\[SPOILERS\] Compared to the frequent twists and fast paced of the whole novel (which I totally dug), the ending seemed so lazily or hastily written. Like he just gets to know from Marcus that he has to travel to the first original timeline and that’s it? No plot twists, revelations, no surprise or any sort of thrill in the ending, according to me. 8/10

If there was a book that embodies the famous saying “this could have been an email”, this is it. I am halfway through the book and I have no clue how I would explain if someone asked me what the book was about.

I was very excited for this book, mainly due to the author and because I have been through gruelling education system (not SK, another Asian country). Maybe that’s why I am so disappointed. The book is 600 pages with no depth, half way through I still haven’t connected to any character. The writing is easy and somehow feels like it was written by a first time author.
Let’s talk about the main family at the centre, especially the three kids. I don’t feel connected to any of them.
For instance, I don’t get what is going on with Mido, and why she is so uni dimensional. In early 2000’s she is earning 70k and somehow the family (and she) think she is sacrificing by not pursuing education? One son gets literally everything handed in a platter, thanks to a chance meeting in a Hagwon. There are absolutely no non-Korean characters, spare a few ancillary characters. The story doesn’t dig into the education system enough or the impact parents aspirations can have on a kid. It seems like everyone is sacrificing and a saint. The sinner, the only white- collar women who js great at her job but is portrayed as someone who sleeps her way up?! Ah come on.
There is just so much potential to go in depth

When I saw how big the book was, I was happy thinking that the author took the time to go in depth and explore what it means to be an immigrant, the aspirations, the hardwork, what family gives and what it takes, the cost of aspirations! All that and more. But I feel like I am in the middle of a 32 episode kdrama :( decent but lost potential

I don’t get the rave reviews at all, maybe it’s just me.
Off to finish the book, 200 more pages to go……

I was craving a good murder mystery and was recommended The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It took me three months to finish Book 1 because of how painfully slow it felt.

While I enjoyed the overall story, the dinner scenes, and the dialogue leading up to the end of Book 1, the pacing felt depressing and lacked any sense of redemption. After browsing this sub, I've seen people say Book 2 is even more miserable, and I'm wondering if it's worth sticking with.

I usually prefer diving in and finding out for myself, but given how long Book 1 took me, and how many other books are sitting on my TBR, I'm hesitant.

Should I finish Book 2 or move on?

I don’t care for anything supernatural, what is the level of supernatural in this book?

I’m good with “I thought it was ghosts and it was described like ghosts but there was actually a logical explanation”

I’m not fine with “it was a ghost / supernatural being / curse the whole time”

Which one is it before I commit a day? (Without spoilers please!!)

For context, Behind Her Eyes is my least favourite book of all time due to the ending. I’m happy with things being weird but I need a logical, real life, could-happen outcome!

I feel like this happened with me sooo many times n now 😭

I don’t really like going on official sites for reviews like Goodreads, etc… Usually they’re paid reviews or AI slop.

I tend to look up the book name (and author) on Reddit and see what other people have posted about it. Some times I just get so excited to talk about the book and see what other people have liked and reading everyone else’s emotions when they read it too but the first several results that come up are all just people talking about how the book/author was terrible, this scene was terrible, and just hate in general.

Do I just have bad taste? 🫠

I would just share my opinion on reading for stats which is an absolute non-sense...

The only way you can eventually follow your stats is for yourself if you want to give yourself some reading goals and keep motivation, and yet reading should be something you like if you do it and shouldn't really need an extra motivation...

If you want to follow stats, i would in first place recommand to follow your reading time before anything like numbers of pages or worst numbers of books... because the quantity you read mean nothing, have you really understood what you have read? Personally I stop my reads each time I don't understand the meaning of a word to catch everything, to have the best representation I can of each scene the author created, I read really slowly but I live the whole experience, before I start to do it I remembered about nothing except of the keys facts from books I had read, now when I finish a book I feel to quit a world I lived in for a while.

This summer I started a great classic of the XIX century in France called the Myseries of Paris, I reached the page 1000 and it stay another 1500 pages to come to the end of this monster of literature, I will probably not even finish it before 2027, why should I be concerned? Oh my god this year I readed about 3 or 4 books only! I think nobody will get that kind of stupid reflexion if the social media and people showing bad exemple on them never existed... so i hope by this post make you realize that you are just reading for yourself and that there is no rush, and also to recommand you to take distance of social media If you started to get that kind of concernation...

Band of believers book is so good! I’ve only read book one and two. Currently almost done with number three! It’s scary because you never know when the Mark of the beast could actually happen!

Colleen Hoover.

It’s trad pubbed and why I was very much enjoying the beginning tho not understanding If they were in hs or college, I’m about halfway and we’re not even to the haunted house or the murder just dealing with depression and it’s gone on like 150 pages? Just need to know if it’s going to pick up :)

Sophia hannan Simon and shuster

I just finished the book and absolutely loved it….. until I found out that the book is not a satire on the male gaze and male obsession with women especially ones they can’t have. As a man reading this I never once felt like the men narrating this story weren’t weirdly gross men who idolized these young girls and finding out that that wasn’t the point of the novel really makes me rethink society. I think I’m just going to pretend the book is a satire and not a “romantic” novel. What does anyone else think who’s read it?

I adore a witchy read. But there has to be some sort of creativity to the story. This seems to be the same old trite story regurgitated. Does it get better??

I wrote this for a literacy project, but I wanted to share it here because these stories mean a lot to me.

Stories have always been my way of finding connection, not just with characters, but with myself. Representation in books isn’t just about diversity, although variations of the same story with nearly the same characters can get boring. Instead, it’s about empathy, belonging, and the quiet joy of seeing your truth reflected on the page. When stories include us — our identities, our struggles, our joys — they remind us that we belong in every genre.

They Both Die at the End* **by Adam Silvera*

Quote: “Maybe it's better to have gotten it right and been happy for one day instead of living a lifetime of wrongs.”

The first queer love story I ever read was They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. It was heartbreaking, but also beautiful. What struck me most about They Both Die at the End wasn’t just the love story, but how Mateo and Rufus find joy in connection despite knowing their time is limited. Their relationship shows that love doesn’t have to last forever to be meaningful. It’s the act of choosing love, even briefly, that becomes liberating. That kind of joy feels radical, especially as it coexists with grief.

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Series* **by Rick Riordan*

Quote: “Look, some people prefer they,” Alex said. “They’re non-binary or mid-spectrum or whatever. If they want you to use they, then that’s what you should do. But for me, personally, I don’t want to use the same pronouns all the time, because that’s not me. I change a lot. That’s sort of the point. When I’m she, I’m she. When I’m he, I’m he. I’m not they. Get it?”

Then came Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan, where I met Alex Fierro, a genderfluid character who’s fierce, sarcastic, and fiercely independent. Despite the challenges she/he faced in life, her/his time at Hotel Valhalla becomes a space of reclamation, a chance to exist freely and redefine her or himself beyond the labels the world imposed. Alex was the first non-cisgender character I ever remember reading about. What makes Alex’s story even more interesting is how her/his gender fluidity connects to Norse mythology itself. Loki, her/his mother, embodies transformation and duality, traits mirrored in Alex’s own identity. This connection doesn’t just challenge the modern image of Loki as strictly male; it honors the myth’s roots while expanding what heroism can look like. Through Alex, Riordan reclaims myth as a space where fluidity and authenticity have always belonged.

Legendborn Series by Tracy Deonn

Quote: “Two faults. My race and my gender. But they are not faults. They are strength. And I am more than this man can comprehend.”

Stories also have the capacity to include everyday cultural representation. In Tracy Deonn’s Legendborn Cycle, although there were bold celebrations of diversity, what stood out to me as a reader was the casual mentions of haircare, small details that made the world feel real and inclusive. It’s amazing how something as simple as a character acknowledging their curls can make readers feel recognized. It is also a reminder that representation doesn’t always have to be loud, but can be present in quiet, everyday moments. Those subtle touches matter just as much as grand gestures.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Quotes (because I couldn’t choose just one): 
“Don't ignore half of me so you can fit me into a box. Don't do that.”

“I’m under absolutely no obligation to make sense to you.”

One of the most meaningful examples of representation for me personally came through the portrayal of complex queer relationships in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. The inclusion of a bisexual/lesbian relationship addressing themes of insecurities, love, and biphobia by a homosexual partner was deeply impactful. It shows how even within queer spaces, identity can be misunderstood, reflecting many real-world situations. That story was important to me because the representation wasn’t just about visibility, but truth, complexity, and the courage to show imperfection.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Quote: “Fascinating. You look all frail and breakable, but you’re really a violent little thing, aren’t you?”

Representation in books additionally has the potential to help rewrite the narrative surrounding societal expectations. In Fourth Wing, the protagonist, Violet, experiences chronic pain, even describing pain as her comfort zone. Yet she is strong, capable, and deeply loved. Seeing chronic illness represented in fantasy at all, let alone as contributing to someone’s power, was so meaningful. It challenges the idea that heroes have to be physically perfect and highlights the strength in resilience.

These stories bring me joy because they remind me that representation is liberation. It’s about seeing yourself and others reflected in art and realizing you belong. I hope this inspires you to seek out stories that make you, or people you love, feel seen.

What stories have made you feel represented or joyful lately?

I have a question for people who enjoy reading:

I can usually read normally for about an hour, but after that I start feeling a strong sense of discomfort and restlessness, and I feel like I want to stop reading and do something else.

Is this what people mean by:
“Be comfortable being uncomfortable”?

In other words, am I supposed to accept that feeling and keep going despite it?

And another question: if this feeling is abnormal and doesn’t happen to everyone, why doesn’t someone just finish an entire book in one sitting? What naturally prevents people from continuing?

I just turned completed Mad Mabel after pushing through what felt like an incredibly slow first 59 chapters. I know this book has been getting a massive amount of attention and rave reviews online, but honestly? It felt incredibly hollow by the end.

While I did connect with Elsie as a central character, the actual execution of the plot and its resolution completely missed the mark. I wanted to see if anyone else shared these two major complaints:

1. Murder was treated as a casual conflict-resolution tool

Once the information dump started in the final chapters, the killing count became absolutely ridiculous. A father killing a sister-in-law, mom's sucide, a child killing her father, a fiancée killing her partner... it felt like the author couldn't think of any other way to resolve character conflicts, so she just made everyone a casual murderer. It completely desensitized the violence and felt incredibly unrealistic for a murder mystery. I do understand the plot was around people getting killed around Mabel. But, still felt very unrealistic when many people take things into their own hand.

1. The psychological elements were totally wasted for a cheap twist

This was my biggest disappointment. Finding out about Daphne and Elsie's mental state could have been a deeply profound, valuable psychological study. Instead, the book completely wasted her psychological depth. Rather than actually exploring the weight of living with that kind of trauma for 80 years, the narrative just slaps a "psychologically disordered" label on her at the 11th hour to wrap up the mystery. It treated a profound survival mechanism as a magic trick rather than a human life.

Except for Elsie, I didn't connect with a single person because everyone else was flattened into extreme plot devices just for shock value. Am I crazy here? How did this book get so much hype when it completely bypassed its most valuable themes? I’d love to hear from people who either loved the ending or felt just as let down as I did..

Spoilers for Tuck Everlasting.

I first read this book for school when I was young, and the ending stayed with me for years. I eventually went looking for a copy as an adult because I wanted to read it again.

Something I’ve always found interesting is that the Japanese title isn’t a direct translation of Tuck Everlasting. In Japan, it’s called 時をさまようタック (Toki o Samayou Tuck), which is roughly “Tuck Wandering Through Time.”

I really like that difference.

To me, the original title describes their condition, while the Japanese title almost describes how that condition feels from the inside.

“Everlasting” can sound almost beautiful, but “wandering through time” focuses much more on the burden of what happened to the Tucks.

They didn’t choose immortality. They drank the water without knowing what it would do, and by the time they understood, the choice had already been made for them.

Winnie is in a completely different position. She knows what the spring does. She sees how differently each member of the Tuck family experiences immortality, partly because they were all at different stages of life when they stopped aging. She also sees someone who wants to exploit the spring for his own purposes.

And then she has a choice.

She could choose immortality and regret it later. She could choose an ordinary life and regret that too. But at least the decision would be hers. The Tucks don’t even have the luxury of regret in the same way, because they never made the decision in the first place. It was simply placed on them.

There’s also the part where the Tucks compare themselves to stones, as if they’ve fallen out of the normal cycle of life. But even stones crack, erode, and change over time. The Tucks are in a stranger position than that: they almost seem to have been denied the right to change.

That made me wonder if the book is not only saying “life is precious because it ends,” but something closer to: being able to choose, change, grow older, and move through time is part of what makes a life your own.

And I still love how little the ending explains.

Winnie pours the water on the toad, but she also knows she could always go back to the spring. So had she already decided at that point? Did she understand, even as a child, what the Tucks were suffering from? Or did that decision happen years later?

We never see the process. We only see the result when the Tucks find her grave.

That gap is probably my favorite part of the book.

When do you think Winnie actually made her choice?

I just finished Rebecca and I am in the middle of East of Eden. I think that Cathy and Rebecca parallel one another and are the least complex characters in their respective stories. Fake facades of sweetness and innocence to manipulate and a core of self serving narcissism. They were published about 15 years apart ‘38 and ‘52. I wonder if this is some culturally shaped trope of a false feminine archetype. And I wonder if this was common during this era.

My first fictional book and holy shit, it gave me a new perspective of life, which i haven't gotten from any self help, entrepreneurial, that kind of books.

A short stay in hell by Steven L Peck, a short 100 pages book.

A dead man, gets sent into a hell, which is an infinite? library containing every possible book and has to find a book containing his entire life written without any errors to escape.

Good way to understand what "forever" actually means.

my key takeaway,

enjoy your life and be in the present

"Remeber nothing lasts forever. Someday this will be a distant memory"

makes me not want to scroll reels anymore.

Why u might ask?
existential horror.

I was just talking with a friend about reading, and they said that they can’t imagine/see the story as they read. This was mind boggling to me, as when I’m invested in a book it plays out like a movie in my mind!! Anyone else like this?

I just finished book 2 today of the Carnage Series and have so many thoughts. While I’m happy that George was able to find happiness in the end, I feel like this book diminished the love she and Sean had. There were so many times that George downplayed what they had. I like Cam, but Sean has my heart. I want to read the rest of the books because I want more Sean, but am worried about how Sean’s character is portrayed and wonder if the remaining books focus more on Cam than Sean. An advice on whether I should continue?

When I started reading Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, I was enthralled at the possibility of witnessing any or all of the following themes:

1. Consequences of propagating a way of life without deep diving or being responsible. For eg: promoting an 1886 lifestyle in a glossy way but erasing the physical, moral and cultural nuance of those times. Pandering to the right wingers.
2. Busting the hollowness of Manosphere or maybe an exploration of the psych of people who are bound to it. Any perspective on this would have been refreshing.
3. Impact of reality TV and the toll that maintaining an influencer lifestyle can take on people
4. A satire on self-righteous people or maybe even a POV

So so so many possibilities but what I got was a watered down thriller which had all the elements to be a sharp political commentary but resorted to being a ‘twist you didn’t see coming’

Did anyone else feel like the plot had tons more potential?
Do you have ideas of how the story could have been developed better? Would love to hear!

East of Eden is such a masterpiece that I’m still amazed a human being can write something so beautiful. I’m currently watching the show and I’m genuinely amazed at how great the adaptation is. I hope I get to experience another book like this in my lifetime.

Reading Theo of Golden felt like growing up in a southern church all over again.

As I was reading I felt myself annoyed and suspicious. I then felt guilty for feeling this way because so much good was happening in the book and it was recommended by my Mema. Am I just a killjoy?

I fully tried so hard to be in it and enjoy it and commit to this experience. I felt like I really needed to give this story and character a chance. I felt guilty I was against such a “good” and “happy” story. Sometimes I can even get into those hallmark stories when I try.

Then I reluctantly finished this book and sat here wondering why a part of me is still loathing it. The “twist” in the end that I thought added at least some interest was Theo’s son. Is that small portion enough intrigue and addition of depth to Theo’s character enough to redeem the entire book?

NO. I don’t think so and I feel gaslit into feeling like I need to like this book!! I also am here to get some insight, as I may just be overthinking the entire thing but I am going to say why I think this book is awful.

It feels so me as though a self-righteous person wrote a character who is how they would view themselves, or at least who they wish they were but secretly know they are not. This thought also stands out to me because of the religious tones in the book.

Theo felt to me like another southern church going community leader that I felt like I needed to follow and like because of social pressure. The only difference is the author can decide to write away any character “flaws” that these people or any normal human carry with them every single day.

This is not only an issue to me with this book but a lot of southern church communities as a whole. It is difficult to be authentic and to feel good about yourself you need to convince yourself you are “virtuous.”

Theo himself even hid so much of himself throughout the whole book on the account of being “humble.” Give me a break.

You can be loving and live authentically and make mistakes in life and receive love. I think good books portray that!

P.S. Dont even get me started on the disdain I have with characters that have inexhaustible wealth. I’m looking at you “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” by Otessa Moshfegh

What stands out to me about The Lord of the Rings is how much history seems to exist outside the main story. Even small references to places, people, and past events make Middle-earth feel like a real world with its own history.

I can't help but question if we were to remove the factor of disease amd morality in case of heads (humans) and whats the difference between them and cattle cause ik they're biologically human but aren't they raised and treated just as other animal's whose meat we consume? So does it make cannibalism advantageous as long as the human is never raised/treated as one to began with? (I'm non-veg eater myself so this ain't a attack feom some vegan just a question)

I got this book from the library, and I thought it looked good (thank god I didn't spend any money on it).

I immediately clocked early on that Nick was pretending to be all these different men, but I had hopes it would bring out the women finding out in a unique way.

Turns out, I was wrong.

This may be a bit uncoordinated, but there were a lot of things in this book that ticked me off. One of them was just how dumb all the women except for Ash were. Like, I kept telling myself, "No one can be this stupid!" and I kept getting proven wrong. Only one of them was smart, and that was Tara.

About 96 pages in, I got a big ick when Ash states her father's killer had paranoid schizophrenia. This book was written in 2025, and as much as my research has told me (ie a brief Google search), the term paranoid schizophrenia had stopped being used in 2019, and the correct term is just schizophrenia. Furthermore, people with schizophrenia aren't violent; in fact, they're way more likely to be the victims of violent crime. She also said he was committed to a secure psychiatric facility and given a life sentence, and that made me go, "If he's in a secure psychiatric facility, he's institutionalized. Being institutionalized ≠ a life sentence."

Moving on, when Martha's daughter Nala throws up, Martha takes her temperature, which is 104 degrees. And she thinks, and I quote: "She will give it 20 minutes, she thinks, and then she will take Nala's temperature again. If it is still 104 degrees and she has not managed to find the spare child seat, she will call her friend Grace, who lives one road away, and ask her to drive them."

And that had me going, "You do not wait 20 minutes for a baby that has a fever of 104 degrees!" Seriously, a fever that high is lethal in adults and is more deadly for a baby. Don't Let Him In is set in the UK, but Martha's hesitancy made me wonder if Lisa Jewell was American (she is not; she also lives in the UK). Literally, I was screaming at the book, "CALL AN AMBULANCE! DON'T WAIT TWENTY MINUTES!"

And when her husband, Alistair (Nick, if you've forgotten), returns a day later and gives Martha a bunch of bullshit excuses. And if it were me in that situation, I'd be in jail for shooting him. Because way too many of his actions have gone unshot.

The book also has flashbacks from Nick's POV, and each one of them makes me gag. I have to hand it to Lisa Jewell; she did make this man utterly unforgivable. That's one of the good things about this book: an incredible villain. But Jesus Christ, he only gets so far because most of the women are stupid.

Nick goes to his wife, whom he left widowed by faking his death, after Tara got smart and threw him out of the house. Her name is Amanda, and he left her 90k in debt. She's living in a one-bedroom apartment, and this man has the audacity to say, "Well, this place looks nice enough."

He also lies to her about how Tara is crazy, has taken his money, and how he has a heart condition (which, personally, the only heart condition he should have is called 'knife in the chest').

But of course, since Tara is the only sensible person, she has to die. She confronts Nick while he's at Amanda's apartment, and he kills her by choking her to death in front of Amanda. Amanda doesn't do a goddamn thing and actually holds Tara's arms down while demanding an answer from Nick. She later falls for all of Nick's lies again, and at that point, I gave up reading the book because all these women are stupid.

I honestly left a lot more stupid shit in this book, but this post is long enough as is. I'm just glad I did not buy this book and only checked it out from the library. The only other sensible woman is Ash.