Yes, that’s me! Covering Up for lost time..

After The Crash by Michel Bussi

Lyse-Rose or Emilie?

This is a question that readers will find themselves seeking an answer to throughout the journey of this book.

This is a novel that has been brilliantly conceived and put down in an even better manner. I loved how the suspense had been building up the whole time and kept me turning the pages to uncover another piece of truth or find myself going deeper into the mess.

I am vehemently suggesting this book to anyone who is looking to get their hands on a well-written and thought out mystery novel.

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Mahabharata is now laid out for the readers from the point of view of Draupadi. Now, who could ever think of coming up with such a masterpiece. Being an Indian, I have also been brought up with the various mythological stories that add values and lots of colour to our childhood.

Mahabharata is one such mythological story and everyone who narrates it has another version of it. The base story remains the same but a lot of things are speculated. It’s the same with this book. There were a few pointers that did not sit well with me and I thought that they could have been ignored. Apart from that, if I look at it in terms of fiction, it’s one heel of an interesting ride.

The Glass of Time by Michael Cox

The Glass of Time is a novel that takes us back to the times of Victorian England. It is second in the series of ‘The Meaning of Night’, which I haven’t read. I doubt I ever will because more or less the story has been narrated in the second part.

The book revolves around Esperanza Gorst, a 19-year old orphan who has been sent to carry out a task by her guardian. Vividly imagined and a knockout read, this book is a real page turner.

It’s a historical fiction that is laden with suspense and mystery till almost the end of the novel. The moment you realise that there is all to it, you’re wrong, because there’s still more to discover. If you find yourself reading this book, do let me know your thoughts.

Endless books and Zero posts

I’m back!

I have not been able to write any post for quite some time now. I have been so occupied otherwise. I am going to try and make amends for that. Anyway, so after I went AWOL, I’ve been able to read quite a few books.

1. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami: This was a book I was hell bent on trying. It confused me to the core and I could not understand what was happening for the most of it. By the end of it, I realised, I could either obsess over the story or enjoy the writing. I also met someone on the flight recently who strongly suggested Kafka on the Shore to me, by the same author. That has been included in my TBR and I’m hoping that you guys can make the time for this.

2. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough: In 11th grade, I gave this book a go. My English professor was pretty adamant. I didn’t get through even 100 pages and dozed off for the most of it. I am glad that happened. When I read it this time, it was marvellous. How I understood it now, I don’t think I could have grasped it in that manner at that point in time. This is a novel that describes everything very well. You laugh and cry with the characters in the book and it’s beyond beautiful. A must read!

3. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: I don’t think there is anything I can say about this particular book that has not been said before. I watched the movie earlier and hated it. I hated it so much that I even took out time to write about it. You can check out that post here.  Anyway, I heard a lot about it and thought that I should give it a go! The book I thought was beyond fantastic. It had so much more to give than the movie. Like always, the theory still stands- books are better than the movies.

4. The Little Friend by Donna Tartt: After reading The Goldfinch, I was sure I was gonna read all the books by this author. The first thing I did was to call for the two other novels, The Little Friend and The Secret History. I am still to read The Secret History but apparently it’s good and I can’t do anything but prolong it. The Little Friend on the other hand is pretty good. It took me quite some time to finish the book but on the whole, I liked it. It’s a good read!

5. The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom: My first Mitch Albom novel was Tuesdays with Morrie. I absolutely loved that book. I read 2-3 other books of his and recently got my hands on this particular one. I have accepted that he is a good author, you cannot not like his books and they are a good way to spend some quality time reading. It’s not a fantastic read but a good one nonetheless.

6. Half Girlfriend by Chetan Bhagat: I have read all books by Chetan Bhagat in the past. I was surely not going to buy Half Girlfriend because everyone was much too blah about it. I am still not sure why I bought and why I read it. Don’t get me wring, it is not at all a bad read. It’s just that it’s only okay. Nothing great about it.

7. The Help by Kathryn Stockett: You watch an oscar winner, you come to know that it’s a book adaptation, you pick up the book! The Help has been on my TBR for forever. I am so so proud of myself for having read it. This is one of those books that is overpowering. You feel like doing something after you have finished reading this masterpiece. Kathryn Stockett has outdone herself and I suggest that if you haven’t already, then please go and grab yourselves a copy.

8. Gray Mountain By John Grisham: My first John Grisham novel ever and I was not disappointed. It felt good reading it. It has been on the bestseller list in my nearest bookstore and I had to pick it up. Unexpected, I must say! It is a good read.

These are all the books that I have read in the recent past. I recently finished The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and am reading Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. They deserve their own singular posts and I wish to do some justice by them. I am going to start finding time and updating this blog more frequently. I also am looking for suggestions if you’ll have got any.

I am busy making a TBR for 2015 these days. Oh btw, I wish you all a very very happy new year. I hope you get all you deserve and then some 🙂

Inferno

So I’ve read so many Dan Brown’s. The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, The Lost Symbol, Digital Fortress, Deception Point and now Inferno. In one sentence, if you read even one, you will know the story of all. Deception Point is the best I would say but I read it a long time back and it was the first Dan Brown I had ever read. I would like to clarify that I am in no way suggesting that the books aren’t good or anything of that sort. My only problem is that the plots are all similar.

I do not know what to say about the book without revealing too much of it but if anyone has read the books that I am referring to, they will know exactly what I mean. They are interesting, gripping novels and you want to get to the end of them as soon as possible. But because the story line is the same everywhere, it becomes kind of irritating.

Inferno is the fourth in the Robert Langdon series, right after The Lost Symbol. Suffering from retrograde amnesia, Professor Robert Langdon wakes up in a hospital bed with a bullet wound to the head. With no clue about his whereabouts, he realises that he is in Florence and in the middle of something huge. His attending doctor, Sienna Brooks, tries to explain to him why he is in the hospital but to no avail.

Following the clues that come his way, he tries to make sense of his situation with Sienna’s help only to realise that things are not what they actually seem to be. If I tell you what they actually are, I will be giving away the story to you. So I choose to stop talking about the book and let you make your decision as to whether you should read it or not.

Well, it isn’t a bad book so reading it is not wasting time exactly. If you have read the book already, let me know what you have to say.

The Farseer Trilogy

Yes, I know, it’s been too long since I have written anything. So here I am, back, and talking about the two books that I read like a week ago or maybe it’s been longer. I can’t remember. There is just so much to read and so little time. I think its every reader’s problem. Anyway, let me start by telling you that I love Robin Hobb.

She has now entered my list of favourite writers, and there are many. I also can’t remember how many at this moment. He has created magic with his Farseer Trilogy. To give the world a person like FitzChivalry and expect them to accept him is just not a simple thing to do. The imagination and creativity that has gone into creating this book is spellbinding. You have to read it to know what I’m talking about.

When I read The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, I didn’t think there could be a book that I would be able to love as much as I did that. But here I am, being true to myself by admitting that there is. Actually, usually when I am done with an amazing book, I feel this way. I felt so after Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire (btw, when is Winds of Winter coming out? I’m dying here), The Goldfinch. I have decided to just name a few for now and leave it at that.

Getting back to why you should be reading The Farseer Trilogy- if you have read my post on The Assassin’s Apprentice, you must have already guessed that I am gonna go all crazy about Robin Hobb. If you haven’t, then go read it NOW. I love HER. Yes, I know it’s a pen name but let me just fall in love with who I want to fall in love with.

The Farseer Trilogy is a fantasy novel that must not be missed. It brings to you a man named FitzChivalry, who is everything that you expect him to be and much more. At the start of the book, you will not be able to fathom the importance it is going to have in your life. Not only while you read but even after you’re done. (Look at me, I am reading Dan Brown at the moment and still going cuckoo about this book. What does it say, really?)

He is a normal person, he has got no enormous power (powers he has is enjoyed by a few others as well- now I’m not saying that he has a lot of powers- oh just go read the book already!) and he is loyal to those he loves. Crafted to fix something that can be fixed by no other, he follows his duties to the very end. This is a book that goes in the list of ‘not to be missed, EVER’.

I am thankful to those instagrammers who posted about the book. If I haven’t said it yet, allow me- I LOVE YOU PEOPLE AND I OWE YOU ONE! And, if you’re not already following me on instagram and would love to be regularly updated about the books I am reading then click here and you’ll see what I am up to.

For all those who have read the book, tell me how you felt! Would love to hear from you guys..

The Assassin’s Apprentice

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I bought ‘The Assassin’s Apprentice’ by Robin Hobb with ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’. I read ‘Perks’ first because The Farseer novels are a trilogy. Imagine having all the three novels of a trilogy and then diverging midway to read a novel belonging to a completely different genre by a different author and in an extremely different way. Okay when I look at it like that, it seems quite welcoming. But the point is that I cannot stop reading a trilogy if all the three books are an arm’s length away. And ‘Perks’ was a small book that I could not have postponed reading.

After reading ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’, I never thought there would come such a fine book belonging to the same genre. I love the entire series of ‘ASOIAF’ and I’m desperately waiting to read ‘Winds of Winterfell’ as soon as George R. R. Martin bestows it upon us. In the meantime, I have kept myself occupied by other fantastic and beautifully written books.

Coming back to my views about ‘The Assassins Apprentice’- it has been a welcome change. I never thought that I would enjoy fantasy being written by anyone else but this surely has been breathtaking. This is a book that is an adventure, an unending journey, to say the least. You read a book and you never anticipate how much it can offer you but it ends up consuming you and this is just one of those reads.

I do not want to convey the storyline to you because I hope that you are inspired enough to go on this appealing quest for yourself. As rough as the title may sound, know that there is an amazing storyline put together for the benefit of the reader. This is quite a different novel for someone like me because usually you expect a lot of bloodshed and head pounding when the fighting is on but this is different. This in no way means that there is no fighting here and quest for power because Duh! obviously there is.

This isn’t a book that you want to not read. It has everything, just everything. Take what it offers you, otherwise you will have missed something beautiful.

The Perks of being a wallflower

There is no denying the fact that I read a lot. And, I do so proudly. I am also very glad that I started this blog. It has kept me reading even when I have been so busy trying to create a professional threshold for myself. I vehemently believe that reading is an art and I read it somewhere that if you  don’t like reading, you’re not doing it right. I can easily connect to statements like these.

I am blabbing so much about this because I never wanted to read ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’. Frankly, I never knew anyone who read it and whoever watched the movie didn’t have much to say about it. I guessed the storyline was not that strong so I never came to that book. In fact, my younger sister (who is still on her way to becoming an avid reader), asked me if she should get a copy and I told her not to.

Anyway, last month, I ordered the book from Flipkart. I came back home for two months and didn’t want to read anything that was in my shelf (mostly because I had read everything that I wanted to and didn’t want to attempt reading the others). I went online and called for ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ and ‘The Assassin’s Apprentice’. I had never heard about the books by Robin Hobb so I was not that keen on starting that one first. Plus, ‘The Assassin’s Apprentice’ was supposed to be the first book in the Farseer Trilogy, so I opted for ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’.

The book is written very differently. It’s not the usual novel that you come across. I had good fun while reading it but then again, I was not a complete fan. I don’t know why but this kind of reading is not meant for people like me. I like it when the protagonist is more driven in life and likes to take his chances even when no one else supports him. And Charlie did that, I’m not saying he didn’t but the book is too sad for me. I was impatiently waiting to get done with it so I could move ahead to my next book.

A lot of people love ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ and I totally respect that.  I would love to hear from you guys how you felt about it.

My September Story

 

The month of September has been quite busy for me. Apart from setting targets for myself in the reading department, I had a lot of other work just piling up. Anywho, I tried to read as much as I possibly could and I pretty much completed my target. I am going to share my experience and views of reading all the books that I ended up reading this month. I am going to talk about them in the order that I read them in.

1. Manuscripts Found in Accra by Paulo Coelho: This is the first book I’ve ever ready by this author. I gave The Alchemist a chance back in high school but never got through that one. I have been trying to pick up any other book by this author over the past few years and even if I have, I have never actually read them. So it was kind of a surprise when I ended up liking this particular one. It is basically a conversation that takes place between a group of people. There is one man who teaches the rest of them about life and how one can go on with it in the best possible manner. I was on a three hour flight and efficiently I started and finished the book just sitting there, waiting to reach my destination. Overall, it was a good read I would say.

2. The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson: Again, my first book by the author and might I say, it was a super fun read. After the Paulo Coelho, it was a good change to have opted for reading Jonas Jonasson. A funny book that constitutes of a few characters who make no sense at all. The fact that someone can think up such scenarios and put them together so beautifully makes me kinda jealous. I wish I had the potential to think so broad. Or maybe I do and I just don’t know. I had so much fun reading this one that I just couldn’t put it down. The name of the book is weirdly long and I had never heard of the author so I was pretty confused while picking it up but thank God I did. Not repenting reading it even a bit. If you are looking for a little pick-me-up and you want a quirky little book then I surely would suggest The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden.

3. The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly: We are three sisters. My elder sister read a lot from school, I was not that much into reading at that time. I started a little late. Anyway, my sister had a lot of books by the time I realised that I loved reading and we never really lived together after that because she was doing her own stuff and I mine. But after reading a book, we would always put in our bookshelf at home. So whenever any of us were back home, there were these variety of books that we needed to catch up on. Whilst my sister always read all the books that she bought and all that I did, I never quite got through her collection. So this time, I thought that I should pick up a book from the old collection. The Scarecrow was the one that was right in front of me and in a good condition so I picked it up. While reading, I realised that it is a second in the series after The Poet, which I had not read. It’s kind of a detective novel wherein a writer/journalist cracks open a case that everyone thought was an open and shut case. Anyways, I read the book and it was pretty interesting while I was at it. It’s not something that I would highly recommend but you could opt for it if you were running out of choices.

4. How Not to Make Money by Raj Kundra: Confession time- I never knew the Raj Kundra existed until I heard about him and Shilpa Shetty (a bollywood actress). He is this big time business man who has his hands in a lot of different industries. While at the bookstore, I see a book authored by him, I wondered to myself what it could possibly be about. The synopsis piqued my interest and I decided to give it a go. A good thing I did. A pretty fun book. It is a true story about a VAT scam that took place in London. I loved the way the book was written. Everything was described beautifully. Usually in such books, you hardly understand the scam but you get the story, but this was something else altogether. I would recommend it to anyone who does not mind putting their brain to work while reading.

5. Private India by Ashwin Sanghi & James Patterson: Never read even one James Patterson but in complete love with Ashwin Sanghi books. It was in the new arrivals section at the bookstore and when I saw his name, I had to get it. His books are very well searched and extremely interesting but this one was a little different than his usual books. Not saying that it isn’t good but not as good as his previous works. This is again a detective novel. You can totally opt for it if you are running out of options. And this book is one in its series. There are many other writers who James Patterson has co-authored with to write the others in this line.

September. for me, has been quite a lovely month. I got a lot of reading done and there are still a few more days to go. I had also decided to read Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes and I did start it but I think I need to wait a little more for that. A lot of things have been happening in my life and it is going to be like that for quite some time. Reading such a book is going to require all my unwavering attention. I am going to hold on to this one for a while and read it when the time is right.

Currently, I am reading The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It seems pretty interesting. Atleast, it’s different from other books so I am pretty thrilled about that. I’ll put it on my list for October because I am pretty sure I won’t get enough time to finish it this month (and I know, it’s pretty small and not at all time taking). Looking forward to hearing from the rest of you about the kind of books and reading that you prefer and whether this post has helped you at all.

Let me know if you guys want me to review a singe book. Will surely do that for ya 🙂

What I’ll be reading this september

Hi Guys,

So, for the past few days I’ve been thinking how I could talk to you about more books without having to reveal their plot. I came up with an idea. I have decided to post pictures of all the books that I plan to be reading this month and then do a follow up by rating these books. It will give you a clear idea as to which book you should opt for and what you could leave- according to your taste.

This September, I have decided to dedicate to six of these books:

1. How Not to Make Money by Raj Kundra

2. Manuscripts Found in Accra by Paulo Coelho

3. The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly

4. Private India by Ashwin Sanghi & James Patterson

5. The Girl who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson

6. Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estès

I am not sure whether I will be able to finish the last one because I want to be going slow with it, as it has a lot to teach. I am currently reading The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly and Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estès

.

The one with the blue clip shows that I’m more than hallway through The Scarecrow but I’m still trying to make some headway with Women who run with the wolves.

I’m quite excited to see how this month pans out for me. I have never set limitations for myself when it comes to books but I wanna know if I can live up to the goals I set for myself. There are a lot of crime fictions and thrillers here. I am not a big fan of theirs but hopefully I will be by the end of this month. I have already placed orders for my new books to arrive in time so that they can be ready in October. I am hoping I live up to my expectations.

So what’s your plan for this month?

The Silkworm

“Hard to remember these days that there was a time you had to wait for the ink and paper reviews to see your work excoriated. With the invention of the internet, any subliterate cretin can be Michiko Kakutani.” – Robert Galbraith, The Silkworm

J.K Rowling’s writing is the personification of beauty. Her books are so engaging that you can not put them down. It’s the same with The Silkworm. This has been her latest in the Cormoran Strike novels. Her first- The Cuckoo’s Calling- was her introducing us to a new detective on the block, Cormoran Strike. To know more about it, you could read about it in my previous post.

The Silkworm is the story of a writer, Owen Quine who is basically a manic. His behaviour towards his immediate family is not appealing and he genuinely believes that everyone is out to get him. There are a lot of people who have developed a growing animosity for Quine’s behaviour when they learn that he has written a book called Bombyx Mori, which if published, will result in the doom of all them all.

The book shows the journey of Owen Quine and how he moves through life by meeting people who’s only agenda in life is to put him down. It shows that he has to put up with a lot of drama at every phase. Once the rough copy of the book is introduced to all the people who are playing a role in it, they start to work to assure that this book never sees the light of day. Detective Cormoran Strike is hired by Quine’s wife, Leonora Quine to look for him when he goes missing (just after the copy has been received by quite a few of these people).

The title of the book has been derived from Bombyx Mori, when a silkworm is boiled alive so that it’s silken threads can be preserved. This is also the name of the infamous novel that Owen Quine has left in his wake. The central character is Quine himself who calls himself Bombyx.

J.K. Rowling marks a strong return for herself by making Cormoran Strike come to life. Just like every other detective, Cormoran Strike also works in his own mysterious ways. This is a novel that should not go unnoticed and I don’t think it will. After The Cuckoo’s Calling, it was well deserved that the story of this detective continues.

We are all here looking for a good story and who better than J.K. Rowling herself!

Excerpts from The Goldfinch

So, I’ve read this amazing book and I obviously need to share it with all you lovely people. I am talking about The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. This book has been a journey for me and an amazing one at that.

It comes with a power packed story that is beautifully narrated. I am writing this post to put together some of the best quotes of this book- the ones that have created a soulful impact on me at least. I hope that in some way you also find meaning in it, albeit in a different context but I hope it strikes a chord.

Here goes:

– Because-isn’t it drilled in us from constantly, from childhood on, an unquestioned platitude in the culture-? From William Blake to Lady Gaga, from Rosseau to Rumi to Tosca to Mister Rogers, it’s a curiously uniform message, accepted from high to low: when in doubt, what to do? How do we know what’s right for us? Every shrink, every career counsellor, every Disney princess knows the answer: “Be yourself.” “Follow your heart.”

Only here’s what I really, really want someone to explain to me. What if one happens to be possessed of a heart that can’t be trusted-? What if the heart, for its own unfathomable reasons, leads one wilfully and in a cloud of unspeakable radiance away from health, domesticity, civic responsibility and strong social connections and all the blandly-held common virtues and instead straight towards a beautiful flare of ruin, self-immolation, disaster? 

– And as much as I’d like to believe there’s a truth beyond illusion, I’ve come to believe that there’s no truth beyond illusion. Because, between ‘reality’ on the one hand, and the point where the mind trikes reality, there’s a middle zone, a rainbow edge where beauty comes into being, where two very different surfaces might mingle and blur to provide what life does not: and this is the space where all art exists, and all magic.

– Whatever teaches us to talk to ourselves is important: whatever teaches us to sing ourselves out of despair. But the painting has also taught me that we can speak to each other across time. And I feel I have something very serious and urgent to say to you, my non-existent reader, and I feel I should say it as urgently as if I were standing in the room with you. That life- whatever else it is- is short. That fate is cruel but maybe not random. That Nature (meaning Death) always wins but that doesn’t mean that we have to bow and grovel to it. That maybe even if we’re not always so glad to be here, it’s our task to immerse ourselves anyway: wade straight through it, right through the cesspool, while keeping eyes and hearts open. And in the midst of our dying, as we rise from the organic and sink back ignominiously into the organic, it is a glory and a privilege to love what Death doesn’t touch. For if disaster and oblivion have followed this painting down through time- so too has love. Insofar as it is immortal (and it is) I have a small bright immutable part in that immortality. It exists; and it keeps on existing. And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them from the fire, and sought them when they were lost, and tried to preserve them and save them while passing them along literally from hand to hand, singing out brilliantly from the wreck of time to the next generation of lovers, and the next.

This is an amazing book people, beyond words. Go pick up a copy from your nearest store. I will be doing another post on this but I had to put this across. Maybe to archive it so I can go back and look at it in the future or to share it with you, well both but I don’t know which I feel for more strongly.

Read it and do tell me how spellbound you were because next on my list is to pick up the other novels by Donna Tartt.