Wajeeha Shoaib

Pandemic. To all those fully planned months, unplanned holidays took over. To all those newly bought cloths, That one favorite pair of Pjs took over. To all those ‘to do’ lists, ‘what to do’ took over. From having sleepless days to sleeping all day took over. To all those stacked up seasons you had to watch, to binge watching each one of them, and later running out of seasons took over. From see you on Monday; to see you in June took over. From the joy of starting every day, to the hope of not re-living the same day took over. From complaining about the same old boring routine, to longing to go back into that same routine took over. From being so ungrateful for what we once had, to the lesson of not taking things for granted took over. From meeting your friends every day, to availability of internet took over. From feeling the pain back then, to finding pleasure in that pain took over. To all that certain future, uncertainty took over. From roaming around in malls till 12 am, to Being a sack of meat at the couch took over. I mean, from having the most general routine, to what even is a routine took over. So much so that, routine itself sounds like ‘kia-routine’ - quarantine. Not a day has passed, where I have not reminisced about my old life. I mean, how weird of a species are we? We humans take everything for granted. When the sun is out, we miss the rain. All we do is ever complain. Book Reviews: Forty rules of love: is one of the best books you can get on your rack. It describes a love that is not bounded by space, time or religion, rituals, society and is far above from all these. And that is the best part of it. A love so pure and gives you inner peace, that it is almost impossible to find it today, in today’s world. You will know a bit about Sufism which I’m sure not many of us know about. You will be questioning yourself in no time, questions like, Does your life mean anything if you are not living in the present? Or Does having everything in your life mean anything, if you don't have a passion or a love to live for? This sort. It describes Sufism in a great way, for instance in the words of shams, ‘one has to die before death in order to become a Sufi’. 4.8/5 All the bright places All the Bright Places is not only the most fulfilling, poetic, funny (to some extent) and well put together romance that one can come across, but also it takes you on this roller coaster ride of emotions, relatable mix feelings that one will ever experience. If you’re someone who wants to FEEL all that he or she reads, this is your book. You’ll relate to this book at a great extent, because it shows how the main characters sort of coped with their dark emotions, and thoughts. It’ll get you all teary, but at the same time you’ll smile, laugh, and live through it all. It’s a must read. 4.3/5 GONE GIRL. Oh god. This book, is one of my FAVS. If you’re into thriller stuff, this is the one. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is a a shocking page-turner that embeds you inside the twisted, dark minds of Nick and Amy, who are apparently a married couple, but geez a nightmarish married couple. I have yet to read a more exciting, compelling book. When I say it’s hysterically suspenseful, i kid you not. It’s harder than ever to put this book down. It’s a story that plays in your mind, and plays with it too. But by the end of it, you’ll be awestruck and at a loss of words. This psychological thriller should be in the book shelf of every bookworm. Period. 4.9/5 The kite runner One of the best reads, a must have book for anyone. I distinctively remember all the times I’ve cried reading this masterpiece. Never have I ever read something so much captivating, calming, absorbing, soothing yet so much realistic at the same time. The entire novel is rich with Afghan culture, and gives you a good perspective on childhood, regret, friendship, redemption, along with a new window to father and son love. The writing draws you in, and the words seamlessly create a movie in your head. This book sort of takes up its own space in your head, and lives there for the rest of your lives. Khalid Hosseini’s magnum opus of a novel till date. I love his writings, but this one is my fav. 5/5 The fault in our stars. This book is narrated by a 16 year old teenager, Hazel Grace Lancaster who oughts to be a cancer patient, and meets a former cancer patient Augustus Waters, after which her life changes forever. It may be the usual romance we may encounter in other books, but hilariously written and depicts the unusual maturity of these two teenagers. It’s a beautiful story, which teaches one a lot about life, and sort of changes the way one perceives life. This book tells you the importance of the gift of life, no matter how long we live. And how one can make a place in someone’s heart in such a short span of time. I Won’t be giving out spoilers, go and read this compelling story, you won’t regret it! To kill a mocking bird. I still remember this book was in our course/syllabus, back in 9th grade, I think. And by the name of it, the cover too, and the fact that it was in our syllabus, was the biggest repel of all time, which drove me to never reading this master piece. Until I was done with my A levels, and didn’t have anything else to do but to stare at this book every time I came to pick a book off my shelf, and leave the study room, saying, “I need more books”. And continued buying others. I finally got hold of this master piece after a friend suggested, to the extend urged me to read it. And well, yes I did.