How My Reading Habits Have Changed Since I Started Blogging

Hey guys! So recently, I started thinking about how blogging about books in particular and joining Goodreads has changed the way I read and the way I feel about books. Because honestly, there has been a major change ever since I started blogging about what I was reading. I have gone from loving books, to obsessing over books.

I have gone from being a casual reader to someone who is in a fast paced and snappy community (that I adore). I've gone from being a lonely reader to bouncing thoughts with my book club mates. And I thought you guys might like to hear about this because a lot of you may be new to the community or just may be curious about it.

So let's start with some background. I first blogged about a book last year in June when I posted my review of The Fault In Our Stars. After that all I did was lifestyle. And then in October, I decided that I wanted to do more book reviews so I did one on Gone Girl. It was also about that time when I joined Goodreads. And from that point, everything changed.

1) I Read More

It's not a big surprise to anyone that ever since I joined Goodreads and started blogging, I've read so much more. In fact, I read a total of 36 books last year but this year, I've already read 49 books and it's only June.

 So that's a huge jump. I guess it has to do a lot with the pressure I face externally. I used to just read whatever and whenever but now I have friends in the book community and new books are coming in every day and there is so much discussion going on that you feel left out if you haven't read the latest Sarah J Maas book or heard about the publishing date of the final book in a series. There's a lot of pressure to keep up but it's the good kind of pressure. The kind that pushes you to keep wanting to do better and to read more. I personally love it. It just drives me and makes me feel amazing.

2) I Know What and Who I'm Reading

In the past, I used to walk into a book store and not know a thing. I wouldn't know any author except one or two that I found particularly notable. I wouldn't know a thing about any of the books on the shelves until I read the blurbs. But now, when I walk into a book store, immediately everything is familiar. I know what I like and what I don't. I roughly know when books were published. I know about the author and if I've read books by them in the past. I can confidently say that I recognise about 70% of what is in a bookstore now. I'm still learning but it's quite a leap from knowing absolutely nothing.

3) I Feel Less Alone

I never really had friends who were super crazy about reading. I had a couple of friends who liked reading but usually never as much as I did. Reading to me was a lonely hobby. That is, until Goodreads and book blogs and booktubers popped up. Now, I no longer feel like I'm in this bubble of sorts. I feel like I'm part of a group of people. I can freely talk to people about what I'm reading and it's not like I'm talking to a wall anymore. I feel like I can finally share my passion for something with other people and form friendships through that. It's just a lot of fun.

Well I think that about sums it all up. It was just a short little post but I wanted to let you guys know how blessed I am to be part of this wonderful community of people. Honestly I don't know what I would do without some of the friends I've made here. I just feel like I have a place here which is something that I have never felt in most aspects of my life.

Okay I have no idea how to end this without it being awkward so...bye haha.

All The Bright Places By Jennifer Niven

The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
 
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
 
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
 When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.- Goodreads

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I'm going to get a bit personal in this review because this was a very personal book for me. 3 years ago, I went through what could only be described as a depression. I was experiencing all the symptoms but I was too scared to voice it up to anyone. People could see that I was in distress. Believe me, they could see it. But no one ever thought to dig deeper. That year was the darkest and most horrible year of my life. I thought about killing myself constantly. I would make these plans and I would imagine my suicide and funeral. No one cried at them. I would cry myself to sleep and starve myself in school because I was too busy writing about my horrible life in my diary to eat. I threw myself into reading and into isolation.  I didn't want to be around anyone. Not that the people around me at that time were that great either. I was being emotionally bullied by not just my peers, but my family. I was scared  and alone. I fell into this deep dark hole and I couldn't crawl out.  It wasn't a formal diagnosis but I believe that I went through a depression that year.

The following year, I found myself in a much better environment. I could breathe again. I could see the light. Slowly, I started to get better. I pulled my head out of my books (I used to read really obsessively as an escape from people and life. I now read a lot but I read healthily). I started doing better in school and I made more friends. It took a long time but I survived the darkness. I survived the 'Asleep'. I woke up.

This book brought back a lot of the feelings from that year. And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It just made me empathise and love the characters even more. Because I felt like Finch understood what it was like to be so depressed that you couldn't function. I understood Violet's immense sadness and her desire to be better for her parents. I just felt so deeply for the for the characters. 

When I started the book, I thought it was so 'The Fault In Our Stars'. I was pretty annoyed to be honest. And then, about 30% into the book, out of nowhere, it suddenly got ridiculously amazing. Suddenly Violet and Finch became real and I found myself completely immersed in the story.

Towards the end, I actually found myself mentally pausing. I didn't want to read the next sentence but I also did. I didn't want to turn the page but I also did. In my head there was this steady mantra going, 'Nonononononononono'.  

When I finished the book, I was in tears. And I'm talking ugly tears that made my head hurt. I was physically hurting and I was incapable of well anything really. It hurt so badly. 

Many people compare this book to 'The Fault In Our Stars' and while the author is honoured by that, I feel like there is something very important that All The Bright Places has and that The Fault In Our Stars lacks. People always tell writers to write what they know. John Green's book was based off his imagination. All The Bright Places, as was mentioned in the author's note, was based off a real life experience of hers. I don't want to give away spoilers here so I won't elaborate but Jennifer Niven's book just had that authenticity. You could just feel the emotions radiating from the pages.

This book was epic and already it is blowing up. Everyone is going crazy for it and Elle Fanning has been cast as Violet. I'm so happy for Jennifer because she is such a sweet and genuine human being and I couldn't be happier for her immense success. If you haven't read it yet, drop everything and go get a copy. It's so good and you won't regret it.

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The author, Jennifer Niven, very kindly agreed to let me interview her for my blog so here are her answers to the questions I had. Take note that there might be some mild spoilers in the last two questions.

1) People often like liken your book to The Fault In Our Stars and Eleanor and Park. How do you feel about that? 

It’s an honor to have All the Bright Places compared to these two wonderful books, but at the same time I worry that it does all the books a disservice because each of them should really be able to stand on their own.

2) Are all the places that Violet and Finch wandered to real? 

All but one—I invented the bookmobile park. (Which I hope someone will create someday!)

3) Have you been to them? Have you left something behind too?

 I’ve been to some of the sites, but in April I’ll be in Indiana on my book tour and I’m hoping to see all of them then. I’d like to do a Finch and Violet tour of Indiana and leave something behind at each place.

4) Why the obsession with Virginia Woolf? Do you personally like her work?

 I’ve actually never been a fan of Virginia Woolf, but I came to appreciate her more while I was working on All the Bright Places. (I actually wrote a piece for The Guardian recently on how I came to quote Virginia Woolf in the book: http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-...) 

5) If you could have anyone in the world to play Violet and Finch, who would they be? I’m asking so I can get a better idea of how you saw them in your head as you were writing it. 

When I was writing the book, I always pictured Elle Fanning as Violet, and now she’s actually playing Violet in the movie version! (I’m so excited!!) For Finch, I pictured Nicholas Hoult. He’s got the same weird beauty and sex appeal as Finch, and is able to play both sensitive and sweet and frenetic and wild. (Sadly, I think he’s a bit too old now to play Finch in the film.)

6) You mentioned that you once lost a boy you loved to suicide. I’m so sorry to hear that. Did you get the idea and write the story based on your relationship with him or was it something else?

I got the idea to write the story from knowing and loving this boy years ago. I saw firsthand his struggle to be in the world, and the dramatic highs and lows he experienced on a daily basis.

7) What was the most interesting thing you learnt and person you got to meet during the research of this book? 

It actually happened after the book came out—I reconnected with the family of the boy I knew and lost, and it’s been really special to be in touch with them again.

8) Why was Mr Embryo so unfriendly and harsh on Finch? Why did you decide on that direction with a profession that is usually painted as being warm and loving? 

Unfortunately, the counselors at my high school were overworked and understaffed, and they could only do so much for their students. Not all counselors are like this, of course, but I know too many teens who have been overlooked or underserved by their own school counselors. That said, I actually thought Embryo did the best he could with Finch. He used tough love when dealing with Finch, and I really do think he cared. As he himself said, yes, he probably could have done more, but Finch was also very guarded and careful about how much he revealed to everyone, Embryo included.

9) Why exactly did Mrs Finch try to always distance herself from her children? Did she have a mental illness too or was she pulling away because of what Mr Finch did to her? 

Mrs. Finch is a very wounded person who is simply going through life as best she can. She is basically just showing up for life without actually engaging in it or with the people around her. Basically, she does the bare minimum she needs to get by. I see her as a woman who was very hurt by the man she loved and married, who is still reeling from that hurt, so much so that she is incapable of truly seeing, understanding, or taking care of her kids.

10) How did you manage to score a movie before this book was even published? (Congratulations on that by the way) 

Thank you! My wonderful film agent sent the book out early last spring, after we’d sold a number of the foreign rights. She knew the foreign rights sales so early on in the process and all the early buzz about the book would get the attention of Hollywood, and luckily she was right! 

11) Do you plan to be heavily involved in the movie making process?

 Yes! I actually just did an event yesterday with the producer and the director and Elle Fanning! They are all being so wonderful to involve me as much as possible.

*SPOILER ALERT*

12) What was it that finally drove Finch over the edge? Was it the expulsion? Because he seemed to be doing well until he got expelled. 

Like the boy I once knew, Finch suffered from bi-polar disorder, which meant that every day was a struggle for him. It wasn’t a matter of one event driving him over the edge. There were certainly multiple events that contributed, but more than that, it was Finch trying to stay Awake and not wanting the Long Drop to come back. He was tired of fighting, and he dreaded the Asleep—his word for the lows— which he knew would inevitably come.

13) How is it that he spent most of the novel fighting to stay alive for Violet but in the end, she wasn’t enough?

I hate to say it, but a person can’t be enough for another person to stay. This is something I learned firsthand from my experience knowing and loving this boy and others like him who struggled with depression, bi-polar disorder, and suicide. Finch loved Violet more than he loved anyone, but he was battling demons far bigger than that love. The thing is, Finch should not have died. There was help for him. Suicide should never be a solution. If only Finch had let people in and let them know what he was dealing with and realized that he’s not alone, that other people struggle with these same issues, he could have been saved.

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My Rating: 5/5

P.S. Jennifer, I still really really want a signed copy
Purchase the books at The Book Depositary using my special link Here. 

Plot Twist: TFIOS Edition

Plot twist: The real reason why Gus was at that gas station to buy a new pack of cigarettes was not because he had misplaced them but rather because he had finished smoking them. Saying that it was a metaphor was just so that he could keep cigarettes on him whenever he wanted. His cancer came back because he had started to smoke.

(I'm sorry. I know you must think I have a real issue with TFIOS. I don't. Really.)

*Read my full review of The Fault In Our Stars here: http://twentythreeowls.blogspot.sg/2014/06/the-faut-in-our-stars-honest-review.html

The Fault In Our Stars: An Honest Review

For my first blog post, I decided that I would like to tackle The Fault In our Stars by John Green. I wanted to give my honest opinion of the whole TFIOS craze that's currently sweeping the young adult population.

Firstly, I would like to say that I've read The Fault In Our Stars and I've seen the movie twice. I've also read Paper Towns and Looking For Alaska. I like John Green's books a lot and I respect him as a writer. However, there are a lot of flaws in The Fault In Our Stars and I feel that due to the hype, these issues are usually overlooked.

So to start off, I did not cry once. Nope. I did not bawl my eyes out when Gus died both while reading the book and watching the movie. I'm not heartless. I just don't usually cry over books. I read A LOT but I could most likely count on one hand the number of books that have made me cry. Focusing solely on the book, I can understand that some emotional people might have cried. However, it wasn't that sad. I think this thing started to spread that if you read The Fault In Our Stars, you pretty much had to cry or you would be deemed strange. That was pretty dumb and it really annoyed me. If you didn't cry, why say that you did?

The storyline was good but there were major flaws. Firstly, when a strange old man demands that two very sick minors fly thousands of miles to Amsterdam to visit him in his home, where is the common sense to say 'hang on a second. Something does not seem right.' I can excuse the fact that maybe Hazel was too starstruck and excited to think clearly but what about her parents? What about Gus's parents? What about the Genies? Did no one think to make sure this man was sane before sending two minors to his house all by themselves? What if he had been an axe murderer? Or a drug dealer? That part made no sense. I respect that a background check would not have been the most poetic thing to add to an already poetic love story but there needs to be a reality check here.

Secondly, while it is true that some kids are more mature, I felt like they were too mature. Talking about oblivion and metaphors. It's not like kids don't talk about that. They sometimes do. But they don't fixate on it they way they did. In addition to that, they talked in long paragraphs in poetic language. Yes. It is beautiful. I loved it honestly. But kids don't talk that way. Especially in this day and age. Kids are fast and quick. They use short forms for almost everything. I felt like John Green could have worked a bit harder to make sure the language used by the characters was age appropriate. 

Thirdly(does that word exist? I don't know. I'm going to go with it), I felt like Hazel and Augustus's parents were pretty irresponsible and not as heavily involved as one would expect the parents of two terminally ill kids would be. Gus's parents are barely mentioned even though Gus found out that the cancer had spread well before the Amsterdam trip. His parents didn't show up to drop him off at the airport or anything. And they let him walk around with a cigarette hanging from his lips? I mean which parent allows that?? Not to mention what a bad influence that is for all the readers. Hazel's parents were more involved but not involved enough. 

Firstly, they let Gus and her go to Peter Van Houten's house without a background check (or any basic check for that matter. Yes, I am very upset about that part) and Hazel's mom didn't insist on following them to the house to at least check the place out. 

Then, Hazel's mom let Gus and Hazel walk all over Amsterdam by themselves. Yes they are old enough to manage by themselves but Hazel was lugging around an oxygen tank and Gus only has one leg! Hazel just had a medical scare a few weeks before they left. I don't know but if that was my kid, I would have been a lot more careful and protective. In a foreign country, you do not let two sick kids go around on their own. What if something happened? Who better then your own mother to help? 

Finally, how did Gus get to that gas station? If you've been living under a rock, basically Gus drives himself to a gas station in the middle of the night to buy more cigarettes and then finds out that he's got an infection. He calls Hazel to come get him and begs her not to call the ambulance but he's crying in pain, throwing up and an absolute mess so Hazel calls an ambulance obviously. 

My question is, where were his PARENTS??? Between the two of them, you mean to tell me that neither had the brains to not let Gus go out by himself in the middle of the night when he was already so sick? Granted that they may have been asleep but seriously? He has one leg. He's very sick. Someone had to have heard something. It was pretty irresponsible.

I'm not going to go into how John Green basically glamourised cancer and how teens are now starting to wish to have cancer so that they too can have an epic love story. I'm also not going to go into how kids are now taking photos of themselves with cigarettes saying its a metaphor (oh help) but that is what I have to say about The Fault In Our Stars.

It was a good book. I liked it. But there were too many plot holes and I feel that the craze over the book has caused so many people to just ignore these flaws and to just focus on the love story. Whatever floats your boat but this is how I feel.

*Images and one GIF were all taken from google and none of the pictures are mine in anyway