Nisha!!

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy My rating: 5 of 5 stars I cannot believe that I shelved this book a year back - finding pickles a rather boring way to start a book. Now, I wish I could give you more than five stars. This first novel by Arundhati Roy is a marvel. I found the repetitive unannounced flash-backs and flash-forwards way too annoying. That apart, everything else was awesome! The portrayal of classes, untouchables, the ground reality, searching for love in the most unlikely and unconventional places - name it, and this book had it all. I was very eager to find out who the God of Small Things was, and the revelation was beautiful - "To love by night the man her children loved by day." Thank you for such a wonderful read Ms. Arundhati Roy. Life is not a bed of roses, but it is amply fed by thorns, thorns that stick to you no matter what, thorns you can never get rid of. What a poignant tale! Lovely. View all my reviews

Walden by Henry David Thoreau My rating: 4 of 5 stars The first time I bumped on Walden was when it was mentioned in passing in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". I had dutifully added it to my 'To-Read' list and most conveniently forgotten, until it re-surfaced in the most unlikely place- "Dead Poet's Society" "I went to the Woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out the marrow of life! To put to rout all that was not life. and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." The quote overwhelmed me. It was then that I realized that procrastination just wasn't admissible anymore. It had to be now. And thus, I picked the book. Oh Mr. Thoreau! Your work was more annoying than enlightening. Through this book, I wanted to revel in the joys of solitude. Well, I did get it, added with too many sermons, as if I were a devotee of God listening to you from the pew. What I loved about the book : The ...

The Stranger by Albert Camus My rating: 1 of 5 stars I came across this book while reading 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'. Being an introvert myself, having enjoyed the book tremendously, and I thought 'The Stranger' (enjoyed by Charlie in 'the Perks.. ') would be great. Unfortunately, I am terribly let down, and here's vivid picture of the protagonist: 1. The Stranger has washed his hands off his mother, she is in an old age home. 2. He goes there when he is informed that she has passed away. He does not want to even see her dead body. He does not feel sad, or does not have any emotions, then why go at all boss? 3. The next day, he watches a humorous movie, goes for swimming, and indulges in sexual intercourse. 4. He hangs out with a woman, and frequently has sexual intercourse with her, but is not bothered to think of her as his future wife. Its more like, he is trying to use her for his sexual needs. 5. The only person with whom he has any emotiona...

Black Order by James Rollins My rating: 5 of 5 stars Once I was a die-hard fan of Agatha Christie, until I read a series of bad books, and then I stopped reading Agatha. Then came Sidney Sheldon. I fell in love with his works until I met Rage of Angels, Master of the Game, The Best Laid Plans, and worst of all - The Doomsday Conspiracy. My third attempt is James Rollins. I have successfully read two of his masterpieces. This is my third book. I found the book a little slow moving in the beginning, but did not lack in content. The story flows through Himalayas, Netherlands and finally finishes in South Africa. It was definitely not nail-biting, but very informative and interesting - these are what I always expect when I read a James Rollins, and he just doesn't disappoint me in that front - be it the historical or the scientific content. I also appreciate the fact that Rollins does not waste any of the important characters he creates. All characters are carried forward into the ...

A Telephonic Conversation by Mark Twain My rating: 5 of 5 stars I initially gave this story 2 stars, and I was about to blast at Twain for producing such a dumb-witted work. Then I sat back and thought, 'Dumb-witted' is never Twain. Mark Twain was just eaves-dropping on a conversation and reproducing it. So, what went wrong? Me.. I didn't know how to enjoy the story! I went back to the story again, and imagined myself as Twain, eavesdropping on some middle-aged lady's conversation, with adequate and appropriate intonations. That was the magic! I didn't imagine well last time.. Well done Twain! Good job eavesdropping :)