The Girl on the Train

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You know that realization when you read the first few pages of a book and you feel the protagonist is just like you? Every characteristic of them reminds you of a trait you have. That's how I felt when I started reading Rachel Watson's story. But the feeling soon changed. Her character progressed to be more muddled, raw and messed up.

The Girl on the Train is a smooth, easy read. Racy and engrossing. The climax grips you. Makes your heart beat faster. Just like a thriller should be.

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Remember...

That man whom you see in the same lift as you every time you take the lift to your office floor?
That girl in the metro whom you notice standing at the same spot near the window every morning?
That old lady whom you always find singing to herself when you are out for a run in the park?

Those familiar strangers. We all have a list of them. They all take up some space in our mind, in our thoughts, even if it's just for a couple of minutes a day. We try to imagine their lives. We construe their stories. We cook up their quirks. We relate to their mannerisms.

Rachel Watson did the same. She was just like you and me. Her only mistake - she stretched this seemingly innocuous habit into a frustrating, annoying obsession. Conceiving stories around strangers. Imagining herself in their stories. Fighting hard to be a part of their stories. In the end, it messes up her life even more.

Moral of the story? Sometimes, it's better to be strangers. We are meant to stay strangers in certain stories.

The clock ticks.. the water drips.. the Earth rotates..

 

Ever wondered what would it be like if we never had to worry about the time of the hour? No clock or watch to measure the time. No fixed working hours. No one hurrying to reach on time. No one counting days. No one praying for more time. No one begging for time to pass. Everyone living in the moment, instead of planning the next.

There was indeed one such time... When the Earth was still a wonder and not one of the 8 planets. When the movement of the Sun and the Moon was a wonder and not Science. When people didn't have to take out time for their loved ones, because time didn't exist. 

Only people did. Life did. 

 

The Time Keeper is a revelation about how man started measuring time. It's a story of a sick man who wants more time. It's a story of a lovesick girl who wishes time would pass quickly. It's a story that teaches us that there is more to life than glancing at the clock every hour. There is more to life than counting days and counting age. There is more to learn, give, receive, accept, do and teach than we think there is.

The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom is no less than his other books. It's a warm hug. It's a cool breeze. It makes you think. It makes you pause and experience life... Life which is beyond time. The life which was created even before the concept of time was established. 

Images taken from: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

 

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.

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.

You are being missed!

Dearly :(

My kind of heaven

Suddenly I am all the more obsessed with books and bookshelves!

One day when I have a house of my own, I want to make a cozy and comfortable study/library in it, with huge plush armchairs and couches (I am not a fan of bean bags!) and huge french windows (for plenty of sunshine!) and the room filled with bookshelves crammed with the most amazing books ever written. And the huge french windows would lead to a brilliant garden outside. Ahh.. Heaven!

True, ain't it?

I adore bookstores and the smell of bookstores.. how I wish I could capture that smell in a bottle and spray it around in my study! :D And I love online book stores too. It's another charm to order books through the Internet and then wait for them to arrive. And when I open the bubble wrapped slice of heaven, I get as happy as a kid opening his birthday presents!

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So in the evening, I am waiting for the lift in the foyer of my building and my brother joins me. He's just come back from office. He reaches into his bag and handles me out a packet wrapped in bubble wrap. I scream out loud with joy. It's the birthday gift I've been waiting for!

The Book Of Awesome!

Here's my copy of the book nestled in bubble wrap :)

I am not sure if I can express exactly what this awesome book is about. This is something which every one needs to read to know how awesome it really is. It started off as blog called 1000 Awesome things by Neil Pasricha. 

As the name suggests it talks about the little things of everyday life which make us feel awesome, like

• A really cold glass of water on a really hot day
• Getting something with actual handwriting on it in the mail
• High fiving babies
• When the dentist says you have no cavities
• Seeing someone laugh in their sleep
• When you’re sitting in the backseat of a packed car and the driver takes a turn really fast

Awesome, ain't? ;)

Yes I do!

My slice of heaven!