Make Me By Lee Child

This was the first book I completed reading in 2016. I have set some lofty reading goals for 2016 and I know it is not going to be easy. However, I am quite confident and positive of achieving my reading goals in the second half of this year.

This is my first book by the author. I bought this book from Sapna Bookstore in Bangalore. I chose this book based on a friend's Facebook post. It seemed interesting from the posts and I thought I will try reading someone's work that I have not done before.

The writing style is quite different. The sentences are broken down unusually into phrases as stand alone sentences, which I have not seen with many writers. I am unable to explain it properly in words....Maybe there is a word for it which I am not aware of. An example below might explain my point better.

The plot of the book is quite dark and gives a deserted feel for a big part. It all begins with Jack Reacher, the protagonist, travels to a place called Mother's Rest, intrigued by its name. He meets a former FBI agent on a mission, Chang, who is looking for her untraceable colleague Keever. Together, they decide to unearth the mystery of missing Keever and one thing leads to another and they soon discover the dark "happenings" at Mother's Rest, leading not only to Keever's whereabout but also many others who suddenly seemed to be missing. 

The biggest takeaway from this book for me is- being aware of something like Deep Web. I was quite naive and could not imagine for such a thing to exist and also the horrific end that is meted out for some people. 

Though the story in the book was well-written and fast paced, I do not think I would pick up another book by Lee Child. I did not really enjoy how the author described physical fights that happened. I found them unnecessarily descriptive. However, I think people who enjoy Action books and movies may enjoy it much more than I did.

On a scale of 5, where 5 is excellent, I would rate it at 3.

The Girl in Blue by P.G. Wodehouse

So much time has passed between my reading this book and writing this post that it almost feels that I have read the book over 10 years ago. Due to my hectic work schedule, I have not been able to read to much between Sept,2014 and now. I have read just 2 books, both by Jeffrey Archer- Twist in the Tale and To Cut a Long Story Short. I would be writing about the two sometime soon.

I have been a fan of P.G.Wodehouse ever since I read the 1st Blandings book. My dad owned all the works of Wodehouse but I never got around reading them for various reasons. My first Wodehouse book was Piccadilly Jim. At that time, I was not aware that Wodehouse was synonymous with humour. I really did not know what to expect.

I first saw The Girl in Blue at the British Library but could not subscribe to it. My mind was set on the book and one fine day along with a few other books, my husband gifted it to me.
The Girl in Blue came as a welcome stress relief to me. I read the entire book during my commute to and back from office. It is a really light book to read and like any P.G. Wodehouse books, would guarantee a smile on your face throughout. 

The entire story revolves around a statuette that goes missing. It is the statuette after which the book is named. A hilarious series of events leads to its recovery. There is also a subtle romance in the background which in a way contributes to the recovery of the statuette. I just think one must just get the book and read. If I write anything further about the book, it would definitely be a spoiler. All I can say to sum up the book is- Wodehouse has created isolated events and tied it very beautifully in the end. Another attraction for me is- Food...well described. ;)

In terms of writing, it is typical Wodehouse use of language that tickles your funny bone. It is an ideal read for people of all ages, especially earl teens. It is quite different from the Young Adult genre of books that is available in the market and will help them appreciate this form of literature more. 

I know it is not really much of a review, but, like I said before, I do not want to spoil the fun for any reader.

On a scale of 5, I would rate it 4/5.

Come On Inner Peace...I don't have all day! by Sachin Garg

In my experience in reading Indian authors, most of them are quite good but they do not get read enough or their due credit. However, I will say no such thing about this particular book. It is probably one of the worst books I have ever read. The only thing catchy in this book is its name and that is it. 

When I spotted the book at a store and wanted to buy it, my husband had warned me by saying that it does not look like a good book and I lectured him on how he was judging the book by its cover and that he should read Indian authors as these days they really write very well..blah blah blah...but after I was done reading, I had to apologise to him as he was very right this time.

The story starts with a disturbed guy after he has lost the love of his life and is seeking inner peace and lands up at an ashram looking for guidance and the Swami there puts this guy and another of his disciples on a trip to look for that peace by getting a proper closure with a former friend of his and on this journey they face a lot challenges. (I think I am making the book sound much better than it really is.) The challenges they face vary from - getting into an exclusive bar to cooking meth (which I understand is plagiarised from Breaking Bad- the popular TV show. I do not follow Breaking Bad on TV so not sure how far it is true) and selling meth, rescuing a meth addict and raising money for cancer. It still sounds better than what it is. The only thing which slightly inclines towards being the good thing about the book is that it is quite fast paced (thankfully!) due to which you do not waste a lot of your time reading it. Having said that, reading the book in itself is a big waste of one's time.

The book has a lot of incorrect grammar and the author gets confused with the character names at many occasions. He forgets which character is a part of the conversation and which is not, in many places. The editor has also failed to pick these up and have it rectified as well. 

To be honest, I read this book just because I paid for it and did not want to it to go for a waste. Had I borrowed it from a library, I would have returned it on the same day.

I would rate this book no more than 0.5/5 and the 0.5 is for the title.

The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield

This write-up and next few to follow are going to be brief. It is just that I have decided to keep this blog as up to date as possible and I have quite a bit to update and I am determined to do it today.

Coming to the book and the author- 

This is the first book of Katherine Mansfield's that I have read. Her writing style is quite different from the kind I am used to. Due to this, I had a slow start and struggled a bit to finish a couple of stories. I guess, once you can see through a couple of stories, one becomes more familiar with the writing style and is able to finish the rest of the book quite quickly. I would recommend anyone who plans on reading this book, to start with the story, 'Miss Brill' as it is short and easy to read and will help in 'acclimatise' oneself to Katherine Mansfield's work. I picked the book up at the British Library and what attracted me to it was the word 'Party' in the title. I just thought there would be amazing descriptions of food in it. Though there is some description, not enough :).

As I already mentioned, the writing style is quite different to the one I am used to, I went an extra mile to understand her writing initially. I read about the life of Katherine Mansfield and also read through the critical analysis of some of her stories. It helped me appreciate her work better. Some of the stories in book have been televised and the videos are available on Youtube. These are extremely helpful as well and played a vital role in my appreciating the book.The ending of some of the stories is left to the imagination of the reader.

I also read a lot about comparison between Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf. For me, the writing styles of Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf is quite similar, the major difference being- Katherine Mansfield wrote short stories while Virginia Woolf wrote novels. This work from Katherine Mansfield is indicative of her in-depth study and observations on the society and human behaviour in the early 1900s and reflects in the way the characters have been built in all of her stories.

This is definitely not a book to start reading if one is trying to develop reading as a hobby as it could have a repellent effect. Also, I personally think, that people would like her stories but not necessarily her writing style. Some would label many stories in the book as slow-paced and a drag. 

Will I pick-up a Katherine Mansfield book again? I would only if I want to do some very serious reading. I would rate this book 3.5/5.

Between Then and Now

If my blog was a reference to the number of books I read, it may be inferred that I hardly ever read as my last post was almost a year ago I think. Between then and now I have read a lot of interesting things but unfortunately did not care enough to post. I have made a promise to myself that I will keep this blog   up-to-date. Also, before I started writing this blog, I have read a lot of wonderful work- so much that I cannot even recall what from the top of my head. It is only when I go to bookstores/fairs or look at my own collection or even browse Flipkart that I realise how much I have read in the past. 

Anyway, some of the books that I read between the last time I wrote and now:

- Katherine Mansfield: The Garden Party and other stories
- Sachin Garg: Comeon Inner Peace, I ain't got all day
- P.G. Wodehouse: The Girl in Blue
- Jeffrey Archer: Quiver Full of Arrows
- Agatha Christie: The Caribbean Mystery
- Agatha Christie: Thirteen Problems

In addition I have started reading some books but have not been able to complete:

- Steve Jobs' autobiography
- Jaya

I am currently reading an interesting book called Drop Dead by Swati Kaushal.

I intend to update my blog with my thoughts on all of the above books (except of course, the ones I have not finished reading).

What I also did for a large part of last year since I wrote my last blog post is, watch a lot of televised/dramatised versions of some of my favourite books. Some were very good adaptations, some ordinary and some below ordinary. Irrespective of the quality of the adaptations, I loved to see my favourite books and characters come to life. 

So much for now. I will update this blog soon as promised.

Legends Never Retire...but it is always hard to say Goodbye

It is always difficult to say Goodbye to Sports Icons. I had been a great fan of Steffi Graf all my childhood. So, influenced by her, that I liked to dress up like her, tie my hair up like her and I even took up tennis at school. My only regret would be that I could never play single-handed like her. I tried, but the racquet was too heavy for me at that age. I would never miss a Steffi Graf match and would not change my position superstitiously until she won the match. During some tough matches, I would sit with a string of beads and pretend they were prayer beads and would pray with all my heart until the match was done. When she announced her retirement, it was like the sky came down crashing on me. I will never forget what I felt that day. I watched her induction to the Hall of Fame with a heart full of emotions. 

On 16NOV2013, when Sachin Tendulkar signed off from International Cricket, I won't say it was the same but yes, I did have a heart full of emotions. His retirement speech was that made by a man full of humility and gratitude. I took a look back to see what he meant to all of us and realised that his presence  in cricket was so reassuring. I remember the times when my brother and I would come back from school/work and ask our mom/dad for the score and if it was a poor one, we would immediately ask- ' Is Tendulkar out already?' and when they said No, it gave us some kind of confidence and reassurance and hope that India might not lose. It might have been the case in many many Indian homes. It was observed on several occasions that when Sachin got out, the rest of the team collapsed like a house made with a pack of cards. It only meant one thing, he carried the responsibility of the entire team for a very big part of his career and the hopes of millions on his shoulders at a very young age and did so until his retirement. Since I have seen him play since my childhood and saw his position in the team with permanence, I find it hard to believe that he would not be seen playing International Cricket anymore. This being said, he must have had a very satisfying career with many records being broken and many new ones created, being a part of the winning World Cup Team and the IPL winning Mumbai Indians team, not to forget that he was also a part of the Test team when India was ranked no. 1.

All I can say is Thank You Sachin for everything you have done for this country on field and off-field. Thanks for giving your very best to the sport and the country each and every time you stepped on to the field.

I did not realise how big a fan I am of yours until you bid farewell to cricket. Your retirement is yet to sink in but I trust that whatever you do, it will be in the best interest of the country, the sport and also personally for you as well. I hope we still get to see you on TV close to the cricket field and also, wish you the very best in the new innings of your life. Farewell!

One Done, On to the Next One

Home is where the heart is. On 15NOV2012, I followed my sweetheart to Hyderabad to start a new life in a new Home, Sweet Home. As I complete one year in the new city and look back at the year that was, it has been a colourful one year. I have loved exploring Hyderabad this one year and a lot still remains to be explored. I have grown a lot in this one year, especially in my culinary ability being someone who just hated cooking to someone who cooks for relaxation and de-stressing. 

There are so many things that stood out for me in Hyderabad- the very broad roads, 'Numaish' , some of my shopping trips (though old city still remains to be explored), my job and new friends and acquaintances at work and have the pleasure of getting back in touch with the old ones.

When I first stepped on Hyderabad soil, nothing other than heat seemed very different in the city compared to Bangalore. I was still very 'Bangalored'. Since we arrived on an evening flight and were terribly hungry, we dropped our luggage off at home and headed to the Woodlands Restaurant. Now, Woodlands is a place one goes to when you are hungry and not for celebrations or treats or fine dining experience. Woodlands is being run by people of Karnataka and they have imported all of their staff from Karnataka...at least it seemed that way because almost all of them spoke in Kannada.

We seated ourselves in the A/C dining area. I did not really realise at that moment that I was not in Bangalore in the cool of the A/C and in a 'Kannadified' atmosphere. In my head, I was still in Bangalore. We ordered North-Indian thaali. It starts off with Tomato soup, pappad and Ras Malai. Once we were done with the soup, the main course thaali arrived. They had an assortment of curries. Mutter Paneer caught my eye...I started with Roti and Mutter Paneer and it was that moment....

.....that it struck me harshly and rudely, that I had arrived in Hyderabad. My tongue was slapped and punched with very spicy and strong chillies that no amount of water intake could help. I immediately started tearing up and perspiring. My husband who was quite used to the spicy food of the region could not understand what was wrong. He tasted the Mutter Paneer and it seemed quite okay to him. I ditched the Mutter Paneer and went on to the Mixed Veg curry and the gravy of an Eggplant dish. Each of them seemed to better the ability of the other in terms of setting my tongue on fire. I realised at that very moment, in that particular A/C dining area, in that 'Kannadified' atmosphere that I HAVE ARRIVED IN HYDERABAD. Fortunately, I had saved my Ras Malai for later and pacified my agitated taste buds with its creamy-milky sweetness. I took it as God's way of telling me 2 things-

- I had arrived in Hyderabad

- Ras Malai would come to my rescue so do not eat it as soon as it is served

At the end of the meal, ice-cream was served and I cannot think of any other time in life when I relished it more.

This is one of my first experiences in the city which I can never forget. In this one year that has gone by, I have still not been able to adapt to the extra spice. I tear up almost every other day,to the amusement of my colleagues especially, while eating especially the curries and salads (what??? you thought they can't be that spicy?? Well, come over...the spice route awaits you).

Having said all that I have, I love Bangalore a lot. Once you live in Bangalore, it is not easy to love to live in any other city. Though my sweetheart is in Hyderabad, my very own heart is still in Bangalore. I cannot say there is anything terribly wrong with Hyderabad. It is a fine city to live in and has its own way of functioning and is special in its own way. Slowly, I am learning to like Hyderabad but it can never replace my love for Bangalore as Bangalore has reserved a very special place in my heart for life. 

I hope to write (and remember to write) again sometime around this time of the year in 2014 and see if Hyderabad has made any progress in completely winning my heart over! Hopefully, some day I will also have a special place reserved for Hyderabad for the rest of my life. In the meantime, I am determined to enjoy the Hyderabad experience!