Listed In Chronological Order:
❤ | Didn’t like it
❤ ❤ | It was ok
❤ ❤ ❤ | A Decent Read
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ | Great Book
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ | Life changing
February ~ 2019
They Both Die At The End – 367 pages
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ 4/5
Total pages read for February: 306 pages or 19/day
They both Die At The End is a heart touching story of last made friendships.The book itself is very cherishing and emotional. (You will proabably cry at the end, just saying). It’s essentially a story about two people whose lives change over the course of one unforgettable day. I think the author of this book, Adam Silvera, pulls at the reader’s heartstrings cotiIthrough this book with his mesmerizing words and detailed scenes. I would say that this book is not a very hard read but it is an enjoyable one and can easily become your new favourite. Mainly the book focuses on action and is a thrilling read. I would recommend it to you if you are a person who enjoys an emotional rollercoaster sort of ride and can keep up with fast changing scenes. In my opinion it was a very relatble novel as well because it revolves arund mostly teenagers and the reader gets a tru insight on hot these minds feel in complete mayhem. I’m glad I gave this book a chance because it was a refreshing read and I took away some powerful lessons form it aswell.
Daughter Of The Burning City – 384 pages
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ 3/5
Total pages read for February: 290 pages or 13/day
Daughter Of The Burning City is an action packed novel full of drama and prosperity. A young six-teen year old teen named Sorina, set foot on a journey to a traveling circus. Along the many other usual people there, she stands apart as the only illusion worker born in hundreds of years. This rare talent allows her to perform illusions many cannot even set their mind to thinking of. But, no matter what, her illusions are just..illusions..not real..or so she thought. Until one of them gets murdered. Sorina must hunt down this thief and murderer, without risking to put anyone else in harm’s way. The author did a fantastic job on creating an image in the reader’s mind and I felt like I was with the characters in the book the whole time while reading. It’s an excellent read for those who enjoy action filled books with adventure and mystery. I enjoyed it because of the storyline and how everything connected towards the end of the book.
March ~ 2019
Fahrenheit 451 – 286 pages
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ 3/5
Total pages read for March : 286 pages
The novel opens with Guy Montag, a “fireman” in a futuristic society where he and his coworkers start fires rather than put them out. Books are banned soon as they are discovered. I decided to take a look at this book because a friend recommended to it to me and usually when someone recommends a book I don’t listen to them because I already know it’s most likely not going to be my type of novel but if i had to rate this book out of 5 stars I would give it a solid 3 because it was an interesting read and it was different. Plus, for once, it felt nice to step out of my comfort zone. Usually I tend to read more adventurous, sci-fi, romance, and mystery type of books but this one was different. It still had a sci- fi / dystopian approach which I surprisingly enjoyed and found cool. Fahrenheit 451 includes several examples of futuristic technologies and to me that type of writing is interesting but doesn’t appeal to me much as other genres do. Nonetheless, I was surprised. Ray bradbury, the author of this novel, did a great job with producing an enticingly rich world but not making it too condense or confusing and it described a utopia which I found mesmerizing. Overall for me it wasn’t too much of a difficult read and I’m glad that I took the time to try it out.
The Memory Clinic – 222 pages
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ 3.5/5
Total pages read for March : 222 pages
So I was in the library over spring break and I was waiting for my mom to pick out her medical research books that she put on hold and while we were in that certain area I randomly found this book laying around on a table and no one was reading it nor was near it so I took it and when I went to check it out, thankfully no one had it checked out so, I grabbed it and began reading it. Again it is one of those more mature books, but it was a very interesting read. It taught me a lot about neurology and how are memory impacts us. It was super useful for research and for knowledge growth. Dr. Tiffany Chow, a prominent clinician and neuroscientist, offers knowledge and hope about an illness where there is, as yet, no cure. It is mostly aimed towards patients and their families. The Memory Clinic is a comprehensive and ultimately reassuring work about the prevention and management of dementia. The case studies in this were super interesting and I finished reading the entire book in less than a week. It attracts the reader and pulls them in. (I mean if biology and neurology interests you it’s worth looking at.) But I think it’s good to learn something new everyday and this book had some cases which blew my mind and I definitely recommend it for those of you planning to go into medicine. It was a different read that for sure, but it was eye-opening and taught me loads of neat things that our minds’ are capable of and unforgettable knowledge.
April ~ 2019
The Black Cat – Short Story (11 pages)
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ 4/5
Total pages read for April: 11 pages
So, I guess April may have been an unusual and dark month for me as I spontaneously gravitated towards reading more of Edgar Allan Poe’s work. Something about his writing sends shivers down my spine. I wanted to read more of his work as we had more writing seminars in the month of April and one of the authors that a group chose was HP Lovecraft and he was influenced by Edgar Allens Poe’s writing. So I wanted to read more of his work as I have in the past so why not try out some more.‘The Black Cat’ is a short story, like much of Poe’s work, the story portrays dark events. A man relates the story of his violence against his wife and pets, and that ultimately ends in murder. This story centers around a black cat and the subsequent deterioration of a man. This specific piece of Poe is often linked with “The Tell-Tale Heart” because of the profound psychological elements these two works share.I don’t usually read books that are dark and twisted but I have to admit, I did enjoy this read very much and it was only a short story. This month I wanted to focus on increasing my reading rate and I borrowed a book from the library that is full of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories and it’s about 300 pages long but this short story only consisted of about 25 pages and I finished reading it in less than 30 minutes the first time ,but then, I went back and re-read some of the parts more slowly to analyze Poe’s writing to the fullest and I was very intrigued by his sense of imagery and motion that he includes in his pieces. My goal for this month was to read a total of 28 pages a day and I did get to complete that as I mainly focused on reading short stories but I did read another novel that I will include shortly in the next excerpt. Not all of Poe’s stories work for me, but this one definitely does. It deals with animal cruelty and domestic violence, and some of it was uncomfortable. But I really like it when literature makes me feel something strongly – even if its something bad. It shows both the power and the importance of literature. Cozy, funny reads are great, and sometimes they’re exactly what I need. But it is stories that challenge me or make me feel something intensely that really fascinate me. Overall, I would recommend this short read to anyone who is willing to jump into a whole new world of haunting and intenseful reads. If you are ready to immerse yourselves then go for it!
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – 554 Pages
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ 3/5
Total pages read for April: 554 pages
To continue this month of reading books that are a bit out of my comfort zone, I was recommended by a friend who loves reading murder mystery novels, to give this book a try. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a mind-bending murder mystery. It’s a locked-room thriller with a nearly imperceptible warp wavering in its center. The story unfolds gradually but deliberately, with secrets unveiled as more lies are told. Every sentence was a labyrinth to navigate and my mind often felt like a door blown open in a storm. This read was intricately layered and had an amazing plot. The whole experience of reading this book felt like an elaborate lie to me, some made-up fantasyland I was locked in for a set number of hours a day.I loved how unique the premise was, a murder-mystery where the main character gets to relive the same day 8 times to try and solve it but every day he’s in a different body. It was also interesting to see how the different bodies/personalities affected the story and there were twists I didn’t see coming. The total book has 554 pages and I read all of them in this month and was glad to see my reading rate increase. My goal was to read 28 pages a day and I exceeded this goal with this thrilling book. Though there were parts of the book that I found to be a little slow, it all made sense at the end and I loved how all my predictions throughout the novel turned out to be complete and utter lies. It was an unpredictable read, and I guess that is where the thrill of mystery genres come into play. I was super elated to read this book and I’m glad I gave it a try. I Would recommend if you’re in the mood for a mystery with a sci-fi twist to it! All in all, For the month of May, as this semester and year will be coming to an end, I definitely want to read more work from my classmates and their blogs as I know that our whole classroom is full of bright and creative minds so my goal for next month is to definitely dive into reading more of my peers’ phenomenal pieces.
May ~ 2019
The Help – 530 pages
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ 4/5
Total pages read for May: 346 pages
May was a chaotic and busy month as school is wrapping up and I’m frantically trying to keep up and get all my work done and live up to the expectations that I’m supposed to pass. Nonetheless it’s been a good month for me as I tried to branch out and read a book that is more challenging and requires exceptional understanding and critical thinking of the mind. I was recommended to read this novel by my best friend who recently graduated highschool and is moving oi to university in the upcoming months. She told me that, this novel became her favorite instantly and she wasn’t much of a reader, but going now into university, she wants to do more reading and this book changed her view on reading. So i decided to start reading it. I’m not too far into it as I started reading it towards the middle of May and wasn’t reading it very consistently. This novel basically depicts the segregation and the fine line between black and white women in the early 1960’s. My admiration for so many of the characters in this novel started small and continued to build throughout. Their lives, their experiences, their authenticity and humanity touched my soul. I will always be grateful to this beautifully crafted novel for opening my eyes and my heart to a larger perspective. I had a goal of reading 25 pages every day and it went well for the first couple of days but then it decreased as the time went on. In May, I really wanted to branch out and try a different gender and to also build my vocabulary. This book did just that.
June ~ 2019
The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn – 410 pages
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ 3.5/5
Total pages read for May: 204 pages
Firstly, this I began to read this book at the beginning of June and mostly likely will be finished it soon, but this semester ends before the end of June. Regardless, I will still be recording it in this section as I will hopefully be done this book in the next couple of days or so. This was the first book I’ve picked up from the author Mark Twain. He has been on my”author to read list” for quite a long time now but I just didn’t get around to picking up a novel or any pieces from him really, until early this month. I wanted to end the year off with trying out a new author and seeing how I liked it. I’m not too far into this book as June has been a very stressful month with exams and final things due. But even with that, I managed to start reading this book and I read about 100 pages in one sitting. It was intriguing and so far the story has been quite interesting. The Only concern I have with this novel as for now is the dialect. I usually don’t like reading accented dialogue and dialects because often they require additional effort to decipher and are just plain irritating. This book is a pure adventure through time when America was in its “adolescence age.” It is a very funny novel without actually being a “comic novel” in the sense that its primary purpose is not to make you laugh but to tell a good-natured story in spite of some underlying dark themes like slavery, parental abuse and violence. There is a genuine sense of childhood innocence in Huck Finn’s first person narrative and I felt swept along with his enthusiasm for life and taste for adventures. Huck is a wonderful protagonist who is easy to identify with. I hope to continue this book and finish it so I can start my summer reading. This summer, my main goal is to get into reading Shakespeare as that will come in handy throughout the rest of my grade 11 and grade 12 years in high school.
Images Used
→https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33385229-they-both-die-at-the-end
→https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13079982-fahrenheit-451
→https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16081855-the-memory-clinic
→https://www.pinterest.com/pin/199988039678572349/
→https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-seven-deaths-of-evelyn/9781443457460-item.html
→https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Help
→https://www.readings.com.au/products/15234508/the-adventures-of-huckleberry-finn
