Sarah > Recent Status Updates

This book is… a lot. I think all the goriness and sexual violence is starting to weigh on me, especially because I don’t feel any more secure in the narrative. Reading a bunch of sick fantasies with my guard up, not knowing what’s true, not knowing if I’ll ever know… I don’t expect a “happy ending” but I’d definitely appreciate it if things didn’t continue to worsen.

This story was so boring oh my god this book is so boring

Went into this book kind of blind so I thought it was gonna be about SLUTS (in a facetious way) not the abuse of a sex worker. Loving the format and how it’s kind of hard to piece the real story from a bunch of anonymous narratives. I’m excited to see where this book goes!

The Art of Losing… wasn’t a huge fan of the style, characters, or story. Oh well!

Skinship is definitely my favorite story so far. It was immediately gripping, and I think I appreciated the quiet, ever present “Korean despair” more than I have with the previous stories. So compelling, so many layers! It’s rejuvenated my interest in the book!

Finished Solo Works for the Piano. Meh. Idk man.

I don’t know how to explain it but throughout the entire book it seems like the immigrant (or maybe specifically Korean) identity is formed by exclusion?? Moving to a diverse country and kind of being taught to look down on everyone else. It’s not very sympathetic to hear middle class Koreans move to be middle class Americans. I wish the book grappled with that more… had a protag become more cosmopolitan maybe?

I finished the second story. I was liking it a lot… and then it ended. I was confused. I went back to see if I accidentally skipped a page. Okay, I guess.

The first short story didn’t move me much. I bought this book hoping to be moved to tears or have some sinking chest feeling but maybe I’m just not baseline interested or empathetic enough about immigration-based stories. I’m looking forward to the rest of the book still though!

I was really getting into this dude’s thesis before hitting the “curdled milk” part. I’m trying to remove my initial visceral disgust and analyze how my reaction is influenced by the “discourse”, because “pedophilia” IS ultimately a social construct and a relatively new one. However, it’s still hard to see a clear positive be included in this “negative” shift to discourse.

At first, Miranda’s part was a great relief from Fred’s POV but now it’s kind of boring. I think I appreciate its narrative purpose but I can’t wait to get back to the present. I have to slow down so my eyes don’t gloss over and skip sentences at a time.

It’s so hard reading this book Jeeessuuss Chriiisstt. I despise being in the head of Ferdinand so much.

This book is so ass. It over-explains and treats the reader like an idiot. It doesn’t execute on its premise. So far a complete waste of time.

Dang, fuck Israel for real. It’s so crazy reading snippets of the openly colonial identity of Zionism against the stringent apartheid that Palestinians face. In this section, Coates is the most outward-facing, and I almost feel like I’m walking along guarded streets myself. I appreciate that he realizes he is an outsider and has taken to mostly relegating the events to us with historical context added.

The SC section was much better. Coates was much more involved in what was happening and didn’t keep us so much in his mind. I think the thesis of the book was much more interesting to read as a result- the goal of conservatives to kill the future by stifling thinkers of the present. Still a bit boring but I’m enjoying it more! On to Palestine!

I’m not gonna lie this is kinda boring. It’s so far way too introspective and confined to Coates’ mind to be interesting. I think the thesis of the Senegal portion “returning ‘home’” is interesting but the text didn’t engage enough with the Senegalese people. It’s almost a memoir and I don’t like them- very few people’s lives are interesting enough for them.

I’m only a few pages into this book and I’m already obsessed. This girl is legitimately insane and I loved the apartment-cleaning scene. The random Lizzo dig, “I hope they all die”… this book is so fun so far!

So far I feel like the book’s blurb was a bit misleading, especially because of the absolutely FOUL thing Marcos does at the end of part 1. Jasmine has hardly been featured so far, his view of her and other meat-people has been pretty consistent, and he’s relatively removed from the slaughter. Not a huge fan of the prose
but maybe I’ll blame the translation. Halfway through and only one thing has happened!

I’ve finished 18th century philosophy. While I still am not retaining what specific ideas specific philosophers had, I’m really enjoying the overarching themes of each period. The argument between rationalism and empiricism in this one was very fun to read about and I found the culmination into Kant’s philosophy sooo satisfying.

Just finished Medieval Philosophy. I most enjoyed reading about Ockam and Machiavelli. I think it’s interesting how religion influenced the period and how philosophers/theologians worked to work Plato and Aristotle into the Christian framework. Likewise, the competing theories on how and if God can be proven and perceived were cool.