#elain hsieh chou

[belle-keys]

Superior Subgenre: Race Satire by WOC

Here are my recommendations for satirical contemporary books by women of colour about racial fetishization and white neoliberals. Highly recommend these three books if you want to laugh, introspect, and marinate on how American society and institutions are being cooked by the culture war.

[hungryfictions]

my 2023 in books

[bloodmaarked]

➫ monthly book round-up: october 2024

books read: 8 [1 DNF] [+33%] average rating: 3.64 [-7%] average speed: 10.9 days [-30%] total pages: 2,067 [-9%] yearly goal progress: 68/50 [136%] best of the month: pachinko, min jin lee worst of the month: storm and fury, jennifer l. armentrout

4.5* reads:

before the coffee gets cold, toshikazu kawaguchi

pachinko, min jin lee

4* reads:

disorientation, elaine hsieh chou

3.5* reads:

the empress of salt and fortune, nghi vo

lord of the flies, william golding

brown girls, daphne palasi andreades

2* reads:

the house of broken bricks, fiona williams

DNFs:

storm and fury, jennifer l. armentrout

currently reading:

back to black, kehinde andrews

autumn chills, agatha christie

[montanamp3]

Are you a bad person, or do you just have reasonable concerns, are you a bad person, or are you just asking questions?

Tell Me I'm Worthless - Allison Rumfitt

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2023: DISORIENTATION by Elaine Hsieh Chou.

I tend to wait for lit fic in paperback instead of purchasing the hardback, but I've had my eye on this one since the hardback came out. I'm enjoying it so far! The Goodreads reviews are very polarized (people either love it or think it's hugely stupid), but it's easy to read and has made me laugh out loud a couple times (like weaponizing a box of jumbo tampons + toilet for a Heist Cover--this shit is ridiculous, I love it).

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Disorientation | Author: Elaine Hsieh Chou | Publisher: Penguin (2022)

[morgan--reads]

Disorientation - Elaine Hsieh Chou

Summary: Desperate to finish her dissertation on the Chinese American poet Xiao-Wen Chou, Ingrid Yang seizes upon a small, strange note in the poet's archives. As Ingrid chases down the author of the note, she stumbles upon a world-shattering secret about Chou that calls into question everything she knew about academia and about herself.  

Quote: “Just when she thought she had a handle on who someone was, on the exact shape and size of their character, on the precise quantity of their goodness and badness, they insisted on changing.”

My rating: 3.0/5.0   Goodreads: 3.86/5.0

Review: A solid exploration of themes of racism in academia and America, the experience of growing up a child of immigrants, and the Asian American experience more broadly. However, it never commits itself to anything radical, ultimately a very moderate book in the same way as its fairly wishy-washy protagonist. The absurd elements are its strongest points, but Chou’s seeming determination to have the book be pleasant and non-problematic smooths over the weirder edges and keeps the book from achieving something memorable, even with its most interesting plotlines.

To read: I’m fairly certain R. F. Kuang’s Yellowface deals with similar themes, so I’m looking forward to reading it and comparing the two.

[fabbookreads]

Signed Disorientation book + event

[thepixiediaries]

everyone in this book is an absolute mess and it is utterly delightful

[katiesbooks]

finally getting around to posting these silly little graphics!! fav books from 2022 part 1

[thereadingmoon]

june hayward vs. ingrid yang: dumb characters discovering that racism exists battle to the death, GO!

[hungryfictions]

in 2023 i am collecting book covers like so many colorful candies. all the info for these titles can be found on my goodreads acct :-)

[bloodmaarked]

disorientation // elaine hsieh chou

first published: 2022 read: 15 september 2024 - 03 october 2024 pages: 401 format: paperback

genres: fiction; adult; race; satire/humour; asian literature favourite character(s): ingrid least favourite character(s): stephen (when i get you...)

rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 thoughts: disorientation is certainly one of the most fun books i've read this year. so similar in theme and even somewhat in tone to yellowface by r.f. kuang, it's no surprise that i enjoyed it as much as i did. i also love a book where we watch the main character's slow descent into madness, and this book had a great version of this.

i loved the writing style, which was so satirical, sarcastic, and humorous. i definitely laughed out loud a few times. i think it was a clever and witty approach to topics of yelllowface, asian fetishisation, identity and self-loathing that comes with growing up as a "minority" in the western world, etc.

the characters were great and i loved our mc, ingrid. like i said, i enjoy watching a descent into madness, and following her as she uncovered some world-tilting secret whilst hopped up on over-the-counter meds was hilarious, crazy, and jaw-dropping. there were some other great characters in there too, like vivian, eunice, and alex. stephen's arc, and how he seemed so perfect for ingrid at first before we discover he's quite the opposite, was interesting and he was so easy to dislike. he was on the nose, but in a way that fit in with the book as a whole.

the plot is a whirlwind and i definitely want to avoid any potential spoilers, but it was a mad and unexpected journey from start to finish.

i'd absolutely keep an eye out for more of chou's works. i definitely recommend disorientation, and especially if you enjoyed yellowface - they are not the same, but they share a lot of similarities!

[belle-keys]

The Ultimate Dark Academia Book Recommendation Guide Ever

The title of this post is clickbait. I, unfortunately, have not read every book ever. Not all of these books are particularly “dark” either. However, these are my recommendations for your dark academia fix. The quality of each of these books varies. I have limited this list to books that are directly linked to the world of academia and/or which have a vaguely academic setting.

Dark Academia staples:

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Dead Poets Society by Nancy H. Kleinbaum

Vita Nostra by Maryna Dyachenko

Dark academia litfic or contemporary:

Bunny by Mona Awad

The Idiot by Elif Batuman

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

White Ivy by Susie Yang

The Cloisters by Katy Hays

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates

Attribution by Linda Moore

Dark academia thrillers or horror:

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

Dark academia fantasy/sci-fi:

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

The Betrayals by Bridget Collins

Dark academia romance:

Gothikana by RuNyx

Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake

Dark academia YA or MG:

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Crave by Tracy Wolff

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Dark academia miscellaneous:

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou

Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip

[yeriminder]

People You Want To Know Better

thank u for the tag @piived !! 🫶

three ships: tbh i haven't really been into ships for most of the stuff i'm into aside from jaytim , jondami , and ravioli . i usually stick to platonic stuff nowadays

first ship: oml the first ship i ever searched for content/fic for was tododeku in like 2018 when i was mega hypfixated on bnha

last movie: i rewatched 10 Things I Hate About You with my best friend last week and its easily top 10 romcoms to ever romcom

last song: ROTY - YOUNG POSSE gorgeous gorgeous girls listen to yp i've been seated since debut

currently reading: i've been really bad with reading actual books bc of english classes but! i've been meaning to start reading Disorientation by Elain Hsieh Chou since my older sibling rec'd and lent their copy to me

currently watching: rewatching b99 just bc i was in limbo after finishing all of hells kitchen and needed something brainless to watch (at least netflix only has the first 4 seasons . yknow the good seasons)

currently eating: just had sushi + gyoza . i love . dumplings . and sushi .

currently craving: dawgggg vee said cheesecake and now i'm thinking about cheesecake . we had leftover cheesecake from my older sister's best friend's pookie weekend and i'm so heartbrock 💔💔💔en about it bc i love love love cheesecake with my whole heart and soul . also mangoes bc i luv mangoes except we have some in the fridge so i'm gonna go eat mangoes after this

no pressure tags ! @sburbling @roundaboutnow @ohsanide