Reading Is All There Is

Harry Potter is finally back at Hogwarts to begin his second year. He is happy to be with his friends and to learn more about magic. Danger soon arises at the school when a message on a wall reads that the "Chamber of Secrets" has been opened. It reveals that the heir of Slytherin will kill students from muggle families. This creates great fear which is heightened when attacks on students start occurring. Harry, Ron and Hermione begin to investigate who the heir of Slytherin is and how to stop the attacks. Along the way, Harry discovers even more things about himself.. Yet again I am amazed by J.K. Rowling's writing style. She has written a great story in an intriguing and fun way. I found myself laughing out loud and smiling at some points. It was fast-paced and entertaining all the way through. I especially like the way that some dramatic scenes with more action were described in a way that mentioned all the important aspects without unnecessarily long descriptions. It ...

Okay, so I finally did it. I read a Harry Potter book. It's been a long time coming, but I was never really interested in the stories until almost a year ago when I started my English major. I felt like it was a mistake that I had not read or even watched any of the Harry Potter movies. Or my fellow classmates made me feel that way, but it's okay. I actually did try to watch all of the movies with one of my friends. But we never finished. And I guess, I just lost interest. But I tried to give the movies a chance half a year ago and I was hooked. After watching the movies I got the sense that there were a lot of things left out - as is usual with movie adaptions. And I hate that. I need to know everything so here I am starting on the books. So far I am very invested! Here's a short summary: Almost all his life, Harry Potter has lived with the Dursleys who have made his life difficult. Harry's  room is a small closet space underneath the stairs. He only wears his cousin D...

If you don't know, Cassandra Clare is my all-time favorite author. Her work never disappoints me and it always reminds me of how much I love reading. Clare has a way of instantly pulling you into her Shadowhunter-Universe where you begin to feel all the same things as her incredible characters. She also amazes me in the way that she writes and creates characters with so much depth. I have an eternal love for everything Cassandra Clare has ever written!  "The Last Hours" is a new series in the Shadowhunter-world where we encounter some old and new characters. The first book is called "Chain of Gold" and we follow the lives of Will and Tessa Herondale's children, James and Lucie Herondale, along with their good friends Matthew Fairchild, Cordelia Carstairs, Christopher and Thomas Lightwood and many many more! If ever you were a fan of "The Dark Artifices" this is a series for you!  In "Chain of Gold" Cordelia Carstairs moves to London with ...

Patroclus and Achilles are best friends. And lovers. After committing a violent crime, the former prince, Patroclus, is exiled from his homeland and sent to live under the care of king Peleus. His son is the beautiful Achilles who is known as "the best of all the Greeks". His mother is the sea goddess Thetis making Achilles all the more special. Patroclus and Achilles quickly develop a strong and unbreakable bond. When the Trojan War breaks out, Achilles decides to fight and Patroclus follows him. While questions of pride and honor will challenge the couple, their love for each other is stronger. What a great story! I shed tears while reading it and that means that I was moved by it. This is one of my reasons for reading. To be moved. The story of Achilles and Patroclus is beautiful, but also tragic as one will learn. The novel is a rewrite of Homer's "Illiad" ( which I have not read), but "The Song of Achilles" is about the love story of Patroclus an...

Krishan is the name of our main character. A Tamil man who was born in Sri Lanka, but moved to India to study. By doing so, he automatically distanced himself for the ongoing civil war. In India he has a short-lived romance with Anjum that still lingers in his mind even months after their breakup. Krishan has moved back to Sri Lanka and lives in Colombo with his mom, grandma and Rani, his grandma's caretaker.  In the beginning of the novel, we learn that Rani has suddenly passed away. Krishan is invited to the funeral which takes place in the North of Sri Lanka. This takes Krishan and the readers on a journey to the north of Sri Lanka and through Krishan's mind as he thinks back on his time in India, through his relationship with Anjum and his guilt for not being in Sri Lanka while a civil war was going on.  Reading this novel was a special experience. The language was poetic and it is clear that the author has studied philosophy as he displays this through Krishan's reflec...