What I wanted was an exploration in how simple pleasures in life can help bolster your mental health and improve your day to day routine alongside therapy. What I got was someone failing to self actualise and then telling me how to. I think self help books aren't for me in general.

I'm such a greek mythology nerd and I studied the odyssey and the aenied in college - this was such a loving retelling of Achilles and Patroclus's story. I'm now going to go play Hades to see them together in the afterlife and feel better

This was potentially a bad entrance into Sanderson's work, but I absolutely could not work with the humour in it. It was just a constant unfunny wink wink nudge nudge from the narrator that boiled down to either 'keep up dear' or 'well that just happened'. This is the kind of book I'd read to a kid if I had one, not one I'd read by myself. Evidently, as I gave up about 100 pages in.

So on the one hand I'm a huge fan of the Witcher games and absolutely love learning about the world, characters and lore. Dandelion is easily my stand out from the collection, but Geralt and Yennifer will always be close to my heart. On the other hand I hate the way male fantasy writers talk about women and there were so many moments I wanted to bash my head in. I don't need to know if the mermaid has perfect breasts everytime she appears dear god

Feast while you can is a fast paced, easy read. I love a story about small town curses & the inescapability of your own bloodline, but I think this story reveals it's hands too soon. If you're looking for horror, something scary to take you on twists and turns, something with a slow build up to grip you this won't do. But if you're looking for a raunchy queer monster of the week, then this will fill your appetite. Sadly, I walked away still hungry

It took me a moment to warm up to the writing style, but once I had, I really enjoyed the flow of the story. It's brutal and blunt at the same time, cutting all the fat and gristle from the story to deliver you the delightful and somehow graceful bones. For a story that pitches itself as an almost cat and mouse novel I like how unconventional the ending is for that kind of story, and Chigurh is the kind of villain that should inspire others

This book is amazing. Such a great use of pastiche and it feels so invocative of the New Narrative movement in its style. The story itself revolves around dissecting the moral bankruptcy within True Crime, and then pushes the story further, relinquishing to podcast hosts to look instead at a wider narrative of death and how we consume it.

I want to specify that the book is good - it's well written, insightful, and has all the trademarks of Jon Robson's style that help keep you captivated. However, the subject matter to hand was to me his least interesting one yet. Compared to the psychopath test or the men who stare at goats, I found this had less to grip me in. Maybe it's just that I'm not as removed from this topic as the other stories, so felt like I already knew what happened

As a big fan of existential horror, I really loved the way the book is soaked with a quiet, indulging dread. It's a book where it doesn't really feel like anything is happening, there are no huge narrative spins or action scenes, but there is a tender falling apart that permeates the narrative, a breakdown in self that you can identify so early on but have to sit and watch helplessly, much like the narrator. There is no other way for this to end.

A book that wants to shock you without needing to earn it, this short story collection repeats themes, names, content and disasters while cutting off the plot before most of the pieces have a chance to go anywhere. For the stylistic choices though I think the writing style works with the content.

I think this book would be better read slowly and in-between other works - reading it all together blends everything in way too much with itself.

I am emotional this is one of the best coming of age stories I've encountered in a while, definitely worth it if you like a well developed romance manga where characters actually communicate with eachother

Can't believe I forgot to review this! I mean I love poetic prose so this was always going to be one for me, the blend of the autobiographical stories and bittersweet ideals works perfectly and I thoroughly enjoyed it

I think unforgettable is probably one of the best descriptions of this book. I'm not sure I get how it's humorous, but it's definitely one I'm going to be thinking about for a while

I've read most of the manga now after rising the anime and I have to say it's one of my all time favourite series of all time. The characters are great, the magic system is super interesting and nothing has ever got me so invested in a fight then the hint of a domain expansion being on display. 100% the best of what shonan has to offer as a genre

I mean it's a classic and I can see why, although I had assumed going into it that it would be a lot more subtle than it was. Some of the analogy did feel a little heavy handed, but all in all it combines the simplistic narrative of a farm with the depth of the totalitarian criticism nicely, and I fully understand why it's one of the most talked about political criticism texts of the modernist movement.

I mean it was alright. Nothing in there was overly lad, but none of the poems particularly struck me or had any impact either, and I think a poem collection leaving you feeling neutral is probably the worst thing it can do to you

I broke this poetry collection out again as it is, after all, strange times, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading back over the vast array of works in here. I would say if all the poems in here, the one I keep going back to is A Second Voyage by Eiléan Nì Chulleanáin. Such a good piece

Such a strange but interesting read. I was surprised by how profound a large amount of the dialogue was, and there was a really interesting exploration of death and loneliness. Williams definitely finds an intrinsic connection between erotism and death, and the divulgence into that through the book was fascinating to read

A great read, but equally hard to read as a survivor. It was fascinating to see the legal and prison systems from first hand experience, and the collaboration between two victims in tandem through the book is an incredible way to tell the story

I'm not sure why but nothing in this book really resonated with me. It may be one I eventually cycle round and try to finish once again, but for not it's definitely a DNF

Look don't ask okay. I found it for 40p on a charity shop and I love a badly written romance novel because they're often really funny and have some gem lines in them, and this one was definitely no exception from that rule. However, dear god were the characters actions and personalities even more frustrating than a regular bad novel.

Welp, now that where I live is heading back I to lockdown, I figured it would be a good time to get a new hobby and have chosen whittling. I honestly think this book does a good job explaining everything I need to know to get started, and the progression of difficulty feels natural. I definitely feel ready to get cracking at some branches!!

I mean this is such a classic Palahniuk work. It's gross, sad, thought-provoking and filled with facts I don't want to verify and horrible characters you should never, every sympathise with it.

A literary classic I'm embarrassed it's taken me so long to read. Short and to the point, it describes the surrealist transformation of an overworked young worker becoming a giant insect. I loved it quite honestly

Honestly holds up so well as a sequel to John Dies At The End. I love the way the relationship between David and Amy has progressed, and watching the new characters running frantically in and out of the story was so amusing to see

Forgot to say I'd read this a while ago. Honestly can't say I enjoyed reading it, but it was interesting and subversive enough that I can't give it a negative review either. It's uncomfortable, out of the box and difficult to understand - in other words, it's exactly what Acker wanted it to be, which is a triumph in itself I suppose.

A great quick read! Such a promising debut novel and I'm excited to see what else she comes out with! I would say there were a couple of moments with the pacing that took me out of the story a little bit, but in general the complaints I have are small compared to what I enjoyed of the story

Honestly such a good book! The side character reminds me very strongly of Dostoevskys notes from the underground. As for the main character, I thoroughly enjoy her perspective and the notion that personal happiness shouldn't be influenced by societal pressure

Embassytown ft my very needy cat.
Honestly loved this book. It was so incredibly inventive and I'm blown away by the world building and the breadth of understanding of such unknowable aliens and their language.

A collection of essays and stories, exhibiting all the classic identifiers of the New Narrative genre. There were definetly some I liked more than others, such as her recollections when going through a fellow writers belongings post mortem, but in general this book is poignant and fascinating.
I will admit however that the new narrative genre is not for everyone, and some people may find the explicit content gratuitous and the format difficult.

Honestly, wasn‘t expecting Chuck Palahniuk book to be as prolific as it was. Still as grim and disturbing as the rest of Palahniuks work, but surprisingly touching in a couple of places. If you can get past the gore that is

I think this book was probably intended for people who didn‘t already like cephalopods, as it seems absolutely insistent on selling octopus to you. It made the whole beginning drag, and I only got about half the way through the book before I decided it just wasnt for me

Honestly love this little collection. What a cute retelling of being a cat owner, juxtaposed humorously with the creators natural horror based art style.

The picture of Dorian gray suffers many of the same issues as most the literature of that century. It focuses heavily on waxing philosophies of different characters, such as the quite frankly insufferable Lord Harry, but dances around big events and the meat of the action. There were some sections I liked, but I found myself skimming large chunks of dialogue that just never seemed to progress anything.

I‘m conflicted. There are huge passages and narratives in this book I really like, and the interlacing of family tragedy and political turmoil was incredibly interesting to read. And on the other hand, there were a lot of moments I really struggled to sympathise with the characters in a book that really relies on you to care about them.
Overall though I would say the interlocking stories were interesting enough to still warrant a good review

I think I was expecting more from this book somehow. It‘s an in-depth character study, sure, and there were moments where it met my expectations and gratified them with an interesting look on a broken and horrific figure. However, the rest of the book consists of hard to read, graphic depictions of violence or long, boring passages about clothes or albums of stereos that were hard to get through for different reasons.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book but I‘d be tentative to recommend it to others. It runs parallel to the main podcast and features a solid mix of new and old characters, and has a pretty compelling main lead in the scientist Nilanjana and the religious devout Daryll. They also have Carlos and explore his time in the other world from the podcast, which was interesting. However, people unfamiliar with the podcast wouldn‘t be able to just jump into it

I love this book. I can only assume Mona went to an arts uni because the early satire on art students reminds me so much of my experiences with students at university. Thankfully without the crazy, cultish, Frankenstein horror which this book is lovingly caked in. Absolutely, delightfully horrible.

I mean this has been a long time coming but I‘ve finally read it and wow are the visuals incredible. What a clever interpretation of the classical moby dick tale; it captures the notion of hunting for philosophy without it feeling hamfisted or awkward. So so good

This book is probably the most boring book I‘ve read. It‘s actually impressive how little tension there is for it‘s entirety

I‘m going to be honest I picked this up because I‘ve been so stressed recently and god I love this manga so much, such a funny carefree collection of stories.

A smart and terrifying book. I was impressed, for a book that seemed to lay everything down so frankly, that it managed twists and reveals in the last few chapters so well, and the epistolary format to her estranged husband is perfect for delivering them. It‘s an incredible, macabre and interesting novel that‘s going to stick with me for a long time

I was surprised by how compelling I found Septimus‘s story. Had this been just a look at different middle class people‘s lives I would have definetly bailed, but Septimus‘s story and it‘s parallels to Clarissa‘s uncertainness made for a more interesting read than I expected.

This is by far one of the most beautifully written scripts to ever exist. I read this A Streetcar Named Desire back in college, and really enjoyed dipping back into it. Incredibly well done and terrifyingly real

Excitable, intricate and piercing, Invisible Man breaks down the experiences of being black in a racist society. It tracks the Invisible Man as he moves from university in the Southern states to New York, and how the disenfranchised live in and think in different areas. A fantastic read, I‘m looking forward to doing my essay on it

It‘s quite a soft and charming book, and it‘s been nice to read something light and easy in between the denser works I read for class.

I probably wouldn‘t have said pick if I didn‘t love the final story so much, but I‘m still on the inertia of such a nice ending that I‘m probably rating the book higher than I would initially. It‘s by no means bad, but I found the trailer-formatted stories jarring, and struggled to get through a couple of the lingers ones, like ‘the man in the dusty hat‘.

I tried. I really tried but it‘s so dense and boring that I couldn‘t power through

I love the world building and intricacies of the two cities, and how they‘re intertwined. The twists about 2/3s of the way through had me intrigued and I was with the characters on all their turns and revelations. My only critique would be there were a few bits that felt repetitive, with the constant reestablishment of Ul Qoma/Bèzel and Breach politics, but it also saved me from potential confusion of actions so it gets a pass for that just about.

I enjoyed half of the short stories, and found the rest difficult to get through. I‘m starting to realise I‘m not the biggest fan of short stories collections in general, so I‘m not sure this is a fault of the book but rather that I‘m just picky.