Notes from the Underground — A Dark Dive into the Human Psyche

Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my first time reading Fyodor Dostoevsky, and now I’m curious to explore more of his work. Notes from Underground is intense, raw, and deeply human. Half of it feels like a deep philosophical rant, the other half like a personal confession, all from a narrator who’s bitter, self-aware, and full of contradictions.

The Underground Man challenges the idea that humans are purely logical, saying we actually crave freedom, even if it means choosing to suffer. Not gonna lie, this was a bit hard for me to grasp at first 😅, but it’s totally worth it. By the end, it made me want to read more of Dostoevsky’s work.

And TBH, I found myself relating to him more than I expected... his overthinking, self-awareness, wanting connection but also craving solitude, and questioning life’s meaning felt so human.

The Silent Patient — A Psychological Thriller That Hooks You

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was the book that pulled me out of a reading slump and I think it’s because psychological thrillers are my comfort genre. From the very beginning, the story hooked me with its eerie atmosphere and sense of mystery. What I liked most was how the tension slowly builds, keeping you second-guessing everyone’s motives without ever feeling dragged out.

It’s one of those books that makes you want to keep turning pages just to piece together the truth. If you’re into dark, psychological stories that play with your mind, this is definitely worth picking up.