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njdarkish's review against another edition
2.0
This really failed to grab my interest. Though I agree with the messages found in the entries that form the book, they were written as little snippets of advice when they could have been explored in much more interesting ways. I'm sure that the format will resonate with other readers, but it was too direct for what I was hoping for.
sheisinquisitive's review against another edition
3.0
"If they don't understand your silence, they will never understand your words."
"If you choose an option because it's the only one, then you haven't chosen. You've settled."
"Life is simple. Love is everywhere. You just have to change where you're looking. You have to change what you're seeing."
These are a fraction of the words and phrases I underlined in Najwa Zebian's debut book.
They say not to judge a book by its cover, but how can you look at this one and not immediately reach for it? The colours around her eyes, bright and curious, the glimmer in them as they look above at something greater, something worth pondering over -- it creates a feeling inside you, a word I can't seem to figure out, but it says, "I want to see a world in colour too, please show me. Show me what you see." For a moment, the pages in between answer your pleas... but rather inconsistently or redundantly... and the magic slowly fades.
Zebian has a real talent for letting her pen glide with ease onto the pages and creating an overarching theme in her work. Many of her observations and contemplative pieces explore thoughts, emotions, experiences, and lessons that are difficult to unravel but necessary to ponder and internalize with time. Her words alternate between a warm hug and a determined fist on a table, a look in the eye, telling you you must rise above whatever you're going through. She validates your feelings without sugarcoating the harsh truths of life. What I loved most was how she makes one conscious about many behaviours that we put forward without realizing -- and how we should change those ways or why we must keep them. The informal tone and writing style also gives Zebian's text a sense of freedom, one that extends beyond her words and disregards the "proper" structure of things. It wasn't poetry, but it left the aftertaste of it.
Unfortunately, there were many pieces I didn't enjoy as a whole. If you see my copy of the text, you'll see an underline, comment in the margins, or some sort of annotation on almost every page... but its reason being that a few words struck me more than the complete writings did. I found myself not liking many titles Zebiam gave to her writings or that the passages start with one idea, but go through a rollercoaster of ideas and end up somewhere else by the end. Some pieces felt too similar that I thought I was reading an earlier one or lost track of the page I was on. I would've cut out about a dozen or more of the writings and kept those that were distinguishable from the rest, exploring a new thought on each page rather than saying the same thing in several different ways.
That being said, I believe I will continue to read Zebian's work down the road. She has a lovely way of writing and I know that many of her pieces will continue to resonate with me.
"If you choose an option because it's the only one, then you haven't chosen. You've settled."
"Life is simple. Love is everywhere. You just have to change where you're looking. You have to change what you're seeing."
These are a fraction of the words and phrases I underlined in Najwa Zebian's debut book.
They say not to judge a book by its cover, but how can you look at this one and not immediately reach for it? The colours around her eyes, bright and curious, the glimmer in them as they look above at something greater, something worth pondering over -- it creates a feeling inside you, a word I can't seem to figure out, but it says, "I want to see a world in colour too, please show me. Show me what you see." For a moment, the pages in between answer your pleas... but rather inconsistently or redundantly... and the magic slowly fades.
Zebian has a real talent for letting her pen glide with ease onto the pages and creating an overarching theme in her work. Many of her observations and contemplative pieces explore thoughts, emotions, experiences, and lessons that are difficult to unravel but necessary to ponder and internalize with time. Her words alternate between a warm hug and a determined fist on a table, a look in the eye, telling you you must rise above whatever you're going through. She validates your feelings without sugarcoating the harsh truths of life. What I loved most was how she makes one conscious about many behaviours that we put forward without realizing -- and how we should change those ways or why we must keep them. The informal tone and writing style also gives Zebian's text a sense of freedom, one that extends beyond her words and disregards the "proper" structure of things. It wasn't poetry, but it left the aftertaste of it.
Unfortunately, there were many pieces I didn't enjoy as a whole. If you see my copy of the text, you'll see an underline, comment in the margins, or some sort of annotation on almost every page... but its reason being that a few words struck me more than the complete writings did. I found myself not liking many titles Zebiam gave to her writings or that the passages start with one idea, but go through a rollercoaster of ideas and end up somewhere else by the end. Some pieces felt too similar that I thought I was reading an earlier one or lost track of the page I was on. I would've cut out about a dozen or more of the writings and kept those that were distinguishable from the rest, exploring a new thought on each page rather than saying the same thing in several different ways.
That being said, I believe I will continue to read Zebian's work down the road. She has a lovely way of writing and I know that many of her pieces will continue to resonate with me.
kaeliwolf's review against another edition
3.0
Though eye-opening, this poetry book didn't feel like poetry, it didn't flow at all. I enjoyed it despite this though.
lsparrow's review against another edition
1.0
more "inspirational advise" giving than poetry in my opinion
rasunshiny's review against another edition
3.0
Membaca ini seperti membaca diary seseorang. Banyak life lessons yang bisa didapat dari buku ini dan membuat kita reflecting. Tapi entah kenapa narasinya membuat aku ngantuk. Dan ada beberapa hal dibahas berulang ulang seperti perihal 'respect'
christinacarrie's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
rozalyn_lethe's review against another edition
2.0
I just wanted to give a few honest thoughts on this book I don’t think that this was a bad book but to me this was the absolute definition of just OK it was constantly losing my attention, so much of it felt like just common knowledge things things like treat others the way you wanna be treated and views on second chances and things like that and again this was not a bad book but I dnf 103 pages and it was just really hard to keep going and I have other books I want to get to. Maybe I’ll pick it back up again because the reason why is two star not even a one or no star is because it does have some interesting views on just life in general the way that you go through life with certain views and things like that. <3
readuntilthelastpage's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0
giulay's review against another edition
3.0
Poetry mood, here I come!
This was a good collection of different poems that read very much like wise life advice to live a bit better and to be a bit more understanding towards other and yourself. Liked it.
Favourite poem:
"Rest Your Heart
Your heart is precious, so take care of it. It may be able to forgive unconditionally, but don't exhaust it by surrounding yourself with those who constantly do you wrong. It may have an infinite capacity for patience, but don't exhaust it by surrounding yourself with those who don't value your time."
This was a good collection of different poems that read very much like wise life advice to live a bit better and to be a bit more understanding towards other and yourself. Liked it.
Favourite poem:
"Rest Your Heart
Your heart is precious, so take care of it. It may be able to forgive unconditionally, but don't exhaust it by surrounding yourself with those who constantly do you wrong. It may have an infinite capacity for patience, but don't exhaust it by surrounding yourself with those who don't value your time."