Scan barcode
jan_coco_day's reviews
135 reviews
Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Living Americans by Malachi Martin
2.25
Martin can definitely write compelling horror fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Rape, Self harm, and Sexual violence
Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, and War
Nervous System by Lina Meruane
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I am definitely going to go back at some point and reread this one because it didn't floor me like Seeing Red did. I also read this a few months after I quit my job for similar reasons, so I may have not been in the best mindspace to process this kind of story.
Hampton Heights by Dan Kois
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
More of a dark fairy tale than true horror. The Changeling by way of Monster Squad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Cursing
Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey
My favorite part was when everyone discovered that Holden does not have a special chosen one immunity to the blindness epidemic, he is just full of anticancer medication which is killing off the harmful bacteria because it's literal job is to stop cellular growth.
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: War
Scattered All Over the Earth by Yōko Tawada
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
What does it mean to want to preserve a language/culture? What does it mean to revive a language/culture? What is the difference between an impression and an opinion?
Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum by Antonia Hylton
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
sad
5.0
This is HOW THE WORD IS PASSED by way of THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS. Like Clint Smith, Hylton traces the history of a physical monument to America's legacy of slavery, this one a psychiatric hospital in Maryland, and traces the line from hospitalizations of Black men in psychiatric institutions to incarceration in criminal institutions of today. There are plenty of villains, but also heroes in this history.
Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is the perfect place to insert a spiritual element to this saga because humanity is literally at the edge of known space. Representatives from many of humanity's religions are headed towards the edge of space, but only one of them suspects that the person who needs spiritual/soul guidance the most is someone who started the journey with them. Anna and Melba/Clarissa's story is by far the most compelling in the book, particularly Melba's slow descent into insanity after her first murder.
I am disheartened to learn that in this near future, there is still no cure nor relief from migraine attacks.
I am disheartened to learn that in this near future, there is still no cure nor relief from migraine attacks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
The Sister: North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the Most Dangerous Woman in the World by Sung-Yoon Lee, Sung-Yoon Lee
informative
tense
3.0
The Kim family do not govern a country. They own a country. The people there are their property. Their foreign policy is to make outrageous demands while threatening and insulting foreign leaders, only to walk it back once they get what they want. And, alarmingly, the Republic of Korea is bowing to all of their wishes. This is most visible, not in Kim Jung Un, but in his sister Kim Yo Jong, chief propagandist, internal administrator, and the first woman to ever issue a nuclear weapons strike threat. According to experts like Sung-Yoon Lee, Yo Jong is being groomed to take over as North Korean leader in the event of Jung Un's death. Girl boss?