A Six-Word Story

I miss my misconceptions of you…

A Six-Word Story

Behind her smile, a broken heart.

Quote of the Week

Music has that power to revive memories, sometimes so intensely that they hurt.

-Haruki Murakami, Men Without Women (Yesterday)

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

Book #22.

873 pages later… I’m finally finished with A Clash of Kings. Wow! I made it through two books of this epic series! This is a serious accomplishment on my reading life these days! Good job, self! 🙂

So the realm is in turmoil. All hell broke loose in the seven kingdoms. The aftermath of Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon’s death. Eligible and king-wannabes all vying for the iron throne.  Political conflict at its finest. And we can all feel the cold because winter is coming…

This has multiple POVs like the first book, A Game of Thrones, so it constantly changes. The characters are more developed which makes me like it more as I get to  go inside each of the character’s heads and those of Tyrion and Bran are my favorites. Hats off to Tyrion Lannister! Hand of the king, baby!!! 😀 Whatever he was doing in this book — planning, drinking, wenching, putting Joffrey in his proper place (haha!) — he’s really doing it effectively! (He can sit on the iron throne, he’d make an excellent king!) His feud with his sister has to be the best parts of the book for me.

I have never liked you, Cersei, but you were my own sister, so I never did you harm. You’ve ended that. I will hurt you for this. I don’t know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think you are safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn into ashes in your mouth, and you’ll know the debt is paid.

There’s never a dull moment! Tyrion isn’t the nicest of characters but I’m really digging more of his witty ways as he remains true to his duty. His sarcasm cracks me up, always! And there’s Bran and Bran is a warg. His weird dreams are finally explained though there’s still more to find out. Bran has always been one of the most interesting characters for me from the first book so I’m hoping he’ll survive until the end. Other characters like Varys, Sandor Clegane and Jaqen H’ghar (Valar Morghulis) are worth mentioning, too. And of course, Cersei Lannister is still Queen Bitch and yes, I like her, too! On the other hand, there’s also someone I wanted to strangle here! Theon. Yes, the turncoat! A betraying bastard he was! He’s definitely up there on the villain list alongside the cruel and arrogant Joffrey! Anyways, I’m really looking forward about the dragons, the Others, the children of the forest and the white walkers.

One other thing that keeps me want to read and finish this is that not one character in the story is safe. George R.R. Martin is an evil man. He likes introducing characters whom readers grow to love then kill them off! (Great! Just great!) It excites and scares me at the same time who is going to die next. This makes it very realistic for me.

Apart from the characters, I certainly like the storyline, settings and themes of this book. A very intricate story that has almost everything in it — loyalty, conspiracy, treachery, corruption, turncoats, bravery, unexpected twists, revelations, etc. There’s plenty of action. Conspiracy within a conspiracy. Everyone in the seven kingdoms are scheming against each other. Little did they know that the white walkers are plotting to destroy them all along with the long winter. It’s written well but a little slow-paced for my taste but that’s okay. War and politics definitely make a great story and it makes me want to be in Westeros, too. So I guess, like me, you don’t have to be a fantasy reader to enjoy this. The author’s ruthlessness is admirable with regards to this world he has created.

Although it took me a long time to finish this book, A Clash of Kings is read worthy. It goes without saying that I will be continuing with the series.

Quotable Quotes :

“People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it’s served up.”

“When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”

“Crowns do queer things to the heads beneath them.”

“Perhaps that is the secret. It is not what we do, so much as why we do it.”

“Love is poison. A sweet poison, yes, but it’ll kill you all the same.”

Rating : 5/5 stars

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Day Off

Coffee. Read. Coffee.

Daydream. Coffee. Write. Daydream.

Typical day off.

A Six-Word Story

He’s not coming back. Stop waiting.

I Was Busy

I just want to pull away from people once in a while…

Monday Haiku

In a cruel world

I stand strong and gentle, though

full of wounds I am.

Quote of the Week

I no longer have the energy for meaningless friendships, forced interactions or unnecessary conversations. If we don’t vibrate in the same frequency, there’s just no reason for us to waste our time. I’d rather have no one and wait for substance than to not feel someone and fake the funk.

-Joquesse Eugenia

A Six-Word Story

I’m fixing you while breaking myself.

A Six-Word Story

Then, it was just too late.

A Six-Word Story

Happy ending? When we finally ended.

A Six-Word Story

I should’ve left it at hello.

Come…

Like a book full of

wonders and mysteries, come…

Open me, read me…

Quote of the Week

You have to die a few times before you can really live.

-Charles Bukowski

Pizza

A slice of pizza

Red sauce, meat, cheese, cracking crust.

First bite is the best.

My Gay Friend

Hard to tell who’s who

but my friend no need to hide

the gay heart in you.

 

 

A Six-Word Story

Sometimes, there are no second chances.

Quote of the Week

Other people are going to find healing in your wounds. Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts.

-Rick Warren

One Lovely Blog Award

I am very much delighted to be nominated for this award by Tanya so do check her blog, too. Lots of nice things to read there, you’d definitely enjoy.

The rules:

1. Each nominee must thank the person who nominated them and link their blog in their post.
2. They must include the rules and add the blog award badge as an image.
3. Must add 7 facts about themselves.
4. Nominate 15 people to do the award!

 So…

7 Facts About Me:

1. I love reading. Books, magazines, newspaper, blogs, etc.
2. I play tennis. Or say, I used to play tennis.
3. I’m a full-time daydreamer and part-time paranoid.
4. I like food. I like tasting every food there is. It doesn’t matter what cuisine. And I enjoy street foods a lot!!!
5. I like coffee and I want it black, no sugar.
6. I don’t like the sea. I’m never comfortable in the sea.
7. I have never been to my home country for more than 8 years now.

The  Nominees:

https://myscramblednest.com/

https://divyalifeisbeautiful.wordpress.com/

https://sarcasticbeautyqueenx.wordpress.com/

https://siphosetumqikela.wordpress.com/

https://yourhappyfilledlife.wordpress.com/

https://aspirantgoth.wordpress.com/

https://pcblogscom.wordpress.com/

https://thehappygirlnextdoor.wordpress.com/

https://booksandbooksite.wordpress.com/

https://insearchofhumanitysite.wordpress.com/

https://wingedsoulblog.wordpress.com/

https://lifeaswehaveneverknownit.wordpress.com/

https://aestheticmiradh.wordpress.com/

https://thesecretblogofa30yearold.wordpress.com/

https://mrinu.wordpress.com/

It wasn’t easy to choose the nominees so I did it randomly. Consider yourself nominated as well if you’re reading this.

Thanks again, Tanya!

Happy Sunday, homo sapiens!

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Book #23. (2016)

This is the most difficult Murakami read for me and it took me a long time to finish. That doesn’t mean it’s not a good book, it is actually a very good one, it just took me longer than usual to comprehend what Murakami is trying to tell me. 🙂 I’ve read somewhere that the English translation by Jay Rubin cut three chapters from the Japanese version. Maybe the deleted chapters would have helped me understand the book more. Anyhow…

I don’t know how to say this right but for me, the book isn’t a total page-turner compared to his other books. Not because the story isn’t interesting enough. It is actually very interesting, however, it took me time and effort to digest its content. Even halfway through the book, I still didn’t understand where the story is heading.

Toru Okada resigned from a job he finds meaningless, but also refused to get a job because it is what the society expects. And so begins Toru’s dropping out of the society. One day, he was cooking spaghetti. The phone rings. A mysterious caller. The cat disappeared. A few days later, his wife, Kumiko, disappeared as well. Toru drops further and further out while in search them. An ordinary start that lead to a very complex story. So, even if this was given to me without the author’s name on it, I would certainly identify that this is a Murakami work.

The Manchurian thread are the best parts of the book for me though I don’t really quite understand how it would resonate with the rest of the book. Or does it have to? And what exactly is he trying to say about the war? Is it to show the violence in Japan’s past? It’s one of the reasons I’m left unsure after I finished reading. Should the different plots fit together? Are they meant to fit together? Really, I’m not sure. The confusion, lack of closure and the loose ends are all probably a part of the plan.

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone but would also advise you to read it when you have the time to commit. After reading this, you will never look normally at your cat again or the ordinariness of spaghetti. Man, I think I need another vacation… A vacation at the bottom of a well.

Quotable Quotes :

“People don’t always send messages in order to communicate the truth… just as people don’t always meet others in order to reveal their true selves.”

“Is it possible, in the final analysis, for one human being to achieve perfect understanding of another? We can invest enormous time and energy in serious efforts to know another person, but in the end, how close can we come to that person’s essence? We convince ourselves that we know the other person well, but do we really know anything important about anyone?”

“I realize full well how hard it must be to go on living alone in a place from which someone has left you, but there is nothing so cruel in this world as the desolation of having nothing to hope for.”

“A life without pain: it was the very thing I had dreamed of for years, but now that I had it, I couldn’t find a place for myself within it. A clear gap separated me from it, and this caused me great confusion. I felt as if I were not anchored to this world – this world that I had hated so passionately until then; this world that I had continued to revile for its unfairness and injustice; this world where at least I knew who I was. Now the world ceased to be the world, and I had ceased to be me.”

“Curiosity can bring guts out of hiding at times, maybe even get them going. But curiosity evaporates. Guts have to go for the long haul. Curiosity’s like an amusing friend you can’t really trust. It turns you on and then it leaves you to make it on your own – with whatever guts you can muster.”

Rating : 5/5