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katokaitlyn's reviews
78 reviews
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Troubling Confessions: Speaking Guilt in Law and Literature by Peter Brooks
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.75
Excellent book on confessions and the law + literature movement. Wish it had more on Freud but I appreciated the Miranda focus!
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Probably my favorite book in a long while and the only book I’ve read in a minute where I said “oh my god this is me” on every page
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
I would read this book forever but the pain of it—how Machado so brilliantly captures domestic violence—might keep me from doing so again for some time. I loved it; I related to it; it hurts to read and yet I didn’t want to stop for the joy of being understood.
Mythologies by Roland Barthes
challenging
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
There are amazing insights here that I think will be extremely useful for my thesis! Definitely a text to return to for its breakdown of semiotics.
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Man, I really wanted to like this. At times it’s stylistically brilliant autofiction and at other times it’s boring, long winded, obsessed with its own aesthetic in a way that lacks self awareness. It begs the question around who the psycho in American Psycho might actually be—and, in some sense, does Ellis believe that psycho is a reflection of himself? Or his friends? Or some mysterious other? Which is cool, except the mystery is predictable and could’ve been cut by 300 pages.
Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film - Updated Edition by Carol J. Clover
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.75
It’s the first great exploration of horror as a cinematic mode and it is a masterpiece. At times it’s a bit dense but it’s hard to fault Clover as there’s much ground to be covered in very little time!
Autotheory as Feminist Practice in Art, Writing, and Criticism by Lauren Fournier
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
Really amazing piece of academic writing! I appreciate how Fournier explores a variety of autofictional and autotheoretical frontiers in this text.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I had been recommended this book countless times and fought hard against reading it because I knew it would alter everything for me. It did. This book is beautiful, disturbing, powerful, weighty; the language here is used effortlessly and with somehow obvious effortful intention. One of the best books I’ve ever read.
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Meh it’s ok? It’s just the Mousetrap but a bit more kitschy. I got bored tons but it was mostly enjoyable.