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February Book

This month was very busy and the mental health is just not it (we loooove my roommate /j I hate her sm)

1. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

10/10. I,,very rarely, if EVER give a 10/10 on book but. . . . From the moment I picked this book up, I couldn't put it down. I will be recommending this books to people until my dying breath, and even AFTER that, I'll be in whatever afterlife exists just yapping away for all to hear. I just,,I loved it. The writing style is easy to read, and just still unique and not giving the vibe of a children's book. Keiko Furukura was a character I attached to almost INSTANTLY, and a character I see myself in (likely because I'm autistic and aroace, but still). I just,,,whoever is reading this, PLEASE get this book!

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January Books

No energy this month so only /10 ratings. Sorry people who probably don't care.

1. I am a Cat by Sōseki Natsume

7/10. I enjoyed it but GOD is it long😭. Still good tho.

2. The Stranger by Albert Camus

9/10. Man,,Meursault, am I right? That guy,,he's a tad relatable to how I view the world. Moving on.

3. The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo

10/10. Mmm love me a good mystery

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December Books

Merry Christmas, I don't celebrate, here's what I read. I'm so tired.

1. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

6/10. I absolutely didn't hate it, but it's a very heavy book and I just wasn't in the right mind set to be reading it (it was for a class). I hope to someday be able to pick it up and appreciate it fully and the message is has of. . . I don't know if I can say because I'm not sure how tumblr is with certain things. I implore everyone to look into this book and, if it interests you, pick up your own copy and read it.

2. Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

8.5/10. Sooo,,not as bad as I thought it would be based on what I've heard other people say? I have nothing really else to say but it feels like a lot of people over-hyped not only his writing/works as a whole, but also how poorly he writes women? There were definitely some parts where I was like yeesh, calm down, but as a whole it wasn't the worst writing I've ever read. I quite enjoyed it even.

3-4. PJO - BotL and TLO by Rick Riordan

No rating, these were rereads because of The Chalice of the Gods..

5. The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan

11/10. HOOOO. As a long time Percy Jackson fan (first introduced in 5th grade and am currently a freshman in college), this book just. . .wow. The way percy had to go on a quest for his recommendation letter from Ganymede was oddly relatable as that's what it felt like when I had to get recommendation letters for college. Also, GANYMEDE! I love his story in a sad way, so seeing him be a major part of this story, and also how his trauma was portrayed was great! Sad, ofc, because it's trauma and sad in general, but I still enjoyed seeing one of my favorite stories represented. Also, seeing Percy deal with anxiety and the moments apeaking about trauma in general felt so real to me. Although I can't relate to what Percy has been through, I can say that I've been my own fair share of trauma and it's comforting to see this be represented in a character and not just "oh, yeah, this terrible thing happened but it's whatever." I don't want to go on and on forever (I absolutely could), so I'll leave this off with I can't wait for the next book! (And the show because although it came out six days ago (writing this on 12.26.23) I still have yet to watch it)

6. Chainsaw Man volume 13

8/10. No comment, just enjoyed it. Asa my love<3

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November Books

1. Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

??/10. ... yeah I don't even know. It was just a book and that's strange to hear myself say/think since I've literally never thought of a book as being "just a book." I'm struggling to get through it so instead of just continuing to struggle and not say anything, I'm saying this. I'm finishing it by the end of the year, I do not like this book, and do not expect me to ever speak of it. If you like it, great! It's just not for me... next.

2. No Longer Human vol.1-3 by Usamaru Furuya

8/10. I'm a sl*t for No Longer Human in all of its forms. The art was amazing and I really enjoyed how Furuya twisted the story to make it modern but still tell the original story. I finished all three volumes in under 2 days and the only thing I regret is not reading it sooner.

3-5. Blue Period vol.6-8 by Tsubasa Yamaguchi

8/10. I finally picked up more volumes of Blue Period because I'm taking a painting course next semester and have no idea about any actual art stuff, so this is my form of preparing (I'm also actually painting and it's,,surprisingly not going terribly). Great art as usual, love Yotasuke, we're too similar (✨️autism✨️), Yatora deserves better, that is all.

6. Naomi by Junichiro Tanizaki

. . .um. well. It was certainly well written? In all seriousness, I did actually enjoy the novel. I especially liked how off guard I was caught by it. I walked into this believing that Naomi would be controlled/abused and manipulated, but oh how the turns tabled. This is a solid. . . 7/10. Also good on Joji for not doing freaky s*x stuff with her as a minor (barest minimum, I know, but still).

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October Books

1. The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima

9/10. I have a small hole in my heart that is Japanese literature shaped, and the fact that it took me this long (and a requirement for a class) to read this was a crime. I enjoyed it quite a bit, especially with how happy of an ending it was. I really needed that pick me up after September.

2. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

4/10. I wanted to love this and by no means did I hate it, I just dislike the class I had to read this for. Also, because of other people in that class not participating, we were getting quizzes each class on the book, which turned reading it into studying it which just wasn't great. It was still well written and I quite enjoyed the usage of language and how the dialog was written.

3. No Longer Human (Manga) by Junji Ito

9.5/10. No Longer Human is genuinely one of my favorite novels to date, so when I first heard of the manga version I knew I had to read it and I was by no means disappointed. Ito's art style is perfect for this novel and I love the changes that Ito made to the story (Takeichi's suidide, meeting Dazai in the mental hospital, and the ending in general). I also especially loved how at the very beginning we see Dazai and Sachi sitting on the river bank and then at the very end we see the newspaper on Yoichi's kite detailing his death. It was tragic, but it also felt like closure. I'm not sure how problematic it is to say, but I do, unfortunately, relate to Yozo due to multiple things he has said (particularly about the clown like persona, and the feeling of not being human, though that's for another time). I don't want to keep going on, but know that I definitely can.

4. Goodbye, Eri by Tatsuki Fujimoto

8/10. Loved the art and the story, especially how it's only learned near the end how Yuta's mother was actually rather abusive/harsh with him. Honestly, the ending did confuse me a bit with Eri being a vampire (I'm not sure if this is a hallucination or real?) but the explosion at the end made me oddly happy.

5. Chainsaw Man volume 13

7/10. Loved the 'Goodbye, Eri' reference after Mitaka became the war devil. Other than that, amazing art as usual. Angel, Kobeni, and Cosmo/Halloween Devil, I still miss you.

6. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

?/10. I definitely didn't. . . hate it. . . but I'm not sure if I liked it. I'm conflicted. Yeah. Ari and Dante's getting together was cute though. . . okay next book.

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September Books

This month was,,hectic and busy to day the least, so here are the books I'm currently reading:

1. Babel by R.F. Kuang

2. The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima

3. their eyes were watching god by Zora Neale Hurston

Now onto the books I've ACTUALLY read:

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

8/10. Love me my gays (sorry Basil). Good writing too. Love you Oscar<3. Anyways, it was a little too slow for me, however overall it wasn't a bad read

2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

7/10. This is technically a reread but whatever. The dark academia/remus and regulus kin parts of my soul were aching after only reading manga for so long and this September is healing it one classic novel at a time, so of course Franenstein would be on my list to read. I enjoyed it, and like how in the book Victor never says how he created the monster for fear of the reader attempting to do what he did. It was a fun little touch. Rereading this also brought back memories of my Junior year literature class where we had a "gender reveal" party for the monster and got to read the book and eat food. Very nostalgic, even though I didn't really enjoy it that much.

3. Uzumaki Volumes 1-3 by Junji Ito

8.9/10, I now fear spirals. That being said, this satiated my horror need, and the art was very nice as well.

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August Books

1. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

. . . 3/10. One of those points is purely for the insight on Rosalie and Jasper's backstories and the other two points is Alice Cullen. I detest the Twilight series so very much and the only thing keeping me going is Alice. I hate how Jacob was turned into. . . Whoever he is now. He's not the same Jacob from the first/second books. I didn't really like him then either, but did he have to be turned into such a creep? Bella was insufferable as always, as was Edward. Stan Alice, I love her and also we're the same height (4'10) and we love that.

2. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

2/10. Again, it's apart of Twilight. Also, why does my mother have everything Twilight related? Anyways, I felt this was unneeded and I wish we were given a book like this from Riley's point of view. I feel as if it would've been more interesting than a character who only said her name and then a few sentences (maybe a paragraph or two?) about how she didn't know stuff and then was killed. I think seeing Victoria's manipulation being done to Riley would've been much more interesting to read. However, this is not me saying "Oh please Mrs. Meyer, write more!" She very much so does not need to do that.

Note for books 3., 4., and 5.; I read them at the same time. It was a strange week of reading.

3. Chainsaw Man Buddy Stories by Tatsuki Fujimoto and Sakaku Hishikawa

7.5/10. Love me some chainsaw man. I miss Angel and Kobeni though, so I couldn't give it an 8. Other than that, it was well written and I tend to take issue with short stories branching off from mangas because a lot of the ones I read in the past seem to get the characters wrong in the. . . word-ification of them, but I have no such complaint here on that. Power was still Power-ing and Aki was the same exhausted single mother Hayakawa that he's always been.

4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

9.7/10. I loved it from start to finish. Some bits were even relatable (don't worry, none of the. . . bad(? questionable?) bits). I liked experiencing the slow mental decline and then the very end were Esther seems to be doing better. It was a bit saddening to find out that Plath died not even a month after this book was published, but I do hope that whatever afterlife there may or may not be, that Sylvia Plath is proud of what she's done and how far this novel has come.

5. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

2/10. 2 points are for Jasper and Alice. I hated every minute of this. I honestly wish I had something nice to say other than "It had Alice Cullen and Jasper Hale" but alas, I can not. Okay the wedding seemed cute but other than that it was like your typical white teenage boy. No redeeming qualities. Carlisle and Esme were great as always, but I have mommy/daddy issues so sorry<3

6. Chainsaw Man Volumes 10 and 11

9/10, still upset about Angel's death (even though I read it months ago), bur at least Kobeni is alive and well (. . . As well as she can be). Also, Makima was great. Do I think she was a good person? No. Do I love her as a villain? Absolutely. However, I'll never forgive her (or Fujimoto) for Angel. Rip.

7. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

7/10. Rather slow paced, but a good solid plot. Unfortunately, I did clock Bogdin (or whatever his name was) as Tony's murderer. . . pretty much as soon as the murder happened, so reading the truth at the end didn't do much. Also, I assumed that Penny would've have something to do with one of the murders, considering you don't normally have a character like her and her husband, John, without them having some secret in their pasts. Overall pretty good though.

8. Death Note Volumes 11-12

8.5/10. Glad Light finally got what was coming to him. I hated that man. Misa deserved so much better (coughMEcough). Rip Matt and Mello though. Also, I don't care what other people think, I like Near more than L. Do I think Near was smarter than L? I'm not sure, however I do believe he used his resources much better than L did. Also to anyone who may be like "Oh, well, Mello was smarter than Near-" shush. I loved both of them, but I'm autistic so Near takes forst place for me. If Near has one fan, it is me. If he has no fans, I am dead.

9. Death Note Volume 13: How to Read

5/10. These sorts of books don't tend to interest me, however some content was good so it felt wrong to rate it anything under 5. That being said, I also couldn't rate it anything above 5 because. . . I don't know.

10. Death Note Short Stories

6/10. Near<3 I was happy. Overall entertaining, but ultimately nothing special in my opinion.

11. Death Note: Another Note The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases

7/10. The Death Note fan in me is tired of Death Note. I still enjoyed it, it was well written, the "L's a dom" part killed me. I think if I read it a few months ago it would've been rated higher, but alas.

12. Scott Pilgrim Comics (1-6)

6.5/10. Kim Pine, my love<3 snd wallace<3 really I have no commentary. It was Scott Pilgrim, that says it all. Love the art style though.

13. Blue Period Volumes 1-5

9/10. I started watching the anime while in school and it inspired me in a way I haven't been in a long time. Watching just one episode gave me the motivation to actually try with art again, and I think I'll always be grateful for it. I bought the first 5 manga and after reading them I've fallen in love again. Unfortunately, at the time of writing this, I'm about to go off to college as an English major, but who knows, maybe English will be miserable to me and I'll switch to art. Either way, this manga has helped me a lot. I also see a lot of myself in many of the characters, Yotasuke in particular. It could be that I'm autistic, however I relate to his whole "art is all I have" thing. Although I'm what many would label a "jack of all trades," I only have one thing that I'm really passionate about and that I consider "mine." It was nice seeing someone else like that and it not being shown in a (purely) negative way. Plus, if he can make friends then that means I have a chance at it too, which makes me feel better about moving away for college.

14. Bungou Stray Dogs Volumes 8-13

6/10. Didn't hate them, but my original love for them is steadily declining. I'm also just trying to get through all of my manga at this point. . . I crave a novel so bad but still have to get through Ouran High School Host Club. Huuh.

Update: I never got to OHSHC since I went off to college and didn't want to bring manga with. Ouran will be "books I read whenever I visit on weekend" books.

15. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

9/10. Do I need to even explain myself? Minus one point because at some points it was lowkey triggering for my. . . 3D, we'll say (don't worry, I'm okay and nothing happened), but it was so well written and just raw. Jennette is a talented writer in my opinion and I'm so sorry for everything she's gone through. She's much stronger than I am.

16. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

7/10. Love me some Dostoyevsky. Anyways, I didn't hate it but I didn't exactly love it. Rating it under a 7 though makes me feel disloyal to my boy. Also, I finished this is in like 5 days. College is pretty easy right now (I say as literally an hour ago (around 5pm on August 31st) I was freaking out because I didn't know how to use the Canvas app).

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In honor of Heartstopper season 2 being released, I present to anyone who has the misfortune of coming across this post:

Heartstopper Characters as Stuff I've Done

Note: this isn't all characters (obviously). Also if you like heartstopper dm me PLEASE. I'm literally on my hands and knees begging.

Tori:

Wanted a grilled cheese but didn't want to go through the work of making one, so she figured out how to make grilled cheese with the microwave, toast, and string cheese (judge me all you want, but I swear it was so good)

Aled:

Binge read a comic online but didn't take note of the hiatus status. It was last updated two years prior. He cried.

Charlie:

Thought he saw a bug crawling on his desk and fully freaked out and nearly fell out of his chair. It was, in fact, a piece of lead rolling round.

Nick:

Was late coming down to dinner because Nellie fell asleep with one single paw on his leg and he refused to move until she woke up and moved herself (it was my cat, and it was great)

Elle:

Broke her foot falling out of her bed. It wasn't high off the ground or anything, she just had a nightmare and catapulted off. She was in a boot for months and hated it.

Tao:

Had the song "I'm just Ken" stuck in his head after seeing Barbie, but could only remember "I'm just Ken, anywhere else I'd be a ten" and so he would randomly burst out singing that and then act like nothing happened.

Tara:

Her "gay awakening" was the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean when the mermaid's glass tank is broken and she turns into a human. She thought her reaction to the scene was normal. It was not. Denial was a river in Egypt for her in this moment.

Darcy:

Before coming out, she would buy anything with a rainbow and when asked why she would say "Oh I just really like the Greek goddess Iris, goddess of rainbows and...stuff?"

Sahar:

Was waiting around for band practice (not like school/marching band, I mean a BAND band) with another band member and watched with horror as the others eyes lit up with anger, and then had the same reaction when showed the phone, which showed that the singer/bassist was seeing a movie instead of coming to practice for the show that was in an hour (still pissed off about this btw)

Michael Holden (love him sm):

Was having a bad day and then saw a dog and started tearing up because of how beautiful it was. (This dog was an absolutely GLORIOUS saint bernard)

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July Books

Note: I took inventory of my books and realized I had over 100 TBRs (either because I can't remember the ending of the book or I just haven't read it at all) so I'll be speed reading quite a lot, starting off with the shorter books on my shelves.

1. Death Note Volumes 9-10

9/10, MELLO. And my boy M A T T. And how active/present Near was. <3. Just <3. Loved it. (Also Gevanni and Mikami<3)

2. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

9.5/10 - NOAH😭 But also HENRY<3 and just. . . I'm beyond words. I began this series...so long ago, and finally worked up the nerve to finish it despite all the spoilers I've already seen. It didn't disappoint me whatsoever, except for N O A H. He was number one from the beginning and the "He quietly slid through time." MURDERED ME. I'm glad he got to move on and none of the characters have to mourn his passing but just. . .ow. I just wish we saw more of Henry.

3. Irish Fairy and Folk Tales by Various

4/10 - I just couldn't really get into it/the stories.

4. Anne Of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

7/10 - I was entertained by the stories. I also quite enjoyed Montgomery's writing style. It seemed childish, but like a transitional childish? Child become teen or teen becoming adult and still holding onto their child-like imagination, much like Anne.

5. The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy

9.8/10 - I enjoyed it quite a lot and it was very different from what I normally read (in a good way). It also allowed me to bond with my soon to be college English professor when she saw me reading it during the school's orientation day. I love poetry, and Duffy's work is no exception to that. I'll be sure to recommend it to anyone who asks for recommendations, both for poetry works and regular books.

6. The Heartstopper Yearbook by Alice Oseman

I'm not sure if this really counts as a BOOK book so I won't rate it but regardless it was lovely. My only complaint was how little Aled Last appeared/was shown.

7. Half World by Hiromi Goto

2/10 - I just wasn't a fan. Don't know what else to say. Stand Ms. Wei tho. Loved her.

8. The Lovecraft Compendium by H.P. Lovecraft

4/10. I really wanted to enjoy it, but I just couldn't get into it. Still interesting though.

9. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

11/10. No complaints whatsoever. I loved it from start to finish. I honestly wish I could say more, but I was left speechless.

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June Books

1. The Sun and The Star : A Nico Di Angelo Adventure

by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

• 20 out of fucking 10. I've been WAITING for this and FINALLY have Will Solace content!!! My favorite character (next to the child of Hypnos Clovis. He's LEAGUES above all the other characters)!! Besides that I liked how it was written and the flashbacks/stories of Will and Nico getting together and their sweet moments just ahhh!! I loved it so much and I think it's very fitting that this was the book I started pride month with.

2. The Virgin Suicides : Jeffery Eugenides

Solid 8.9/10. I'm a suckered for unreliable narrators, what can I say. I also quite enjoy how the reason the sister's killed themselves was never revealed. It almost leaves the story unfinished, since that's a mystery of it. However, since we're reading everything from the perspective of outsiders of the girl's lives, it makes sense. It was well written in my opinion, and though I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone who doesn't enjoy more macabre stories, I'd definitely recommend it to those who do enjoy those themes. I also liked how romanticized the girls lives were in the boys perspectives, showing that they really didn't know the girls, and really only "fell in love" with the ideas and version of them that they came up with.

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May Books

• Bungou Stray Dogs Volume 7

9/10, Yumeno is definitely one of my top 5 characters so I'm glad to see them again, however the ending just :'] the poor kid (this is a reread of the manga. I began rereading it a few months ago and stopped at 6. Since BSD is popular again, I decided to return to Asagiri's work)

• Death Note Volumes 9-10

7/10, MATT. Number 2 character right there, him alone should've made this a 10/10, however I find the fixation I had on Death Note slowly decreasing, so the rating is what it is simply because I'm not enjoying it as much. That being said, I still enjoyed it (to a lesser degree, but still) and it was very good, as always. (And Near<3 favorite character, 11/10).

• Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa

10/10. Love me some Kenji Miyazawa. I'm not sure I even have a favorite tale in the book because I enjoyed them all so much. Kenju's Forest (I can't remember if that's the name of it but that was the name of his forest within the story so we'll go with it) however would be the one I'd say I'd my favorite.

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April Books

Note:

School and life in general was quite a lot, and this book just. . . I didn't enjoy it. I literally had to force myself to sit down and read the last 10 pages on 4.30.23.

It was a miserable month and all I crave is sleep and to draw but I have no motivation.

End Note.

• American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

3.5/10, it disturbed me quite a bit. Between the sexual scenes (I'm a mildly sex-repulsed asexual), blatant (yet period accurate, I will admit to knowing) homophobia/overuse of the f-slur and racism, and just how detailed certain descriptions were. This book genuinely confused me at some points and disturbed me during most of them. However, this was likely what Ellis wanted (I hope). It was well written, but due to the discomfort it brought me, I couldn't give it even a 4. Never before has a book made me feel so disgusting to the point of me needing to close it and take deep breaths. Well done, Ellis.

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March Books

• The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

20/10. I never like recommending books, nor taking recommendations, however I was recommended this by a teacher of mine and now I'm recommending it to anyone who is reading this. The story was good, the characters were so human, and all in all I just enjoyed it. The concept is also one that I've just meber heard before, but when I read about what the bookw as about I was just like "Of course, how has this not been written before?"

• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

6/10. Didn't like it, but didn't hate it. Would I recommend it to people? Probably not :/

• Death Note Volumes 5-6

11/10, my boy Near FINALLY showed upppppp🥳🥳

• Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edogawa Rampo

9.5/10, .5 was taken off because the descriptions during The Caterpillar genuinely disturbed me. I'm usually okay with body horror (is that what that was?) but just. . . . There was something about it that disturbed me. Other than that, wonderfully written. I was able to solve the "mystery" ones rather quickly, but despite that I still enjoyed them quite a lot.

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February Books

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses

by Sarah J. Maas

• 3/10, just didn't enjoy it. . . like, at all

2. Chainsaw Man - Volumes 1-9

• 9/10, enjoyed/enjoying very much, I am an angel kin until I die

• minus one point because of Angel (and. . . Most characters) dying

3. Demon in the Wood

by Leigh Bardugo and Dani Pendergast

• 7/10, good artwork, nothing felt overly rushed to me, and it opened up Aleksander's past a bit more, showing a bit more on how/why he turned out the way he did. I'm just not a fan of the Darkling

4. Death Note - Volumes 1-4

• 8.5/10, I don't want to explain myself. I just like it (also Near's my favorite, idc what other people think. Ik he hasn't appeared yet but I love him)

5. To Kill A Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

• 6/10. I have to read this for my psychology class, and I notoriously dislike books recommended to me/books I'm forced to read. It was good, just not want I wanted to read at the moment. I'm also only half way through