Every month, on the 19th, I will talk about one specific author and his/her books that inspire me the most. This month's author is the one and only John Green. Known as one of New York Times bestselling author, Green took the world by storm with his stunning, eloquent writing. His most famous works are Looking For Alaska, Paper Towns, and The Fault in our Stars. After publishing his first book 'Looking For Alaska', Green started a vlog channel on Youtube with his brother Hank Green.
Green's mostly known for 'The Fault in Our Stars' that broke the heart of millions of teenagers including mine. TFIOS (The fault in our stars) is about a sixteen year old girl named Hazel Grace who is a cancer patient and is forced to attend a support group where she meets Augustus Waters and you could already tell how it goes from there. Green's way of telling the story captured the attention of not only teenagers and young adults but people from all ages were reading the story. TFIOS was published on January 2012, and on June 6th, the film adaptation of the book was released in theaters world wide making it a commercially successful movie and grossing over $266 million.
“My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.”
―
John Green,
The Fault in Our Stars
John Green's other two books are also being made into movies and I honestly can't wait! Green is honestly one of my all time favorite authors and I thoroughly enjoy his writings.
John Green's Book List
Click here to learn more about John Green and his marvelous books.
I have always been a big fan of dystopian/apocalyptic novels like The Hunger Games, Ashfall, and last but not least Divergent. Earlier this year, I was introduced to The Maze Runner series. To be honest, I was kind of getting bored of trilogies and I wasn't really keen on starting The Maze Runner so I completely ignored it up until it's movie trailer came out. The trailer had everything any action fan would want, it had running, dramatic music, monsters and an epic enormous maze. So, I decided to challenge myself and try to finish the whole trilogy before the movie comes out and I did it! The books were so captivating that I couldn't keep them out of my hands.
The Maze Runner book cover
When the lift cranks open, the only thing Thomas remembers is his first name. But he's not alone-an army of boys welcome him to the Glade, an encampment at the center of a terrible maze. The Gladers have no idea why they're there, or what's happened to the world outside. And following the arrival of a girl with a message, they must find a way out - or die.
The Maze Runner (The first book of the trilogy) circles around a boy named Thomas who wakes up to find himself stuck in a Glade filled entirely with boys with no memory of his life. The boys explain to him how they've built a small society where everyone is assigned different tasks. There are the butchers, cleaners and most importantly runners who go out everyday to explore the maze that surrounds the glade that keeps them grounded. If the runners do not make it back by nightfall before the walls to the Glade close, they will get trapped inside the Maze with savage monsters called the Grievers. Thomas became determined to join the runners to find a way out of the frightening maze to end it once and for all.
James Dashner, the author of the book may not be the best writer but he knows exactly how to keep his readers hooked. The way Dashner describes the Maze and the Glade made me feel like I actually live with the characters.
If you're into thrilling, action packed, sci-fi novels then The Maze Runner series fits the whole package perfectly. Definitely check it out.
Watch The Maze Runner trailer below:
To learn more about the author and his books, click here. To learn more about the movie and the cast, click here.
I have been living in Kuwait for almost 19 years and it has always been difficult for me to find a proper bookshop. The only two places I was aware of were Virgin Megastore and Al-Jareer Library but I still couldn't find what exactly I was looking for since I'm quite a picky reader and I don't find books that I like easily.
Two years ago I heard that they opened a new huge book store called That Al Salasil at the Avenues Mall. That Al Salasil company has different sectors like business, retail, publishing and printing and even travel and tourism. It is has stores everywhere in Kuwait, like the airport, shopping malls and even hotels! So, I went and checked it out and it easily became one of my favorite bookstores. It was so big and spacious with a wide variety of books (biographies, fiction, literature, health & fitness) I just couldn't help but fall in love with it. It has both Arabic and English books and even a small stationary section. There are a couple of That Al Salasil bookshop branches. Click here to view a list of their locations.
That Al Salasil Bookshop at the Avenues
Recently, I heard about a new bookstore that opened next to Marina Mall that everyone has been talking about called Q8books. However, as I looked into it, it turned out that this bookstore has been there since 2003 and 90 percent of their books are used. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to go and check it out and I was completely mind blown. All of the story books that you could ever think of existed in that bookshop and they all looked as good as new. I just sat there for about 2 hours carrying around 6 books in my hand trying to decide which one to buy and which one to leave behind which was completely heartbreaking for me. If you wish to learn more about their business, check out their website right here.
JK Rowling surprises her HP fans with 6 new stories that got released on Halloween night. One of the six stories revolve around the infamous villainess Dolores Umbridge in the fifth Harry Potter book "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" where we get to learn more about her background and what happened to her after the books ended. We all knew what a filthy liar Umbridge was so I'm quite sure everyone is pretty excited about the release of this short story.
(Spoilert Alert!) We even find out that Umbridge wasn't a pure blood, she's actually the daughter of a wizard and a muggle. She's a half-blood, or what Malfoy likes to call them: Mudbloods. If you wish to learn more about Umbridge's story, click here.
Not only will we get to know Professor Umbridge more, we can learn more about the Ministers for Magic, the mythical thestrals, Professor Sybill Trelawnet, the wizarding prison Azkaban (oooooh) and finally how magical children's futures can be predicted. Sounds awesome, right?
Another book of Rowling's called "Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them" which is a spin off of the HP books is set to hit theaters on November 18th, 2016. Seems like Rowling isn't going to let go of Harry Potter's world anytime soon and I bet we all dig it.
The stories are available on Pottermore, hidden in the chapters of the "Order of the Phoenix".
