February Tunes

Since it is the month of love, I made a playlist of some of the love songs I enjoy recently. These tunes feel a lot like falling in love to me (not that I am in love or anything) and every song has an ambiance and a mix of R&B and hip-hop vibe. It is a nice company during lone hours, spending some alone time with nothing but book, music, and maybe a cup of whatever it is. I happened to be re-reading this collection of poems when I reviewed these tunes, I might as well write a few words about it.

I stumbled on this book when I was walking around a bookstore, it's been months ago since I bought and read it. This book is a collection of poems written by a local illustrator and writer, Lala Bohang. She writes and illustrates very well, and I genuinely love her sense of humor in every work she does. Going through each page feels like reading my own mind, The Book of Forbidden Feelings offers stories of love and personal struggles in relationships, written in poetic style with dashes of sarcasms here and there. It is relate-able (most of the poems), witty, and complemented with lovely artwork. As fun as the book seems, some poems do not relate to me as much as Naela Ali's stories do, probably because I have never went through the kind of relationships Lala Bohang had; Overall, I'm enjoying this book, even though I don't relate much with the love stories, but the sarcasm and other attitude in most stories feel a lot like me.

The Book of Forbidden Feelings by Lala Bohang

Photography by Michelle Sal. / iPhone 7

This Modern Love

I was impressed by a photograph taken by an Instagram user I follow when I first saw this book, thanks to his incredible photography skill, I was drawn to get to know more about this book. Looking all pretty on an Instagram picture was not the only reason I finally decided to purchase one, this book is a collection of love stories, which is exactly the type of book I'm into. This Modern Love is a book of collection of love letters written by people around the world. It is compiled by the author Will Darbyshire and is divided into three parts; To put it in my own words, they are divided into three steps of falling in love. It begins with a crush, then being in love, and finally, there's the break-up and heartbreaks. 

Crush

Just like the beginning of many love stories, the book begins with crush and admiration letters written to the person the authors have feelings for. To be honest, this part of the book does not really impress me, it is a compilation of smitten crush confessions written in unfortunately, rather dull structures and words. Many of the letters are telling the exact same stories just like the other ones, but I like how they picture the feeling of crushing on a person, there's innocence and purity in between the written lines. This part of the book is not bad, it feels honest, but I do think it could have been more exhilarating, just like having a crush feels like.

Falling in love

When I started this part, the song Minnewaska by Widowspeak was playing on my iTunes, and boy what a great pair they were. The song was the perfect soundtrack to this part, and I couldn't resist replaying it over and over. The part of falling in love itself is much better than the first part, the letters are more varied, and so are the stories. They give me smile and some are even hilarious, it is the most heartwarming part of the book.

Heartbreak

With every beginning comes an end, just like many relationships, this book ends with heartbreaks. These are letters from people who were brokenhearted by their past relationships, letters to their exes. Some show bravery, some are nostalgic, and some other are still struggling to pass by the hurt. This part of the book is probably my favorite, the stories are deeper and the words are more poetic, these are the stories of heartbreaks and failed relationships, this part feels genuine.

Overall, the compilation of love letters curated by Will Darbyshire was an enjoyable reading experience. However, I do feel the letters and words could be much deeper and sincere. It does not give me all the emotional feelings or hook me in some ways, but the honest words and stories are able to lighten the mood. I would probably give the book a second reading chance and see if it would give me the roller-coaster feelings. I like the author much better though, his intention with this book is heart-warming, and so is the reason behind it, and his Instagram feed is amazing. 

Minnewaska by Widowspeak

This Modern Love by Will Darbyshire

Photography by: Michelle Sal. / iPhone 7