MY THOUGHTS ON CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them released almost exactly two years ago?????? (let that sink in)

There’s like, no way in hell that was two years ago. It seems soooo close by, I was soooo excited. When it all got over, I wanted MORE (caps).

Fast forward two years, a blog, and a change of glasses later, I watched The Crimes of Grindelwald yesterday. Though I can’t say that I walked in with the same enthusiasm as 12 year old Shreya (ahem, ahem, with all the screw ups of JKR and what not which i’ll talk about later on this post).

But I did feel like jumping out of my seat when Back To Hogwarts played in the start and all of a sudden, it was 2016. Life was good. (a feeling which lasted a total of two seconds). Despite JKR slowly losing the fandom’s respect this past year, deep down I had some expectations (it’s the harry potter bitches).

The start had some slightly draggy action. After thaaat. A lot of things messed with me. I don’t understand, they were sooo freakin’ good with the last movie. It was fun to watch. This one dragged on and on and hellishly on, and it could’ve been avoided.

OKAY NOW CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW THEY COMPLETELY SABOTAGED QUEENIE????

Maybe it could have been a good character arc but it was wayy too fast in the movie. Speaking of characters, ALWAYS LOVE SMOL BEAN NEWT. There was no major role for Tina, and Jacob just felt like a side character. But I STAN LETA ALL THE WAY. *cheers*

I was soo worried about how offensive Nagini would turn out to be but … she’s just there as a supportive viper to Credence (who needs a hug). Idk how to feel about Nagini.

And we don’t see much of Grindelwald either.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

OKAT BUT THE FSCKING PLOT HOLES IN THIS MOVIE.

what is minerva doing in 1927????? when she was born in 1935 1935 1935?????? like was she a cameo that someone thought nobody would notice????? i mean, just google it rn and check her birth date if you don’t believe me.

why is dumbledore teaching dada when it’s,,,,, idk canonically established that he taught transfiguration???? i have no clue. either the director forgot or jkr is turning this series into another cursed child.

and i’m pretty sure grindelwald is lying about credence’s identity. there’s no way in hell he can be a dumbledore as kendra died in 1899 not on the fucking titanic. and dumbledore definitely isn’t his father given his orientation and timeline. so jkr is either using this as a red herring, or she’s blowing up her amazing original series’ layout.

SPOILERS END SPOILERS END SPOILERS END

Now. Talking about the rep. I’d like to explore my feelings about this more in another post but I will be brief here. I’ve been very patient with JKR but my patience and respect is slowly slipping. I am *very* upset they didn’t explore the relationship of Dumbledore and Grindelwald when she very clearly said that Dumbledore was in love with him. And the naming of Nagini didn’t feel right, but now idk what to feel. I still hope Albus-Gellert will be a thing in the next movie(s).

It’s not that I didn’t like it. Bit too long for my taste? Yeah. But some pieces of acting were awesome, and I LOVED seeing Hogwarts again. This is the darkest movie in the entire series, and rapidly shifting to an even darker place.

But will the storyline keep up with all of this or will it sink? Whatever happens, and whatever potential screw ups JKR might or might not do, Hogwarts will always be there, to welcome us home.

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BOOKS READ IN OCTOBER + WHERE THE HELL HAVE I BEEN????

Yoooo, folks! Guess who’s back from her month-long hiatus?

I was in Albania, creating Horcruxes and I became besties with this ginormous snake who is willing to be a vessel for my soul. Kidding. (not?? you never know, i might be voldemort in disguise)

Also, happy birthday to one of my favourite book bloggers, the AMAZING Shruti!!

(check out her blog pls why are you even reading my trash)

The last post I made was back in September, and it’s almost October.  I knowww I’m terrible, I can’t help it 🙂 But, surprisingly, I did a decent amount of reading during my blogging hiatus.

So, here’s what I read while I was gone:

average reads:

The Girl Before by JP Delaney

I got this in my brief vacation to my grandparents’ place, it was okay. Slow to kick up and a bit confusing and fast.

 

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Not my favourite Gillian Flynn novel.

non-fiction:

One final book by the great genius . . .  Gives understandable and intriguing answers to the big questions, so you’ll enjoy it even if you ain’t a cosmology buff.

 

Quiet by Susan Cain

I cried actual tears while reading this, it was so relatable. It’s not often you come across something that gives you pride on being an introvert (the world gives us enough shit as it is for being quiet).

highlight reads:

Before I Sleep by SJ Watson

Ummmm unexpected and amazing right from the start!!!! (even if you don’t like this genre you should read this)

 

Into The Water by Paula Hawkins

The weirdest book I’ve read. It’s soooooo unique! Much better than The Girl On The Train. (and no, unfortunately i don’t have the beyond gorgeous edition above)

 

The Woman In The Window by AJ Finn

Awesomeeeee!!!!!!!! I!!!!!!!! Loved!!!!!! It!!!!!!!!! (i have an affinity for thrillers with sociopathic villains i guess? lol)

~.~

As for me, I’ve had an okay month. The exams got over in September end, I went to my grandparents’ place, I’m watching Riverdale season 3. I might have reconciled with my old friends. I became best friends with the most unexpected person (a cool it girl. it was mostly her adopting me and not leaving until i accepted i’m stuck with her for good)

The parent-teacher meeting is on Friday, if I make it alive you’ll hear from me again, folks.

. . . Till then, watch out for them trolls in the dungeons. You never know where they’re lurking.

SHARP OBJECTS BY GILLIAN FLYNN

I got this book, like, a few months ago and since then it’s been stuck in my TBR pile. I started reading this a week or two ago but I didn’t get past chapter one since a lot of things came up (exams, birthday, new phone). Anyways I restarted it yesterday and finished today.

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Synopsis:

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming.

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This book has, something like, a darkness to it. I didn’t feel uncomfortable; I found it interesting, but idk about you. The suspense in this book is thick enough to choke you. Kidding (not). The characters are fascinating.

I was really creeped out by Adora, and I thought something was off. Amma turned out to be . . . unexpected. I sorta saw her as a smaller version of Camille but that’s definitely not the case. (I loved how things ended with Camille and Richard, and how that romance thingy didn’t define Camille/become a main element).

If it was shown or done differently, I might have called the ending sloppy or anti-climatic. But it was written brilliantly, to pull a twist of that magnitude in very few pages that too when the book is just about to end.

Overall, highly recommended. GO READ IT NOW

Rating: 5 out of 5 

 

6 THRILLERS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS OUT ON

Heyy, so I’m back after yet again another extremely long and unexplainable break 🙂 In other news, I turned 14 (I was 12 when I started this blog which seems forever away). And also I’m going through this hellish process we call exams.

This year, I explored all sorts of genres being as open-minded as I could (save fantasy. I’ll get to it). And I read loaaaads of thrillers novels. Some were good, some lived up to hype, some disappointed bitterly.

Here is a list of my absolute favourites which are guaranteed to be a page turner:

1. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

The first thriller I read this year, way back in summer (also my first book by this author). I, like, read this till 3 in the morning when I was supposed to sleep, and I read the rest on the plane back home. It’s many things; thrilling, funny, amusing, and heart-breaking. You will not get bored with this.

 

2. The Dinner by Herman Koch 

I gave this a 3.5 rating I guess, because of the slow start. But like I mentioned in my review it was well worth the slow start once things started to warm up. Overall it kept me entertained when I was with a runny nose and in bed with nothing to do.

 

3. The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

You’ve probably heard about this one given all the hype. And, my last post was a review of this. Granted, I was impatient with the slow start and didn’t have many expectations, I really warmed up when the action kicked in. I wouldn’t say it is worth all the hype (or that’s just impatient me), but it’s a great thriller.

 

4. Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

I LOVEEED THIS SOOO MUCH. It kept me hooked right out for the start. (I was biting my nails and grinding my teeth and being annoyingly noisy with this one so I had to sit someplace else). GOOO READ IT, MY GALS AND GUYS.

 

5. Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

More on the emotional side but I still LOVED it. (Actually, I wanted all of Liane Moriarty’s book on the list but I was too lazy to didn’t add them so go read any of Liane Moriarty’s books, really)

 

And last but not the least,

6. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn 

I was actually just reading it. I’m almost done, and my booktution tells me it’s gonna end with a bang. I really, really liked it so far too so added it here (I don’t know about Gone Girl tho. Haven’t read it yet).

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So those were my thriller recs. What about you? Any thriller book yo finished in one sitting?

Do share your thoughts in the comments section!

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN BY PAULA HAWKINS

I read this sometime in early august, to see what all the hype was about. Also I meant to write this way back, but, procrastination, eh, what can you do?

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Synopsis (this is NOT the main part of the post. Skip, non-bookblogger)*

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost. UNTIL TODAY And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?”

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I was disappointed at the starting. It wasn’t as fast paced as I though it would be, given all the hype. The suspense kicks in well into the book (or that’s what I thought. Maybe others think differently?). It was almost worth the slow start, because once the suspense kicked in me and the book were inseparable.

It’s told through the POVs of 3 women: Rachel, Anna, and Megan. Rachel happens to be a bit of an unreliable protagonist, I guess, as you start getting into the novel. Each of them are connected to each other. Out of the three, I really felt sympathetic for Rachel. AND LOVE TO HATE TOM. I didn’t like Anna much, though. Idk.

Despite the rusty start, it was a good read. But I don’t know whether it is actually worth all the hype. I mean, there are better thrillers out there. I say if you’re looking for an actual toe-curling read, ditch this and check out Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.

Rating: 4 out of 5

*This is for the non-bookworms/bookbloggers that are reading this right now and might have otherwise mistaken the synopsis for my writing.

AUGUST THE ROUND UP

Hey, guess who’s alive and apparently baaaack! This month was . . . weird. A bit too fast. I basically vanished from my blog and I have no reasonable excuse. Period.

But I’ll be on my game starting today. So let my fill you up on what I was doing this month when I was definitely not blogging.

I’ve been reading a bit more than usual this month; surprise, surprise. I’ve almost finished all of Liane Moriarty’s books (I’m addicted). I’m in the middle of rereading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which I (finally) got the paperback version of.

I had to say goodbye to oceanofpdf.com this month 😦 So far the hunt for substitutes has been a complete waste. No site comes even close to match the Ocean.

I watched Anne with an E on netflix which is amazing, and this show called Riverdale.

I haven’t been tweeting much except if you count all those spam-like #TCSITWiz tweets (all deleted ofc). However, I’ve been active on bookstagram and I’ve managed to take pictures that have some semblance to aesthetically pleasing.

So that’s . . . that. Nothing else. I have a ton of books to review. My birthday comes on September 15 and I may or may not get a phone (my parents are pissed off with me constantly borrowing their phone.)

How was your month?

WHAT YOU SEE IN THE MIRROR

Everyone, at one point, has looked into the mirror, just really looked at themselves, and judged themselves. The mirror on the wall really doesn’t always show that the person is the fairest of all.

While the reflections are the same, it depends on how the person perceives that reflection. Some people might perceive themselves as beautiful. Others might mercilessly judge themselves. At one point, we’ve all looked pointlessly at our reflection and searched for flaws. (Everyone runs low on self esteem at some point. I’m sure even the bawdiest, most confident people have)

But what we should be seeing, is our individual beauty. We are different from each other. That doesn’t mean the select few get to feel good about themselves, while the others think they don’t live up to stupid beauty standards.

And I know, it’s hard to take away the envy and judging. Honestly, seeing the flawless Instagram pictures of some people just makes you compare yourself, help it or not.

The presence of someone’s beauty doesn’t mean the absence of your own. I live by these words. When I feel that envy coming, I think about this and coax it away. Yes, the person in those flawless Instagram pictures is beautiful. Gorgeous. But so am I.

If you truly start thinking, that yes, I am beautiful (because you are), that reflection in the mirror doesn’t look that bad anymore. And it makes all the difference.