About me

Hi there,

My actual name is Surani Maheeka Ramachandra. I grew up in the tropical paradise of Sri Lanka but now call New Zealand home. My passion for reading started at a very young age and the work I do as a librarian nurtured and enriched it further. Over the last 10 plus years of service in Auckland Libraries I have read quite a lot of books!! (Not an entire library’s worth though!!) In the last few years or so my interests took a right turn and veered into Children’s books where I discovered the now popular ‘Middle Grade’ or ‘Tween’ fiction genre.

In this blog I plan to feature book reviews on ‘tween’ reads I have enjoyed along with some young adult and adult titles thrown in occasionally. My book reviews will give you my personal thoughts and views on the books I’ve read. I’m not exactly a critical thinker; I’m an avid reader!! Given the chance I could go for hours just reading, forgetting to put out laundry, brush my teeth, and even eat!!

light purple background with cartoon image of books in pile. Snoopy dog from Peanuts with hat and bag walking along blue book to top of pile. three birds behind him with same hats. quote underneath reads Reading is an adventure that never ends.
On reading

The majority of the books I’ve read over the years fall under the general theme of inspirational, emotional, and educational. In short, they leave a lasting imprint with their content and teach me something about our world and help me grow as a person. 

Being a librarian by profession I can’t but help sort and categorise my collection of reads into genres, topics and themes. New readers into my blog will find that most months have fallen into a genre or centred around a common theme. This I find is sometimes helpful for most people and so I intend on continuing posting reviews grouped in this manner. There will be instances where I don’t and you will find a month filled with an eclectic mix of titles.

My review’s format

For the majority of my reviews you will find that I have followed a basic setup. My posts always start with a short introduction to the week and maybe a teaser to the title. With a small book cover image (which I usually find on Goodreads) to begin my review, I typically follow that with:

  • Book title
  • Author(s) name
  • Genre 
  • Publication details 
  • ISBN – I have included this primarily so that anyone interested to purchase the book can use it to do so. If you find more than one, it’s because I have read an ebook version too. If you find that I haven’t included an ISBN number, there are a few reasons for it. Sometimes it’s because I’m writing a single post for a series of titles or I have decided that it will take too much space!! So, please use your ingenuity and use the other information provided to assist in any purchasing matters.
  • What this book is about – Basically this is a summary of the story. I try to write this in my own words as much as possible. However, there are times when I feel that the words from the blurb at the back or from Goodreads sing a better tune, so I tend to include a few of these words in there. 
  • My review – This bit covers my thoughts on the book I’ve read and how it makes me feel overall. You will find that I tend to talk about the formatting aspects and structure of any given book rather than give away much of the story.  I  also enjoy sharing my views about the many characters I meet and the particular style of writing the author undertakes to present their story. Sorry, that’s that writer part of me!!
  • My rating explained – This is a basic star rating that I have created.

1⭐ – Not a good read at all.

2⭐ – A somewhat okay read

3⭐ – Okay to Good read

4⭐ – Great read!

5⭐ – An awesome read!!

image of large book opened by little girl in blue dress. looks like fairy popping out of top of book. arm and leg of another person from side. small rabbit at bottom with grass around. brown cover of book has quote in white. quote reads I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a book. J.K. Rowling
The magic of reading

Finally, I would like to add that the reviews you find in my blog are my own honest opinion on the many different books I’ve read. Instead of going into detailed analysis of the book, I tend to give a summary of it’s impression on me. I’m one of those people who prefer to comment on the positive rather than pick at the negative. I don’t think the children’s authors out there deserve our criticism, but our praise for creating a world our children can escape into. 

With this in mind, I would like to add that with my reviews I don’t intend on leaning towards any bias or causing harm. I am merely a librarian who enjoys sharing the books I’ve read with the wider world of readers out there and hope that any parents, teachers or students can find that perfect book meant for them from my blog or just something that tickles their funny bone!!

image of little girl snuggled under blanket one hand on chin other hand pointing to page in book. soft light on the face. quote underneath reads We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading. B.F. Skinner
On books and reading

So fellow readers, once I’ve got some posts under my belt, I’d love to hear from you!!