The Fault In Our Stars & Hesitation Marks (100th Post!!!)

The Fault In Our Stars...just wow. I spent almost all of my free time reading all of it. While it sucks to admit that I didn't tear up (which I thought I would), the love, the loss, and the side effects of dying were truly, deeply felt. I really appreciated the wry humor that had emerged from tragic situation, revealing the very human side from a very inhuman disease. For some reason, Hazel seriously reminded me of Juno from...Juno. At some point, I put Ellen Page's face to Hazel, for that reason alone. Perhaps I'm thinking too much into it, but John Green did an amazing job revealing just how very differently people with diseases are treated differently. This was most obvious with girl's mother at the mall, as well as Hazel and Augustus acknowledging the myriad eyes watching them at the airport. Kaitlyn, Lidewij, and even that little girl at the mall were outstanding (as far as social norms go) by not treating Hazel with unnecessary sympathy and pity. All in all, The Fault In Our Stars was an amazing read. I'm quite happy with myself for buying the book.

In other news, I've got my hands (rather ears) on the new Nine Inch Nails' album, Hesitation Marks. My quick review is that the band is definitely heading in a new direction. However, I will say that my first impression of the album is fairly positive. Musically, it doesn't sound as post-industrial as his other band How to Destroy Angels, nor does this new material sound remotely similar to any of his previous work. Lyrically, still the same Reznor we've all always known. Hence, it's safe to say that album is a reflection of the band going in a new direction. 

Also, I realized that this is my 100th post!!! Wow, I didn't think I'd spend so much time here. For a while, I debated on terminating this account and beginning a Tumblr account, but out of laziness (I'm being honest here), I've decided to stick with this quaint Blogger account. Thank you for your love, support, and constant reading. Here's to another 100 posts. Cheers, mates!

"The Fault In Our Stars"

I finally finished reading Robert Ellis' The Lost Witness yesterday. Though it wasn't an "edge-of-your-seat" thriller kind of book (though honestly, I don't know what that looks like), I'm looking forward to reading John Green's The Fault In Our Stars now. I honestly have no idea what this books is about. Like at all. When I stumbled upon the book, it was first featured as "this month's book club reading" at a store, I immediately dismissed it. The Fault In Our Stars didn't really capture my attention at the time. Now friends, fellow bookworms, and even some YouTube personalities were positively responding to how well the story was written. Thus, I impulsively bought a collector's edition the book at a Barnes and Noble (I know, I know - though in my defense, I knew that I would be able to find the book there: the collector's edition of the book was just icing on the cake). So here I am, telling you that I'm about to read the book, while the book is sitting to my right, just waiting to be read. Life is funny like that.