Reading Is All There Is

Red Queen  takes us to a dark future where the color of your blood determines the quality of your life. Silver blood makes you part of the elite. They have speciel abilities like being able to control fire or water. Some even have the power to control other people. Silvers live a content life as they oppress those who are born with red blood.  Reds are destined to a hardworking life with little to no luxuries. If they don't have a proper job at the age of 18, they are sent to war. A war between Silvers that is being fought by Reds. It's an unjust world. Mare Barrow is a Red girl. Her three older brothers have been sent to war and soon she will too. But then Mare finds out that she isn't like everyone else. In fact, she is able to do things no one has ever heard of before. Mare Barrow may be able to change the world as they know it.  Well what a crazy story. This dystopian world kinda scared me. It's one that shows us what could happen if we don't learn ...

Simon Snow is a magican. He's actually the Chosen One. This means that he is supposed to save the world of mages from an evil creature called the Humdrum. No one has actually seen this creature - other than Simon and his best friend Penelope Bunce. However, Simon is not a typical magician and he only learned about his powers at the age of 11. Even after almost 8 years at the magical school Watford, Simon is still struggling to control his magic. Baz Pitch is Simon's roommate and nemesis. They've had multiple battles and they both know that some day, one of them will kill the other. So when Baz doesn't show up for the first day of their last school year, Simon is worried. And bothered. What if Baz is planning some crazy scheme to kill him? I truly have so much love and admiration for this novel. It was such an easy and enjoyable read. Exactly what I needed right now! It's been a long time since a book has really captivated me the way Carry On did. The whole sto...

I can't believe it took me 4 years to read this book! I bought it while I was on a vacation on Sri Lanka in 2016. Me being me, I had convinced my family to go to a bookstore and I stumbled upon  The 7 Habits.... My aunt then told me that she had read it once and that I should get it. And so I did. I started reading some of the first chapters and I enjoyed it, but when school started again I set the book aside. To be honest, I've never read any "self-help" books before so it was new to me. I quickly felt lazy and started turning to my fiction novels again. Then the whole corona thing happened and I was looking for something to read. I actually hate when I don't finish a book. I own a total of 3 books that I would categorize as "self help" books. I've read the first few chapters of all of them, but never finished one. However, I did finish  The 7 Habits...! And that makes me proud. I read one chapter every day, and I loved it.  So basically what...

"The Tattooist of Auschwitz"  is the real wartime story of the Slovakian Jew, Lale Sokolov. He was a prisioner at the infamous concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. This is also a story about love and how it managed to help Lale remain hopeful despite the tragic circumstances that he and millions of other individuals had to endure during World War II. When it is discovered that Lale speaks multiple languages he lands a job as the camp's Tättowierer. This meant that he had to tattoo all the prisoners. The job gave Lale a lot of perks which he didn't hesitate to share with the other inmates.  Then Lale meets the love of his life, Gita. Another Slovakian jew and prisoner. Lale makes a promise: he will survive this camp and he will go marry Gita. The novel takes us through the three years Lale spent at the camp and how he learned to survive even when everything seemed hopeless.  I still to this day cannot believe the brutality that took place during World Wa...

It's been quite a while and I actually finished this novel last month? Yeah, but I started school again and I've just been busy focusing on schoolwork and whatnot. It sucks because I've been neglecting my books and I love reading, so I'm gonna try to get back on track again! Okay, no more excuses, here is my short review: Set in Italy,"The House By the Sea" is a family history that takes us back and forth in time. At first we are introduced to the young Floriana who is amazed by the beauty of a grand house in her village. She spends a lot of time admiring it. Although Floriana has not had it easy. She's been through a great deal of hardship. But when she encounters Dante, he seems to be the most beautiful thing she has ever set her eyes on. He is also captivated by the young girl and how lively she is. The two quickly bond and grow close. Fast forward some years and we are taken to a small town in England near the ocean. A grand hotel is owned by the har...

This novel truly deserves all the love and praise in the world! It's not often that I find myself captivated by a book from the first page, but Celeste Ng has really outdone herself on this masterpiece. The story of the Lee family is gripping, captivating and absolutely thrilling. I find it hard to put my love for this book into words because I know I would NOT do it any justice. So read it. Please.  "Everything I Never Told You" is a family portrait of the American-Chinese Lee family living in a small town in the 1970s. Marilyn and James have three children; Nathan, Lydia and Hannah. However, it is no secret that Lydia is the star of the family and her parents' favourite. Lydia is smart and kind. She does everything her parents tell her to do while she overshadows her two other siblings. Chaos breaks out when Lydia goes missing. Then she is found dead at the bottom of a lake and everything is put into question.  This story is so real and raw. And that'...

Call Me By Your Name  takes place during the summer of 1980-something (I think). We follow the young boy Elio, who is staying in a beautiful house in Italy with his parents and their houseworkers for the summer. Each time, a foreign intern comes as a guest to work alongside Elio's father who is a professor. This year, Elio meets Oliver from America. He is just 24 years old and Elio is drawn to him, the minute he sets his eyes on him. However, nothing happens between them. At first! Elio is in agony. He has so many emotions and thoughts that are just all over the place. He falls deeply in love with Oliver. The two end up sharing a special bond that is never lost over the years. I have to admit that I did watch the movie before I read the book. I fell absolutely in love with the movie and have watched it multiple times. However the writing of the novel is too great for me. Oftentimes the long and poetic sentences got me confused and I felt lost. I read the same sentences over ...