Of book fairs and book reviews

The Delhi Book Fair was almost two months ago and I didn't think I'd actually blog about it. Until now. When I'm done with all the books I'd bought there. Well they weren't many actually. Just four. I went with a friend who's equally or more mad about books, so I had the best company as I browsed the stalls, the books and the knick-knacks. From book marks to book mugs to book bags to book badges. It had everything to cheer up a book lover. A second friend met us there and who seeing me bursting from excitement quoted, ''You look as happy as a kid in a candy shop!''

And I was :)

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

I love Jodi Picoult. The story lines. The characters. The plots. The research behind every book. The emotions depicted. The relationships portrayed. Her way of putting it all into words is absolutely beautiful. Picture Perfect was no exception.

It starts off smoothly and it is difficult not to fall in love when the two characters fall for each other. There is a third guy actually. But no it is not a stereotypical love triangle. It is not a stereotypical love story. No overflow of mush. Like the girl, you won't be able to stop loving even in the end. The story travels through two worlds. The glamour of Hollywood and the humbleness of the Indian reservations. It'll tug your heart, it'll make you keep reading, it'll make you dream a picture perfect dream. And in the end, it'll wake you up.

The Way We Were by Elizabeth Noble

The review on the cover says, Impossible to finish without tears running down your face.

Ahem. Well yes, it was impossible to finish. About the tears, they would've eventually come if the book hadn't ended when it did. And thank God it ended when it did.

This one was a big disappointment. Biggest I have experienced in months. The story is so jumbled up. It's like the author couldn't decide what to keep and what to delete and in the end keeps everything. Even if it's not in a flow. The story revolves around the life of Susannah who if I may put it frankly, was a loser at forty. She has a good job. A loving family. The perfect best friend. But an unsteady life, an unsteady mind and an unsteady love life. She's weak, confused, pathetic and at times unbearable. It's like keep things going wrong her entire life but she doesn't take heed. It's not just the miserable plot it is more so the way the story rolls. Weird and abrupt sentences. Makes me wonder if the book was actually writer by a ghost writer suffering from attention deficiency syndrome. 

P. S. Here's the goodreads link to the book.

Sigh!

Source: Uploaded by user via Sarah on Pinterest

                     I want to. So. Very much.

The Other Side Of The Story

We all have a story. A story that is interlinked to many other stories, stories of our friends, our family, our teachers, our colleagues, our neighbors or even strangers. And we all have a different way of narrating our story, don't we?

That is what this book is about. About three girls, about how their life is linked to each other, yet separate. The reviews that are on the book are indeed true. It makes you laugh. Out loud. I used to read it on my daily commute to work and some parts would just make me giggle out loud. (No, I did not pay attention to how the fellow commuters reacted to that). Another thing that made me love the book was the way it talks about writers, authors, publishers and their world. Not that I am any one of them yet, the book kept me glued till the last word. When I did reach the last word, I turned the last couple of pages to confirm whether it has actually ended or not. It was that good. 

The book is quite a fat one though, (528 pages) which I recently discovered could be a deciding factor for readers when buying a new book. As for me, the fatter the better!

P.S. Click here to head to the book's page on the author's website.