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zsabella

šŸ‡µšŸ‡­ she/her • '95 • mood reader

295 points

0% overlap
Made for the Movies
Level 3
My Taste
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories
Royal Assassin (Farseer Trilogy, #2)
Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1)
A Midsummer's Equation (Detective Galileo #3)
The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles, #2)
Reading...
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 2 (Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, #2)Children of Time (Children of Time, #1)

zsabella made progress on...

2d
Children of Time (Children of Time, #1)

Children of Time (Children of Time, #1)

Adrian Tchaikovsky

26%
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zsabella finished reading and wrote a review...

4d
  • Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)
    zsabella
    Dec 03, 2025
    3.5
    Enjoyment: 3.5Quality: 3.5Characters: 2.5Plot: 3.0
    ā˜ ļø
    šŸ¦•
    🚧

    can this be considered a gold standard for sharply written sci-fi horror? I wish we had more of this type of energy in modern sci-fi stories šŸ˜®ā€šŸ’Ø the use of diagrams and charts were an especially fun element and added to the experience too! it’s also soooo much grosser and violent than I remember. I already liked steven spielberg’s movie adaptation, but now I truly get the lasting obsession over the story and was even more disturbed and entertained revisiting the park in its original storytelling.

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  • zsabella completed their yearly reading goal of 36 books!

    4d

    zsabella's 2025 Reading Challenge

    39 of 36 read
    Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5)
    Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4)
    Salvation of a Saint (Detective Galileo, #2)
    Between Two Fires
    The Wood at Midwinter
    Carmilla
    Several People Are Typing
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    zsabella earned a badge

    4d
    Level 3

    Level 3

    250 points

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    zsabella TBR'd a book

    4d
    Finding Nouf (Nayir Sharqi & Katya Hijazi #1)

    Finding Nouf (Nayir Sharqi & Katya Hijazi #1)

    Zoƫ Ferraris

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    zsabella made progress on...

    2w
    Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)

    Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)

    Michael Crichton

    64%
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    zsabella made progress on...

    2w
    Children of Time (Children of Time, #1)

    Children of Time (Children of Time, #1)

    Adrian Tchaikovsky

    16%
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    zsabella commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    2w
  • What specific things in one-star reviews do you look for?

    One-star reviews are so useful when deciding whether to read a book, and I'm curious what "negative" aspects that other people call out actually draw you towards a book even more.

    For example, every time I see negative reviews mention that the book feels "pretentious" or has "purple prose" I immediately add it to my TBR lol. I like my prose lush and sumptuous, dripping in decadence and self-indulgence. I want Oscar Wilde rolling in his grave out of jealousy at a turn of phrase.

    Another thing I love is when people talk about an unlikable female character, specifically one that is maybe too cold or ambitious or morally irredeemable. I eat that up! I like my female characters evil and owning it.

    Conversely, if a one-star review even mentions the word "juvenile" when it comes to the writing or characters, I'm out. Don't even need to read the rest of the review. If I even catch a whiff of the phrase "feels like YA," I click out and never look back.

    What red flags for other people are green flags for you?

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  • zsabella made progress on...

    2w
    Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)

    Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)

    Michael Crichton

    51%
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  • Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)
    zsabella
    Edited
    Thoughts from 52%
    spoilers

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    comments 1
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  • zsabella commented on a post

    2w
  • Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)
    zsabella
    Edited
    Thoughts from 39%
    spoilers

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    8
    comments 2
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  • Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)
    zsabella
    Edited
    Thoughts from 39%
    spoilers

    View spoiler

    8
    comments 2
    Reply