jo_avoidsreality started reading...

The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
jo_avoidsreality wrote a review...
just a silly, fun time
jo_avoidsreality finished a book

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)
Douglas Adams
jo_avoidsreality commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
Hey 👋 I was wondering if anyone has some standout audiobook recs that are preferably sapphic? i’m open to any genre!! i’m in the mood for listening so any recs are appreciated!! I know I could go through my tbr and trial each audiobook one by one but thought i’d see if anyone had a rec first🙏
p.s. double points if the voice makes u feel a type of way😋
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jo_avoidsreality commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
The one year anniversary of my mother's death was yesterday. It still hurts. While reading itself has been very comforting, I've been surprised to find solace in fiction stories that center grieving in some way. House of Frank by Kay Synclaire and just recently, Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore have really hit the spot with characters who are managing their grief and supported by friends and family.
I'm sure the fantastical elements of the stories have also helped me keep just enough distance from it that it's too painfully relatable to finish.
Anyone have any good recs in this category? Ideally genre fiction that examines grief in some big or small way. I'm open to fantasy, romance, scifi, even horror as long as the horror is in service to the theme of grief. Thanks in advance!
jo_avoidsreality started reading...

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)
Douglas Adams
jo_avoidsreality DNF'd a book

Rouge
Mona Awad
jo_avoidsreality commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
I started reading books in English about 3 years ago and since then I feel guilt and shame when I read something in my native language (russian). My argument is that I live in an English speaking country therefore I must read only in English to improve my language skills. However, it makes reading feel like a chore even if the book I'm reading is interesting. Does someone have the same experience? What do you think about it?
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Rouge
Mona Awad
jo_avoidsreality TBR'd a book

Blue Graffiti
Calahan Skogman
jo_avoidsreality started reading...

Blue Graffiti
Calahan Skogman
jo_avoidsreality wrote a review...
“how do you give an exorcism to the whole country?”
first of all; would not recommend, unless you want real horror and have a strong stomach. this book contains some of the most uncomfortable scenes that i have ever read and will probably ever read.
this is one of those books that will never get a rating from me, because i genuinely don’t know if i thought it was good or not. i do get, and agree, with the bigger message behind this book; ‘current news outlets and social media platforms are brainwashing people’. BUT i do think that, especially with how on the nose the references are, that this is edging on dehumanizing a certain group of people irl, and that is a very dangerous edge in my opinion. the book is a commentary on propaganda and politics, but lowkey kind of bordering on propaganda itself?
the repetition of words and sentences annoyed me a lot, and i did NOT need baby shark to be woven into this. “Baby ghost! Boo, boo, boo, boo”
jo_avoidsreality finished a book

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes
Clay McLeod Chapman