Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars

One of the many brilliant quotes from the book.

I decided to read this book as I found out that the movie is coming out this summer. I don't want my imagination to be tainted by the actors, so I bought the book in London and started reading. I don't know why but for some reason I've just been reading such sad books lately. Sad, but brilliant.

If I could ignore the fact that the main characters in this book, Hazel and Augustus, seemed far too clever for their age (I've met countless ridiculously smart and wise teenagers and somehow they seemed nothing in comparison to them) that made me sink back to reality and realise I'm reading fiction, the book was a joy to read. The book told by two cancer-stricken teenagers teaches us to live. Love. No matter what. Even with cancer.

"Without pain, we couldn't know joy"

I wish I could say more about the book, but after those hundreds of pages, the message is clear and is coherent throughout.

To end this post on a less ambiguous, rather patriotic note, apparently according to the book, "there are only two emotions, love and fear, and that Afasi och Filthy navigate between them with the kind of facility that one simply does not find in hip-hop music outside of Sweden." I was curious and looked up Afasi och Filthy and listened to their music. I must say, I didn't understand what the author was trying to say with that passage. I'ts probably because I can understand everything Afasi och Filthy are singing. It's probably only those who don't speak Swedish who can understand what the author was trying to say. You non-Swedish speaking people are in for an additional treat then. Nevertheless, I appreciate the shout-out to Swedish music. Woop.

Bottom line, read the book before watching the movie this summer. Heart-warming. Oh, and why not join me and listen to some more Swedish hip-hop while you're at it too.

Book review: Escape from Camp 14

After speed-reading the Hunger Games trilogy, I knew I had to get another book right after it. So I bought this book the same time as I bought the last two Hunger Games books.

I've always had a fascination about North Korea for as long as I can remember. It's one of my top destinations. I just can't believe that such a society exists, where people don't even know about the rest of the world. I bought this book to know more about the mysterious North Korea, and yes, it was an eye-opener.

I was captivated and intrigued. Interestingly enough, as much as I found the Hunger Games trilogy being absolutely horrific, the things that Shin, the protagonist in the book, had to go through was even worse than what any of the characters had to go through in the Hunger Games. And that's fiction. Because of this, it took me a while to finish reading the book as I couldn't bear the details all in one go. It was just too... realistic, and unrealistic at the same time.

Shin's story as told by Blaine Harden I believe is a must read for everyone. It sheds a light on an issue barely touched upon in the news today. We get shocked when accounts of torture, slavery, murder, rape etc., are on the news, and for people like Shin, this was their everyday. Blaine tells his story in a very compelling manner, informative as well as gripping.

I'll keep a look-out for this guy in the future. He's an idol. An absolute role model. I hope that his efforts of raising awareness of the gulags in North Korea to  hopefully put a stop to them succeeds. And then there will be more stories like his for us all to hear and realise how lucky we all really are.

London calling!

On the 1st of January, I bought my tickets to London, and after partying on the 3rd, I was off to the airport a hour later. 

London. So busy. So big. A city that never sleeps. Which made us not sleep either. Already after being picked up from the airport and was driven to my friend's place, I was in continuous awe.

Who knew there was so much to do? 

On the first day after visiting the British Museum, we tried a live escape game called ClueQuest, where we were locked in a room and had to solve puzzles to get out. With a team composed of a physicist from Imperial, and a mathematician and two medics from St Andrews, I was confident. But my, my, my, was I wrong. When we got out, we had 35secs left until the world would explode. But hey, at least we saved the world eh? After that adrenaline-filled challenge, we headed out to Tiger Tiger, where within 5min we already witnessed a fight inside the club. Only in London.

During the next couple days, we were as touristy as one can be. Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden,  Leicester square, London dungeon... you name it. We even saw Wicked the musical. We also ate at a restaurant called Inamo which had interactive tables, meaning your table is like a computer screen. Highly unsocial, but amazing nonetheless.

Bottom line? London, I love you. I could live here. I thought I already made my mind up about living in Stockholm after graduating but... I'm starting to consider other options. We'll see in the future! 

Until next time London ;)

2014, new year, new Sam

Just like everyone else, I decided to have my own list of new year's resolutions. Follow me in this blog on my journey to tick them off my list.

1. Read more books
2. Start on my own book
3. Start a new blog and write in it regularly (I guess I could tick half of that off my list)
4. Read and speak French again
5. Pray more, pray everyday
6. Improve writing with my left hand
7. Get my driver's license
8. Exercise more, jog regularly
9. Play the violin again
10. Get better on playing the piano
11. Write songs regularly and record demos
12. Do well academically - in medschool, research etc.
13. Do more charity work, including in the family 
14. Get in touch with my creative side, draw more
15. Reach my 40th country (currently at 35)

They're pretty vague (except the last one probably), but in that way I won't stop. They will be continuous throughout the year. This year shows promise. 

2014, new year, new Sam.