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This book reminded me of recent 3D chalk art.

136/100🎧📖🔖
Strange Pictures
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Insanely good!

#strangepictures #uketsu #ebook #audiobook #goodreads #goodreadsreadingchallenge #crossstitch #totefairie

This was definitely...strange. I wanted to like it more than I did. It got very tedious and unbelievable, and I found it hard to finish. That said, I was really interested in the idea of the drawings mixed into the storyline. The amount of charts and tables as the book went on got a bit annoying to deal with, though.

Chilling Japanese Mystery fits.

Four chapters, four stories based on drawings. Are they connected? If so, how? The layers of the story are revealed bit by bit. Like a jigsaw puzzle, you see part of the picture, but the full picture can only be admired at the end.

I enjoyed puzzling out how things fit together, some things weren't clear until the end of the book.

Simple writing style, on purpose or due to the translation? Anyway, worth a read.

This has a Janice Hallett quote on the cove. I love her books & how they bamboozle me & I was🤞🏼this would do the same! & it did! I had 1 thing right & lots of theories.

The writing feels somewhat simplistic, hard to know if that's just his style or if it‘s the translation. This held me at a slight remove from the story but how events unfolded had me hooked. It's the sort of book you want to reread to admire how it all comes together.

A fun mystery to finish on a flight today - I liked this very Japanese book of puzzles. It‘s not horror as far as I‘m concerned - maybe a bit spooky at times. Thanks @julesG for hosting a buddy read of this! I‘d be interested in reading the enigmatic writer‘s other book, Strange Houses.

Sold as a horror novel, be warned that this book is not. It is very much worth reading though, I loved the concept and the illustrations, that made me think and reconsider everything I read. It‘s very Japanese and written in a style that might not appeal to everyone but I am glad I‘ve read this very original read by a masked author - which I find scary! Thanks for hosting the buddyread Julia!
#14Books14Weeks Book 5

📸 Poros, Greece

#BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

My #Bookspin is Mansfield Park.
My #Doublespin is Strange Pictures for #buddyread with @julesG 📚

A slight contrast in subject matter. 😅

The blurb describes this as “mystery horror,“ and I don't think it's a spoiler to say that it struck me as more one than the other. The writing often feels stilted and overly simplistic, but it's difficult to know if that's how the author writes or how the translator translates. I do really enjoy the premise, and it's a quick read with some fun puzzle-solving elements, although it reads to me more like a sketch of an idea than a novel. #BuddyRead

#BuddyRead @thegirlwiththelibrarybag @BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes @ImperfectCJ @AllDebooks

Last chapter - let's see how all the dots are connected

I just started this very weird Japanese mystery. So many layers and clues and I feel like everything is important while I have no idea why! Fun!
You can still join our #buddyread. @julesG has been posting about each of the four chapters.

Repost for @julesG @thegirlwiththelibrabrybag

The Strange Pictures #BuddyRead starts today.

@thegirlwiththelibrarybag and I have a shared Buddyread on StoryGraph. @BarbaraBB I've tried inviting you, but can't at this moment. @sarahbarnes I hope you have your copy with you on your trip.

Let's go!

PS: link to buddyread is in the comments

Original post - https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2879020

Yes, I've just finished the third chapter. It's a very compelling read. Also, it's hot outside and I am hiding inside with cool drinks and books.

#buddyread @thegirlwiththelibrarybag @BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes

#BuddyRead @thegirlwiththelibrarybag @BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes

The Strange Pictures #BuddyRead starts today.

@thegirlwiththelibrarybag and I have a shared Buddyread on StoryGraph. @BarbaraBB I've tried inviting you, but can't at this moment. @sarahbarnes I hope you have your copy with you on your trip.

Let's go!

PS: link to buddyread is in the comments

#BuddyRead

I'm proposing to start on July 1st.

We all have different reading speeds. Not bragging, I think I'll finish first. So how about I create a discussion post for every chapter and hide it with a spoiler tag?

Your thoughts, @sarahbarnes @thegirlwiththelibrarybag.

This was an interesting read. I found it a bit goofy at times, and at times it made me really uncomfortable. I would say some things are a bit overexplained and overwritten, but the way this book makes the reader rethink how they view the images that are presented is very unique and refreshing. The “mystery“ itself isn't exactly revolutionary, but the book does a good job of humanizing the antagonists and protagonists.

A volume of seemingly disparate stories that are actually tied together, each one driven by epistolary elements. The tone of SP is at times that of the content creator of a You Tube video essay. While surprising at times, SP is not quite as clever as it likes to think. For the shortcomings, it's a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. A soft pick,

I really enjoyed this book. The picture puzzles were intriguing & the twists compelling. I would have finished it in one go if I didn‘t have to work. 😁 I hate to use the word “fun” because there are some really bleak moments in this book, but it WAS fun to read.
Didn‘t have the perfect green, and it was a lighter weight so I added an additional round, but I still like this #grannysquare #bookblanket #readingblanket2025 #doublespin

Okay, I somewhat enjoyed this one. The stories were creepy, but a little far fetched. It felt like a giant riddle which I wasn‘t too crazy about. The ending felt like too many explanations

Very unsettling mystery! And a fast read. I would have done the whole thing in one go if I hadn't made the mistake of starting it just before midnight. As it was I still read half the book before going nervously to bed 😅

I have the sushi cover, and I just have to say that it has absolutely nothing to do with the book. At all. Unlike the other one which features clues from the story.

This book has been described to me as cerebral crime/horror, and I sincerely hope that it's dark and unwholesome and full of fiendish puzzles.

#Eastercrime

Strange Pictures, by Uketsu (2022, transl. 2025)

Premise: Apparently disconnected creepy stories fit together to create a disturbing story.

Review: WOW! I can‘t say too much about this without spoiling anything. But, if you love a mystery and can stomach some violence and disturbing imagery, do yourself a favour and read this!

Bookish Pair: For another Japanese puzzle story, Kinae Minato‘s Confessions (2010, transl. 2014)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

February brought another 5* into my world. Picked Strange Pictures up at the airport and it ended up being really good. Can't wait for the author's next one to come out.

This was fascinating. It seems at the start like it's a series of unconnected stories, revolving around some weird sketched pictures. There are some surprising links, though -- I won't say more than that.

I ended up reading it all in one go.

Fun and twisty read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Barnes and Noble got me again. Somehow while I‘m on my way to pick my son up from work, my car seems to always turn into the Barnes and Nobles parking lot!