Let’s Talk Embroideries

No wait. It is not what you think it is.

Embroideries need patience. In fact, tonnes and tonnes of it. And I don’t have that reserve of patience in me. What I am talking about is the book of the same name by Marjane Satrapi.

Image Source: Amazon.com and I hold no rights to it.

It is not a book per se, but a graphic novel and a fine one at that. A quick read, you can actually finish this brilliant piece at one go. On a flight, on a long drive or on a day when you want to take a break from everything and need a change. It is rib-tickling and there are moments that would make you laugh out loud. Really LOUD.

I am afraid of giving away spoilers and hence, I steer clear of penning down more words and not including any quote. You have to enjoy it one word at a time. All I can say is that the book is a masterpiece and this is only the first of her many books that I have picked up to read.

I have targeted her book Persepolis next as a friend highly recommends the same to me.

Have you read Embroideries? What do you like about the book/graphic novel?

 

 

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Book Review: The Vigil and Other Stories

There are stories that you read once and forget.

There are stories, which remain with you always.

And then, there are stories that you never expect to turn out that great, but they ooze a certain kind of warmth and never leave you.

This is what I learnt from many Sudha Murthy stories. I am glad to add one more name to the list today and that is of Gita Reddy, author of The Vigil and Other Stories.

To be honest, I sometimes DO judge a book by its cover. Mainly because I belong to the IT industry and often, I have to work in close quarter with design. So, when I received the copy of the book, I was a bit skeptical about how it will turn out to be, what sort of stories will it contain, reviewing shall anyway be done but will I actually love the book and read it with acute interest?

As you might have guessed by now, I did love the book. The collection of mostly women-centric short stories, the book strikes a chord. It has been written in a simple language and keeps you hooked on every sentence, every page. Saying anything more will just spoil the book for you.

Read it at your own pace and make others read it too!

Click here to take a look at the book on Goodreads.

 

The Umpteenth Harry Potter and The Cursed Child Review (No-Spoilers)

The title is a spoiler. But the post is not.

I am going to review Harry Potter and The Cursed Child and it is the gazillionth review that is going to be written about the book ever since the release of the play/book.

To begin with, I didn’t have much expectations from the book. I mean, the story ended with book 7 and so, what could possibly be in a play that claimed to reveal what we already know about Mr. Potter Junior and his universe?

Also, I never read those fan-fictions as I wanted to preserve my memories. Of reading the novels under the sheet with a torch hours past the bedtime, of rushing to the library and nearest stores to get a copy, of being the first one to read it and later, brag about it in the friend circle…and I digress.

Let me put in points what are my thoughts on the book/play.

The bad

1. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child begins in a familiar yet unfamiliar universe, where the original trio are middle-aged. Nope. I couldn’t imagine them being middle-aged and all “parenty”. They were still teenagers for me.
2. It was in a play format and very very difficult to read. Acts/Scenes…not my cup of coffee to be honest. Nope.
3. At one point, the plot was very confusing. I didn’t know what was happening.
4. Some of the plot twists, twisted my stomach because I couldn’t make myself to accept them. Nada. Scarred for life. Childhood ruined forever. Logic went for a toss.
5. It was much ado about nothing really. But like I said, I didn’t have any expectations, so there.
6. Favourite characters missing.
7. Too much emo-moments happening. No thrills really.

The good

1. It still had the essence of the original books to a certain point. Loved the sorting ceremony.
2. Return of favourite characters.
3. The entire idea of traveling back and forth in time.
4. Scorpius ❤
5. Draco ❤ ❤

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That’ll be all.

I wouldn’t give a thumbs down to the book, but it didn’t add to the legacy of Harry Potter. It can fall in the category of additional books like Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, but not as the 8th installment of the series.

Would I recommend it? If you are a Potter fan, hell yes!!!

Book Review: When Darkness Falls and Other Stories – Ruskin Bond

When Darkness Falls and Other Stories is my first ever Ruskin Bond book.

Although I have grown reading his stories as a part of my English curriculum, I don’t exactly remember what took me so long to pick up the book for my shelf. Needless to say, it was the right decision.

A collection of stories based in the hills, the book seems to be semi-autobiographical in nature (Mr. Bond grew up in the hills). I love the hills too, more than beaches (beaches be blah, no offence). And when I was reading the book, it was about 40 degrees C in my city. So, it gave me a respite, an escape from the scorching sun. Although virtually. But who’s complaining?

A short book, it is not a short read. You have to read each word, turn each page slowly so that you can absorb everything, including the witty lines, the characters and even the smell of conical trees that grow in abundance in the hills.

Once you read the book (or any other Ruskin Bond book for that matter), you’ll know why reading a Ruskin Bond book is something you’d want your kids to do before they grow up. The book belongs to another era and ‘gen-tech’ may not exactly be able to relate to it. But it is a book that should definitely be on their bookshelves.

As opposed to the name though, there is nothing dark about the book. It simply contains stories, anecdotal in nature, which will never lose their charm.

It shouldn’t take you long to grab a copy. 🙂

Book Review: Those Pricey Thakur Girls and The House That BJ Built

Author: Anuja Chauhan

Verdict: Grab them for fun-read

My tryst with Anuja Chauhan’s books began with The Zoya Factor. I was in my second year of graduation and I found this book with a quirky cover at Landmark book store (unfortunately the chain of stores closed down). It is after four years of the discovery that I finally read the book from British Council, Ahmedabad. Before I start digressing way too much, let me cut it short and tell you that I fell in love with her book, her characters, her wit and wisdom and her overall writing style.

This is what led me to pick her books – Those Pricey Thakur Girls and The House That BJ Built. There is of course, Battle for Bittora, which is currently on my being-read list.

While Those Pricey Thakur Girls gave you a good dose of romance brewing up between D for Dabbu and D for Dylan and E for Eshwari and S for Steeeeesh, The House That BJ Built – a sequel, was about Bonu and Samar. Sparkling with brilliance at every page, both the books keep you hooked with twists and turns, laughter and gasps. The Hinglish dialogues make their mark and the characters are well-etched to make you believe in them and their actions.

Like every Chauhan novel,every story finds a connect with the audience. There are some loose threads of course, but nothing that can mar your reading experience.

I highly recommend the books to anyone who is looking for a light read, which is a meaty, masala romcom. If you haven’t already tried any of her books, get her box set from any of the online stores.

Happy Reading 🙂

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.