You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
charbck's reviews
120 reviews
Bunny by Mona Awad
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
VERY upset the homoeroticism in this novel was never fully realized. like it literally starts with smut salon…. ms awad explain urself. also the class implications were really vague lmao i expect more from 21st century novels like if ur gonna make one person poor and the rest rich umm make a point instead of the poor person just being like im poor >:( all the time but never showing any of the struggles of actually being poor. this may be because i just came out of such a young age which did the poor v rich dynamic really well, but shwateva. i still enjoyed my reading experience a lot tho and was Gripped by bunny
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
did not expect this to be a five star read but it is. truly nothing wrong with it — no flaws. hilarious, telling, and slay. the queer undertones r funny hope alix reads the lesbian masterdoc
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
i like the ideas presented in this book but i didnt find it particularly funny like i was supposed to , and the misogyny was too glaring for me to focus. i think the funniness was to come from the “stupid” women and newt being a little person, but obv that is not funny to a 21st century reader
this is still a good book nonetheless, just not for me i think. i like what it comments on, about the nothingless of life and the absurdity of religion and how ice-nine is basically the atom bomb also and how i guess it represents the cold war and puts into more perspective how the atom bomb would ruin earth but he had to create a new thing because we are so desensitized to the idea of the atom bomb. so i guess thats why people like it.
i think i read it at the wrong time. with my general depression about and the collapse of our nation led by christian lunatics and with the overtaking of technology…. it was a little too on the nose for me. i understand why the san lorenzo ppl listened to bokonon and killed themselves. it was so easy, and it made sense. it was the perfect ending and tbh i could see a similar thing happening now, if the cold war could thaw out and be less cold
this is still a good book nonetheless, just not for me i think. i like what it comments on, about the nothingless of life and the absurdity of religion and
i think i read it at the wrong time. with my general depression about and the collapse of our nation led by christian lunatics and with the overtaking of technology…. it was a little too on the nose for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
4.5
its a shame mcnamara died so soon. not only because she left her husband and child behind, or because the golden state killer was identified, or because she didnt finish this book. her writing is outstanding and she deserved a full, capote level career. reading the finished chapters next to the unfinished chapters that were edited after her death makes her talent clear. its a crime that this was the only book she wrote, and she didnt even finish it. im sure it wouldve been double the length if she got to finish it, and if she was still alive she would have pieced all of deangelos life with the GSK’s timeline. anyway thats what i really want now — like he was a COP! how is that not the main center of attention in the afterwords. anyway so now im gonna go snooping the internet looking for how the puzzle pieces fit together. i wish mcnamara got to do that herself
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
solid book. rlly slay. kurt vonnegut my anti capitalist beloved. it is very true: most humans have no “purpose,” from the very rich to the middle class to the very poor. and that makes us all want to kill ourselves. yet we keep living regardless.
world war two did a number on humans and on kurt vonnegut. i dont believe in war of course, but i think the lack of another great war is the reason so many modern americans have gone braindead. they have not seen or refuse to learn about the atrocities of humans against humans. and instead live blindly in the crumbling american democracy and capitalist system.
in the same vein as “do we need a pandemic to dwindle our population?”, do we need another extremely violent and traumatic generational event to create change in our country and our world? perhaps
some things i didnt enjoy as much were the women characters and how they were mostly all hysterical. all of them did the “wrong” thing and the subtext or sometimes just the text argued, besides for arguably sylvia, that they were stupid or entitled. so that kind of sucks. even sylvia who wasnt stupid still did the “wrong” thing by not going back to eliot. played on a lot of women stereotypes 👎👎👎.
another thing i didnt love was that all the poor people of rosewater were “stupid,” with almost no exceptions? maybe that was the exaggeration parody of it all, and the point is that even if people are incredibly useless and dumb, you need to love them anyway. but i would have enjoyed at least one or two examples of non-rosewater rosewater residents that werent dumb. cuz like, just bc ppl r poor doesnt mean theyre stupid, obviously, and i think the perpetuation of that idea, even ironically, can be damaging.
world war two did a number on humans and on kurt vonnegut. i dont believe in war of course, but i think the lack of another great war is the reason so many modern americans have gone braindead. they have not seen or refuse to learn about the atrocities of humans against humans. and instead live blindly in the crumbling american democracy and capitalist system.
in the same vein as “do we need a pandemic to dwindle our population?”, do we need another extremely violent and traumatic generational event to create change in our country and our world? perhaps
another thing i didnt love was that all the poor people of rosewater were “stupid,” with almost no exceptions? maybe that was the exaggeration parody of it all, and the point is that even if people are incredibly useless and dumb, you need to love them anyway. but i would have enjoyed at least one or two examples of non-rosewater rosewater residents that werent dumb. cuz like, just bc ppl r poor doesnt mean theyre stupid, obviously, and i think the perpetuation of that idea, even ironically, can be damaging.
Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
good short story collection that was the perfect length for my bus rides. it was repetitive except for the end — it seems moshfegh likes writing about the same sort of fucked up characters but in different ways. the last three stories were especially standout though. lots of parodies of misogyny and classism which is great. and her writing is amazinggg. but idk it got a little monotonous and was hard to pick up when you knew it was gonna be a new rendition of character who hates their life
As You Like It by William Shakespeare
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
very fun!!! all the characters are gay.
Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
best shakes ive read since hamlet. fucking slayed me like a dawg. i love cleo. depending on how much more time i spend w this play the rating might go up. thank u for surprising me shakes
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
this is like so not interesting. like it was fine. .5 points for queer interpretations. the premise alone slays so hard but billy shakes flops once again. im getting bored of rereading mistaken identities and double marriages back to back to back. and the wit! ugh im excited to read a shakey tradgedy. that being said i love cesario with my whole boobs.
i would read or watch and probably enjoy a queer adaptation of this play. idc if they end up in hetero relationships at the end i just want a blatant show of these r queer characters
i would read or watch and probably enjoy a queer adaptation of this play. idc if they end up in hetero relationships at the end i just want a blatant show of these r queer characters
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
a romp :) more fun than taming. on the low the will shakes does not do well with conflict resolution like okay oh no he rejected her how should we fix it… oh she’ll fake her death!!!! and then she’ll just get remarried and say look im not dead claudio!!!! idk i think will needs to develop his plots a lil more