Month: July 2020
Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell
Wayward Son is the sequel to one of my favorite reads, Carry On. It’s been several years ago since I’ve read it and I’m glad to finally get to this sequel a few months back.
As with Carry On, Wayward Son is written in multiple POVs. I liked the plot, sure, but I get more excited reading when it comes to Simon and Baz, of course. I love that I get to read more of their bantering because I’ve waited so long.
I was expecting this to give some closure or something to Carry On but it didn’t. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it. Probably this was just a transition book because there’s one more coming? I don’t know. But I’m sure more looking forward to how Simon and Baz’s relationship will evolve. You too guys, right?
Wayward Son is an enjoyable read but not as amazing as Carry On. But that shouldn’t stop you from reading it, well if you haven’t yet. The plot was just so-so for me but Simon and Baz’s POVs and never-ending bantering was everything. For that, I’m giving this book 4 stars.
Quotable Quotes:
“Sometimes Simon kisses me like it’s the end of the world, and I worry he might believe that it is.”
“I’ve loved him through worse. I’ve loved him hopelessly… So what’s a little less hope?”
“A relationship isn’t about the end. It’s about being together every step of the way.”
“Fighting doesn’t feel good anymore. It feels like breaking something because you don’t know how to fix it.”
“He’s coming into himself. And I’m coming apart.”
Quote of the Week
What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.
~Helen Keller
A Six-Word Story
I consider each morning a blessing.
Someday
Someday
you’d realize
just how unfair
you have been to
me.
Quote of the Week
Sometimes being offered tenderness feels like the very proof that you’ve been ruined.
~Ocean Vuong
Permanent Record by Edward Snowden
I vaguely heard of Edward Snowden but when the movie about his story came out, I was indeed intrigued. It was only several months back, though, that I had the chance to read his book. And he certainly knows how to write! The first part from which we take a glimpse of his life since he was a child was a sure fun read. The rest was like a movie and equally fun and exciting.
Permanent Record is a layman’s view of how the world changed in the birth and rise of the internet. It is an important book as it talks about many interesting topics and some of these I didn’t really have much knowledge about or know nothing at all.
I have nothing but respect for this man. He can live a dream life if he chose to but instead chose to become a whistleblower. And I could understand that. 4 stars for the book and 5 stars for his courage and attitude.
Quotable Quotes:
“The reason you’re reading this book is that I did a dangerous thing for a man in my position: I decided to tell the truth.”
“Ultimately, saying that you don’t care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different from saying you don’t care about freedom of speech because you have nothing to say.”
“The government should be afraid of the people, the people shouldn’t be afraid of the government.”
A Six-Word Story
Missing the person she was before.
Let Them Know
Let
all the
people you love
know that you love
them.
A Scarred Legacy by Suvika
1-star
Has anyone of you read this? I’m not sure how I got it on my Kindle but unfortunately, it’s not my cup of tea. Any thoughts?
Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Make Me Smile
Welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday! I hope you guys are all having a good day and I hope you’re all safe.
Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s given topic is Books That Make Me Smile.
Not all of these books had happy endings but each one make me smile nonetheless.
Quote of the Week
Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried but you’ve actually been planted.
~Christine Caine
A Six-Word Story
She seems to be stronger alone.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
This is the kind of book that feels like a heart bleeding in pages. The kind of book that reminds me why I love reading.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is Little Dog’s letter to his illiterate mother. He tries to write what he could never say out loud. It’s a difficult read, there was pain and misery all throughout, in a way, it makes me doubt this is a work of fiction. But given the kind of life he had in the story, it just couldn’t be.
Little Dog is the son and grandson of disaster. Both his mother and grandmother are mentally unstable who survived the Vietnam War. We get to read in Little Dog’s letter a wide variety of themes including violence in the family, addiction, sexual preference, identity, race, immigrants, war and more. It was brutal. It was devastating. It was beautiful. It felt so real.
This is my first book from Ocean Vuong and one of my best reads so far this year. Surely, this will definitely be not the last work I’ll read from this talented writer/poet.
Quotable Quotes:
“I am writing because they told me to never start a sentence with because. But I wasn’t trying to make a sentence—I was trying to break free. Because freedom, I am told, is nothing but the distance between the hunter and its prey.”
“They say nothing lasts forever but they’re just scared it will last longer
than they can love it.”“I miss you more than I remember you.”
“We try to preserve life—even when we know it has no chance of
enduring its body. We feed it, keep it comfortable, bathe it, medicate it,
caress it, even sing to it. We tend to these basic functions not because
we are brave or selfless but because, like breath, it is the most
fundamental act of our species: to sustain the body until time leaves it
behind.”“To be gorgeous, you must first be seen, but to be seen allows you to be
hunted.”
Rating: 5/5 stars
WWW Wednesday
Hello there, Homo sapiens! Welcome to another WWW Wednesday, hosted by Sam from Taking On A World of Words.
I haven’t posted my WWW for the last couple of weeks because of work and I’m currently on a reading hiatus. After finishing A Dance with Dragons almost 3 weeks ago, I was able to read just one more book and decided to put reading to one side for the moment.
As usual, just answer the three W questions:
- What did you recently finish reading?
- What are you currently reading?
- What do you think you’ll read next?
Recently Finished
Currently Reading
I am currently not reading any book. I don’t know how much longer this reading hiatus will take but I’m still really not back in the mood to read just yet. I’m not really sure why but well, yeah…
Next Reads
How about you guys? What are you reading this week? Feel free to share in the comments section or drop a link of your WWWs so I can check them all out!
Happy reading, Homo sapiens!
Someday
Someday
you’ll find
the one you
deserve and you’ll be
happier.
Top Ten Tuesday – Authors I’ve Read the Most Books By
Welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday! It has been a long time since I last did this and so I’m really excited to get to do it again!
Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s given topic is Authors I’ve Read the Most Books By.
Haruki Murakami – 17 books
Apparently, Haruki Murakami is my favorite author, ever. I’ve nearly read most of his books and I’ve enjoyed and loved them all. I hope there’s more to come from this brilliant author.
Agatha Christie & Jessica Zafra – 12 books each
And Then There Were None started my reading journey of Agatha Christie’s works. I was then hooked with the Miss Marple series afterwards.
Jessica Zafra is a Filipino fiction writer known for her sharp and witty writing style. I still hope to read her other books when I get back to the Philippines.
Nicholas Sparks – 9 books
Paulo Coelho & Dan Brown – 6 books each
George R.R. Martin & Mitch Albom – 5 books each
Gillian Flynn, JRR Tolkien, Rainbow Rowell, Jodi Picoult, Stephenie Meyer – 4 books each
Jose Saramago, Stephanie Perkins, Chang-Rae Lee, Khaled Hosseini, Sam Harris, John Green, Neil Gaiman, William Boyd – 3 books each
There you go guys! Do we have the same list? Share your answers in the comments section or feel free to drop a link so I can check them all out.
Happy Tuesday, Homo sapiens!
Quote of the Week
Letting go doesn’t mean that you don’t care about someone anymore. It’s just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself.
~Deborah Reber
A Six-Word Story
Loving you a bit more everyday.
City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi by William Dalrymple
If you want to read about India, or more specifically Delhi, I happily recommend City of Djinns.
The book tells about about the author’s one year stay, as well as what he has learned, while in New Delhi in the 1980s. He talked about how kind people in Delhi were, different cities, his funny landlady, Mrs. Puri, Hinglish, Anglo-Indians, the partition, the scorching heat he experienced there, horoscopes, architecture, a Hindu wedding and so much about India’s culture and history.
This is my first attempt to William Dalrymple’s works and I must say, I am impressed. He’s a brilliant observer and he can very much entertain readers with his writing. I very much admire the work he’s done with this book. Wonderful.
This book can be a travel guide when I visit India someday. One of my finest reads this year.
Quotable Quotes:
“Partition was a total catastrophe for Delhi,’ she said. ‘Those who were left behind are in misery. Those who were uprooted are in misery. The Peace of Delhi is gone. Now it is all gone.”
“Whoever has built a new city in Delhi has always lost it: the Pandava brethren, Prithviraj Chauhan, Feroz Shah Tughluk, Shah Jehan … They all built new cities and they all lost them. We were no exception.”
“For all its faults we love this city.’ Then, after a pause, she added: ‘After all, we built it.”
“And it would be nice if the roof was a bit stronger. Then the peacocks wouldn’t keep falling through. I don’t mind during the day, but I hate waking up at night to find a peacock in bed with me.”
“When a dust storm blows it means the djinns are going to celebrate a marriage …”
Rating: 5/5 stars
HappymessHappiness 