Christmas Carol

My first Dickens novel if I dont count the children version of abridged Oliver Twist. And also read it on christmas eve. Apt timing I believe.I dont know why I never tried Charles Dickens. He is among the genre of writers like Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, etc whose writings I adore. When I was browsing through a book shop looking for some classics to read, I happened to come across Christmas Carol. It was small. Just a 100 pages classic. That itself was unique and also wanted to read a dickens novel for a long time but never did. So I grabbed the book and read it. The title and the introduction in the back gives away the story but classics are read not for their stories but for their characters and the way the story is told. Well I read it for that. It was nice. The way the ghosts makes Scrooge realise the christmas spirit is nice. I wonder if Uncle Scrooge the name of the character of Duck Tales is inspired by it. This book has made me to want to read more dickens. The character of Scrooge is so universal and relevant and relatable, its amazing how nicely it is captured in so short length. To build characters and make them akin to readers by building upon them in some length is the norm but to do it in such a manner is sheer genius. The english has to be read to believe it. Its charm is much better than the swear words riddled and shortfened english I hear today... Have to now decide which dickens novel I should read.....

Treasure Hunting...

I was always harping in my high school days that I will never change. Well, I was more pea brained then than I am now.I have realised the folly of that and nowadays I never say NEVER. I have changed, for better or for worse.Some changes are good and some are not so. I can live with that but what I hate is how currently I am not noting down any excerpts from the books I read.I had this habit of writing down excrepts from novels I was reading in a book which I liked and after sometime reading those and remembering the characters, storyline of the novel,the emotions I felt and what made me take a note of it, who I had in mind when I was writing it. (Yeah I am jobless.. I think and do such stuff...)I really miss those. Whenever I come across something good I think of doing it and forget. maybe going forward will do. I used to write down not only lines which would resemble a quote but also some dialogue or a sentence along with the author name and the Novel. Some sentences are so profound that it just amazes me how authors can come up with that or how truly they have articulated the insight of human behaviour in some sentences. The excerpts are not always from classics like Leo Tolstoy novels.Sometimes if I go through the book where I have written it, some excrepts are from novels which are categorized as just a time pass read and one would never think anything quotable can be found there.Like from Perry Mason- The case of the substitute face" I am the flippant younger generation, Mr. Mason-born without reverence-yet reared without guile,thank heaven." Oh what a sentence!!! Its just me. I can totally relate to it.I feel sad that I have captured only a few and missed many which I wanted to.Well hopefully I will do so going forward. Still there is one that I have not missed. its my all time favourite because there can be only one favorite.Only rare cases there are exceptions.I think choosing between family members is the only one. My favourite is the one which was given on front page of the novel Fasting & Feasting by Anitha Desai.I am not so sure.I have not noted down the novel name. But the excrept is a poem by Che Fece...I1 Gran Rifiuto By C P Cavafy, translated by Rae Dalven. I really don't know both the persons and also not a great fan of poems. But this blows my mind.

"To certain people there comes a day when they must say the great yes or the great no. He who has the yes ready within him reveals himself at once, and saying it crosses over to the path of honour and his own conviction. He who refuses does not repent. Should he be asked again he would say no again.And yet that No-the right No-crushes him for the rest of his life."


Most of us would have faced this. We are either Yay or Nay persons.The way this poet has put forth is bang on. These are the joys of reading books. You will stumble upon such treasures a lot..So I am off to treasure hunting..


P.S. Google is great.I just googled the words Che Fece...I1 Gran Rifiuto By C P Cavafy and got a blog which had the same poems.

Not so nice a title....

That was the first reaction I had when I saw the cover page of Chetan Bhagats Revolution 2020. His five point someone was nice and way way better than lousy 3 idiot adaptation and his other books were ok. So I started reading this book but not with enthusiasm. I felt it would be like his other novels which would be nice reading but which does not strike a chord much. Surprisingly it did. I could not keep the book down. It has been a while since I have read like that. The story as usual revolves around youth, their education and job and of course LOVE... Chetan Bhagats usual receipe. I read the last chapter first so I knew the ending. Also most of the plot was predictable but what I liked most about the novel and which kept me awake in the wee hours of morning reading it and making me write this blog after such a long gap is the character Gopal. Its superb. It may seem strange or false but if ever I thought of writing anything, this letting go of your love because you feel they deserve better or this zeal to be alive when everything you care for is gone, is the idea that comes to my mind. Here its shown brilliantly. The pathos of the protagnist is awesome. I always like grey charactes be it the lead of Vanity Fair or Gone with the wind. And now Gopal. Havinggrey shades in women character is fine but in a mans character its difficult. So this goes to one of favourite stories list.... Hope its not made into a movie... My hero may do justice but not others....

Potter Mania...

I am an unapologetic Harry Potter fan. I really am very grateful for my friend Meeta for hooking me into Harry and for letting me borrow the books. To think, if not for her, could not have read it at all. Unthinkable now. I have read the complete series many times and watched all movies over and over again like every other millions of die hard fans. What can one write about it? Nothing, as already so much is said and done about it and then again I can just go on and on... I read the book when I was in 11th. By then already 4 books were released. I read back to back and was frustrated that the next one was not there. In comparison, I can imagine the impatience of fans who had to wait from second book. This alone says a lot about the genius of J K Rowling. To sustain readers attention from first book to last book cutting across age groups and nationality in an era of tv and internet is stupendous. Sequels are very difficult. Stand alone novels are easy. Often the sequel would not be as good as first one. Like twilight. Or pople dont get intersted in such lengthy tales like Lord of the Rings though it is strictly not a series. But if you read Harry Potter it just sails smooth. I loved the way how every thing was connected and explained in the last book leaving no room for doubts. People often accuse J K Rowling for borrowing stuff from other novels. So what if she has been inspired. The books are a class apart. A tale of an underdog who helps good triumph over evil. Does not it sound like a cliched story? Harry Potter is that but also much much more. Its not the story but the way the story is told that is wonderful. I would rather prefer Harry than the likes of The white Tiger which won a Booker Prize wherein the guy kills and walks scot free justifying a murder. No sirjee. We like age old good over evil. And thanks to J K Rowling for making so many children read and may be believe that goodness and love prevails ultimately. To think that the last link of Potter Mania is coming to an end through the last movie is sad but we can always read the book or watch the movie whenever we want... I just want to pay my tribute by saying thank you to J k Rowling for giving us magical moments in our otherwise drab lives...

King of Comedy.

Comedy they tell is more difficult than other emotions. I feel thats true. A comedy act on stage or in movies is comparitively easy because you have props and music to aid you in getting laughs. But comedy in a book is something very difficult to achieve. But if you read Wodehouse you just cant stop smiling. The plot around the lovable characters he has created may not be realistic and may be simple/idyllic, but they transport us to another world and tickle our funny bone. For me wodehouse is a genius because he creates sheer magic with his books. No wonder if has a huge fan following. His books are a class apart. Dont fall into regular genre like romance, suspense, thriller etc. His books are a perfect pill to a melancholy day. Recently was reading well done Jeeves. The way he has made the characters use the english language and anecdotes in middle is awesome. Looking forward for reading another book by King of comedy. And a special thanks to one lady who lent me the book to read. I hope one day to have his entire collection..

Bollywood bandwagon

This was the name that came to my mind when I thought about writing this blog. If you are a hindi film bluff then you will know what a typical bollywood bandwagon consists of. Especially of yesteryears. Two brothers separated from birth. One ends in rich family the other in a middle class one. They have a common villan. Two beautiful heroines. Through various troubles and triumphs they shine in life even though the villan tries to give a lot of trouble. The villain dies and alls well that ends well. Reading this you will think its a hindi movie plot. And would be wondering whats it doing in a book related blog. Actually its the story of Sons of Fortune by Jeffery Archer in a nutshell. I like jeffery archer novels. His not a penny more and not a penny less will need another post itself to write my appreciation. Compared to his other novels this not up to the mark but neverthless a nice read. Though story is predictable the characters are endearing. I fell in love with Nat. One of the main character. His characterization is superb. More nice than a m and b hero. One thing I did not like about the book was killing of a character. Its just depresses me to see a sad part in an otherwise happy ending book. Even though you will know what happens next you will be engrossed in the book as narrative is good. Perfect for a lazy night reading when you have come from hectic work and want to relax...

Receipe for happiness...

Ingredients- your fav novel, popcorn, juice and mattress to lie. procedure- switch off tv, system and your mobile. Recline in your mattress with your novel and keep popcorn and juice nearby so that you can easily reach when required. Make sure your family and friends ( God bless them) dont disturb you. Start reading the novel with in between munching.;-) ;-) VOILA you are guaranteed happiness for some hours.

Old is gold.

This is often quoted by my parents generation. Well even if this adage does not hold good to everything, for some things its absolutely true. OLD IS ONLY GOLD. Like music, movies and of course BOOKS especially those termed as classics. Many people think classics are for literary students only or for those who claim they belong to intelligensia. But never are classics associated to light reading. For me books which are my companion classics are favorites. Neither am I pursuing literature course and I read books as a hobby. When I read Classics time flies by. They transport me into another era. Most of the classics do not contain any mystery, sci fi or fast paced action. Its just a simple story inter owen with many characters and their emotions, reactions and outlook of life. The setting of classics can never be related by us. How can we imagine commuting on horses?!! But the interplay between human nature is same even now. The detailing in a classic will be so beautiful that it will be akin to the story and character and it seems realistic. Humour will be situational not on the face. The stories reflect the political situation, mindset of the society at that time. They dont prescribe like self help books what to do but stories will have enough food for thought. Well can go on and on about the classic literatures which actually I have not read much. Whatever little I may have read has made me to want for more. I guess every book enthusiast should read them. They will then prefer Classics rather than other kinds of books.