Recently, I have seen a lot of critiques for books claiming that they felt “too Young Adult”. And this has made me ask what they might mean. Mainly because a lot of the critiqued books don’t have young adults as the main characters. And it does not feel like they are following tropes that are more prominent in Young-Adult books.
Continue reading “Books that Feel like YA Even if They Aren’t “
According to Stephen King, “an opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. It should say: Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this.”
And you have to admit that this man knows how to get the ball rolling. I think that is one of the main reasons why he has been one of my favorite writers since I was a kid. I would always get hooked from the first line and I did not care whether I had to stay up all night to finish the book.
So without much ado, here are, what I think, are the best opening lines from King:
Continue reading “Opening Lines of Stephen King Books Ranked”
Isao Takahata does not get as much credit as Miyazaki for his strong female characters, especially considering how, unlike Miyazaki’s characters, Takahata’s girls and women exist within the bounds of our society. His 1991 anime Only Yesterday revolves around a similarly strong female character, Taeko. She is a 27-year-old Tokyo ‘salary woman’ who is taking a summer vacation, and through a series of flashbacks, we get to alternate between her current situation and her perspective as a ten-year-old.
Continue reading “Only Yesterday – The Tragedy of Childhood”
Isekai is a trope that has been gaining tremendous popularity in both manga and anime. This sub-genre entails MCs being transported to another world. This new world usually lies in another dimension where they have no option of going back home. What the other world contains – well the options are too many. It is generally a medieval world and is much simpler and less busy than our world. But that’s where the similarities of this genre end. The anime and manga can then go into the reverse harem, knights tale, a slice of life – anything goes.
The main appeal of this genre is pure escapism. At present, life just feels like a huge struggle to make ends meet for most people. So, who among us has not fantasized about leaving it all behind? This feels especially relevant in the workaholic culture of Japan, so no wonder it is so popular.
Continue reading “Sonny Boy: The Deconstruction of a Trope”
Y’all it’s October again. And you know what that means! That it was January two days ago and time is moving too fast. What am I even doing with my life? But also Halloween! If you want to get your scare on, here is a list of lesser-known horror book recommendations. But if you are more into the witchy vibes rather than a straight-up spook, we recommend the following books to you:-
Continue reading “Witchy Book Recommendations for This Fall“
I hate doing Yoga. I really, really hate it. Stretching I’ll do, flexibility exercises. I will do it. Pilates is fine. But something about doing Yoga—even if it involved doing the same thing I had already been doing, feels like a chore. I am probably the only one in my friend group to not fall into the irresistible charm of Yoga With Adriene.
Continue reading “Wanting to Be Into Things I am Not Into”
We’ve all heard the classic tale of the grasshopper and the ants. All through summer, the ants work hard to have respite from the cold in the winter. But as I look at the ants coming in their lines to find bits of my sandwich, about the life of ants in the tropics.
Continue reading “Ants in the Tropics”
The news has come out that Netflix has begun production of the third Season of the Witcher Series. On one hand, Netflix has been notorious for cancelling shows around Season 3 in the past. On the other hand, fans have been complaining about Season 2 not being up to mark. So will this be the last season? And if it is, will it be a satisfactory ending?
Continue reading “The Future of the Netflix’s Witcher Series”
This is a story about something that happened when I started kindergarten. On account of my joining this school mid-session, I was severely lacking in friends. So I was very grateful when this girl, Anisha, took me under her wings.
Continue reading “Half a Gum”
People love a good anti-hero. A large part of this might be the fact that no one we know in real life is as good and bad a character. Another reason might be that we go around hiding our darker impulses every day. And a good anti-hero character shows us that we can all be liked and even loved despite them.
Unlike a villain, an anti-hero still evokes sympathy and affection from the readers. Being a hero and having a conventional heroic character is hard. We can’t and don’t always come out in our life are idealistic, brave, and moral.
Continue reading “Best Books Featuring Anti-Heroes/Anti-Heroines”