Saturday Snapshot: December 29, 2012

My Niece, her husband with my mom

And now I am included too

My niece's fist visit to our place after her marriage. 

Posted for Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce of At Home With books

Saturday Snapshot: Dec 15, 2012

My brothers 

My SIL with my nephew. You can also see the groom in red!

My niece got married on Oct 28, 2012. I will posting pictures of that for the next few weeks..

Posted for Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce of At Home With books

Saturday Snapshot: Dec 8, 2012

Moi, my nephew, bridal couple, mom, bride's sister and her parents

Click on the photo to embiggen it!

My niece got married on Oct 28, 2012. I will posting pictures of that for the next few weeks..

Posted for Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce of At Home With books

Saturday Snapshot: Dec 1, 2012

My nephews bringing in the bride

Bride's sister

My niece got married on Oct 28, 2012. I will posting pictures of that for the next few weeks..

Posted for Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce of At Home With books

Booking Through Being a Reader

Can you imagine NOT being a Reader? How does it shape your life? Your perception of it?

I have always been a reader. But I have not been able to read for the last two months due to CSR in my left eye. I can't focus half the time on that eye, so I am not forcing myself to read. 

Not being a reader now is taking a toll. I feel guilty. But I feel guilty if I read even a bit becos it kinda hurts my eye. I am waiting for CSR to clear soon.....

BTW, I am not visiting any blogs either, let alone commenting. Please do excuse my behaviour. I will be back at it as soon as possible...

Saturday Snapshot: Nov 24, 2012

My henna-ed hands!

On the back of it!

My niece got married on Oct 28, 2012. I will posting pictures of that for the next few weeks..

Posted for Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce of At Home With books

Booking Through Thanks

What are you thankful for this year, reading-wise? New, favorite books? New gadget for reading? New comfy chair? Bonus time to read? Just the mere fact of BEING a reader? Having the internet to share ideas/recommendations/conversations about books?

I am thankful that my vision is getting back to normal. Soon I will be able as much as I can.

Monday: Mailbox/What am I reading?/Musings

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. November Host is: Kathy @ BermudaOnion

I received Two books in my mailbox in the past three weeks, thanks to authors/publicists:

NUTCRACKER by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Illustrated by Maurice Sendak, and Translated by Ralph Manheim, reissued a few months following Sendak’s death and on the 50th anniversary of Where the Wild Things Are, is a lush and beautifully illustrated edition that serves as a wonderful tribute to his life at a time when his legions of fans worldwide are honoring his legacy and ballets are performing their own versions of this timeless classic. Called “a classic, new and complete” by the New York Times Book Review, Sendak’s NUTCRACKER (On Sale October 30, 2012) brings to life E.T.A. Hoffmann’s mysterious world with his extraordinary illustrations, and this stunning reissue will  be published just in time for the holidays.

Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy

A shocking expose of the corruption and match-fixing running rife through the world of cricket.

Over several years Ed Hawkins made friends with India's bookmakers and the International Cricket Council anti-corruption officers who are trying to shut them down. He travelled to the country as he endeavoured to understand how the world's largest unregulated gambling market operates. Bookies, fixers and gamblers showed him the tricks of their trade. He lived and worked with a bookmaker for a spell and will now never watch a match in the same way again. With a story featuring politicians, governing bodies, illegal bookmakers and players - and corruption, intimidation, even murder - this is surely the most important cricket book ever written.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey

I finished reading:

a few easy books. 

As I wrote here before, I have Central serous retinopathy in my left eye....which is fluid leakage under the retina....that means I have blurred vision for now....and I am taking it slow.....

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Do you read the ending before you start a book? Do you ever skip ahead to read the ending?

As I read Crime Fiction most of the times, I cannot even dare to think of reading the ending. For other books I never ever read the end. I may skip a bit now and then....

Saturday Snapshot: Nov 17, 2012

My niece got married on Oct 28, 2012. I will posting pictures of that for the next few weeks..

I with my friend, her son and my mom

Posted for Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce of At Home With books 

Saturday Snapshot: Nov 10, 2012

My SILs singing for my niece

Our family scattered all over

My niece got married on Oct 28, 2012. I will posting pictures of that for the next few weeks..

Posted for Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce of At Home With books 

Saturday Snapshot: Nov 3, 2012

My niece with my nephews a day before her wedding

Bridal Couple

My niece got married on Oct 28, 2012. I will posting pictures of that for the next few weeks..

Posted for Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce of At Home With books 

Monday: Mailbox/What am I reading?/Musings

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. She is the host of MM for the month of October.

I received ONE books in my mailbox, thanks to Hachette India:

1) Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. She is the host of MM for the month of October.

I received ONE books in my mailbox:

1) It Takes a Murder by Anu Kumar: When Gautam Dogra is found murdered in his study one afternoon in the small hill station of Brooks Town, the police dismiss it as a relatively simple case. But Charlotte Hyde knows well that a murder never happens in a day-it follows its own timeline. As Kerketta, Charlotte's old retainer, always said, a murder is written into your life at the very beginning. As Charlotte begins telling the story of Dogra's death, it soon becomes clear that his story can only be fully understood in the light of many other stories. Of her estranged daughter, Maddy, of the political climes in which they lived. Of lost hopes and lost loves, of small humiliations and disillusions and, above all, of the slow incitement to violence that the terror of loss brings into quiet lives.

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey

I finished reading:

Nothing. As I wrote here before, I have Central serous retinopathy in my left eye....which is fluid leakage under the retina....that means I have blurred vision for now....

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Do you ever get crushes on fictional characters? Name one (or a few), and tell what you liked…

In my younger days, I had crushes on fictional characters, like Mr Rochester but not any more.....

Booking Through Covers

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but there’s no question that it can make a difference! What book(s) have your favorite covers? Something that’s perfect for the story, the tone, the colors, the mood…And did you pick up the book BECAUSE of the cover? Or were you going to read it anyway, and the cover was just serendipitous?

I have picked up a few books now and then because of the covers. I have been disappointed at times. Surreal covers interest me or covers with human elements attract me. Plain covers too are good. There is no hard and fast rule....Many a times, the title and author is enough for me to pick a book irrespective of the cover.....

Covers do make a difference. I seldom pick out books with cartoon-ish or movie covers. I also stay away from explicit covers. I like those to be sober, and relevant to the content in the book. Clean cut covers attract me. Size too matters. I don't go in for bigger than usual books. I also know that covers can be deceptive. Sometimes they don't do justice to the book and put off prospective readers. Fonts too make a difference. Certain fonts put me off. And others call out to me to pick the book!

Teaser Tuesday: Robert Ludlum's The Ares Decision by Kyle Mills

Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea hosts this weekly meme. The idea is that you post the opening paragraph (sometimes maybe a few ) of a book you decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s). 

Robert Ludlum's The Ares Decision by Kyle Mills


The roar in Craig Rivera’s ears combined with the darkness to make everything he knew—everything real—disappear. He wondered if astronauts felt the same sense of emptiness, if they wondered like he did whether God was just at the edge of their vision.

He looked at a dial glowing faint green on his wrist. The letters were Cyrillic, but the numbers tracking his altitude and coordinates were the same as the government-issue unit he trained with.

Rivera tilted his body slightly, angling north as he fell through fifteen thousand feet. A hint of warmth and humidity began to thaw the skin around his oxygen mask, and below the blackness was now punctured by widely scattered, barely perceptible points of light.

Campfires.

When his GPS confirmed that he was directly over the drop zone, he rolled onto his back for a moment, staring up at a sky full of stars and searching futilely for the outline of the plane he’d jumped from.

They were alone. That, if anything, had been made perfectly clear.

Monday: Mailbox/What Am I reading?/Musing

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. She is the host of MM for the month of October.

I received ONE books in my mailbox:

Death By Bourbon by Abigail Keam:

Josiah Reynolds is a retired art professor who keeps honeybees as a hobby. She lives in an iconic house called the Butterfly designed by her now deceased husband.

An amateur sleuth, Josiah lives in the glamorous world of Thoroughbreds, oak-cured bourbon and antebellum mansions, struggling to uncover the truth in the Kentucky Bluegrass, which keeps its secrets well.

In "Death By Bourbon", charming and handsome Addison DeWitt takes a sip of bourbon at an engagement party and falls into a fit a few minutes later. Josiah thinks it was murder, but no one believes her except for her friends, Lady Elsmere and Meriah Caldwell, the famous mystery writer.

The three of them try to outsmart the suspected murderer, but the killer is always three steps ahead of them in this fast-paced, witty and fun who-dun-it!

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey

I finished reading:

Nothing. I have Central serous retinopathy in my left eye....which is fluid leakage under the retina....that means I have blurred vision for now....

It will clear up with time....I have been told to reduce my stress. I am going to take leave from work and right now I just trying to relax doing nothing. Not much of reading, watching TV or even use my laptop.....

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Do you have a system as to which books to read from your “requested review pile? What is it? What about when there are too many to read in a certain time frame?

I read what is needed to read first. But there is no hard and fast rule. I read at my own pace and mood. I take part in very few book tours so as not feel pressurized.

Dewey's Read-a-Thon: Withdrawing from it

I have Central serous retinopathy in my left eye....which is fluid leakage under the retina....that means I have blurred vision for now....

It will clear up with time....I have been told to reduce my stress. I am going to take leave from work and right now I just trying to relax doing nothing. Not much of reading, watching TV or even use my laptop.....

Booking Through Burning

If your house was burning down and you could save just one book from your collection … what would it be?

I would save ALL my poetry books. They are stacked at one place and not a massive collection. Therefore, it would be easy to pick and run! 

Monday: Mailbox/What Am I Reading?/Musing

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. She is the host of MM for the month of October.

I received ONE books in my mailbox, unsolicited. I am not sure I will even read it:

Hot Mamalah by Lisa Alcalay Klug

Hot Mamalah is a start-to-finish celebration of the strengths, challenges, and triumphs of Jewish women—the good, the great, the PMSy, and the menopausal! This “ABC’s of She” dishes up a delicious smorgasbord of everything whole-y and holy feminine for having fun and having chutzpah, with humorous essays, adorable illustrations, how-to’s and more. From cocktails to cupcakes, Purim costumes to bar aliases, Hot Mamalah whets an appetite for getting the most out of life, love, and your closet. Hot Mamalah is the much-anticipated companion to the hilarious 21st century Jewish catalog, Cool Jew.

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey

I finished reading:

Nothing. I am having some kind of haziness in my left eye. So reading is out of bounds! 

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Do you have a favorite series? Do you have a favorite book out of that series?

I loved The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. The second novel is my favourite...

Saturday Snapshot: October 6, 2012

One of my friends's made me pose like this for a photo

Posted for Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce of At Home With books 

Top Ten "Older" Books You Don't Want People To Forget About

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, we get a theme to list our top tens. 

This week's Top Ten pick : Top Ten "Older" Books You Don't Want People To Forget About 

This is a difficult one!! One gets repetitive.....However here I go: 

1) Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
2) Daniel's Story by Carol Matas
3) Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
4) Night by Elie Wiesel
5) Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
6) Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky
7) The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosiński
8) Othello by William Shakespeare
9) The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
10) The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

Sweat by Mark Gilleo

"It's a note."

Across his chest. in dark indelible ink, were the words "I am innocent. Let me explain"

~~~~Page 214

Title: Sweat
Author: Mark Gilleo
ISBN: 9781611880519
Publisher: The Story Plant/2012
Pages: 362


When Jake Patrick took a summer internship at his estranged father’s corporation, he anticipated some much-needed extra cash and a couple of free meals from his guilty dad. He would never have guessed that he'd find himself in the center of an international scandal involving a U.S. senator, conspiracy, backroom politics, and murder. Or that his own life would hang in the balance. Or that he’d find help – and much more than that – from a collection of memorable characters operating on all sides of the law. Jake’s summer has turned into the most eventful one of his life. Now he just needs to survive it.

From the sweatshops of Saipan to the most powerful offices in Washington, SWEAT rockets through a story of crime and consequences with lightning pacing, a twisting plot, an unforgettable cast of characters, and wry humor. It is another nonstop thriller from one of the most exciting new voices in suspense fiction.

My Views: 

I would like to review this a little differently. One can see from the above blurb that it is a political thriller. I loved the complex characters. They are very believable and the setting is very good. The language is a pleasure to read and the descriptions are too good. One thing I have to say that, the novel has taken the present into account and that kind of relates us to the story. I enjoyed the novel very much.

Jake is a very likeable character and he knows what he is doing. The bonding between family is a strong point and the crooked politicians make the book so plausible. The setting from Saipan to Washington D.C. is totally seamless and one does not want to leave it midway at all.....

I really liked the following passage:

Genetics was a strange thing, he thought. And while he looked like his father, he felt nothing. Jake didn't hold a grudge because his father was an alcoholic, workaholic, or womanizer. He may have been all of the above, but Jake didn't know. And it is hard to be upset about something you don't know or can't remember. He wasn't angry, hurt or disappointed-he wasn't close enough to the man in front of him to have any of those emotions. Everything happens for a reason and Jake tried to leave the past in the past, a skill he learned from his mother.

~~~Page 26 

Monday: Mailbox/What Am I Reading?/Musings

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. She is the host of MM for the month of October.

I received TWO books in my mailbox, thanks to Hachette India/poet:

1) The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling: 

When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war. 

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils... Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling's first novel for adults.

The Meaning of Me: A book of Poetry by Emmett Wheatfall: 

African American Poetry about relationships with family, friends, and life experiences

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey

I finished reading:

Nothing! To know the reason for NOT reading, do check out my Sunday post!!

I am in the midst of reading:

Suzy's Case by Andy Siegal
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What distracts you when you really “should be reading”? ;)

Social Media, Blogging and Television distract me....These are not in any particular order. Then job/work also comes in the way of reading!!

The Sunday Post/Sunday Salon~sharing blog news and book haul

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

We had our terminal exams. So it was a busy week evaluating answers. I think I am giving too many excuses for not reading!! I gotta share some good news. I have been promoted. I am now Lecturer in English and will be teaching only to senior classes. I would no longer be teaching math! Promotion also means posting in a new school which is nearer to my place. I have mixed feelings. I am happy to join my new duties and sad for leaving my old one. However, change is always for the better!! So I look forward to that.

I posted the following on my blog: 

• Saturday Snapshot: Sep 29, 2012
• Booking through Carry-On
• Monday: Mailbox/What Am I Reading?/Musings

Saturday Snapshot: Sep 29, 2012

Moi in a poetry reading meet

Posted for Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce of At Home With books 

Booking through Carry-On

Do you bring the book(s) you’re reading with you when you go out? How? Physically, or in an e-reader of some kind? Have your habits in this regard changed?

Yes, I do carry a book with me always. A print copy as I do not own a e-reader. My habits have remained the same as ever. Carry a book means I am never ever bored!!

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From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday. The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review. (or any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

The Meaning Of Me by Emmett Wheatfall

Many of the poems in The Meaning of Me are revelatory, remarkably pronounced, and prudent, all the while taking into consideration the multiplicities of life and imagination. Readers of this poet's poetry will see humanity in its glory as well as its toil. The verse in this his third collection captures the essence of himself and his image of humanity.

Monday: Mailbox/What Am I Reading?/Musings

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. Kristen of BookNAround is hosting MM for the month of September.

I received TWO books in my mailbox:

Lightning Rods by Helen DeWitt

All I want is to be a success. That’s all I ask.’ Failing salesman Joe has a dream — or rather an outrageous fantasy. Because holed up in his trailer Joe comes up with a jaw-dropping plan that will stamp out sexual harassment in the workplace and make his fortune. Win-win? As he turns his life around, Lightning Rods takes us to the very top of corporate America…

Helen DeWitt follows her extraordinary debut The Last Samurai with a sharp, uproarious satire on modern life and corporate culture.

The Ares Decision by Robert Ludlum and Kyle Mills


With U.S. intelligence agencies wracked by internal power struggles and paralyzed by bureaucracy, the President was forced to establish his own clandestine group--Covert-One--only activated as a last resort, when the threat is on a global scale and time is running out.

In northern Uganda, an American special forces team is decimated by a group of normally peaceful farmers. Video of the attack shows even women and children possessing almost supernatural speed and strength, consumed with a rage that makes them immune to pain, fear, and all but the most devastating injuries. 

Covert-One's top operative, army microbiologist Colonel Jon Smith, is sent to investigate the attack and finds evidence of a parasitic infection that for centuries has been causing violent insanity and then going dormant. This time, though, it's different. The parasite had been purposely kept alive and crudely transmitted in acts of terrorism. Now the director of Iranian Intelligence is in Uganda trying to obtain this biological weapon to unleash it on the West. 

Smith and his team are ambushed and cut off from all outside support just as they begin to suspect that forces much more powerful than the Iranians are in play-forces that can be traced to Washington itself.

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey

I finished reading:

Honor Bound by Brenda Novak

I am in the midst of reading:

Suzy's Case by Andy Siegal

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Do you have any hobbies outside of reading? Or do you collect anything? 

I collect stamps, coins and of all things, anklets although I don't wear those! I also love to sketch, embroider and do puzzles..