History is taught so that we don't repeat the mistakes committed by the greats of the past !!
"The Imperfect" by Prasoon is the story of an imperfect guy named Rishabh.
And why is he IMPERFECT?
Because he did everything in life that he shoudn't have done.
❤️ Love
is selfless !!
❤️ Love has no limits !!
❤️ Love is unconditional !!
"Why not me? - A feeling of millions" by Anubhav Agrawal is the author's true story of one-sided love and one-sided lose.
It's December already and on top of it, the wedding season.
So I thought why not "A Wedding in December" !!
Soon after reading the blurb, I picked it up without pondering much or going through the reviews. And guess what? I discovered that my instincts are improving day by day.😛 (Although, I must agree that the beautiful cover looks too good to ignore).
Such a heartwarming and beautiful story it is !!
I realized as I'm reading this book, that in each fictional book I read till date, I'm finding atleast one character who is very interesting or very relatable to me. And in this, it's Jordon. Don't ask me why!! I just liked his portrayal.
So here goes all the adjectives for describing the characters :
An impulsive younger sister-Rosie, An over-protective elder sister-Katie, the caring mother-Maggie and the workoholic father-Nick. This is "The White's" family, who have a tradition of celebrating every Christmas at their HoneySuckle Cottage in Oxford, England.
(But this Christmas is different and the one to be remembered. Want to know why? Go ahead!!)
Meet the loving boyfriend (Dan) with an interesting best man by his side (Jordon) along with a super-active and super-kind (to-be) mother-in-law (Katherine).
These are the limited characters that you'll see in the book and every character is special on it's own.
Storyline - As impulsive as she is, Rosie decides to get married to Dan, her current boyfriend whom she barely knew for few months. And as protective as she always is, Katie isn't sure of her younger sister's decision and wants to know more about Dan.
Maggie and Nick, having been lived separately for over 6 months, were on the
brink of getting divorce. But by the sudden announcement from Rosie, they
decide to keep their divorse a secret, atleast until the wedding.
They were all just a week away from the so called Christmas-Wedding of Rosie and Dan. Also, a wedding has to happen how it is planned right? But unexpected things happen when everyone have second thoughts about everything!!
Katie, apart from having her own emotional twinge with Jordan (Dan's close friend and the best man for the wedding), fails to find a flaw in Dan in order to call off the wedding.
Rosie garners new doubts about the wedding happening too soon and how can she tell everyone that she's still thinking?
Maggie and Nick are stuck at the edge of their relation and this wedding vacation apparently becomes their second honeymoon (all thanks to Katherine, Dan's mother).
With all these confusing and strange out of the plan events, will the Wedding actually happen in
December??
You can read the excerpt of this book here from the author Sarah Morgan's website.
P.S : Nothing! Expect some snowy mountains and trails, as it's winter. Also, just grab a cup of coffee and start reading/listening before the wedding season ends or December flies.
P.P.S : Absolutely no problem if you read even after that. Just saying!!
Happy Reading :)
Source : Audiobook - Storytel
"It's so crazy to think that things that I thought only lived in my imagination can be real !!"
Tate Jones (also a Tate Buttler), felt an instant connection with someone which she thought as lust at first but held the promise of so much more.
Sam Brandis became her first love which soon turned into an unexpected first breakup. And if this breakup gave wealth for one, it gave wealth+popularity for the other.
Do you believe in soulmates?
If yes, how will you know who your soulmate is??
But first of all, what makes you believe that there exists soulmates who might not actually be your life partner? Strange thing (atleast for me) is, one can have multiple soulmates !!
Brida takes you into Paulo Coelho's own genre of Magic. You can find concepts like Witchcraft, Tradition of the Sun, Tradition of the Moon and last but not the least Soulmates. And yes, you'll also get to know what these are.
The book is not about a single aspect like love or magic or philosophy as such. But one can possibly consider any of the above things as the focal point, depending on which one they liked the most. For me, its soulmates. Soulmates is one thing which attracted me the most. And going by the fact that it is the first thing you'll be introduced with, the book kind of had my attention !!
Coming to the storyline, Brida is a beautiful young Irish girl who is innocent and shy. And I probably shouldn't miss mentioning her boldness in seeking her destiny and trusting the unique path that she chose for herself.
It's starts with Brida believing in supernatural things like witchcraft and magic. In the process of learning these things, she ends up being in weird places with weird people whom she never met.
First, she goes to the forest to meet Magus, whom she believes will teach her all about magic and the traditions of the Sun and the Moon. But he ends up leaving Brida in the forest all alone just to test her endurance.
"So, What is magic?" she asked.
..."Magic is a bridge," he said at last, "a bridge that allows you to walk from the visible world over into the invisible world, and to learn the lessons of both those worlds"
"And how can I learn to cross that bridge?"
"By discovering your own way of crossing it. Everyone has their own way !!"
Later, from a local bookstore owner, she gets to know about Wicca. Wicca - a witch herself, tells Brida that she is a gifted witch. She helps Brida to realize her power and will make her follow certain rituals in order to completely transform into her real self.
By the way, did I tell you that Brida has a boyfriend all this while? Lorens he is. He knew Brida is going after something but never asks once. Brida too, never explicitly mentions anything.
So Brida, in her quest of knowledge, struggles to maintain balance between her relationship and her desire to transform into her true self. Also, though she is very much focused on all the ongoing rituals and her transformation, Brida realizes much later that Magus is her soulmate. On the other hand, Magus knew it in their very first meeting.
(Just letting you know -
Magus is twice Brida's age ! But will age really matter here??)
All in all, the book talks a lot about soulmates at first and then talks about the traditions while shifting its focus to magic, finally ending with witches/wizards and the supernatural things.
P.S : Don't take the traditions and other supernatural things very seriously. Ofcourse, they will contradict, if you see them with your logic. Actually, you might not even understand them in the first place ;-) So, read it and take it howmuch ever you possibly can. Don't expect any reasoning for the fallacies that you found. These are supernatural things for a reason !!
Happy Reading :)
Source : Audiobook - Storytel
When in doubt, list it out !!
This is what Becca did, when she suddenly realized that she is going to have a boyfriend who is actually not even a friend. She created a pros & cons list and is so convinced with the pros, that she finally accepted her new girlfriend tag.
Fake it to prove it !!
And this is exactly what Brett did, when he is ought to prove his boyfriend tag. He slayed in Becca's boyfriend role by simply kissing her in the gaint hall-way just outside her classroom.
What next ??
What else !! Since they officially accepted their new girlfriend-boyfriend tags, they are bound to maintain the new status !
They don't even know each other and definitely not into being in any relationship stuff. Then how can they pretend to be in one? And before all this, why do they even want to fake it ?!
Well, both of them have their own benefits of doing so, but the common one - is to satisfy others.
Becca is, where book is !! She only takes the romance in her books but never really want to be in any. She believes in love and its existence but also believes that it is not worth the risk. (Just like me LOL !!)
Brett, the school's star, a richie rich, football player (sounds like a playboy right? Certainly not !), should have no difficulties in finding someone to date. But he has got other future plans rather than wasting time in relationships.
Despite their personal interests which are way too different, they decide to stay in a fake relationship. Mainly because - Becca, to stop her ex-best friend's tauntings and Brett, to impress his dad.
Fair enough ! Well and good till now !!
But, admitting to be in a relationship is just not enough. They realize that it is not easy to be in a fake relationship unless they know each other atleast to an extent. They realize that they have to spend some time together to get to know each other. And finally, they realize they have many things in common.
Becca, who doesn't go anywhere except bookstores, starts visiting Brett's football tournaments wearing a jersey. Brett, on the other side, loves when Becca reads for him. From faking in relationship to falling in love, they realize and discover several other things together !!
On a sideline : From this book, I understood why few people are so obsessed with books and why few others just hate the exaggerations made in them. I'm somewhere in between - not so obsessed but also hate some higher elevations in few books.
Coming back to the main track, Becca and Brett do not have any issues with each other for discontinuing their fake relationship and transform it into a real one. But what about their personal interests and opinions on love and relationships? Will they just ignore it? Change their opinions? Or confused in between?
The Upside of Falling by Alex Light is an easy read and is definitely satisfying !!
The book is all about how 2 teenagers, who doesn't have a good opinion on high school relationships, end up being in one !!
"I mean, there's a reason all books end right after the couple gets together. No one wants to keep reading long enough to see the happily ever after turn into an unhappily ever after. Right?"
P.S : There are some really cute moments in this book - not only between Becca and Brett, but also involving their families and especially Becca's mind talk. I literally loved it !!
Happy Reading :)
Source : Audiobook - Storytel
First of all, Isn't the cover looking cute ??
If you are here only because of it's cover, then CONGRATS ! You have been tricked too, just like me and many others ;)
Jokes apart, here is what I felt about the cover, the story and whether being tricked is worthy or not !!
How often do you trust strangers ? Particularly when you never met them or had no purposeful connection even virtually ?
In my case, I'm 100% sure that I have 0% probability of even talking to them, forget about trusting !! (That's my problem anyway !)
But you know what? It's kind of fun to know the stories of people meeting unusually and ending up becoming thickest of friends or even life partners sometimes.
You Say It First by Katie Cotugno is one such story. Two people (obviously a boy and a girl) Colby and Meg, meets through a phone banking call.
Meg lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Colby lives in a small town Ohio. Since the two teens live in different states, it kind of makes sense that the possibility of them meeting in person is almost impossible. And hence, most of their conversations being through phone calls or messages is convincing.
Coming to the story line, Meg being obsessed with politics, works at a voter registration call center along side completing her high school senior year. As part of her job, she calls Colby to make him register to vote. Colby on the other side, completed his high school and works at a boring place which pays him just enough to meet his ends. He is much more rough towards all the political stuff and tough to convince. Things end up badly between them in the very first call, as either of them isn't ready to agree with the other.
But something strangely triggers between them, every time they speak with each other, despite having completely different views.
They are honest sometimes, argue sometimes, fight sometimes and also assume things about each other the remaining times. But most of the time, they think about each other. This part is certainly cute !!
Both of them have their own tragic lives, with issues, which might not be that tragic for the other. Yet, among all of that, their conversations are relieving and comforting.
Talking to someone openly without any expectations is much more easier I guess !
 |
| Nobody can pull the rug out from under you, if you decide there is no rug to begin with !! |
Things have definitely changed to better in both their lives after their encounter through a random phone call. It's not something like...
Oh they found each other and everything became perfect !!
But it's just that they found ways and courage to fix their own issues. They liked talking on phone and texting all the time. But is that all fine with a complete stranger how much ever nice you might feel ?
Once Meg literally drives 8 hours to meet her so called phone-buddy but ends up being mad at his best friends as they do not gel in well. Colby on the other side, struggles to open up with Meg about his thoughts and the differences they always had.
Family and friends also played huge role in their lives and both of them individually had a fair share of fun with their respective ones. Also, the two of them know that there might be a conflict if and when their worlds collide !
But irrespective of their differences in thoughts, life style, friends and family, they are attracted to each other, they try to understand each other, they feel happy with each other. Again, Is that just enough to be together ?
Apart from their cute little romance, the book also has aspects of politics, suicide and alcoholism which I think aren't given significant importance on how the story evolved.
However, the ending is also not how I expected it to be. Definitely it has a justifiable and happy ending. But for a book which has 38 chapters and of 8 hours 49 minutes length (I'm talking about audio book here), can it not have another 1 or 2 chapters which unfolds things even more clearly and fills the gaps in Colby's part? Rather than leaving it for reader's imagination!!
Bottom line : It's a feel good YA (Young Adult) story which has few incredibly realistic and relatable elements which made me feel happy personally, along with few other boring baseless arguments and incomplete gaps !!
P.S : Honestly I'm not completely satisfied with the book, considering how flattering the cover looks. But I'm happy that I had been tricked with the cover. (Starting to like YA books !!)
Happy Reading :)
Source : Audio book - Storytel
Let me give you some context here:
Researches say that we have about 60,000 thoughts a day. And the only secret you can take from the book 'The Secret' is Law of Attraction (LoA).
Wondering what's the relation between thoughts and LoA? I'll tell you what it is in 3 simple points here.
1. LoA is a process whose input is your thoughts.
2. It processes your thoughts and attracts similar kind of things.
3. And then LoA reflects those similar things back to you.
In short, Law of Attraction gives you what you think about !!
For example, If you are complaining, the Law of Attraction brings you more situations to complain about.
So, to avoid that, the LoA says control your thoughts and automatically you'll be able to control your life. But, imagine how exhausted you'd feel to control all those 60,000 thoughts !!
And it's impossible to monitor each and every thought. So, now comes feelings. The Secret says thoughts, feelings, emotions, all are inter-related and if you can control one, you can deal with the remaining.
But the question is, can you control any of them even if you try?
Before reading this book, my answer would be a big NO. Because, according to me, all my thoughts are based on my circumstances, my surroundings and my current life. Agree? Everyone's thought process would be almost in a similar way right ! Your thoughts align with your current life situations !!
But, The Secret says, its the other way around. Your thoughts are the triggering events. Everything you think and everything you feel is creating your future. If your thoughts are conscious, you'll have the power to control your feelings, your circumstances, your love life, your health, wealth, energy, everything under the universe. So, here I'm, leaving few ideas from the book to control your thought process:
"Remember to remember and become Aware."
If you understood The Secret from what I wrote, then well and good. Else, read the book to get into the details and some examples on how LoA worked for few people.
If you still did not understand The Secret even after reading the book, Then start using it. The more you use it, the more you'll understand.
Till then....Happy Reading :)
P.S : I have mentioned few lines 'as it is' from the book. Because sometimes you cannot generate the same beautiful effect if you try rephrasing it !!
P.P.S : It is really difficult to follow all the mentioned ideas. Try one by one and stick to the one which you are happy with.
Let me know which one worked for you and how.
Also let me know if you think LoA is complete trash and why.
Source - Audio book : Storytel
Before starting with Veronika, let me ponder on some possibilities first : Had a terrible break up? Lost loved ones? Life is not how you planned it to be? and the list goes on...
Now coming to Veronika, a young woman from Slovenia in her mid-20's, seems to have everything that she wished for - Beauty, Boyfriend(s), Perfect Job and a Loving Family. Yet, she feels some kind of emptiness in her and do not want to continue with her life by following the same mundane routine every-single-day.
And hence, Veronika Decides to Die..!!
 |
| And Veronika did take an overdose of sleeping pills..!! |
Unfortunately, she wakes up from coma in a Villette, a local mental hospital. She comes to know that she partially achieved what she wanted, when the staff tells her that she only has a week to live. By then, she is half frustrated and half impatient..!!
Frustrated because, she is in a MENTAL hospital where everyone around are insanely crazy. And Impatient because, she has almost zero chance to escape from there so that she can atleast try to be successful in her next attempt. And with no other choice left, she had to wait for one whole week.
Accepting the fact that she is in a MENTAL hospital and knowing no one would judge or care about her, Veronika decides to spend that one week on her own terms doing whatever she wanted and being however she liked.
But her stay in villette and her dying condition, changed the perspective towards life for the other people who met her in the villette. Among them were Zedka, a clinical depression patient, Mari with panic attacks and finally Eduard with Schizophrenia.
(It's a MENTAL hospital remember? No one is present there for having fun. So, everyone has their own tags..!!)
Meanwhile, the Villette's head Dr. Igor, along with treating the patients, works on his thesis which actually became the source of the main twist in the story. And Dr. Igor is really eager to put an end to his thesis which is also accomplished at the end - All thanks to Veronika..!!
Coming back to Veronika, because of her new found freedom, she discovers things that she never felt before and things that she never knew were existed in her - Hatred, Fear, Curiosity, Love, Sexual Awakening.
There after, every moment is like a choice between life and death for her. She discovers a new world around her and want to experience it everyday facing new opportunities and challenges. Veronika realizes that she did not do a lot of things which can actually make her happy and fulfilled.
With only few hours left, in her so called dying life, she escapes from the villette with Eduard (the schezophreniac) to witness the world one last time. But there are still some surprising twists and turns in her life yet to be unboxed..!!
Based on Paulo Coelho's own life events, 'Veronika Decides to Die' talks about the meaning of madness which few people like to enjoy instead of fitting into the societal norms of being normal.
Read this book to know five stories (not one), who met in a MENTAL HOSPITAL and who are actually not meant to be there in a Villette.
P.S : I already mentioned the 5 names here..!!
Happy Reading :)
Source - Audio book : Storytel
The Unexpected Guest is originally a play by Agatha Christie which was later novelized by Charles Osborne.
First of all, since it is written from a play, you can notice that, most of the story and the conversations will be happening within a room or two. And if you're aware of Agatha Christie's books, you can easily guess the genre of this - which is a murder mystery.
Here goes some fresh views on this piece as I'm new to both their works.
The novel starts with a stranger, whose car gets stuck in the middle of the road on a foggy night. He decides to take help and enters a nearby isolated house. The stranger then tries to explain his situation to a wheel-chair bound man only to discover that the man is dead. Soon after, he notices a woman (the dead man's wife) with a gun in her hand, admitting for her husband's murder citing his abusive behavior.
The stranger then decides to help her and they both concoct a story which works perfectly well when the police suspects an acquaintance from the past as the murderer.
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| Isn't she pretty? If not, what else could be the reason for the stranger's help?? |
***Spoiler alert***
As the investigation of the police continues, new facts reveal and the stranger gets to know that the woman(the dead man's wife) did not kill her husband and has a boy-friend whom she is trying to save out of this murder. The case becomes even more entangled, when it is revealed that the woman's boy-friend is not the actual murderer.
The story keeps changing its focus to every character as everyone in the house has a secret, but no one wants to talk about it publicly. So they end up telling everything to the stranger. And there reaches a point where the entire family will be having a common suspicion.
Finally, after a series of other shocking revelations, the story ends, when all the family member's common suspicion turns to be true, while the suspect himself admits guilty for the murder.
But, Is he the actual murderer? even if he's found guilty??
Read this gripping story to know the actual mystery..!!
P. S : I'm usually not much into murder mysteries, but wanted to try Agatha Christie knowing the hype around her books. And I'm glad that I picked it up in the first place.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and I'm also keen in trying her other books..!!
Any suggestions??
Happy Reading :)
Source - Audio book : Storytel