3/4/2025: Book Review - "Convenience Store Woman" by Sayaka Murata

This book has been on my TBR for years now, as often it was touted as "realistic autistic representation". After finishing the book I can see where people are coming from, and I do not fully disagree, but I overall the journey through the book wasn't great.

Set in modern day Japan, our main character, Keiko Furukura is a woman in her 30's working part time in a convenience store. She has always been seen as strange by others, and working in the convenience store beings her comfort with the predictable work and routine. However, friends and family seem to look down on this work, often asking when she will find a different job and settle down. This book is her journey in finding out where she stands in society. Is she just a loser?

*Spoliers from here on out*

The first half of this book I found to be fun to read through and often related to Furukura. As an autistic woman I have never really felt the need to push myself to be a "success story". I do my work because I need to, enjoy the small pleasures in life that I want to, and don't really understand others desires to be on a pedestal. I also relate to her "absorbing" the style and personalities of others. My own speech patterns change when I am around others. Though I am from Texas/USA I have often caught myself changing my accent depending on the person I am talking to. That is besides the point, and I wanted to show how I truly do relate to this character (minus the shovel assault).

My enjoyment turned to frustration with the introduction of IncelMan (I forgot the characters name). Incelman worked at the same store as Furukura for about a week before getting fired for harrassing and stalking customers. He often monologues about how "only the strong and handsome guys ever get woman and he is just a weakling and he hates woman blahblahblah", the usual incel speech. Though this character leads to Furukura realizing she is perfect existing the way she is, I could NOT get over him just being slimey. And I ESPECIALLY could not get over her having zero survival instincts and just letting a random , known stalker/sexual harrasser, into her home. That ain't autism that is no self preservation.

Incelman is needed for her to realize her working at the Convenience Store is exactly where she wants and needs to be. So why do I just give it a 3.25 (average and would not read again). The other issue about this book is that the humor is not for me. The marketing for this book said it had many hilarious moments, but there were none for me. Mainly, just me getting second hand embarrasment for Furukura. I felt it was more of a reflective piece that someone like me could relate to (besides inviting a rat man into my home). This could just be due to translation, as well as comedy differences between Japan and America. However, I did not find this book to be funny at all.

I do appreciate that the story is just "you do not have to be what society expects from you.". And if you really are in need of a story like that go ahead and give it a read. However, if you are looking for a fun, light hearted read, I would not recommend this.

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1/18/2025: Book Review - "We Are The Weather" by Jonathan Safran Foer

I've been thinking of doing more book reviews to help me remember what I have read at a later date, and to reflect later on about how I felt right after finishing a book. To see how my feelings change over time. So, I wanted to start off the year with a review of "We Are The Weather" by Jonathan Safran Foer.

I was suggested this book by members of a sustainability server I am apart of. Recently, I have been thinking about switching over to a fully plant based diet, and was recommended this book to help me with that decision. It's pitch being that "We", as a collective, need to eat significantly less animal products to help prevent our world from dying. (My words not the authors).

If you just want the short and sweet I believe that the message itself is essential, but the delivery was not it. Giving my whole opinion, I think that the first 2 Parts of the book were good. Presenting the issue like a mystery to keep you engaged while also getting you invested through interconnecting stories. Then when he does the big reveal "EAT LESS ANIMALS OR WE DIE" (Again, my words not his) we get a simple section full of important facts and statistics to convince the reader that animal agriculture and subsequent eating of the animals is terrible for our planet and ourselves. Good, great, fantastic, I'm on board. However, the latter parts just drone on over the same points presented in Part 1 over and over. The interconnected stories are no longer interesting/inspiring, they are just filler in the way of giving a good guide.

A portion of the book talks about how an emotional response is the best way to make someone take action. With that I believe that most of what he is writing is to illicit that response, hopwever, instead of firing me up.. it's kind of just boring me. He had me, and my emotions, but then lost me. Luckily, I still chose to change my lifestyle and am switching over to a Plant-Based Diet. It will be a gradual shift, but it is something I do find important. So, in the end Mr. Foer wins as I AM switching to eating way less meat, but I was already on the path to making that conclusion. If he is trying to convince someone like my husband, a devout steak lover, he would have lost him before the first half was over.

Like I said before I do think the message of the book is extremely important, and am making those changes myself. But if we are going to change others we need to change our delivery that keeps that emoitonal response without overdoing it. I will be picking up his other book "Eating Animals" later on this year, as I do think his research is well done. This book was just not the one to give me said info.

Peace and Love, NerdyMug

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10/1/2024: Book Thoughts - Carmilla

On this first day of October I decided to pick up a highly anticipated Spooky Season read, Carmilla.This classic has been on my radar for many years, but I finally made it a priority this year. At only 129 pages (my edition) I was able to finish it in one evening.

**Spoilers Ahead** The first half of the book was as described by every vampire hungry, sapphic, online. The sexual tension between Laura and Carmilla was palpable and the feelings Laura describes, the deep longing and simultaneous repulsion to these advancements, felt very true to a burgeoning lesbian awakening of someone deeply rooted in Faith. Though I am sure this was not Le Faun's intention, his narrative has shifted in this modern day to truly resonate with queer women. The romantic prose from Carmilla are dripping with sensuality and the warm kisses they share seem scandalous for a novel of it's time. It morphing into this toxic relationship/ spider's trap was cut short for me with the last two-thirds of the book with the introduction of "The General".

The General to me is just a character made for expostion. He tells his story of his late adopted daughter with the story basically mirroring that of our lead character. Chapter after chapter he speaks aloud how his own daughter became sick with the introduction of the new guest Mircalla. (Huh I wonder what happens if you switch those letters around.. OMG it's also spells CARMILLA.). All the story leading to his ward's enevitable death.

The ending for the book fell rather flat as there is really no emotional reaction from Laura concerning the "revelation" that her kinda-girlfriend is a vampire trying to kill her. More so that there is no emotion when it comes to watching someone she shared months of deep connection with get Staked, Beheaded, and Burned all in front of her. I have to say even if my really hot girlfriend was trying to murder me, I would still feel some kind of pain watching her get murdered infront of me.

In the end I do think this is a valuable piece of Horror history. The Vampire novel that started the fire of our own undead obsession. Written with amazing descriptions of the beautiful countryside, and portraying those confused feelings in a tortured young woman who doesn't know what those feelings mean for her. I will be giving this a loving skim come next Halloween, and marveling at how an adult Irishman, in the 1800's, created the most loved lesbian vampire lovers in history.

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