What I've Been Reading 001

Since last year, I have set a goal for amounts of books that I will read each month. Last year, I set it to two books per month and surprisingly, I surpassed it. This year, I increased my goal and set it to three books per month. Up to now, I failed. -_-"

I have only read five books so far and that's not bad actually. I am behind by four books which I am expecting to catch up in the coming summer (hopefully).

I would love to write a review for each books that I have read but I am lacking the ability to summarize stories without giving out too much information. Therefore, I would just share my favorite quotes or short thoughts regarding the books.

1. Love the One You're With, Emily Giffin

Maybe that's what it all comes down to. Love, not as a surge of passion, but as a choice to commit to something, someone, no matter what obstacles or temptations stand in the way. And maybe making that choice, again and again, day in and day out, year after year, says more about love than never having a choice to make at all.

A son is a son 'til he gets a wife, but a daughter is a daughter all her life.

One way isn't better than the other; they're just different.

 

As much as I find myself screaming silently to the character for the decisions she made, I think I can understand why she did them in the first place. I feel like the story is realistic enough to happen for real. Finishing this book, I really feel like misunderstandings are bound to happen if communications are being put behind most of time.

2. Heart of the Matter, Emily Giffin

 

Did they have it in them to make a wrong decision just because it felt right?

I think of how each person in a marriage owes it to the other to find individual happiness, even in a shared life.

Uhh, I hated the husband so much in this story, it's scary. I do not know if I could ever put myself in the wife's shoes and did what she did to solve her problems.

3. Paper Towns, John Green

When you say nasty things about people, you should never say the true ones, because you can't really fully and honestly take those back, you know?

You keep expecting people to not be themselves.

Humans lack good mirrors. It's so hard for anyone to show us how we look, and so hard for us to show anyone how we feel.

I like how the main character, Margo, left clues for Quentin to find her. The element of mystery seemed to be working for me. My heart skipped a beat when Quentin thought of the worst things and I kinda felt his worries as well but I just don't understand the ending... Maybe I'll re-read this sometime in the future.

4. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding

 

I suddenly realize everything has shifted and now I am looking after my parents instead of them looking after me, which seems unnatural and wrong.

In short, I didn't like Bridget Jones's character in this story. She seemed to be so powerless in this story and the story itself lacks substances for me to take home as a message.

5. Divergent, Veronica Roth

I still want to be angry, but I have to let my anger go.

Somewhere inside me is a merciful, forgiving person. Somewhere there is a girl who tries to understand what people are going through, who accepts that people do evil things and that desperation leads them to darker places than they ever imagined.

I read this book without knowing that the movie is out in the cinemas soon (now, actually). The story did start a bit slow but started to become more interesting with each coming chapters. I like the main characters, Tris and Four but, I don't seem to like the image that I am seeing in the movie trailer. They are far from what I have imagined for sure!

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All this while, I did not think that I have a very strong opinion about books that I have read. Writing this out has somehow proved me otherwise. They are not as deep but they are my honest opinions nonetheless.

Book covers taken from Goodreads