Quote of the Day

I haven't done any writing in the past few days and I missed it because writing is me expressing me. However, I didn't feel like writing a book review and I don't have an idea for a short piece of writing. Therefore, I decided to choose a quote from my favorite quotes pile and share it with the world and share why I love it. So, without further due, my favorite quote for the day is: 

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”  ― Oscar Wilde

This is one of my favorite quotes ever, I found about this quote in the first semester of the academic year, where I took Comparative Intellectual Traditions course and we studied about a lot of important historical figures that had their influence on the world and one of them is Oscar Wilde, I fell in love with that lesson, and because of Oscar Wilde, my book choices changed completely and I am glad that my choices changed, but that a whole another topic for later maybe. 

Anyway back to the quote. The quote is very simple and short but it carries a powerful meaning within it, and it really have an impact on me because a lot of time we believe that doing what the other and imitate them in everything might create another version of us that we believe is better. But, this version of us is not actually us, it is a reflection of someone else that we want to be like, but we can't be like anyone else because each one of us have it's individual personality, we might find people who are like us and share the same interests, but we will always have these small characteristics that will distinguish us from the other billion people  in the world, even twins are not completely alike. So, the only choice we have is to be ourselves because it is the only personality that's not taken, you can only be yourself, but always be a better version of yourself, not a different version and that is what Oscar Wilde is saying, and that's why I like it.

Book Review: Everybody Sees the Ants

(Photo by Amna.H)

Synopsis: 

Everybody Sees the Ants is a novel by A.S. King that follows the story of Lucky Linderman, a 15 year old boy whose life is just a series of misfortunes. Lucky is being bullied by a boy called Nader, his family is dysfunctional; his father avoid any relationship with him because he didn't have one with his father, and his mom prefer to avoid her family problems by swimming and pretending that everything is okay when it is not, and poor Lucky is lost in all of this. However, things changed. 

When the day his grandmother died, she told Lucky to rescue his granddad from where he is, and that he should bring him home to his family. But the granddad died in the Vietnam War, and they never found the body and returned to the family. Since that day Lucky started to have these dreams about saving his grandfather. 

Review: 

Let me start my review by saying that this book was phenomenal, it deals with a lot of topics and leaves you as a reader with a bunch questions. Through the story, mainly form part two of the novel, I kept wondering what is real and what is not, what I mean is, is Lucky making up these dream because he wants them to be real? Or was he really in a mission to save his granddad?. Also, when his grandmother asked him to rescue his granddad, could've she only been on drugs because she was in pain and she was dying or was it real? All these questions makes think me all the way through the novel. Also, about Lucky's dreams, in the beginning they were purely about rescuing his granddad and giving him the closure he deserved all this time, however, when things started to get heavy in Lucky's life, his realty and his dreams mixed up together, and now his reality became a part of his dreams, again the question is what is real and what is not ?!

Now coming to the ants, the ants are an important part of the story because Lucky started seeing these ants that tells him stuff that he believed in, or do stuff he wanted to do and the ants here are a metaphor for the voice inside our head that we cannot express even though we want to, this whole time with ants, Lucky thought that he is crazy, and he is the only one who sees them. However, his granddad told him that everybody sees the ants because we all have trouble and problems in our lives that we don't know how to deal with. Therefore, everybody sees the ants. 

Another scene I liked in the book is when the granddad asked Lucky why is he here, is it really to rescue him? Or is it to escape from the reality he lives in by dreaming these dreams where he is the hero in them? 

The last part about the book review is the characters. A.S. King did an amazing job with the characters, they are so real and believable in a way that makes the reader connect with and feel what they feel. My favorite character is Ginny, I could here her in my mind, she had a powerful voice and a powerful message to the community around her. My second favorite character is of course Lucky, Lucky is an amazing real character with a very strong voice just like Ginny, he is believable and a lot of people can relate to what he is going through. 

This is my first A.S. King book and I was not disappointed at all, and I would recommend this book to everyone I know. 

Favorite Quotes:

“The world is full of assholes. What are you doing to make sure you're not one of them?”

“When they torture me, they show they’re weak. When I survive, I show them I’m stronger.”

“Listen to me. They may control what you do, but no one can pee on your soul without your permission.”

"All those people see the ants?" "Yep. Right hand green!" "Wow." "Yeah," he says. "If there are people who don't see 'em, I'd say we outnumber them a million to one.”  

Rating: 

Creativity: 5 stars/ world building: 5 stars/ characters: 5 stars

Overall rating: 5 stars

Book Review: Divergent

(Photo by Amna.H)

Divergent is one of the books that I read at the begging of the year and I remember that I was excited about it and I was so excited that I bought the whole box set XP, and I am glad I did because I wasn't disappointed. This review will be the review for the first book and will be followed by the book to movie adaptation review. 

Synopsis

Moving to the book synopsis. The book is about this society that is divided into factions, five to be exacts and they are Dauntless, Erudite, Amity, Abnegation and Candor, and people are born in theses factions. However, when the teenagers turns 16 they get to choose which faction they want and they can stay in the same faction or they can change the faction, and changing meant to cut the relations with the old faction. 

The story follow Beatrice an Abnegation member  who changed her faction to Dauntless when she turned 16. As an abnegation member Beatrice faced difficulties into accepting the ways of the Dauntless, however, eventually she did. But during the choosing ceremony Beatrice finds out that she is a Divergent and Divergent people are a threat to the society because they don't belong to particular faction and they have resistance to the serums, so she has been asked to hide in a faction that they won't find her in, and she chose Dauntless. and the story carry on from here...

Review

From my point of view, this book was great, I loved it so much. But, what I liked the most is that it had a little bit of everything, there is action, romance, adventure, a little bit of science fiction, it had it all. This book was my first experience with Dystopia novels and it was a great a book to start with for sure. 

The characters are amazing, I fell in love with Tobias, I can say for sure that he is one of my favorite male characters in fiction books.  I loved Triss in the first book, not so much in the next two books, she became a little bit annoying (review will be posted soon). There is also Christina and she is so funny, I just love Christina. 

The last part of the review is the writing style. The writing was so easy and smooth which makes it easy to go through the book fast, it is a 487 pages but you can read them so fast that it won't take you more than a three days. I would recommend the book for the younger readers because even though I enjoyed it very much, I can tell it is for younger readers for sure. 

Favorite Quotes: 

“Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.” 

“A brave man acknowledges the strength of others.” 

“Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up” 

“Politeness is deception in pretty packaging.”

“Who cares about pretty? I'm going for noticeable.” 

Rating: 

World Building: 4/ Characters: 4.5/ Creativity: 5

Overall: 4.5

What is Failure?

(Design by Amna.H)

What is failure? The known definition is to fail at doing something, to lack the success. But, if you went to ask people what is failure, you would be surprised by the answers because each one of us has a different meaning for failure.

I know this person who always believe in failing, however, her definition of failing clashes with my definition of failing. She believes that failing without putting the effort in it will lead to success. To her, getting a bad mark or failing in a test or a course is just a natural thing because these failures will lead you to success. Well, let me tell the problem with her definition:

1-   You don’t get to say that you failed until you tried your hardest to succeed.

2-   Real failing experiences are called learning experiences because people only succeed when they learn from the mistakes that were made by them and by the others.

So this is why I disagree with her definition of failing!

Therefore, my advice for you today, don’t accept failures because if you told yourself that you have failed, then you didn’t learn a thing. Learn from you mistakes and don’t let anyone stand in your face trying to affect your ways and methods of success.

That’s all for today. See you next time with another piece of writing... 

First Book Talk: Anna and the French Kiss

(Photo by Amna.H)

This is my first post in this account and and I will be talking and discussing books and if you are interested then tag along. Also, just to put it out there there will be other kind of discussions and some writings too, so follow me if you might be interested. Now lets talk books and today's book is Anna and the French Kiss! 

To say the truth Anna and the French Kiss is not a book that I would go to a bookstore and pick it up by myself because it sound interesting, No. But thanks to the book-tube community I have been introduced to great books that I will be talking about in Later posts. Now, going back to Anna and the French Kiss, the story about this girl who her father become the Nichols Sparks type of writer and he becomes famous because of his novels that are turned to movies, and now since he is famous he decided to send his daughter to Paris to finish up her high school there because this is what the other fathers do in Hollywood! However, Anna is not thrilled about her father's decision and she is upset with the fact that he didn't give a choice and now Anna have to deal with this new life, culture and people. 

Coming to the review part now. I loved Anna and the French kiss, I read it this summer so it is still fresh in my mind. I loved how Stephanie Perkins showed the difference between the two cultures (American and French), and the stereotypes that tourist believe in. Also, it is a funny book and an easy read, and OMG, the book can be so graphic, the way Stephanie Perkins described Paris was amazing in a way makes you see it, makes you feel as if you were there with them!!

I would recommend it for those who are looking for a good summer read book because it is the best and it gives you the feels, the happy feels. So, If you are interested go and pick it up, So far I haven't met anyone who didn't love it. So I hope you will love it too. 

Favorite Quotes: 

“Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place?” 

“We both got our Point Zero wishes―each other. He said he wished for me every time.”

“The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you.” 

My Rating goes like this:

World Building: 5 stars / Characters: 4 stars/ Creativity: 4 stars 

Total Rating: 4.3

Share your opinions if you read or thinking of reading  Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins ...