Beyond the Book

  All The Light We Cannot See is one of those books that gives away nothing about its plot and the sheer size of the book might make you want to keep it on your bookshelf for months while it gathers dust only to pick it up one day and have your mind blown by the tenacity, innocence, and faith of the characters.  Werner Pfennig, an orphan from Germany is a boy with curious blue eyes and hair as white as snow. His curiosity leads him to discover the workings of radios and transmitters which further nudges him into the world of the German elite and eventually being enlisted during the Second World War. Marie-Laure is a kind, extremely intelligent, and curious girl who is robbed of her eyesight at the age of six but her disability never stops her from learning about the world and what it has to offer. She lives in Paris with her father who works at the Museum of Natural History which exposes Marie-Laure to a wide range of specimens that intrigue her and only increase her appetite ...

  This is one of the few times where I stumbled upon a book thanks to the excellently made movie adaptation of it (there's Kate Winslet omg!!). The Reader made me bawl my eyes out like an angry crier while also making me susceptible to the inner workings of what exactly is moral behavior when it comes in conflict with feelings of love and adoration.  Micheal Berg, at the young age of fifteen, falls ill on his way home and is rescued by a woman named Hanna Schmitz who is not only kind enough to comfort him but also walks him home. After recouping from his illness, he finds himself immensely attracted to this woman who is twice his age while also fearing the chance of being reprimanded by her. Soon enough, Micheal is involved in an affair with Hanna which makes him forget about everything a fifteen-year-old should be doing (and not be doing). While talking about school, Hanna asks Micheal to read to her which goes on to become an essential part of their routine. As soon as the t...

  Holly Black has proven herself to be a prolific writer of the genre of fantasy by giving her readers the most spectacularly exhilarating experience in the last book of The Folk of the Air series. The Queen of Nothing i.e., the power-hungry and fierce protagonist Jude, is under exile and suddenly stripped of the power she once dreamt of acquiring.  Jude Duarte after successfully navigating through the treacherous waters of the High Court of the Faerie has managed to halt the conflict between the land and the sea but finds herself in a position of no power unlike before. Under exile in the human world, she despises herself for being too trusting which results in her losing her position as seneschal in the High Court of King Cardan as well as her unrelenting control over him. While she bides her time afflicted with feelings of betrayal and anger, she finally finds an opportunity to sneak back into the magical world of the Faerie when her twin sister, Taryn, is faced with deep t...

  One might believe that after a book like The Cruel Prince that precedes The Wicked King, Holly Black may only be able to do so much in order to continue the plot. However, she manages to leave you baffled along with an exhilarating experience plagued with moments of double-crossing and the evil bargains of the Fae.  After nearly five months of overthrowing the tyrannical rule of Balekin, the elder sibling of Cardan, Jude Duarte finds herself in a new position of power which comes with numerous benefits coupled with an unmooring sense of danger. As she walks on eggshells in order to keep the Faerie Kingdom running, she realizes it is rather much more difficult and burdensome to hold onto power as compared to obtaining it in the first place. Plotting and scheming her way through the newly established High Court of the Wicked King, it seems rather impossible to feel a moment of rest as Jude must control and navigate through the constant riddlesome alliances of the Fae who despi...

  It is quite safe to say that once you enter the world of fantasy novels, there really is no escaping it. Holly Black is certainly in the same category as Sarah J Maas if not her equal in terms of creating a world of Fey that delights the human mind and makes it more real than it could ever possibly be.  Book one of The Folk of the Air series, the Cruel Prince is a story about three sisters, Vivienne the eldest, along with Jude and Taryn who are forced to enter the Court of Faeries when their parents are murdered in front of their own eyes.  Despite undergoing the extreme harshness and impoliteness of the Fey, the 17-year-old Jude wants nothing more than being able to belong with the cruel Fey and learn their ways of life. She is power-hungry, cunning, and charming and wants a place for herself in the High Court of those very creatures who loathe humans, which is exactly what Jude is.  However, with her struggle to find herself and her place within the Fey, she must...

  Normal People, Sally Rooney's brainchild is nothing short of an absolute wonder to be read. One of my favorite books that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster of love, friendship, and heartbreak, Rooney won me over with her ability to showcase the reality of the complex relationships that people unknowingly form.  Marianne is an awkward teenager with an eccentric yet distant personality who wants to accept the reality of her unfortunate world that is composed of an ignorant and unfeeling family and hardly a  handful of friends. Connell is the exact definition of what one might describe as the high school sweetheart. Famous, friendly, and extremely handsome, he tends to suppress his own feelings and desires only to be someone the world adores and loves. Rooney somehow transcribes certain extreme qualities of love and loneliness along with a common urge to suppress one's true desires which in my opinion, might actually be one of the biggest factors that bring the two c...

To base one's first novel on a story as famous and repeatedly told as that of "the best of all Greeks",  Madeline Miller has achieved a tremendous and courageous feat.  Achilles, the hero of the legendary Trojan War, was the son of the fierce sea-nymph Thetis and the renowned King Peleus. Prophesied to become one of the greatest warriors to be born, he was prepossessing, alluring, and charmingly humorous.  The novel begins with the story of Patroclus an awkward Prince and son of Menoetius, who was exiled to Peleus' court after killing a nobleman's child in anger. Thus, Patroclus meets Achilles and as fate would have it, goes on to become his life-long companion, friend, and lover much to Thetis' dismay.  Patroclus and Achilles are trained by the wise centaur Chiron in the art of war, medicine, and survival. After the kidnapping of Helen of Sparta, Achilles and the Kings of Greece are forced to join the King of Mycenae, Agamemnon's army to fight the Trojans...