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Roxana by Daniel Defoe
BATB score: 7/10 π a journey of a whore from nobody, to mistress, to a rich ass Mademoiselle; navigating life's gems through husbands #idol #inspiration Best to: a difficult to read novel due to the many husbands/partners/lords/prince and the numerous details of her love life instances; I believe over 100+ plot twists happened in this one novel; +add-on to the novel difficulty with old style writings of oh lord, de, thy, nay. Best for: a very good plan B to wealth; in case o


The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
BATB score: 9.5/10 π a novel about a fiction Hollywood super star and her glamorous and scandalous life; super entertaining to read, easily read in 1-2 sittings π Best to: you will fall in love with Evelyn Hugo's character and you will understand the rationale behind using lust to twist publicity and faking love to gain fame β I am with her 100% - she is one smart b*tch Best for: nomadic minds in need of a casual weekend read; you know how BATB hates fiction especially ewy-


Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
BATB score: 6.6/10 π¦ Best to: the first 120-pages will bore you, the second 120-pages will arouse you, the third 120-pages will make you curious and even consider it a good book, and the last few pages will stun you and justify the book as a great novel; yet, I can not forgive you for the first 120-pages Best for: experienced and patient novel readers who would be willing to read through the first 120-pages of boredom and is steadfast focused to finish novels π€ Best as: oh


AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future by Chen Qiufan
BATB score: 10/10 π¦Ύππ€ This book is so important, a critical read, a hidden gem π. It's reading 10 visions (like a fortune teller) on what our future would look like. Dude, it can not get any more crazy mind-blown than this. π€― Everything is in this book: GDPR, AR/VR/XR, crypto mining, deepfake, AI job displacement, natural language computing, cyber security, and omg meaning of life. This book is smarter than all of us. Best to: You know how Mark Zuckerburg calls out 'Meta


How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
BATB score: 6/10 β³ one of Matt Haig's standalone novel - a fictitious tale of an immoral with eternal youth and the search for meaning of life when one truly does have centuries to live Best to: well-written, captivating, entertaining, easy-read; unfortunately BATB is not a fan π the narration is slow and the ending is meh Best for: Matt Haig's fans but do check out "Reasons to Stay Alive" first and foremost Best as: actually Netflix should have a go in making a movie adapta


I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
BATB score: 6/10 π the first book to a seven-volume series autobiography of Maya Angelou - it's just very long and detailed Best to: written back in 1969 - definitely a classic; must have been a required read in literature class back in high school Best for: long-form autobiography bookworms - life goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on Best as: maybe just read chapters 11 and 12 which were critical to who Maya Angelou is, then you will understand how she writes so well and


The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
BATB score: 4/10 π *reader discretion is advised* BATB is not a big fan of fiction π dear gods and goddesses please don't hate me π§ββοΈπ± "a tale of gods and goddesses, kings and queens, immortal fame and the human heart" - ouu fancy! Best to: extreme fast pace novel - this happened, that happened, then this happened, then that happened, and boom! (which I like) yet it's like 10 Netflix episodes long of little plots (which I don't like) Best for: it's about love, gods, and


The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa
BATB score: 6/10 π½ BATB read level: 1 easy peesy Best to: a Japanese whimsical modern fable - literally "modern" as it has just been published in Dec 2021; it's about how the act of and the business for reading books has changed Best for: if you like a talking cat πΈ , books π, and Japanese fables π―π΅, this book is made for you Best as: great as a children's book (a lot of action and fantasies) and great as an adult overthinking fable (so what's the underlying meaning of e


Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn
BATB score: 9/10 π€© BATB read level: 1 easy peesy Best to: a very moving novel about bullies, being special, and friendship π₯Ί very captivating, entertaining, and easy to read Best for: so you know the famous K-Pop band BTS? and you know RM the leader of BTS? he reads this book - hmm, actually SUGA and J-Hope were seen reading this book too; not that it matters, but it kinda matters Best as: a weekend getaway, a feel-good read π BATB nerd moment: Alexithymia is the inability


The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
BATB score: 9/10 π this book is beautifully written π―π₯Ίπ Best to: Toni Morrison, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and award winner of the Presidential medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2012 - with all that said, won't you read her masterpiece work? Best for: literature art at its best, avid novel readers, book appreciation Best as: word choices, word flow, harmonious composition, sentence structure, character build up, and so


The Fifth Sally by Daniel Keyes
BATB score: 6/10 π«₯ huge performance gaps from his work of art βFlowers for Algernonβ [1959]; βThe Fifth Sallyβ [1981] is a victim of Daniel Keyes own award winning success - I had too high expectations, I am sorry Best to: check out βFlowers for Algernonβ seriously, it got so many awards! Best for: fictional telltale from a POV of someone who is struggling with multiple personality disorder; great synopsis but narration was extremely meh - this and that then that and this Be


The Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
BATB score: 7.3/10 π BATB level: extreme advance π₯ art appreciation in novel literature > an enjoyable read Best to: I truly appreciate Hanya, especially the thought-process behind writing the 3-novel combo; let's talk about the time structure of writing (chronological, nostalgia thinking back, parallel universe), the using of the same names for different characters across the 3 novels (though it did confuse me a hell lot), the same place different centuries of events, the


Lord of the Flies by William Golding
BATB score: 6/10 π·πͺ°πͺ° British novelist William Golding 'Lord of the Flies' was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983; and that's why it is a high school literature class required read. Best to: love the book's underlying themes about leadership, conformity, corruption, war, and power; but I don't love how the book is written with elaboration on rock, dirt, trees, pool, conch π, coconut π₯₯ Best for: if you read it in high school (but was too distracted to appreciat


Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
BATB score: 4/10 π§π©π©βπ¦±π±ββοΈ 'Little Women' written in 1868 by Louisa May Alcott - when her family was struggling with extreme poverty - is a children's classics (where no Gen Z today would have the patience to endure this thick slow novel) Best to: if you are up for the 800 pages challenge, I tell you it wasn't easy at all; just imagine that Louisa May Alcott wrote the whole book with paper and ink!? like how? Best for: art appreciation at it's best, for god sake, the boo


They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera
BATB score: 3/10 βοΈ yep, they both died at the end Best to: a great plot line about how you get this death day alert on the day you will die so that you could make the best use of <24 hours that you have; about reminiscing, regretting, and trying to fully max out the <24 hours that you have Best for: enthusiast of very slow novels π΄ Best as: actually, if Netflix makes a movie out of this and just touch on the futuristic ideas and social behaviours of death-cast calls, the La


Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
BATB score: 8/10 π₯Ή a novel on 10 characters on 10 different types of everyday anxiety - relatable and lovable in every way Best to: scarier than being diagnosed with a mental illness is suffering and surviving everyday's immense anxiety while smiling and acting cool like you have it all in control as you are and do have the textbook definition of success and happiness #itsharderthanitlooks Best for: we all need therapy π Best as: "Anxious People" Netflix TV Mini Series 6.8/


The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
BATB score: 9/10 π« written in 1951, J. D. Salinger's book "the catcher in the rye" has been banned 9 times for being a 'bad influence' to young adult readers - excessive vulgar language (meh), sexual scenes (meh), and debatable moral issues on addictions (meh) likeas our world isn't full of these examples on a day to day the book has been linked to many real life high-profile murder cases - John Lennon's murder and President Ronald Reagan's attempted assassination - the murd


Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
BATB score: 7/10 π Alice Oseman is a hands-down writer prodigy - signing her first publishing deal at 17 for Solitaire and signing with Netflix at 26 for HeartStopper which was written at 22! Thatβs a lot of accomplishment at such a young age my friend. #isaluteyou Best to: digital age / modern day βThe Catcher in the Ryeβ - the struggles of a teen figuring out the world: gender identity, friendship, parental influences, oxbridge academic success, online trolls, YouTube fame


The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
BATB score: 6/10 π°π°π° Historical literary art piece, written in 1925 (for sure there would be a 100th year anniversary for this book), four movie adaptions include 2013 iMDb 7.2 featuring Leonardo DiCaprio Best to: have a keen curiosity of what the hype was really about for F. Scott Fitzgeraldβs book Best for: arenβt we all chasing richness and fame for someone to acknowledge and praise our golden accomplishments? arenβt the big mansion for hosting the big parties to show-o


LEMON by Kwon Yeo-Sun
BATB score: 8/10 πππ Literary art at its best. Touching on the arrays of grief. Yet, the ending was extremely cliffhanger. Best to: read this in one sitting - each chapter is written through different literary styles from different POVs; narration, presentation, characters, dialogues, and plot at its best at the highest suspense (so much details like peeling an onion π§
) Best for: Netflix would need to make a movie adaption of this urgently Best as: engaging crime suspense
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