Mini Reviews (Books 1-5) | Book Reviews

Last night while I was updating my goodreads account, I found that  I have read a total of 14 books so far this year. It may be less for many of you, but for me it is huge. I have been so busy with house chores and mom duties lately, I rarely get the time to breathe - let alone read books. Due to time-constraints , it is not possible to write full reviews of all these books. So I am starting a series in this blog where I post mini- reviews of the books I have read recently. 

Reading-wise I have been experimenting with audio books. It is definitely a good source to consume books if you don't have time in your hand to physically read them. But honestly having listened to so many audio books this year , I still can't vibe with it. 

Anyways, Here’s a bite-size review of the first 5 books I read this year -

1.       Misery by Stephen King- The author Stephen King is extremely popular. Wherever I go- be it a bookstore or my local library , I see his books occupying an entire shelf. I had to try at least one book of his in my lifetime . I chose this particular one because of its really cool synopsis.

It is about  a best selling author Paul who is abducted by his obsessive fan Annie. Later, it turns out Annie is crazy and uses torture means ( both physical and psychological) which drives him to write what she desires.

What I liked-

I liked how incredibly King managed to write a compelling story with very few elements. The story had just those two characters in a completely isolated setting.

I also loved the plot which was filled with horror elements but it wasn’t crazy scary to give me nightmares.

The character Annie was layered and well fleshed out. She was just the right amount of crazy which did not at any point feel over the top.

What I didn't like-

I didn't care about a lot of stuff that were present in the story for no significant reason. For instance, the story that Paul was writing was so boring and irrelevant that I skimmed almost all of it. 

I also skipped those parts where he was thinking random things (Scheherazade, a bird from Africa etc). This was hindering my enjoyment for the story.

Overall,this book was only enjoyable in parts.

Rating- 3.5/5

2.     Heartburn by Nora Ephron- The author is a well-known film maker who wrote and directed some of the best romantic comedy movies . Julie and Julia , Sleepless in Seattle , You've got mail and When Harry met Sally are my most re-watched movies of all time. In fact to a certain extent, Julie and Julia is what inspired me to start a blog. I listened to it on audible . It was beautifully narrated by Meryl Streep. The story is about a woman who finds out that her husband is cheating on her with a much younger woman. The story had nothing special to offer but the narration by Meryl made this below average story quite enjoyable. This proves Meryl can literally turn anything to gold.

What I liked-

Apart from Meryl's spectacular narration , I liked some cooking scenes .Again the credit goes to her because the way she narrated those mouth watering recipes made me salivate.

What I didn't like-

As mentioned before , the story had nothing to offer. The plot was mediocre and predictable. 

 Rating- 3/5

3.       Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney- This was yet another book I consumed via audible.
      The story is about a college student and aspiring writer Frances who along with her ex-lover Bobbi finds her entangled in the complicated lives of a married couple. It was also an average read for me with a predictable story . 
      All the characters were unique but unfortunately none were able to hold my attention for long.The only positive I can think of was that the protagonists were writers and I will eat up any book whose plot centered around writers, librarians and book lovers.

       Rating- 2.5/5

4.       The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini- This is a beloved book read even by most non readers. It definitely lived up to my expectations . However, it was a really sad heartbreaking story .I had to keep it down multiple times because the sadness was just too much for me to handle. Too many trigger warnings( rape , assault etc..)  to check out before picking this book. 

      Rating- 4.5/5

5.       My year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh- A woman decides to hibernate for a year- this wacky synopsis is what drew me to this book. I listened to this on audio book @audible and enjoyed the narration by Julia Whelan. It was an engaging plot with a witty and hilarious narrative.There were some laugh out loud scenes involving artists and their weird artistic sense that made me laugh like crazy. The mysterious main lead was interesting enough to follow- the curiosity to figure out why she was doing all this is what kept me going.

Rating- 4.5/5