The journey resumes.....

1st March, 2008

After a hiatus of a little more than 6 years, I started and finished a book. Feeling of deja vu ensues!!

Its not that I stayed away - its just that other things were given priority. Its also not that I haven't read anything. Quite the contrary. I read countless books on Barney, Arthur, The Magic Tree house and how can I forget the book on the cute big dog - Clifford. Must say I enjoyed most of them. Can't say the same about the seemingly 'must read' of book lovers which I tentatively attempted to read - 'Harry Potter' series. Its just not my type of literature. The fact that it is interspersed with words that I need to refer a dictionary to decipher doesn't make the endeavor easy or enjoyable to me. Or maybe it is not the 'right book' for the present. Oh well!! Its not my fault that I don't like a 'sort of' epic.

'The Namesake' by Jhumpa Lahiri is a tale of a young Bengali couple who migrated to Boston,USA. It also takes us through the life of their son 'Gogol' aka 'Nikhil' as the first generation American born and bred child of the Ganguli couple. Somehow it brings back incidents of our first years' in this forgein country. Read this book in February'08.

'The Space Between Us' by Thrity Umrigar outlines the lives of upper class Serabai and her domestic help Bhima. Both their lives are similar in the trials and tribulations that they go through but the differnces are stark in the way they perceive and deal with situations. Its a nice read except the gross descriptions the author goes into when she describes the slums, the way the slum dwellers go about their morning rituals and the way she describes Sera's MIL Banu's condion. Thankfully she leaves the grossness behind when she goes into the actual plot of the story. I also didn't quite like the ending. She goes into too much description and almost rambles after the climax. I wish the ending and her description of Bhima's state of mind would be more brief and concise. She has also left Maya's reaction to Sera finding out about her son-in-laws(Viraf) unfaithfullness unaddressed. I would have loved to know if Maya could rise above the situation - particularly because we got glimpses of Maya's inner strength throughout the storyline. Finished this book on 3/16/08.

Just finished 'No Regrets' by Ann Rule. Very typical Ann Rule true crime stories. Didn't enjoy it as much as I used to at one time. I think I am outgrowing the '48hours Mystery' / Ann Rule hase. Finished this book on 3/30/08.

Finished 'Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini on 8th April'08 .It is the tale of two boys living in Kabul,Afghanistan and how even though they are in the same surroundings, how different their fate were. Amir, the legitimate son of a very influential father carries guilt of betraying the trust of his childhood friend Hassan ,who he later finds out is his half brother. The story also graphically depicts the sufferings of a lower caste 'Hazara',Hasan and his son Shorab.

Finished 'Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khaled Hosseini on 27th April, 2008. While it is a nice read, I found it to be an almost extension of 'The Kite Runner' by the same author. The characters in both these books could have been in either. I am going to be on a 'off Khaled Hosseini' diet for a few months now.

Finished 'The Guide' by R.K.Narayan on 4th May 2008. Familiar and very lucid writing style of the author makes it a very interesting, light read. Raju the guide is an endearing soul albeit full of shortcomings. Infact, his conflicts with situations and the fact that he enjoys some of the things that arises out of his mistaken identity and wants out of the others makes him so real. It really took me by surprise that he'd tell the true story of his life to Velan at that stage of his life.And Velan's reaction to that is priceless :)

Finished 'Lets Roll' by Lisa Beamer on 6/3/08. The book is about a 9/11 victim who was on Flight 93. I was expecting the book to be more of a heart breaking story of a young widow writing about her fallen 'hero' husband. The book turned out to be more about her faith and how that helped her endure her loss. It was a surprising book - in that Lisa seems to be consoling us and telling us how your faith can get you through tough times. She almost criticises people who grieve differently and are not placing their trust of God. At times she was even judgemental.

'The Trail of Crumbs' is one of the most beautifully written books I read in a long time. I finished reading this book on 6/15/08.The best part of the book is that the author doesn't wallow in self pity.She could have -given that she was abondoned as a 3 year old child in a marketplace holding some bread crumbs in her hand by her mother. While all the choices she makes and all the turns of her young life reflects her troubled mind, she rises above it all. It will be very interesting to read a second version of her memoir in the years to come especially since she is too young to state the end of her story. However, I hope next time she keeps the recipes out of her book - it serves no purpose in telling the story better and is nothing more than a pesky digression.

Started reading 'Infidel' by Ayaan Hirisi Ali and had to force myself to finish it. Why did I not realise that I am not intelligent enough / interested enough to enjoy or understand politics and world affairs? On top of that was not smart enough to quit. I will have to remember to limit myself to reading books for my entertainment only and avoid the 'must read' trap. Well, all this enlightment came after I went through this book for 2 weeks trying to finish it - which I did on 7/8/08.

'Water for Elephants' is such a beautifully written book.I loved the simple story telling style of the author 'Sara Gruen'. The story is about a young man who accidently enters the world of circus and how that very lifestyle engulfs him. The story is a gripping tale with underlying tragic events that the people of the circus go through as part of their daily life.I particularly enjoyed reading about the inside scoop of the mysterious people who make a circus possible. Completed reading this book on 19th July,2008.

Finished 'Unaccoustomed Earth' by Jhumpa Lahiri on 7/31/08. It was a nice, easy read. I like Jhumpa Lahiri's simple style of story telling. Really enjoyed the tales of Hema and Kaushik. I wish the rest of the stories had more of a climax and the ending were a little more dramatic.

Finished reading 'Snakes and Ladders' by Gita Mehta on 8/6/08. It was boring and lackluster. Most of the stuff are what we read in newspapers and school history books.