Weekend

Waking up to no sound of alarm has been a very rare routine to me, working hours during weekdays have not allowed myself to linger and curl up longer in the comfort of bed and sheets. To make up to all those uneasy mornings, I always make the most of my weekends, enjoying being in bed and simply wasting my time. This weekend however, I've got a little company to spend my Saturday morning, a little book of love and chilling playlist. Weekends cannot start any better than this.

Naela Ali, a local illustrator and writer, has released the second book of Stories for Rainy Days. I love the first release so much and I expect more of her alluring love stories on the second book. Similar to its first volume, this second release tells more stories about love and heart-breaks, although it is quite obvious that the author seems to be very much in love during the process of her second book. Happy stories are all over this book, even though there are some heart-breaking stories in between. I relate so much more to the previous book, but this second volume of Stories for Rainy Days is still a nice company in gloomy weekends. 

I wrote about how I love and relate to the first volume in previous posts. 

One fine weekend would not be complete without some relaxing tunes to be a company of. Waking up to the sounds of easy songs are much better than waking up cursing each day for starting too early. Here are my tunes for the weekend.

Stories for Rainy Days by Naela Ali.

Photography by: Michelle Sal. / iPhone 7

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

Greatest Lesson

A friend has recommended this book for some time now, and after awhile I finally got to purchase the novel and read it. At first, I thought the novel was another book of love story, and to be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of novels as they are long and many of them are written in complex structures; Not that I have anything against novels, but unless it tells a story that is very intriguing to me, I would rather read a book of collection of short poems or stories.

Tuesdays with Morrie has positive reviews with people claiming the book has changed their lives, so I got curious and decided to join the hype. And after a few days, I got to finish the book, and I can see where the hype came from. It was an enjoyable read of a real life story, written in simple words and heartwarming life lessons. It clearly has the ability to change the readers' perspectives on life and so many other things, it gives readers different point of views of what's important. I like how the stories are told and written as it is, it doesn't feel as the writer tried to impress the readers with big words or any complexity while building story elements.

It was a good read and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers, or simply buy it as a gift for someone, it would be a heartwarming one. Tuesdays with Morrie lives up to its reputation.

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Photography by: Michelle Sal. / Canon 60D

Conversations

I have always been fond of people who are able to talk, especially the ones who can never leave the conversations in silence. From silly nonsense to deepest confessions, this type of person will always have my ears and full attention. Constant conversations with someone special give you excitements and warm feelings, I love to be asked out to a cozy coffee house and talk just about anything about the two of us for hours. Getting to know our favorites things, insecurities, passions, and the types of people we are. I admire the type of person who knows what to say to comfort uneasy feelings, and knows what to do to lift gloomy moods. Unfortunately, all things never last; sometimes the conversations turn to silence, words turn to strange hushes, and warm feelings turn to cold strangers. It happens, and turns out, there's no need to feel guilty for what I am feeling. Things happen and nothing lasts.

I recently read a collection of short stories by Naela Ali whom shares common stories of young love, complemented with adorable watercolor illustrations by the author herself. Stories for Rainy Days shares the stories of falling in love, enjoying little affections, and falling out of love. Things happen between two people, and sometimes there is nothing can be done to change them back. I relate so much with the story of Conversations, where the sudden change of feeling happens and moving on is not the wrong thing to do. I have come to realization that I don't have to feel bad for changing feelings. Things happen, feelings change, and forever is a myth.

Stories for Rainy Days by Naela Ali

Photograph by: Michelle Sal. / Canon 60D