Tag: love

Bookish

Do I Only Read When I’m Depressed?

India
I haven’t been reading a lot lately, which isn’t a bad thing, but it is different. If you follow me on Instagram (if you don’t you should just click here!) you would have seen a post about me talking about feeling more happy. I have noticed that with that light feeling that I’ve had, I haven’t wanted to sit in my bed all day with the windows closed and read my books. Now I haven’t given up reading at all, I just have not sequestered myself to the pillows. Who knows it might just be because I haven’t started a book in awhile that has excited me. As I looked into why I haven’t been crushing my reading goals lately, I really had to look into myself and my own moods and see what was going on.
The conclusion in my own non scientific experiment was that I was not feeling the depression that was weighing me down in so many things. Now I want to be out and moving around and taking more pictures of books than I want to read them. I still have the desire to read them, but I don’t have the desire to sit still, so I need to use some of those audible credits it sounds like. As I was finding this out about my myself I then started to look at the book community.
A lot of the book community contains people who have titled themselves as introverts, which is fine, and that’s why they enjoy reading so much, but also why they love the book community. It gives them a place to socialize without having to socialize. Basically socializing on their own terms. There has also been a lot of discussion and talks about mental health going on in the book community as of late, which I think is fantastic, but they’re more discussions of people saying that they have a mental health issue and bringing light to that. Other than a chemical imbalance that some people face with their mental health, I want to explore what other reasons why a lot of book people feel down. For me, it was a birth control that spun my mental health all out of wack. If I was titling myself I would call myself an extroverted introvert. I can make conversation with anyone at any time and it doesn’t bother me at all, but I also need that space to be away from people some time.
I also wanted to explore the thought of reading for escapism. I know that I have said that in videos and looking back at that, I’m not even sure if that’s what I really meant to say. I always meant reading for escapism in terms of escaping to some place new, and now I think the new word I was trying to come up with is exploring. I feel like I read to explore new places, but not necessarily to escape from the place I’m at. I love where I’m at in life even with all of the mixed feelings and emotions, but it took time to get there. Sometimes I fear for the book community and the fact that too many people are escaping from life and not dealing with life, but everyone has their journey to get to where they need to be.
So my questions starts to become, do I only read when I’m depressed and how do I read in the same volume when I’m happy?  Or do I need to change my expectations of myself and not put reading pressure on myself. These are some of the questions that I have and I don’t know any of the answers. I know that I need to take it a day at a time and still continue to read what I enjoy and have fun with it. Do you find your mood determines your reading? Until next time,
Keep turning the Pages
India
Book Reviews

When Dimple Met Rishi, Sandhya Menon

India

– Short Story –

Have you ever had a dream so bad you were willing to do whatever it takes to get it? Or, have you ever felt a deep sense of culture and self that you knew what your future held? For Dimple, she has always wanted to be a part of the coding world. Designing apps and games and anything else you can imagine. While for Rishi, he has also known that his culture is a large part of who he is and what he believes in, and because of that he also believes in arranged marriages. Dimple is not like every Indian girl and continues to try and push away from being the typical Indian girl wearing kohl eyeliner and sahris. When Dimple’s parents said that she is allowed to go to Insomnia Con 2017 after being accepted to Stanford University she thought that this final summer before college couldn’t get any better. What she did not know was that there was someone else coming to Insomnia Con to meet her, and that might change her life or she might affect change on someone else.

– My Thoughts –

I really enjoyed this book and I thought it was super cute! I don’t read contemporary a lot because of all of the love stories, but that is definitely what this book is about. It is a love story that takes place during a coding competition, but it really has nothing to do with coding. It’s all about the romance, and once you understand that it gets a lot better. I read it one day because it was so cute and made me happy. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a follow your heart type of book. Until next time,
Keep Turning the Pages
90s Born Reader

 

Book Reviews

Caraval, Stephanie Garber

India
Have you ever been in a situation that you just want to escape from? A bad home life or a bad relationship? Ever wanted to go to a place that was filled with magic, adventure, and that could possibly give you a new life? No such place exists, right? Donatella and Scarlett have been imagining changing their lives since their mother left, and for Scarlett that change could only be granted with the magic of Caraval, and the creator of Caraval, Legend. Scar and Tella have been hearing stories of Caraval since they were little girls told from their grandmother. Caraval is a place described with magic and wonder, a place where you can escape your realities and dive into your fantasies, but do not forget it is only a game.
Scarlett has been trying to get an invitation to Caraval ever since she heard about the magical place. When she finally obtains two invitations for her and her sister she wants to go, but their father stops them from leaving. Scar and Tella’s father has been controlling their lives ever since their mother left him. Tella, being the “wild child” finds a way to get off the island, which forces Scar to go after her because all she wants to do is protect her sister.  Tella’s antics also force Scar to team up with a random boy, Julian to try and go through the twists and turns of Caraval. Caraval is a game that is made by Legend that has grown into so much more than game for Legend and the players. As Scarlett has to try and find her sister, she finds out what it is like to be her own person and she finds who she truly is.
I thoroughly enjoyed Caraval by Stephanie Garber!! It was magnificent for a debut book! There was so much detail in every description, and there were so many different paths taken in the book that made it an amazing story. It made you feel like you were a participant in Legend’s game. I cannot wait for Garber to come out with a sequel to this one because you’re left with questions that need answers! If you’re looking for another wonderful, magical adventure, pick this one up because it is a magnificent story. Until next time,
Keep Turning the Pages
90s Born Reader
Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days), Susan Ee

India
angelfall-book-cover-artThe world has come to an end. There is death, destruction, and devastation everywhere. The Angels have descended on to Earth and have been warring with Demons. They have destroyed everything we know and hold dear. Penny and her family are trying to survive in this new world, knowing that at any point they could die. Peryn has a younger sister in a wheelchair, and her mom is crazy and has been battling the demons inside of her. When trying to move location they run into the demon angels battling another angel, which ends with the angel getting his wing cut off, and Penryn doing the unexpected. Penryn decides to help the angel and distracts the demon angels from killing him. By helping out the angel, her sister was kidnapped by the demon angel, which made an already horrible world even worse for Penryn. Penryn now has two choices; keep trying to survive, or go and find her sister.
I really enjoyed reading the first book of this series. It was very similar to Fallen Series by Lauren Kate. I think I might have even enjoyed it more for the sheer fact that there was more action involved in the story. The romance began to simmer during the story, but it wasn’t prominent in the story. I’m going to continue reading this series to see what happens next. Until next time,
Keep turning the pages
90s Born Reader
Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Torment (Fallen Series Book 2), Lauren Kate

India
TormentFallen is about a young girl, Lucinda “Luce” Price,  who has seen the world through many time periods and eras, and has loved in every generation of her life. The only thing is, she doesn’t remember any of these lives, and how she is tied to the people around her now. When her current life falls apart after the mysterious death of her boyfriend during a fire, her parents send her off to a reform school because they don’t know how to handle what happened. Now that she’s a part of this school she notices that she is drawn to certain people and certain boys at her new school, and has the feeling that she knows them from somewhere, but doesn’t remember well. Her new friend, Arianne, is some what of a character and unlike anyone she has ever been friends with before. She also finds both, Cameron and Daniel, to be two attractive boys who she wants to find out more about. If going to reform school wasn’t bad enough imagine feeling and seeing things that you don’t understand.
 
Fallen by Lauren Kate was a crazy book. It was filled with so many twists and turns that you didn’t see coming. It was a book that you thought you knew exactly what was going on, but then all of a sudden something changed. I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for another romance triangle, with some supernatural elements, and some fun twists and turns. Until next time,
Keep Turning the Pages,
90s Born Reader