angethology reviews Audition book by Ryu Murakami and film (1999) by Takashi Miike

Audition – Review of Ryū Murakami’s book and Takashi Miike’s film adaptation

If there’s one writer who doesn’t pull punches, it’s Ryū Murakami. His shuddering novel Audition (translated into English by Ralph McCartney) is compressed into just above 200 pages, yet it leaves you reeling and confounded in the best way possible. Later adapted for the big screen in 1999 with Takashi Miike as the director, the film leaves an equally lasting impression, but with contrasting techniques.

Read More »
Angethology reviews Daisy Jones and The Six book and TV show

Daisy Jones and The Six – Book and TV adaptation review

If you’ve ever been a die-hard fan of bands, you know that few things are more heartbreaking than hearing about your favorite group splitting up. Taylor Jenkins Reid has always been interested in this phenomenon of members suddenly disbanding for unknown, mysterious reasons, and explores this in her best-selling fiction book, Daisy Jones and The Six. Exposing the messy rock ‘n’ roll scene in the ’70s, the novel also takes its music to life in Amazon Prime’s TV adaptation of it. Here is how they compare to each other:

Read More »
the problem with star ratings for books

The problem with star ratings for books

Book ratings are often a vital metric in helping readers choose their next book—but how well do they actually represent people’s opinions?

As a society, we have been obsessed with numbers for a while now. Statistics are not just utilized for reports and research—they can now quantify your opinions or personal experiences too, and are especially important in the realm of social media. The widely used star classification is one of the many ways we can express ourselves, and this has also translated onto well-known review platforms such as Goodreads and StoryGraph for the purpose of critiquing the media that we consume.

Read More »
favorite books by women according to angethology

5 of my favorite books by women

From mystical hallways, to revolutionaries toppling institutions, to a witty cat navigating its life, literature is rich with diverse experiences, perspectives and narratives from women. In honor of Women’s History Month in March, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite books by women from the past couple of years in various genres.

Read More »
Angethology reviews horror film called "Nope" (2022).

Nope (2022) review – What horror looks like in broad daylight

Director and writer Jordan Peele returns with yet another horror movie—this time in the sci-fi horror subgenre. With his focus on the menacing extraterresterial, Peele conveys the terror and allure of looking at danger right in the eye.

Diverting a little more from the likes of his previous works, Get Out (2017) and Us (2019), Peele came up with a new way of challenging the audiences’ views by exploring the pursuit of showcasing and chasing a spectacle. We’ve all heard of the phrase, “.. like a car crash that you can’t look away from,” and the film embodies that.

Read More »
Angethology reviews a book called My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones.

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones – Review

A horror obsessed Jade finds out that her hometown Proofrock is in danger—and despite some gruesome killings happening right under her nose, she is a little more thrilled than she needs to be that she’s finally experiencing a slasher in her own life.

Being an outcast in her hometown, a seventeen year old Native American girl named Jade Daniels utilizes horror movies as a coping mechanism to escape her abusive father and the rest of her environment. After discovering two murders in Indian Lake, Jade starts thinking that this might be the start of a premeditated killing spree. In the meantime, the other side of Indian Lake lies Terra Nova; the former Shoshone territory has now been gentrified and altered into a construction site for the wealthy. While most people would be terrified of the continuous murders, Jade sees this as an opportunity to channel her inner Sherlock Holmes and depend on her slasher knowledge to solve the murder mystery.

Read More »
Angethology reviews slasher film called They/Them (2022).

They/Them (2022) slasher fails to live up to its title – Review

“This is a safe space .. for everyone.”

When an LGBTQ+ conversion camp adopts a so-called “kill ’em with kindness” mantra, how far can they really go?

If there’s one thing I love, it’s punny titles. So when I heard that there’s a brand new queer slasher called “they slash them,” I had very high expectations and hoped that the film would be as clever as the title. Directed and written by John Logan, the film specifically focuses on a group of queer kids sent to conversion camp, where they’re supposed to find the “root cause” of their identities and analyze them. Queer representation often exists in a more subtle context in horror, and while it’s getting more overt with the current times, it is still rare to see the LGBTQ+ community take roles as the surviving main characters or heroes.

Read More »
Angethology reviews Jennette McCurdy's memoir, "I'm glad my mom died."

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy – Review

In this provocatively titled memoir, former iCarly star Jennette McCurdy details an honest account about her entire life as a child actress and how her mom dictated that journey.

iCarly was one of my favorite television shows as a teen, and I think that anyone who enjoyed watching it growing up can confirm that it was hilarious and entertaining. The role that Jennette McCurdy played—Sam Puckett—was particularly portrayed as witty, fearless and tough, but Jennette herself lived a very different life behind the scenes.

Read More »