Happy Tuesday everyone! As it is Tuesday, it is time for a Top Ten Tuesday update. Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s given topic:  Freebie

This week’s prompt is actually a freebie. Unfortunately, I can’t think of a suitable subject so I decided to go over previous Top Ten Tuesday prompts. Several subjects caught my fancy but in the end, I decided to feature the first ten book reviews I wrote and published. It has been almost six years since I started writing book reviews and in that span, I have published more than 400 book reviews. It has been a joy sharing my thoughts about the books I read and I hope that I will be able to do more in the coming years. Looking back, I can’t believe how much my writing has developed over six years. Without more ado, here are the first ten book reviews I published.

Book Review # 1: The Sun is Also a Star

Snippet from the review: Overall, I really liked how the book is built on differences, may it be cultural or personal, to complete a different atmosphere. The book also illuminates us on the values of personal choices and how they can affect us, and the people around us. It also talks about opportunities and seizing them. As the saying goes, strike the iron while it is hot. More than these things and lessons, I like how the book echoed lessons on fighting for both love and passion. The old adage is echoed, fight for what you love.

Book Review # 2: The Secret History

Snippet from the review: The book is veering on the intellectual side, hence, to heavier and more severe emotions. It is to bear in a slower and more leisurely pace to fully appreciate it, especially since Donna Tartt has the uncanny ability to superlatively describe scenes, emotions, and environments. With this knack for describing in words, Tartt was able to brilliantly explore every facet of evil, especially those within us. This unsavory but realistic view of deeper human emotions is what makes the book work.

Book Review # 3: Shalimar The Clown

Snippet from the review: Shalimar the Clown, in spite of the labyrinthine narrative that Salman Rushdie weaved, is simply a dark book about conflicts, wars, death, and ultimately, revenge. What’s ironic is that the motives for these conflicts were mostly shallow. It is not for the faint of heart but somehow Rushdie’s enormous talent made him temper the violence by countering it with a great picture of Kashmir.

Book Review # 4: Holding Up The Universe

Snippet from the review: Ultimately, the book is about two things: hope after being down and acceptance. These are two things that we are too familiar with but sometimes get lost in touch with. Through Libby, the book echoes a voice of hope, a message to everyone that they are better than who they think they are, that they are wanted, and that are loved in spite of how they look or what they believe in. Sans a preachy tone, the book embodies the acceptance of the imperfect, within ourselves and with others. To sum it all up, the book says that in order for others to accept us, we must first accept ourselves, both the good things and the bad. And that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Book Review # 5: The Book of Daniel

Snippet from the review: The general mood of the book is one of anger. Daniel’s angst and anger characterized the entire narrative. The emotional baggage he is carrying took a toll on his personal life, as shown in his inhumane treatment of his wife. He is very totally unapologetic about his actions and you get the feeling that he is acting like a spoiled brat who is using his parents’ death as an excuse for his abominable actions.

Book Review # 6: Stones from the River

Snippet from the review: The masterful narrative didn’t waver even when the story shifted to the war period. Hegi showed how Germany became divided into two during one of the most important periods in history. On one side are the discreet and silent Jewish sympathizers and on the other side are the ostentatious Hitler loyalists. Trudi and her father, whose friends are mostly Jews, helped rally the cause of Jews seeking protection from Nazi oppression. In one instance, Trudi helped a Jew mother and son who were fleeing from the oppressors. This is in spite of the huge consequences when they are caught harboring Jews.

Book Review # 7: The Famished Road

Snippet from the review: Abiku. I first came across this in All Things Fall Apart although it was just briefly mentioned. An abiku, or a spirit child, is a child who dies before the age of twelve. They were to be born multiple times to the same mother, indifferent to his mother’s grief. Azaro, the main character in The Famished Road, is an abiku. Told mainly from Azaro’s perspective, The Famished Road is about an abiku’s life.

Book Review # 8: Sad Girls

Snippet from the review: One of the things I found most perplexing about the book is how truly unromantic it is. Written by a famed poet, I was really expecting some fireworks or at least more explosive lines. Instead, I found nothing but cliches and unromantic similes that would have worked in a poem but not in a novel. Audrey and Rad’s shotgun love affair left very few to desire.

Book Review # 9: A Little Life

Snippet from the review: As varied, and as difficult as the subject matters are, the story focuses on one “little life”, that of Jude’s. He is the centrifugal force that binds all the events together. Although there are things about him that are quite implausible (i.e. he is a great mathematician, a great baker, and a great litigator), what he has gone through and the pain he felt is just among the reasons why readers were able to relate to him.

Book Review # 10: Tom Jones

Snippet from the review: The novel highlights the contrasting personas of Tom Jones and William Blifil. On one hand, we have Tom Jones, the adopted one, who was crude and unrefined but has a golden heart. On the other hand, we have William Blifil who, at the outset is refined and cultured but was as calculating as his father. The young Blifil completed what his father wasn’t able to accomplish before his untimely death – discrediting Jones while reaping the benefits of Jones’ labors. He also tried to Jones’ love interest, Sophia Western.