Reading Is All There Is

Salama lives in war-torn Syria. Her parents and brother were brutally taken away from her. The only family she has left is Layla, her pregnant sister-in-law and bestfriend. Every day Salama risks her own life by going to work at the hospital. Although she was only in her first year of uni studying to become a pharmacist, the war forced her to perform the work of a doctor. Another consequence of the war is Salama's hallucinations. Every day she sees Khawf who reminds Salama of all the horror she has endured. He wants her to leave Syria, but she is reluctant. Then Salama meets Kenan who changes things. He gives her hope.  In the novel, we read how Salama is torn between staying in Syria and leaving for a safer future. She wants to stay in Syria to help and treat the wounded civilians and freedom fighters, but she also made a promise to her brother that she would get out of Syria. What does one do? Stay and fight? Or leave and fight from the outside? Salama is conflicted, starved and ...

Monique Grant works as a journalist, but she wants to write more stories of her own choosing. One day she gets the exclusive chance to interview the famous Hollywood icon, Evelyn Hugo. No one else has ever had the chance to interview her so this is a once in a life time opportunity to really get to know Evelyn Hugo and the story behind her 7 marriages. The novel is build up of these interviews where Evelyn goes through each marriage while explaining her rise to fame.  I honestly only read this novel because of the hype that it received on TikTok. I must say that I did enjoy reading it. It was fast-paced and entertaining. It also give me insight into what the movie industry used to be like and how many challenges actors encountered - especially actresses. Evelyn Hugo did not have an easy upbringing and she fought her way to the top - oftentimes having to use dirty tricks. Almost all of her marriages were basically ways for her to rise to fame or get ahead career wise. Only one marri...