Beyond 100

On May 14, 2019, I published a blog article, Happy 100 on my book journey from zero to one hundred, where I discussed my favourite books, book quotes, characters, and authors. I wrote the post with the intention of continuing on this voyage. As the year 2022 is here, I thought I'd share my 31-month stint as a bibliophile. I've read 43 novels in the last 31 months, which I think is rather outstanding (for me, obviously). I've always intended to read at least one book every month,  though I haven't been regular with my reading, I'm delighted that I've met my goal on average. I'd want to share my top five favourite novels that I read before the year 2022 in the blog. I hope all of you will enjoy reading it. 

1. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery

When I started my reader's journey, I was not a big fan of classics as it was a lot to process. The English, vocabulary and the depth with which it was written was a little too much for my brain. But, in the last few years, my inclination towards classics has been quite surprising to me as well. There were a few books that I had already read, but I decided to visit them again after my newfound interest in this genera. Antoine de Saint Exupery's The Little Prince was one of the books. I was astounded by the depth with which it was written; every paragraph, every quote gave me the chills or moved me to tears. Few of the quotes like "All grown-ups were once children.a ..but only few of them remember it", "You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed", "You see, one loves the sunset when one is so sad." are few of among the many that deeply impacted me a lot. When I completed this book, I cried a lot, not only because of the ending but also because of the reality it hit me with. I will easily consider this my greatest read. 

 

2. 1984 by George Orwell

Another timeless gem. The Coronavirus and its terror worldwide inspired me to a genre I was completely unaware of before: dystopian fiction.  I read a handful of them, including Raybadburry's Farhenite 451 and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, as well as George Orwell's 1984. After Animal Farm, this was my second Orwell book. I remember reading Animal Farm for my English symposia class in grade 9. I'm surprised that even my teacher was oblivious to the political satire that the book aimed for.  Years later, I discovered how misunderstood the book had been. I am glad that same did not happen to 1984 as I got to experience it first-hand. I love those books that completely transports me to a whole new world and force me to construct that atmosphere. 1984 compelled me to live in Oceania (the fictional metropolis in the book) like the main characters did, and I couldn't get out of it even after the book ended. I am extremely grateful for this book; this has unquestionably taken the top spot among my favourites. 

Interesting fact: The concept of Celebrity Big Brother (Bigg Boss) is taken from this book.

3.  Darker shade of Magic Tilogy by V. E Schwab

Series requires a lot of commitment to the character and the narrative, it is really easy to fall into the universe the author is trying to create, and it is equally easy to break out of it. I would not say that I have read many series, but I have got to experience a few best ones. Darker Shade of Magic series was an ultimate favourite among four series that I read, i.e. Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo, Immortals of Meluha series by Amish Tripathi and Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi.  Among these four, my least favourite was the Shatter me series; I could not go beyond the second book as I was not invested in it at all. 

I will not compare the Darker shade of magic series to my ultimate favourites of Harry Potter and LOTR, but it definitely left an amazing mark in life. I still can remember all the characters and the story vividly and cherish the way it was written. I was slightly disappointed with the ending as it was not as bang on as I was expecting it to be. But, no complaints as I thoroughly enjoyed the universe Schwabs was trying to create.  I would really like to thank booktuber A clockwork Reader for recommending this book to me. 

4. Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo

When I first started writing this blog, I only intended to mention one series. But, when I was writing about the Darker Shade of Magic, it made me realize that both the six of crows and the Cooked Kingdom were equally amazing. Unlike the previous series, I was truly pleased with the overall plot, story, and conclusion. S o I considered adding it to my list of favourite books as well (LOL). I enjoy fantasy novels, and YA (young adult) is one of my favourites when I have a busy schedule, as it allows me escapism (all of us deserve it, btw). During the time I was preparing my thesis proposal, Six of Crows was undoubtedly a cheat diet. This book and its characters have definitely captivated me, and I just crave another addition to this rendition.

 

5. The great gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald 

Another classic is on the way. The Great Gatsby was introduced to me for the first time in Haruki Murakami's book Norwegian Woods. Despite only a passing mention of the book, the way Murakami wrote compelled me to read it. This was one of the first classics I read, in the last two years. I devoured both the book and the movie on the same day. There was no turning back once I started on the first page. Being in a third-world nation, it's difficult to understand what the unreachable American dream is like, but I could experience it through Jay Gatsby's perspective. I'm not sure how to describe this book; it was a simple story with a simple narrative but a thousand references that we could all identify to. There's no denying why it's a cult classic and a fan favourite.

 KUDOS! for coming to the end. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing for you. If you are a beginner and you want to start your book journey as well, I have written a Blog as a guide for you, you can read it as well. Please leave me book recommendations if you have any in the comment sections. Thank you for joining. 

Happy Readings !!!