Category: Just About Anything
A Six-Word Story
It’s time for her to leave.
Quote of the Week
I believe that kindness is the universal language. When someone does something kind it is understood despite language barriers or cultural differences. We should really communicate with kindness more often.
~Devin Patrick
A Six-Word Story
There’s a story behind her smile.
Quote of the Week
All change is not growth, just as all movement is not forward.
~Ellen Glasgow
A Six-Word Story
Thank yourself for not giving up.
Quote of the Week
I guess I’m trying to say, grab anything that goes by. It may not come around again.
~John Steinbeck
I Didn’t Cry
I
didn’t cry
just once when
you left me all
alone.
A Six-Word Story
We only have each other now.
Quote of the Week
Unless you know who you are, you will always be vulnerable to what people say.
~Phil McGraw
The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe
The Woman in the Dunes tells the tale about a young, amateur entomologist and teacher who took a trip to the seashores in the countryside in search of a kind of beetle he believed can be found in the sand dunes. He was unknowingly deceived by the villagers where he was lead down through a ladder to a house in very deep pits dug in the sand dunes. Soon enough, he found himself a prisoner in the house in the dunes of a young and lonely widow.
I actually thought this would be a quick read but how wrong was I? It turned out to be a very dense and also repetitive read for me. To be quite honest, it’s the kind that wears me down. Moreover, I am not very sure what to think of it. In theory, the plot was interesting, sure. But I felt like there were a lot of things going on that the author is trying to tell me but I couldn’t really quite get it? Also, it was difficult to like the characters. It was a tedious read. I felt like being trapped in the dunes like the man, I felt suffocated and thirsty. Perhaps that’s what the author exactly wants you to feel? I really don’t know.
The ending wasn’t quite satisfactory for me, too, but it left me question my place in the world and the impact I have to the people around me.
All in all, it wasn’t a bad read. This is my first Kobo Abe book so I probably just need to familiarize myself more of his works. I’ll find time to give this a second read and hopefully understand it better.
Quotable Quotes:
“One could not do without repetition in life, like the beating of the heart, but it was also true that the beating of the heart was not all there was to life.”
“Everyone has his own philosophy that doesn’t hold good for anybody else.”
“Only the happy ones return to contentment. Those who were sad return to despair.”
“I rather think the world is like sand. The fundamental nature of sand is very difficult to grasp when you think of it in its stationary state. Sand not only flows, but this very flow is the sand.”
“Loneliness was an unsatisfied thirst for illusion.”
Rating: 3/5 stars
Somehow
Somehow
there’s still
something in me
that just can’t let
go.
A Six-Word Story
She vowed to never love again.
Quote of the Week
It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.
~Henry David Thoreau
Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
Yejide and Akin have been in love with each other since they first met in the university. After several years of being married though, Yejide has never gotten pregnant until one day, her in-laws brought a younger woman in their home and proposed that she be Akin’s second wife in order for them to have children. Yejide was pressured to get pregnant or else, she would have to share her husband with another woman.
Told in alternating views of Yejide and Akin, the book is a very honest story of love, marriage, grief and loyalty. The characters aren’t really very likable but they were written well.
It is also always very fascinating to learn more of cultures that are very different from my own and in this book Nigeria’s traditions and beliefs, more specifically the Yoruba people.
I liked Ayobami Adebayo’s writing. She has shown that her writing talent is very much beyond her years. For this, I’m adding her to my list of authors whose works I very much look forward to.
This is not a hopeful book I must say but something that will stay with me for a long time.
Quotable Quotes:
“If the burden is too much and stays too long, even love bends, cracks, comes close to breaking and sometimes does break. But when it’s in a thousand pieces around your feet, that doesn’t mean it’s no longer love.”
“So love is like a test, but in what sense? To what end? Who was carrying out the test? But I think I did believe that love had immense power to unearth all that was good in us, refine us and reveal to us the better versions of ourselves.”
“I understand how a word others use every day can become something whispered in the dark to soothe a wound that just won’t heal. I remember thinking I would never hear it spoken without unravelling a little, wondering if I would ever get to say it in the light. So I recognise the gift in this simple pronouncement, the promise of a beginning in this one word.”
Rating: 4/5 stars
It’s Killing Me
It
may not
look like it
but it’s killing me
hard.
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
The Alice Network is a fascinating historical-fiction novel about women spies headed by Louise de Bettignies. The story brings together two women — Eve, a spy in World War I, and Charlie St. Clair, an American socialite searching for her cousin who has gone missing in World War II. Both women were dealing with each world war and are connected by the past.
The story happened between 1915 and 1947 and touches different themes including revenge, forgiving one’s self and punishment. This is a great story about the world of female espionage during the first world war.
This is the first book I’ve read by Kate Quinn. She surely did a huge amount of research for this book. The storyline and timeline was quite convincing. The two storylines fit quite perfectly with each other. I liked that she gave voice to a part of history that deserves more attention.
Quotable Quotes:
“Hope was such a painful thing, far more painful than rage.”
“Poetry is like passion–it should not be merely pretty; it should overwhelm and bruise.”
“What did it matter if something scared you, when it simply had to be done?”
Rating: 4/5 stars
Quote of the Week
We are products of our past but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.
~Rick Warren
A Six-Word Story
Everything she’s done was for him.
WWW Wednesday
Hello there, Homo sapiens! Welcome to another WWW Wednesday, hosted by Sam from Taking On A World of Words.
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
Up Next
Have you read any of these books? What have you been reading this past week? I’d be delighted if you share your WWWs, too. Leave a link or share your lists on the comments section so I can check them all out!
Happy reading and keep safe, Homo sapiens!
They Think
They
think I’m
strong that no-one
cares to lend a
hand.
Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Loved But Never Reviewed
Hello there! Happy Tuesday and welcome to this week’s edition of Top Ten Tuesday!
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 I Loved but Never Reviewed.
These 10 books are all in my favorites list but I can’t exactly remember anymore why I wasn’t able to write reviews of them but I intend to do it after rereading each of these books someday.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Murder on the Orient Express is my first introduction to Hercule Poirot mystery from Agatha Christie. I’ve read almost all of the Miss Marple books but never a single one from Poirot.
Hercule Poirot is a Belgian detective on-board the Orient Express. An American guy was found dead on his compartment while the train was halted by a snow storm. Police can’t get in the train so Poirot took charge of the investigation.
Just like the Miss Marple books, this kept me guessing as the story progresses. And I wasn’t able to guess it right. Damn! Anyway, I liked that each character was given their own chapters and all of them were suspects. All of them were realistic, too.
This turned out to be a really great introduction of Hercules Poirot to me. It was a captivating read, smart and mysterious. Looking forward to my next Poirot mystery.
Quotable Quotes:
“If you confront anyone who has lied with the truth, he will usually admit it – often out of sheer surprise. It is only necessary to guess right to produce your effect.”
“But I know human nature, my friend, and I tell you that, suddenly confronted with the possibility of being tried for murder, the most innocent person will lose his head and do the most absurd things.”
“The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances.”
Rating: 4/5 stars
Quote of the Week
You can never really go back to the same waters. Not only are you no longer the same, but neither are the waters you left. The current has changed. The elements of nature have affected the stream. When you return, although it appears the same, it really is a different river and you are a different person. Therefore, you cannot cross the same river twice.
~Alice Walker
A Six-Word Story
She has done enough for him.
WWW Wednesday 05-Aug-2020
Hello there, Homo sapiens! Welcome to another WWW Wednesday, hosted by Sam from Taking On A World of Words.
After some six-week reading hiatus, I am so glad that I am back to my books and reading at last! I don’t know what happened but once in a while, it just happens. It’s good to have a break from reading but it’s far better to be back on track.
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 almost halfway through The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and I find it a bit slow for my taste but I am enjoying the characters so that’s alright. As for Angela’s Ashes, it’s kinda sad and a bit funny at times. I really hope for a happy ending on this one.
Up Next
I have been wanting to read The Girl with the Louding Voice and The Dutch House for quite some time so I really hope to read them next. Also, a friend recommended We Need to Talk About Kevin since she recently finished it so, yeah, there it is on my list. 🙂
Have you read any of these books? What have you been reading this past week? I’d be delighted if you share your WWWs, too. Leave a link or share your lists on the comments section so I can check them all out!
Happy reading and keep safe, Homo sapiens!
Be Strong Alone
To
be strong
alone was all
I learned in the
end.
Top Ten Tuesday – Books with Colors in the Titles
Hello there! Happy Tuesday and welcome to this week’s edition of Top Ten Tuesday!
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 with Colors in the Titles.
The following five books are books I’m done reading…
While these next five books are on my TBR…
Do we have the same titles? Have you read these books? Feel free to share in the comments section or leave a link of your TTTs.
Happy day, Homo sapiens!
A Six-Word Story
She never really wanted someone else.
Out by Natsuo Kirino
Out is my first book from Kirino Natsuo. It has been on my TBR list for quite some time and so I am glad I finally got to it.
I was initially hooked by the storyline in the first few pages/chapters of this book. There are four women who work on the night shift in a boxed lunch factory. One of them is abused by the husband and one day she found out that he used up all their savings in drinking, gambling and chasing a girl in a club. She ended up killing him. She then asked one of her co-workers to help her dispose the body and the story goes on.
I felt a bit bored after this initial action. I wasn’t sure where the story was going and it seemed like the author herself was confused where the story was heading. There were parts that I didn’t feel were relevant to the central plot. The last part of the book though brought back my initial excitement when I started reading it. I didn’t quite like the ending though. I thought it would’ve ended some other way but that’s okay.
It’s a strange book but that’s not new to me anymore when it comes to works of Japanese authors.
Quotable Quotes:
“She couldn’t live her life as someone’s prisoner the way he had lived his, caught up in a dream of the past, with no way forward and no way back, forced to dig down inside oneself.”
“When stones lying warm in the sun were turned over, they exposed the cold, damp earth underneath; and that was where Masako had burrowed deep. There was no trace of warmth in this dark earth, yet for a bug curled up tight in it, it was a peaceful and familiar world.”
Rating: 3.5 stars
Quote of the Week
Don’t run from lessons; they are little packages of treasure that have been given to us. As we learn from them, our lives change for the better.
~Louise Hay
It’s Not Easy
You
just don’t
get it, it’s
not easy letting people
go.
A Six-Word Story
I consider each morning a blessing.
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
Someday
Someday
you’d realize
just how unfair
you have been to
me.
A Six-Word Story
Missing the person she was before.
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.”
Quote of the Week
Sometimes being offered tenderness feels like the very proof that you’ve been ruined.
~Ocean Vuong
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.
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
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
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
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
