January Reading Wrap Up and Mini Reviews

I have buckled up for a great reading year 2018. I am squeezing time out of regular schedule to read at least few pages in a day:

1. I step inside the local train, struggle to take out the book or tablet from the bag. Mumbai local, I can never escape from it.
2.  Read in between after cooking dinner and before eating.
3.  Read after finishing the chores. Quiet time.

 I am quite happy with the reading month of January. I had mentioned in my earlier posts about the reading challenges and I must say they are keeping me on toes.

I share my reading progress on Goodreads, Instagram and Twitter. I have also come across fellow participants on these social media platform and it is interesting to read about new books.

I have read 5 books ranging from serious to humorous, from exquisite to deadpan mania.

    1.      Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
2.       the sun and her flowers by Rupi Kaur
3.       Adulthood is a Myth – Sarah’s Scribbles by Sarah Andersen
4.       The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
5.       The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami

Mini Reviews of the above books:

I am not a classic book reviewer. I have attached the link for you to read the synopsis. I will be sharing my opinions and thoughts regarding the book. I find it difficult to give stars, so at the end I will only mention whether I liked it or not. It was my first time read from all the authors.

1    1.       Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

I picked this at the beginning of 2018 and first I regretted as it turned out to be depressing. It doesn’t mean I disliked it. Celeste Ng has narrated the complexity of life, relationship between husband and wife, siblings, parents and children in a simple manner. This story can be found in almost every household. I can sum it up in few points:

•  Death, grief
•  Expectations! They always creep in and destroy this beautiful life
• Sibling jealousy
•  A child’s passion and dream opposite of the parent
•  Perfect portrayal of psychology of second and third child in a family

Do I recommend it? Yes. I liked it.

2.       the sun and her flowers by Rupi Kaur

The first poetry book I ever read. This book is making its presence everywhere and it deserves all the hype. It is divided in five chapters: wilting, falling, rooting, rising and blooming wherein the author has narrated her life experiences in the poetry and prose.

The sun and her flowers is a recital of the journey of healing, honouring the roots from we came from, falling and rising after the fall and finding the strength within.

Have no doubts. I loved it.

3.       Adulthood is a Myth – Sarah’s Scribbles by Sarah Andersen

This book wiped away the darkness from first book by making me laughing aloud. Sarah, the author has brilliantly scribbled the intricacies of being an adult. This book is about me, you and everyone around us. I could relate to the scribbling.  The spotlight of her scribbles shines on:

•          Social media
•          Introverts
•          Adolescence
•          Dating
•          Love
•          Friends

Have a great laugh while reading this book.

    4.       The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I chose this book for the Pop Sugar reading challenge 2018 on the book prompt: A childhood classic. It was indeed a quick read and for me books never fail in making us learn be it for children, young adult, or any genre.

The Secret Garden conveys a simple yet strong lesson to its reader:

Read it for yourself or to your child or any young one, it is worth reading.

5.       The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami

When I started reading this one, I was like: 

What? How? Why? Why would anyone want to attack McDonalds and why is the name of the cat in first chapter given to two human beings in later ones? Why not different names? Is he so obsessed with the name? How can a huge elephant vanish?

I had never intended to pick any book by this author but I was intrigued after reading an article on Scoop Whoop: What Is It About Murakami’s Writing That Has The World Mesmerized By His Books?

The book is divided into chapters with short stories. I was mesmerized by few stories, my favourite ones:

•          Sleep
•          On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning
•          The Dancing Dwarf

Few chapters were creepy, few were totally unbearable. I had even thought of skipping them. The title is the last chapter in the book and as the synopsis says, ‘….Murakami makes a determined assault on the normal’, it is indeed.

I did like his writing, so I have listed the other books – Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore on my TBR list.

I am determined to continue this reading journey in February. Do share your views or suggest me books because I would love to explore different genre.