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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.2 (101 Ratings)
Book Rating
Find my review on my blog: www.diaryofdifference.com
We all are, or have once been wallflowers. The shy creatures of the universe, strangled in a problematic world where everything is so confusing and hard. We have all once swam in those deep waters, where the finish line is the act of growing up, and we all coped with it in different ways.

Charlie is struggling with the same things we were, when in high school. The friendships, or lack of them, the crushes, the secret thoughts, the exams, the pressure, the misunderstandings with our parents, our goals, hopes and dreams, our visions of what we will become.

It is an emotional, but very realistic story, about one kid, and all the things he learns while growing up. By learning things the hard way, by listening, by watching things happen to his friends and family, by just being a wallflower.

The author has written this book in a way where Charlie is writing letters to his secret friend, telling him about his daily adventures. I loved this way, because the letters give a sense of confidentiality, of honesty, or pure thoughts with nothing to hide.

Charlie is a shy guy, who has trouble making friends, socialising, and lacks a lot of common sense. To me, this game me vibes of an autistic kid, or an anxious child suffering from PTSD, which hits all the marks, but I don’t know whether or not this was the author’s purpose. It was written in 1998, so I can assume these subjects might have been taboo, as people weren’t as open minded as today.

To me, Charlie was a relatable character. Even though clearly going through a lot more than just a normal kid, in this book, he copes with problems we have all coped. And the part I loved about Charlie the most is – he is honest, so brutally honest, and doesn’t try to hide things he understands or trying to understand. He sees things we don’t tend to see, and he feels things in a way I would want to feel them.

“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.”

He suddenly meets a group of friends, that accept him as he is, and he can be as weird and crazy as he wants, no one bothers. These friendships – my dear reader – are something we all wish for, and some of us are so lucky to have them.

I truly believe that this book is definitely something I would give to my kid to read, or to my small siblings. I wish I had read this 10 years ago, when I would relate more, and when all the high-school topics were relevant. But even now, I can still remember the exact way Charlie felt in some situations, and I wish I had read the book and acted differently on some of mine.

”Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve.”

Charlie will teach us a lot about high school little traumas, high-school crushes and true love, friendships and betrayals, seeing the family in a different way, and acting on things instead of doing nothing. With Charlie, I went back to high-school, and remembered all the good things and the bad, and I ALMOST shed a few tears for all the memories and times I will never have. Now, I raise a glass, and say cheers for all the good memories and friendships made.

“And I thought about how many people have loved those songs. And how many people got through a lot of bad times because of those songs. And how many people enjoyed good times with those songs. And how much those songs really mean. I think it would be great to have written one of those songs. I bet if I wrote one of them, I would be very proud. I hope the people who wrote those songs are happy. I hope they feel it’s enough. I really do because they’ve made me happy. And I’m only one person.”

Spend a little time, and pick up this book. It is a short and sweet read, and it is a book that everyone should have on their shelves.
  
Soulful Baker: From highly creative fruit tarts and pies to chocolate, desserts and weekend brunch with Julie Jones, and Lisa Linder is one of those gorgeous cookery books that is great for any time of year, but especially for people who like to cook more around Christmas.

This is more than a cookery book, it’s actually a lovely reminder of how the author and her mum began cooking together again, after her mum was diagnosed with dementia. As a form of mutual therapy they shared their joint love of cooking over on Instagram and gained many followers.

These are simple recipes but done in such an elaborate way, I too was managed to fool people I was good at cooking! There are detailed ingredients and easy to understand methods to follow. Plus there are many equally tasty looking colourful photos to inspire you.

Beautiful and moving. Not the usual thing you’d say about a cookbook, right?

“Soulful Baker” is a bakery book with heart.
  
Monopoly Deal
Monopoly Deal
2014 | Card Game
The game is small and travel friendly. It allows you to play multiple games as it does not take as long as the original monopoly game boards. It is very different from the actuall monopoly game but I would personally say just as enjoyable. (0 more)
This game is a card version of monopoly which is very useful for being on the go. The game only contains card's no board or playing piece's. The main goal of this game is to complete 3 full property set's the fastest. This is a game which is family friendly and allows lots of people to play and can be a quick game so no one will get too bored. This game I would recommend for those that are travelling and want some fun to pass the time . I would also recommend it to the people who don't necessarily want to commit to an overly long game which you tend to find happening during the original monopoly games.
  
Okay, I really wanted to love this book. Who wouldn't love a book that tells you that you're a badass in the title? Obviously, this girl didn't.

Now, I'm not saying that this book was awful but I'm not going to say that it was glorious and wonderful. The advice in here is good advice but it's nothing different than your stereotypical self help book.

Advice includes: Love yourself, send positive vibes to the universe, believe in yourself (now you really don't need to read the book).

Honestly, I was hoping that this book would help me in some way and I do know various people that this book could truly help but I was not one of those people. I did not get any epiphany moments except for the Blah Blah would love this part, and So and So would like this part.

Ultimately, I'm not a huge fan but it does have some good advice in a semi-sarcastic way.
  
Record of a Spaceborn Few
Record of a Spaceborn Few
Becky Chambers | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
"From the ground, we stand. From our ships, we live. By the stars, we hope..."
The lives of five people and their friends and family are followed on board one of the ships of the Exodus fleet. These are the descendants of those who escaped a dying Earth, not knowing if what they were doing would result in their deaths anyway. It didn't.
I loved reading about these people: they illustrated the different kinds of lives they had, and how they were regarded in the wider universe.
Becky Chambers books are so descriptive without being boring: I felt as though I was walking the corridors and sitting in the 'hexes' with the families. All three of these Wayfarers novels have had that personal feel to them, and this is something that has really appealed to me and kept me coming back for more. I can't wait to see where Chambers goes next. Whether she continues with the Wayfarers or not, I'll definitely read them!
  
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
2017 | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Cast and dialogue (0 more)
Outstanding cast and dialogue
I won't belabour this review, I have nothing new to say that isn't already in these reviews.
The dialogue in this film from start to finish is top notch. The jokes, the put-downs, the nastiness, the crass-ness is all on-point and perfect.
While I hate a film not having an ending, it seemed to fit this film. It really was some people trying to get by and work out how they deal with the hand life deals them and not really moving on. The film tells of the journey of those people, and not where they end up.
The subject matter is very grim, as are some of the events in the film, but it is told with enough realism and so wonderfully acted as to give it all the gravitas it needs, but also to cut through that at times with dark humour.
A brilliant film.