Welcome to my Bookshelf!

The Real and Unreal

Time read: tbd

Started: 3/4/26

Syrup vol. 3

This was def a tone shift from the last volume. As the subtitle implies, volume 3 was always going to be a more mature collection, which is kinda fun considering there are alot of returning authors (including authors I don't really care for, but I'll get to that eventually). I loaned this one out to Tab after I finished it, and she had similar opinions. This anthology series makes me so happy because it really does feel like stories for women. Like obv this is a more sexy volume, but the scenerios and the overall vibe feels very comfy and woman-oriented. A nice refresher after that dumb yuri series I dropped.

Time read: 1 day

Started: 1/26/26

Our Teachers are Dating

So incredibly mid. I hate when yuri authors write their grown ass female characters like children. The whole teachers dating thing has so much potential, but the characters are so flat it just reads like a fetish-y gimmick (negative).

Time read: 1 day

Started: 1/25/26

Syrup Vo. 2

I read the first volume of syrup while on vacation in San Franciso last spring. So imagine my delight when I discovered that my local downtown library had volume 2! This edition was definently more twisty-turny than the first-- the theme of this collection was "twisted romance" after all. A stand out short for me was the one about the parasitic wasp girl and the catepillar she infects with her offspring. IDK, maybe its because I just finished reading "Parasite Rex," but this one really tickled me. Overall, most the the stories were pretty tame, and some had some really beautiful artwork.

Reading syrup is like having a delicious charcuterie board- some rich, some savory, and some sweet.

Time read: 1 day

Started: 1/14/26

Parasite Rex

This was my second time reading this book. I think Carl Zimmer is one of the best science communicators I've ever read. There was alot of potiential for this book to be a snooze fest. Or worse, adopt the reactive health policy of an airplane kiosk bestseller. Instead, we got something really special. Carl is really gifted at writing engaging prose-- not too dry, not too purple, not too preachy.

On a personal note-- I am absolutely terrified of bugs. Especially bugs of the parasite-kind. However, this book helped me appreciate this little critters without becoming uncontrollably squirmish at the thought of them. So, while I would not reccomend this to the entomophobic, I would still encourage the squeamish-but-curious to pick this one up. Its really not too bad! Especially as Carl finds entertainment in the interesting biology of parasites rather than the body horror of them.

This book is too full of gems to really get into the nitty-gritty here. I would recc it as a "light" science read.

Time read: 2 weeks(ish)

Started: who knows. I bought this in 2022, read half of it, then picked it up again in late 2025 over winter break.

My Cat is Such a Weirdo (Vol.1)

Pretty cute. I like that she included actual pictures of her own cats. Glad I checked out from library, don't think I would actually re-read this.

Time read: 2 days

Started: 12/03/25

Selected Short Stories of Franz Kafka

Following my encounter with Calvino, I was hungry for some short stories. Taking Nicole's reccomendation, *finally* picked up Kafka's collected short stories. While I don't think I'll end up finishing this collection, I did work my way through the hits, including "The Judgment," "The Metamorphosis," "In the Penal Colony," "The Great Wall of China," and "A Letter to the Academy."

I never got to read "The Metamorphosis" in school, though it is a very common short story to include in American curriculums. I went in with some background knowledge about it, but still managaed to be pleasantly suprised. For one, I really enjoyed the exploration of Georg and his sister's relationship. There is something very uncomfortable but very familiar about caring for one's loved ones while also feeling disgust and resentment towards them. You can tell that in the beginning the sister's sense of responsibility is based in love, though by the end its more propelled by muscle memory.

This idea really resonated with me as a young-ish person watching the adult around me age. Though my love is unconditional, seeing them pale before me is undeniably jarring. As they need more of my support, I often feel subconcious twinges of annoyance, like, "you have always been able to do this for yourself, why do you need me to do this now?" These feelings, while fleeting, scare me, because they go against my deep moral convictions about the inherent value of human beings. And of course, that absolute truth that every human being has the right to be here, regardless of their ability to add to the economy or whatever capitalistic bullshit we measure the value of our lives by.

In this way, feeling annoyed at new caregiving responsibilities makes me feel gross, because of course everyone deserves love and the dignity of having their needs meet. But here is where the isolation of Georg's family comes in-- besides their rude maid, Georg's family completely isolates themselves from the world. They know that the world will not be kind to Georg, so they push him (and themselves) into squallor. They actively anticipate the intolerance of the world, and respond defensively before the world is even given the chance to properly evaluate the situation.

Georg's family responds to their bug-son's condition in the way that the some families of aging or disabled people do. They view themselves as maytrs, burdened by their caregiving responsibilities. They don't think that others will understand their situation, so they isolate themselves. More importantly, they are so wrapped up in their own suffering, that they don't consider the humanity of Georg! They strip his room of everything that once gave it personality, beauty, humanity. And once all reminders of Georg's humanity are gone, they view him as a simple pest.

I did not realize how emotional this story would be. Though we will never be bugs, "The Metamorphosis" is a deeply disturbing reminder of the way we dehumanize aging and disabled people in our society.

Time read: around two weeks, unfinished.

Started: 7/19/25

The Secret To Superhuman Strenght: Alison Bechdel

It's diffult to talk about Alison Bechdel without projecting. She is, of course, the patron saint of overly-educated & neurotic white lesbians everywhere. Objectively speaking, I am always impressed by her mastery over her form. Bechdel is just a great writer, flat out. Her monolouges read like podcast transcripts, effortlessly weaving in historical narratives and personal musings. And her visuals seemlessly transition all these disparate parts so geniusly. Her opening monolouge might be my favorite example of this-- ie, the one where she gives an overview of the narrative while literally going through all the prepartion of an outdoor excursion herself. Her illustrations are so lush (and also are colored by her wife! I could cry). Content wise, the narrative is also pretty meaty. Exercise-haters rejoice-- Bechdel never wastes page space on calories or body image or diet nonsense. Of course, she suffers through her sport, but her exercise story differs vastly from the traditional feminized narrative. Of course, Bechdel can't avoid talking about gender. But like her other narrative works, the heart of Bechdel's stories are grief and longing. So much is contained in each character's signature Bechdel-frown.

I really devoured this book. From the minute I got it, I spent every free moment on it. More personally, i've been in such a reading slump. But Bechdel's work really just lights me up like no other.

Time read: 2 days

Started: 7/8/25

Invisible Cities: Italo Calvino

I have been meaning to read this book for a while, so when i discovered that Nicole already had it among her personal collection, I quickly swooped it up. "Book" may be a generous description-- its really more of a collection of forty or so short stories held together by a charming dialectic. In Invisible Cities, Calvino guides us through a series of vignettes, each portraying a "city" bearing a different woman's name. Calvino's stand-in philosophers of choice are no other than Marco Polo, the famous traveler, and Kublai Khan, the great emporer. Toegther, the men discuss Khan's empire, and get real metaphysical with it. Enjoyers of Borges (such as myself) will enjoy the themes of repetition, doubling, and projection Calvino imbues in his cities. Individuals with difficulty compartmentalizing casual misogyny (such as myself) will find his descriptions of women a little jarring.

Time read: 2 days

Started: 7/5/25