mikkiokko's reviews
101 reviews

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I am crying while loving every living thing. 
The more this book marinates, the closer it gets to my heart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism and Death

The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Mi-Ye Lee 이미예

adventurous hopeful lighthearted relaxing

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Ugh! Love it! For another cozy episodic fantasy book I think that this one is one of the better written. For instance, DDDS is often compared to "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" but I think I'd recommend DDDS more because it does not suffer from the fame faults as BCGC. DDDS is never repetitive and instead each new chapter brings more and more to the whimsical world Lee has constructed (the structure of the chapters also differs from time to time which is nice). Her characters are also very lovable, fun, and a little mysterious at times. I truly could not escape from Lee's world once I entered it. 

The only thing I wished for more of was an explanation of was what was going on with Penny and Maxim. There was clearly something then it just disappeared...sequel? I guess we'll have to wait and see :)

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I am here for the atmosphere. Yoshimoto gave such life to small little moments, absolutely loved it. Also, a surprising amount of despair in this book. If you like Mieko Kawakami then I def recommend giving Banana Yoshimoto a read.   

The Houseguest: And Other Stories by Amparo Dávila

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Nice collection. I liked the subtle and unexplained horror, but if you don't that's cool just keep it in mind before you think of buying/reading it. The writing style was good for me most of the time, but I did feel like some of the longer stories dragged on/felt lengthened with unnecessary information. I did like the feminist horror and got some serious chills about the experience of being ignored being reflected with supernatural or real elements. However, I think I am a little put off by using insanity/mental illness as horror (this mainly applies to the story "Oscar"). All to say, I thought "The Houseguest" was pretty good. Also, shout out to the cover designer, Oliver Munday, you ate with this one. 

My fav stories: 
"The Houseguest"
"Fragment of a Diary [July & August]" (This one is such good psychological horror)
"Tina Reyes"
"The Breakfast"

Laura Hershey: On the Life and Work of an American Master by

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

The appreciation I have for this collection and Laura Hershey's work is beyond words. Hershey was such a fierce and fabulous writer and activist and her ability to reflect that onto readers and the disabled community makes me not only feel pride but as though there is some hope in the world. She also crafted so many works that made me feel love so strongly it surprised me. The essays included were excellent and helped me collect and expand my thoughts on Hershey's work. Love love love love love this. 

Brilliant Imperfection: Grappling with Cure by Eli Clare

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

Went into this book hoping to learn more and I got all of that and more. This book really helped me understand and think about my own experiences, while also learning more about others in the disabled community. Clare weaves together nonfiction, memoir, analysis, and beautiful little wanderings into nature so well! I love how he treats cure as something complicated and acknowledges that while it has objective bads there are also a million more different ways people interact with it that are not completely bad. As with everything, there are usually no absolutes. Also his analyses of how ableism works in tandem with racism, sexism, classism, and environmental destruction is the type of scope I think is seen in some great works.

Apostles of Mercy by Lindsay Ellis

adventurous mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

Opening this book I thought, "Do any of these people deserve to escape the incoming Super Organism?". Closing this book I thought, "HELL YEAH THEY DO!!". I'd call it a success that I ended up caring for all of the characters WAY more by the end of the book. I mean, Kaveh and Sol are no longer in the depths of my shit list, that's impressive. HOWEVER, Ampersand...oh boy, I think we are in for a wild ride in Book 4 (

My guess is we might get dictator Ampersand. That man thinks he is right EVERY TIME and will not listen to reason. Who the real monster is is going to get disturbingly real. But that's just my guess.

). Also, that ending scene on the stage, yeah reading that was the highlight of my day. 

Overall, prob my fav in the series so far. 

Also shoutout to Paris, she's the only one here I was rooting for the entire time. 

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Holy crap, I loved this book. The characters, simply exquisite! My compliments to the chef. The themes!!! So well written and kept me not only intrigued, but kept thinking and rethinking. I love how everyone in this book was flawed, had things about them that were ignored, grew up, banded together, and fucked those pieces of shit up!!! 10/10. Would read again. Also, this book was funny as hell! Crossing my fingers and praying to someone that Shroff drops another banger in the future. 

Africobra: Experimental Art Toward a School of Thought by Wadsworth A. Jarrell

informative medium-paced

5.0

It seems to be an unintended tradition that I read at least one art book a year and I have to hand it to this one, it was great! I went into this book knowing nothing about AfriCOBRA and am leaving happy to say that I learned a lot. The book follows a cohesive narrative about the group's founding, ideas, and members. If you are thinking of reading it to learn yourself or teach others I would definitely recommend this book! It is also quite special, I think, to have this book written by one of the founding members, it gives a lot of clarity to obscure points in the group's founding from what I could tell.

Mary Tyler MooreHawk by Dave Baker

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I really liked this book! The first half is a lot of setup for a quite confusing concept (at first), so it can feel a little slow. However, it really picks up in the second half and ends up, not only making more sense, but also being a very interesting piece about the state artists are left in when their work is treated as expendable. I loved the characters of the MTMH story, but I also found all the Dave Bakers quite interesting! The dystopian future narrated by magazine writer Dave Baker was also, while funny and absurd, deeply disturbing (which is what every good dystopian should do). Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book and would definitely recommend you give it a read if you are looking for a story/comic you've likely not read before.