Tag: bookblogger

Book Review: Why Not Me? (Mindy Kaling).

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Why Not Me?

–  Mindy Kaling.

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling is a memoir which is a collection of essays about her life, career and experiences. This book has been on my shelf for years but I wasn’t really familiar with Mindy Kaling so I didn’t read it. Recently, I watched the series The Mindy Project and loved it. So, now that I was familiar with her work I thought I’ll read her memoir.

This collection of non-fiction essays about life is a clever and interesting way to write. The way it has been written, the format was new to me and in a way it makes the writing stand out even more. The essays are fun, witty and surprisingly relatable. It starts with awkward childhood stories than navigates through college life making it way towards career and personal life. Mindy Kaling’s experiences are relatable which I didn’t expect to be honest but it was a pleasant surprise.

She doesn’t care how she will be perceived by others, she mentions that in the book too which made the stories or essays authentic because there was no sugarcoating. The way she freely talked about drifting apart from people you thought would be a part of your life forever but it doesn’t happen or how she looked for friendships in wrong places and people and disappointments about her career. Her awkward behavior around people is amusing and funny especially around famous people as she says that she is socially anxious. As a person who doesn’t know how or what to say in social situations, I could completely relate to her.

Mindy Kaling doesn’t hold back about her insecurities or vulnerabilities throughout the book may it be about herself or her career. She candidly talks about the life in public eye and how celebrities are expected to carry themselves at all times. The constant comparison with others for example – articles like who were this better? She tries to subtly emphasize the point that all celebrities are regular people too and at times that is forgotten when they are held to different standard.

 The title of the book itself has a deeper meaning which didn’t even cross my mind as I was reading it. Why Not Me? The title of the book refers to the constant question she is asked that how come you are so confident? This question she felt implied that you have so little to be confident about then where does t come from?  Mindy Kaling explains how confidence is about entitlement, about believing what you deserve.

I don’t usually read non-fiction books especially memoirs or biographies but I am glad I read this one. It is honest, relatable and so witty. The way it is written, divided into different parts of her life and experiences makes it more interesting. The book is funny and it is deeper than one would expect it to be, it has a good message.  I enjoyed reading this book.

*Get a copy by clicking on the book cover above.

Book Review: All the Bright Places (Jennifer Niven).

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All the Bright Places

– Jennifer Niven.


I read All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven for the second time this week. The YA novel left a different kind of impact on me this time around. The story focuses on two main characters – Violet Markey and Theodore Finch; who help each other find hope and love.


Violet is deeply disturbed by her sister’s recent death and wants to get over with the graduation so she can leave her Indiana town. Finch is fascinated with the concept of death and its always thinking of some ways he might kill himself. Violet is on the ledge of the school bell tower, still reeling from the ache of her sister’s death, and maybe for a minute, she wonders if she should jump off. Finch is on the same ledge thinking along similar lines. It’s a bizarre first meeting for sure but in a way, they save each other’s lives. This is where their story begins.


Violet and Finch end up getting paired up for a project at school which sees them embark on a road trip across unusual places in Indiana. The first time I read this book years ago, I missed out on all the little clues about Finch’s mental health which this time I understood. His struggles are heartbreaking and relatable. He doesn’t understand himself sometimes; forget about anyone else understanding him. His friendship with Violet I think is something he thinks might save him and Violet wants to save Finch but she doesn’t know how to save him.


The narration shifts between Violet and Finch which makes the characters much more real and relatable to readers. It helped me understand the characters and gave me an insight into them. They are young and they think their love can conquer all and they can save each other. Violet starts putting her past, her guilt, and her grief behind her and wants to move forward with Finch. In the meantime, Finch struggles to control his obsession with death and that scares Violet. Their characters signify contrast themes in the novel. Violet wants to forget and move on; she wants to live and Finch is fascinated with death to a point where it does seem like he wants to die.


In the end, Violet and Finch’s love for each other is not enough to survive everything but they do save each other. Violet learns to live and hope again because of Finch no matter how it ends. Finch’s death is suicide but this time it does happen unknowingly. He doesn’t jump into the lake with the thought of killing himself but that’s what his actions lead to. Another thing that plays an important part in the story is to enjoy the present to its fullest because of the thought of ‘what could be or what could have been’ takes a toll on a person.


All the Bright Places isn’t a typical love story in any way. It tackles the impact of death and mental illness on individuals and how people struggle with grief. The end is heartbreaking and knowing how it ends from start; didn’t stop my tears. The book is about love and hope but it raises awareness about mental health and grief in such a subtle yet impactful way. This book stays with you for a while because of the way the story and the characters touched your heart. It is a beautifully heartbreaking book.

*Click on the image above to get a copy.

Currently Reading (Feb 2020)

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I re-read quite a few books last month mixed with a couple of new ones. This month I plan to read only new novels.

1) 1984 by George Orwell.

I have been meaning to read this book for a while. I didn’t feel like reading dystopian fiction so the book has sat on my shelf for a while. The book is published in 1949 and is set in the future year of 1984. I am already a couple of chapters in and I am completely intrigued. The first chapter is eerily similar to our reality, dealing with the privacy concerns of citizens. Once I pick up the pace a little, I feel like I am going to finish this book quickly.

2) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

One hundred years of Solitude is a multi-generational story of the Buendia family. I have restarted this book. Last time I read around 20 pages but then there was such a gap before I started reading it again that I lost interest in it. I am reading this book from the beginning so that it will help me get into the story. The start of the book is a little slow but it is very interesting. Keeping track of all the characters was difficult for me especially remembering who was who and who is related to whom. Once I get past that problem, I think my reading speed will increase.


3) Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie.


Bet Me is a contemporary love story that I stumbled upon while browsing. I have read four chapters so far and it has been very interesting. The main characters are unusual but in a good way. Their quirkiness and witty humor are endearing as a reader. Though the book was published in 2004, it doesn’t seem outdated. It is actually fresh in its writing and characterization. I can’t wait to finish this one.

* Get your own copy from Amazon by clicking on the images of the books. 😊

Book review: The Phantom of the Opera (Gaston Leroux).

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The Phantom of the opera

by Gaston Leroux.


After years of this book just sitting on my bookshelf, I finally decided to read The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. This is a story of a man named Erik and his obsession with a young soprano Christine Daae. The story is a Gothic romance set in the 1880s in Paris and is said to loosely based on true events at the Opera House.

The story begins with strange happenings in the Opera house in Paris. The place is believed to be haunted and many performers and organizers have reported sightings of the ‘opera ghost’ over the years. The ghost is revealed to be an actual person who is deformed in appearance and is an engimatic figure in the beginning. Christine Daae is a talented and beautiful young performer at the opera house and has lived there since the death of her parents. Raoul is an old friend of Christine’s who wishes to marry her. Erik, the phantom is considered the angel of music by Christine but he becomes obsessed with her.


The narrator of the story focuses actions of the opera ghost and how these actions affect the other characters around him, especially Christine Daae and Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny. The opera ghost is a man named Erik; he is a horrific and ruthless man, who is capable of doing anything without any remorse if it means him getting his way. The start of the novel was a little slow-paced I thought but it picks up speed pretty quickly.

The characterization of Erik is done mostly through flashbacks which makes it somewhat easier to understand his behavior and where it stems from. Erik’s mother has never loved him because of his deformed appearance which prompted him to run away from home at a young age. It seems his obsession with Christine stems from being unloved by his mother. Later, we find out that Erik isn’t his real name at all. Christine’s closeness to Raoul makes Ereally jealous and he goes as far as kidnapping Christine and tries to blackmail her into loving him.

There is a lot of focus on the love story of Christine and Raoul which is well thought out. The mystery element of the novel never ceased to amuse me while I was reading the novel. The suspense and mystery is a major theme of the novel and it works very well. It is hard not to feel bad for Erik; he is sad and lonely and desperately and Christine to love him. At one point in the book, though Erik is being completely irrational, Christine can’t help but feel pity for him and I felt the same way. The end of the novel is bittersweet. Christine and Raoul elope together but you can’t help feeling a little bad for Erik’s death.

The novel starts off slow so it took me a while to finish reading the book. The novel wasn’t exactly what I had expected it to be like but it was good nonetheless. Once the novel picks up pace, it keeps you hooked. I liked how the author has incorporated the flashbacks which give Erik’s backstory. Overall, I enjoyed the novel and liked it very much except the slow pace in the beginning.

*Get a copy by clicking on the book cover above.