Books Unfold : 2022

Book Review: The Bottle of Tears by Nick Alexander

⭐️⭐️⭐️🌠

Trigger warning: sexual abuse, suicide, drugs

A Window to A Realistic Family Life

The Bottle of Tears is a story about two sisters polarized by their past and a secret that only one of them knew. The discord in the family was aggravated by their mother who laced lies in her version of what one said about the other. The sisters were being pulled apart by their differences but, as a family, their primal connection pushed them back together. This tug-of-war was shrouded with overwhelming emotions that can only be overcome by facing the truth. The Bottle of Tears is a window to a family quandary caused by childhood trauma.

Mystery Binds The Family Dynamics

The opening scene set the most prominent mood in the whole story, sad and mysterious. What happened on Christmas Day when Victoria was eight and Penny was six changed their lives entirely.

The thinking process and attitude of Victoria toward her mother, sister, husband, son, and other relatives and friends enkindled questions that she avoided answering. She had been suffering from a lot of conditions including anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder which also made the family situation more challenging. Her desire to keep everything clean, disinfected, and in order masked her true feelings and hid a dark secret that she wanted to be kept to herself. Even though she numbed herself with medications, the truth wanted to come out.

On the other hand, Penny had been left in the dark and this pushed her to react to Victoria's proclivities in a way that added more fuel to the fire. She was also present when the life-changing event happened but she couldn't understand Victoria. Their mother must know but she also didn't tell Penny. It's also a mystery that their mother tried to widen the gap between the two sisters by inciting misunderstanding and disgust. Despite this, Marge served as the tug that loosened the tight string of the bag that held all their grudges, pain, and fear formed in the past.

I Need a Breather!

To Read Or Not To Read

Is an award a guarantee that a book is a great read? An award such as the Nobel Prize or Booker Prize that's given to a novel leaves an impression that the story is exceptional, and this seal of recognition can affect the decision of the readers whether to read it or not. With Piranesi, I decided to give it a read.

I Was Meant To Do This

I first learned about Piranesi when a book reviewer shared a photo of it on Instagram in September 2021. This fantasy novel is written by the English author, Susanna Clarke, and it won the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction and 2020 Audie Award as Audiobook of the Year. Several bookstagrammers gushed about it and a famous booktuber gave it a 5/5. Having the need to know more, I checked Amazon Kindle and my eyes widened. It was on sale, a sign that I was meant to read it! Without thinking twice, I grabbed my own copy.

But It Won An Award!?

My excitement to read Piranesi was suspended for almost a year because of my long To-Be-Read list. Finally, in August 2022, it’s Piranesi’s turn to be in the currently reading spot. I started reading it with great eagerness but after reading the first two chapters, the excitement dwindled. I was floating in confusion as the author described the house, its halls, statues, vestibules, and other things that were unfamiliar to me. I had to go to Google to check what the parts of the house looked like in the real world for I couldn’t fully imagine them. Rubbing my forehead, I put aside my e-book and tried to grasp what I was reading. Was it a mistake to spend my time on this book? But it won an award and received great reviews! In hopes that it would get better in the pages ahead, I continued reading.

Hooked In The Middle

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

INTRODUCTION

After its first publication in 1988, Paulo Coelho's O Alquimista ( The Alchemist) fell short of book sales. Determined to tell the story of a shepherd who was on his way to the pyramids of Egypt in search of a treasure, Coelho found another publisher to give the book another chance. An American tourist visited Brazil eight months later and got a copy of the book. He was interested in translating it to English and having it published in the United States of America. Eventually, HarperCollins issued The Alchemist in 1993. The sale was slow at the start but it gained momentum after famous people such as Madonna, Bill Clinton, Rush Limbaugh, and Will Smith read it. Since then, The Alchemist has sold millions of copies worldwide, became one of the most translated books, and stayed over 300 weeks in The New York Times Best Sellers.

OVERVIEW

An Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago is driven by his dream to set off on a journey with one goal in mind, to find the treasure near the Pyramids of Egypt.

Along the way, he met people from different walks of life that influenced his decisions on how to move forward with his journey. After the arduous odyssey, he found that the treasure he was seeking in the beginning was not what he imagined to be in the end.

The Alchemist shows the power of dreams and listening to our hearts.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What was the typical day of the shepherd?
How did the man become a shepherd? Why did he choose to be one?
If you were his father, how would you feel about the path he chose which was different from what you expected of him?
According to the book, what makes life interesting? Do you agree with this?
Describe the shepherd's encounter with the Gypsy dream interpreter.
An old man claiming to be a king offered the shepherd the location of s treasure in exchange for one-tenth of the latter's sheep. If you were the shepherd, what would you do?
What is a personal legend? How does this apply to your life?
What is your favorite quote in the book? Why?
At one point, the shepherd lost everything. What do you think about his statement that God was unfair?
What brought back the shepherd's inspiration and motivation to continue his journey?
What is the Alchemist's Personal Legend? How did this influence the shepherd's perspective in life?
What is love without ownership for you?
What is one thing that stops us from achieving our dreams?
What is your favorite moment in the book? Describe it.
Would you recommend this book to others? Why or why not?

QUOTES

“It’s what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is." - Old Man

“I’m like everyone else—I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does.” - The Shepherd

It’s true; life really is generous to those who pursue their Personal Legend, the boy thought.

WHAT I LOVED

Reading The Alchemist is like gliding through the cadence of Paulo Coelho's prose. His style of writing is admirable.
It speaks to my soul. There is something within me that recognizes the meaning of the symbols in the story that points to an important realization-- living life to the fullest is a signpost of a happy life.
The hero's journey is relatable when it comes to finding life's purpose. At first, there were curiosity and exhilaration, then risk, loss, and frustration, and eventually, redemption, discovery, and success.
I appreciate the character opposite to the shepherd, the crystal merchant who had dreams but chose to continue dreaming. He just wanted to stay wherever he was.
The part when the shepherd tried to prove that he could be one with the wind was my favorite moment. It was a big risk. What if the wind didn't cooperate? Death was a sure consequence.

WHAT I LOVED THE LEAST

The simplicity of the characters and their backgrounds gives the story a fable or a fairy tale vibe but they give the main theme of finding your personal legend a spotlight.

SUMMING-UP

Paulo Coelho expresses his soul through his book, The Alchemist, which shows the challenges of finding one's Personal Legend through the story of the shepherd boy in Andalusian. It unfurls a blueprint for finding one's existential meaning.

Meeting different people along the way is one of the highlights of the shepherd's journey. It all started with a dream that repeatedly appeared in the shepherd's sleep. He met a Gypsy woman who told her to find the treasure in the pyramids of Egypt. He then met different kinds of people, the old man who claimed to be a king, the crystal merchant, tribal warriors, the Englishman, the Alchemist, and the monks.

The book is only short, about 178 pages in an ebook format, which delineates the simple story that is remindful of a fable wherein the characters are not fully fleshed-out. Despite this, true to its allegorical nature, The Alchemist didn't fail to deliver its message: if we are determined to find our personal legend, the universe will conspire.

Readers who like simple fantasy and adventure stories with a spiritual overtone will enjoy this.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Paulo Coelho's Website

Book Information:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Published on February 24, 2015, by HarperOne; 25th ed. edition

178 pages (eBook)

Find it here:

Goodreads

Book Review: The Witch's Tree by Elena Collins

An iPhone 6 showing the cover of Elena Collins' The Witch's Tree.

⭐⭐⭐🌠☆

INTRODUCTION

The Witch's Tree is a tale of the deliverance of two women from the heartbreak caused by betrayal and loss. It is written by Judy Leigh under the pen name Elena Collins, the name of her grandmother whom Leigh described as a great storyteller. Leigh is a prolific writer from Somerset in South West England who writes heartwarming stories about older women and second chances. She also loves digging into history and incorporating historical details in her stories. In the Witch's Tree, Collins gives us a picture of the lives of farmworkers in Somerset in the 17th century and how they were shaped by their beliefs in superstition and the supernatural.

OVERVIEW

Selena's world shattered to pieces after her boyfriend left her in the mud. Determined to heal her heart and soul, she found herself in a Sloe Cottage in Somerset village. The place was exquisite, perfect for healing and creative endeavors. The longer she stayed in the house, the more it revealed its secrets.

An image the cover of the novel The Big Dark Sky by Dean Koontz set in a yellow background with blue and light blue stars. A line of elk is under it.

Dean Koontz is a renowned, prolific writer who is known for his thriller, mystery, and horror novels. Koontz is highly praised by distinguished publications such as the New York Times and Rolling Stone. Since senior college, he has never stopped writing. He is not only a writing machine but a generator of best-selling novels: fourteen of his books were number one on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list, and sixteen were number one in paperback. The Big Dark Sky is his 158th book that tackles synchronicity, blind faith, belief in humanity, and nefarious technology.

OVERVIEW

A strange dream, a strange cry, and a strange call from her dead mother pressured Joanna Chase to go back to Rustling Willows Ranch in Montana, her childhood home. Since she left Montana, she had forgotten her past including her childhood friend who was depreciated by most people because of his strange looks. Glimpses of her past memories intermittently flashed in Joanna's mind as if someone was turning a light bulb on and off in her brain.

Entirely unaware, other people whom she didn't know were also led to Montana:

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Jordan Lee Dooley's second book, Embrace Your Almost, illumines the path women can take after failing to achieve a life goal or a dream. As a Christian, writer, podcaster, and entrepreneur, Dooley helps women materialize their dreams without compromising overall well-being. She is an achiever and her journey in building her career and creating her business has its peaks and valleys, corroborating the fact that life indeed has wins and losses, highs and lows, successes and failures.

OVERVIEW

Jordan Lee Dooley is familiar with what happens after a dream falls flat. She had great dreams for her career and marriage but hope, excitement, and contentment were replaced by doubts, frustrations, and dejection after her endeavors failed. She becomes personal in sharing her own struggles that pushed her to a bumpy place between starting a dream and achieving it.

The feeling of being swallowed by darkness could make it easier to surrender and believe there's nothing to expect in the future anymore but Dooley didn't give up. Instead, she used failure as a beacon of light that reveals what's more important in her life, veering away from what the world tells her what she should be.

Dooley demonstrated that it's possible to create a life that you really like even if you are stuck in the middle.

Key Takeaways

In her debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale, British writer, Diane Setterfield, crafted a peculiar, Gothic tale about the twisted life of a family living in a monstrous Angelfield House. The Thirteenth Tale is Setterfield's breakthrough novel as it has sold more than three million copies in 38 countries and got her to win the Quill Award, Debut Author of the Year in 2007. In 2013, the story was turned into a BBC film with the award-winning scriptwriter, Christopher Hampton, and award-winning actresses, Olivia Colman and Vanessa Redgrave. Setterfield was an expert in nineteenth-century French literature before shifting to writing novels. Her literary style in the writing of The Thirteenth Tale is influenced by Gide, the father of modern French literature.

OVERVIEW

In The Thirteenth Tale, popular, prolific writer, Vida Winter, had a secret life that she meant to bury forever. But, as she was dying, she divulged her secrets by telling the missing thirteenth tale of her book Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation, a compilation of common stories about princes, peasants, and maids with dark twists. The title was changed to Tales of Change and Desperation since it only contained twelve stories.

Margaret Lea was handpicked by Winter to write the latter's story. She almost gave up the opportunity but Winter was able to convince her after saying the word 'twins '. The sound of the word echoed in her heart and triggered a painful part of her own history. She acquiesced and, beyond her awareness, she was hauled into a rabbit hole filled with grotesque stories of a ghost, loss, survival, identity, and love.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Vida Winter was a virtuoso in creating stories that are not necessarily true. How did this affect her credibility?
As a biographer, what was Margaret's attitude toward Vida's stories?
Describe the Angelfield House and its symbol in the story.
Are there questions left unanswered in the book? What are these questions?
Discuss the realizations of the main characters at the end of the story.

QUOTES

"It is fun to have fun, but you have to know how."

These words by Dr. Seuss flashed to my face the fact that I still don't know the real essence of fun and the right ways to have fun. With my childhood experiences and challenges growing up, I became overly serious about life and work, leaving me exhausted and anxious, putting in motion the following questions in my head: How do people relax? Why do some people seem so happy despite hardship? How do we have fun? To get the bottom of it, I perused The Power of Fun by Catherine Price. Even though I had to go through tons of anecdotes, I was still able to get the important lessons about true fun.

Like me, Price also wondered about the true meaning of fun, hence the book. She is an award-winning science journalist and speaker and the person behind ScreenLifeBalance.com which aims to provide people ways on how to lessen their screen time and increase their time with their family and friends. She also authored the book How to Break Up with Your Phone.

Here are some insights I gained from The Power of Fun:

There are two kinds of fun: true fun and fake fun.
True fun has three elements: playfulness, connection, and flow.
Judgment gets in a way of having true fun.
While technology has numerous benefits, it can be a tool of distraction especially now that we consume a lot of content from social media and other apps on our phones.
We can have fun by making space for it.

To illustrate her message, she shared stories of people from different walks of life from the beginning of the book until the last chapter. This is what I noticed about self-help books written by entrepreneurs, advocates, and speakers. They include a lot of studies and anecdotes in addition to their own stories that expand their books to hundreds of pages. I have to push myself to read these stories because I know they could help me understand what the author is trying to say but, honestly, it was not that fun at all. Good thing, I don't give up on books for I know I could learn something from them.

The Power of Fun did change the way I look at fun. Price said that true fun is the point where playfulness, connection, and flow meet. She encourages the reader to consider if the activity has these three elements to experience genuine fun. This is the most important message for me. She also has a lot tips on how to have fun and keep at it that I find helpful.I am thankful that I didn't stop reading this book.

What do you do for fun?

Book Review: A Spell of Rowans

How do you get over the past?

Especially the grim one with a history of abuse

from the person you call mother.

A mother whom you hated to the bone.

Byrd Nash shows how three siblings got over their troubled past in her book, A Spell of Rowans, a mystic, magical realism about family, dark magic, and murder.

The author brings us to a small town unknowingly gripped by the surreptitious, evil business run by Rachel Rowan. When she died, the Rowan siblings returned, and this made the authorities questioned not only her death but also harked back to the issue of the old cold case murder of their father, Victor. It had been going around town that the three siblings had something to do with it. This aggravated the emotional turmoil in the family.

These many challenges that the Rowan siblings faced stirred a lot of emotions in me; anger at how their mother treated them when they were still young; sympathy for the siblings who had to deal with difficult situations because of the death of their parents; fear that the justice would not be on their side; fascination about the power of an empath; curiosity about their neighbors' reaction and reception to the siblings' power; and hope that everything would end up well for the family and for the town. With all these emotions that I felt while reading, I could say that the book is difficult to forget.

Another thing that I liked which surprised me was the romantic part of the story. We have this word in Filipino that describes romantic excitement or the feeling of butterflies in your stomach when you see your crush or someone being romantically sweet to another person. The word is "kilig". The romantic story definitely has a kilig factor for me. The author was able to fuse this part into the main story well.

Also, the twist in the story was unexpected. I didn't see it coming until the author revealed the person who started all the chaos in Rowans' lives.

On the other hand, there's one thing that I wished to know, the history of their mother. I wanted to understand why she became wicked not only towards her children but also to their neighbors.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this book. If you are into magical realism, this book is for you.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you Byrd Nash and Book Siren.

Book Review: 300 Days of Sun

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

There's only one plot, "Who am I?".

I heard this from a teacher who was apparently teaching English to a senior class in the ending scene of The Amazing Spiderman. This got me thinking about all the novels I've read. It's true. Fiction is all about the characters searching for who they are, where they come from, where they belong, and these questions keep their story going until they find the answers.

In Deborah Lawrenson's 300 Days of Sun, the main characters are looking for something that completes the picture of their identity and the meaning of their life. Joanna Millard wanted to break free from her relationship and career as a journalist so she ran to Faro, Portugal, and Nathan Emberlain wanted to find his true family in the same town.

As their story unfolds, their quest entangled other people into the web and revealed a dark secret not only about Nathan but also about Portugal in relation to Germany during World War II. Lawrenson showed this part of the story through a novel written by Esta Harford. Here's the thing. I didn't expect to read a full-length novel within the novel which is about an American couple living in Portugal during the war and the complication of their lives while living closely with the Germans. It was fine with me though. I think the novel was necessary to further explain the role of the Germans in Faro, Portugal during the war.

I was quite astounded that I got hooked by this book even though the characterization was not in-depth. I was drawn by the mysteriousness and willingness of the characters to take a leap for a stranger but the information about them was just enough to fulfill their roles in moving the plot.

Finding out who Nathan really motivated me to go on but I was more carried away by the uniqueness of the book's setting Faro, Portugal. The author transported me to the town with its famous, long beach, intriguing history, and interesting people. The descriptions were so vivid that I could imagine the scenes.

Although I enjoyed the setting, the action scenes in the story fell flat for me. It was not that exciting and could've been developed more. I think this part was a bit rushed.

Overall, Deborah Lawrenson's 300 Days of Sun is a good read for me.

Discussion Questions

300 Days of Sun is based on the fact that the Algarve region in Portugal has 300 days of sunshine every year. What do you think of the title in relation to the theme of the story?
What drives Joanna to help Nathan find his real family?
How would you describe Nathan's personality?
Does the novel within the novel work for you? Discuss further.
Would you recommend this book to others? Why or why not?

Book Information

Title: 300 Days of Sun

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062390163

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062390165

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Paperbacks (April 12, 2016)

Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 12, 201

Print length ‏ : ‎ 384 pages

Book Review: You Were Not Born To Suffer

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

Many books have already been written about suffering. Suffering comes in different forms: emotional, psychological, and physical suffering, but the one thing that I am most interested in is psychological or mental suffering. After reading Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now which explains why we suffer and how to alleviate the pain of suffering, I got hooked on this type of book. When I saw You Were Not Born to Suffer, I was caught by its title that bespeaks a truth about me. However, I found most of the contents nothing new, but still, it was a good read for me.

The book starts with an explanation of why we are no different from butterflies. The cocoon that the caterpillar makes symbolizes our struggles. In other words, we need to struggle to become the best version of ourselves like the beautiful butterfly that emerges from its cocoon, free and flourishing. This image will remind me of this book always.

Reading further, the author talks about suffering, love, authenticity, healing the inner child, ego, life purpose, breathing, forgiveness, fear, and feeling alive and well.

One of the things I appreciate is the list of things that come with our purpose in life. Some of them are:

1. Enjoying each day as much as possible in healthy ways, rather than self-destructive ones.

2. You also have to purge or heal all the emotions stored in your body from the past; like guilt, insecurity, fear, shame, anger, hurt, and sadness.

3. To create whatever you feel like from the love, truth, and inspiration you feel, whether this is art, a home, a business, a family, cooking or events. Here there is no right or wrong. No good or bad. No better than or less than. It’s simply what you want and what makes you come alive.

I finally found the words that will guide me each day to align with my true self. When my past hurt or pain visits my body, I let it be and read the list to remind me of the things that are more important. It's like being guided by a lighthouse to a safe harbor on a dark, stormy night.

What is more, the questions and affirmations at the end of every chapter added value to the time I spent reading the book. These parts of the book helped me internalize the things I've learned.

I recommend this book to those who have just started to read about suffering and awakening.

Discussion Questions

What came to your mind when you read the title of the book?
What is the most valuable lesson you've learned from this book?
What do your struggles in life mean to you?
Did this book change the way you look at suffering? How?
Describe an authentic life.
How helpful are the reflective questions and affirmations?
What are the things that you need to work on in your life right now? Has the book given ways on how to deal with them?

Book Information

Title: You Were Not Born To Suffer

ASIN: B01M17O80G

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Watkins Publishing; Updated, Revised edition (March 21, 2017)

Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 21, 2017

Print length ‏ : ‎ 294 pages