The time has finally come to unapologetically order pumpkin spice cliches, wear oversized sweaters, watch Y2K horror movies and steal your sibling’s candy haul. As someone who desperately searches for that nostalgic Halloween feeling every October, I decided to pick, read and review five books that will definitely do the trick. So grab your pumpkin spice whatever, fluffy socks and...

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Route 09 has a reputation for darkness. The trees know this and add to its façade, blanketing the winding roads with devilish shade even on the sunniest of days. Home to wolf packs unafraid of blinding headlights and families of deer who almost purposefully blockade the highway’s exits. Not even road workers bother to light the path, forcing drivers to...

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The “Closed” sign gleamed red as she slid her key into the lock. The kitchen was old, only being lit by a few skylight windows and IKEA lanterns Dita herself had installed. Donny and Cara, the owners, were too old and stubborn to replace the lights, claiming that the cafe doesn’t need to be lit after sundown. So with the...

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Dita strongly dislikes sweet coffee. And she could tell that she did not mix well with anyone who did. She could sense the simplicity in their eyes, in their taste, in their lives. People who soil and dilute their premium brewed espresso shots with half a truck load of artificial almond syrup and almond milk don’t deserve the finer things...

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I can’t speak for everyone, but Peter Pan might just be the most significant movie of my childhood. For the select group of people who agree, I think that it’s safe to say that it’s a story that grows with you. While some may think that I am referring to the plot line of how creativity and overall happiness die...

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Some people hang paintings on their walls. Others collect useless, empty sculptures. Void of life. Void of feeling. While most millionaires decorate their investor’s portfolio with “timeless” antiques and so-called masterpieces, I fill my halls with the taxidermy trophies of my annual hunting trips. There was a time when that feeling was enough to keep me satisfied. That ultimate rush...

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This semester, I decided to take an Introduction to Book Publishing course. As a final assignment, I had to dedicate my time as a volunteer at the Succeed2gether organization’s Montclair Literary Festival. When I received the assignment of “shuttle bus assistant,” I guess you can say that I was less than thrilled, especially since the date of this event falls...

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We all have those books we buy, read half of, then abandon the moment we buy another. This phenomenon can best be described as the book break-up. And Lord knows I have an insane amount of exes. They lounge on our bookshelves, silently judging us while collecting dust, waiting for the next spurt of spontaneity that drives us to dust...

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His eyes were a deep green. Not the same green we wish the grass would be in the dead of winter. Neither the shade of eager ivy that redecorates the outer brick of those aesthetic cabins. Nor the zen hue of evergreen trees we can smell from miles away. It was the kind of green that clings to mossy rocks...

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It wasn’t about the roses... If I'm being totally honest, they were beautiful. Doesn’t every woman want their man to gift them flowers without asking?But the closer I look, the more they don’t fit. Like a bloody murder scene on my white marble counter. They were carefully placed within view of the front door from the kitchen. No doubt purposefully...

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