The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars

I have written a sort of first impressions post on this book, and have already stated how confused I was of it overall. Having finished the book, I can say now that what made this book downright confusing was 1) the lack of a specific timeline - it was a bunch of stories, legends, and tales told not in order and 2) the different names of the elves that I seem to have to remember. At times, I wasn't even sure who's who, and what the book was talking about anymore.

Despite this though, I have to say I did thoroughly enjoy learning from this novel. It was informative and highly interesting. I was hooked right from the start, despite it being sometimes confusing, and I just could not put it down.

However, it was just that. It was informative above all. And this aspect of The Silmarillion was what made me realize that this will never be the average "good book" to me. An average good book, meaning, that while I thought it was interesting, I didn't necessarily find it enjoyable, entertaining, or exciting. It simply did not have the same LOTR feel to it, which I was hoping for.
I also did not enjoy the writing as much - which I understand was partially Tolkien's son's work. I just thought it was overly descriptive for my liking. It truly gives off a history book feel to it, and at times, it was what made the book a bit painful to read. This is mainly why I can not give it 5 stars.

As a whole though, I have to say, I am completely amazed at the world Tolkien had created for himself and for his readers. I don't think there are words to describe a writer who is able to create such work! And really, just for that reason alone, I do highly recommend this to patient, LOTR fans. If you loved reading the series and would like to learn more about some of Middle Earth's extensive background, then I highly suggest you try this one out. Just try to read with an open-mind, with little to no expectations. Only then I think you can learn to appreciate its true, subtle beauty.

And if you would like to try out Tolkien's works for the first time, go ahead and dig into The Lord of the Rings series. I can not recommend them enough. And it's never too late to start reading them. I can almost (almost!) guarantee you would love it.

stress and other things.

2am and blogging. Not really sure why I'm writing this here, or at all for that matter, but to be honest, I'm just feeling so many stupid overwhelming things all at once! Just feeling stressed and gloomy as 'real life outside of the blogging world' is getting a bit too crazy for me.

I'm sure you've all somehow felt this way before. Feeling overwhelmed with everything you have to do, but not having enough hours during the day, not enough months in a year, to accomplish those important things. Feeling like time is running out. And then feeling like you've failed or getting left behind by everyone else who's moving forward when you haven't done what you're supposed to do in a timely manner. And then you're left there with multiple tasks piling up even more. You wonder, where do you even begin?

Ah. Forgive this dramatic post - such a downer! But just felt like I had to write it down to get things off my chest. I might even delete this post when I'm feeling much better, which I'm sure will be soon. And then normal blogging and usual old me will resume. But in the meantime, I hope you guys don't mind<3

can I have you?

I understand this setup might not be good for the books, due to weather conditions and all that, but having a deck, balcony, or a terrace like this would be nice for any bookworm, I think. If I had this set-up though, I'd probably paint the wood white or something and change the floor just to suit my own personal taste. But... who am I kidding? This would be lovely enough as it is.

Well, a girl can dream.

mothers in literature.

Since it is Mother's Day, I thought not only of the cards I plan to give to the mothers in my life, but of the mothers that I got to know from the books that I have read. I tried to come up with a list, and was actually quite surprised that I didn't come up with a lot like I thought I would, but I did come up a few. For the good moms, I can only think of Mrs. Weasley from the HP series, Marmee from The Little Women, the moms in The Joy Luck Club, Mrs. Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, Claire Abshire from The Time Traveler's Wife...

And for the memorable, "bad" moms, I couldn't help but think of Mrs. Lisbon from The Virgin Suicides, Gertrude from Lady Macbeth, Norma Bates from Psycho, Margaret White from Carrie, the bad mother from Coraline...

So obviously, my question for you today, to commemorate this occasion; can you think of any more memorable fictional mothers? I would love to hear from you, as usual!

And so with that being said, I wish every single mom out there a very happy Mother's Day! Including soon-to-be moms, "like a mom" mothers, and most especially of course, my own mom! Thanks for raising me as a nerd and a bookworm who turned out surprisingly normal despite her natural weird ways. I love you!

a Self-Help book review?

This is going to be a first on the blog. A self-help book review. A friend of mine asked me to do it here on the blog, so regardless of how I feel about its genre, I'm going to do it.

Disclaimer: I read this entire book. I am not going through a break up nor am I getting paid for this review. However, my friend read this when she was going through a bad one and she said that this has helped her accept the fact.

Now we all know self-help books are not for everyone. There are those who swear by them, who truly find comfort, encouragement, and advice from them. Then there are those like me, who never quite got into it.

I just never found it useful for me. That's just my personal opinion. Now I have nothing against self-help books; I think that if people really do get comfort, positive encouragement, and sound advice from them, then I'm 100% all for that. But for me, personally, my relationship with self-help books have never been a good one. Usually, self-help books come off as preachy to me for some reason, and that turns me off. (I'm simply generalizing, of course. I know not all self-help are like that)

This particular book I'm reviewing is called, "Let's just be friends - recovering from a broken relationship." The title and its description says it all. It's a book to help you when you're going through a trying time, a.k.a "a break up." Now I have to admit, I actually enjoyed reading this book. It was interesting, and it offered unique points of view that I myself would never think of. It talked about a couple of things from red flags that you can find in bad relationships, getting through breakup blues, making the best of it, grieving, moving on... etc.

I got to say the best part about this book was that it did not seem at all preachy, and it didn't feel like the book was talking to me like I was a 5-year old. It didn't sound like it was written by an elitist or a know-it-all; it just sounded like someone who could be somebody's friend, if that makes any sense.

I still do think that a close friend or a family member can give me the same advice this book did, but I could definitely see how this would help those who are not as comfortable talking to someone just yet. This actually gives realistic and unbiased advice. So yes, I would recommend it if you want something to uplift you if you are going through the breakup phase.

I have to be honest though, I don't think self-help books will be included in my future reading lists, but then again that's just me. I'm curious now, what do you all think of self-help books?

my random ramblings. for tonight.

I am reading The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien for the first time. I have always promised I would eventually pick this one up, but the thought of reading about the history of elves - and pretty much the entire, massive universe Tolkien created - intimidated me too much. Finally, I gave in and started reading it. I knew I had to someday. And I have to say, it's quite a challenge to do so. Reading it now, it truly does feel like reading a history textbook sometimes. Now that could either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you want to look at it. For me, I feel indifferent about it. Sometimes, it's refreshing and even relaxing. Sometimes, it's a pain.

Don't get me wrong; it's interesting, and complex and crazy awesome in so many ways. But... and this is a very big but; I am completely CONFUSED by it all! I don't know if it's because I'm sleepy, as I read it late at night and all, or I'm just a bit slow. I hope it's not the latter. (Surely, it's not? Haha) I even mentioned this problem I'm having on Twitter, asking why the book is so confusing, and Enbrethiliel suggested that it probably has a lot to do with the time line, or lack thereof. Well, that could be it.

Anyway, I thought I'd share my first impressions on it with you all, as I just finished a couple of chapters from it. I have to say though, while it's confusing most of the time, it's very promising. It's interesting, and for some reason, I just can't put it down. I'm drawn to it. So having said that... clearly, there's no stopping now.

Well... I guess that is all. I know this is somewhat of a pointless, rambly post, but might as well. Thanks for listening! And if you have ever read this book, please let me know what you thought of it.

the day I watch this will signify the end of my childhood.

I really liked the HP7PT1 mainly because it seemed to be for the fans. It focused on my favorite trio and their relationship with each other, and it just seemed so genuine. Because of that, I have faith that the final HP movie will be the best one out of the 8. And even if it isn't, in my head, it still would be. Haha.

I can not wait for this movie to come out. I am beyond excited! But I also am sort of sad in a way. I know the moment the credits come up and I'm done watching the movie, it'll be the end of a phenomenon that I grew up with. Anyone else feel the same way? It's probably weird, but that's just me, I guess. Anyway, enjoy the trailer everybody :)

P.S. - Notice how every single time Voldemort shouts, it all sounds exactly the same?? "NYEEAAHHHHHH!!!!!!" I should wear a shirt that says that when I watch this.

read outside!

Warmer weather has officially arrived. These past few days have been warmer than usual, and there seems to be no trace of the long Winter season left. The past weekend especially has been very kind. It pretty much called for some outside reading, so that's exactly what I did. I went to our backyard, sat on a chair, and read. Read and read and read. And it was nice. I never really liked outdoor reading, but I think I have found a love for it. So my challenge to you is to try it out as well. I think that the change of scenery might do you good. Hopefully these photos will inspire you to do just that.