Books With Lennon 📚

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami My rating: 3 of 5 stars Norwegian Wood is an emotionally distressing book! I did like it a lot, but I can't say it was an easy reading experience. The book tells a coming-of-age story from protagonist Toru Watanabe. We follow the end of his teenage years as he deals with grief and love. I was somewhat foreseeing what was going to happen at the end, but at the same time trying to stay very positive that things would just go well. I am happy I have read it, but I would advise anyone who's thinking about going into this to check the trigger warnings first and consider if you are mentally prepared to go into a dense, heavy emotional journey. After finishing the book, I literally stood up and went to my boyfriend to ask for a hug and to do something different right away to help me get my mind off those emotions. This was my third Muraki book and the second of his books, and it felt like it was destroying me inside. The other two were Wind/Pinball...

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White My rating: 5 of 5 stars I absolutely loved reading The Spirit Bares Its Teeth! This book is definitely not for everybody; it contains strong and intense body horror. However, that body horror made me feel more grounded than any other book I have read in a long time. There were moments when the reading experience was so intense I was literally hyperaware of the present and my own body. That was such a remarkable experience. I am someone who struggles a lot to get out of my own head, and having something that literally pulled me violently to the present moment was very rewarding. The main characters are so likable and relatable in so many ways. I will have a part of Silas and Daphne with me forever. Please check the trigger warnings before going in, but if you're okay with it, give it a shot, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is one of the most intense books I ever read. 2024 was a year full of 5 stars reads for me, I couldn't be happ...

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin My rating: 5 of 5 stars I just finished reading A Dance With Dragons, and A Song of Ice and Fire has officially become my favorite fantasy series. Finding words to describe such an intense and powerful reading experience is hard. Over the past months, I have lived the Song of Ice and Fire, experiencing each page with more joy than I could ever expect. I have never read such a long series, and it has been worth the effort. A Dance With Dragons was the best book of the series by far, and it's amazing how intriguing the plot has become. I now join the group of people who wait for The Winds of Winter, uncertain of when it will be released, but reassured that once it's out there, it will be great. Thanks, George R. R. Martin, for creating this world that pulled me in and made me find a place to escape where I could find joy in fantasy. Night gathers, and now my watch begins. View all my reviews

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin My rating: 5 of 5 stars I finally finished reading A Feast for Crows! 🤩 I really love this series more and more. A Feast for Crows is the slower book in the series so far pace-wise, but still a beautiful work of writing. I am completely in love with the ASOIAF universe, and this book helps dive into the minds of characters we had not explored before. Being inside Cersei's head was incredible, but if I had to go through another flashback to her visit to Maggy The Frog I think I would go crazy. This book certainly made me miss some of the POVs. I was a little tense when I noticed no Daenerys or Jon chapters, but it worked out just fine. It may be a little challenging compared to the other books so far, but it's definitely worth the investment. We did lose a character at the end of the book that I really liked, I had a rush of adrenaline and couldn't stop mopping and complaining about it for a long time. The character will be missed....

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a masterpiece! 👏🏻 This book made its way to my top favorite books ever. I started reading it with no expectations whatsoever. I first heard about it from Booktube and decided to put it on hold at the library. James Baldwin's writing caught me right from the start. I think the plot was okay, but the incredible writing turns this into an incredible book. I 100% decided to get a physical copy because it was painful to know everything I highlighted was going to get lost since I read it on the library app. “Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.” ― James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room View all my reviews

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is sad! I spent the last few days reading Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart. It took me some work to finish. Not only to read it but also to process it emotionally. This is a very dark story, and I strongly recommend everyone check all the trigger warnings before diving into it. From a literary point of view, the book is wonderful. It feels like diving into the 1990s in a way that other art forms do not allow us to. As a queer boy who grew up in Brazil in the 90s, a lot of things in the book have resonated with my experience. It reminded me of times I prefer not to remember so well. However, I still fell in love with Mungo and his story. It was lovely, delicate, and harsh, just like real life. Violence is almost a character by itself in Young Mungo, it gives birth to characters and shapes them, their actions, and their bodies. It is a powerful reading experience that sometimes resonates with our own scars. I can only give...