The Book Worm

  Franz Kafka  (1883-1924) This sorrowful piece stands as the most melancholic I have held in my hand. Kafka’s writing deeply touches us for it originates from a more personal and authentic point of view. What makes him different from other novelists is that his works are based on existentialism and carry a passionate and depressing tone. In this letter, Kafka shares his feelings of inferiority and inadequacy, the impact of his complex father-son relationship on his personality and his life, and his deeply rooted psychological struggles. I felt mixed emotions stirring within me while reading this letter; curiosity, downheartedness, obscurity, oblivion, sympathy, and many more I cannot identify. For some reason, while reading this, it reflected my own thoughts and I could relate to him in many aspects. I am unable to phrase it in a way that conveys my personal experience and connection to his own, but this is one of the effects his writings have on me. It confuses me each time. How much

Frankenstein  was one of those rare reads that completely took me by surprise.  Mary Shelley’s timeless narrative weaved a gripping mix of scientific ambition, ethical dilemma, and the tragic outcomes of the insane pursuit of knowledge. This story created a long-lasting impact upon me making me contemplate different aspects of life and wonder, what is it that truly matters in this world? I was affected by different feelings of sadness, joy, sympathy, astonishment, fear, and even horror. “ Night also closed around; and when I could hardly see the dark mountains, I felt still more gloomily. The picture appeared a vast and dim scene of evil, and I foresaw obscurely that I was destined to become the most wretched of human beings .” Victor Frankenstein’s woe and distress are vividly portrayed in this sentence. His sense of gloom and hopelessness intensifies as the darkness of the night obscures his surroundings and seems to amplify his emotional disarray, making him feel more wretched and l

Photo: The Marsten House from the film adaptation (1979). I went through several reviews about this book before reading it, and I am so glad they were spoil-free.   Salem’s Lot  is the second novel that I read by Stephen King, and it is reputed to be a classic in the horror literary genre. It was thoroughly engaging, flawlessly well-written, disturbingly scary, and a real page-turner. The story starts with the arrival of Author Ben Mears, his childhood hometown hoping to find clarity and find inspiration for his new book only to realize that there might be a scheming malevolent force striving to seize control of the town.    In the beginning, I felt a little bit disoriented because of the abundance of characters in the book so I had to write down the names of every one of them and the relationship linking them for a more vivid mental picture. Hence the more I flipped the pages, the more I gained clarity about the story. There are books I adore which are extremely long, complex, and idi

Have you ever dealt with a toxic internal monologue? That horrible inner voice that keeps pulling you backward no matter how hard you try to move forward? When no one is talking to you, you talk to yourself, and that inner voice enables you to reflect on your life by using silent language.  Chatter is the moment you turn yourself inward to review your problems and come up with narratives to explain your experiences in ways that give shape to your understanding of who you are. If you end up being more worried, that’s when you get stuck in that endless loop that turns your inner voice from a blessing to a curse. That can be a symptom of a serious mental health issue and can lead to depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety. “ If you constantly think about the negative side of things, you will feed the evil wolf within to grow stronger and, eventually, completely overpower the good one .”  As Tony Robins says, energy flows where attention goes. It’s possible to divert those negativ

Painting: The Manipulation from the Anti-Consciousness Monsters by Darwin Leon  The American Writer Edgar Allan Poe exhibited the theme of revenge and manipulation in “ The Cask of Amontillado ” where the narrator Montresor lures his “friend” Fortunado to an underground maze of tunnels and tombs. There, he gets Fortunado drunk, chains him, and walls him up before leaving him to die a slow death.  I quote what Jordan Peterson said when he discussed the topic and said that a manipulator’s communication is always motivated for the purpose of power or domination or positive illusion or delusion or something. It becomes almost impossible to cognize what is real and what is not. You become programmed to try to please them and as soon as you do something vaguely useful, they will criticize you mercilessly and at the same time show you signs of love or affection. Such an appalling paradox! Isn’t it? And from a Freudian perspective, he attributed the matter to repression . But does a manipulato

The Shining (1977) by Stephen King. The Shining  is a horror novel written by Stephen King and I don’t understand why I only read this book now although I watched almost every movie based on Stephen King novels. There is a big reason for Stephen King’s reputation and how he is admired by everyone. This is the first book I read by him, I got the chance to start this journey, and I am simply impressed! Impressed by the way the characters are drawn, the smooth way he walks us through the story, and the fact that I got frightened by many scenes and experienced multiple jump scares (even though I am a big horror fan!). The story is about a man, a writer, trying to finish writing a play and recover from alcoholism, who accepted a job as a caretaker in the Overlook Hotel, a place loaded with dark history that King gave a backstory and a personality and that we can consider a character itself. Jack finds himself isolated from the rest of the world with only his wife and his son Danny, a f

  "If there is one thing that you need to get, it should be this; the most powerful mind is the quiet mind. It is the mind that is present, reflective, and mindful of its thoughts and its state. It doesn't often multitask, and when it does, it does so with a purpose"

Reading about Patricia Cornwell’s journey, her childhood, and adolescence encouraged me to do something I like. I always found excuses for laziness despite my deep desire to become a writer. I know I have it in me, I just need to practice. Patricia once said ‘I wasn’t a novelist. I was trying to learn. But writing is like a sport. You have to practice, practice, and practice. One day, you might get lucky and get good at it.’ It reinforced the impulse I occasionally felt to put into paper every idea I had. I have fragmented thoughts and ideas, this is one of the reasons I did not finish any novel/book I had started writing at the time. I am not even sure I can call what I had proceeded to write a book or a novel, at least I hoped it was. Today I am telling myself, what if I tried something different? The story will eventually come to me; all I need to do is translate my thoughts into words. I have the time, the space, and the freedom. I especially have the craving. An urge to replicat