10 books for my younger self

It is Tuesday and it is the time of the week again — The Artsy Reader’s Top Ten Tuesday !

The topic for the 8th of September is: Books for My Younger Self (These could be books you wish you had read as a child, books younger you could have really learned something from, books that meshed with your hobbies/interests, books that could have helped you go through events/changes in your life, etc.).

This means it’s time to dig into my Goodreads again and find the reads which I think my younger-self could learn a lot from. Here we go…

Books 1-5: Reads which could have taught me a lot about poetry

Dream Work by Mary Oliver; Helium by Rudy Francisco; Anna Akhmatovaby Anna Akhmatova; And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou; The Captain’s Verses by Pablo Neruda 

As the name of the blog suggests, I am a reading writer. I used to read for leisure, and write professionally at my work. Come 2015, after a virtual poetry workshop here on WordPress, I have rekindled my love for writing poems.

Since then there was no turning back. After two poetry collections which can be found here: https://areadingwritr.wordpress.com/portfolio/published-work/, I still have a lot to learn about the world of rhymes, rhythms, and lyrical verses. And the books above helped me with that, and it would have been lovely if my younger-self was exposed with these books as well.

Book 6: Lessons about human history

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

Book 7: Lessons about mortality, fairness of life, living every moment

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Book 8: Lessons about the world outside my country, life and love beyond what I knew when I was young, and the power of words when weaved right

Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore

Book 9: Lessons about the strength of a human heart, finding hope during one of the darkest chapters of history

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Book 10: Lessons about the joy and pain of young love

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

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What are the books which you would suggest to your younger-self?

Share them below, along with your TTT, too!

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09.08.2020
©2020 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photos via The Artsy Reader and Goodreads

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Book Review: Curse Breaker: Enchanted

“A fall doesn’t break you.”

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58th Curse Breaker: Enchanted by Melinda Kucsera

Rating:  (BEST, GREAT read!)

What is it about:  Secrets threaten, but magic kills.

Plagued by sanity-twisting magic, Sarn must unravel a deadly mystery. But he’s prevented at every turn because his life is not his own. Haunted by one of the victims, Sarn must find out what happened before the ghost drives him mad.    

As plans collide beneath ensorcelled boughs, one thing is certain. If Sarn can’t get his magic under control, he’ll never discover why enchanted trees committed murder. How far is he willing to go to find the answer?

The search might cost more than his sanity. Exposing the truth might claim his life and destroy the secrecy protecting his son from a killer. Something lurks in the enchanted forest and its sights are set on Sarn and the magic in his blood.  

First in a new series, Curse Breaker: Enchanted is a fast-paced, character-driven fantasy tale with a murderous twist. Sarn’s story unfolds over three action-packed days in his double life leading to a breathtaking finale.

What I Love:  This book is made of love. A kind of love which has transcended and was honed by time. A kind of love you will feel oozing out each and every beautifully-crafted line.

You will feel it as you read each chapter, as the characters were introduced, as the twists and turns were unveiled.

The plot, the setting, the characters are concrete. The descriptions are both enchanting and vivid. The big revelation caught me (pleasurably) off guard!

As a poetic fangirl, the internal rhymes and the haunting warnings written as poems are a true delight.

It is also no secret that I love Sarn, no matter how mad and insane he is, and his adorable son Ran. Their moments together in this book are almost always heart tugging.  This will lead me to my most loved part of this book….

It is indeed an epic fantasy, but it also captured both the beauty and the chaos of reality and humanity.

The struggle of a single father, the innocent love of a child, the hardships of someone illiterate, the depth of hurt of friendship betrayed, the injustices and so much more were all tackled in this novel.

It’s a lengthy read worth your time. And the cliffhanger ending will make you want to know more.

What I Don’t Love Much: This is about me and not about the author. I am not so fan of big words (because English is not actually my native tongue). For several times, I searched some words in the dictionary to be sure I got the meaning right. (facepalm)

Wise Words:  “People tended to give the religious and the crazies a wide berth. :

“A fall doesn’t break you.”

“We prevent the tragedies we can and mourn the ones we can’t. You have to let it go. Obsessing over what happened will drive you crazy, but it won’t bring them back. Nothing you do can bring them back. You can’t turn back time. You can’t undo yesterday or the day before. Let them go.”

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Click to order Curse Breaker: Enchanted on Amazon Today!

Available in eBook (order now) and paperback (9.27.16), (audio edition – TBA)

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About the author:

Melinda Kucsera  the writer behind In Media Res.

By day, I’m a project manager for IT at the academic journal publisher, Mary Ann Liebert Inc. I support the websites for two trade journals: GEN and Clinical OMICs.

By night, I am posting to my website, MelindaKucsera.com, in memory of my sister. I am the author of the novella Stars and Angels Sing and the Curse Breaker Saga (get book 1, Curse Breaker: Enchanted from Amazon today).

I write serial adventure stories in high fantasy (or science fiction). The ongoing stories are:

1. Quest 
2. The Curse Breaker Saga
3. Aerials
4. (Re) Quest – a retelling of Quest
5. The Lord of the Sea.

I also write short stories. Find them all here.

I have one story to tell about a place called Shayari and the people who live there.

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©2016 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.

Photo and Story Summary: Goodreads and Unsplash

30-Day Book Challenge: Day 23 – Best book you’ve read in the last 12 months

Got some time to continue beckysblogs’ awesome 30-Day Challenge! Here it is…

DAY 23. – Best book you’ve read in the last 12 months.

For the past 12 months, I have read a lot of new authors. When I say new, I mean new to me. I read a lot of reviews and to-read list to know who are the authors and what are the novels worth reading.

Honestly, there are some novels that appeal to most of the readers that appears overrated to me. But there are also those books and authors that are really really worth your time.

It is hard to pick only one best book because the past 12 months are full of good reads, so here are the my 10 BEST books (August 2014 – August 2015 edition):

Note: This is ordered according to the most latest book that I have read.

• Every Day (Every Day, #1) by David Levithan

This book is really unique. It takes a lot of imagination to come up with such an interesting and literally out-of-this-world premise. So kuddos to David Levithan!

• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Haunting opening scene and calming closing chapter. Alice Sebold is indeed a skilled storyteller.

• Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Realistic and relatable. Lisa Genova has translated Alzheimer’s disease in the most understandable way. She knows how to make the readers feel the grief and courage of her main character, Alice.

• Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

I still cannot forget the ending of this Jodi Picoult masterpiece. As my 100th read book and with its special story about motherhood and elephants, this is indeed one of the best novels that I have read for this year.

• Never Never by Colleen Hoover

I hate how Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher ended this novel. I hate and love them because they are just so great in engrossing me that I read this book for just over an hour! I was left hanging, but it is fine! This book made me a fan of these two lasses!

• The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

If you think this is a typical infidelity/love affair novel, think again. Because Liane Moriarty was able to craft a story about a broken marriage without the usual cheating issues. This is worth reading!

• Defending Jacob by William Landay

Just when you thought that you figured out the story, William Landay will show you that you just don’t. The twists and turns of the plot especially towards the end will caught you off guard. And that is exactly what thriller and mystery novels should be!

• We Were Liars

Talkin’ about unpredictable writers? Well, that is surely E. Lockhart. The ending of We Were Liars is just so surprising that I was really left in awe. I even questioned myself if I really read the book thoroughly or E. Lockhart is really that good. I think it’s actually the second. 🙂

• Eleanor & Park 

Cute yet heartbreaking. This book made me want to read more of Rainbow Rowell. The story will give you some flashbacks of your own highschool love story because Eleanor and Park are both imperfectly perfect. That is why their story is just so alluring!

• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Who could ever create a love story with an almost ‘abnormal’ leading man? Don Tillman is brave enough to go beyond the typical handsome and perfect lover boy. His bravery has created a witty, sometimes annoying, but definitely loveable character.

So there!

It was fun to recall the great book hangovers that these 10 awesome books have given me.

Actually there are some great books that I was not able to include because I want to post Top 10 only. But I think I should still mention them here. Here’s a quick run down:

• I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

Moving.

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Insane.

• The Selection by Kiera Cass

Fascinating.

• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Unique.

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Creepy.

• If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Tearjerker.

and

• The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (Pseudonym), J.K. Rowling

Engrossing.

I do hope you can include some of them in your TBRs!

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