from the marginalia

We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets

Posted on June 10, 2026June 10, 2026 by Minerva

Full disclosure: I picked up the book after it's been recommended by a book club friend. Due to an unfortunate confluence of a misleading book title, miscomprehension brought on by skimming that recommendation too fast, and my steadfast refusal to expose myself to potential spoilers, I thought, for the longest…

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Posted on April 26, 2026June 4, 2026 by Minerva

If The Handmaid's Tale had a secular prequel... Women who lost custody of their children to an overreaching government with draconian standards on 'child protection,' who are then sent to a school where they're cut off from the outside world and learned how to be 'good'... Sounds familiar? Yeah, like…

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

Posted on March 22, 2026June 4, 2026 by Minerva

Opioid. It's a class of drugs derived from a natural substance found in the poppy plant. This natural substance has long been known for its pain relief property, as well as its highly addictiveness. The United States of America has an opioid epidemic. It started in the late 90s, when…

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Posted on September 4, 2025June 6, 2026 by Minerva

For those who love a little mystery, a little psychological horror, and a little weirdness in life. If you have not read the novel. I suggest you stop here, grab a copy, and start reading. After all, House of Leaves is not merely a novel: it's an experience. Maximum enjoyment…

Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs

Posted on June 22, 2024July 27, 2026 by Minerva

I finished the latest release of the Mercy Thompson series -- Winter Lost -- yesterday. Mercy Thompson is one of the few book series from my teenage era that I still actively read, due to a sense of nostalgia and nice writing (nice, as long as I only read one…

A Woman in Berlin by Marta Hillers

Posted on July 30, 2021June 4, 2026 by Minerva

A chance reading on war crimes introduced me to the memoir A Woman in Berlin. It tells a true story of a single woman in Eastern Berlin near the end of World War II. Just like The Diary of a Young Girl, this memoir offers a first-hand recount of the…