The Literary Adventures of an Opinionated Bookworm

I find it fascinating how there is literature that looks far into the past, speculating about what might have been. In my mind, much of this literature centres around an Austen theme, telling tales of proud Lords and Ladies who fall in love. Although, some venture beyond what Austen could ever write, that is, into the bedrooms of these young lovers (such as Bridgerton).  I am a proud Austen fan and thus, rather cautious about what Regency Era lit I consume, but I am open to any recent authors who venture into this time as I too, like to imagine those witty conversations and joyful dances. Never Fall For Your Fiancee Despite the predictability of character and plot development, I really enjoyed Never Fall For Your Fiancee  by Virginia Heath, strictly because Heath is a very talented writer. The language she used both for scene descriptions and in conversations between characters situated me as the reader in the Regency Era, and the troubles of this world seemed to blissfully me...

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is quite possibly my favourite writer of all time. Full stop. Anyone who knows me would claim I am a fan of Tolkien, and this is true, but no one can write like Adichie. How to Write Grief I was not sure what to expect when I picked up Adichie's reflection, Notes on Grief , which is also a short memoir about her relationship with her father. I know Adichie to be a talented and imaginative author, as well as a strong feminist writer, but this book was unlike anything I have read from her. Somehow, she captured her grief on paper, and chose to share it with the rest of the world.  Grief, it turns out, is extremely complicated, and I found it interesting how grief manifests not only as pain, but as fond memories of the person who is gone. The stories she succinctly articulated in these pages were touching, and I ended up dwelling on the beautiful relationship she shared with her father rather than the feeling of grief itself. Although I know I will never meet ...

Why do utopian experiments fail? Many people wonder what life would be like in a society without poverty and natural causes of death, but in this scenario, life is not necessarily perfect. The dystopian genre exists to answer this very question, and Neal Shusterman's Arc of Scythes trilogy has done an amazing job at speculating the future thus far.  Thunderhead Thunderhead  is Shusterman's second novel in the trilogy, and it answers most if not all questions that formulated after reading Scythe.  The main reason I loved this book was because each chapter was prefaced by thoughts from the Thunderhead, the artificial intelligence that governs the world. Instead of the Thunderhead being this mystical aspect of the novel, Shusterman gives his readers insight into the thoughts and feelings of this being, and looking at humans from a different perspective was a fascinating experience.  This book picks up about a year after the first one concludes; Scythe Anastasia is a jun...

Just thinking of writing this post forced to the surface many emotions that I have long suppressed, but I have to thank Amanda Lovelace for her beautiful collection of poetry, The Princess Saves Herself in This One . I cannot imagine how it felt for her to relive years of trauma, and I can only empathize with part of her experience.  There Will Be Bullies For years, I was bullied in school. I still cannot figure out why--sometimes I think, maybe I deserved it, maybe I was terrible...but reading Lovelace again reminded me that there will always be those who put you down, for one reason or another. That is not your fault. It is a horrible feeling, one you will want to escape, but it is not your fault. In Amanda Lovelace's collection of poems, she recognizes and reveals the pain she has lived with for years, but she also shares how she saved herself. Too often (in literature or films) stories are told of people being saved by others. Perhaps, it is the Prince that saves the day, and t...

Betrayed, sold, abused, and otherwise wronged by those they should have been able to trust, the Wild Ones are a self-named group of feminist teenage girls with special powers that they use to navigate the Between, and save others who are in distress. The first member of the group is their leader, Paheli, who guides them on an important journey to protect the Keeper of the Between, Taraana, who is being hunted by someone who wants to harvest his powers.  Wish I Had This Book A group of powerful young women who go around the world protecting others who need them? I wish I had read this book when I was a teenager. The Wild Ones  by Nafiza Azad is an empowering read that is so beautifully written, it was difficult to put it down, which I had to do on occasion because staring at a screen tends to give me a headache. But a small headache was well worth it, as the story was one I did not know I was waiting for.  This is a book that everyone should read, as it is a collection of ...

Nora Seed decided that she wanted to die, but what she found on her way was far beyond anything she ever could have imagined. After living with depression for years, Nora finds herself in the Midnight Library, a place that is between life and death, where she is confronted with all the regrets she carried for thirty-five years. **While I will not spoil anything about the plot of the book, I do want to discuss one theme, as I feel like it is important to understand that Matt Haig does not suggest that he knows the cure for depression. I was a little worried that that was where the book would end up, because depression is a heavy, complicated subject. However, Haig handles the subject extremely well, acknowledging the difficulties while telling the complicated story of Nora Seed.** Nora's Many Lives The Midnight Library asks a very serious question of its readers: Would you face all of your regrets, if given the opportunity? Would you do things differently? Nora has an extremely dif...

I was raised on Disney movies. When I would wake in the middle of the night as an infant, my parents would play Sleeping Beauty  until I fell asleep, and even after I had my dad would insist on finishing the movie as I slept in his arms.  It was not until I started high school that I learned that not everyone likes Disney movies, which was a surprise at first but makes sense to me now. Everyone is raised differently; guided towards different movies, books and music genres by their parents. This is to be expected, considering how diverse the world is.  Belle Falls in Love I have heard many criticisms of The Beauty and the Beast , and while I appreciate every individual's perspective, I cannot deny that I love the movie and the original book that was written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. Everyone will interpret a story differently, based on their own personal perspectives, and that is ok! That is how the world should be! My interpretation of Belle's love for th...

Dune  by Frank Herbert is a perfect example of how science fiction is more than random exploits in space, or stories of alien invasions. The story of Paul Atreides is one of colonialism, cultural differences, religion, and of the power of prophecy.  The Duke of Arrakis   It is difficult to explain what exactly occurs in the first instalment of Dune because it occurs over several years, and from multiple perspectives over nearly 800 pages. It begins when Duke Leto is sent to Arrakis by the Emperor, and although he is a loyal subject, only corruption, treachery and danger await Leto and his family on this strange, desert planet. For his son Paul, arriving on Arrakis seems to be the beginning of a prophecy of the Fremen; the prophecy of the Lisan al-Gaib.  Despite the fact that this book is a marathon (it took me over a month to read it), it is very well written and the story is enjoyable. I can see why it is a crucial work of science fiction, but I also learned a ...

Gossip Girl. The Clique. The Princess Diaries . These are three titles I remember reading as a teen, all three about upper-middle class/wealthy teens and the friend/boy drama that follows them. As a teen, these were not the stories that inspired me, and in reading Of Princes and Promises by Sandhya Menon, I found a similar storyline that was not meant for me.  The story follows Caterina LaValle, a young Italian heiress set on proving to the world that she is perfectly fine, better even, after her boyfriend cheats on her with a fellow classmate. In order to accomplish this, she attempts a “My Fair Lady” (or rather, The Frog Prince) with Rahul Chopra, a shy classmate who is desperately in love with her.  But where is the plot? Unfortunately, the dynamic between Caterina and Rahul feels like it has been written before, and although there was a subplot (no spoilers, don’t worry) I just did not feel enough of a pull to be fully captivated. Menon is definitely a good writer, but e...