The thing about Rainbow Rowell

I can proudly say I have read all the books Rainbow Rowell has written so far and I am pretty impressed. I think if you were to compare any contemporary author who is into writing about love, I don't think anybody else does it any better than what she does. Her stories are more life like, characters more closer to heart. Their predicaments so similar to the ordinary beings that we are that one can't help but fall in love with her books. There are no grand gestures or gifts or sweeping off the feet and none of the Mills and Boons bullshit. To all those who love Mills and Boons, I feel it is just a rehash of the same every single time with just the professions of the 2 main leads varying.

And its just not the characters and their stories, its the way she writes, her humour. You can't help but snicker while reading it. #NotTheKindToLOL. I am officially in love with Rainbow Rowell and I think I like Eleanor and Park and Attachments the best out of the four she has published till date. I think her writing is one of those things that will tide you through a bad day just becomes of the warm fuzzy feels it gives you. Recommending reading atleast one of her books.

The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer

This is the first book I have read dealing with the topic of schizophrenia and that as a means for coping with depression. The story is about this boy named Mathew, whose elder brother dies at a very young age of 10 and somehow how Mathew feels responsible for his death. Since his death, Mathew is unable to get on with his life and has issues with expressing his grief leading to his eventual mental breakdown. The narration is from the perspective of Mathew and sucks you into his life, his thoughts and how fucked up his mind gets in trying to come to terms with his brother's death. The author does a fine balance of keeping the narrative from being too heavy handed or depressing. It is sad, but does not get you down and under you only want to make Mathew feel better. I really liked the characters in the story, especially that of his grandmother who is a silent support for Mathew and the only person who he really lets in. The reader is taken slowly and steadily through the break down of Mathew's mental state and the suspense of his brother's death never fizzles out. I really liked the story and I think it was a good beginning to the year of 2015. I had previously read that the story was similar to the Perks of being a Wallflower but I really don't see much of a resemblance. I really liked the use of different font styles in the book and the use of Mathew's sketches making it more life like, like you were reading through his actual diary.

All in all I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars on goodreads.

Ahoy 2015!!!!

So its that time of the year again, where we look back and look ahead at the same time and introspect what is it we could have done better, what is it want to do more of in the year to come and what is it we want bring in new in ourselves. My resolutions more or less remain the same when it comes to my reading, other than imposing myself with a book buying ban till I finish all the books that are on my shelf. 

But for the sake of reiteration, I list them below

1) Complete my goodreads 2015 challenge of reading 25 books. Pumped it up by 10 books more, as more than half of the year had gone in a reading slump.

2) Review all the books I read more systematically and more regularly

3) Book buying ban till all the books I own are read.