening to the whole thing, I do not remember any of it and there was no mention of the things that I did remember. so idk! it was a good book, I'm very intrigued to see where it ends up. my friend speaks extremely highly of the dark tower series. ★★★
tortilla flat / john steinbeck (1935)
my first steinbeck. a quite enjoyable read that painted a picture of a very specific time and place. I didn't expect the turn that the ending took, but it was very compelling. I too would like to sit on a warm porch and have long discussions with an ever-growing group of friends ★★★★
alice in wonderland and through the looking glass / lewis carroll (1871)
genuinely surprised by how fun and fresh the wordplay is in this. all of the jokes are extremely dry. the version I have also has extremely beautiful illustrations. I read this for research purposes, but it has been a delight to get through! ★★★★
the wall / john lachester (2019)
I despised this book. started off so strong. I thought this was going to be so good. and then. no themes are explored. the author sets up so many interesting things/ideas and elaborates on none of them. by the end, all of the interesting people have been killed off in order to advance the stories of the two main characters, who are not interesting or likeable. ★
rekt / alex gonzalez (2025)
very intriguing ideas that could have been executed (ha) better. no one in this book really acts like a person. there are so many pivotal moments in this book where the main character just... moves on. but I LOVED the web weaving epilogue. I'd love a book written entirely in that style ★★★
sybil / flora rheta schreiber (1973)
*reread* idk. it's well written, but it's hard to say anything else given the circumstances surrounding its creation. uhhh ★★★?
the between / tananarive due (1995)
*reread* one of my favorites. beautifully surreal, with an ending that you anticipate the entire time but still punches you in the gut when you finally get there. ★★★★★