~~ Four Books ~~

For whatever reasons - looks like the alert for yesterday's post never went out.  So if you missed reading that one, do click on the hyperlink and let me know your thoughts.

I know I haven't been posting the each day post of "Ten day you challenge" in a continuous flow - I myself needed a break from posting that every day and so skipped a few days in between and posted something else for a change :P  

So the next one on the challenge was to post about four books - now, how can I ever pick just four from the huge favorite list I have - its absolutely impossible.. So I am gonna tweak it to list the genres that I enjoy the most and then list my favorite authors/books from those genres... Too much of tweaking, I know, but, its definitely not possible for me to list just one book even if I narrow it down to a genre :P

Favorite Genre 1 - Thrillers: I absolutely love reading thrillers. I need to read a thriller to get me back into reading mode when I have tried a book from any other genres. The anticipation of the ending, the process of deduction as I read, figuring out the climax, and then waiting to see if I was right, the legal intricacies and exciting twists and turns, the nail biting reads that doesn't let me sleep a wink sometimes - thrills me. My favorite authors of this genre are John Grisham(legal thrillers), Dan brown, Jeffrey Archer, Robin Cook(Medical thrillers), Mary Higgins Clark,  Agatha Christie, Lee Child and Stephen King. I cannot list just one book of any author as my favorite book - every single book I have read of these authors are my favorites for its own reason.

Favorite Genre 2 - Romance:  This was not my initial favorite of genres. I read one "Mills and Boons" novel and I was forever done with this genre. All of it changed when I read " The Bridges of Madison County" by Robert James Waller - Thanks to a friend who loaned it to me for a weekend. I didn't read it until Monday morning breakfast time and I then bunked office that day for completing it (I have not even bunked in college, forget bunking work, so that's something very huge in my life). For such a dry title, the book is not at all that. The myth was broken and I finally understood romance genre doesn't mean only Mills and Boons. I moved on to "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell and this is my all-time favorite.  The other worthy mention that made me not ditch this genre is "P.S. I Love You" by Cecelia Ahern. 

Favorite Genre 3 - Fantasy: This is a recent addition to my favorite genres. I must admit, I haven't tried a lot in this genre and the one that I can really boast of is the Harry Potter series. Oh, I hated these books and movies initially for all the hype it had created - and it didn't help that I watched one of the movies (probably the third one in the series) before I read or watched it in sequence, and I couldn't get head or tail of whatever was happening on big screen. It didn't pique any interest in me for these reasons - But being the curious one, I bought the box set just to see for myself the reason of hype around this. It was on my book shelf for a quite a few years, before I braved to read it. I couldn't stop once I began, and I now cannot stop feeling silly for ignoring it for so long. A definite potter head now.  "A Song of Ice and Fire" is something I haven't been able to generate any interest similar to Harry Potter series - but since having this experience with Harry potter series - I have now marked this series to read next in fantasy genre (If you want to gift me, "A Song of Ice and Fire" box set should be your  first choice :P) .

Favorite Genre 4 - Fiction that doesn't fit in any of the above three genres: I really don't know which genres I should fit these books in as they are quite diverse and am constrained here to list only 4 - so I titled this point broadly so :P Following are my absolute favorites apart from whatever I have mentioned in the previous three points:

The help by Kathryn Stockett,  To kill a mocking bird by Harper Lee, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger , The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy, A tale of two cities by Charles Dickens, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Erich Segal 's Novels, Khaled  Hosseini's novels - Oh, I think I will go on to list everything I have read at this pace :P  So, I am going to stop here. 

If you want to know what I have read till now - my humble list is available here.

Do you have any favorite books? Can you try to list just four :roll:

Well, I don't mind if its more, you know? I will definitely make sure to add it to my never ending to-read list if its not already there :P :)

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~~ [Post 18]: Books vs Movies ~~

So, I am sure most of us book worms actually prefer to read the book before watching a movie based on the very book.  I am also sure, that, most of us, also do believe that the book is always way better than the movie. Almost every single time.  However, I did feel a little differently for few books that turned to movies. There are cases where the movies were quite at par with the books, or sometimes, even better.  Here's a list of 5 of such movies based on books which top my list. Have you watched them? Do you agree? Do you have any suggestions on movies where movies were equally good/at par with the books?

 

1. Gone with the wind by Margaret Mitchell - This is my all time favorite book & movie. The stubborn yet intelligent and practical Scarlett, kind and lovely Melanie, confused Ashley, charming and dominant Rhett Butler, motherly Mammy, "Fiddle Dee Dee"  and the "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" cannot be easily forgotten. I read the book first. I have read it multiple times actually.  I gifted myself a copy of this movie DVD a while ago and had great expectations when I watched the movie - and thankfully, it did not fail me a bit! I cannot picture anyone else in these roles other than the artists who played these fictional characters in the movie. I absolutely loved the portrayal of Melanie in the movie. A must read. A must watch.

 

2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I always believe that a book or movie evokes different emotions when read/watched at a particular phase of our life. This is one of such examples which proves my belief. I had read the novel long long back. Actually it was a marathon read of all Jane Austen's books back to back, and as I remember, none of it managed to make any kind of special impact on me. I have a friend who loves this book and goes back to reading it every now and then. Knowing how I felt about Jane Austen's books, she gifted me the movie DVD as a birthday gift few years back, maybe she wanted me to give the works another chance. I watched the movie with a lot of apprehensions, and to my surprise, it turned out to be a beautiful rendition and I totally absolutely loved the movie. I might even like Jane Austen's books if I read them again now.  A must watch and probably a must read-again-soon.

 

3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - I watched the movie first. The movie remains one of my favorite and is a must watch. Considering it was quite a moving plot with strong characters like Aibileen and Minny, I immediately went ahead and bought the book as I had expected that the book will be way better. But unfortunately, for me, it turned out to be one of those cases, where movie was much better than the actual book itself. Nevertheless, the book is still a good read. Elaborate, good read.   

 

4. P.S.I love you by Cecelia Ahern - Just like "The Help", I watched this movie before I had a chance to buy the book. The movie did wonders and as you know me better now from this post,  yes, I cried loads. I purchased the book expecting to shed a truckload of tears, but did not even shed one. For me, this is worth a read, but more worth a watch :)

 

5. Mist by Stephen King - Have you watched movies based on books where the movie & the book do not share the same climax? Such cases are quite rare, but I am sure you might have read/watched at least a few such books/movies . And for those cases, most of the times,  you are always inclined towards either the book's climax or the movie's climax. However, this is one such movie/book, where the climax is totally entirely different from its counterpart, though the plot is the same, and you absolutely are in love with the way each of the work ends, irrespective of which one you picked first, book or the movie. Must read and a must watch :)

 

 

 

 

 

~~[Post 9] - And all ~~

Okay, what do I write about today, really? It’s the ninth day of the blogathon and I am already thinking what else is there to write and all. Let me just type whatever comes to my mind and let’s see where the post goes and all.  So I started reading “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D.Salinger yesterday. It’s about this teenager, Holden, who is weird and lonely, and all. Boy, there is nothing that interests him and all. The book takes you through these wild depressing continuous thought stream of his and all. Everything is crumby and everyone is phony in his thoughts and all. But he is very protective of his sweet little sister Phoebe and he admires his late brother Allie, Really. He also has an elder brother who is a writer and has migrated to Hollywood, but, that’s not important and all, because Holden hates Hollywood and actors and all, of course, because they are phony and all. Boy, he is very concerned about the ducks in the lake of Central park and all. Where do the ducks go during winter when the lake is frozen and all? He asks almost everyone he meets about these ducks and even goes there late in the night to find it out himself and nearly gets himself killed and all, really. He keeps thinking of Jane, a neighbor who he grew up with, but does nothing to pursue much and all, really! He also keeps thinking about old Sally all the time and all. Boy, such a confused soul and all, really.

Now, if you are wondering, what the hell just happened in the previous paragraph, well, it’s not me, I just gave you a glimpse of what is in store if you pick the book “Catcher in the Rye” to read.  That’s exactly how the book’s writing style progresses. And no, I am not making fun of the way the book is written. Because I liked it and tried to imitate it in the first paragraph you just read. Believe me, its not easy to write something like that, when you don’t talk or think so.

So back to the book, it takes a few pages before you realize that you have delved straight into reading a clueless, depressed teenager’s every single thought. He is as confused as a teenager should be, completely directionless about his life, lonely, unhappy about everything around, and gives you this impression that he just doesn’t care about anything. He is unable to relate to anyone and still has liberating outbursts with just about anyone. He suddenly sinks back into a self-introspection mode and ends up having conflicting thoughts about a person, who in a moment he loves, and the next moment, he hates. As he progresses through days, he reaches out to as many people as possible, and also ditches them as soon as he cannot stand them anymore, which, I must say, is just in minutes.  His irritation about everything wrong in the world and his swinging moods is very well represented in the book.  The only time you feel good reading is when he is hopelessly affectionate towards his younger sister Phoebe and in his absolute adoration of his late brother Allie. The section of the book involving Phoebe is quite a treat to read and her unbiased affection is about the only thing that saves him from taking any drastic steps in his rather confused state of mind. Even though the repetitive usage of “and all”, “Boy”, “Really” in almost each sentence and usage of slang irritated me for a while, it did help drive home the point that I am reading a teenager’s train of thoughts, in the brink of losing his innocence, in search of something he doesn’t even know, but he wants to get there somehow.

As a reader, you know, he is in an attempt of getting out of his loneliness, seeking affection, though he never really openly admits it, you know, he is looking for the warmth a conversation provides to a lonely soul, but try as he might, he doesn’t feel the warmth or love from anyone, and that frustrates him like a mad man. Towards the end of the book, I just wanted to hold this Holden person, look him in the eye and tell him, boy, just lock these confusing thoughts up and throw away the key, quit smoking, breathe, go hug your parents, spend some time with Phoebe, get some sleep and you will see, world is not such a phony and crumby place as you believe it to be, really!

Overall, the book made me just very very very sad, because I do know, there are teenagers out there, who live in a similar dilemma, lonely in life, unsure about self, painfully dragging each day amidst who they think are phony people. All I wish for such confused souls, is a little sister Phoebe who can help them see life as beautiful as it is.

~~ [Mini Book Review]: 11 Hours by Daniel Paul Singh ~~

So, a quick mini review on the novel - "11 hours" by Daniel Paul Singh! 

For a first time author, it is rather quite a very good attempt. Reading the book has definitely been a nail-biting experience. Its an absolute page turner and I couldn't put it down and had to complete the read in one sitting.

There's a perfect mix of romance, friendship, suspense, science woven in the story. I was always at the edge of the seat trying to guess what happens next and well, the best thing - I couldn't guess what happened next which in itself kept me hooked to the book till the last page :)

I particularly loved the following in the book apart from the story itself.

1) Toggling of the chapters between the flashbacks and the present
2) Inclusion of actual places from Chennai to make it more realistic for the reader
3) Realistic Conversations
4) Tying all the loose ends (pan card from the security etc)
5) Keeps you guessing

Kudos to the author on his debut novel!! Would love to read more of his works!

~~ And a tiny step forward ~~

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy – I cannot believe that I have done it! A dream that has been nothing but a dream for soo soo soo long has finally found its shape in the form of a collection of short stories and is published here! (Amazon.in link, change it to .com, .uk based on your location)

The feeling of being published is euphoric and the support that the short book has received till now is overwhelming!  Blogging here in this forum and your encouragement in the form of comments have led me to this post today and I am eternally thankful to each one of you who visit this page and motivate me to write more!

I would love to hear your reading experience with the book and so, please do buy, read and do not forget to rate and review   !!  Looking forward for more encouragement and motivation  

Here’s a blurb on the book to help you decide –

“Life is a journey of so many small moments. Moments of happiness, of laughter, of love, of care, of warmth, of regret, of pain, of hurt. Often times in these moments, we speak in haste, damaging a relationship beyond repair and repent afterwards. Quite often, when situation demands that we speak up, we merely crawl back to silence, withdraw into a shell propelled by some unknown fear, but realize later, that, all the other person needed was a comforting “hmmm” or a simple “I’ll be there for you” gesture as some sort of understanding or more often than not, an acknowledgement even to their existence. There are many many many such moments in each of our lives which could have been probably different, if only, if but only, a small step was either taken to remain silent or speak out the golden words, depending on what the situation had demanded then! There is no rule book, definitely none on what fails or what works when it comes to when to choose silence over words. If there were, there would be no heart breaks at all.

This book is a collection of such short stories which muses on how communication and more often even miscommunication affects our lives in so many different ways. Communication, be it in any form, a gesture, a smile, a hug, a simple message, a letter, a phone call, an email or just an idle conversation is very important for any relationship to survive, to thrive, to move forward. It is also important to avoid any miscommunication and presumptions which most of the times adversely affects one’s life. At times, silence is indeed golden and it helps that the words are not spoken. But at times, it helps much more when the words are spoken clear and loud! “

~~ Mini Reviews - Of Movies & Books ~~

Originally written on 12-Dec-2015..

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~~So, we went to watch the 3-D movie – The Good Dinosaur today noon! It’s been a while since we watched a movie in theater!!! Poor kid, was quite excited, about this whole movie thingy and so was I – of course, not to mention, my love for popcorn, which she shares too! She didn’t touch her popcorn throughout the trailers in the beginning and reprimanded me when I sneaked in one or two (oh no, not from her bucket, but my own)!! Though she kept munching on and watching intently during the initial cutesy dino family growing up phases, things got worse as in any movie it does, and poor kid had to finally end up sobbing through most part of the movie… whenever there were thunderclaps and lightning flashes in the 3D scale combined with the sound effects -she wailed, gushing waters-she wailed, dino fell from a cliff-she wailed!  Well, this is not her first movie experience in theater, we have watched a few animated movies before but she had never ever wept like today! Poor kid, loves such movies, and I am sure, would have probably liked the movie if we had watched it @ home rather than in the theater!  So if you have a < 5 year old, I would say, better skip the movie! Even otherwise, I wouldn’t say it’s a must-watch kind!

~~Speaking of movies, the latest I watched on TV was Bahubali… I knew that the movie ends abruptly indicating a part-2 in the rise, but when I actually watched it, I didn’t expect it to leave me overwhelmed and cheated at the same time :P I didn’t want the movie to end – yeah, I just didn’t want the movie to end and I kept staring at the TV unbelievably, thinking that it must be a mistake :P I would have definitely loved to watch this one in the theater!  May be the second part next year.

~~ Any of you watched Talvar? Read Aarushi by Avirook Sen? I did and it left me shaken for various reasons! Not that I was unaware of the case before and not that I haven’t read any crime fiction or thrillers before – but the movie and book somehow freaked me out, book more than the movie, maybe because it is not a work of fiction… So much so, that, as soon as I was done with the book, I kept it back on my shelf with the cover page with the title facing the wall so I don’t have to look at the cover page again (I somehow feel the cover page could have been a bit less intimidating for weak hearted souls like me, but I guess, it was so to make a point) …. I am not sure if you would understand when I say this – I don’t like lending my books, but then, for the first time in my life, I finally gave a book away asking it not to be returned but just being passed on……

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~~ Mini Reviews: The Fault in our stars & Looking for Alaska ~~

Originally written on 08-Dec-2015:-


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~~ So, I am going to try and post few mini-reviews of long review-pending books.. I recently went through the reviews that I have posted earlier – they are awfully huge, almost like a chapter from the novel that I have reviewed…  :P I have been always that way…. During the beginning of my career, I would write lengthy emails to my onshore counterparts and my team mates would yawn and then start reading them! I have toned down on emails now, but should work on the reviews…. So this attempt! I must warn you, there are spoilers even if these are just mini-reviews.. So proceed only if you don't mind and of course, do let me know your reviews on my reviews :)

~~I read 2 of John Green’s novels back to back a few months ago.. The Fault In Our Stars & Looking for Alaska.. Honestly, I probably would have written a review immediately, if I had read it as a teenager! I just read it a tad late, but nevertheless, they both still managed to move me and bring tears to my eyes!! If you are going to read these, please do remember that this is teen/young adult fiction and few of the stuff will be a bit dramatic or childish for us mature minds (if I may say so) :P

~~The fault in our stars is about Hazel Grace (I love the way how Augustus, hero of the novel keeps referring to her this way) who is a cancer patient and meets Augustus, an ex-cancer patient in a cancer support group meeting which she actually till then detests to go to! Its about how the dying Hazel Grace & just recovered Augustus fall in love slowly, through their sickness, through their realities, through their insecurities.. Its about how Hazel Grace keeps thinking how she would be the first one to go, but is finally left alone to bear that extra pain of losing a loved one….Its about how a novel that’s her favorite is read by Augustus and how both discuss about the cliffhanger ending.. which then further fuels their quest to find out what happened next from the elusive author who agrees to answer only in person, even if it means, they have to travel to a different country altogether…Its how they go through the shock together, of realizing that their favorite book’s author, who they took all the pain to travel albeit their sickness and come meet in person, just doesn’t care and is a mere drunk and to add to it, an abusive person! Its how Augustus who was supposed to live longer than Hazel Grace, succumbs early and during his final few days, tries to write the sequel of that favorite novel, on his own for the love of his life… Well, at the end of the book, you are engulfed with so much sadness that you want to stop reading and just live your life! At the end, you are just thankful to the life you have, because you know, that there are lives out there, living a much more sad & pain-filled life without complaining, and well, you just have no reason to cry and complain about yours!

~~Looking for Alaska is all about looking for Alaska Young, the young beautiful confused teenage girl, but in the process, just finding self! Its about friendship, school, hostel life, pranks that friends play on each other,  and how serious these pranks can get, sad secrets that seemingly happy and care-free teenagers try to hide, how friends look out for their best buds, how when even one link in that tight friendship-bond is broken – everyone feels lost and nothing is ever the same again, how sometimes life just abruptly changes with no explanations whatsoever and how we should just move on, instead of dwelling on the “Closure” part….. The book in itself leaves you with a lingering sadness, mourning, but still looking for Alaska!

~~ Book Review: The Rise of Hastinapur ~~

Unlike with the first book (reviewed here) – I waited until I received the hard-copy of next book in the Hastinapur series by Sharath Komarraju.  Again, unlike the first book, the book cover of the 2nd book in the series was quite intriguing urging me to begin reading this almost as soon as I received it! (No, I don’t judge any book by its cover, but comparatively, this book cover was much much better than the first one)

With the earlier book being about the 2 wives of King Shantanu, this next book, The Rise of Hastinapur, focuses on the next generation of Queens associated with the kingdom.

First set of chapters is all about Amba, who is escorted to Hastinapur along with her 2 younger sisters by Bheeshma, in a fair win, but without her wish nor her consent, ironically in what is supposed to be her swayamvara (groom choosing ceremony)! She is in love with another king, Salva, who doesn’t make any attempt to stand up against Bheeshma when the latter provokes for a fair fight to win queens for his brothers! Blinded by the multiple eternal love proclamations professed by her lover in the past, she is inclined to take a few wrong decisions even when she is advised against it, which then decides the course of her entire life!! The hardships and shame she faces when she goes from one king to another seeking refuge, seething in anger, seeking revenge and in the end, getting nothing from anyone makes us almost cry for her plight! She later turns to a peaceful life, worshiping nature, yet for years, the fire of revenge is still there, somewhere deep inside, smoldering, waiting to erupt just like a volcano at the slightest provocation..! Her hatred towards Bheeshma is so strong, that you almost want to hate Bheeshma for her, but then you also want to knock some sense into her and help her understand that revenge is taking her nowhere!! She makes you so sad for her plight that you want to just hug her and point out that she could have just spoken her heart out to Bheeshma even before leaving her father’s palace instead of suffering and considering him to be the sole reason of all hardships she faced later! She makes you shudder with her strong revenge laced emotions that even you feel her anger, but still wonder at her immaturity when she is able to let  go of the injustice done by everyone else, even her lover, but just not Bheeshma… Ah, story of the scorned lover, but taking revenge on someone else altogether is brilliantly written! Personally, the chapters where she goes back to Salva with lots of hope just to face rejection is brilliant!!By the time, Amba’s chapters were coming to a close, I was deeply conflicted and drained of energy!

Second set of chapters are focused on Kunti and her futile attempts to save her brother Vasudeva from his brother in law Kamsa’s prison! I have always always thought of Kunti as a complex character with a lot of layers, probably with a few layers, unknown even to herself, a mysterious person with a lot of things going on in the background!! But I was in for a surprise in this book… She is portrayed as this most naïve & completely gullible character that I just kept feeling sorry for her weaknesses! I must say, that the chapters involving her, were, very easily, the least impressive chapters of this particular book! It got boring after some time... And I guess Sharath took a right decision (am not sure if it was intentional) by placing her chapter’s right in the middle of the book, because if it weren’t and if a reader knew her chapters led towards the end of book, a reader might just as well skip it!

The third and last set of chapters are dedicated to Gandhari and again, was I in for a surprise or what! I loved her fiery character and felt sad for her almost the same as I felt for Amba! How as a queen she was constantly defensive of her people, was placing the safety and well being of her kingdom above anything else in her life, her tactical decisions, her one and only worry about her kingdom prospering against odds and of course against Bheeshma has been brilliantly portrayed!  Her fear of leaving the kingdom under her brother Shakuni’s rule when she has to get married and then how she immediately thinks if she will ever get married is subtly put and indeed very hurting to read!  Easily the most positively powerful chapters of the whole book!

Throughout the book, Bheeshma‘s presence lingers mostly in the background, but, believe me, he is out there, making appearances now and then, working towards the rise of Hastinapur relentlessly, an efficient hard-worker with brilliant game plans, sometimes unaware that his actions for the rise of his empire, is leading to be the sole reason or one of the reasons for each of these queen’s lives turning upside down! 

Towards the end, you realize, how seamlessly Sharath has managed to pull this off, without tweaking the Epic in any which way, maintaining the basic essence of the ancient history that this Epic is, effectively trying to build entirely different vantage points to the Epic! In all, as I mentioned for the very first book in the series, it is definitely a very interesting read – a cannot-stop-reading kind of a book which makes you long for the next one in the series which might be out only next year – almost like how a kid in the month of June longs for the summer holidays of next year!! 

~~ Old Post: Year 2014: Books that I read in 2013 ~~

Originally posted on 21 January 2014

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Starting (FINALLY) with posting the list of books that I read in 2013 along with ratings for each of them(yes, it’s definitely not a coincidence that this post comes out on the same day as the book challenge post by the legendary fellow blogger)…I had set a goal of completing at least 3-4 books per month for 2013, but I am quite happy(proud is what I want to say ) to find that I managed to complete reading 65 books this year…. 44 in English & the rest in Kannada…

 

I also tried out a couple of new things by changing my reading habits -

 

–> I have never tried many books by Indian authors till now (till 2013 that is). 2013 was a visible exception with me reading 20 English books (by Indian authors) & 21 Kannada books! Almost 63% of my total reading this year!

 

–> I always wanted to read Enid Blyton’s Famous five series (I know it’s not meant for the age group I am in) as a kid, but somehow couldn’t…I finally got to read a few of it this year!

 

–> I have never been really inclined towards reading “Romance” genre! But again, this year was an exception with most of my books being chosen from that section!

 

So here you go…

 

P.S:- Books are not listed in the order they were read, but are grouped by the author!

 

P.P.S:- Books that I particularly liked and would recommend are in bold 

 

Book	Author	Rating
Puppet on a Chain	Alistair MacLean	2/5
The Immortals of Meluha	Amish Tripathi	3/5
The Secret of the Nagas	Amish Tripathi	3/5
The Rozabel line	Ashwin Sanghi	3/5
Krishna key	Ashwin Sanghi	3/5
The Book of Tomorrow	Cecelia Ahern	3/5
One hundred names	Cecelia Ahern	3/5
Eat, Pray and Love	Elizabeth Gilbert	3/5
Five on a Treasure Island	Enid Blyton	3/5
Five Go Adventuring Again	Enid Blyton	3/5
Five Run Away Together	Enid Blyton	3/5
Doctors	Erich Segal	4/5
CLASS	Erich Segal	4/5
The day of the Jackal	Frederick Forsyth	4/5
Big bad wolf	James Patterson	4/5
A prisoner of birth	Jeffrey Archer	4/5
And thereby hangs a tale	Jeffrey Archer	4/5
Calico Joe	John Grisham	3/5
The Help	Kathryn Stockhett	5/5
One shot	Lee Child	4/5
Moonlight becomes you	Mary Higgins Clark	3/5
Size 14 is not Fat either	Meg Cabot	3/5
The guardian	Nicholas Sparks	3/5
The Wedding	Nicholas Sparks	4/5
The Promise	Nikita Singh	3/5
34 bubblegums and candies	Preeti shenoy	2/5
Life is what we make it	Preeti shenoy	4/5
The secret wish list	Preeti shenoy	2/5
MR Sampath	R K Narayan	4/5
Love stories that touched my heart	Ravinder singh	2/5
First Love	Sachin Garg	1/5
Never let me go	Sachin Garg	2/5
Come on Inner Peace, I don’t have all day	Sachin Garg	1/5
I’m not 24, I am nineteen	Sachin Garg	1/5
DILBERT AND THE WAY OF THE WEASEL	Scott adams	5/5
Shopaholic and Sister	Sophie Kinsella	3/5
Confessions of a Shopaholic	Sophie Kinsella	3/5
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo	Stieg Larsson	5/5
Wise and Otherwise	Sudha Murthy	3/5
Mahashweta	Sudha Murthy	4/5
How I Taught My Grand Mother to Read and Other Stories	Sudha Murthy	3/5
Dollar bahu	Sudha Murthy	3/5
House of Cards	Sudha Murthy	3/5
SIX SUSPECTS	Vikas Swarup	3/5

~~MEME: 55 questions on books~~

Originally posted on April 01 2015 - Syncing it up here today :) Favourite childhood book

Scarlet Pimpernel/A Tale of Two Cities

What are you reading right now

Inferno by Dan Brown

What books do you have on request at the library

None – I prefer to buy books

Bad Book Habit

Completing any and every book that I choose to read irrespective of the content being interesting (only exception being Mein Kampf & The Monk who sold his Ferrari)

What do you currently have checked out at the library

Nothing – I prefer to buy books

Do you have an e-reader

No – I prefer actual books to online reading

Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

1 book at a time

Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

Yes, a lot!

Least favourite book you read this year (so far?)

None so far in this year! Midnight’s children & Adultery – So far!

Favourite book you’ve read this year

Again of the ones I have completed reading this year (which is not many), none so far!

How often do you read out of your comfort zone

Quite Rare

What is your reading comfort zone

Thriller/Mystery, Melodrama, Science Fiction, Humor, Romance in that order!

Can you read on the bus

Yes, that’s the only time I get these days to read

Favourite place to read

On my bed or Near a window

What is your policy on book lending

I don’t lend books!

Do you ever dog-ear books?

No

Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

Text books, Yes! Novels – No!

Not even with text books?

Text books, Yes! Novels – No!

What is your favourite language to read in?

English &  Kannada!

What makes you love a book?

Content!

What will inspire you to recommend a book?

Content!

Favourite genre?

Thriller/Mystery

Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)

Non-Fiction

Favourite biography?

Prison Diaries by Jeffrey Archer

Have you ever read a self-help book?

Normally I don’t, I did read one last year for non-fiction category of book reading challenge!

Favourite cookbook?

Jaya V Shenoy – Konkani Cuisine

Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?

Oh my, none yet in this year! (I believe this meme is supposed to be taken up towards the end of ayear)

Favourite reading snack?

Anything Fried/popcorn/a big cup of coffee

Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience

Midnight’s Children

How often do you agree with critics about a book?

Not much!

How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

Thanks to few such books, I get inspired to blog more!

If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose?

Have never thought about it

Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?

Midnight’s Children

Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?

Mein Kampf – Yet to complete reading this one!

Favourite poet?

Never been there!

How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?

None currently

How often have you returned a book to the library unread?

Never !

Favourite fictional character?

Scarlett – Gone With The Wind

Favourite fictional villain?

Can’t think of one!

Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation

John Grisham/Jeffrey Archer/Classics

The longest I’ve gone without reading

is in the year that I got married

Name a book that you could/would not finish

Mein Kampf & The Monk who sold his Ferrari

What distracts you easily when you’re reading?

Motherhood

Favorite film adaptation of a novel?

Gone with the wind/A Beautiful Mind/P.S.I love you/Mist/The Help

Most disappointing film adaptation?

The Bridges of Madison County (Somehow I didn’t feel the same as I did when I read the novel)

The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?

~4k

How often do you skim a book before reading it?

Sometimes – only before buying!

What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?

My daughter!

Do you like to keep your books organised?

Yes!

Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?

Keep Them!

Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?

Poetry/Mein Kampf

Name a book that made you angry

We the living

A book you didn’t expect to like but did?

Life is what you make it

A book that you expected to like but didn’t?

Love in the time of Cholera

Favourite guilt-free, pleasure reading?

Any book from my favorite genre!

Phew !

~~Books that I read in 2014~~

So, 2014 has not been a year of reading for me as 2013 was!!

 

Why? Multiple reasons!

 

Travel Time:

I normally read during the travel to & from office as that’s the only time that I can manage to allocate to this wonderful hobby of mine! But this year, I spent 75% of my travel time checking FB and replying to Whatsapp messages! Sigh, not very proud of it!

 

Weekends:

Reading on Weekends & Working Moms just don’t go together! Take my word for it! By the time I realize its a weekend, its already Monday morning!

 

Weekdays:

Apart from travelling & working, weekdays are spent trying to squeeze in dinner time with the family amidst the daily 1 – 2 hour program status calls @ onshore hours (OnShore/Offshore calls are not new to me, but well, every known aspect in life needs to be re-defined after you have had a sweet little baby)!!! I have attended so many calls during onshore hours (offshore nights) this year that when, once in a blue moon, I don’t have a call to attend & I relax on the sofa to spend some extra time with my daughter, she takes her sweet revenge by just not believing in me.. At the exact designated time, she pushes me into an empty bedroom, hands me the phone and points me to the laptop, smiles sweetly and locks the bedroom door from outside so I can have a peaceful imaginary status call….I am left all alone in a dark bed room to feel the working mom guilt all over again!! With nothing else to do & no inclination to read after the fresh guilt trip, I switch on my laptop to double check if I have, by any chance, missed some important call

2014 Book reading challenge:

 

I was participating in this challenge hosted by a fellow blooger & though I chose my books for the challenge pretty soon, I was not convinced with my selections and this led me into book-hunting & book-purchasing spree like never before Instead of book-reading, I spent most of my time on research and purchasing them

 

All reasons stated and done, I am still proud to have completed atleast 20 books this year!! Believe me, it was not at all easy with so many things going on!!

 

Okay.. now for the list!

Book	Author	Rating
Polka Dots, Pony Tails and Purple Pouts	Amrita Anand Nayak	2/5
Chanakya’s Chant	Ashwin Sanghi	3/5
The Gift	Cecelia Ahern	3/5
Memory Maker	Cecelia Ahern	3/5
The Girl in the Mirror	Cecelia Ahern	3/5
The Half Girlfriend	Chetan Bhagat	2/5
Wuthering heights	Emily Bronte	3/5
The difficulty of being good	Gurucharan Das	3/5
Northanger Abbey	Jane Austen	3/5
Bhima – Lone Warrior	MT Vasudevan, Nair	4/5
Adultery	Paulo Coelho	2/5
The one you cannot have	Preeti shenoy	2/5
Like it happened yesterday	Ravinder singh	2/5
Who will cry when you die	Robin Sharma	2/5
Gently falls the bakula	Sudha Murthy	3/5
The day I Stopped drinking Milk	Sudha Murthy	4/5
The Old Man & his GOD	Sudha Murthy	4/5
Delhi OMG	Vinod Nair	2/5
Collected Stories	Rabindranath Tagore	4/5
The post master	Rabindranath Tagore	4/5

 

P.S:- Books are not listed in the order they were read, but are grouped by the author!

P.S.S:- Books that I particularly liked and would recommend are in bold