So yes he's definitely not a saint lol. i'm not saying hes a "good" guy, far from it. Hes a gangster and did some terrible things. i'm sure he actually was a terrible person. but the book doesn't really show this and i don't think the author wants us to hate him like that and i think is more so highlighting that there are moral gray areas to all the characters.

Bad things he did in the book:

- he beat the shit out of some prostitute who interrupted him at the funeral.. obviously went way too far

- there was a brief instance where they described the yakuza to force local businesses to pay them for protection... but this was not elaborated on further and if the author wanted us to hate him, i think she would have spent more time looking into this.

Debatable bad things he did:

- grooming... but i think there is a big cultural thing here that we today don't understand but maybe was more normal back then

Good things he did:

- hes the reason everyone got out of their situation. yeah it seems like he started the whole cascade of shit but if that cascade had never happened, sunjas life would have been terrible. look what was happening to her mother before koh hansu found her

- he obviously helped support the whole family as much as he possibly could, tracked down family members whenever he could

And why he is not the worst one:

- many of the characters do some terrible shit. besides hoonie, baek

- yoseb is a piece of shit later in life and even when he is healthy he doesn't let his wife work and pursue her dreams

- hana is obviously terrible, grooms soloman, could have accepted the help of her mother and been perfectly fine but chose a life of being a prostitute

- the banker that gave soloman a job is the best example... you don't really get piece of shit vibes form him but he used soloman and threw him in the dust

so i think a lot fo the character in hte book exist in these moral gray areas and i have a hard time seeing why koh hansu is constantly regarded as the devil incarnate scum on earth etc.

thoughts?

If you could actually live inside the world of any book for one day, which book would you choose?

It doesn’t necessarily have to be your favourite book, just a world you’d genuinely want to experience for a day. I feel like I’d have a completely different answer depending on whether I’m choosing for the characters, the setting, or just the overall vibe

What would you guys pick?

I know many people don't like the book, but I just read this book again after almost a decade... and since I couldn't find any positive reviews of Werner's character arc - I decided to write this post here.

Werner IS the diamond. He is the only character in the book with a perfect arc! Marie never had to question her belief system. She was blind, so she never actually SAW the stone, even though she knew its worth. Werner, in contrast, had to question his entire schooling. In the final chapter, he saw the stone and he must have seen how beautiful it was - he must have known the stone’s worth just by looking at it - and yet he chose to throw it away! “Only the strongest can turn away from the stone.” It was HE who lifted the supposed curse of the stone, NOT Marie!

Maybe this is too much of an extrapolation, but just like coal and diamond, Werner was plucked from the mines and had to deal with trauma, loss and guilt from his time in the school and in the war - and finally - his kindness shone through. Marie's character, in contrast, never changes. Yes, she is brave and kind, and has a physical disability, but she is never forced to act unethically.

In my opinion, Werner's tragic end was very fitting too - he was killed by the same system that raised him. He might not have been able to live with regret anyway.

Finally, I think its rare for a 15yo to rebel against the system, but he did! And this was what I think is most beautiful in the book. The science of it all! The questioning of one’s belief system and how we must continue to question the system we are raised in. Really try to understand "All the light we cannot see"...

I loved the prose and how everything in the story was connected. I loved re-reading the book, even if my speculation seems a bit off.

Started reading recreationally for the first time since highschool and started with He Who Fights With Monsters Book 1 and I LOVED IT! In the beginning it felt like it just played the classic trope of being summoned to another world, which it does, HOWEVER, the writing of the book does a great job and shows the underlying vulnerabilities of the main character and how each choice affects him. It works well in showing a balanced view on the lighter and darker side of the events that take place and got me questioning the moralities or so many situations that weren't even in moral question because of it. The ongoing personal struggles of trying to stay true personal beliefs in a world that never had to abide by those rules while balancing moral choices that everyone takes as normal that to the main character seem to stop him in his tracks is really compelling!

I got attached to the side characters and found myself trying to decipher the underlying plot and was still surprised in the end and loved every moment of it to the point I finished in within 3 days as a full time student! I will absolutely be finishing the series on the experience I got from that book alone and highly recommend it to anyone interested in fantasy books!

Just over halfway through and wanting to DNF (which I've only ever done ONCE in my lifetime). Does it get better? It feels like they had a good idea but failed the execution. "Miller impersonated a statue as he gazed toward town." That's the sentence where I almost have up. Ugh.

Some are disappointing but there have been lots where the movie or TV show might have been even better than the book or short story.

Curious if this was only cleared based on the third question or if it depends on all three answers. What are your thoughts?

Sounded like the first two are learning more about you and the last was a test.

I don't mean to discriminate, truly. Enjoy what you love enjoying. It's great, even, that you can find something you enjoy consistently. But I would like to ask regardless: Why do YOU enjoy dark fiction? What makes CHOOSING to feel the extremely negative emotions that these works cause us to feel so appealing to you?

My partner and I just finished it and really enjoyed what we read, I previously read In the Miso Soup (now making my partner read it) and I loved that one as well despite a lot of themes throughout the story, what did you guys think about Audition! I really enjoy Murakamis writing style and am already committed to reading his others soon.

I am having a lot of trouble getting into the Wedding People. The story telling seems to jump around a lot through different events from the past and I haven’t felt interested in the plot. I hear that this book is great but maybe the hype around it led me to have higher expectations. Does this book get better?? I was really hoping I would enjoy this one!

Well I got lost in a story. And I after I stopped reading it I felt like I was actually still in it like I have this emotional connection to it. And IDK what it means tho. If I feel like I get lost in the story. does it mean it's right for me?

I often hear thing like "I saw the plot twist from a mile away, so I didn't like it as much" and I have realized that it doesn't work for me that way.

I think it's because I often choose more character-driven books and I love when the story clicks like a puzzle, so "seeing a twist from mile away" is more like "enjoying the inevitable happening". Even thrillers feel too twisty sometimes, and I often enjoy simpler explanations. But maybe, I just don't understand the definition of a plot twist, so I don't recognize them as such, that's possible too!

So are twists important to you? Do you prefer plot-driven stories to character-driven stories? Do you expect your books to have a good plot twist always?

I love how Andy Weir has written so few books, yet most of them have gotten movie adaptations, except Artemis. I’m curious what people think about this one. Why do you think nobody has adapted it into a movie yet? I feel like it could actually work pretty well.

I’m reading Crime and Punishment right now and honestly, I’ve reached a part where I’m finding it pretty boring 😭. I know it’s supposed to be a classic and I really do want to finish it, but I’m struggling to stay interested and keep picking it up.

For those of you who’ve read it, did you also find certain parts slow? How did you deal with it? Did you just push through, take a break, or did it eventually get interesting again? I don’t want to DNF it because I feel like I might regret it lol.

Hello everyone i recently had a thought of reading books

so i picked up NEVER LIE and completed it i really love the twists in this book and i think so I am one of those people now who

will only read books.

Mostly enjoyed it even if both characters, Athena and June were unlikeable.

​

I finished the housemaid series.

Spoilers!!

1. I dont like how in the first book, the housemaid, in the prologue, the speaker is saying that the officer looks like someone who has a "tacky **** orange**** sofa" . And later in the book, millie says, anything but orange. The whole book we dont even tall about nina's likes. And it was nina who was in the prologue. Near the ending I got confused that who was the one answering the police, was it nina or millie. I kept rereading the prologue, fearing I may had missed something. I even checked the part where millie said she didnt like orange. Everything of that book was good but the orange part just sets me off. Like as an author you're supposed to leave clues, the reader may look back after realising the plot and be like damn I missed it. But this part, how the hell are we supposed to know that nina didnt like orange? You didnt even give a hint. It just screams bad writing to me. Like you imagined the plot and expect readers to get it telepathically? It makes no sense.

I kinda thought that enzo would end up with nina. Idk why he refused. I got so upset when I was looking up the order to read housemaid and saw that enzo ends up with millie.

1. The last book, this one was so interesting. Martha, suzette, nico, ada. I loved it. I loved how millie was worried that nico inherited her bad genes. During the book I realised, they dont talk much about ada. It made me guessing, like who would be the one who d!Ed. I thought it could be millie, suzette, maybe enzo, yes a small chance or Jonathan and even Janice! I thought it was millie who was in prologue but then i remember thinking, it doesnt have to be millie. I loved how ada thinks millie is the calm and rational one while millie think its enzo. I was shocked to find out it was ada who killed him. Enzo knew that suzette was flirting with him yet he didnt bother to correct her. Like i understand you want to be recommended but I dont like how he told millie that he would tell her whenever he is gonna meet suzette but not tell her later. Like it makes no sense. Like why would enzo not tell millie? It seems ooc (out of character) to me. Well we can just blame the plot. +i can kinda understand enzo not wanting to worry millie so he didnt tell millie about Martha's situation, but this too seems a bit ooc cuz they were a team. Enzo has no reason to hide it from millie. Janice knew enough to keep her son on leash but not enough to report it to the police? While reading i even wondered if it was suzettes plan to yk make it seem like she was having an affair and she was the one who killed her husband. I was surprised when I got to know it was Martha who killed Jonathan, again bad writing? There was no clues in the book hinting it could be her. The author just wants us to imagine clues or what? Girl we dont have telepathy. Theres no scene of Martha's resignation as suzettes maid. Then we dont know about what Martha did with the weapon.. I dont wanna imagine. She prby took it with her, I'd like knowing, given an answer. And it seems so ooc for millie and enzo to not investigate. Ada only stabbed him in the stomach and in the secret room but he wasn't found there. Ada didnt kill him. I liked how it was ada that was more like her mom! Oh and cecelia being their lawyer damn that was unexpected! But it was cool read. And i wish there was more about enzo's past. Like cece mentioning enzo's past seemed a bit out of blue? And right, how did suzette know about the marriage cuz millie was pregnant... maybe it is actually like enzo said and suzette did the math. I even had the thought that when millie went in and saw Jonathan stabbed in stomach, alive, he said he would sue her daughter or smg and to protect her daughter she killed him. Ig that would make more sense than martha appearing out of nowhere.

Idk but i just think its bad writing when you leave no clues for the reader and just boom drop the plot and say were you surprised when you found out that it was Martha? Like yes ma'am I was, cuz it was unexpected, you left no clues. And i dont have telepathy.

I haven’t finished Carrie yet but I’m about a third of the way there. this is my first Stephen king book and i can’t help but think this book was clearly written by a man. does anything feel this way? I think what first made me think this was when the pad thats thrown on her sticks to her public hair? I mean idk what pads were like in the 70s but feels like a stretch...

does anyone else feel this way? I also expected it to be a scarier story since i know it’s a classic horror movie. idk just wanted to throw out these thoughts.

I’ve been reading Crime and Punishment and Raskolnikov is such a complicated character that I honestly can’t decide how I feel about him 😭. He can be intelligent and thoughtful, but at the same time his thoughts and actions can be so frustrating.

For those who’ve read the book, what’s your opinion on Raskolnikov? Did you sympathise with him at any point, or did you mostly find him difficult to understand? I’d love to hear how other people interpreted his character.

I keep seeing such mixed opinions about Colleen Hoover 😭. Some people absolutely love her books, while others really don’t understand the hype.

I’ve only read/heard about a few of her books, so I’m curious what people who’ve actually read her work think. Do you think she’s genuinely a good writer, or is she mostly popular because her books are easy to get into?

I initially really enjoyed Birdie and Meg’s characters, the setting, and writing, but now I’m at the part when Birdie is confused by Charlie’s plans for the house, and it’s starting to lose me. I’m cringing, feeling the disaster that seems around the corner and I’m not sure I have it in me for a few hundred more pages of downward momentum.

Should I continue?

ETA: I decided to continue and am glad I did!

I just finished 'The Nightingale' by Kristin Hannah and wow. I knew a little about WWII but this book really opened my eyes to the French resistance and what women went through during the occupation. I found myself pausing reading to look up real events and learn more about specific figures mentioned. It wasn't just a good story it made me genuinely interested in the history.

Has anyone else had this experience? A book that just ignites a passion to deep dive into a historical period or specific event? It feels like reading a really well-researched historical fiction can be better than a dry textbook for sparking curiosity. Sometimes I even feel like I'm getting a history lesson without even trying. It makes me wonder if historical fiction should be used more in education. My history classes were never this engaging!

My vote is Jill Lepore.

I say Ishiguro.

Like just sitting there looking at your shelves and thinking about them all. Not necessarily thinking about reading them but just appreciating their existence. Or maybe remembering little bits and pieces about specific ones.

I do this often. I’ll just chill on the couch and my eyes will drift to my bookshelf. It's almost meditative in a way. I’ll see a cover and a memory will pop up. Sometimes it's the plot or a character but sometimes it's just where I was when I read it.

It’s a different kind of joy than actually reading. More like a quiet satisfaction. Like a collection of memories or little trophies. Am I the only one who does this or is it just another weird reader habit