Review: Love Among the Bookshelves by Ruskin Bond

When you read a book you really enjoy, and you feel it has become your ultimate favourite (like the previous ultimate favourites), what do you do? Ask your friends if they've read it, in the hopes of sparking a new, interesting discussion; search the web to find people who've read it; read up book reviews and secretly hate those who hated the book; and then you read up on the author. Who is/was he/she? What did they like doing? What were their views on stories and literature? Did they give any interviews? Can I read those?

From what I believe, these are the typical traits of a reader who loved a book and doesn't seem to have had enough of it. The most ardent readers would not only savour the book over and over, but would also read about the author's story, imagining a person who created a story they could associate with so well. 

Therefore, if you are a fan of legendary author Ruskin Bond, the Indian writer who wrote his first book in London at the age of seventeen and decided during childhood that he would be a writer, this is the book that chronicles his reading and writing experiences, and loves. Ruskin Bond begins the book with a clarification - this is not a seamy love story that happened behind a bookshelf, but one person's love of books, reading and writing that happened throughout his life. 

Ruskin Bond was a small boy (of eight, I think) when he accompanied his father in a hunting group. They stayed in a wilderness resort for a few days, when Ruskin realized that he found hunting as a sport rather distasteful. He preferred to stay behind in the lodge and spend time with the caretaker, who left him to his own account for the most part. She did, however, tell him that the books Ruskin discovered there belonged to an old Englishman who had lived there previously, and now belonged to the lodge. By then, he had already read some popular books, but with nothing else to do, he found those books as treasures that opened a whole new world for him. "He reads too many books," complained one of his father's friend, but little did he know how wonderful that habit was.  

Throughout the book, Bond narrates his personal relationship with certain books: books that shaped his ideas, that appealed to him in some way or the other, those that held special significance, and nearly all that helped him learn more about the world, or made him experience beautiful emotions. In a writer's life, the books he/she reads matters a lot. Those books are telling of the writer's sources of information, ideas, thought-processes, likes and dislikes. These help a reader grow close to a favourite writer. 

It's not even just about Bond being a favourite, but about how someone who identified, against all social expectations, early during childhood that writing would be his sole career focus, managed to do it. And do it spectacularly. Ruskin Bond takes us into his growing years, his years in London, and even shows us a glimpse of his favourite passages/pages from his favourite books, telling us more about those books, those writers, the era they lived in, and why they are still relevant. An ardent reader would enjoy discovering titles they never knew existed, and get a better idea of how it all shaped Ruskin Bond's mind, if one is interested in that kind of thing. 

Ruskin Bond

The writing style employed in this book is refreshing, articulate, informative and appealing. I'm not just using these adjectives for the sake of making this look like a book review, but because Love Among the Bookshelf truly deserves all these! I found the beginning chapters really, really interesting, and the level of interest slightly petered out towards the end, but that is entirely personal. You could end up loving it all the more. 

There were instances where I had to stop and look for a pencil to mark certain passages or sentences, because of course, Ruskin Bond is good, and when you come across strong these-completely-makes-sense words, you are left with no other alternative than to mark those out. 

"In time I was to learn that it's the onlooker who sees more of the party than the party-goer; that it's the man on traffic duty who sees more of the passing show than the man behind the wheel; that the man on the hilltop sees the curvature of the earth better than the man on the plain; that the hovering vultures know who's winning the battle long before the opposing armies; and that, when all the wars are done, a butterfly will still be beautiful." 

Details of the book are thus:
Title: Love Among the Bookshelves (as is evident from the post title and the post itself)
Author: Ruskin Bond 
Published: April 2014 by Penguin Viking
Pages: 185
Genre: Non-Fiction; Memoir
Find it at: Amazon

Epic Book Nerd Problems!

A fantastic website, Epic Reads is a fun haven for book lovers! They recently came up with a series of fun videos with book nerd problems, explained through witty visuals. I love the exaggeration shown in the videos, since those awesome nerds are actually acting out what they feel! It's sure to make one laugh, and to spread this awesomeness, I'm sharing two of such videos that made me go, "Oh Boy! HAHA!" :D

# 1: Misunderstood literary references: This one is my favorite of the lot. When people don't get your lit references!

# 2: Lending books to friends: When lending your book becomes a problem and how you deal with it.

Waiting for more such videos! *_*

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that will make you cry!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, with a different 'Top Ten' list each week. This week we're talking about: Books that will make you cry! 

While I know some titles that will definitely make me cry, I haven't read them yet, mostly because of my aversion to very sad stories. But still, ironically I love emotional reading and books that make me cry. Going by the books I've read, I'll list those that made me cry. (Crying while reading an emo book, by the way, is in no way a bad thing. It just tells you how awesomely expressed it is! :') )

In no particular order (except for how they pop into my head):

1. Looking for Alaska by John Green: There's something heart-breaking about that story, facilitated by the way the book's written: filled with metaphors and philosophy. You realize it's so not a normal book. It won't promise you happy endings, but it'll give you the reality you need to know. 

2. Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead: This is the third book in the Vampire Academy series, supposedly all badass and "cool". Yep, but I found this book quite high on emotions and the ending (although the story's going on in the subsequent books, but still) made me shed a tear or two. Complete with that feeling of emotional surge!

3. Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult: Jodi Picoult's books are based on familial ties and health problems that affect them. Those stories are so detailed, going into the life of each character, that I can't help feeling empathetic for all of them. And with this book, the last chapter was "Ohmygoodness NOO!!!" :'( Perfect cry-material. 

4. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks: Probably the only Nicholas Sparks book I've ever read, but boy, did it make me cry! Towards the end when tragedies happen, you'll feel sad about it because you've so grown used to the characters, edging them on to optimism, and then BAM!

5. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini: I admit to not having read this book in totality. Okay, I did not even read less than half before it made me cry twice already! I like emotional books, but this was an open invite for a torrential tear-storm! I still haven't plucked up the courage to start reading And the Mountains Echoed. 

6. The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna: I don't recall if it made me "cry" per se, but it's one of those rare books with a fantasy base but so emotional, it'll make you feel the same emotions like the characters do. It's one my favorite reads in the past year, and among the top favorites by Indian authors. :)

7. Angry River by Ruskin Bond: I haven't read this in years! I just remember reading this book as a kid, and crying over the scene where this little girl is stuck in a tree due to the flood that took her home, and grandfather away, and then her favorite doll who's like her friend slips from her hand and into the flooding waters. God!

8. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult: The ending! *wails* One, that wasn't expected. Two, it was just too sad to not cry about. Three, Jodi Picoult is Jodi Picoult is a heart-breaker. 

9. Hold Still by Nina LaCour: Dealing with a friend's suicide, this book portrays the feelings of grief, anger and sadness in the protagonist and the way she comes to closure. It's painfully beautiful. :')

10. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: I admit to having this book making me feel a little less 'Oh-God-I'll-cry', but the tears came nevertheless. Why's Mr. Green such a heart-breaker? 

What about you guys? Which books made you tear up?! If they're not too devastating, I'd love to read them!

Recent Book Grabs (#5) and Winter Reads!

It feels like I'm doing such a post after ages, which might be very near to being a 100% true statement. Well, 2013 was comparatively a very hard year for me when it comes to reading and writing. A lot many reasons and a lot many stories, about which I talk on my personal blog, but all that is for later. Officially, my winter break starts from tomorrow (*officially* because we still have to go. Almost all days. College stuff. Life can be hard. :| ). But anyway, there is that feeling of being free! If only figuratively. At least I can read my books more than usual! I've had quite some amazing titles adding to my pile recently, and since I haven't made a Recent Book Grabs post since forever, I can't mention all of them, so I'd be keeping with the very recent ones. 

Here goes! Ta-tadaa!!

1. Teardrop by Lauren Kate: I remember thinking 'I should read the Fallen series' all throughout last year, but I just could not. So when Teardrop came by, I could not say a 'No!' :D I'm reading this presently and I'm liking the gradual suspense it builds up as well as the storyline. 

2. Allegiant by Veronica Roth: My birthday (which happened last month) was awesome! This beauty was gifted to me by a friend-who's-gone-to-study-in-the-US. How ah-mayzing is that? :D I've kept this for a holiday time, since I prefer being in a peaceful place while experiencing heartbreak-cum-awesomeness!  

3. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith: We all know by now Robert is not really Robert, but our beloved J.K. Rowling ^_^ This was also a birthday gift by awesome reader friends! Thanks guys! :D I'd read this one once I'm done with my winter reading list. 

4. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini: I've been keeping reading this off till I read the other two books, but I started with A Thousand Splendid Suns and just the first 30 pages were heartbreaking and I'm not in a state to read too much of sadness right now. But I can and I want to read this one now. I can read the other two later, right?

5. Fida-e-Lucknow by Parveen Talha: A friend's copy, this book is *very* promising when it comes to beautiful, simple and moving Indian tales. So gonna read it. Very soon! 

6. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka: Dad got this a few weeks ago. I thought I'd add it to my Classics-to-be-read-very-soon pile, but that stack has a lot of books already, so I don't know when I'm gonna read this one. 

7. The Timekeeper by Mitch Albom: Again, gifted by a friend who desperately wants me to read this, since it was something she loved! I am already intrigued by the concept and she's in for a discussion very soon, since it's on top of the reading priority list. ;)

8. The Hundred Names of Darkness by Nilanjana Roy: If I had to put a finger at the most anticipated book for this year, this book would steal that trophy! This was released last week and I, along with two of my reader friends, attended the book signing and reading of this book. Considering how I am a fan of Ms. Nilanjana, I was positively hyperventilating and beaming seeing her live and talking to her <3 (I'd make a post about it soon. If I post it on the personal blog, I'll link it here!)

Now coming on the the reading list for the winter break time! (And beyond :P )

I have to read 5 books before the year ends, so okay, I've chosen mostly books that I would be able to enjoy in a lesser time. (Okay smarties, you guessed it. Books with less number of pages :| )

1. Teardrop: This is not a small book, but since I'm in the midst of it, and I'm "kinda" hooked to it, I'd finish this first!

2. Fida-e-Lucknow by Parveen Talha

3. The Timekeeper by Mitch Albom

4. Awaken by Meg Cabot

5. Manto: Selected Short Stories by Saadat Hasan Manto

By this time I hope my Reading Challenge would be complete! I did not want to lose that challenge and I am giving myself the luxury to reduce the previously set goal to 45 books, since I really had a hard time balancing my life this year. Next year onward:

6. The Hundred Names of Darkness by Nilanjana Roy

7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Then there are the review books I'd have to put in between, and they are selected on a random, mood-basis so I can't list them right now, though Teardrop and Manto belong to that list. 

Would you like to say something about these books? Read any of them? What books are in your reading list? :D 

Reviewing Quirks...

Being a bookworm is awesome, although we've got our own share of quirks and stuff that feels like creepy crawlies trawling along on our arm! I'm not going to talk about that. When I started with this blog, I had no idea I would be doing whatever I'm doing right now. Seriously, if you go look at the initial posts and the reviews I post now, you wouldn't believe they're by the same (insert adjectives synonymous with 'intelligent' and 'sweet' and alright, naive too) girl. I've learned a lot yes, and most of it has been totally unexpected and exceedingly exciting! :D (Shamelessly I'm saying again, if you're someone who'll pay me for reading-and okay, reviewing- and if you like what I write, hire me :P ). However we do come with our own share of weirdness and quirks and I'm sure, book bloggers would agree!

1. Having to answer the question, "What book would you suggest me?"

This is the question I'm confronted with the most. Knowing that someone values my opinion is definitely charming, though it brings with it a sense of responsibility, don't you think? If someone sincerely asks for a book recommendation, I'd want to suggest something they'd really like, because that way they'd read even more, right? Answering the question makes me nervous, though. I first want to know what kind of a book they prefer. There are all sorts of books! How do I know what they'd like to read? Those who define a category are easier to deal with. Those who answer mechanically, 'whatever you think is good' are the hard nuts to crack. What I like might be something you would hate. It's such a risky answer. But then if your recommendation turned out successful, it feels more than awesome. :D

2. Giving review books priority over books you have been dying to read.

You salivate just looking at bookstores, kiosks with discounted books, amazing offers online and end up buying gorgeous books you want to just sit down and read. Anytime, anywhere. You bring them home, make a place for them on your bookshelf-shrine and lean back to admire how perfect they look. Then your eyes land upon the 'review' pile, books you've received for reviews and your heart drops down slightly, because sometimes you want to read what your heart says and not what you signed up for. In the end, before you know it, you're reading review books and it's been months since you read the first book in the Vampire Academy series and the rest of them are still stacked, unread, witnessing your sad, droopy, puppy eyed looks. 

3. Making reviews interesting...... and different.

Especially with similar books, or books by the same author where the writing style is very similar (obviously), you've got to think a lot and delve deep into what you actually feel about the book, because otherwise all your reviews would end up being somewhat similar. And hence, boring. Which I don't personally want my reviews to be. (Tell me if you think the reviews seem boring or repetitive?). Picking up from some blogger, where I read about this technique the blogger uses, I now make notes of the points I wish to talk about in the review. There are certain things that come to mind when I'm reading and it is 100% likely I'll forget it soon, so I note down those thoughts and it actually gives me a lot to write about when I'm finally down writing a review. Plus, with all the book bloggers and lovers out in the blogosphere, it does take effort to effectively bring out your love and thoughts on books. Something that makes your reviews different and useful! 

4. Tasting a different dish. And not liking it.

Sometimes you feel so tempted with a book available for review, even though it's not your usual kind of a book, you might have been attracted to it's cover (like psychos like me do), or whatever reason, you get a book, the kind you never read before and unfortunately, you end up understanding that it's actually not your kind of a dish. The reading experience feels forced and reviewing becomes even more difficult, because you try not to be biased. Hard, hard work.

5. Avoiding same-book reviews until you write your own!

I usually avoid reading any kind of a review of a book whose review I'm waiting to write, for fear of unintended plagiarism. I don't know what other reviewers feel about this, but I just can't read a review and not think about it, so I guess I might as well not read them at all. Once I've posted my version though, I am open and free to read others' versions. :D

6. Turning down a review request.

God, this is the worst aspect for me. I hate turning down requests, but I have to. One, my college takes up 90% of my life, forget about time. Two, there are just some kind of books I can't just read. And it feels bad to have to say No when it's a book I know is not my thing. Still, you have to do what you have to do. 

All this is actually fun to deal with, if you look at it from my perspective. Nothing gives you as much satisfaction as getting to know that someone read and loved a book you recommended, or a book after reading your reviews. Initially I wished people would at least read these. I had no idea what impact a genuine book talk/review could make. I still think we're not yet aware of its full potential, because it is actually huge! After the first person who said she purchases books based on my reviews, I've had quite a few such responses. Maybe they did not even read that much before, maybe once they bought and loved a book based on a review that touched them, they read more of the blog and get more books. It's just amazing. I'm never ashamed of being looked like a shy person who's 'too much' into books and maybe even 'boring'. I seriously don't care, because people's judgment is faulty, not me. Plus, I've already brought about a difference to a few lives in a very minuscule way, but I'm sure it'll last forever. It made a positive impact, which is far more than what the 'loudspeakers' ever do. I'm oh-so-proud! ^_^

PS- I've posted after a long time. College college! Apologies for this tardiness. I'm working on it.! :D

You know you're a bookworm when...

...

1. You feel lost when you don't have a book securely sitting snug with you in your bag.

2. You constantly make book references, even to people who wouldn't even understand what you mean.

3. You wish book characters were your friends in reality. Like, real reality.

4. You mentally compare the humans you come across in your life to random book characters. And yes, you do keep a lookout for someone who precariously resembles a character you have a crush on.

5. You arrange your books in whatever order you find best: by series, by author, by color, alphabetical, by size, etc. You re-arrange the same books in your spare time.

6. You collect bookish stuff, mostly bookmarks. But anything that makes you think anything bookish can also be found in your bookshelf. Or your bag. Or maybe both.

7. You might have been apprehensive about e-books and e-readers, but you'd still have experienced them both. Everything bookish has to be experienced. No exceptions.

8. You squirm at the thought of books made into movies, with changes, but you'll still be one in the line at the theater, on the first day. Even more so if you've read the book.

9. Before starting reading, you spend a little while admiring the book from all angles, the cover, the blurb, the comments. If you're like me, you'll also read the publishing details.

10. You don't fully open a fresh paperback, even when you're reading because you don't feel like denting the spine. While lending out books (if you lend out, that is), this is what you ask your friends to do too.

11. You really wish every single person would be allowed to breathe only if they're interested in books and reading.

12. You constantly feel like having friends who'd talk bookish to you.

13. You want your friends to read the book(s) you adore, but the thought of lending your books makes you squirm with unease.

14. You cannot tolerate dog-earing the pages, using pen over the pages, or any other activity that makes the book any different from how it was before.

15. You, of course like the smell aroma of pages. Someone like me could also have favorites. 

Yes, this too!

16. You might have this annoying habit of automatically making impressions of people based on the books they read. Someone reads similarly to you? *Respect*

17. You mark book-releases like they're festivals.

18. You would prefer books over any party, any time! 

19. You can't go into a bookstore and come out empty handed. If you do, you'd still have marked a book to be purchased later on!

Finally, you got excited seeing the title and read this whole thing through, mostly nodding your head because you know it's true. There's so much more I can think of, but I don't want to make this too long. Probably you could suggest a few more? ;) What is it that makes you a bookworm, then? :D

PS- You can now follow Journal of a Bookworm at Bloglovin' too! Click here to follow with Bloglovin'. :)

Holiday readings!

*Drumroll* It's winter break! Like, fin-freaking-ly! You know how much I'd been missing out on reading because of super-annoying the hectic college and I'm kind of bowed down in a serene prayer position right now. Okay, not really, because there's no way I could have been typing this, but still. Metaphorically. I don't think I've ever appreciated holidays this much before.

Anyway, with these holidays, there's an associated list of books I have to read! Have as in, no compulsion, but you know how it is, you just can't breathe without getting your eyes set on some great pages at least! Here's the list! (All these books are linked to their Goodreads page)

1. The Affair by Lee Child (read review here). 

2. Eternity is Temporary by Bill Broady : Reading now!

3. Across Many Mountains by Yangzom Brauen.

4. The Fault in our Stars by John Green (Yess!!): Reading now! (super yess!! :D )

5. Insurgent by Veronica Roth (I should just go die if I don't read this before 2012 ends!)

6. The Vampire Academy books by Richelle Mead : For heaven's sake I have the whole set and I haven't even started! I so want to go ahead with the Bloodlines books too, which would be possible only when I finish this series! 

Kind of a messy collage :P

7. More of A Calmer You by Sonal Kalra: The second compilation of 'A Calmer You' columns in HT City on Sundays! (The first one: A Calmer You). It's a new release, haven't received my copy yet! 

8. Family Pictures by Sue Miller: From the library, seems interesting and I better read this before the due date!

9. Matched by Allie Condie: From the library too. I picked this one up purely on the basis of the words 'dystopian' printed at the back! ;)

10. "Chosen", Dark Passage by M.L. Woolley: An e-book I won in a giveaway! :D

11. Underworld, Dark Passage 2 by M.L. Woolley: Received as a gift from the author! Thank you! :)

I guess if I'm done with these, I'd get into some or the other e-book as well. I mean, e-books are such easy reads, somehow. I'd soon be doing a year end post with lots of books' names as well as the next year readings and challenges and stuff! ;) Keep reading! 

Bookish updates!

Hello people! Hello blog! Apologies for the long absence. Believe me, I was still stalking the blogosphere even if I wasn't writing anything. Long time no review, so I thought I'd make some updates on what I've been up to. Well first, I've been quite busy with college. Still am, but I was thinking, why make it as an excuse? True, it's been a bummer all along and it's making me read less than I'd like to, but it's my responsibility to stop it from being a spoilsport, right? ;) (Does this explain why I'm here, writing this, instead of going through those horrendous notes on what remotely resembles Greek as I think I have a test tomorrow? :P )

Anyway, I got some amay-zzing books recently. Some as birthday gifts, some borrowed from the library, some impulse purchases, and I won a book too! As I haven't really made my 'Recent Book Grabs' post for quite some months, I think I'll put the whole pile here (yeah, I'm going through some major craziness-hike situation). Don't freak out if it seems huge, it's the past few months' collection! 

Three of these are from the library (Spitfire, The Mermaid Chair and Fahrenheit 451). 

I got the Vampire Academy books, Life of Pi, Bartimaeus andddd INSURGENT on my birthday! (Thank you awesome family and friends!). 7 books have been the courtesy of Random House publishers, The Wildings from blogadda.com, some purchases that were recommended and well, you see the pile! ;)

Next, I totally loved Breaking Dawn part II movie! Eeeep! I have honestly, not been much of a Twilight fan and I loved the last book the most, just because it had new characters, suspense, twists, action and a happy ending. I love books with these elements! The movie definitely stood out from the rest, it was beautiful, the characters were awesome (Renesmee!! OMG *cuteness*) and Bella as a vampire is great. It's when this series ends that you realize how it's all wrapped up nicely, how things happened and why they happened. Pretty. :) 

And oh that song 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri! *drooling!* It's so "awwwww" :D See if you still haven't! 

I also happened to be totally excited to watch the movie, Life of Pi, considering I'm reading the book. I wanted to first finish the book and then watch the movie, but I really wasn't getting the time to read more than 10 pages a day and with adequate background of the story, I went and saw it! I don't know what others feel about it, but I loved it. I'm generally a sickler for books-turned-movies and always find them awesome, but this one story is really 'profound'. I just don't have any other word for it. Makes you appreciate your life all the more and makes you believe in things you never thought could happen! I'd recommend this movie. :) 

And oh! A Jack Reacher movie is coming out in December! Based on Lee Child's crime mysteries, it's a movie featuring Jack Reacher (portrayed by Tom Cruise!), the fictional hero. Do watch it! 

Finally, a couple of people (or more) have, at some point written to me as to how they've been reading this blog and getting to know about a lot of books and that I'm 'influencing them to read books based on these reviews'. Well, let me begin by saying that this is what makes me truly happy! I know how bad it is when you like reading and you have that yearning for more but none around you feel that way. Or how they call you a 'dreamer' and laugh at your fantasies. But what I think is, one shouldn't just let them get the better of you. Read even more, do what you say you'd like to do, create things, laugh with them. You'll be happy because you wouldn't have any regret and honestly, you wouldn't care if they don't understand. Some people just don't get it. ;) So if you feel bummed about how your friends don't read, you do. Start a blog and interact with people online who do read. I've read loads more than I did earlier, just because I started this blog. It's amazing, really how such a small wonder can change the course of things. Just try it once, no? :)

Hope to get back soon with another review!

Happy reading! :)

Where are the paper books going? :|

Books go a long way back in history, to the time when paper wasn’t even invented (or at least, reading and writing was). When it came around to paper books, it was a revolution. Knowledge spread, and so did books and reading. Publication houses opened up and bang! A whole new industry, all about books! I haven’t done any fact survey, but I’m pretty sure they did really well. I kind of love this industry, not just because it’s book-related (though that is a reason) but also because the whole process of creating a book seems magical and fascinating to me. (If anybody’s interested, I’d love to work in the publication industry! :P)

I’m a bit worried though, if the rate at which things are now going is any indication. I mean, the first thing I came to know when I returned home from a stupidly-useless day in college was that Penguin and Random House are merging to become one entity. Not that I’m against it, I am happy. I’ve always admired both these publishing houses, what with all those great books they come out with. But I have to admit my first reaction was slight disappointment. So instead of going, ‘Whoa! That’s great!’ as my parents expected (when they gave me the news), I went, ‘What? But why?’

They say it’s because there’s a decline in sales of books, thanks to the boom and increasing preference for e-books. That’s kind of sad, if I were to quote my personal opinion. I mean, removing all emotion aside, how do you dream of a world where there are no books? I can’t. I’d rather die. Seriously. If not, I’d die of boredom anyway! Even if people are not book maniacs like me, they’d still have at least some preference for paperbacks? How can you miss out on the thrill a reallyyy old book you find in the store room or attic gives you? Or the delight of seeing those volumes set on a shelf, gleaming and torn, old and new, paperbacks and hard-covers, tilting your head to read the spines, using your index finger to pull the book out? Just imagining a time where people will only have e-books gives me the shudders.

I cannot do this with an e-book, can I?

No, that’s not going to come true for some centuries at least, I think. (Am I hoping for too much?) But still, what’s with the decline? And it’s not just because of e-readers or reading apps on PCs/Laptops. It’s because of piracy, too. A book can easily be available on the internet, if you’re smart enough to find the right thing. Talking only about people in my city (and country) and I’m not generalizing, because I know all of us don’t do that, but it is a fact that many don’t like spending a lot on buying books. (Not that it increases libraries, or memberships there, in any case). Apart from the obsessed like me (and let me remind you, it’s not much appreciated either, being obsessed, I mean. But whatever), many go for cheap copies available with the redhi walas, for less than half the price, the only problem with them being the poor paper quality, which they don't seem to mind. Or for pirated books off the net.

Which is where I start feeling uneasy. I’d admit I tried finding a book too, when I couldn’t seem to find it at a reasonable rate, but I gave up after a few minutes of searching. It wasn’t right. But people do it, right? Apart from the obvious reason of saving money, I cannot find any other factor. And I don’t want to start about the differences in paperbacks and e-books and which is better and all that. It’s already been talked about a lot. I got a Kindle myself, but that’s not because I do not like paperbacks. I prefer them any day; in fact I haven’t been able to read more than two books on the Kindle anyway, thanks to its need for wifi, which I don’t have at home yet.  Besides, I got that only for the Amazon freebies that I’d been reading on the Kindle app on my laptop before. Those books are like ‘quick, fast and light’ reads for me. Somehow I’ve never been able to think of them as ‘books’.

Anyway, with the new Penguin Random House projected to be the biggest publisher (sounds mighty!), I’m also very happy to know that one out of every four books would be from this publishing unit, according to an article in www.guardian.co.uk. But even then, it’s not exactly comforting to know that two great publishing houses are now one. The numbers are dwindling and it’s kind of scary. I love you paperbacks, and I hope you’d be there forever! :)   

PS- This is probably the first ever post on this blog that isn’t a book review or a meme. I know that’s pretty sad and I think by now, those reviews-only posts ‘might’ just have made it monotonous. I blame my first blog, which pretty much carries my life’s weird stories and that's where I ramble when I’m either frustrated bored or emotionally charged up. Whatever pertained to books, I kept it here and now that I realize, I’ve never actually posted anything off the topic, or anything I’ve written randomly. This isn’t a post to deliberately break that norm either, but I did feel a lot about this issue and wanted to talk about it. 

Any views? What do you feel?

Word-O-Logy Wednesday!

Tanya, the blogger at Coveted Dreams is hosting a fun game about associating things with a set choice of words! Write whatever first comes to your mind, that's the essence of the game. Follow the link above to know the rules of the game and all 55 words, 10 of which we've to choose for the word association.

I know I've been only posting book reviews for a while now, no fun stuff. While it is very tempting to post random words/phrases that jump to my mind, I thought I'd give it a twist. I'll write the name of whatever book immediately comes to my mind based on the 10 words I choose. The chosen books would be those that are related to, or themed according to those words! :D (Though there might be better ones, but I'll be posting what came to mind first).

Friendship: Harry Potter series

Life: Incarnate 

Love: The Last Song 

Fashion: Being Nikki

Hills: Jump

School: Belle Teale 

Pink: Pink or Black 

Black: Which Witch

Women: Little Women 

Dreams: Peter Pan 

I'll explain why these books!

Friendship: Harry Potter series (J.K. Rowling)
If Harry, Ron and Hermione aren't the best role models for friends, I don't know who else is!

Life: Incarnate (Jodi Meadows)
Ana isn't supposed to be born, she's a new soul, unexpected, supposedly taking the place of one beloved soul. How better to learn the meaning of life from one whose life is seen as a mistake?

Love: The Last Song (Nicholas Sparks)
I finished reading this today and contrary to what people say, it's not only about first love. It's a lot about love in a family, which is why I loved adored this book so much! It made me cry, and not just once.

Fashion: Being Nikki (Meg Cabot)
This book is the second in the Airhead trilogy and is based on the life of a geek-stuck-in-the-body-of-a-super-model (click on the link to read my review, you'd understand!). A lot of stuff about modelling and fashion, apart from the main story.

Hills: Jump (Elisa Carbone)
A story of two teenagers who love rock climbing! A lot of hills and rocks here!

School: Belle Teale (Ann M. Martin)
A small school in the countryside, a little girl in class five, a time when migrants are coming into the country, but not well received. Belle Teale's school is now open to kids from the Negro community and it's a story of how Belle Teale perceives and copes with the racism and unfairness.

Pink: Pink or Black (Tishaa Khosla)
A young debutante's book, based on a girl's life in a school hostel, who is on the path to self discovery and who learns the meaning of life from a scary incident!

Black: Which Witch (Eva Ibbotson)
Among the first fantasy books I read. It's about witches who essentially perform black magic, which is what they're proud of. In fact, a young witch who's white, tries hard to perform black magic in order to be accepted!

Women: Little Women (L.M. Alcott)
Again, among the first books I remember reading and re-reading. A classic based on a family where the dad is gone off to fight in the war and calls his daughters 'Little Women'. Quite some story! :) 

Dreams: Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie)
Neverland! Dreams! Famous quote from the book, “You know that place between sleeping and awake, that place where you can still remember dreaming? That's where I'll always think of you.”

Cool, right? :) If you wish to participate, check out Tanya's post and add your link to the list! :) 

TGIF # 3: Book choices!

TGIF is a weekly feature hosted by Ginger of GReads, where she proposes a bookish question to which we reply on our blogs! This Friday's question is,

Choose Your Next Read: How do you go about choosing 

what you read next? Do you have a schedule you follow, or do you read whatever makes you happy at the moment?

As you might have noticed, I haven't been participating a lot in TGIF, but this week's question is so good, I couldn't help posting my response!

I usually buy books that somehow catch my fancy. Maybe if I bought them from a bookstore (impulse purchases), I'd have liked the cover and description and that would have been the factor for selection. Otherwise I buy them online based on recommendations, personal taste, great reviews on other book blogs (oh yes, that's a major factor!). Then comes the task of choosing which one to read, when you finally have them on your shelf. I guess I choose the ones I'd been the most excited for, first and read the rest in the same way. If it's a series, it goes one after the other (unless it's so boring that I'd have to take a break in between!). 

Otherwise, if I just feel like reading something and go up to the shelf with a lot of options to choose from, I'd pick up whichever I think I'd find the most interesting. Or the one that had many great reviews! Also, if I have books from the library, I'd rather finish them first because one, I hate giving fines, and two, I hate returning books without reading them! 

Then, if I have a book received for review, I'd always try to go for them first. Makes sense, right? I don't like putting off things that need to be done asap. But yes, I do tend to get swayed by emotions and grab that book I've been wanting to read, hoping I'd finish it soon and get back to the required ones! (Admitting!) I'll tell you what's happening with me these days. With the new, busy schedule (okay, I promise this is the last time I'm saying this, won't mention it again! :P) I'm honestly having less time to read books than I'd have liked, as there isn't a single freaking day we don't have homework! But I somehow do manage to get around to reading. (Or seriously, how would I be breathing? or acting like a normal person. Okay, almost normal person!). It's also very recently that I've started receiving books for reviews, so I'm actually spending time with those, rather than the ones that have been there on the shelves for a while, however much I'd love to. Because well, priorities! ;)

At this point of time in my life, I'm reading the ones I'm supposed to review first and if that list exhausts before I receive more, I might get to my shelf and read a bit of fantasy that I'd wanted to read for so long! How do you choose which book to read next? Do you have priorities, or you get swayed by 'feelings'? Tell!

Recent Book Grabs # 3!

You would probably know by now I've been blogging irregularly the past two months. I'm still trying to figure out how to cope up with all the work and reading and blogging! I've read books but haven't been able to review them yet. *sigh* I'm just hoping I can do a lot better soon. Anyway, the funny thing is, I tend to get a lot more books than I normally do when I don't have the time to read them! Seriously! You just need to take a look at the books I got in the past month. These include books bought, borrowed from the library and those received for reviews. This time I bought books that have been recommended by people, rather than going for my own preferences. Though, I'm super duper happy with the loot! Now I actually need a real bookshelf to accommodate them. ;). (The books at present, are stuffed into the study table racks).

Anyway, ta-da!

(Click on the titles to go the book's Goodreads page)

I know it's not a great picture, but I've included a better pic below!

Bought

1. The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Recommended by a fan of Russian literature. This one will be on the shelf for a while unread, though. I'm anyway hardly getting the time to read and I need to start with the ones received for review first. 

2.  Dracula, by Bram Stoker: Recommended by the same person, too. And yes! I'm very much interested in reading this. I mean, the first, real vampire story ever written, first published in 1897? I so want to read that! And just look at the cover!  

3. The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi: Recommended by a lot of people, actually. The first book in the Shiva trilogy, based on ancient legends and set in India.

4. The Secret of the Nagas by Amish Tripathi: The second book in the Shiva trilogy. The third book hasn't been released yet. (And I'm hoping to read these two before it comes out :P)

5. Gagged and Bound by Natasha Cooper: Welllll, it so happened that I went to the library just to return and borrow books (obviously) and guess what? It had this mega sale, giving out old (and some new, too) books the library doesn't need, at very low prices! I bought four books from there, one of which is an academic book (Operations Management. I figured it wouldn't look good among these beauties ;)) and one other that I left at my friend's place my mistake.

6. Earth and Heaven by Sue Gee: Another one from that library sale! :D Total impulse purchase. 

7. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain: Just thought an introvert like me should read this book. I've read just a few pages, but it does seem very interesting. :)

8. The Secret of Teams by Mark Miller: This is a forced purchase! Okay, that's too harsh. We need to do a book review on a management book and our group chose this one. I just might get to keep it afterwards. 

9. Blood Promise by Richelle Mead: Okay, I was gifted this one. My brother thought I'd like books as a gift on the festival of 'raksha bandhan' (he knows me so well!). And so he saw the list of 'books I want' tacked on my study table and went to a bookshop. However, he got confused (courtesy my clumsy handwriting) and ended up getting book 4 and 6 from the Vampire Academy series. But hey, I'm not complaining! Now I have a solid reason to purchase the other 4! ;)

10. Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead: Book 4 from the VA series. I know I should have read this sooner, but it's never too late. ;)

Borrowed

(from the library)

1. Handle With Care, by Jodi Picoult: It's just amazing. I had read My Sister's Keeper by this author and after this one, I'm a fan! :D

2. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume: I had heard so much about this book and the author, but I haven't gone past half of the book. I guess it's because it's just not my type of book.

3. Silhouetted by the Blue by Traci L Jones: Seemed interesting so picked it up. Haven't read it yet.

4. Jump by Elisa Carbone: I picked this one up on the basis of the cover. Kids climbing mountains! And I just love mountains and thought I'd read a book that would give me an idea of the experience of mountain climbing. Just stared reading this, seems interesting. :)

Received for review

1. When the Snow Melts by Vinod Joseph: A thriller about the al Qaeda, diplomats, spies, IAG! Interesting book. Read review here.

2. Love, Peace and Happiness: What more could you want? by Rituraj Verma: Received today. Hope to read and review soon!

3. Legally, Lovingly Yours by Abhishek Bose: Received yesterday. Hope to read it soon too!

Won

1. "Chosen" Dark Passage by ML Wooley: It's an e-book, haven't read yet.

There were some freebies from Amazon.com too, which I'm not posting. Anyway, it's a good enough haul. I just need to find out enough time to read them. Good luck to me! ;)

PS- Amazon Kindle is now available in India too! (Croma stores!) Can't just wait to get one!! 

Recent Book Grabs # 2!

My books list has been growing a bit and I thought it's about time I put down this post after all! The last post was 1 and a half months ago, so the books I'm listing are the ones I've grabbed in the past month! I'm actually very happy with the haul, since most of them are pretty awesome! Tell me if you've read any of these as well, and what you think about them! :)

Wow. They look amazing, right? I loved each of the ones I've managed to read. Most of them are from the library and they were the awesomest ones! Here's the list! (Click on the titles to go to the books' Goodreads page)

Bought

Angels and Demons, Dan Brown: The only one in the Robert Langdon books I hadn't yet read. I know it's really great and nominated as the best one by some friends, so I picked this one up! Haven't read it yet, though.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach: Recommended by a great lady in Chandigarh who loves reading too. I liked this one. It's really simple, has great depth of meaning and is different from the usual motivational books. 

Easy Marks, Nancy Drew Case Files, Carolyn Keene: Hehe.. let's just say I like revisiting this series. I think I pick up a Nancy Drew book wherever it's on sale. ;) I love it like anything! Did I mention I wanted to be Nancy Drew when I was a kid? 

The Story of My Life, Hellen Keller: (Non-Fiction) I really want to know more about this amazing woman! Not read this one yet.

Iliad by Homer: I hadn't ever read it, but wanted to try it out. Turns out I ordered a book that's filled with critics' remarks and interpretations, while I was looking for the complete, original version. Anyway, next time. 

How to Read Faces: (Non-Fiction) Impulse purchase, since it was on a great sale and I thought it'd be cool to know 'how to read faces'. It's so thick a book, I haven't gotten down to reading it yet! I mean, if I have fiction as an alternate choice, I always pick that first! 

P is for Peril & O is for Outlaw, Sue Grafton: I had read a Kinsey Millhone mystery earlier and liked it, so picked these up when I saw them at a thrift shop. Haven't read these yet, either. (If you missed it earlier, I've started with my Post Graduation college and it's extremely hectic).

A Little Princess, F.H. Burnett and Rip Wan Winkle, Washington Irwing: Again, hahaha! But I really loved these when I read them years ago, so I picked 'em up from the thrift shop too!

Made a collage of the books!

Borrowed:

Witchlanders, Lena Coakley: A fantasy, YA book about two classes of witches, the Witchlanders and the Baen. It was interesting, though it got better only towards the second half of the book. 

Belle Teal, Ann M. Martin: A book on racism, told from the perspective of a ten year old girl. A deeply touching, heart moving story. Loved it totally! 5/5 stars!

The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd: Just an amazingly amazing, highly recommended book! Read my review here.

The Ghost's Child, Sonya Hartnett: Liked the cover and description and it's a small one! Haven't read this either! 

My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult: I can only say it's a must read. It moved me, turned my insides out, flipped the way I knew things and made me cry (admitting. Really) towards the end. It's awesome. 

The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri: I realized I should at least have read famous Indian authors! 

Won:

The Kashmir Shawl, Rosie Thomas: I was getting my library membership renewed and there was this 'rotate the wheel' thing for new memberships and renewals and guess what I won? Yeah, a book! :P

Received for review:

The Clockwork Man, William Jablonsky: Received from blogadda.com! A story of a man made entirely of clockwork. Read my review here.

Poor Little Rich Slum, Rashmi Bansal and Deepak Gandhi: A non-fiction book on entrepreneurship, exploring with clarity the truth about Dharavi, considered Asia's largest slum and how its residents are  people with a motive. Read review here.

E-books:
Underworld, Meg Cabot: The second book in the Abandon trilogy! Read my review here.

There were also a few freebies I grabbed from Amazon.com, which I'm not mentioning here! Time constraint! :| So, which books did you get? I'm at a point where I've to really struggle for time to read, and this has been affecting my blog too. I might not be very active, but I'll try my best in keeping up as much as possible! :)

PS- I hope that collage picture doesn't make you want to beat me up. I seriously wanted a quick fix, instead of putting up individual pictures.


PPS- I received a few blogger awards recently, including three Liebster blog awards!!! I know I haven't posted about it, answered the questions and nominated more blogs for the awards. Makes me sound like an unworthy candidate, but I promise I'll do that soon!