So lately, I realized that my fondness of books stroke zero when I hit college. During our grade school and high school days we were required to read a book or two in our English classes and that’s when I developed my love for reading and passion for writing.
One of the struggles I encountered while looking for new books to read is that not many people who leave reviews off Amazon and Goodreads give the idea whether or not a book would fit a reader’s interest. Majority of finding those reviews focus on attacking another person’s review where they think they lack understanding what the book is all about. So I decided, I’ll be focusing on the point whether or not a certain book is what you want to spend your time on.
My reviews do not dissect the story or the plot or the style of the author, but focus on whether or not this book is meant for you as a reader. So expect no spoilers, making it safe to go through before actually reading the book.
Rating System 5 - Nail biting. 2am and I have work tomorrow but who cares. 4 - Page turner. I can take a quick break from all this feels. 3 - Satisfactory. Nothing hooking about it but I want to know if it gets better. 2 - Needs improvement. I wanna put this down but... 1 - Waste of trees right here. * half points for in-betweens
Fiction (YA)
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Eleanor & Park is about two star-crossed teenagers, Eleanor and Park- who- despite knowing first love almost never lasts, were still brave enough to try. This book reminds us of our good old days at 16, when we thought falling in love was the best feeling ever.
Rating: 4.5/5 (Click for rating system)
Other famous books by Rainbow Rowell: Landline, Attachments, Carry On, Fangirl
Starters by Lissa Price
Starters revolves around teenager Callie, who’s only hope to live is through an odd organization, Prime Destination. These teenage bodies are rented out to seniors who want to be young again. But after a malfunction in the neurochip from her rental, she wakes up in the life of the renter.
Rating: 4/5 (Click for rating system)
Other famous books by Lissa Price: Enders (sequel to Starters)
Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho
Eleven Minutes is about protagonist Maria discovering sexual acts. But with a deeper thought, it’s also about love, how we associate it with our life, how we confuse sex and love and how love doesn’t seem to exist in sex anymore.
Rating: 3/5 (Click for rating system)
Other famous books by Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist, Veronika Decides to Die, Manuscript Found in Accra
The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom
The First Phone Call from Heaven revolves around some “chosen” people who received a special call from their dead loved ones. The grieving single father Sully is determined to find out if the whole thing is a miracle or a massive hoax.
Rating: 4/5(Click for rating system)
◊ The First Phone Call from Heaven Full Review
Other famous books by Mitch Albom: Tuesdays with Morrie, The Time Keeper, The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Nonfiction
How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs by Guy Raz
How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs is a book that offers insights and inspiration from some of the world’s top entrepreneurs on how to start, launch, and build a successful venture.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Click for rating system)
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is a book that shares how psychology and behavioral economics affects the adaptive unconscious. It shows the power of thin slicing and snap judgment and explains it from multiples and multiples of researched social experiments and historical events.
Rating: 4.5/5 (Click for rating system)
Other famous books by Malcolm Gladwell: The Tipping Point, Outliers, David and Goliath
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
Eats, Shoots & Leaves isn’t exactly a grammar book, but a point of view on the current grammatical state of today in a witty and delightful way. A thing or two to learn about proper grammar and how important they are is what to expect.
Rating: 4/5 (Click for rating system)
◊ Eats, Shoots & Leaves Full Review
Other famous books by Lynne Truss: Talk to the HandTalk to the Hand, Cat Out of Hell
The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
The Success Principles is a proven blueprint of 64 timeless principles and successful stories of numerous people collated into one book that will increase confidence, setting goals, and dealing with daily challenges to get from where you are to where you want to be.
Rating: 4/5 (Click for rating system)
◊ The Success Principles Partial Review
Other famous books by Jack Canfield: Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Power of Focus, Mastering the Art of Success
Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark
Writing Tools is generally an organized classic guidebook of four parts: “Nuts and Bolts,” “Special Effects,” Blueprints for Stories,” and “Useful Habits.” filled with compilation of 50 essential strategies, examples, and activities for better writing which best applies to journalism and literature.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Click for rating system)
Other famous books by Roy Peter Clark: How to Write Short, The Glamour of Grammar, Coaching Writers
Life and Lemons 