all organized by alphabetical order of book title
rating meaning:
★☆☆☆☆ – flipping to a new page was a challenge.
★★☆☆☆ – had no impact on me, wouldn’t recommend it.
★★★☆☆ – liked it & would recommend but had no real impact on me
★★★★☆ – wow. loved it & made me think about my life with a new perspective. would recommend.
★★★★★ – i could read this book 100 times over and it would make me fall in love all over again, had the most impact on me & recommend to everyone without a doubt.
February:
books read:
- beautiful chaos– robert m. drake (238 pages) –> ★★★★☆
- me before you– jojo moyes (369 pages)–> ★★★★☆
- the girl who loved tom gordon– stephen king (92/224 pages) –> ★★★★★
reading rate:
- 699 pages in total
- 25 pages read per day
- 140 pages per week
the month of february brought the stress of a new semester & the carryover of lethargy from last semester, so i’m shocked with my reading rate. i found it easy to read beautiful chaos as it was a poetry book, so easy pages & lots of meaning. while finishing beautiful chaos, i was also able to fall in love with, and finish me before you in a matter of weeks- that was how much i loved it. after finishing those two, i picked up a book reccomended to me, and am already in love with it. all in all, i am left shocked at my reading rate (the poetry book helped) and hope i can only improve from here!
a raw review:
beautiful chaos can only be described as a roller coaster. you are taken on a new spin every page, making you think about the beauty behind broken. it analyzed various themes of love, loss, pain, loneliness & good versus evil, in a series of short poems. the reader was able to build a connection to robert m. drake, feeling every word he wrote & almost felt lost as the last page was flipped. robert m. drake was able to weave in the idea of societal collapse as well as the deteriorating environment, while making you crave the type of love that breaks you & heals you at the same time. the page long poems & artwork let you lose yourself and accept your chaos. poetry lover or not- it gives you a new aspect on life- one everyone must read.
me before you gives the reader an insight of the meaning of life in a way the answers the question about what kind of life you want & people’s struggle to have a life they deem worth living. it allows the reader to develop their understanding of the meaning of life be it to find love, find wealth, have a family or make an impression on someone, which is just what jojo moyes did. as many people found the title to be confusing, i found it clear- it shows us the value of what ideal life we want to live in, what we should do in our life to give it a meaning. it brings deep moral lessons that inspire you, change your mind of many things, and burn your spirit in spite of the controversial issues it might has. while it can be defined as a love story, its also a story of life, one every reader must read.
the girl who loved tom gordon:
just starting this book, i have not wanted to put it down. so far, the book has not let down any expectations i have had. since i can’t give you a thorough review until march, i wanted to discuss the author as well as the theme of the novel- one that has pulled me in and not let go. the novel begins by capturing your attention with the line: “The world had teeth and it could bite you with them anytime it wanted.” if that doesn’t make you want to read this book, i don’t know what will. from the very first line, stephen king uses his phenomenal writing skills to draw any reader in to this physcological thriller. this book can only be described as a stacked deck, flushed with aces. each chapter throwing down a new ace, forcing you to fold. i haven’t even finished & know this is going to be a book i’ll talk about for my entire life- take my word for it.
reading wish list for march:
- the homecoming- andrew pyper
- pillowthoughts- courtney peppernell
- the 18th abduction- james patterson
- under the dome- stephen king
March:
books read:
- pillowthoughts– courtney peppernell (272 pages) –> ★★★★☆
- the recovering: intoxication and its aftermath- leslie jamison (544 pages) –> ★★★★★
- the girl who loved tom gordon– stephen king (132 pages) –> ★★★★★
reading rate:
- 948 pages in total
- 31 pages read per day
- 228 pages per week
march provided me with 14 blissful and beautiful days of spring break, leaving me lots of time to rest & get into the books i’ve been eyeing for months on end- but never had the time! using my leadership class as an excuse for being able to spend hours reading an enthralling biography, i was able to read a 544 page book which upped my reading rate majorly! & just to stay with tradition, i read a beloved poetry book & finished the novel i started last month! this month gave me the opportunity for days on end reading & a beautiful reading rate, pushing me to continue reading at this rate.
a raw review:
simply put, I found this collection to be absolutely beautiful. each poem was thoughtful and moving and an absolute joy to read. it touched my life at a time when i needed it most, so i could not help falling in love with pillow thoughts. peppernell’s writing flows perfectly, and her poetry paints a stunning picture of life’s ups and downs. she eloquently coveys every poem—breathes life into them—and gives them a great amount of depth. these poems are the sort that readers can truly connect with, and each person’s interpretation will be different, reaching into every corner of our hearts to remind us that it is okay for us to feel—it gives us a raw and vivid portrayal of what it is to be human. this is a collection that i believe most people will be able to connect with and find meaning in. every piece is straightforward yet incredibly profound—very accessible for anyone, no matter who they are or where they are in life. these poems transcend their own simplicity to create a meaningful depiction of the most basic and universal experiences we face in our lives. the reader will find their own unique meaning depending on their personal lives, and take away what their soul is craving at that moment.
the recovering: intoxication and its aftermath:
the girl who loved tom gordon:
continuing from february, finishing this book has been the biggest breath of fresh air that i’ve been able to take in a while. the expectations i had at the begining seemed to be fullfilled after finishing the novel and it was even more beautiful than i could have even expected. from the very first line, stephen king uses his phenomenal writing skills to draw any reader in to this physcological thriller. this book can only be described as a stacked deck, flushed with aces. each chapter throwing down a new ace, forcing you to fold. i haven’t even finished & know this is going to be a book i’ll talk about for my entire life- take my word for it. although the story seems very simple, it goes directly for the throat of the reader. the powerful characterization of that little girl creates a deeply rooted involvement. it is as though the reader can feel the pain trisha has to go through. at one point you even want to shout: “don’t go there! don’t do it!”, just because you’ve been completely swallowed up by this emotional roller coaster. although spared from real action scenes, this little fairy tail reads like a page turner. put it like this: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is an ‘evil’ book, just because you will get hit while reading it.
- the homecoming- andrew pyper
- dirty pretty things– michael faudet
- the 18th abduction- james patterson
- under the dome- stephen king
April
books read:
- sea of strangers– lang leav (224 pages) –> ★★★★★
- the paradox of choice– barry schwartz (304 pages) –> ★★★★★
reading rate:
- 528 pages in total
- 18 pages read per day
- 132 pages per week
the busy month of april slowed down my reading and made it hard for me to finish three books! with assessments for class almost every day, preparation for mosque events and spending time with friends&family, my reading rate suffered. i was able to finish two books, one being a poetry book (making my reading rate look a lot better!) and a psychological novel! while my reading rate doesn’t reflect the success i had in finishing a book above my level, i was able to pick out about 3 books for may that will definitely show a more successful reading rate!
a raw review:
lang leav’s words could make a rose bloom. although the writing and poems are short and in simple terms, there seems to be more body to this collection. it is not classical poetry or even modern poetry, it is, however, the minimalist version of poetry. where poets in the past used language to paint a picture of emotion, leav uses as few words as possible to present a simple but heartfelt thought, being able to hit the reader and leave a lasting scar. each page consists of a different poem, one more beautiful and painful than the last. There is no sense of urgency to the next page. The reader will linger thinking about what was just read, there is no rush to understand what she wrote, but you will. every word will resonate with you in a different way. sea of strangers is an emotionally beautiful and empowering collection of prose and poetry about love, loss, healing, and self-discovery. this collection was incredibly moving, and i definitely had tears in my eyes when i read some of the poems.
the paradox of choice was a revelation. its premise is that having too many choices makes for an unsatisfactory life; the more choices the less satisfaction. the book introduces two categories of people maximizers and satisficers. maximizers look for and accept only the best in whatever they buy and are willing to spend hours comparing all the available choices. but satisficers are happy with good enough. he tells us why many of us are risk-averse and constantly compare ourselves to others. other interesting topics related to regretting over decisions and dissatisfaction that “what ifs” cause. skillfully, he enlightens the reader about the benefits of tempering the impulse to get the best deal in a market flooded with options. the ideas explained are complex but make sense. for example, the explanation for why coming second feels worse than coming fourth or tenth and why failing an exam by a single point is more disappointing than failing it by a dozen points. it would be apt, to sum up, this book as low expectations and availability of fewer choices make a happy life. i don’t read many “informative” books, but this one opened my eyes, you chose what your life is- as simple as that. if you need some clarity in your life, something to explain to you why read this book. i promise you, you won’t be disappointed.
reading wish-list for may:
- the homecoming- andrew pyper
- dirty pretty things– michael faudet
- love and misadventure- lang leav
- sad girls- lang leav
May/June:
books read:
- anger is a gift– mark oshiro (463 pages) –> ★★★★★
- glass– ellen hopkins (123/720 pages)–> ★★★★☆
- girl with the pearl earring– tracy chevalier (258 pages) –> ★★★☆☆
reading rate:
- 844 pages in total
- 19 pages read per day
- 121 pages per week
for the month of may/june, i was able to achieve 19 pages a day, which was an accomplishment specifically for this month, which was filled with assessments and barely anytime to get reading in! i finally was able to start reading a new ellen hopkins novel, which has been a long time wish for a few months now, which will not only help my reading rate but combines genre’s i love! over the summer, i want to increase my reading rate along with the level of books i read, including advanced novels to better prepare me for 30-1 next year!
a raw review:
anger is a gift is an incredibly powerful novel about resilience in the face of adversity and loss. It is about community. It is about taking a stand against the system of oppression, even if it seems hopeless. while an incredibly difficult read (subject matter wise), it holds great importance, especially in our society today, paving a path for activism. this novel shines a light on what it is like to be a person of colour in north america, along with the struggles of finding your identity in a world that pre-defines it for you. this is a love poem to those activists that stand up for what is right and a rallying call to action for those on the sidelines. additionally, it also provides context on how to be an ally in the battle we all need to stand behind. anger is a gift is a book that pulls you in, and stays with you forever- a constant reminder of how to be and do better within society today.
glass can be described as watching a car crash you can’t stop until it’s too late to reverse, no matter how much you want to. ellen hopkins captured the emotional journey of the main character falling hard for love while in a seemingly endless cycle of addiction to substances, hitting on an endless amount of levels and depth of the subject matter and concepts. moreover, the author is able to beautifully and eloquently tell an entire story, a profound and heartbreaking story, through poetry which only adds to the eloquent and beautiful writing and voice. all in all, i appreciated the unflinching insights in the narrative. the ending has a similar tone as the first book, and leaves the possibility and desire for the next installment.. i will say that certainly, this is not a light read by any means. it hurt to watch, but i felt with the way the characterizations, interactions, and events were portrayed, it immersed me in the story and gave me so much to think about in its aftermath.
in her novel, ‘girl with a pearl earring’, tracy chevalier gives clever voice and life to the enigmatic subject of johannes vermeer’s incomparable oil painting of the same name. chevalier fills the novel with the tasks of an everyday delft so real, one marvels at the magnificence of her invention. her simple concentration on griet’s cleanliness; the whiteness of her cap, the studied way in which she wears it with the two ties hanging on either side of her face to hide her expression, ingeniously uses this bit of clothing and its accompanying characteristics to display griet’s dual nature. chevalier paints a lovely portrait of a young girl’s resignation to a live the limited life to which she is born yet to live again in innocence, beauty and expectation, forever captured within the medium of canvas. i thoroughly enjoyed this novel. here the love affair takes place in the world of canvas, concentrating on the full spectrum of emotions that burn underneath the skin with the steadiness of an eternal candle rather than sudden passions. the novel allows the reader to fall into being from delft and draws the reader in, making them feel a part of the story, rather than an observer.
reading goals & wishlist for the summer:
- read multiple 30-1 novels (a streetcar named desire, the boy in the striped pyjama’s)
- expand my genres, move into advanced literature, working to expand my vocabulary and skills
- read at least 3 books per month, understanding the meaning and analysis behind each one
