middlesex – Miss Casual

I know that not everybody is into books and fair enough, so this is not a post for those who fall asleep when they try reading. I never understood that, but they probably don’t understand how come I don’t have the patience to watch every single movie that was released. Some of the 5 books that I am going to mention, I have read recently, but there is one that I read when I was a teenager and still stayed with me. That was a shock and a lesson to keep my mind opened to possibilities (4).

Kafka on the shore – Haruki Murakami

I will try to tell you what I liked about each book without spoiling it. This is one of the more recent reads but I knew of the author because my parents have almost his entire collection…well, the books that were translated in Romanian. I also knew that this is one of dad’s favourite writers, but he is a bit dark for mom’s taste. For me it is just perfectly interesting.

Especially in “Kafka on the shore”, but even more in 1Q84, he uses magical realism in the story. You never know what is truly from our day to day reality and what is not. Another thing that I like about this author: none of his characters is just “normal”. All of them are flawed in a really interesting way to read about, but maybe you would not have them as friends. All in all, a very good read!

James Potter – Norman Lippert

Surprise, surprise! This is not about Harry Potter’s father, it is about his son and it is not written by J. K. Rowling either. If reading Harry Potter was not enough for you and you want just a bit more of some of your favourite characters but a lot about your favourite world, you need to read this! The author has continued in the beautifully descriptive way that J.K. Rowling has so it is very rarely that you can tell that it is not by the original author.

Even though it is just as magical as the Harry Potter series were, these books, especially from the second one, have something for the SF lovers. Just a little spoiler: we might learn about the American version of Hogwarts and we might or might not breach the subjects of telepathy and time travelling. Btw, you can find all the ebooks online for free on the official site.

The Chemist – Stephenie Meyer

When I bought this book, I have not realised that it is the same author as the one who wrote Twilight. Even though I guiltily enjoyed the books when I was in high-school, I remember how one of my colleagues bought the book and then we all waited in line to read it…I am glad I didn’t make the connection. I was expecting a crime fiction and I was not sure she can deliver – Omg, judgemental much? But she did!

The main character is a woman, but has the abilities of a James Bond…I would personally say that she is even better trained and has better discipline like any of the James Bonds, but feel free to contradict me. I remember being amazed by the tools/ gadgets that she created even thought I barely remember the story line now. I just remember that I would read it again!

Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides

This is a book that I read when I was a teenager and stayed with me all this time. I had to google it to remember the author so I saw that he was given the Pulizer Price for the novel and that it also features in Oprah’s Book Club. The main character is a teenager as well but what shocked me and educated me at the time was the fact that he was intersex. I never heard of it before at the time of reading, but the book is a good depiction of the anatomical changes he went through, as well as the challenges of a Greek family who moved to America.

I definitely need to read it again with the mind of an adult.

Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The moment I finished this book, I told mum that she has to read it as well. And she did and loved it. The main character is a Nigerian woman who moves to America for her studies but finds herself not fitting in. Her observations at how different these two cultures are, are both hilarious and smart. I remember laughing so hard at the blog that the main character is writing on this subject.

Does the name of the author sound familiar to you? She is the one that had that now famous Ted Talk “We should all be feminists” that you can hear in Beyonce’s song as well – Flawless. Also, when Dior appointed Maria Grazia Chiuri as their designer, the brand has gained a loud voice among the gender equality activists with the collection with the same name “We should all be feminists”.

And these would be the 5 books that blew my mind…at a first thought. I decided to write this posts and didn’t let myself overthink things, I just wrote the first 5 books that came to my mind as books that changed my way of thinking or simply made me enjoy a few hours of mental action.

I am so curious which are your choices for books that blew your mind and you think I should read. I am still in my devouring mode since the year started and I even set myself a challenge on Goodreads, but there are still so many books that I didn’t manage to get my hand on so next year I might write another post like this with the newly read 5 books that blew my mind.

Kisses!