Jess > Recent Status Updates

This caused me to spend an enjoyable hour looking at maps of the Trans-Siberian railroad

If I had known this book would be so heavy, I would have bought the ebook version!

It's interesting how much higher the rating is on here compared to the Amz rating.

Why does this record for War & Peace say it's 48 pages? If W&P is famous for anything, brevity is not it! Not that it matters; I'm listening to the Playaway version so any progress updates will all be guesses anyway

Wasn't planning on reading this just yet but the book I was planning to start is still in the mail, so here we go

Wow am I really this close to the end? It'll still be a few weeks probably but progress!

I think the most disturbing part of this story remains the fact that the primary characters are often described as dirt-encrusted and almost never described as bathing. Like the single shoe thing, I'm sure it's symbolic, but I still get second-hand sensory upset

Originally started this on mangadex but for things that are this wordy, I think print is easier to read.

I don't know why I originally gave this one star, that seems kind of harsh. It is kind of boring to listen to, but now that my state has been invaded by thugs intentionally causing crashes and kidnapping people as they drive to work, having something boring to listen to while commuting is kind of nice

It's that 2/3 point of a book where I'm starting to lose interest.

It's a relief when we take a break from the really intense stuff so I can admire how well crafted the characters are. They each have such distinct voices and personalities

Why do all the reviews that talk about how dark and gross and disturbing this is not also talk about how funny it is? I ask this without double-checking to make sure I didn't just forget/overlook that info

It's been a few years since the last re-read, and I am in the mood

This book is so fun in some ways but the content is so dark that I probably would not recommend it to anyone I know. Hmm. Maybe the person I know who enjoyed We Were Not Meant to be Human?

It is so nice to be reading characters who are not stand-ins for the author, who each have their own ideas and goals that are sometimes in conflict.

It feels oddly comforting to return to the arms of Weird fiction expressed mostly via symbolism

On the face of it, the way the narrator speaks of "prostitutes and lunatics" as being separate from humans is really gross. But the way he speaks of humans is so negative, it might actually swing around to being positive. Like this is not a guy who will give an honest compliment.

The last in my planned Japanese January triad! (Unless I finally tackle my manga pile)

So far this is very cozy slice-of-life with no sense that it's by the author of the Memory Police. Which is fine but also. . . Some tension would be nice. We'll see, maybe when the secrets come out it'll pick up

I feel like Mrs Harrer is being racist but I honestly don't know who in 1989 Hungary she would be racist against

That was really good

I appreciated the catharsis in this one

Only one story left!

What even was that?

Oh yay some humor

Oof those two really hit, in different waya

I listened to a podcast about screwworms today and those things are truly terrifying. This story might have scared me a little if I didn't have that fresh in mind