Swathi > Recent Status Updates

One of these days I'm going to finish a book instead of just starting it ... but that day is not today

"you're not gonna find me anywhere near dry land or the laws of man" this will be me after I graduate from law school

Such mixed feelings on the protagonist. She's clearly a parody of the canonical heroine—her ignorance/deference to the judgment of men is both immense and artless. I appreciate seeing her grow more enlightened, but it's a slower process than I had expected & its impetus is an underwhelmingly conventional genteel romance

The character dynamics remind me of Atonement so far, but more caricatured. My immediate preference among Rooney's books is for Intermezzo, which feels more subtle and complex. We'll see where it goes

Rereading for a refresh ... but I've missed this prose. A good translation is everything

“Take your places with us in the boat of imagination and go for a little while along the river of Time, which has neither beginning nor end…”

This story about the Bhopal gas tragedy must be less than five pages but it's by far the best in the collection. It's haunting and will stay with me.

One of the best opening lines I’ve read in a while.

It is surprising to me how some of the most pivotal first amendment cases start with students just deciding to sue their schools ... and for grievances similar enough to ones I saw in high school. If I got suspended it would not have been my first thought to file a lawsuit

While this does read like an unironic Gary Sue stallion novel, it's probably one of the better ones the genre has to offer. Kvothe's origin story and rough time in Tarbean give you the most shades of his character (some of which unfortunately recede after he enters the university), and the magic is compelling even if the theoretical framework is sometimes wanting.

It’s interesting to hear the author’s monologued insecurity of being morally inferior to the protagonist, though I did not expect the resolution of that anxiety to be the conclusion that she is in fact morally superior.

Sometimes the marital drama feels a little forced but perhaps I should have expected that from Spanish lit. The surroundings are somehow well developed even though there are barely any stage directions.

After The Sun Also Rises I did not make any attempt to return to Hemingway, but I've loved this story so far. I relate to this old man's unmoored soul, which I guess means Hemingway succeeded in his narration.

I really appreciate this play, and it seems like the author did their due diligence in researching and writing the physics of nuclear fission. It's a good meditation on science, politics/ethics, and the imperfection of human memory.

Sometimes the metaphors come off as too heavy-handed, but I think I just have to get used to the dialogue style in plays — maybe humans naturally talk to each other with less subtlety?

There's an interesting combination here of grand and ancient creation mythology with surprisingly informal, almost modern, dialogue. It feels unusual at first but also adds to the timelessness of the questions arising at this society's beginnings.

Best part so far is the discourse on defining humanity: Are all our ancestors vegetables, if we go back far enough?

Genius plot developments. Hugo messes with true/false accounts of reality in really clever ways. I always expected the climax of Les Mis to be the dramatic barricade but it really comes in these subtle conversational moments between supporting characters.

The one constant of Marius’ character is that he is deeply confused. I can’t say I find him very compelling but I appreciate Hugo’s attention, with both light critique and sympathy, to characters who are less strong/certain in their moral constitution as a Jean Valjean.

Time to finish this on the Amtrak.

Inspector Javert’s character arc is impeccable. The pages and pages of self-reflection are some of the best in the book.

I think after Persuasion I've entered a 19th century English novel era. Jane Eyre hasn't been immediately compelling, though, because 10-year-old Jane Eyre is written with the words & thoughts of an adult, which feels off-putting (maybe just to a modern reader).

Also surprisingly this novel begins just like Harry Potter — orphanage, horrible cousins, boarding school — except with typhus instead of Lord Voldemort.

The reviews I've seen have not been great but this book is brilliant. It gives an honest take on whether art is/can be real. I'm usually not into nothing-happens books but this one has been an interesting read.

It also gives a very accurate description of learning a second language, like trying to process 30 different possibilities of what someone just said.

Ahhh the three thousands lanterns

This backstory feels a little long/drawn out at times, and the side characters could be better fleshed out. Maybe I just miss present day San Lang. The cover art is gorgeous