My May Reads

Hello there, Homo sapiens!

May has gone just like that! Whew! Here are the books I’ve read in May.

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

Quote of the Week (2026-23)

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

~ Siddhartha Gautama

Spell the Month in Books – May

Hi there, Homo sapiens!

It’s the end of the month and I haven’t done Spell the Month in Books for May yet. So here I am!

The idea is to spell the month in books using the first letter in the first word of a title and it was originally created by Jana @ Reviews From the Stacks. I didn’t see any theme update/post from Jana so I’ll be choosing my own theme this time.

For this month’s theme: Books with flowers on the cover

M- Moloka’i by Alan Brennert

A – All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Y – Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

Until next time! Happy reading!

Quote of the Week (2026-22)

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.

~ Anais Nin

Quote of the Week (2026-21)

Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.

~ Elie Wiesel

Quote of the Week (2026-20)

Silence makes the real conversations between friends. Not the saying, but the never needing to say that counts.

~ Margaret Lee Runbeck

Quote of the Week (2026-19)

Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.

~ Muhammad Ali

My April Reads

Good day, Homo sapiens! I hope you are all doing great! Today, I’m sharing with you the books I’ve read in April.

5 Stars

Truly was an amazing read. Great book! I have always been a Lionel Richie fan for sure and I’d be glad to recommend this book to anyone.

4 Stars

A River in Darkness was not a very easy read but necessary. Heartbreaking. One of the best first hand accounts about life in North Korea.

I read Still Alice because Alzheimer’s is a very interesting subject to me. Realistic and scary at the same time. Now it makes me question my forgetfulness lately…

Daughters of the Bamboo Grove was a good exploration of China’s one-child policy and its effect. Very insightful and well-researched.

The Great Successor left me asking more questions instead of finding answers which makes it a good book for me because North Korea fascinates me.

It’s like I’ve been to Sicily after finishing The Sicilian (The Godfather 2). You won’t find here the direct sequel to The Godfather if that’s what you’re up to, mind you.

Hamnet is a moving and heartbreaking story. A little slow for my taste but I admire the author’s skills in writing about death and grief.

Watching Jackie Chan movies is a happy reminder of my childhood. So I was excited to read Never Grow Up which was an easy, fast and fun read.

3 Stars

Maybe I would have loved Illusions if I’ve read it when I was younger? Anyhow, it was still an interesting, short read.

What did you read in April?

Quote of the Week (2026-18)

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.

~ Bernard Meltzer

Quote of the Week (2026-17)

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.

~ Marcus Aurelius

Quote of the Week (2026-16)

Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.

~ Bertrand Russell

Spell the Month in Books – April

Good day, Homo sapiens!

So… I’m doing Spell the Month in Books for April. The idea is to spell the month in books using the first letter in the first word of a title and it was originally created by Jana @ Reviews From the Stacks.

For this month’s theme: Easter or Pastel Covers

I’m choosing Easter and I’ve decided to use children’s Easter books.

A – The April Rabbits by David Cleveland

P – Peppa’s Easter Egg Hunt by Neville Astley

R – The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

I – It’s the Easter Beagle by Charles M. Schulz

L – Little Bunny’s Easter Surprise by Jeanne Modesit

My March Reads

Hello there, Homo sapiens! How’s everyone doing? I wonder if any of you guys are also living here in the Middle East? I hope you’re safe and doing well. Ceasefire, so I hope everyone’s sleeping well at night.

Anyway, I managed to read 7 books in March and let me share them with you today.

5 Stars

The Sideways Life of Denny Voss is so far my favorite fiction read this year. Heartwarming, sweet, funny and heartbreaking at the same time.

4 Stars

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur is the sequel to The Henna Artist. I liked this book as it brings me the smell and interesting culture of India once again.

It’s very sad to know that Departure(s) will be Julian Barnes’ last published book. Mr. Barnes is one of my favorite authors. The Sense of an Ending is one of my top favorite books of all time where he talks about how we imperfectly or incorrectly remember the past while Departure(s) talks about how we prepare to leave it behind. Sad.

99 Ways to Die and How to Avoid Them is a very informative read, humorous and a bit tragic.

I enjoy anything Mitch Albom writes and Twice is my recent read from him. Complex love story. Ha! The twist surprised me! Mr. Albom never fails me.

I found The Last Kings of Hollywood a very insightful read because I don’t watch movies a lot but I sure have watched epic movies made by these three filmmakers — Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.   

3 Stars

Broken April is my first from an Albanian author, Ismail Kadare. The book is a bit disturbing and barbaric but I guess you don’t read it to be entertained. It made me feel glum and depressed so I want to give Albanian literature another try.

Have you read any of these books? What were your March reads?

Quote of the Week (2026-15)

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

~ Mahatma Gandhi

Quote of the Week (2026-14)

We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.

~ Frederick Keonig

Quote of the Week (2026-13)

The amount of good luck coming your way depends on your willingness to act.

~ Barbara Sher

Quote of the Week (2026-12)

Luck is predictable; the harder you work, the luckier you get.

~ Brian Tracy

Spell the Month in Books – March

Hi there, Homo sapiens!

Today, I’m doing Spell the Month in Books for March. The idea is to spell the month in books using the first letter in the first word of a title and it was originally created by Jana @ Reviews From the Stacks.

For this month’s theme: Green Covers

M – The Master by Christopher Clarey

A – Augustus by John Williams

R – Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

C – A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

H – Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

That’s it! Until next time!

My February Reads

Hi there, Homo sapiens! Things were crazy and stressful the past couple of weeks and likely may still be due to the Israel/US-Iran war that is very much affecting the GCC countries. I am currently in Kuwait and was supposed to fly out on March 3rd but the airport was closed since the afternoon of Feb-28. So… work, as usual…

Anyway, let me share to you today the books I enjoyed in the month of February.

5 Stars

 

Sputnik Sweetheart is a reread. I try to reread a Murakami book every now and then. I read Sonny Boy because I am a big fan of Al Pacino. And of course, Heavier Than Heaven was a great read as I get to know more about Kurt Cobain whose poster used to hang on my wall when I was a teenager.

4 Stars

Killing Thatcher was an interesting read, gripping, though a little bit repetitive. As for The Last Letter, it’s the ending that got me, really, the final twist.

3 Stars

The first half of Death and the Gardener was great but it failed to keep me engaged in the second half.

 

Quote of the Week (2026-8)

I have decided to stick to love; hate is too great a burden to bear.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Quote of the Week (2026-7)

You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.

~ Bob Marley

Spell the Month in Books – February 2026

Hi there, Homo sapiens! I’m doing Spell the Month in Books for February. The idea is to spell the month in books using the first letter in the first word of a title and it was originally created by Jana @ Reviews From the Stacks. This month’s theme is “Freebie” so I decided I will just be using book titles that first come to mind for each letter.

F – Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

E – Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe

B – The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

R – The Road by Cormac McCarthy

U -The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie
A – All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

R – Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Y – Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

My January Reads

Hi there, Homo sapiens!

So… January is over! Just. Like. That!

I only managed to read 5 books in January but I hope to read more than 5 every month.

Here are my January reads:

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

How was your reading month?

Quote of the Week (2026-5)

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

~ Lao Tzu

Quote of the Week (2026-4)

Sometimes self-love shows up as the willingness to release people who have no interest in learning how to love you. You deserve to be handled with care.

~ Clark C. Michell

Spell the Month in Books – JANUARY 2026

Hi there, Homo sapiens! I’m doing Spell the Month in Books for the first time in a long while. The idea is to spell the month in books using the first letter in the first word of a title and it was originally created by Jana @ Reviews From the Stacks.

Today, I’m not going with the theme “new” but instead I’ve decided to include non-fiction books. Let’s get started, shall we?

J – Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia

A – American Kingpin: Catching the Billion-Dollar Baron of the Dark Web by Nick Bilton

N – Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

U – Unbroken:  A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

A – All In, An Autobiography by Billie Jean King

R – Renegades: Born in the USA by Barack Obama & Bruce Springsteen

Y – Young Queens by Leah Redmond Chang

How did you spell the month of January in books?

Quote of the Week (2026-3)

Your wound is probably not your fault, but your healing is your responsibility.

~ Denice Envall

Quote of the Week (2026-2)

The most important aspect of love is not in giving or the receiving: it’s in the being. When I need love from others, or need to give love to others, I’m caught in an unstable situation. Being in love, rather than giving or taking love, is the only thing that provides stability.

~ Ram Dass

Quote of the Week (2026-1)

You are the only person who can love yourself wholly and completely. Don’t rely on others to fill that space.

~ Cynthia Occelli

2025 Five-Star Reads

Hello there, homo sapiens! Happy new year!

Looking back on 2025, it was definitely a busy year at work and a challenging one in my personal life. Through it all, books were my go-to-escape (as always) — something I could always come back to no matter how hectic things got. Some made me laugh, some made me think and reflect,  others helped me unwind and a few left a lasting mark on me.

So today, I want to share my five-star reads from the past year — stories that carried me through and made the year a little brighter.

The Daily Stoic – Get Active in Your Own Rescue, 31-Dec-2025

Stop wandering about! You aren’t likely to read your own notebooks, or ancient histories, or the anthologies you’ve collected to enjoy in your old age. Get busy with life’s purpose, toss aside empty hopes, get active in your own rescue — if you care for yourself at all — and do it while you can.

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 3.14

The Daily Stoic – Taking the Bite Out of It, 30-Dec-2025

To bear trials with a calm mind
robs misfortune of its strength and burden.

~ Seneca, Hercules Oetaeus, 231-232

The Daily Stoic – Give Thanks, 29-Dec-2025

In all things we should try to make ourselves be as grateful as possible. For gratitude is a good thing for ourselves, in a manner in which justice, commonly held to belong to others, is not. Gratitude pays itself back in large measure.

~ Seneca, Moral Letters, 81.19

Quote of the Week

I don’t know what good it is to know so much and be smart as whips and all if it doesn’t make you happy.

~ J.D. Salinger

The Daily Stoic – On Being Remembered, 28-Dec-2025

Everything lasts for a day, the one who remembers and the remembered.

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.35

The Daily Stoic – Don’t Let Your Soul Go First, 27-Dec-2025

It’s a disgrace in this life when the soul surrenders first while the body refuses to.

 ~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.29

The Daily Stoic – Life is Long — If You Know How to Use It, 26-Dec-2025

It’s not at all that we have too short a time to live, but that we squander a great deal of it. Life is long enough, and it’s given in sufficient measure to do many great things if we spend it well. But when it’s poured down the drain of luxury and neglect, when it’s employed to no good end, we’re finally driven to see that it has passed by before we even recognized it passing. And so it is — we don’t receive a short life, we make it so.

~ Seneca, On the Brevity of Life, 1.3-4a

The Daily Stoic – Don’t Burn the Candle at Both Ends, 25-Dec-2025

The mind must be given relaxation — it will rise improved and sharper after a good break. Just as rich fields must not be forced—for they will quickly lose their fertility if never given a break — so constant work on the anvil will fracture the force of the mind. But it regains its powers if it is set free and relaxed for a while. Constant work gives rise to a certain kind of dullness and feebleness in the rational soul.

~ Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind, 17.5

The Daily Stoic – Meaningless… Like a Fine Wine, 24-Dec-2025

You know what wine and liqueur tastes like. It makes no difference whether a hundred or a thousand bottles pass through your bladder — you are nothing more than a filter.

~ Seneca, Moral Letters, 77.16

The Daily Stoic – What Are You So Afraid of Losing?, 23-Dec-2025

You are afraid of dying. But, come now, how is this life of yours anything but death?

~ Seneca, Moral Letters, 77.18

The Daily Stoic – Stake Your Own Claim, 22-Dec-2025

For it’s disgraceful for an old person, or one in sight of old age, to have only the knowledge carried in their notebooks. Zeno said this… what do you say? Cleanthes said that… what do you say? How long will you be compelled by the claims of another? Take charge and stake your own claim — something posterity will carry in its notebook.

~ Seneca, Moral Letters, 33.7

The Daily Stoic – What Do You Have to Show for Your Years?, 21-Dec-2025

Many times an old man has no other evidence besides his age to prove he has lived a long time.

~ Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind, 3.8b

The Daily Stoic – Fear the Fear of Death, 20-Dec-2025

Do you then ponder how the supreme of human evils, the surest mark of the base and cowardly, is not death, but the fear of death? I urge you to discipline yourself against such fear, direct all your thinking, exercises, and reading this way — and you will know the only path to human freedom.

~ Epictetus, Discourses, 3.26.38-39

The Daily Stoic – Human Scale, 19-Dec-2025

Think of the whole universe of matter and how small your share. Think about the expanse of time and how brief — almost momentary — the part marked for you. Think of the workings of fate and
how infinitesimal  your role.

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.24

The Daily Stoic – What Comes to Us All, 18-Dec-2025

Both Alexander the Great and his mule-keeper were both brought to the same place by death— they were either received into the all-generative reason, or scattered among the atoms.

~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 6.24

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started