JANUARY WRAP UP
Noël à la librairie des cœurs brisés by Annie Darling - 3 ☆
I've never heard of this series before I was gifted this book, but I liked the idea of following the life of booksellers / coffee shop owner as they fall in love. It made me think of a Hallmark movie when I read the blurb.
Sadly, I was disappointed. I don't mind slow burn but this one didn't do it for me: they barely had cute scenes together, most of the time they were arguing and being rude.
2. Bluets by Maggie Nelson - 3.5 ☆
Bluets is an interesting poetic essay / memoir, that through the flow of the author's ideas, offers a collection of facts from poets, authors, artists, philosophers about the color blue. At some point, she focuses a lot on the vision: what it means to see blue? What if you don't see it? She offers clinical examples to discuss these ideas, which I found interesting.
But sadly, I don't think there was a good balance between the facts she had collected and her memories. I liked when she mentioned her friend, but the memories about the prince of blue weren't always going well with the flow of the text.
3. Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram - 3 ☆
I loved Darius and knew I would read anything Adib Khorram would write after that. So, I was looking forward to reading Kiss & Tell, and even if it wasn't exactly what I expected, I'm still glad it managed to open up a discussion about being queer in the public eye, the sanitization that can comes with it, and the slut shaming. There's also a focus on sex, because Hunter is sexually active but has to have a "virgin" persona because he's in a boy band. It could have had a better impact if there had been a better balance between the romance and Hunter's interactions with his bandmates, which were almost non-existent.
4. It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood - 3 ☆
I love the way she played with her art style and the overall structure of the graphic novel, it was really fun and clever (especially when it starts again). Because I've never read her other comics, I felt detached from what she was mentioning, and to be honest sometimes I was lost between the different flashbacks. It was interesting and raw, but I didn't connect with the story, which doesn't mean it's bad, I do think others can gain something from it. It's different from other stories I've read about depression and suicidal ideation. Overall, it's a really good graphic novel / memoir.
5. The Angel of Khan el-Khalili by P. Djèlí Clark - 3 ☆
(art by Kevin Hong)
I recently recommended A Dead Djinn in Cairo to my friend and realized I haven't read this short story yet. I loved the narration in the second person, it's one of my favorite when it's done well, and it was the case. I wanted more from the story, but it was still satisfying and i can't wait to read the next book in the series.
6. The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow - 5 ☆
It was more a 4.75 stars but I rounded up because it quickly became one of my favorite short stories. In 30 pages, the characters and their motives were well-developed. They is a Girl, a Squire, A King, a Priest, a Devil and a Saint. Some of them are limited in the perception of themselves and other because of the role that was imposed on them and it was done so well, especially thanks to the poetic prose. I wish this novella could exist in a physical format so I could highlight everything again.
I figured out what was going on right when they started to explain everything and it was gut-wrenching to realize that every line could mean different things, because then you realize how clever the narration was. Not only that, but I love narration that are "traditional" and here, the use of I, She and You was interesting.
my goodreads
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My favorite Halloween characters and the songs they remind me of:
Laurie Strode: Bring Me To Life by Evanescence and Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace
Annie Brackett: Heads Carolina, Tails California by Jo Dee Messina
Lynda Van Der Klok: Hide and Seek by Lizz Robinett
Karen Nelson: A combination of You Broke Up With Me by Walker Hayes, Into You by Ariana Grande, and Bones by Imagine Dragons
Judith Myers: Stitches by Shawn Mendes
Allyson Nelson: Drunk and I Don't Wanna Go Home by Elle King and Miranda Lambert
I know that most of these probably don't make much sense with the characters but I don't make much sense as a person so...
Anyway! Feel free to reblog and add your input!
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