elsabell's reviews
43 reviews

Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Death and Fire/Fire injury

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

challenging informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A talented writer with a fiery imagination being smothered by the male, authoritative medical ignorance of the time. A mental health patient being gaslighted and forced to conform to a prescribed, unhelpful care plan.
I'd love to read anything else this talented creature has written, but I'm afraid, before diving into a Google search, that it might come up short because the era"s "caring environment" didn't give her the chance. 

Update after Google searching her: she got out of the bars. She was prolific!

Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam by Yasmine Mohammed

challenging emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Les femmes photographes de la nouvelle vision en France 1920-1940 by Christian Bouqueret
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.

Had to return it to the library

Caligula suivi de Le Malentendu by Albert Camus

4.75

Losers: Part II by Harley Laroux

adventurous emotional relaxing tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

Sex in Education or, A Fair Chance for Girls by Edward Hammond Clarke

reflective sad medium-paced

0.5

The epitome of pseudoscience given by a Harvard's professor in 1875. To be used when in need of ample fallacy examples in a classroom.

I was divided between laughing at the unscientific arguments and lamenting on the lack of scientific thought on the part of a renowned physician and educator of the time. 

From a writer's point of view, the text was extremely repetitive. It could have been reduced to a 20 pages essay without any loss of context. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Pseudoscience, fallacies

Η μεταμόρφωση by Franz Kafka

5.0

Nomizō tēn elegan Ester by Katja Petrowskaja

challenging dark informative sad tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25