Book Review: Meeting Morrie Through Pages

 Meeting Morrie Through Pages

A deeply personal reflection on “Tuesdays With Morrie”

This book is such a revelation, truly. Throughout the book, it felt like losing a best friend. As if just like Mitch, I was losing somebody close to me too. Morrie was such an inspiration — his strength, his grit, his thoughts — everything is just so unique. I can’t believe I was crying over an old man who died long before I was even born; however, there I was, crying my eyes out over this book.

It’s so hard to believe that there was somebody in reality who had thoughts like this in this world. That Morrie was not a fictional character but somebody real — somebody who had walked this earth, just like us. I could never imagine how God can make people like Morrie and then also create people who are the exact opposite of him in this world.

I’ve shared my complete thoughts on Tuesdays with Morrie— including a deeper look at the characters, themes, and why this book stayed with me — on my Substack newsletter.

Read the full essay here: Full Essay

Book Review: Babel by R.F.Kuang left me shaken (in the best way possible)

 Babel by R.F.Kuang left me shaken (in the best way possible)

A brutal, brilliant story of language, empire, and the friendships caught in between.

I just want to start this review by saying: this book made me feel everything. Sadness, anger, joy, frustration- you name it. Babel is heavy in every sense of the word- both in size and in the emotions it stirs up.

I’ll admit: I was intimidated before picking this up. Not just because of the book’s sheer thickness, but also because I’d heard R.F. Kuang’s writing can be very literary and demanding. I worried it might feel too academic or even boring. But wow- I couldn’t have been more wrong. This turned out to be one of the most compelling books I’ve ever read.

I’ve shared my complete thoughts on Babel— including a deeper look at the characters, themes, and why this book stayed with me — on my Substack newsletter.

Read the full essay here: Full Essay

Critical Analysis: A Critical Study of Obsessive Passion in Wuthering Heights

A Critical Study of Obsessive Passion in Wuthering Heights

Brontë's Gothic Love Story That Was Never Really About Love

The main argument of this essay is that Catherine and Heathcliff’s love is not a conventional romantic ideal but an obsessive, self-destructive force. Through analyzing their relationship, the essay will highlight not only the darker aspects of love but also the rigid societal norms of the Victorian era that contributed to their suffering. Their destructive love story exposes deeper tensions related to class, gender, and emotional repression, ultimately impacting not only their own lives but also those of their families and future generations.

This essay will first explore the nature of Catherine and Heathcliff’s love before examining how it transforms into obsession and possession. It will then analyze the consequences of their obsessive love and the ways in which Brontë uses symbolism to depict love and destruction throughout the novel.

I’ve shared my complete thoughts on Wuthering Heights — including a deeper look at the characters, themes, and why this book stayed with me — on my Substack newsletter.

Read the full essay here: Full Essay

Critical Analysis: Prince Myshkin & Nastasya Filippovna Character Analysis: The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Prince Myshkin & Nastasya Filippovna Character Analysis: The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

How Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" Expose Society's Cruelty and Double Standards

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a thought-provoking novel that explores the judgments society casts upon individuals - whether by feeling threatened by the kindness of an innocent man or condemning a woman as "mad" instead of offering her compassion for a life shaped by suffering. At the center of the novel is Prince Myshkin, a man whose innocence and kindness unsettle those around him, leading them to mock him as an "idiot" behind his back. His character stands in stark contrast to the greed and selfishness of the world around him. Paralleling his fate is Nastasya Filippovna, a woman consumed by anger and revenge against the very society that wronged her. A Christ-like man who is too kind and selfless for the otherwise world and a woman who is wronged by society and when she rebels she is named a “mad woman”- both of those characters are too much relevant even in today’s world. Through Myshkin and Nastasya, Dostoevsky exposes how society isolates those who refuse to "fit in."

I’ve shared my complete thoughts on this subject — including a deeper look at the themes, and why this thought stayed with me — on my Substack newsletter.

Read the full essay here: Full Essay

Book Review: Things We Never Got Over

Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score

Quote: 

"I didn't know what went behind closed doors. But I did know that sometimes a bad seed was just a bad seed. No matter what field it was planted in, no matter how it was tended, some just came up rotten."

Book Review: 11 Minutes

 

Eleven Minutes by Paul Coelho

Quote: "The little experience of life I've had has taught me that no one owns anything, that everything is an illusion - and that applies to material as well as spiritual things. Anyone who has lost something they thought was theirs forever (as has happened often enough to me already) finally comes to realise that nothing really belongs to them. And if nothing belongs to me, then there's no point wasting my time looking after things that aren't mine; its best to live as if today were the first (or last) day of my life"

Book Review: Fourth Wing

 

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Quote:  "If they need a fucking pep talk, then we both know they're not flying out of the quadrant on graduation day. Let's get real. I can hold their hands and make them a bunch of bullshit empty promises about everyone making it through if that helps them sleep, but in my experience, the truth is far more valuable. In war, people die. It's not glorious like the bards sing about, either. It's snapped necks and two-hundred-foot falls: There's nothing romantic about scorched earth or the scent of sulfur. This isn't some fable where everyone makes it out alive. It's hard, cold, uncaring reality. Not everyone here is going to make it home... to whatever's left of our homes. And make no mistake, we are at war every time we step foot in the quadrant. So if you won't get your shit together and fight to live, then no. You're not going to make it."

Book Review: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Quote: 

"Could he, by some miracle, keep this going? Could they hide here until the war ends? Until the armies finish marching back and forth above their heads, until all they have to do is push open the door and shift some stones aside and the house has become a ruin beside the sea? Until he can hold her fingers in his palms and lead her out into the sunshine? He would walk anywhere to make it happen, bear anything; in a year or three years or ten, France and Germany would not mean what they meant now; they could leave the house and walk to a tourists' restaurant and order a simple meal together and eat it in silence, the comfortable kind of silence lovers are supposed to share."

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

Quote:

 "That was love, wasn't it? It wasn't just a quick drop - it was falling over and over again, for your person. It was falling as they became new people. It was learning how to exist with every new breath. It was uncertain and it was undeniably hard, and it wasn't something you could plan for. 

Love was an invitation into the wild unknown, one step at a time together." 

Book Review: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Quote: 

"I think we all wear armor. I think those who don't are fools risking the pain of being wounded by the sharp edges of the world, over and over again. But if I've learned anything from those fools, it's that to be vulnerable is a strength most of us fear. It takes courage to let down your armor, to welcome people to see as you are. Sometimes I feel the same as you: I can't risk having people behold me as I truly am. But there's also a small voice in the back of my mind, a voice that tells me, "You will miss so much by being so guarded." 

Perhaps it begins with one person. Someone you trust. You remove a piece of armor for them; you let the light stream in, even if it makes you wince. Perhaps that is how you learn to be soft yet strong, even in fear and uncertainty. One person, one piece of steel."

Book Review: Once Upon a Broken Heart #1

 

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Quote: "It wasn't that long ago that I saw you in my church, willing to promise me almost anything to make the pain stop. Was that a lie? Or have you already forgotten the way heartbreak rips apart the soul piece by piece, how it turns you into a masochist, making you long for the thing that just eviscerated you until there's nothing left of you to be destroyed?"

Blurb: For as long as she can remember, Evangaline Fox has believed in happily ever after. Until she learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, and her dreams are shattered. 

Desperate to stop the wedding, and heal wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing. 

But after Evangeline's first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game - and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy.

Anime Review: Tokyo Ghoul

 

Tokyo Ghoul by Sui Ishida

Quote: "Sometimes good people make bad choices. It doesn't mean they are bad people. It means they're human."

Plot: In the world of Tokyo Ghoul, humans are not the superior beings who are the last in the food chain, but there are Ghouls. Ghouls are beings that survive by eating humans and are more powerful than them. They hide from the authorities who hunt them for the welfare of human society. Kaneki Ken, a simple and kind boy gets in between these two worlds when he goes on a date with a sweet girl, thinking what could really go wrong? 

In a world where both species are fighting to survive, who can decide who is wrong and right and who will win in the end? 

My Personal Views: Let's start with Tokyo Ghoul's season 1 opening music. I found the song, Unravel, quite beautiful. The lyrics and the music were really heart-touching. I am not usually someone who likes Japanese music, but after Blue Bird, Unravel is the only anime music that has stuck with me.

I had heard great things about Tokyo Ghoul and to be honest, Season 1 stuck up to the expectations but unfortunately, I can't say the same about season 2. I could literally see the downfall. Not going to lie, the plot is actually a masterpiece (even in Season 2) but what I did not like about season 2 was how it did not follow the manga which resulted in the plot having gaps and not understanding many of the scenes.  

Considering it was a dark anime, the storyline was actually pretty good. I felt in the first season that Kaneki Ken was too much of a goody two-shoe but ohmygod when he fought Jason? That whole fight was so badass and Kaneki became quite badass in the second season. I also liked how they changed his whole look in the second season with all the white hair and black nails (even though how he acquired those looks was quite painful and heartbreaking). 

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5

Book Review: Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska by John Green.

Quote: "We are all going. McKinley said to his wife, and we sure are. There's your labyrinth of suffering. We are all going. Find your way out of that maze."

Plot: Miles Halter in search of his great perhaps goes to a boarding school in Alabama, where he meets a girl named Alaska Young. She is reckless and screwed up which draws him to her. Miles makes friends and finds himself doing things he has never done before. Miles didn't even know it but his life had changed the moment he met Alaska Young.  

My Personal Views: Now, from the plot written above, it might look like a very romantic book, which it kind of is but it is still so much more than that. This is book is about friendship, life, teenagers, and death. Everything that I love in a book, to be honest. 

Oh my god, when I read John Green's The Fault in our stars, I knew he was a fantastic writer but to write his first book this amazing? God, John Green is something else. The way he writes is just out of this world. He wrote the facts of life so beautifully in the book. 

This book was beautiful.

Even though, I could not find the chemistry between Alaska and Miles that much (which I get was not the point of the whole story). But the quotes, which I always crave in a book, were so great, so beautiful. I was in awe of the writing and the words. 

There was a lot of talk about death in the book, which is an interesting topic in itself, and the way Green described the different facets and facts of life was commendable. I read somewhere, some reviewers had written that they wished they were young when they read the book but I disagree. I am 21 and I found the book just as much interesting and life-changing as I would have if I was a teenager.   

I had read Will Grayson, Will Grayson of John Green after reading The Fault in our stars, but unfortunately, I found it too boring for my taste so I was a bit hesitant while purchasing this book. But honestly, this one was so worth it.

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5

Anime Review: HunterxHunter (HxH) *Contains a bit of Spoilers*

HunterxHunter by Yoshihiro Togashi

Quote: "It was a minor change. Something somewhere shifted. If I had been this way from the beginning, while I am no god, what I could do with this world, No. Perhaps only now can I see it this way." 

Plot: HunterxHunter is about a boy named Gon Freecss who is set out to become a hunter and find his father Ging Freecss, who is a world-renowned Hunter himself. In this journey, Gon makes friends and also goes through life risking missions.   

My Personal Views: OH MY GOD, HunterxHunter is so good. Not going to lie, after I started it, I did not think it was going to be THIS legendary. Though my favorite arcs were Yorknew City and of course, Ant Chimera arc. My least favorite was the Greed Island arc. Let's first talk about why I did not like Greed Island arc. I think it was because it felt like more of a filler to me. I mean, sure, it was interesting to watch Hisoka working with Killua and Gon but Yorknew City and Ant Chimera arcs were much better. Now, talking about the Yorknew City arc, before watching Ant Chimera arc it was my top favorite. I mean, have you seen the Phantom Troupe characters? Each one of them has their own personality and I loved watching them. Kurapika got much more screen time in it so it was pretty good. And that scene where Chrollo waves his hands like he is the conductor of an orchestra, while the whole city burns? Cold, bro. 

However, Ant Chimera became my top favorite arc in the end. When I started watching this particular arc, sure, it was good. The fights were great and even when Gon turned berserk? It was going pretty good. But when I saw how Mereum and Komugi died at last? Bro, that broke my heart into pieces. Togashi has done such a perfect job writing Mereum's character. He made Mereum a legend, to be honest. I think this has happened for the first time in history when a villain died not because of a cold fight with the hero (even though he had a pretty good fight with Netero) but because of love. 

The changes that Mereum developed over time, the way his character was so well-written, and the way the whole of Mereum & Komugi's story was so well-written. God! They became my favorite anime couple for real. When I saw that Mereum had come back after his fight with Netero, I did not like it, to be honest. I thought his comeback would be kind of an insult to Netero's amazing power and I was filled with questions since Netero died who would kill Mereum now? But the way his ending was written, made me take my words back. I think the way he died with Komugi, both of them breathing their last breaths together, was so beautiful!!! Made me cry my eyes out. Also, when Mereum said what he said to Palm, about spending his few moments alive with Komugi. OH. MY. GOD. Was Mereum even a villain???

Coming to the last few episodes of HxH, I always thought whenever Ging and Gon will meet, it is going to be epic but at the back of my mind I thought it will be a, you know, kind of a heartbreaking reunion. But when they actually met?? That was so hilarious! And I totally liked this reunion better than having a heart-to-heart reunion. 

Then, when Killua and Gon parted ways, that kind of made me nostalgic, and also when they showed their whole story. At the end of it, they showed the whole storyline, basically everything that Gon and Killua have gone through. They also included Komugi and Mereum's story, which was so cute! 

When I see or read scenes or animes like this, so deeply well written. The first thought that comes into my find is how can someone come up with something so awesome? How can a human write something so incredible? I am all praises for Togashi's work. One of the best artists of all time.    

Also, I heart HunterxHunter is coming back! Super excited to see that too!

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5