Book review: All the light we cannot see

To be honest, I was half skeptical when I first read the synopsis of “All The Light We Cannot See” for I thought to myself, ‘How different could another World War Two story be?’ But I was happily proven otherwise because this 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner by Anthony Doerr is an absolute stunner.

War is arguably an institutional feature in the international society, a description that devoid of emotions and conjures up images of men in suits, negotiating tables and marching soldiers. This book takes war out of the hands of adults and thrusts them into that of children, blind French girl Marie-Laure and orphaned German boy Warner.

It maps the divergent paths they took during the Second World War, a period where they experience drastic changes and the pains of growing up. They were confronted with difficult decisions that people around them were making, but unknown to them was that these decisions were mainly made to shelter them from the harsh realities that were unfolding. In the years to come, these moments would continue haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Book review: Library of Souls

I was ecstatic when I found that the final installment of the “Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children” series was out late last year. The previous book left readers off with a cliffhanger as the children were in the midst of a great escape plan, where protagonist Jason Portman just discovered he had a new powerful power.

It was wonderful that the “Library of Souls” dived right in from where it last ended, and managed to live up to my expectations to deliver a solid ending to the trilogy. This is particularly so given that the earlier two books have set a remarkably high bar.

In the third book, I relished in the author’s continued use of actual vintage photographs that he had personally collected throughout the years to enmesh them within the fictional story plot. For me, this is exactly what elevates this series from good to excellent for I love how it breathes new life to these old images that have been repurposed for a new use. This picture in particular stood out for me:

My top 5 Instagram poets

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Personally, this day bears no significant cultural meaning for me, but I have always held fond memories of it. Back in school, it was a traditional among my classmates to give flowers, chocolate and presents to one another on Valentine’s Day as a way to show our love and appreciation for our friends. I used to look forward to going to school on V-day to find my desk filled with an assortment of little gifts that warmed my heart up. It felt like it was a way of telling friends that I do still have you at the back of my mind.

In the spirit of loving and sharing, below are five of my favorite Instagram poets that will melt your heart away. On a side note, I have recently discovered Instagram as a writing platform, and am impressed with the literary and artistic flair shown on the social media platform. If you have other poets to share, leave them down in the comments box below. And let me know what are your Valentine’s Day memories?

Happy lunar new year!

An early happy Lunar New Year everyone! Every lunar new year is characterized by one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, and this year is the Year of the Monkey. To find out more about how the lunar calendar works, see this pretty good explainer from The Telegraph .

Personally, Lunar New Year is one of my favorite festivals because my family always makes it a point to gather together and celebrate it with good food and company. Being away from my family this year did not diminish the importance this day meant to me, and I have been busy the past week preparing for a lovely dinner on Sunday with some friends.

So here’s wishing you a happy Lunar New Year, and stayed glued next week for a love-filled literary post!

See HERE and HERE for my past Lunar New Year posts.

Seen on the street

For all the free minds out there: Shake off the shackles to liberate the thinking mind