9 REACTIONS WE HAVE WHILE READING A GOOD THRILLER

Plots maybe different, but our reactions are same. Sweat, grime, teeth chattering, insomnia – welcome to the life of a thriller addict.There is no out. You eventually become a crazy, paranoid addict and you crave suspense. You wish you could obliviate yourself and read the same thriller again and again.

So here are some reactions when we read a realllyyyyy good thriller:

1. Starting the book and patiently waiting for the suspense.

it’s okay, book. Take your time book. i am right. here.

 

2. . . . Still waiting

wHeRe tHe sUsPeNsE bItCh

 

3. When it does kick in

some tea, please

 

4. When you start guessing the plot in a very Holmes-y way

oooo yes i’m guessing it all, pfftttt so predictable

 

5. But when all your guesses go downhill in the most unexpected ways 

bold of you to assume you knew anything at all moron

 

6. When everything. everything goes batshit crazy.

hi, wtf is happening here? idk anymore.

 

7. When the book has a lot of explaining to do but only 20 pages are left

these 20-something pages better have an answer

 

8. Finally EVERYTHING is explained in an ending you did not see coming 

now moi understands

 

9. And the stage after the end when you want to reread it but you already know everything

i wish i could obliviate the plot and reread the book again

~.~

*Rinse and repeat*

THE DINNER BY HERMAN KOCH

I had this phase with thrillers for the past few weeks, and I really couldn’t get over Big Little Lies. So I googled books similar to it, and this popped up. (I remember having a flu bug while reading this so I finished it last weekend in bed, with a cup of hot coffee 🙂

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Synopsis:

An internationally bestselling phenomenon: the darkly suspenseful, highly controversial tale of two families struggling to make the hardest decision of their lives – all over the course of one meal.

It’s a summer’s evening in Amsterdam, and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant for dinner. Between mouthfuls of food and over the polite scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse – the banality of work, the triviality of the holidays. But behind the empty words, terrible things need to be said, and with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened.

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The first few pages into the book, I really didn’t know what to expect. TBH I hadn’t even read the synopsis properly. The whole thing is told through our protagonist, Paul Lohman’s POV (he makes observations about the restaurant through the book which, intentional or not, I found funny).

The interesting part kicks in halfway through. At first, when I read the big secret, I was already convinced my protagonist is acting a bit senile. But there’s much more to it. This isn’t your regular thriller with the same incident, suspense, and big reveal all I chronological order. The big reveal happens halfway through here. Just like that, BAM. The suspense follows after the big reveal.

The writing style was great! The author did a good job in portraying Paul as a cross between outright crazy and a fierce love for his family.

The downside to all this? It’s VERY slow to start out. I almost thought about giving up but the interesting parts started. Not to mention I found the book a bit pointless till then. Still, it was something nice to read while bed ridden over the weekend.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

 

 

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MAY THE ROUND UP

Hello! I don’t do monthly round up posts but this month was something else.

This was honestly the most relaxing month ever. I was able to catch up on all the popular books I missed in 2017 and before, and I’ve almost finished all of them!

I visited my grandparents place in Mysore which I haven’t for over two years. The weather here is AMAZING, unlike sultry Indore summers.

When I wasn’t reading I was full on watching TV (though anything good rarely comes) and moviethons on my laptop. Mostly Marvel moviethons since I’m the only loser who hasn’t recovered from Infinity War.

I wanted to watch Solo: a Star Wars story but my dad wasn’t here and we kinda have a ritual to watch any Star Wars movie together. So now he’s here and I’ll probably watch it by tomorrow.

I joined yoga thanks to my dad, since he wanted me to do something new over the summer (or probably just to make sure I don’t rot my eyes with books and TV). But I actually enjoy doing it. Though there are downsides since I have to be up at 7:30 when my holiday wake up time is 11:00 (I catch up on the sleep after coming back).

Like I said there were many amazing books this month. One book that touched me was The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I got hooked on the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard and I’m now reading Glass Sword.

And yayyy, I finished my holiday homework!! *laughs and grins like a maniac* This seemed impossible but I conquered it against all odds.

I was able to catch up with my pen pal on Instagram and I keep annoying her by sending her weird Tumblr posts. Unfortunately I did a horrible job with keeping in touch with my Hangouts pen pal since there’s no internet in my laptop OR tab, I’m reduced to writing posts on my mom’s phone. Can’t wait to catch up with her properly when the internet situation gets better.

So overall it looks like I totally pampered myself over the summer.

Psst! I’m slowly nearing 300 followers! 😀

I’M NOT A PERFECTIONIST

If there’s anything that’s a stellar opposite of me, it’s being a perfectionist. I don’t obsess over every little detail, or want perfection in every job I do.

Does that make me lazy??

I guess. I guess it makes me even more lazy to just admit it, like, “Hey, I’m lazy bones. Done” and not work on it. I’m also something of a professional procrastinator. I procrastinate homework, things I have to do, books I have to read, posts I have to write, and much more.

It’s not that I don’t want things to go well, it’s just that if things don’t turn out perfectly perfect I’m okay. If the job is done and the message is sent (I can’t frame this nicely but you know what I mean . . . right?) then that’s that. No need for fancy-smancying it up.

And it’s also not that I won’t do thing properly or that I’m doing the thing just for the heck of it. But just . . . that feeling. You get it? Probably if you’re not a perfectionist then you’ll get what I’m saying. I do the thing, I give my 100%, and I leave it all to the future. I did all I could. I did everything required. I’m not going out of my way to do the thing.

Is that a bad thing that I don’t care for perfection in the end? Does it make me a flawed person that I don’t fret over every detail and the final result?

Maybe.

Nobody can be perfect, in my opinion. There will always be a catch.

But what counts is if you try or not. Perfection doesn’t exist. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

The journey is always better than the destination, amiright?

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Don’t ask me what the point of this post was. I don’t know that myself.

 

A NEWBIE’S GUIDE TO BLOGGING: PART THREE – OTHER THINGS ABOUT BLOGGING

Now this is the third and final part of my blogging advice A.K.A preventing major mistakes guide for a newbie.

You’ve started updating your blog, posting regularly. Your posts are witty and charming and passionate. You’re doing everything you can to make your blog flawless. All you have to do is wait for the likes to roll in, right?

Wrong. Yes, putting your best into your blog is important, but you want your blog to reach the audiences out there that aren’t your family or friends. And there is no short cut. You have to put an effort to do, um, blog-promotional thingies (Does that sound right? It sounded better in my head).

So here is a list of experience oriented advice, about promoting your blog and a bunch of other stuff.

1. Use socials for blog promotion: If you’re an introvert like yours truly then you might not be too crazy about this one, since you might not have the most active socials. But trust me, it’s not a bad idea! Facebook is a great place to start out. Create your blog’s page and spread the word. Instagram is a total waste since you can’t add links.

Friendly reminder Tip: asking your relatives, especially the aged ones, to check out your blog does not count as blog promotion. You’ll get the stats but don’t expect any honest criticism. They always try to be nice.

2. Explore the blogging world: Explore blogs similar to your own, topics that interest you. The more blogs you find, the more bloggers you interact with, the more audience you gather.

3. It isn’t selfish to explore blogs in the interests of promoting your own: It isn’t. We all do it, whether we deny it or not. Yes, the idea is a bit uncomfortable. But it’s true.

We comment on that amazing blogger’s post in the hopes that they might visit your blog and tell you what they think. But how else are people gonna know that your blog exists? Interacting with bloggers is inevitable. Your blog won’t gain a hundred follows magically without that.

4. Don’t turn it into free advertising: Honestly, if your “interacting” is like “Hi, I’m so and so, I have barely skimmed over your post and I am adding these superficial strings of praise in my comment. But now can you please visit my blog and these posts? Thanks” then don’t. It is disrespectful and hurtful to said blogger you’re interacting with. When you obviously didn’t have any interest in that post, why just give a “great post *insert heart*” and go on a rant about your blog? Avoid commenting at all.

5. Reply back to ALL comments ASAP: Don’t avoid comments, be it praise or criticism. Knowingly ignoring them is just . . . rude and off-putting. Praise? THANK them. Constructive criticism? Accept it politely. Mean, bully comments? Be mean back (though I haven’t gotten any of these).

6. Follow a blog only if you’re genuinely interested: It’s better not to be a follower than be that follower who randomly follows blogs and never reads posts.

7. Don’t obsess with perfection: You’ll never be a perfect blogger. I’ll never be a perfect blogger. That amazing blogger will never be a perfect blogger. But that’s OKAY. Nothing can be perfect. But we should never stop trying (that line was too optimistic for my cynical soul to bear, but nevertheless). The journey is better than the destination, amiright?

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And there are other things about blogging that make it so much more than just writing. While you “interact” with bloggers, you might unexpectedly find a friend you never thought you’d find. Someday that Other Blogger becomes your pen pal, someone you look up to. There are many people here on WP that brighten my day with their pen-pal messages, be it Instagram or hangouts.

It’s those small things that make blogging truly special.

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Part three in A newbie’s guide to blogging.

 

 

 

 

A NEWBIE’S GUIDE TO BLOGGING: PART TWO – CONTENT

This is the really exciting (and of course, main) part of blogging: writing and posting on your blog. In fact I still feel all giddy when I hit the publish button, but what’s there to not get excited about?

You’re sharing your thoughts with ACTUAL people, with the world and that’s not an exaggeration!

(Like I said before this is less of advice and more of ways to prevent the mistakes I made when I started out)

Alright. You’ve made your blog aesthetically pleasing, filled up the about page and all that. You’re ready to shoot those amazing insights to the world. But there are some post-related advice (all outta personal experience) which you should keep in mind.

1. Don’t shy away from your original writing style: Have your own writing style. Your writing style reflects on how YOU are. It’s like your voice. How is your writing style? Is it a bit sassy? Humourous? Sarcastic? Sweet? Every writer has a different touch to their writing style. Don’t shy away from it; explore it.

2. Grammar isn’t the main thing: We all obsess over the perfect grammar, right? But lemme tell you that your reader, in the end, cares about the actual content. Of course good representation is important but don’t turn Brit or anything. You’re okay the way you are (unless you’re anything like the My Immortal author Tara Gilesbie)

3. DON’T obsess over Stats: Probably every blogging-related advice mentions this but I know from personal experience. Your blog will not be an immediate success with hundreds of views, likes, and follows. Before you do anything you have to make your peace with that. It takes time, okay? There are, and I assure you there are many people out there to read what you have to say. The WP community is wide.

(Unless your blogging niche is about your daily life, like what you had for breakfast and every minute detail. Hate to bust your bubble, sweetheart, but let’s keep that to the socials)

3. Post REGULARLY: I cannot stress on this enough. Post, post, post, and post. Post as much as you can. You WON’T be annoying anyone, another thing I can assure you. But don’t be an invisible who posts once in two weeks! You don’t want people to click on your blog and see an empty site.

Well meaning people (read: relatives if you’re still a kid) will tell you that you don’t want to bust your readers’ ‘excitement’ and you should keep some mystery. DON’T DO THAT. It hurts when you post weeks later only to get hardly any likes or views.

4. Blogging goals/time: Let’s face it, all (or most) of us are professional procrastinators, so while we falsely promise to ourselves that we will be the responsible teens/adults we are we push our posting to a later date. So set aside some time, whenever you’re free, specifically for blogging.

Tip: listening to good music while blogging really helps. Or maybe that’s just me.

4. Do tags/awards: This is a really great way to get to know and connect with other bloggers. They’re actually fun, too, and a good self-esteem booster.

5. But don’t go over the board: While everyone enjoys reading/writing awards and tags, don’t fill up every third post with just that. Your readers might get annoyed with seeing Liebsters and Sunshines all over their feed. You can do it occasionally when you have a writer’s block or you’re low on the self-esteem.

Tip: it is totally, completely, absolutely alright to avoid nominations/tags. I’m sure your nominator/tagger will understand! This doesn’t make you a bad person so don’t feel guilty.

6. Don’t go visuals over content: While we all like to see a aesthetically pleasing blog, and a lot bloggers labour over graphics (my salute to them and their amazing blogs), don’t slide down on your actual content.

While you’re blogging for people to read your insights, remember that a small part of you blogs for YOU, and not people. Don’t forget to enjoy all of this! After all, this is your little internet nook.

Part two in A Newbie’s guide to blogging. Look out for the next part in this series!

 

 

WHAT SHOULD I DO ABOUT MY BLOG’S THEME?

Hey fellow blogger buddies! I kinda really NEED YOUR HELP NOW BECAUSE I AM IN A SERIOUS DILEMNA

See, when I first started this blog, I wasn’t really fussy with the theme because I just wanted to get started right away (very bad decision on my part). So I was stuck with this theme.

Now, 10 months, one site address and two blog header changes later, I’m not so sure with this default theme. I tried to make it work for me from customizing a blog header (sloppy but perfect) to changing the background (major fail).

Look, I’m not the most artistic person and I admit it. Who am I kidding, I’m horrible with anything art related. So I think I’m leaving this up to you guys. I’m okay with the current theme since it’s a bit rare, probably because other bloggers HAD enough sense to calmly choose a nice theme.

And I honestly feel bad when I see so many people actually putting an effort into their blog’s appearance and blog in general while I’m just . . . meh. Lazily procrastinating posts and making some lame attempts to make this blog look good.

I’m asking you, the reader: does this theme hurt your eyes? Is it too bland? Should I change it? If not that, then should I tweak my blog’s appearance a bit?

Do share your thoughts in the comments section; I’d be VERY grateful this time around!

~Shreya

DIGITAL FORTESS BY DAN BROWN

Hello, WordPress-ians. Okay, okay, I have a good excuse for why I haven’t posted anything in forever – halt those rotten tomatoes! I was in Goa and I didn’t have my laptop. I did, however, have two months worth pocket money at hand and a book store next to the hotel (I only bought one book though . . .).

This was the only Dan Brown book I hadn’t read, so I thought I’d cross this off my list too.

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Synopsis:

When the NSA’s invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant and beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage…not by guns or bombs, but by a code so ingeniously complex that if released it would cripple U.S. intelligence.

Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Susan Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in.

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I didn’t expect this book to be as endearing as other Dan Brown books, TBH. Pffftt. Me and my silly expectations. This book broke them all.

I LOVED THE PLOT SO MUCH! It was different from the Robert Langdon series, and even Deception Point. It was no historical suspense or political conspiracy. This plot was fast faced, yet not rushed. Had the perfect build up, yet not slow. It was balanced. It was everything I want to see in a book. And best part – it doesn’t imitate the plot of other Dan Brown books. That’s what I love about his books; each plot is unique and has it’s own charm.

I liked all the characters. ESPECIALLY David Becker. Out of all the characters in this book, he just stole the show. Towards the middle of the book I was waiting to read his POV and what he does next, does he get the ring or not, and what plot does he cook up to find it. Some of his parts were quite funny, actually.

The writing style is trademark Dan Brown, but I could see the subtle humour in this book which was very welcome.

My favourite Dan Brown book. Replaces Origin, hands down.

Rating: 5 out of 5

THAT ONE OPENING LINE . . .

You stare, at the blank page on Word. A cup of coffee next to you, cold and forgotten. The cursor stares at you, as if it’s daring you to write. You stare back. You can’t, won’t back out. Not when you’ve persuaded yourself into doing this, finally. You have the main idea. You have the plot. You even have a picture of the characters. There should be nothing to worry about, you reassure yourself. More confident, you start typing.

You cringe and quickly hit backspace. It had sounded much more interesting in your head, you think. But you want to make a good first impression. First impressions are the lasting ones; this is your mantra.

You can literally see the story unfold in front of you, the warm-up, climax, clear-cut witty sentences, perfect-yet-not-so-perfect characters, everything. You can even see that ending so clearly.

Just start, dummy, then the rest will follow, you berate yourself. Again you attempt at a good opening. Still no avail.

What is this absolute curse, you think. You could go on and on writing about your main idea but you just can’t write a decent starting line.

. . . And you eventually give-up. You know, you know, never lose hope and look at the brighter side and sunshine and bunnies and rainbows and all the other nonsense. But if you don’t simply give-up for sometime and start all over again, you’re not a writer. Giving up is something that’s as clear as 1+1=2.

It’s not really giving up. Not really. Not when you again sit in front of your laptop at freakin’ 2:00 in the night (however reluctantly) to finish.

You do get past that opener, eventually. You’re still not satisfied but it’s okay.

And then, you write as if Shakespeare’s spirit has come in you. You write with all your heart. You write like fire. You remember why you love writing so much in the first place.

. . .

If it only weren’t for that opening line, everything could have been so much faster. Still, you can’t have everything, can you?

 

AN INTROVERT’S HAPPINESS

Happiness isn’t always lavish things, extravagant displays, or a perfect social life (for us introverts at least . . .). It never is. We will stay at home curled in a blanket, with a cup of coffee and our favourite movie or book any day than go to some fancy party.

It’s the small, subtle things that give us happiness. Being alone at home, with nobody to disturb us, we get that feeling of exhilaration. That we feel whenever we are alone. Just some me-time. Nothing feels better.

We’re alone, for sure, but never lonely. And when some extrovert comes and asks us how we manage to live life so simply, we’re smirking in our minds and smile that secret smile. We don’t need many people in our lives. Just those few special ones whom we can open our hearts out to. Otherwise we’re quite content spending the rest of our lives with a dozen cats, happily going our merry way.

We can’t stand small talk. It makes us all more awkward. Why even to talk to a person you don’t know and never will know in the first place? And while avoiding small talk might make us seem rude, or moody, or mean, we just . . . don’t. It’s not you, it’s us. We’re the ones who feel uncomfortable.

We can talk about anything and everything to the people we call our friends. True, we don’t have many of them. But know that if we genuinely care for you, we’ll bring the stars down for you on your word. We either care for you to that extent or don’t give a damn (no offence). There is no in between.

In the end of the day, we are alone, like being alone, but not lonely. Never lonely.

And these are introverts, for you.