Quote: B by Sarah Kay

Because no matter how wide you stretch your fingers, your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal. Believe me, I’ve tried.

Read the full poem here: http://ohsarahkay.tumblr.com/b

Haiku On Knowledge

Knowledge can be art
Learning the ways of the world
Also unlearning some

Book Tag: Would You Rather

Image Source: Pixabay

So, I got to know of this fun, difficult and insanely cruel tag – Would You Rather book tag, from The Reading Hufflepuff. I nominate anyone and every one who wants to enter the challenge. It is an open invite. Meanwhile, you can go through my answers.

1) Would you rather… Drop your favourite book into the toilet OR watch it fall into a wood chipper?

In a toilet….errm…..it can be retrieved, dried. Saved at the very least.

2) Would you rather… Read only 1 book a year but remember everything OR read 100 books a year but remember nothing?

Read 100 books a year and remember nothing. In fact, I remember nothing after finishing a book. Well, most of the books. So, yeah.

3) Would you rather… Read only the first page of a book OR read only the last page of a book?

The last page. The excitement is all in the last page.

4) Would you rather get locked in a library OR get locked in a bookstore?

I would rather get locked in a bookstore. Because I would get to experience many new books firsthand. rubs hands in glee

5) Would you rather… Drop your book in a lake OR accidentally set it on fire?

Do neither. But accidental fire it is. I can’t jump in a lake, but I can put out the fire and still save it.

6) Would you rather… Read a book with a cliffhanger ending OR read a book with a heartbreaking ending?

A book with a heartbreaking ending. Bring it on!

7) Would you rather… Have the book’s ending spoiled OR never know what happens?

Spoilers have NEVER affected me. So, having the book’s ending spoiled is okay with me.

8) Would you rather… read only one genre forever OR never repeat the same genre after reading it once?

I love the genres I read. I will definitely settle for reading only one genre forever.

9) Would you rather… Read a book where the main character is killed off OR read a book where the love interest is killed off?

Killing off characters is a part of the plot. I wouldn’t care anyway. Maybe temporarily, but not for long. I am okay with both. But would rather stick to – where the love interest is killed off.

10) Would you rather… Read a book that’s missing the middle chapter OR read a book that’s missing the first and last chapters?

I have read a book with missing middle chapters. Smooth sailing.

11) Would you rather… love a book everyone hates OR hate a book everyone loves

Hate a book everyone loves. Period.

12) Would you rather… loan a book to a friend who’s known to ruin books OR drop a book in a pit of snakes?

Drop it in a pit of snakes. Snakes will not ruin my books at least!

13) Would you rather…. Be stuck on a deserted island without a book OR be stuck in a library full of books in a language you can’t read

Library full of books. The experience matters of course. Plus, I can always go through the picture books.

14) Would you rather… Bring only 1 book on a 12 hour flight OR bring an e-reader with only 10% left on a 4 hour flight?

Bring a book on a 12 hour long flight. I will take my own slow time to read it.

15) Would you rather… Find out your best friend hates your favourite book OR share a favourite book with your worst enemy?

Share a favourite book with my worst enemy sounds better. I can anyway make my bestie love the book.

These are my answers. I wonder what yours will be? 🙂

How I Evaded my Homework!!

I have a confession to make. On a public platform, yes.

You might have already guessed it by the spoilery headline and here I go.

I was always a good student. The one who got the great grades, tried to obey teachers and toe the line. Tried to stay away from mischief (but mischief would always come running towards me with open arms). Gave all the answers in class like Hermione. Apart from getting chided from the teachers, my only unforgivable sin was – Not completing my homework.

Having been a teacher in the early part of my career, I know and I understand the importance of revising lessons at home. But try telling that to a student and he/she will look like you are taking away their basic rights!

Me for instance, hated opening my books as soon as I reached home. My mother used to help me study till I was in grade 1. Grade 2 onwards, I was completely independent and that is when I started taking liberties with my homework.

---

Image Source: Flickr

Well, it is not like I had no inclination towards studies. I loved school. I wanted to go to a school as soon as I started speaking. Other children packed in school vans and buses in neat uniforms and bags made me green with envy. The day I joined school was the best day of my life. But then, the monster called Homework ruined it for me.

While I loved doing my English homework and to an extent my Science homework, I loathed other subjects especially Maths. I somehow managed to wrap it all up before going to play with my buddies. But then, not everyone had the same schedule. They all were more lazy bums and took longer time to complete theirs. As such, I got very less time to spend playing outdoors with them.

I also hated the fact that every year, with a new academic session, the pile of homework seemed to increase steeply. I could literally feel myself sweating with all the pressure. Homework did not allow me to enjoy my summer, autumn and winter holidays, which I would usually spend at my relatives’. Homework kept me exercising my grey matter when all I wanted was to play and read my story books and novels. Homework made me cut down my TV timings and it cut down the time I could spend in the company of guests, who frequented my home.

Homework was Voldemort to me. Homework was The White Walkers. Homework was the Disease. I hated it with all my might.

---

Image Source: Flickr

I had a nice study table. With drawers of course. The drawers had comics, children’s magazines and my beloved novels and drawing supplies. So all the while I was supposed to be sitting and completing my homework, I was having a whale of time procrastinating with reading. Cheating on my textbooks with fictional tales of weird looking comic characters or learning who was Elizabeth Bennett interested in.

By grade 7th, I was a pro in procrastinating. I was a pro in not doing my homework. Or doing maybe the half of it and completing the other half in between all the lectures I had the next day at school. I would do my Maths homework in English class, Social Science in Hindi and Sanskrit in Social Science. Wasn’t I a great multitasker? I was indeed. And an ace actress!!  And Friday was my favorite day of the week. Because – NO HOMEWORK for two days at a stretch.

By 9th grade, I had a whale of time evading all the homework. I had a best friend who would be my partner in crime. We hated the same subjects and loved the same ones. So we would roll up our sleeves and utilize the time before morning assembly to rapidly finish the homework. It was the last moment thing and completing it in time gave us an adrenaline rush.

Many a times, we were bold and did not complete the homework. But because we were the class toppers, teachers were very lenient with us. Also, because our names started with an alphabet that falls way behind other names, we escaped the first batch of ‘notebook corrections’ and that bought us more time and more relief. Also, we were pro in English and good with words. That made us experts in elaborating what could have been written in 3 lines to 7 lines and shortening 7 lines to 3 lines. Such bliss.

We did get punished sometimes- when the teachers were atrocious and vile and just couldn’t understand why we didn’t submit our work dot on time, even though our classwork was the best in the history of the entire school.

A very funny incident that I ought to share here is that we were always ahead of the class in English. Our English work shone and sparkled bright. Neat handwriting and all that. The teacher knew us well and was very fond of us both. He was strict with homework, but we didn’t have to worry. We were super duper efficient. Always completed the homework before the bell rang for the school to get over. He used to smack others on hand with wooden ruler (not very hard, just as a punishment). Once the entire class got the punishment except us two. The very next week, we both genuinely forgot our English homework for some valid reason. The whole class was shocked! The teacher was shocked too.

He knew ours was a genuine reason and asked the whole class, should he forgo our mistake for once? The classmates knew us and we were popular, so they said No in unison. There was giggles…and we couldn’t stop giggling ourselves. The teacher said, rules are rules and punishment is the same for one and for all. We accepted it as well. But what was more hilarious is that he was shaking with laughter as the ruler came down on my palm and my friend’s the next. It was as if we had won a prize or something. We had smiles on our face 😛

---

This was the core of my homework story. Have a similar experience to share? I would love to listen 🙂

Things You Should Be Able To Do Without Any Inhibition

Image Source: Pixabay

YOLO – You Only Live Once. 

This phrase maybe smell “Young Adult” to most of you, but it still holds prominence in our lives. Don’t we have only one life and we should make the best of it in every which way possible? After all, it is the life in your years that counts and not the years in your life. I forgot who quoted this and too lazy to look up. But the fact does ring a bell, a loud one at that.

How we apply YOLO principle in our lives is completely based on individual preferences. For me, it means a list of things that I should be able to do without any inhibition. Let me share some of them with you, adding bits and pieces from my friends’ lists as well.

• Learn as many new things as you can. Develop new hobbies and practice old ones. You will not be bored, even for a moment.
• Giggle like a duck or better, like geese. Don’t let anyone hold you down.
• Go places. Short of funds? Rediscover places near your home. Maybe a stroll in the park or the nearby lake? You will surely get a new perspective every time. Trust me.
• Be playful and sharpen your prank skills. Not nasty ones of course, but something well within limits and without hurting anyone in the process.
• Sing. Dance. Write. Read. Take up sports. Do any of these with unprecedented zeal.
• Collect things. Collect things that do not require a penny. I collect tags and labels from the clothes I buy.
• Add to your knowledge. You have Google. You have internet. You have the time. Invest it in adding to your knowledge. Learn something everyday. You will be richer than the richest person.
• Eat without feeling tensed. Eat whatever you like whenever you like. Indulge in your favorite icecream or pizza. It doesn’t hurt. Dance away the calories if you want. Or not. Just no stress taking.
• Sleep in. Slack work for exactly one day, when you are really burned up. Switch off your mobile and all the social contacts and sleep in your cozy, comfy bed.
• Star gaze. Cloud gaze. Fish eye gaze. Gaze. Stand and stare; without being full of care.

Do add your preferences to the list. 🙂

Poem: 1000 Origami Cranes

Image Source: Flickr

If I had nothing to do all day and if I knew the significance that it held,

I would have woven strings after strings of a thousand origami cranes for you.

Woven all the luck and all the health in the world and beyond,

Those colorful paper formations folded to perfection.

When It Rains, It Pours Words

Image Source: Flickr

Yesterday evening was a moment of rejoice, as it rained in the city. After a dry spell, the pour was much awaited by one and all, even a rain hater like me. Even though I had my raincoat game all good, I drove around 6-7 kilometres in the light, breezy shower without wearing one.

I haven’t been blogging regularly for days, maybe weeks. But now, I think I have a lot of inspiration and yap yappings all around me to observe and jot down. It is also my official reading season, when I curl up on the bed or swing with a hot cuppa coffee and my books strewn all over the place.

Happy Monsoon and Happy Reading. When it rains, it surely pours words 🙂

Haiku on Rains

Cottony clouds in sky
Greyish gloom is mood of the day
Will it ever rain?

Book Review: The Amazing Racist by Chhimi Tenduf-La

Author:  Chhimi Tenduf-La

Published: January 1st 2015 by Hachette India

Verdict: Must-Read

This book was sent to me by the publishers as a part of the Goodreads Firstreads program and was my first ever win at a giveaway.

To be frank, I was initially hesitant to go through a book with such a shocking title. A racist being amazing? How can a racist be amazing? After shilly-shallying with the idea of reading the book, I finally opened the first page and read it. Each day I read two pages and after ten pages or so, the book had me completely engrossed.

The reason? Its amazing humor, the narrative and the characters, with whom you could easily identify and sympathize with. The story based in the lovely locales of Sri Lanka had a charm that kept me interested till the very last page. The humor is of course, the main highlight of The Amazing Racist, but so is the wonderful relationship between two of the main characters, which gives it a fresh perspective. The twists and turns (often hairpin bends) offer more ‘masala’ to the entire story and never lets you witness a dull moment.

I have not read a book this good of recent. The book is a page-turner and although it is a light read, it touches your heartstrings somewhere, especially when you inch towards the end.

The only disappointment…it is too short a book. I wish there were more pages. Reading The Amazing Racist was a joyride. I am now looking forward to read the next book by the author – Panther.

Read more about the book on Goodreads.

Beginner’s Luck: 7 Books To Have In Your Collection When You Start Reading

Image Source: Flickr

Reading is a hobby that gives joy second to none. More often than not, beginner level readers are clueless as to how they can build up their book collection or which books should they start reading first. Here is a new series in my blog – Beginner’s Luck and I will start with a list of 7 books that every beginner should have in their collection.

1. Classic: There are so many classics out there that you will surely be spoilt for choices. However, in my opinion, you can settle for quick classics such as – The Animal Farm or The Old Man and The Sea.
2. Chicken Soup For Soul: I have not read any of the books in this series. But if you want to get started with non-fiction, this is the best series that you can try. There are many variants of the book such as – Teenage soul, pet-lover’s soul, teacher’s soul to name a few, which you can pick and choose as per your interest. A collection of longform anecdotes, these books can be tearjerkers.
3. Fantasy novel: You can always start with Harry Potter. It is easy to read and has an amazing plotline.
4. Fairy Tale or Folk tale: Fairy tales and Folk tales are never going out of fashion or print. If you love a particular country, other than yours, pick up a Fairy or a Folk tale from that part and enjoy having a glimpse into their culture. It becomes twice more interesting. Trust me.
5. Literature inspired: If you want to have a taste of English literature and yet, afraid to swim through those long words and complex sentence, not to mention archaic words, then opt for Stories by Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, O.Henry, Leo Tolstoy and abridged works of William Shakespeare.
6. Children’s book: Alright, you might be a grown up but some children’s literature will never cease to amaze you. Pick up Enid Blyton’s Boarding school series or Mystery books and you will surely end up loving them. You can also pick up Bridge to Terabithia.
7. Detective story: I am a Sherlock Holmes fan and have loved his stories or rather, cases since I started reading. You can either opt for Sherlock Holmes or settle for Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot or Miss Maple series.

Tell us about your collection. Does it include these books?

Utterly Nonsensical Reasons Why I Refuse To Read Some Books After Page 1

#TBT

Scribbling Owlet

Dear Writers Of Books I Wanted To Read But Couldn’t,

I am a reader. I want to be an voracious reader once more and I do have the potential in my bones you know. But I can’t. I can’t just go beyond page #1 even though I try hard to !!!! I will not blame you because I do understand. This is why, it is I who is on the wrong side of things. The reasons are nonsensical.

The names seem fake: Some authors (I won’t reveal) love naming their characters as if they are going to name their future brood of kids. Exotic names. Really really exotic names. Now it can be understood that some names do suit the character and the setting. But puhleeeseee….sometimes they just stick out like a purple tongue. Okay, if the name is short and fairly simple, I can still proceed a bit. But…

View original post 356 more words

10 Reasons Why Books Are An Ambivert’s Delight

Image Source: Pixabay

Ambivert is a personality trait, which is somewhere in between Introvert and Extrovert. Here are some of the reasons why books are an ambivert’s delight:

1. Books are your best companions and you can sink into one if the crowd around you is too much to bear.
2. You can avoid talking to strangers by excusing yourself to read a book.
3. One or several of your favourite books in your hands and a warm cuppa is sufficient for “me” time.
4. When you are looking forward to the answers to some questions that life poses, turn to a  book and turn the pages.
5. Get an overwhelming range of topics to discuss by reading books.
6. Shopping for books is a great experience by itself. You can even shop alone and that too anytime you want to.
7. Your books will always be your loyal friends and never desert you no matter what. They will not even judge you.
8. Your friends know what to gift you – Books. You need not tell them explicitly.
9. Travelling with a good book is all that you need to avoid small talk with strangers. Alternatively, they are great conversation starters with strangers.
10. Get a wider perspective on the world without having to meet tons of people simply by reading books.

My Futile Booklist

Or books I have piled up to read…

• Paper Towns
• The Fault in Our Stars
• The Last Song of Dusk
• Nadeem Aslam series
• Path of the Swan
• I am Malala
• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
• Mumbai Avengers

I hope I am one book down this weekend. Happy reading folks!

Reader’s Nook: QA with Ojitosperle

Here is a new post series in which I am going to dig out stuff from readers’ brains. Let’s see how similar we are or how different we are from each other 🙂 Read the first one here. Short Bio Of Our Reader: Random girl that enjoys reading to much to escape the horrors of real life. She enjoys thriller novels but wouldn’t mind crying over some Nicholas Spark novels. Quite the talker, yet completely shy. She’s a tropical island girl that has quite the attitude but is a complete sweetheart. A girl worth getting to know.

 My take: Ojitos Perle was kind enough to contribute this guest post even though we barely know each other. Its amazing that we get to meet so many budding writers and enthusiastic readers on this platform. Isn’t it?

You can know more about her by visiting her blog: ojitosperle.wordpress.com

---

Name 5-10 of your most favorite books

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• In Search of the Rose Notes by Emily Arsenault
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks
• The Blessed by Tonya Hurley
• Ghost Girl by Tonya Hurley

A book that you have re-read the most  

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bront

Favorite authors and why

Tonya Hurley, because her writing is haunting, captivating and she’s is the reason I fell in love with reading. I can enjoy other writers books but I will always pick her as my favorite one.

Genre you dislike

Erotica and War/military fiction.

Character crush

Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights and Maxon from The Selection Series

Character(s) you strongly identify with

Finch from All the Bright Places.

One character you want to bring to the real world

James Carstairs from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

What is your ideal reading space/environment?

Late night in my bed or early in the morning in the garden.

Must-have books in a collection

Oh this is a tough one. There are so many that I wouldn’t know were to begin.

Earliest memory of books and reading

My childhood was kinda messed up. I hated listening to my parents arguing so I would lock myself in the room and sit near the closet just to read. It was my escape from reality and it still is. If it wasn’t for reading I don’t know where I would be.

Weirdest book or reading experience

The weirdest book I’ve read was the Tigers Wife by Téa Obreht. Her writing had me so confused even if the meaning of the book was interesting. I just did’t understand why she chose that style of writing. If you’d like, you can answer the same questions and add a few more if you think would be nice to add.

---

P.S. You can participate too. Send me an email with the answers to these set of questions, your blog’s link and a short bio and I will publish the same..

My Preciousssssssss

Favourite Pair

Haiku on Writer’s Block

I picked up the pen
Ink flowed out of it with ease
But the words didn’t

7 Insane Bookshelf Arrangement Tips For The Disorganized

Image Source: Flickr

Not all of us hold a degree in Library sciences. Not all of us are immensely organized as individuals. It is true for me and maybe, a lot of you reading this post as well. Let me share some insane bookshelf arrangement tips for the disorganized, which I have implemented practically. Hope it helps 🙂

**Before anything else, heap your books on the floor.

• Break free from the rules. Whoever said that books need to be stacked according to their height, weight and what not must have had a lot of free time to while away. We don’t. So, don’t worry if the alignment goes awry or if one book sticks out like a sore thumb in the stack, go ahead and arrange them the way it suits you.
• Arrange by colors. Color coding is one of the easiest way to get your book arrangement done. From the heap of books, make stacks of different colors. Once you are done with all the books, put them all in the shelf using the VIBGYOR pattern or CMYK or any other pattern that you want. Ideally, I opt arranging them from the darkest colors to the lightest.
• Stack them horizontally and vertically. Alternate between stacking your books horizontally and vertically. This way, you will not need to invest in bookends. Think of all the money this will save you and the shelf space you can fill up with your beloved books!
• Leaning books are interesting too. If the prim and proper mode of book arrangement is not your cup of tea, you can also opt for leaning books. They give your room a casual look and feel. I love this arrangement for thin, hardcover books.
• Save yourself trouble of searching. Save yourself the agony of having to search your latest purchases from the book stack by arranging books with the newest ones first. Work your way down to the last shelf, where only the oldest and the most read books will reside. This way, you can quickly grab your latest books for reading.
• Arrange them according to their genre. Moody people like my cousin, tend to leave a book midway only to pick up another, completely different book and then coming back to the previous book. For this, the best idea for book arrangement is to stack them according to their genre. I have an entire row of books on my shelf dedicated to classics and literature, another for languages and non-fiction, one for chicklit, one for books that are in series and another for South Asian literature and other novels.
• Let the books breathe. No matter how you arrange your books, always leave some gaps in between the stacks and allow them to breathe. You can also put a deodorizer to keep away moths and insects and let your books be in the pink of health.

Have a picture of your bookshelf and your unique book arrangement? Mail them to me or share a link here. Happy reading 🙂

Tasty Reading – What To Eat When You Read?

Image Source: Pinterest

Admit it. We all feel hungry when we read. Especially when they describe all those elaborate feasts and picnics and brunches. Don’t we all transform into foodaholics of some kind by reading those instances? Here is what I eat when I am on a reading spree:

• A jar of crunchy peanut butter and a smaller jar of jam. I alternate between the two. This is when I am reading fantasy novels or even watching a fantasy movie. I don’t feel like anything else. Sometimes I have Marie biscuits along with these.
• A plate of Chicken Biryani or spicy Khichdi or noodles or one pot meals when I am reading South Asian fiction. It can also be a place of Idli-Sambhar for all you know. But Spicy is what I crave for, when I take up these books.
• While reading diaries or non-fiction (rare instances) I tend to have lots of cold coffee or iced tea or chilled juice. Sometime accompanied by popcorn.
• Chick lit is very special for me. I read only a few authors and I take my time to seep into every funny sentence and keel over with laughter. I can’t afford to have food, which I can spill all over when I do that 😉 So, I have a lot of packed snacks and chocolates and biscuits when I read them.
• Sandwiches and hot brewing tea/coffee are a must when I read my Enid Blytons. There are so many mentions of them in her books that you just can’t go through the pages without eating these. Butter and Jam sandwiches are a staple and if I get the time, I make egg sandwiches.
• I usually read books in other languages after a heavy Sunday lunch. So all I can eat at that time is lots of fresh, seasonal fruits.

What is your favourite food to go with the books you read?

Don’t Dog Ear Books – Use A Bookmark

Image Source: Pixabay

Dog ears look good on dogs and not books. It completely turns me off when someone dog ears books. It makes me breathe like a dragon when the books are mine. Why is it so hard to grab a bookmark or make one or buy some or think of something innovative and place it on the last read page?

Is it rocket science? No!

• Print some. There are loads of free templates online, which I discussed with a fellow booklover. Take some neat prints on thick paper of your choice and what do you have there? Plenty of awesome looking bookmarks.
• Grab a tag from your new clothes. They make so many pretty tags…branded or not, you can always use them as makeshift bookmarks!
• Safety pin. Yes, a safety pin is thin, small, and can easily make a bookmark if you can’t find any lying around. Just make sure that the head of the pin is visible.
• Tissue paper/paper napkin – clean one of course. Fold it in a thin rectangle and you are done for the time being.
• Paper clips – these are by far the best bookmarks but you should never leave them for a long period of time else they rust or spoil pages.
• Use a ribbon. If you are a guy, borrow some 😉
• Just tear out a news paper or a carton and use it temporarily.
• Old visiting cards also make great bookmarks.
• Sticky notes can also serve as bookmarks, some of us just don’t think of them in that way.
• Last one, use really thin twigs as bookmarks – they should be completely dry. Great if you have taken your book outdoors and forgotten your bookmarks.

Share your bookmark ideas with us!

Bookmark print out idea was given to me by – http://ojitosperle.wordpress.com/

Reader’s Nook: QA with Christy Bharath

Image Source: Pixabay

Here is a new post series in which I am going to dig out stuff from readers’ brains. Let’s see how similar we are or how different we are from each other 🙂 Cheers to reading and happy weekend readers!

The first post arrives by Owl Post or your can say, Raven Post 😉

What I nicked from Christy’s Blog – My first-ever career aspiration involved a friendly Tyrannosaurus Rex with an equestrian saddle and townspeople in need of a masked hero. Two decades ago, I gave up on it and decided to do something less dramatic instead.

What I have to say about Christy – Christy is the Birdman and is Salim Ali reincarnated. He is wickedly funny and funnily wicked and you can stalk him at – https://verseherder.wordpress.com. 

Here is a set of questions I asked Christy.

1. Name 5-10 of your most favourite books

• Franz Kafka – Metamorphoses
• Slyvia Plath – Bell Jar
• Douglas Adams – Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy
• Iain Banks – Wasp Factory
• William Burroughs – Naked Lunch
• John Kennedy – A Confederacy of Dunces
• Famous Five: 15: Five On A Secret Trail
• Emily Bronte – Wuthering Heights

2. A book that you have re-read the most

Chuck Palahniuk – Survivor

3.Favourite authors and why

Franz Kafka: If he wasn’t a writer, he would have killed himself. He probably had one of the purest reasons for ever being one.

Ernest Hemmingway: More mirror than human. Best writer ever.

4. Genre you dislike

Romance

Is Chetan Bhaghat a genre?

5. Character crush

Alice from Lewis Caroll’s Alice In Wonderland (while growing up).

6. Character you strongly identify with

Garfield from Wuthering Heights / Vernon from DBC Pierre’s Vernon God Little

7.One character you want to bring to the real world

Adrian Mole (created by Susie Townsend)

8. What is your ideal reading space/environment

Late morning, outside a cottage in the hills, overlooking peaks and valleys.

9. Must-have books in a collection

No such thing is my humble opinion although I wouldn’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to have at least two Gerald Durrell books in their collection.

10.Earliest memory of books and reading

One entire summer, my grandpa read Edgar Allen Poe stories to me at night, right before buying Kulfi ice cream. I couldn’t see the horror in them considering how entertaining his theatrics were.

11. Weirdest book or reading experience

Reading Stephen King’s Thinner when I was in college, and having a dream about the opposite happening to me. I woke up when my stomach exploded. I finally understood Stephen King.

---

P.S. You can participate too. Send me an email with the answers to these set of questions, your blog’s link and a short bio and I will publish the same..