Book Review: Siddhartha

Title: Siddhartha

Author: Hermann Hesse

I picked this book as it is one of the famous to be read books. It’s written by Hermann Hesse depicting a man named Siddhartha during the time of Gautam Buddha. It’s very simple and short to read. The book was originally written in German.

It describes spiritual journey of a man who goes through various phases in life. He fights with his father to get what he wants. He takes various cumbersome paths to attain enlightenment. He forgets his life purpose when he sees material wealth. Then, eventually, he comes back to his initial stage. The best was the plot twist at the end that teaches him the most important thing in life.

A very different story narrated beautifully.

About the Author:

Hermann Hesse was a German poet, novelist and painter. He received Nobel prize in Literature in 1946. All his books delve into spirituality and self-knowledge.

Book Review: If You Could See me now

Title: If You Could See Me Now

Author: Cecelia Ahern

Yet another novel by Cecelia Ahern that left me thinking how does she gets these out of the box concepts. This story is of imaginary friend. It’s really intriguing to read. The reader constantly wants to know how it ends.

Many a times, kids make up with some random name and comes up with a funny theory about existence of that person. They also go about talking to that person and telling their stories. The older people always dismiss such stories. Mostly, adults are so engrossed in their mundane tasks that they forget they are supposed to live and enjoy the life. They mostly function on auto-pilot.

This books shows exactly why not to do that. One should not live with prejudices. One should take risks in life. One should not keep pondering about past and think how to change the future for betterment. One should not worry about every minor thing. One should live life to the fullest.

This is a lovely read with the perfect mix of humor, romance, suspense. Waiting for my next by Ahern.

About the Author:
Cecelia Ahern is an Irish novelist from Dublin. She published her first novel 'PS I Love You' at a young age of 23. Till date, she has published about 16 novels two of which have been adapted as movies.

Book Review: See Me

The Tomb of Hercules

Book Review: The Tomb of Hercules

Title: The Tomb of Hercules (Nina Wilde & Eddie Chase #2)

Author: Andy McDermott

This is the second book in the Nina Wilde & Eddie Chase series. As for the first book as well as second book, the title is not at all apt. the book describes the tomb of Hercules in about 30 pages and rest of the book revolves around a different plot. 

The book is interesting, no doubt but very disappointing for people like my husband who buy the book in the hope of reading about the tomb of Hercules. The book starts with a fight between Nina and her bodyguard turned boyfriend Eddie. Just to go against Nina, Eddie goes to help his ex-wife Sophia and gets entangled in a series of unnecessary events. He jeopardizes his and Nina's life to rescue Sophia. But eventually realizes that Sophia had been playing with him all along. At the end, as is Eddie's habit,  he fights all odds and saves the world and his relationship with Nina. 

The author has described some of the plots in minutest details which makes the book all the more interesting. Overall it's a good read if you read without any anticipation of a breakthrough about the tomb of Hercules and historical details.

About the Author: 

Andy McDermott is a British thriller author, former magazine writer, journalist & a film critic. Under Nina Wilde & Eddie Chase series he has written about 13 books and this is second book in the series.

Book Review: The Time of My Life

Title: The Time of my Life

Author: Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern always seems to amuse me by the content n concept of her books. She does not go the usual way and does not follow a pattern.

The Time of my Life is a kind of love story but the girl here is in love with her own life. It does sound weird but it is not. The story is about a girl who is living her life just for the sake of it without any ambition or appetite. Her boyfriend left her, she lost her job and now works somewhere just to pay bills, she stays in a small room for a house and she does not like her family. She has told lies over lies just to cover up previous lies. And, she is content.

That is where she is wrong. She is approached by her Life and Life turns it around for her. She sees what is right and what is not. Life is a kind of agency wherein some person is assigned to you so as to make sure you don't waver from yourself. I Wish something like this really existed.

Overall, a good read..

About the Author: 

Cecelia Ahern is an Irish novelist from Dublin. She published her first novel 'PS I Love You' at a young age of 23. Till date, she has published about 16 novels two of which have been adapted as movies.

Book Review: Bay of Sighs

Title: Bay Of Sighs (The Guardians Trilogy #2)

Author: Nora Roberts 

After finishing the first book of the Guardian trilogy, Stars of Fortune, I just couldn't wait to get my hands on the second book, Bay of Sighs. Just like the first book, this book too thrilled me till the end. And, now I'm desperately waiting to read the last book.

The quest for stars continue in this book as well with Nerezza constantly following their moves. This time she was accompanied by a human who was equally evil. She recognized the monster inside him and made a demi-demon of him.

Out of the six chosen for the quest, two already fell in love with each other in the first book while two others fell in love in this book. More secrets were revealed and more tests were given, thus strengthening the bond of the six.

The book ends with the finding of the second star by the chosen one and Nerezza's defeat. Also the search for next star begins.

Now, I'm waiting to start the next book.

About the Author:

Nora Roberts is an American bestselling author and her forte lies in romance novels. Her real name is Eleanor Marie Robertson. Till date, she has published about 200+ novels most of which are on top bestselling list. She also writes under pseudonym JD Robbs.

Book Review: The Kiss

Title: The Kiss

Author: Danielle Steel

While going through the aisles of a library, randomly picked up a Danielle Steel book The Kiss as I liked the title. But this book does not live up to the expectation. The story would have been over in maximum 100 pages but it is dragged through every page.

The story revolves around two couples Gordon and Isabelle and Cynthia and Bill who are extremely unhappy in their marriage. Isabelle and Bill get close to each other, they talk over phone and meet once in a while as they stay miles apart. They know their relation will never be anything more than friendship. They meet once and it leads to a very passionate kiss which changes their lives forever. 

The story is very touching and you only crave for a happy ending. 

About the Author:

Danielle Steel is and American novelist, currently the best selling author alive. She mostly writes romance books. She has numerous books to her name. Some of her novels have also been adapted as movies.

Book Review: Stars of Fortune

Title: Stars of Fortune (The Guardians Trilogy #1)
Author: Nora Roberts

The excerpt of this book had me grabbing it from the shelves an also the fact that its by Nora Roberts. All her books are worth a read. 

This book is first in the Guardians Trilogy. Its about a quest for stars. The story starts with three goddesses who want to present stars to the queen but the evil Nerezza has the stars bewitched. The goddesses have sworn to protect the stars and gift them to the queen at the right time. 

The book has six lead characters each with a unique gift who come together to keep the stars safe from evil spirit and return them to their rightful place. Their journey is very beautifully narrated. The book is in fact filled with beauty on every page. The locations, the relations, the scenes are very well described. There is romance, friendship, mystery, thrill of unknown, evil and everything else. You feel like grabbing onto the next book in the series. I'm just waiting to do the same.

About the Author:

Nora Roberts is an American bestselling author and her forte lies in romance novels. Her real name is Eleanor Marie Robertson. Till date, she has published about 200+ novels most of which are on top bestselling list. She also writes under pseudonym JD Robbs.

Book Review: The Hunt for Atlantis

Title: The Hunt for Atlantis (Nina Wilde & Eddie Chase #1)

Author: Andy McDermott

I took to reading this book only because its title kept tugging at me. I like to read books filled with adventure and mystery. Atlantis is the perfect combination of mystery and adventure. But this book is less about the real submerged Atlantis. 

The Hunt for Atlantis is literally hunt for Atlantis by archaeologist Nina Wilde and other expeditions which follow after you know about Atlantis. This book keeps you engrossed and you want to turn the pages faster. The book takes various places in search for Atlantis and its other legends. But, each time, the fate is against Nina and the end is kind of catastrophic. There are other sources who are opposed to the finding of Atlantis for reasons unknown at the beginning. But as the story unfolds, Nina realizes that she is on the wrong side but eventually along with her bodyguard Eddie Chase she sets everything right and prevents a worldwide threat. 

The book travels through various historical places and leaves the readers in awe of what is presented before them. The twists in the book are not easy to guess and leave you wondering as you never saw it coming.

About the Author: 

Andy McDermott is a British thriller author, former magazine writer, journalist & a film critic. Under Nina Wilde & Eddie Chase series he has written about 13 books.

Book Review: The Great Gatsby

Title: The Great Gatsby

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald 

Another of "must read" ticked off my list. Every time I read a Classic, it feels like it never reaches me. No clue where the connection gets lost. 

The Great Gatsby is a well known classic written by author F. Scott Fitzgerald. It portrays times of first World War. Gatsby is the writer's neighbor and is very affluent. The story revolves around things Gatsby was unable to do in his past and wanted to amend in current circumstances. But things do not go as he wants them to and everything is left in a mess. People change as per their requirement.

The novel is a one time read.

About the author: 

F. Scott Fitzgerald was an american novelist and short story writer. He has four finished novels and one unfinished novel on his name.

Book Review: The Silkworm

Title: The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike #3)

Author: J K Rowling under pseudonym Robert Galbraith 

After reading The Cuckoo Calling, first book in the Cormoran Strike series by J K Rowling, I had to get my hands on The Silkworm, second in the series. And, I did just that.. visited the library and picked up The Silkworm. The size of the book will scare you but you will not realize when the book gets over. You just don't feel like putting it down.

This book revolves around story of a book author who goes missing and is found dead in rather grotesque circumstances which is exactly same as shown in his book. Strike is hired by the author's wife to investigate his disappearance when he stumbles upon his dead body. The case is being researched by Strike's old friend, Richard Anstis but is going the wrong way by arresting author's wife for the murder. But eventually, it was Strike along with valuable help from his secretary Robin who solve the case and bring forward the killer.

As usual, the best part about the book is till you turn the last page, you would not know the killer. Extremely engrossing tale very well written.

The only thing about the book that puts you off is the several references of the book the author is writing is mentioned in the book in extra detail which is difficult to keep a track of. Overall a very good book.

About the author:

What's there to say about the author. Her name says it all. It's JK Rowling, the author of our most loved book series of childhood as well as adulthood, Harry Potter. She writes crime fiction under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. She has released two book under the series of Cormoran Strike, The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm and The Career of Evil.

Book Review: The Pharaoh's Secret

Title: The Pharaoh's Secret (Numa Files #13)

Author: Clive Cussler, Graham Brown

Another adventure book from Clive Cussler. As the name suggests, this book revolves around Egypt and pyramids. The hero of this book is Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala. The story is about a big corporation in Egypt conducting illegal activities under cover of a water plant. Somehow or the other Kurt and Joe are present around a site where some catastrophe takes place and then they get involved in unearthing the mystery.
There are some secrets of ancient Egypt civilization which were discovered by French during their invasion but kept hidden from the world because of its dangerous nature. The same secrets were found by a group of people with evil intention and used to threaten some of the world leaders to establish their power over entire North Africa. They resorted to some of the inhuman ways to get people to follow them.
Several times during their search for the truth, Kurt and Joe were in danger for their lives but it was sheer luck that they came out of it unhurt. At the climax, the bad guys were killed and peace was again reinstated in North Africa.

About the author: Clive Cussler is an American author who has written books about everything that is mysterious. I wonder to what extent the author has extended his knowledge base to know about most of the mysteries around the world. Each book that I come across is based on different area, different civilization, different era. Cussler is founder and chairman of real life NUMA.

Book Review: The Cuckoo's Calling

Title: The Cuckoo's Calling, Cormoran Strike #1

Author: J K Rowling under pseudonym Robert Galbraith 

SIMPLY AMAZING..!!!!

This book is a complete package. It's rare that you get hold on to a book like this. You just don't want to keep it down. The book is quite big but you don't feel you have read so much. Its been 2 days since I finished the book but it's still there at the back of mind. Hats off to Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling. You are superb. I had no option but to rate the book at 5. It's absolutely perfect.

Now about the book, it's a beautifully narrated crime fiction. The plot is very complex yet very simple. The major character is detective Cormoran Strike who gets to the bottom of the situation which was accepted by public and police to be a suicide but turned out to be a well planned murder. The author gave us no clue whatsoever till the end of book who the killer is or whether there is really a killer.

The story is intertwined and there are many things occurring at the same time which makes it difficult for police to reach the killer and decipher the murder to be suicide. But, the detective looks at all the loopholes and finally gets to the real culprit. In his search, he is helped by his new secretary Robin who happens to be a temporary but at the end of book and to delight of readers, takes it up on permanent basis. The book has several characters but the detective & his secretary dominate the overall story. Although a crime fiction, the book is extremely light-hearted and devoid of any gory scenes.

A must read for the pure joy of reading...

About the Author: 

What's there to say about the author. Her name says it all. It's JK Rowling, the author of our most loved book series of childhood as well as adulthood, Harry Potter. She writes crime fiction under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. She has released two book under the series of Cormoran Strike, The Cuckoo's Calling and The Silkworm.

Book Review: The Rozabal Line 

Title: The Rozabal Line

Author: Ashwin Sanghi under pseudonym Shawn Haigins

This is the first book by Ashwin Sanghi under pseudo name Shawn Haigins. I finished reading the book quite hastily as I wanted to know what the end of this story is. The book is very interesting and holds on to you. But the bitter truth is that this book is heights of confusion. It takes you to various places in a matter of no time.

This was my second book by this author and I had expected uncovering plethora of mysteries and Sanghi did not disappoint me. But, frankly speaking, I was lost reading this book as it contains every religion possible and the author has tried to complicate each of those. Again, the end was quite unexpected.

Author has done immense research on almost all the religions and picked the good of all those religions; as well as tried to dig the loopholes. This book is like a cocktail.

My suggestion: do not dwell upon the concept in this book, its mind shattering.

About the Author:

Ashwin Sanghi is said to be the Dan Brown of Indian literature. He writes historical, mythological, theological thriller. He pursues dual profession, being an entrepreneur and a writer. Till date, he has authored four books on his own and one along with another writer.

Book Review: छावा -  एका शूर सिंहाच्या शूर छाव्याची गोष्ट

शीर्षक - छावा
लेखक - शिवाजी  सावंत

छत्रपति शिवाजी हे नाव अणि त्यांचे कार्य आपल्या जेवढ्या ओळखीचे आहे तेवढंच संभाजी राजाचं  आयुष्य व कार्य अनेक कारणामुळे संदिग्ध आहे. लहानपणापासून शिवाजी राजांच्या गोष्टी ऐकून त्यांच्या बद्दल मनात अभिमान आणि आदर दोन्ही निर्माण झालेला आहे. शिवाजीबद्दल वाचताना मनात तेवढंच कुतूहल संभाजी राजे आणि त्यांची कारकीर्द निर्माण करते.

जर कोणाला खरोखर काय झालेले हे जाणून घ्यायचं असेल तर छावा ही शिवाजी सावंत ह्यांची कादंबरी वाचावी. शेवटपर्यंत मनाला जखडून ठेवणारी आणि आपल्या इतिहासकडे जवळ नेणारी अशी ही अप्रतिम कलाकृति आहे. प्रत्येक मराठी माणसाने वाचायलाच हवी अशी ही छाव्याची कहाणी आहे.

लहान असताना शिवाजीराजांबरोबर आग्र्याला गेलेले सम्भाजी आणि जीवास धोका आहे हे जाणून फ़क़त शिवाजींच्या सांगण्यावरून मागून वेष बदलून आलेले संभाजी, मिर्झाराजे ह्यांच्या गोटात ओलिस म्हणून राहिलेले संभाजी, मरण यातना भोगणाऱ्या शिवाजीना भेटता येत नाही म्हणून तळमळणारे संभाजी, शिवाजीवर विषप्रयोग करणाऱ्यांना खड़सावणारे संभाजी, जिजाऊच्या मृत्युवेळी धाय मोकलून रडणारे संभाजी, गोदावरी ह्या बाईच्या मृत्यूसाठी स्वतःला कारणीभूत मानणारे आणि तिच्या ह्या यातनेसाठी मूळ कारण असलेल्या सोयराबाईंचे नाव सदरेपुढे सांगण्यास कचरणारे संभाजी, त्यांच्यावर विषप्रयोग करणाऱ्यांना हत्तीच्या पायाखाली देणारे आणि चुकून कटात सामिल झालेल्याना माफ़ करणारे संभाजी, रामराजांवर जिवापाड प्रेम करणारे संभाजी, महाराष्ट्र जिंकून कर्नाटकपर्यन्त मजल मारणारे संभाजी, उभ्या कारकिर्दीत कुणी जिंकू न शकलेल्या जंजिऱ्याला वेढा घालून खच्ची करणारे संभाजी, अपमान सहन न होऊन दिलेरच्या गोटात जाणारे संभाजी आणि आपली चूक समजल्यावर परत येणारे संभाजी, औरंगजेबाच्या कचाट्यात सापडल्यावरही मराठी मान न तुकवणारे संभाजी.

ह्या पुस्तकात सम्भाजीराजांची अशी कितीतरी रूपे दर्शवली आहेत. पुस्तक संपेपर्यंत मन फक्त एका गोष्टींकडे ओढ़ घेते. त्या काळात संभाजीराजांच्या नेतृत्वाखाली काहीतरी अचाट करता आलं असतं, तर जीवन धन्य झालं असतं. 

Bookworm in me...

Happiness is a brand new Book

It has been a habit for me to have passion for certain things but ignore those emotions and continue with the normal routine. Until the day I explode. Once I explode, there is no stopping. Hailing from a small town, I had access to the state library since I was in school. But as expected from my procrastinating personality, I rented my first book from the library when I was in 6th and that book was lying in my house for I don't know how long. Finally, I returned that book after hatching it for about a year and paid the fine. "I can't believe I kept a book for about a year, din't read it and paid fine for it."

As I grew older, my school headmaster introduced me to Marathi Novels. I was in awe of those historical & mythological heroes, freedom fighters. This was during my school days. Some of my all time favorites include:

Yugandhar by Shivaji Sawant

Mrutyunjay by Shivaji Sawant

Shriman Yogi by Ranjit Desai

Majhi Janmathep by V. D. Savarkar

Ek Hota Carver by Vina Gavankar

Kale Paani by V. D. Savarkar

During junior college days, we had an assignment wherein we had to read books and write reviews on the same. It was completely my kind of assignment. I so wished to have such assignments the entire time☺. During these days, my reading was diverse. I read Marathi, Hindi, English, whatsoever I could get my hands on.  Some of the books I read during these days were:

Lajja by Taslima Nasrin

Phera by Taslima Nasrin

About Daddy by Meena Nayak

Not without my daughter by Betty Mehmoody

Fever by Robin Cook

This library gave me my next favorite author Robin Cook. From here on, I did not stop my reading and it is continuous till date. After I left the junior college, my next destination for books was the central library of which I made membership when in 6th std and was unused till date. During college time, I continued my reading of Robin Cook's books which includes Mutation, Toxin, Coma and Vector. 

Going through the huge shelves in the library, I started reading avidly. Thanks to my college time best friend and the person who made me fall in love with English literature and English music. My first Romance English novel was "Petals on the wind" by V C Andrews. After I read this book, I was so desperate to read its sequels but never found them. Here, I started with Nicholas Sparks who is my favorite till date.

"When you get a favorite, it remains a favorite forever."

That is exactly the case with Nicholas Sparks. As of date,  I can proudly say that I have read all his books apart from the  most recent ones.

My top favorite is obviously 

The Notebook

And the rest follow: 

Walk to remember

The Choice

Dear John

The Guardian

A Bend in the road

The Lucky One

Safe Haven

Love Story by Erich Segal is another top favorite book of mine. Because of the book Love Story, I happened to read other books by Segal like Doctors, Acts of faith, etc. But these books din't have the charisma of "Love Story." 

Then, there was the wave created by Chetan Bhagat. As per me, he was the pioneer of Indian English literature for youth. I read all his books because of the buzz they created. I started with One night at Call center, Five Mistakes of my life and the rest followed as they were released. 

Here itself, I was introduced to Cecelia Ahern's PS I love you. The movie as well as the book were outstanding. Another not so well known book of Ahern is The Gift which is again a masterpiece. This book is all about the value of time. Other books by Ahern that I read are Thanks for the Memories, A place called Here, The Girl in the Mirror.

Like all girls during their teens, I was highly attracted to romance novels. I used to read books from Mills & Boons publication for the romance and lightheartedness in these books. They always had happy endings.

After college, I moved to Mumbai... the city of dreams... Mumbai showed me the path to reach latest books. It was like I had to read every book which was released; also keeping in mind that I need to catch up with those old books I have not yet stumbled upon. These were the days of Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. I purchased the entire set and it became my favorite. The movies were quite convincing but not up to the mark. 

Since I was earning by this time, a substantial amount of my salary went to buy or rent books. Books on rent was a new concept for me because at my home town, we only had access to books through library and libraries not always had latest collection. When you rent a book, you pay the price of the book and when you return the book, the seller keeps some 20-30 rupees depending on the value of the book and returns the remaining amount. 

During the same time, there was a boom of e-books. I read the entire Harry Potter series by J K Rowling within 2 months or so and was so enchanted by the same. My college time friend was my room mate when in Mumbai and she was like my guardian. I also started watching English movies thanks to her. There were so many movies we saw together. When I used to research those movies and come to know that they were based on book, I would go crazy till I find the book and read it all. 

Another book that needs mention is Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. This book is about a man who travels in time and his wife. I also read some self help books like those by Paulo Coelho, Jack Canfield. During the same time, I came across Dan Brown and his books became instant hits because of the mixture of all emotions found in them. All books of Dan Brown including Angles & Demons, Da Vinci Code and the lesser known ones like Digital Fortress, The Lost Symbol, Inferno & Deception Point have history, myths, suspense, romance, drama. His books are a complete package.

After working for 2 years, I joined PG College and had to be dependent on the College library for books. But sometimes, I did splurge on buying books. At the college library, there were books from various domains. Here, I read some of the very good books on management, success, autobiographies and so on. 

Notable books of this time are:

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Maverick by Ricardo Semler

The Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Mahashweta by Sudha Murti

Strange Obsession by Shobhaa De

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono
If God was a Banker by Ravi Subramanium
The Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
I too had a Dream by Verghese Kurien

All the books were like good fodder for brain. But one book needs a special mention: Shobhaa De's Strange Obsession. Like the name suggests, I found the book quite strange. The Book was about a lesbian girl and it completely failed to reach out to me. 

From Mumbai, I moved back to my home town to the same old central library. But to my surprise, this library had a makeover. The dingy library was shifted to a new constructed state of the art six storeyed building. It was now open on Sundays and beyond normal working hours. So, working class people could have access to it. 

And once again a bookish journey with different pile of books began. I read some novels of Khaled Hosseini who became a favorite for an entirely different genre of books. I read The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, And the Mountains echoed. All his books present a simple life of individuals and revolve around Afghanistan. 

My love for Marathi books once again emerges as I stroll through those isles of shelved books. I read books of V. D. Savarkar, Gopal Godse, V. S. Khandekar and other Indian Marathi authors. Some of the mind-blowing books of these authors I read are:

Paawankhind by Ranjit Dessai

Radheya by Ranjit Desai

1857 che Swantatra Sangram By V. D. Savarkar
Saha Soneri Paane by V.D. Savarkar
Hindupadpaadshahi by V.D. Savarkar
Gandhihatya aani Mi by Gopal Godse
Panchavanna Kotinche Bali by Gopal Godse
Amrutwel by V. S. Khandekar
Yayati by V.S. Khandekar
Warssaw Te Hiroshima by V.S Walimbe

I was always interested in mythological and historical books, so I picked Shiva trilogy by Amish Tripathi. It is a slightly twisted version of the story of Hindu Gods and goddesses. But the books are very well presented. I was a little late to read these books but better late then never. Not to be late again, I purchased Amish's next book Scion of Ikshvaku as soon as it was released.

Apart from these, I read other English Novels as well by well known authors like:

To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh
Dongri to Dubai by Hussain Zaidi
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Shantaram by David Gregory Roberts

Shantaram became a favorite because of the manner in which Mumbai is illustrated by the author. It was as if I was seeing Mumbai through the author's eyes. I could relate to this book as I was also an outsider in Mumbai getting to know it.

Along with printed books my reading was continuous on phone. "Thank God for the smartphones that we use." I started reading Sophie Kinsella's books on phone. Her books are very entertaining. You just don't feel like keeping the book down. Of her books, I got a chance to read only 2 books: Can you keep a secret? and I've got your number.
I also had an inclination to read the books from the "Must read" on the internet. So, took to reading Frankenstein by Mary Shally. This book actually played itself  like a movie in my mind and it felt scary at times.

"Book people coming in my life is like God's gift to me."

There was a boy working along with me who had a huge collection of books and he used to lend me some of the good books he read. After working together for about a year, he moved to a different city and gave many of his books to me because it was difficult to carry them. " Lucky me.."  One of those books I was crazy about: Fifty shades of Grey by E L James. And then, I could not wait to have the sequels. Now I have them and I have read them.

Once I was travelling from Goa to Mumbai by train and the train was quite empty as it was monsoon. There was an old uncle sitting in my compartment itself and we got to talking to each other when he saw me reading. "Perks of having books in your hand while traveling. You make friends." This uncle was a Marathi teacher from Sawantwadi and an avid reader of Marathi literature. He gave me a list of Marathi novels to read and I'm still in search of some of those books. The books that he referred to me were truly magnificent. I wish I could meet him again to tell him and discuss on those books.

Now, I'm back to Mumbai married to a boy who loves to buy books and but does not end reading them. "Lucky again." But I wish he too starts reading because reading is amazing. More than reading, husband likes to watch movies or series. He was a fan of "Game of Thrones". He made me watch some of the episodes. I disliked it at first but then it caught my attention and I started watching the series. But I'm never satisfied with the story as shown in movies or series. I want to read. My husband purchased the entire set of 7 books of Game of Thrones by George R R Martin for discounted rate on Flipkart. "Shopping for books and that too at a discount... Woohoo." But those books are so large that I have only managed to finish two.

I had another amazing discovery when I came across Books by Weight sale. You can buy as many books as you want for so much lesser price. Whenever I go for such sale, I come back carrying heavy loads.

My recent reading apart from Game of Thrones include:

Fault in our stars by John Green
Men Are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Sita by Devdutt Pattanaik

All these books were amazing. Sita presents an entirely different ideology about the history along with facts to prove all the incidents. Gone Girl was out of the world with the twists and turns coming up in every page of the book. Fault in our stars was a very sad love story but worth a read.

Bookshelf was purchased when I had few books.
Today the shelf is overflowing to the table.

It is such a true saying...So many books to read and so little time.
I say so many books on my shelf and so little time.



















Currently, I'm reading one of the classics: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (e-book) and The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Hardcover).
The year 2016 is coming towards an end and so is my book reading resolution for the year. I'm ahead of what I planned.