Tag: Book Review

The waiting is over. After raving about Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher and promising a review “soon”, that time has arrived. This is my new bible and possibly a book that I should read every year so I never forget who I am and what matters the most to me. I can’t promise you you’ll have a great connection with this book like I do, because in the realm of self-help books, everything is very subjective. However, I can share why I love it. And perhaps you’ll find there is something more to the endless list of hobbies you have than you might think. Title: Refuse to Choose: Use all of your interests, passions, and hobbies to create the life and career of your dreams Author: Barbara Sher Publication year: 2006 Length: 268 pages Genre: Non-fiction, Self-help, Psychology “Are you a scanner?” Barbara starts by asking this very simple …

In 2025, I finished reading the last book in the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown. And to celebrate, a few weeks later, the author announced the next book in the series ( I should really finish A Song of Ice and Fire to see if George R. R. Martin does the same). I was very excited to have a new book to read. And then it was announced that a female character was returning. This is a first. Robert Langdon’s female sidekicks are always new characters. Basically, the whole cast is always new from book to book, making them perfect to start at any point. While this news was exciting, what I didn’t like was discovering the character in question was Katherine Solomon. Previous co-star in The Lost Symbol, AKA the book I disliked the most in the series. Title: The Secret of Secrets Author: Dan Brown Series: Robert …

The time has come. After countless years seeing The Secret History floating around lists and online book communities like a prized possession or a rite of passage to get into a club (ironically fitting for the story), I am finally part of the group. I’ve read The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It took me 4 months to finish, but we got there eventually. And, if by any chance, you are not yet part of the club and don’t know if you even want to be, I’ve got you. Because while I picked up this book to see what all the fuss was about, I knew next to nothing about it. And now, being on the other side, I can fully grasp what this story is, and if it deserves all the hype and higher praise it receives constantly. Title: The Secret History Author: Donna Tartt Publication year: 1992 Length: …

For a while now, I wanted to find a way to bring games into this corner of the interwebs. While I don’t play as much as I used to (I also have another thousand and one hobbies I didn’t have before), from time to time, some games steal my heart and time. They are all I can think about. And so, I want to share my love for them here as I do with books. But I’m not quite sure how to do it. Showing gameplay in video form is way better to get a grasp of what the game is really like… And I’m not doing that. I’m sorry. I’m not adding video editing as yet another thing to learn. So fast forward to 2024, I discovered a little indie game called Tiny Bookshop. And it immediately reminded me of The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan. In …

From time to time, there are some books that simply catch your eye. We know nothing about them other than the cover and the title. And apparently that is enough. Mister Magic by Kiersten White was one of those cases. Well, I knew a little bit more than just the title, but still not enough to really know what I was getting myself into. Title: Mister Magic Author: Kiersten White Publication year: 2023 Length: 10 hours 33 minutes Genre: Mystery, Horror Pace: Medium Story focus: Plot & Character Thirty years ago, there was a children’s program called Mister Magic. Five children would sit around in a circle and create worlds of fun and whimsy with the help of the mysterious host, Mister Magic. It had a huge popularity among children for being fun and at the same time educational, which parents loved. Now, there’s not a single recording of that …

Celeste Ng [ing] has been on my radar for years. Probably since Little Fires Everywhere came out, in 20-something. From the synopsis of her books, I could tell she was more of a literary fiction writer with slight mystery undertones and unlikable characters. I enjoyed the prospects of a family drama-filled book, although a character-driven story isn’t exactly where I thrive. And so years went by without taking the leap and picking up one of her books. Until I came across Everything I Never Told You with a great discount price, I could never resist a bargain. Title: Everything I Never Told You Author: Celeste Ng Publication year: 2014 Length: 10 hours Genre: Literary Fiction, Mystery, Family Drama Pace: Medium Story focus: Characters Lydia is dead. Her family doesn’t know it yet. But she’s dead, not far from home, in a lake just across the street. Drown and alone. This …

It really doesn’t matter what season we’re in or what the weather is, because it’s always a good time to pick up a sci-fi novel. This time, I’m talking about The Woman in the Ship by Sapphira Olson. This book came out this month and will take you on a ride through the stars like no other sci-fi book has taken you before. Thank you to the author and the publisher for the opportunity to take a peek at this new book. Title: The Woman in the Ship Author: Sapphira Olson Publisher: Lether Press Publication year: 2025 Length: 378 pages Genre: Sci-fi, Post-Apocalyptic, Romance, LGBTQIA+ Pace: Slow Story focus: Characters Sally is the captain of the spaceship Ascension, tasked with the very important mission to paint some rich dude’s ashes onto the hull of the Voyager 2. Some people have way too much money. When they inch closer to their …

And so it has come to an end. After 3 years, I finished the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (AGGGTM) series by Holly Jackson. This has been a roller coaster to say the least. My adventure began with the first book, playing armchair detective and loving every bit of it. But then I was surprised by how different the second book was. The formula wasn’t the same, and the character started to change. It was a book that really caught me by surprise. And then it was time to conclude the story with As Good As Dead (AGAD). Title: As Good As Dead Author: Holly Jackson Series: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #3 Publication year: 2021 Length: 14 hours 18 minutes Genre: Mystery, Thriller, YA Pace: Medium Story focus: Plot & Character It was a hard book to read. I’m not going to lie. I struggled a bit …

With the new Netflix adaptation, which I haven’t watched, The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin is now even more popular. If you enjoy reading sci-fi, then you probably heard people talking amazingly about this book. At least, I did. I had The Three-Body Problem on my radar for a very long time. So long that some promo images of 1899 made me question if the two stories were at all related. Sadly, they don’t. So, I will continue to live without a second season of 1899 and a grudge about it. Title: The Three-Body Problem Author: Liu Cixin Series: Rememberance of Earth’s Past #1 Publication year: 2006 Length: 13 hours 26 minutes Genre: Hard Sci-fi, Mystery Pace: Medium Story focus: Plot I knew barely anything about this book series. I know what the three-body problem is, but I had no idea how it would connect with the story. So I …

It has been a few years since I first read Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. To be honest, I don’t remember much. I know I liked the final chapter, which brought the story to a close in a heartfelt way. Apart from that, I thought it was maybe average. That was until I reread it. My mood reading is often influenced by other media I consume throughout the day. Coincidentally, on Max, they released a new adaptation of this story. And I loved it! I liked it so much that I had to pick the book back up again to refresh my memory. You see, this first season is only half of the story. Only next year (probably) will I see the ending of Tita’s life story. That’s too much time to wait for. So I went back to the shelves. To my surprise, I really enjoyed this …

I could do a standard review for The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore by Laurie Gilmore. I could, but that doesn’t mean I will. This book is a good premise to dive a little into the state of literature in this digital era, where reading has become an aesthetic, publishing nothing more than a marketing contest, and books don’t equal reading quality. I’m guessing you’ve probably heard of this book or at least of the first one in the series, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe. This is one of those TikTok sensation books that consequently travels around all the online book communities, so far and wide that physical bookstores have sections dedicated to the books from TikTok. Because of this, I was well aware of the existence of this series and had no intention of reading it. But when you are gifted the book… oh well… since other people insist, I guess I’m …