Showing posts with label Books I Read and Loved. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books I Read and Loved. Show all posts

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Of Reading and Book Shopping

I finally made a trip to my old haunt, Blossoms after a long long time and stocked up on some books. Not as many as I generally buy. I come home usually laden with two bagfuls of books. This time I exercised plenty of restraint and ended up with just 5 books- Flappers and Philosophers, Bring Up the Bodies, The Ladies Paradise, The Girl on the Train and The Invention of Wings.

I am done with reading The Girl on the Train and The Invention of Wings. In fact I went through Girl on the Train in a single night, rattling through it like a high speed train myself. The book is very reminiscent of Gone Girl. I ran through that book as well in a single flight and I definitely liked the book better than the movie.  So coming back to Girl on the Train, interestingly this book has had its movie rights bought as well. It definitely has excellent potential for a great screenplay. Bordering on the obsessive, it traverses the thin line between imagination and reality. It's almost like the 4:50 to Paddington in the sense that a fleeting glance from a train window leads to unraveling a  tangled and complicated mystery. No relationship is straightforward nor goes in the direction you expect. All the characters and naturally and quite annoyingly human and fallible. There are no heroes or heroines, just people dealing with their lives in their own twisted fashions.

The Invention of Wings is an inspiration. I loved this book even more than her previous book, the Secret Life of Bees. I have to thank Hollywood because the movie brought me to Sue Monk Kidd. The Invention of Wings is a moving part fic- part bio story of the Grimke sisters and their struggle for racial equality. The story has a very St. Assisi feel to it, two poor little rich girls rising above their feelings, their familial attachments and personal dilemmas to get on to a global stage in the face of rising criticism and overwhelming opposition. It's written in a he said she said style, one of my favourites and it grips you with the unique ideas and the revolutionary thought processes of these women for the times they lived in.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Battle Hymns, Fundamentalism and other stories- 2015 Reading Challenge

Finished the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother today. It's an interesting book, funny and poignant. I was definitely not shocked, outraged or anything else of that sort, that's probably cause I am "Asian" in a manner of speaking. It was more about the difficult relationships that mothers and daughters have with each other, especially during those angsty teenage years. I guess I am more like the younger daughter- I gave up on learning an instrument and on learning classical dance, which my mother would have liked. A refreshing tongue in cheek look at rebellion and control.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist- This was a book I went back to. The first time I read it, it did not go down well with me and I gave up on it. There is something about the cadence of this book. You need to be in a certain frame of mind to read this book. It puts forth the changes that the so called bourgeois undergo  when they move to a new country and how a disaster can make you take action in unforeseen ways, urging you to return to your roots. It is a confusing, cheeky and weirdly funny book.  

I have previously read only one book of Jostein Gaarder. I should thank a neighbor of mine for the introduction to Sophie' s World. Gripping bite sized chunks of philosophy suitable for consumption by all ages is the best descriptor I can apply to his writing. The Solitaire mystery explores destiny, family and all philosophy surrounding the dimensions in which we exist. With strong veins of Greek philosophy and ideas running through it, we follow Hans Thomas on a quest of self discovery and an understanding of the world around us and the mystery of our creation.

Now I am switching between three more books- Gora by Rabindranath Tagore, The Photograph by Penelope Lively and Running through the family by Ondaatje. 

Monday, February 9, 2015

Weekenders

This weekend started with a trip to the movies with Yennai Arindhal. Ajith and Trisha look very good and Arun Vijay is brilliant, that's about the best thing I can say about the movie. Also the fact that the sight of some watercolors in the movie, inspired me to learn a new technique of painting yesterday. I figure that Gautam Menon has a serious case of writer's block. While I am with him on the idea of making trilogies and cop movies, I cannot presume to understand why he chooses to tell the same story in the same fashion over and over again. I can only say I am glad that I watched it at a discounted ticket price.

'Single Wife' - I finished reading this book yesterday morning. Thanks to my recent reading habits, Scribd app chose to recommend this book to me. Grace is a creative, intelligent woman who is very satisfied with her lot in life. Things change when her husband walks out of the house one day. Initially she suspects that it is like one of his usual disappearances, when he returns after a few days of being incommunicado. Each time he goes missing, based on his reaction on returning, she keeps whittling down the people she informs about his being MIA. This time, she distances herself from the occurrence and refuses to talk about it to her friends and family, still pretending like he is around. She begins secretly investigating his life, discovering things that she did not expect and does not want to know. On the other hand, she misses all the information about her husband on the media and therefore remains puzzled by certain gifts and surprises that she receives. The novel is about her choices and how she decides to proceed with her life.

Did some baking experiments over the weekend. Baked 4 cookies a batch to get a feel for my oven as they call it. Ended up with some burnt, some crisp, some perfect and some soft. I made nan khathai biscuits this Saturday.  Nan Khathais are considered an Afghani/ Iranian invention- nan obviously meaning bread like the butter naans we eat. Khathai is debatable, some people believe it stands for Cathay- meaning China. The best thing about this cookie is its unique taste and texture. Unique taste- because of the cardamom, ghee and yoghurt and texture because it is crunchy out and melty inside.

To make these Indian Shortbreads as Jamie Oliver calls them you will need:
1/2 cup ghee or 1/2 cup soft butter- I used ghee
3/4 cup  powdered sugar
1.5 cups maida
1/4 cup gram flour
1/4 tsp cardamom powder & 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder or 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp of yoghurt
1-2 tsp of milk/water
chopped pista nuts (optional)

The method:
Cream together the sugar and ghee to a smooth paste.
Once it is mixed thoroughly and the sugar has dissolved, add maida, gram flour, cardamom powder and baking soda and knead together.
Add the yoghurt to bring together.
Add water/milk only if the dough appears too dry.
Refrigerate for a couple of hours to make rolling easy.
Roll medium sized balls of dough between your palms
Arrange at a decent distance from each other on an ungreased baking tray. Decent distance because we will press them down and they will expand when baked. Ungreased because we don't want it to burn from the bottom.
Press down criss cross patterns with a fork and slightly flatten the balls.
Top with some chopped pista nuts.
Bake in a pre heated oven at 190 degrees celsius for abt 10-15 minutes. They shouldn't brown on top. Just allow them to brown along the edges. I had to watch these like a hawk.
When you take them out of the oven, they will be soft. Leave them to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes before transferring them to the rack.
They will eventually cool and harden completely.

I spent the first part of Sunday lazing in Om Made Cafe eating their yummy brunch- I really liked their spaghetti and their roasted corn spread. Actually, all the tapenades and bruschettas were really tasty and refreshing as was my blueberry lemonade. They allow you to lounge there from 12 pm -4 pm. It's a good spread and a relaxing place to hang out. The latter part of the day was  used for my watercolor and charcoal experiments mentioned in the first paragraph. I finally figured how to use my watercolors instead of going over them with a heavy hand, I never knew that you had to do a coat of plain water before putting in the colors until yesterday.

Here are some of the results:

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Odds and Ends

This is a brain clean up exercise, there are a lot of half page or one paragraph blog entries in my head that do not justify a whole post to themselves. It's also a blog clean up exercise, to get rid of some of the headers that will haunt me some day later because I would be unable to recollect what I wished to write about them. This happens to me very often especially with short stories, where I forget the story that I meant to write and write a whole new one altogether.

On my bookshelf this week, my obsession with food related books continues. This week has seen me reading three novels all of which have a strong vein of food and food related activities associated with them. The other recurring vein in all of them is that of loss. Probably, these two are so interwoven as we associate food with comfort, it is a source of consolation that people turn to in times of depression, sadness, separation and any other form of trauma. It is quite interesting also that there are specific traditions relating food to death, in cultures all over the world. From the way the cooking is done, to the dishes that can and cannot be served and feeding one's ancestors souls, food and death have a quirky association, albeit a tad melancholic.

The Kitchen Daughter starts off in a funeral. The heroine might or might not have Asperger's syndrome. She exhibits poor social skills and has a dysfunctional relationship with her sister. Her parents' sudden death in an accident and the subsequent disagreements with her sister about the disposal of their assets, sends her to the safe refuge of her kitchen. There she cooks her Nonna's favourite Ribolita ( Bread soup) which in the wake of its enticing flavoursome smell, conjures up Nonna as well. The rest of the book is about the new people she meets, how she associates with them as well as the shadowy remains of people she summons from their recipes. This book seriously debates the question of whether the label of syndrome associated with mental challenges limits a person and prevents them from achieving their potential or aids them in getting timely help. A well structured book that is enjoyable to read.

Aftertaste- One of the heroines I was able to relate to the most. She is a chef and has her own Italian restaurant and a newborn. Little does she know that one bout of anger and a fight with her husband's paramour will lead to her world collapsing around her ears. This is a story of losing everything and then attempting to build everything up from scratch. It's quite interesting how she goes about it and the realizations she has along the way.

Bread Alone- This was an average book according to me. I did not like Wynter at all. I found her a very indecisive wishy washy heroine. It was supposed to be a story about finding oneself. I felt that she was the same one dimensional character she was when the book began. All of the heroes were lackadaisical. No one person really sticks in your mind except maybe for Linda, the bread maker. She is so rude and angry, but at least she's something, so you remember her. Bread Alone felt like a poor man's chick flick. 

Interesting products I discovered thanks to the wonders of advertising:
Zip SIP brought to you by Aditya Birla My Universe. This is a GUI aided dummy's guide to investment. You answer a bunch of questions, assess your risk profile and then it offers you a portfolio of funds (ABG among others) to invest in.
Hotstar live- Star content hosted on the web, happy to see a netflix like site in India, limited content right now, but hopefully it will ultimately become an option for binge watching

Italian Hot Chocolate is my favorite hot chocolate in the whole world. The first time I had it was at a small railway cafe in Italy. It was on a cold evening while waiting for a train. Italian Hot Chocolate is pretty much melted chocolate. It literally coats your insides as you consume it and fills you with warmth and happiness.
Recipe goes as follows:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate 70% or higher
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons corn starch
Vanilla Essence- 1 tsp 

Place a small quantity of milk along with chopped chocolate/ chocolate chips on really low heat in a heavy bottomed saucepan.
Allow to start melting, once the chocolate has melted completely, add milk, sugar and vanilla essence. Whisk corn starch into it.


Another experiment this week was butterscotch ice-cream. It was simpler than I thought reducing down condensed milk along with milk powder and sugar. The powdered butterscotch was then added after taking it off the heat and allowing it to cook in the residual heat. It's then frozen and blended until creamy and then frozen again before consumption.
The measure of ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups or 500 ml of full fat milk.
- 1/2 cup condensed milk
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk powder
- 3 heaped tsp butterscotch (or 1/2 tsp butterscotch essence)
- Yellow food colour (optional) - See more at: http://www.loveisinmytummy.com/2013/03/butterscotch-ice-cream.html#sthash.bMbrNygp.dpuf
2.5 cups milk
0.5 cup condensed milk
0.25 cup sugar
0.25 cup milk powder
3 heaped Tbsp Butterscotch chips (powdered)


- 2 1/2 cups or 500 ml of full fat milk.
- 1/2 cup condensed milk
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk powder
- 3 heaped tsp butterscotch (or 1/2 tsp butterscotch essence)
- Yellow food colour (optional) - See more at: http://www.loveisinmytummy.com/2013/03/butterscotch-ice-cream.html#sthash.bMbrNygp.dpuf

Monday, January 5, 2015

The 2015 Book Challenge- My Year with Eleanor

The Good-reads beginning of the year book challenge is my perpetually broken new year resolution. Every year I start with an ambitious number of books that I want to read. Inevitably I start and never finish on time. My book reading habit falls along the side when I watch random series and don't take up any books. Months go by before I read a book. This year hopefully, Scribd will keep me on the straight and narrow with a book on my phone, anywhere anytime. But I decided just like many others taking up this challenge this year, that I would not challenge myself to read a large number of books, but just 75 books from which I am able to at least take away one thing, which makes me laugh, cry or inspires me. I am not going to aim to read a large number of pages like some have chosen to do- say with War and Peace or Crime and Punishment. One of the most intriguing books of all times is Antoine De Expury's Little Prince which is not longer than fifty odd pages if I am right.

So I guess, if I have 75 "Aha" moments in some way, those 75 books will make the list and I will meet my goal. I found my first 'interesting idea' book . It's a book called 'My Year with Eleanor '. The author embarks on a journey of fighting her fears inspired by a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt. She goes on to read about Eleanor Roosevelt and agree and disagree with her, be inspired by her. Most of what she does is confront her anxieties and worries and discovers ways to combat them. She chooses to do this on her year transitioning from 29-30. The reading does get a bit whiny at bits, but she draws you in, makes you relate to her and you almost wish you were skydiving with her or climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. It was a good beginning to the year, helped me resolve to breathe and relax when I find myself worrying about anything. It reminded me to challenge myself to do something I have never done before, each and every day of my life.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Of Letters and Novels

How long has it been since you wrote a letter or received one? Very long is what I think.  When I was young, I used to look forward to my grandfather's letters. They inevitably contained a cheat sheet for an upcoming essay or elocution contest. He also sent me pictures for my favourite academic activity, making the fattest prettiest geography record book. I know, I am such a nerd. I was also fascinated by Nehru's book, Letters from a father to a daughter. It goes through prehistory, the industrial revolution all the way until colonial India. That book makes you wish that somebody would write to you like that. This is not an essay in defense of handwritten letters, I like them as much as the next person, but I type faster than I write. All I am defending is a good long email. We all instant message, WhatsApp, we share information in small units and expect instant reactions. It is convenient and wonderful that we can share our lives with people we care about. But we tend tp lose sight of some special quirks that communication should have. 

A letter contains a lot of its writer, consciously or unconsciously. That' s the best part of a letter. It conveys a feeling, a tone, sometimes things that you never meant to convey at all. I have often had this argument that writing is a projection and not the truth of the author. It might be true. But sometimes reading between the lines tells you much of things left unwritten. I find it difficult to understand even this, because most of the time my writing sounds exactly like me- pedantic, opinionated and with more asides than topics of conversation. While I don't write rude emails, I often have been told that I sound angry. Lots of times I do mean it, rest of the time even when I am writing a forced polite reply, the anger seeps into what I am trying to say. See what I mean about conveying things the author doesn't mean.

I have always loved epistolatory novels. I think they make great serial stories and keep you waiting for the next installment. Some of my top favorites are Daddy Long Legs, Dear Enemy, Anne of Windy Willows. All of these are romances. Daddy Long Legs is a budding college girl romance. It's a one-sided communication. That's what is great about letters right now, they are sort of unconditional. You keep it open so the other person can decide how they want to respond. Dear Enemy is a beautiful documentation of escalating clashes of opinion, wills and theories culminating in a romance.  Anne writes to her fiance while she waits to get married. The book is tilled with newsy prosy letters you wish you could write. I recently re read one of mu other favorites, The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie and Literary Society. Filled with different voices and styles blending to form a single story, it could be a manual for letter writing.

For all my enthusiasm on writing letters, I become rather stilted when I write a letter. I write 3 word sentences. I am funny unless I try to be funny. If I try, it makes bad reading. So if I want to write a great epistolatory novel some day, I need oodles of practice writing letters.

This week in Reading

So this was a good week for my reading. Despite various distractions I have been making headway on and finished a couple of books. So the first book on my bookshelf was Major. Pettigrew's Last Stand. Now this a book I bought purely based on the opinions of a blogger whose blog review I happened to read. Well, at one level this book made me glad that I did not buy a brand new copy. So most readers have their top lists right, books they love, like, endure. My meter goes pretty much like airport or rail book( the kind u read and pretty much don't care abt) they are sort of those short mystery thriller types, unless you read gone girl on an air trip. Then there are your well thumbed childhood favorites, either you know them off by heart so you don't buy them or you keep really old copies and hate yourself when you sell them.  Then there are the books you like to read and preserve, like if you are collecting a series. So you handle those with care. Then there are those which you just might spare cash to but the hard bound edition.  But a little annoying are the books that you wonder why you bought.

This book was definitely one of them. I couldn't quite put my finger on one single thing that troubled me. At the face of it, it claims to be a twilight romance of an unlikelcy couple which is actually an interesting subject. It' s just that I didn't like any particular person in the book at all.  The major is pompous, and a tad bigoted absolutely until the last page. Mrs. Ali is a one dimensional character who tries to break all the rules. It is interesting though that you actually like the characters you are expected to dislike, that is partly intended by the author, but it's also because they are the ones with any sort of variety.

It wasn't a complete waste of time though, some of the observations are wry and the descriptions of the English countryside are great. But for all its attempts,  it seems to me like it is a glorified multicultural catalog.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Children's Books, Darkness among other things

I have been reading a lot this week. All thanks to the great new Scribd app and subscription package, which lets you read on your phone and computer and has a great collection of popular fiction. They even have a newly added audio book section which I haven't tried out. Now I do not prefer e books to real ones, mainly because I miss the smell of books- old, new, dusty et al. But this is convenient and lets me extend my reading time to my commute without lugging around weight and risking motion sickness and if you save books to your library you can read them on your train/bus/flight journeys. So in short, I am a fan.

Anyway the books I have been reading are mostly children's books. I read a bunch of books by Andrew Clements. They are books for tweens I would say, they are not dumbed down for children. They are very well written, exciting, have great plots and 'wait for it' are set in the real world. No fantasies well maybe just a bit,but for the most part real life problems that children face everyday and how they handle them smartly. None of the children are particularly goody-goody, they all have their faults. What they do have in common is a mix of intelligence, street smarts and courage to face everything thrown at them. This makes reading about them anything but tedious. In fact, we may learn much from them

Great Adventure story, interesting twist on small town versus large corporates. Reading second book of this series now.
Other Books by the author:
- The Landry News- Interesting discussion of rights and amendments, Great book about the freedom and power of the press
- The Report Card- An intrepid heroine, who makes you wish you thought of her rebellious ideas, talks of the pressure of grades and living up to expectations
No Talking- Simply loved this one. I wouldn't have survived a day in this no talking contest, being personally an unshushable
 
 This was a strange, strange book. Not in a good way. The premise seemed okay, a little far fetched but okay. The book was very off putting and not at all good to read. Felt they took the whole empathy thing too far, it was sort of weird. The sliding bit was contrived. The only good thing was the suspense, but it was hurried along and that ruined it for me.
Book along similar lines which was surprisingly good was 'Reconstructing Amelia' by a first time author. She handles several sensitive issues with unusual tact and there is hardly anything that makes you uncomfortable about the book. It makes several strikes against the over sharing that everyone does in social media today and it's consequences.

Reconstructing Amelia was a particularly dark book primarily because it exposes things that could quite plausibly happen in real life. Other darkness this week comes from watching American Horror Story. This show is really really scary, not because of ghosts, but because of all the scary people. It has some really great actors, who are particularly convincing. This show has made for quite a few nightmares for me. The other creepy show on my watch list is Stalker. A very under dramatized, sober investigative series, it's about a division which catches stalkers obviously. It's interesting because the characters have more depth than the usual one dimensional investigators we see. It has Dylan Mc Dermott, who also acts in American Horror Story, one of my favorite actors after being "Bobby" from the practice. I haven't missed an episode and this show is sure to have you checking your locks at night. The only movie I managed to catch last week, did not inspire any optimism either. Stonehearst Asylum has plenty of movie heavyweights- Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley namely. The movie is a little slow, but picks up pace along the second half. It treads on the fine line between black and white. The end is not as unexpected as you would like it to be. You realize it somewhere in your brain along the way. Excellent flip side view at mental illness and it's treatment.
 



Sunday, September 21, 2014

Dum Aloo- Saturday Special

Over the weekend, we had guests at home. So of course, in anticipation of this, my dormant cooking cells decided to get enthusiastic about cooking. My mother made a safe bet with mutter paneer, so I opted to get a little experimental and make a recipe that I have been reading about often- Dum Aloo Punjabi. There are so many variations of this dish, so I went through a million recipes before I hybridized the following one and then anyway veered away from what I decided. I had help too from an expert cook who was one of the guests, so she tasted my in progress dish and gave me some ideas about what I should do to make it taste better. So finally, I was happy to make a tasty dish out of it. It tasted better with dosas according to most of us than with rotis for some reason.

Start with the masala powder. Powder together 2 tbsp of coriander seeds, 1 tsp of jeera, one clove, a little cardamom and cinammon until it is a fine powder.

Soak and slightly cook about 10 cashew nuts in hot water. Grind to a fine paste. Chop up two onions finely. Puree 3 tomatoes which have been boiled in hot water and peeled. Cook the potatoes in a pressure cooker for about 2 whistles of the cooker or until boiled firmly. Then saute potatoes in oil until light brown all over the surface.

In a flat bottomed pan, add about 3 tbsp of oil and saute bay leaf+onion+ginger garlic paste, until  the onion turns completely brown. Add tomatoes and saute until the soften. Add cashew paste, above ground masala powder. Add turmeric and chilly powder depending on how spicy you want it. Also add salt and a pinch of kitchen king masala if you have some. Add two spoons of curd (Some dum aloo recipes are based completely on curd and have no tomatoes at all. But I didn't like the idea so much considering I don't like curd so much. But this curd was added as a fix to make the dish a little sour and bring balance to the additional spice it needed. and some water to combine. Allow it to boil until the raw smell goes away and the masala combines well. Add potatoes to the mixture and allow to soak on low flame for sometime. Take it off the heat and serve hot.

In other food related news, I finished reading the book, As Always Julia. It's a tome of a book, that I happily bought for a buck in the discount shelves outside the Strand Book Store in New York. It is a compilation of letters between Avis De Voto and Julia Child. It feels like when you are reading this book, that you are going through the whole experience of publishing Mastering the Art of French Cooking with them. It's a great book also to understand the then political and social environment albeit from a Democratic point of view. Also both of them were excellent at French and tended to lapse into it in the written form quite often. So it was good practice to read and understand French as well.


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

# BookChallenge- The Top 10 books that have stayed with you

This was my list for the so called Book Bucket Challenge on Facebook.  I don't know if the challenge will get people to think if they have been reading or not and bring them back to the fold. All I know is that it makes for a very good starting point when you are stuck thinking what you should read next, you can go look at all your friends' lists . My list did tend to be a very female oriented list, either female protagonists who are very strong or written by women.

I have never cried over a book. But this book had me thinking otherwise. It is a story of many layers. There are many gray areas too in this book. It is a coming of age story of a young girl, the survival instincts of a mother, the protective older brother and the man they are all fear and respect- the head of the household. At first glance, it is the story of suffering and the triumph of spirit. It tugs at your heart strings. It scares you with the monsters that lurk behind the seemingly innocent facades and respectable personalities of everyday men. But it also tells the story of support and love from unlikely sources and that you are capable of surviving much more than you expect.



Anne of Green Gables is an inspiration and a companion to many girls growing up. I liked Anne because she was not too much of a goody two shoes like Pollyanna. She was an adaptable child who made the best of situations she was thrown into using her imagination. Her practical streak however does come through as she grows older. It is a journey typically taken by all of us moving from childhood to adolescence. Anne's story is bittersweet- rejoicing over tiny triumphs, fussing over tiny schoolroom disagreements and coming to terms with the greater losses in life. She learns important life lessons and grows up to be a fine young woman. So there's hope for all of us. No matter how falliable we are.




Room was a book that either people loved or hated. I read more Emma Donaghue after this, but nothing affected me the way this book did. It was a scary, scary book. A less likely scenario than Purple Hibiscus but very relevant to the ever present dangers of abduction and harassment that women face everyday. I think it was a beautifully written book, just because it handled this issue very sensitively and treaded the fine line between turning away readers in fear and disgust and instead evoking their empathy and sympathy. It is the story of a boy and his mother trapped in a nightmare of a stranger's perversion all through the eyes of the five year old.



Daddy Long Legs is a delightful episolatory novel. I am a big big fan of this style. I am a nut for letters. I can never write those perfect balanced letters- with news and funny tid bits and holding the  reader's interest until the very last P.P.S. But I do love the fact that people can write such letters. Daddy Long Legs doesn't have too much drama, just some misunderstandings and a whole lot of long newsy letters from an orphan to her benefactor. It is a great feel good book. I like the sequel to this book as well- Dear Enemy has a lot more verve to it because of the main character, but I will stay true to my first love.

Jane Austen's very last novel, but my absolute favorite. Every time I read it, I grow to like it more. Pride and Prejudice, I love as my very first Jane Austen. But Persuasion is a book that really stayed with me. Most of Jane's heroines had failings. They were immature, dramatic, prejudiced and so on. What would you think of a heroine whose failing was maturity and understanding? I thought it was an interesting proposition- a heroine who lost her chance at happiness because she considered too much, analyzed too much and tried to do what would benefit everyone the most. It is a very mature work from Austen and strikes closer to reality than any of her other books. There is doubt and there is love and it all depends on how Anne Elliot makes it work.


 Story of runaways who accidentally or not so accidentally stumble onto  a secret history. Unlikely pair of white child and the slave who helps her, aside from a story of the search for identity and happiness, there is a huge political background and all the attendant consequences in this story. It is a very situational story and difficult to relate to, but it is also a story which is difficult to forget. Most importantly, it reminds us that sometimes the truth is best left untold.
Rebecca- Most chilling thrilling novel ever. Daphne Du Maurier had me hooked and on the edge of my seat with this book. Even though I know the story and the ending, I have my heart in my mouth every single time I read this book. I didn't like the heroine at all- she's one dimensional. But I realize that it is sort of the point to make Rebecca all the more a contrast. Mrs. Danvers is so totally the character for Halloween dress up. She's creepy and concerned and nursing secret plans of revenge all at the same time. Manderley Estate is pretty much a character in this book as well, leading to many turning points in the story.

Julie & Julia gave me the kickstart into reading about food. It is one of the first books of the genre I read. I do realize that a lot of is fiction posing as non fiction and people were offended that Julie had misrepresented her life.But really which of us doesn't exaggerate when we tell a story or make our life look prettier than it is. This book led to a fascination with Julia Child. I went on to read - "My Life in France" by Julia Child and "As always Julia"- the letters between Julia and Avis de Voto. It was fun to go look at Julia's kitchen at the FOOD exhibition in the Smithsonian American History Museum after reading all about it in her books.
Finally, a book, that is actually funny and a light read in my book list. Not a mindless book, with limited drama and cutting humour, it is an interesting contemporary series. Written in a very tongue in cheek fashion, it can chase all your blues away. Right from the little boy who lives down the hall, the neighbourhood dog, eccentric middle aged people and the clueless heroine, all of these are people who we would meet everday and that makes these books all the more enduring.
Gone Girl- Best Bestseller I have read in recent times. I tend to veer away from Booker Prize winners and Recommended Best Sellers in general. Booker Winners are not my style, I feel they are too highbrow for me and I really don't understand them. Recommended Best Sellers occur at the other end of the spectrum, they are generally over hyped. But this was a super cool puzzle, a twisted treasure hunt of sorts. Extreme Justice served cold. Must read novel of the previous year.


Saturday, August 30, 2014

The Week That Was!

Madras Market IV:
This is the 4th Madras Market that is happening in Chennai, but the first time I have been in the city and had a chance to go to it. It was not as large as the Bangalore Soul Santhe, but had some super interesting stalls that equaled if not went further than some of the shops I saw here.

A recap of the most unique and cool stalls at the Madras Market:
- Mural Aura: Hand-painted murals on the kerala mundus, dupattas, tables, trays and coasters. Beautifully painted kathakali dancers and gods in multi-colours surrounded you in this stall. The best buy according to me here was the buddy table, as side table topped with a pretty mural.

- Dharti: An eco-friendly jewellery store. Paper quill jewellery which looks so good it could be terracotta jewellery. Painted in bright neon colors which are in vogue now, they are sure to top off any outfit. There were choices of jhumkis in pink and blue, cone shaped earrings in orange and cream, cute little studs.

-  Angi: A new age T shirt store with an old world spin. Angi's USP is bringing back Tamil Culture with  a bang and conveying the message so it reached young people. So that's why the message on the T- shirt. From Bharatiyar to Periyar, Tirukkural to Skanda, this expanding T-shirt range with a reasonable price is something to look out for. They have free shipping all over India and a growing online presence.

Books I read:
Inspirational and Beautiful without being pedantic. Moving , funny, self depreciating stories which include you in their narrative, they don't unlock the secret to life, just give you encouragement to run behind your dreams while you still have time







Dystopia in post war England. Interesting peter pan and 1985 cross. None of the characters seem all there and you cannot relate to any of them. But they creep you out and leave you waiting for more.








 Chick lit to relieve the heavy first two books. About a girl new to the dating scene after a long time. Funny for most part with a typical happy ending, it was a good light read.









Watched this movie long after its release. Super funny, left me rolling on the floor with laughter. Tongue in cheek look at films, film making and gangstas! Absolutely loved the antics of the villain and his acting coach!

Friday, August 22, 2014

My 2014 Reading Challenge



Purnima's books

The Beach House
2 of 5 stars
by Jane Green

Average read, insensitive handling of some issues grated on your nerves. Not even recommended as a read to pass time.
 
Magnolia Wednesdays
3 of 5 stars
by Wendy Wax

Interesting interpretation of Gone With the Wind in modern times. Falters a couple of times on plot but picks up pace along the way. Enjoyable light read which is funny and moving.
 
The Wednesday Sisters
4 of 5 stars
by Meg Waite Clayton

Goes in a minute from superficial to super deep. Excellent manipulation of language manipulates your feelings and you almost feel like a " Wednesday Sister" yourself.  Book club sort of book- but surprisingly I did not come away with any " OMG, I need to read these" titles.
 
Gone Girl
5 of 5 stars
by Gillian Flynn

Best book I have read all year. I started the year with this book. Phenomenal book, keeps you on the edge of your seat. Wonderfully written, exciting, racy, intellectual thriller. Was sad to see the book end.
  
The Case of the Calendar Girl
2 of 5 stars
by Erle Stanley Gardner
Guilty Pleasure! Not so much a pleasure though this one with a weak plot left me feeling only guilty. 

goodreads.com

I reset my expectations this year to account for all my occupational and non occupational hazards and went with 150 books instead of 200 books this year. Unfortunately for me, I have once again over estimated myself and am 57 books behind schedule. I am still struggling ineffectually to cope my over ambition of 8 months ago.

Passenger: On a weird journey

 My reading speed seems to be reducing as my age increases. I have been on this book now for almost a week. It is quite unusual for me considering that this is quite a short book. Well, it might have to do with the fact that this story is very unusual and in some ways quite disturbing. I have to take breaks from this book to recover and get back to reading it. Right now, it is pretty much only the half hour I spend waiting for my office shuttle that I get to dip into this story.

It is in a fashion a nod to the tale of two cities, in this case two people named after cities. Milan and Roma, the protagonists of this story have a unique symbiotic relationship. It is not a story of traditional affection or familial relationships. It is the story of an enduring love and the consequences which everyone faces as a result. Milan, is a not unusually confused individual, sort of going through a mid life crisis.

Milan starts of as a sort of clueless individual, he does not have a clue beyond his music. So, it is a  poetic justice of a kind that when faced with needing to communicate with Roma, he chooses to use music.  We follow Milan's evolution from a self centered individual to a person almost obsessed with helping Roma. It could be love which drives him tinted with a bit of guilt. But whatever he feels for Roma makes him behave in ways he never imagined, forge relationships he would never have otherwise and learn to be a better and worse personality than he could have ever become himself.

This takes living with a conjoined twin or a sibling that you have to take care of to a whole new level. The story follows Roma and Milan's journey and leaves you wondering if Roma is the Milan's muse or the albatross around his neck.