An over-worked Leena Cotton is asked to take a two month sabbatical after her anxiety attack during one of the client presentations.
During this period Leena goes to visit her grandmother Eileen.
It was Eileen's dream when she was young to live in London and have an independent life in the city.
This seems like a perfect opportunity for them to swap their lifestyles and take a break from their regular life.

This is a love story between Rune Kristiansen and Poppy Litchfield. They have known and loved each other since they were 5.
Poppy is trying to have her special thousand boy kisses and fill her jar with them. This is an adventure which her grandmother had sent her on.
Rune had to move away for a couple of years, but when we comes back to his Poppy everything has changed.

This is a collection of poems around the central theme of women empowerment.

“I am the woman I am today because my father never clipped my wings. even in disagreement, I hear his voice. all pride and no shame say- “And yes that is my daughter. “ “

“Instead of 'How was your day?' messages, we get, 'You up? Wanna come fuck?' “

“Leaving someone you love is like leaving home, and knowing you can never return.“

“When you learn life-altering news you're often in the most basic of places.“

This is a novel written in verse format which I hadn't read before.
The father of Camino Rios and Yahaira Rios dies in a flight crash leaving behind a lot of unexplained stories and truths. Camino Rios and Yahaira Rios are sisters who did not know about each others existence for sixteen years.
At this grieving time only they both can understand each others pain.

This is a novella from the lunar chronicles series.
It shows Carswell Thorne's life as a teenager wanting to be a Captain and own a spaceship.
He flirts his way through homework and Math assignments, which in hand leads him to being bullied.
But as always he then emerges as a hero.

Sophie Kinsella's books are always a good light rom-com.
This is a story of Farr's family where the lead Fixie always tries to FIX everything with her family, the family shop and actually everything around her.
And Seb an investment manager who is still dealing with his brother's death.
Fixie saves Seb's life not once but twice and so Seb owes one to Fixie. This is how the story of the barter of being debted to each other starts.

Liked these stories as even though they were all around a central theme of Eid, but depicted a wide range of cultures, family backgrounds and age ranges.
In one of the stories it showed how muslim people treat other muslims differently based on their beliefs.
Growing up I have barely read any book with a muslim lead character. This book very closely depicts the experiences almost every muslim kid has around Eid, filled with good vibes and family.

“What you told me after you saw the thin lines on my wrist - depression doesn't exist.“

“If I didn't lose weight, you said I was disgusting - there was never any winning with you.“

“I'm afraid I'll be just like you. I'm afraid I'll be nothing like you. - my empress in reverse.“

“Tell me you love me even if you have to cross your fingers behind your back while you do it - I don't mind being lied to, baby“

The description somehow feels like “The fault in our stars.“ so i was expecting a tear jerking story about 2 sick kids who fall in love but somehow need to drift apart because of their disease with more probability that one of them ends up dead.

But to my surprise this has a different outlook towards sickness and quite an unexpected happy ending.

“the boy who isn't sure about anything is sure about me.“

“might as well say “bye-bye“ because this girl right here is a fucking goner.“

“tell me- are you breaking her like you broke me, or am i just that special?“

“Love does not need to be tragic in order for it to be good.“

“He learned not to mind the silences.”

Read short stories after a long time.
This covers a wide range of life experiences of Indians living in any foreign country.
How they feel at home or are unable to adjust to their new life.

“A woman who had fallen out of love with her life”

“You are limitless, you can have the lipstick, you can have the sword.“

“He may have a pretty face, but that doesn't men he isn't dangerous.“

“Being called fat is not an insult. being called skinny is not a compliment. they are just sizes.“

“My value doesn't go down when my weight goes up.“

“Its okay if you don't think i'm fit to be the queen to your king - there are so any more important things to be.“

“Eventualities. A good woman can look far down the line and smell what is coming before a man even gets a sniff of it.”

“See, when you're a little kid, nobody ever warns you that you've got an expiration date. One day you're hot stuff and the next day you're a dirt sandwich.”

This is a fun quick read filled with a lot of good illustrations.
A human father sets out to buy milk for his children's cereal, but took too long to return. This story explains his wild journey to get back the milk for breakfast.

“Open the door when you're ready, friend. It's your closet.“

The humor content is pretty good in this volume.
Starting from family troubles to protests to having a mysterious garage the range of this comic is incredible.

This is a fun story which deals with some serious issues like Cyber bullying and discrimination.
Divya Sharma known as D1V in her gaming world, is the princess who needs no saving. She is a streamer for “Reclaim the sun“. This is not just a past time for her but a way to provide a living for her and her mother .
Aaron writes games for a local game developer. He plays video games against his mothers wish who wants him to be a doctor.

“Girls are just as clever as boys, and don't you forget it!”

This is a light book mainly for children but somehow works for all age groups.It shows how three siblings enjoy their life near a railway station and with its employees.
The plot starts with the children's father going away for some mysterious reason which the mother does not disclose to the kids.

“everything has an end, and you get to it if you only keep all on.”

We are back at Bayview High, with some old and new characters. We see Maeve ( Bronwyn's sister) , Knox and Phoebe.
After Simon, people are trying to keep his legacy alive by starting similar blogs/websites but none of them are smart enough or have the right amount of gossip to keep it going.
But then comes this text for a truth or dare game.
Will people again fall into this trap? and will someone again get hurt/die because of it.

“You can buy happiness off the rack - but sadness is tailor-made just for you.“

This is Shaheen Batt's autobiography, describing her experiences with depression.
This is a very well written and to the point narration of multiple mental health issues like eating disorder, suicidal thoughts and anxiety and how she manages to deal with them.
I liked how this was just HER story and not filled with typical bollywood references involving her family.

“Being with you is as good as being alone.”

Nina Hill has her life all carefully planned out.
A job at a bookstore she loves, her cat Phil, some regular book clubs , an awesome trivia team and a small apartment filled with books.
When the father she's never met dies and she meets the multiple brothers and sisters she never knew she had, Nina finds her nice organized life thrown into chaos.

The girls are in the second year of college and dealing with more adult things.
Like theft, organizing fancy dinner parties with their exes, and most importantly going to the doctor alone.

This is a story of Jamie and Maya, who are from very different cultures, but have a common goal to make the world a better place for all the communities.
They start canvassing for the upcoming election, which forces them to spend more and more time together. But soon they realize that this might not be a bad thing after all.

“We all lose a few battles in our lives, but we can win the war.”

A collection of real life stories which inspire you. A good short non-fiction.

“Confidence doesn‘t mean that everything will go our way. It simply gives us the ability to accept failures that we will inevitably meet on our path and move forward with hope.”

This story starts similar to Breakfast club with 5 people with very different personalities meeting at a detention. One of the kid(Simon) dies making the other 4 murder suspects.

Simon runs a gossip app in the school and was about to post about the other 4 kids making them more questionable.
All these characters have done some bad things which they try to hide through out the story.

“Gratitude is looking on the brighter side of life, even if it means hurting your eyes.”

I read two of Ellen's book back to back and honestly I couldn't tell them apart. They are a collection of completely random thoughts, which seem to be parody versions of the actual incident.

'What doesn't kill you puts you in a whole lot of pain and makes you cry a lot and want to crawl in a hole forever and live with rodents.”

“When I got here I thought I knew everything. After a year, I'm pretty sure I know nothing.“

This volume covers the end of first year of college for three college roommates and perfectly captures the feelings of nostalgia and hopefulness of that time period.

“If your freak flag is a picture of you going to bed at nine thirty and reading, go for it. Fly it high.“

“What would happen if you put hand lotion on your feet? Would your feet get confused and start clapping?“

If you‘re looking for a light, feel-good book, this is it. This book is a bunch of absurd disorderly ideas.

“Accept who you are. Unless you're a serial killer.”

“I want to spend every waking day of my adult life surrounded by books.”

Jumping between the past & present, it is the story of Annika and Jonathan who meet in chess club while in college, fall in love, then get separated only to be reunited a decade later with a chance to reconnect and perhaps fall in love again.

“Do you think Isaac Newton would be proud or alarmed that his famous laws have been turned into a hashtag?“

An emotionally-charged story about the science of hope, love, and miracles! Natalie's uplifting story of using the scientific method to “save“ her mother from depression.
“A scientist never apologizes for asking questions. Questions keep us alive.”

“Heartbreak builds character.”
Morgan is married to Chris after getting pregnant at the age of 17.
Clara is their daughter.
Jenny is Morgan's sister.
Chris and Jenny die in a car accident .
The story is all about cheating and infidelity.The book sends a very wrong message trying to convince that whatever the heart desires is correct even if it hurts your husband, your sister, your kid and that even cheating has its own good reasons.

“It's just life, Will. It'll be over before we know it.“
Both Stella and Will have CF.Stella needs to stay 6 feet away from anything that might infect her.Will is already infected & abandoned all hope, all he wants to do is get out of hospitals and see the world.Will is the last thing Stella needs right now, either one of them could die if they got too close. But all they want to do is spend time together.

“Sometimes you just jump and hope it's not a cliff.”

Alex Claremont-Diaz, First Son of US is 21 and just about to graduate. His mother, President Ellen Claremont, is the nation‘s first female President and is now set for reelections in 2020.
Henry George, the Prince of Whales. Henry is Alex's self-declared rival.
After having a fight/argument at the royal wedding, Alex and Henry are forced to be friends for PR, which later turns into romance.

“I didnt care why you said yes, Just that you stayed.“

A novella by one of the greatest modern author‘s, which examines the relationships between a man (with dementia) with his dead wife (who he adored), his son (who confused him), and his grandson (mutual adoration).
It handles the idea of “missing someone who is still here” with gravitas and humor.

“Your grandma always had a terrible sense of direction, She could get lost on an escalator.“

“don't mean to frighten you, but i would seriously consider drinking the atlantic whole if only you asked me to. - what wouldn't i do for you?“

“Cages are still cages even when they're designed to look just like castles“

“at this point, staying with you is nothing more than muscle memory.“

“I'm but a work in progress“

“You are sad now, you are not sad forever“

“Because the story of your life never starts at the beginning.”

This is the story of friendship between 104 year old Ona Vitkus and an 11 year old boy, but it's a joy to see it unfold, and watch how the story develops because of this relationship.
The characters in this book were good. Ona, feisty and 104 years young, Quinn the absentee father, Belle the broken and grieving mother, and the unnamed, World-record-obsessed boy.

“If it's not a hell yes, it's a no“

She gives lots of advice, useful tips and how to utilize them in a no nonsense way. This book is broken down in three sections Excuses To Let Go Of, Behaviors To Adapt, and Skills To Acquire. I enjoyed the personal experiences she shared. Her writing style and voice was fun and upbeat.

“The problem is that you're letting a short-term choice become your long-term decision“

“If you do not say hello, you do not need to say goodbye.“

Beck's violent mother stifles his daily live. Her imposed rules of piano coming before school, friends, and happiness leads him to feel estranged from his peers and the world at large. But when Beck meets August, he is introduced to a life lead by happiness and is given the option to approach what is missing in his own life, and figure out exactly why.

“I've always found putting food on top of my feelings is a much more pleasant way to deal with any kind of crisis than actually, you know, dealing with the crisis.“

I liked all the stories, & love how they‘re interconnected ,how the same characters & places kept popping up. Each story is unique & yet fits together with the others.
This book explores themes of family, friendship, love, growing up, grief, anxiety,sexuality and much more.

When you play a game of thrones you win or you die.
I didnt think I would ever read this book as it is so huge.But now that I have I thank the gods(old and the new) :P
The series is undoubtedly dark. The sex scenes and violence are spread throughout the book, but it was never too much. I think it was a fair balance for the story being told.
I usually pick my favorite characters quickly, I loved Tyrion,Daenerys,Jon ,Arya & ALL the direwolves.

One of the rare occasions where I can say that the TV show is better than the book.

The thing that I liked about the book was Villanelle's backstory, about how she was picked by the twelve and trained for her role as a fierce assassin.

“There is no such thing as a one-night stand. Sometimes, what you do for one night destroys your future.”

“He's been so changeable with her I'm surprised he's not been accepted to Hogwarts for his transfiguration skills.”

The author, Holly Bourne deals with major issues that teenage girls face in their day to day life- feminism, mental health, friendship and boy drama and shows how these themes are interlinked.

“People are broken, so they bully others.“

“Because if anyone could fix a breakup with science, it was my mother.“

Basic storyline - high school chemistry intern decides to carry on her dead scientist mom's research into pheremones, in an attempt to get her boyfriend to get back together with her.

“Losing a partner to a breakup is sometimes more difficult than losing a partner to death.“

“Time can't be given. But it can be shared.”

This story is about Lou, who is self-centered and a 24/7 busy man and always needs to be at 2 places at the same time. He is not happy with his life and always wants more, but actually he forgets what he already has- family.
This book is about any everyday person living in a modern world where careers are so very important that they forget everything.

Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life.