I want to start this post with this beautiful quote:
This saying always reminds me that happiness is here, it's hidden in all the littlest things we treasure and enjoy, and we only need to take a step towards it.
Speaking about books, I've fully acknowledged I'm going to need a bigger bookshelf soon :) I have always been a Kindle reader fan and preferred to load my reader with tons of different ebooks. But, this year, I craved the feel of smooth paper, that pleasure of opening a new book for the first time and flipping through the yellowish pages. So I went to the online store (a couple of times) and got myself a huge bunch of books.
Books helped me make it through 2020. They transferred me to places I couldn't go and allowed me to live numerous lives in one year. Here are some of the best reads I enjoyed in 2020:
Cloud Atlas
This novel by David Mitchell had been on my to-read list for too long. Last summer, I saw it in the bookstore, and since I had heard David Mitchell's writing was influenced by Haruki Murakami, probably my favorite author, I decided I need to read it. Although the story seemed uneventful initially, once I started to grasp the whole idea, I couldn't put it down.
Cloud Atlas comprises six stories of six people. They all live in different eras, yet their souls somehow connect through the most unusual circumstances.
There is so much in this book: it's about life and death, the freedom that gives you wings, and its absence that leads to decay. Cloud Atlas shows how our present connects with the past and how our actions impact future generations. It's a suspenseful and beautifully written story, and I gave it a solid five out of five stars on Goodreads.
Normal People
Connell's 16. He's a popular sports star that gets along with all the cool kids in school. When he gets attached to a shy, not very social Marianne, he decides to conceal their connection, and Marianne agrees.
Their roles change at college, where Marianne makes new friends and gets surrounded by a circle of artsy, popular students, while Connell can't fit in. While they care deeply for each other, painful miscommunication sets Marianne and Connell apart. But the first-love chemistry brings them together once again, testing their bond at last.
I read Normal People in 2019, but I got back to it when the BBC series came out this spring. Sally Rooney writes beautifully about feelings and the complexity of relationships. Normal People is no stereotypical love-story; it feels painfully real, and that's what I loved about it.
The Choice
Edith Eger was sixteen when her youthful dreams and aspirations were ruined by the war. Her parents were taken to the gas chamber the minute they step into Auschwitz, and Edith and her sister had to endure all the sufferings and hardships of the concentration camps.
When the sisters were liberated, they started looking for meaning in life that was brutally stolen from them.
Edith is now 93 years old, and she lives in America. She found the strength that helped her live her life fully and guide other people in finding meaning and happiness under all circumstances.
In this biographical book, Edith shares her healing journey and sends the powerful message: we, ourselves, choose to be happy or miserable. And the only way to find peace is to get out of the prison of our own past.
Here are some quotes that I loved:
I want to keep alive the part of me that feels wonder, that wonders, until the very end.
Our painful experiences aren’t a liability—they’re a gift. They give us perspective and meaning, an opportunity to find our unique purpose and our strength.
You can’t change what happened, you can’t change what you did or what was done to you. But you can choose how you live now. My precious, you can choose to be free.
What books have you been enjoying lately? Feel free to DM me on Instagram and share some bookish inspiration ✨
