sejujurnya selama ini enggak pernah ngerasa punya bad luck dalam memilih buku, but apparently beberapa buku yang sudah dibaca dalam jangka 30 hari terakhir, termasuk buku ini, semuanya sukses bikin nangis sampai mata rasanya perih… gatau deh itu masuknya ke bad luck atau bukan, sebab tetap aja suka semuanyaa. seperti buku satu ini. rasanya kalau “if it’s better to speak or to die” is a real person, then that person is in this book. I’ll 100% recommend this read ke siapa pun yang lagi mencari good wlw story to read. buku ini punya all the good things—the sunshine, the comedy, the love—but also all the gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, frustrating, and emotionally devastating parts of women’s yearning journey. literally paket lengkap. ceritanya turut berhasil narik diri ini keluar dari reading slump yang hampir berkepanjangan. writing-nya cukup jelas sampai jadi bisa ikut visualize everything as I read. betul-betul dibuat ketawa, gemas, khawatir, kesal, and obviously crying my eyes out. multiple POV dari kedua main characters yang diceritakan lewat third-person narrative menurutku work really well too. it made me feel more connected to both of them, meskipun personally jauh ngerasa lebih attached sama Laure karena kemiripan yang kami punya. ada monolog dia yang bikin deg banget pas baca. tapi yang jelas ya, ngikutin perjalanan mereka selama tiga dekade tuh jadi pengalaman yang refreshing sekaligus reflective buat dibaca. ngelihat gimana mereka navigate their own lives, try to figure things out, and eventually end up where they are tuh gave me a feeling yang udah lama nggak dirasain pas baca buku. kayak, ada sesuatu dari ngikutin perjalanan hidup dua orang selama itu yang bikin kerasa lebih personal and close to home. once again, an amazing book that made me cry a lot at 3am, especially di chapter terakhir. despite its flaws, and the fact that menurutku ending-nya could’ve been handled a little better, aku tetap ngerasa cerita ini incredibly moving and beautifully written. I know this is one of those books yang bakal stay in my mind for a while. genuinely love this one.

still loved this just as much as I did the first time I watched it

for those who are looking for a queer representation, I believe they could find it in this book. so far, this is one of the most relatable wlw books I’ve read. not because I’ve gone through the same journey as the protagonist, but because I’ve been through the same kind of crisis. from my perspective, this a beautiful and deeply empathetic story told through the main character. I read it while listening to the audiobook, which only heightened my understanding of the story, its emotions, and the dilemmas woven throughout it. the first few chapters felt like being slapped in the face with a fish rather than a hand. it wasn’t for the romance, but because of the portrayal of motherhood and the protagonist’s relationship with her mom. I found myself gasping every time the book put into words the very things I’ve felt and carried with me all this time, especially when it came to my own emotions toward my mother. I think that, honestly, is one of the main reasons this book has become one I would recommend to anyone looking for a wlw story that goes beyond romance and delves into deeper emotional struggles, complicated family relationships, and sentimental values. as I write this review, I find myself still deeply thinking about her journey and thinking about how many women must have found a piece of themselves in her. the shame, confusion, euphoria, and love are all portrayed with such humanity that the story never mocks or diminishes the journey of self discovery. I might be in the minority here, but I found this book slow and almost boring whenever it delved into the main character’s journey with attraction and love. almost surprising, because this is a romance book. but I think repetitive would be the word. so for the ending, I honestly don’t know how to feel about it. I fully understand and acknowledge that it’s an important moment in her l character development, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I felt satisfied with how it unfolded. I know what the author was trying to do, but still feeling that something about it didn’t quite work for me. overall, still a good read!

rewatching this because I needed to feel something, but now I feel everything.

that ending, please, I’m wholly heartbroken by this book. there is a part that unironically got me legit crying while clutching my own chest like I’m sadie sink in all too well music video. like really, what a unique dystopian story. I considered this engaging, I even finished it in just three days, which is quite surprising for me. I liked how detailed the author was in telling the story. almost a perfect read, but it’s just that there were parts of the book that I think would’ve been better if they weren’t repeated over and over again. I understand that it was trying to show how repetitive their lives were, but I feel like it could’ve been expressed a bit better? because the author has such a detailed, almost word-vomit kind of writing style, which I really enjoy, but also because of that trait, the repetitive parts felt just a bit, I don’t know, maybe tedious? at times.

could be a spoiler, but after letting it marinate, fjord is still a film I can’t form a definitive opinion on. the first half frames the family as the wronged party, nudging the audience to take their side. but morally, neither side’s actions align with what I would stand for. I understand the religious dimension, but not the extent of practice. I understand the care behind their actions, but not the way it is expressed. every adult acts according to their own set of rules. both parties are acting on what they’ve been taught, whether by law or culture. so without giving too much away, I think the film is simply just asking the audience to look beyond a simple binary of right and wrong, rather than simply pick a side. it’s a story that deserves a more nuanced reading and judgment. I believe this film could easily be interpreted as a propaganda narrative, but ultimately, it also comes down to how individuals choose to understand and interpret it. the reality is that there are still people, including children, who are trying to navigate and survive these kinds of family dynamics. as much as I’m aware that children are best loved and cared for by their parents, I think this film also raises important questions about upbringing, parental influence, and the environment in which children are raised. and if the film opens up a broader debate about religion, then I think we should also be questioning the role of the government. how can an individual party or organization blur the lines of authority and personal rights so quickly that even the people living within that country are left with little to no say over their own rights.

directed by a woman, produced by Apple TV, starring Tom Hiddleston, and telling a story about a man reconnecting with his heritage. this is one of the rare good films to come out this year

for someone who has auditory sensitivity, I felt really seen

when I first got my hands on this, the first thing I said was: “there are so many short chapters in this.” but after starting the book, I realized that the length of it were all necessary with the way he wanted to tell the story. this book was my first introduction to keigo. I don’t know why I picked this up instead of his more well-known works, but I just feel like this was the right door to get to know him. I’ve read other japanese mystery books, but this is my top read in the genre so far despite the love hate relationship I have with it. I did feel like I might’ve gotten a little lost in translation somewhere in the middle, so there was a slight disappointment when reading it. the storytelling is nice, the main protagonist is okay. but I’m still not sure if the story really needed to take a longer route just to give it a “this is a mystery book” reminder to its readers at every chap. for me that didn’t entirely work well. I realized at that point that this book is more heavy on drama-mystery, than thriller-mystery. it got so slow that I seriously considered dnf-ing this, which I think would be unfortunate. so I fought my way through it and just continue reading. a few chapters before the ending though the story suddenly became really interesting and immersive again. so it’s an up and down, slow burn book. I need to check his other works to tell if this is just his way of writings or it’s translator issues. overall a good japanese mystery book!

episode 1 | he was so excited to prove that the people were just paranoid, only for the spirit to play in his face 😭

you ever read a few fanfics before you went to bed with a fever, and then your fever dream was just a mashup of all those fanfics? this film feels like that.

shawn hatosy. that’s that.

rooney mara you’re one lucky woman

sometimes you just have to watch a film like this for character development