May Reads!!

Hello Readers! We are already in June! That was quick, right? To not lose perspective, as the months pass by, I decided to review each month; what I achieved personally & professionally, where I travelled, which new experiences I had & so on! March & April were quite eventful, focusing on reading & travelling. Well, there aren’t any highlights in May except for the fact that I read 6 books! So here's what I liked, disliked & absolutely hated!

~~THE LOST MAN BY JANE HARPER~~

It feels like I read this book a really long time ago! When I loved Jane Harper’s first 2 novels – The Dry & Force of Nature, I decided to read the latest one.  Unlike the first two, I didn’t fancy this one so much. I have rated it at 3/5 on Goodreads.

The story is set in rural Australia where one of the three Bright brothers is found dead. The story revolves around brothers Cam, Nathan & Bub & with their families. There are 2 backpackers who live in Cam’s house as well. That gives the reader a lot of suspects as to who might have killed Cam. The protagonist (Nathan) is the one investigating Cam’s death. Nathan Bright is the most flawed character that ever existed, which makes reading the story even more intolerable. With an already slow pace, not good enough writing & flawed characters like Nathan, it isn’t a joy to read ‘The Lost Man’.

The main thing I hated was that there was no Aaron Falk in it. He is the Lead Detective on both the previous novels & he is amazing. So, naturally that set me off & also made the book a bit dull. If you manage to read it till the end, you will be surprised. Just when you think the story is ending & that there will be no closure, the killer presents itself silently. It is quite unpredictable, but those 10 pages sure don’t make up for the rest of the book.

~~THE GIRL IN ROOM 105 BY CHETAN BHAGAT~~

This is another book I wasn’t a fan of. I suppose that’s the reason I didn’t write a full-fledged post on either of these two novels. For a change, this novel isn’t a love story, like every other CB stories. This one has a different vibe to it. You can call it a crime thriller, except for the fact that it is not thrilling, in the least.

The protagonist is Keshav who tutors kids who want to join IIT. He is the guy who is still hung up on his ex-girlfriend, Zara, even after 4 years. And then, on Zara’s birthday, she texts him to meet her at her hostel. Naturally, he goes & finds Zara’s dead body in Room 105 of her hostel. The book is about how Keshav & Saurabh (his friend) solve the murder of Zara Lone. While they go from suspect to suspect, hinting at terrorist groups, caste difference, bribery & so on, they take away all the curiosity from the story.

The story is not good. It’s quite mundane & boring. Not to mention, it is completely unrealistic. CB has tried to focus on some critical things that are going on in the country, but the impact is not strong enough. Definitely not a book I would recommend unless you wish to waste your time.

~~HIPPIE BY PAULO COELHO~~

As I have said time & again, Paulo Coelho is among my favourite authors, which is why I decided to read Hippie & ended up liking it. I have already written a post on Hippie containing some of the most amazing quotes from the book. You can check it out here.

~~I REMEMBER NOTHING & I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK

BY NORA EPHRON~~

Both of these Nora Ephron books of essays are funny, witty & liberating. The kind of essays she has written about every day women’s problems relating to hair, purses, skin cream is completely relatable. While it is a bit of a drag reading about her personal story, her career, love life etc, she catches up with a lot of humour in both the books. You can check the post about these books here.

~~DAISY JONES & THE SIX BY TAYLOR JENKINS REID~~

This is the last book I read in May & undoubtedly one of the best ones so far! It is the story of a rock n roll band throughout their journey in the 70s. It has a lot of drama, passion, love & every other feeling you can possibly imagine! It is a Must Read! You can check my review for ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ here.

And so, the month of May has passed. I didn’t get the chance to travel anywhere, so I did a lot of reading instead! I have already read 16 books out of 19, which was my 2019 Reading Challenge! Yay me!!

Stay tuned for a Mid-Year Goal Check Point post in a few weeks! If you have any book recommendations, fire away! If you have any requests on the kind of posts you want to read, I’d love to hear from you! Let me know in the comments below!!

Until next time,