Author: Miss Known

You know those books you want to read, you buy them, but in the process, you never get to learn what the story is about? Do you know the ones? Well, One of Us is Lying by Karen M McManus is one of those books for me. I don’t even remember the first time I saw this book. It was years ago! I knew it was a YA murder mystery, and that was enough to put it on my wishlist. It took me a while to finally read it (as usual), but now that I did, the story was… unexpected. Author: Karen M McManus Pages: 360 Genre: Mystery, Drama Publication: 2017 Synopsis: On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.Cooper, the athlete, is …

When I decided to buy Deep Work by Carl Newport, I had no idea the journey it would put me through. I was reading about a different approach to work, a change of perspective when what I found on those pages motivated me to experiment with different schedules. And today is finally the time to look back on the first experiment: the Rhythmic schedule. As this is considered the easiest deep work philosophy to archive, I started my journey with it. After all, I only need to work every day at the same time for 90 minutes. Sounds simple enough. Honestly, it wasn’t that easy, but it taught me a lot more about my work, myself and how much I can accomplish. Rhythmic schedule rules My deep work sessions are to work on blog posts, so I can somewhat compare each philosophy using the same project. Although I also what …

For the second time this year, I found a book that exceeded my expectations and gave me a great reading experience. The Book of You by Claire Kendal was in my TBR for a year and was never a book I wanted to read. I don’t even remember why I bought it, but I did, so sooner or later, I had to read it. Little did I know how much I would enjoy it. Author: Claire Kendal Pages: 361 Genre: Psychological Thriller, Crime Publication: 2014 Synopsis: Clarissa is becoming more and more frightened of her colleague, Rafe. He won’t leave her alone, and he refuses to take no for an answer. He is always there. Being selected for jury service is a relief. The courtroom is a safe haven, a place where Rafe can’t be. But as a violent tale of kidnap and abuse unfolds, Clarissa begins to see parallels …

Last year I read one of the books I was most excited to pick up. A story told differently. Illuminae by Amy Kaufman and Jay Kristoff immediately went to my wish list once I discovered it was told through a collection of files, transcripts, emails, etc. And for some reason, I never got to review it. Fast forward to 2022, I finally bought Gemina, the second book in The Illuminae Files. But before I jump into it, first, I need to go back to the beginning, to where it all started. Illuminae Pages: 599 Genre: Sci-fi Publication: 2015 Goodreads | The Storygraph Synopsis: This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival mega-corporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the …

Everyone that has worked from home knows that as good as it sounds, it’s not always a walk on the beach. There are so many distractions, and it’s easy to lose a routine. And that is the state I’ve been in. I have a morning and nighttime routine that is more or less consistent, but during the day, it has been hard to create one. From pets to unplanned tasks, finding a balance isn’t easy. So, I’ve been looking for strategies and ways to accomplish my work while still being flexible enough to accommodate any unpredictable tasks that need to be done. From time blocking to so many other techniques I’ve found online, one stood out the most: deep work. This is a term created by Carl Newport about a deep state of focus. The idea is to reach a mental state of deep concentration to produce better quality work …

The Hunger Games. A series that doesn’t need any introduction. Some people read the books, others watched the movies, and many did both. I did none. I was aware of the basic story behind The Hunger Games: a bunch of kids put inside an arena to fight until death. Although I never wanted to watch any of the movies, I don’t know why, but I never did. Fast forward a few years, and here I am, a die-hard fan of Divergent and the dystopian genre. I knew it was a matter of time until I had to read The Hunger Games trilogy. There was no denying how important this series was for the genre, and it was (still is) so beloved. I had to read it. And this year, I finally archive that goal. Attention! The following review contains spoilers for all three books in The Hunger Games series. You …

After a particularly spectacular reading month back in June (you can read more about it in this post), I felt I could conquer the reading world. I saw how much I could accomplish if I dedicated the time to reading. And after finishing one book, the next thing I wanted to do was to finish another. So having read 9 books in June, almost double the amount of my best reading month ever, I was pumped! At that moment, I made a decision. I was going to read my entire TBR, both physical and digital. This decision was not motivated purely by an exceptional reading month. My first reading experiment of the year made me realise the books I buy are based on my mood. Although, I tend to feel guilty for prioritising a shiny new book over the ones collecting dust on my shelves. And if I avoid reading …

The best time of the year has come once again. The air is getting colder, and the days are shorter. The prime cosy time is upon us, and nothing like a chilling and dark mystery to rock you back to sleep. There is something delicious about reading murder mysteries and creepy stories in autumn. Maybe it’s the change to darker days or the association with Halloween. Either way, reading is always better when it’s colder outside and nothing like picking up a Ruth Ware to make the most out of it. Author: Ruth Ware Pages: 338 Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Drama, Horror First Publication: July 2015 Synopsis Nora hasn’t seen Clare for ten years. Not since the day Nora walked out of her old life and never looked back. Until, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen party arrives. A weekend in a remote cottage – the perfect opportunity …

I need to start by clarifying that reading is not a competition or that I think it should be. Reading is a hobby, a source of entertainment, therefore, should never be a competition. And in the golden age of online sharing, I know it can be hard to avoid comparing our reading with others, especially when some are capable of hitting double digits every month. But this post isn’t about reading more than other people. Every time I mention competition or competing, I’m talking about doing it against myself, challenging myself, and pushing myself as a reader, not comparing myself with others. Keep in mind this is purely an experiment to get even more enjoyment of reading. To be completely honest, I decided to make this post on a whim. I had a couple of ideas left for reading experiments to do this year when I came across a video …

Taking care of our planet matters to me more and more as time passes by. Slowly, I’m becoming more aware of how much we just use and throw away, and consequently, waste is becoming something that bothers me. Even throwing away onion peals or eggs shells is something that doesn’t sit right with me anymore. If it can be transformed, then I want to do it. While a compost bin still has some “questions of logistics” to be considered, I can start re-purpose other things. And the next item on the list of “things that have a short life span” comes water bottles. Yes, they can be recycled, although I’m still using them once and then throwing them away (to recycling). I want to give them a new life before they are shredded into tiny pieces to be reborn again. Then one day, while losing myself in the slow living …

And Then There Were None is not the first Agatha Christie book I read. Although it is the first one I completely fell in love with. It can be tricky to read her books. They were written a very long time ago, and she often uses references to the 30s lifestyle that is foreign to me. While reading it in a different century, some details can go over my head and doom the book as boring. At least, this has been my experience when reading Agatha Christie. But then, I picked up And Then There Were None. One of her standalone mystery novels. A story with multiple adaptations from movies, to mini-series, to a two-part episode of Family Guy. And I know I’ve seen a few more with different characters while maintaining the same plot, although, for the life of me, I can’t remember where. This is one of her …