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Have you ever felt that whatever you do, nothing works out? Have you ever felt that you are not going to get out of your stupor? Has it taken you forever to recover from whatever is ailing you? I am not talking about physical illness. I talk about that mental state, which tires one out.
I rarely ever talk about my personal life. I wish to keep it that way. The state of my mind keeps me from reading. Or writing poetry, for that matter. I feel apathetic towards myself. I know it is not a good state but I have not been able to get myself out of my depleting thoughts. They pull me down and keep me there. I have always bounce back, no matter what. This time I haven't been able too. One would think four months is enough time to get over anything. Broken spirit, broken heart, broken anything...
I wish someone would tell me what to do. I am tired of doing it all by myself. That is speaking too much for someone who has always lived her life in her own terms, at her own pace.
However, tell me how to deal with myself. Believe me, it is not easy asking for advice.
I have taken these covers from Longmire does Romance Novels as these suit the Weekly Geeks: Covers. Do visit the site to check out more! You will really love it. She has "reimagined" the titles. It can't get more tackier than these!
Every Friday, join the Follow Friday, hosted by ParaJunkee and Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Jennifer (Crazy-For-Books), and follow/hop to some new blogs.
Jennifer asks this week: “Do you listen to music when you read? If so, what are your favorite reading tunes?”
There was a time when I couldn't do without music when I was reading, or rather studying. I had to have music and that too, Rock Music, especially when I was solving Mathematics problems. Now it depends. I do read without music most of the times. And if I do listen to music, that has to be Rock Music--Hard, Acid, Heavy metals, anything goes! Or old Hindi film songs!
Title: The Gendarme
Author: Mark T. Mustian
ISBN: 9780399156342
Publisher: Amy Enhorn Books/2010
Pages: 288
With a cover like that, which haunts the reader, The Gendarme, is a novel, one can't put down.
America. 1990s. It starts with dreams from an very old man, Emmett Conn, who thinks he was a gendarme, in the 1920s, who used to escort Armenians from Turkey. While doing so, he had met a young girl, Araxie and fallen in love with her. Emmett's dreams are so vivid that he thinks that they really happened. It turns out that he had been injured in the ensuing war and memory loss was one of the consequences. He had come over to US and started a new life.
However, his dreams tell him that he did a wrong by abandoning and forgetting all about Araxie. Now aftr seven decades, he knows he has to find her and ask for her forgiveness. Will he be able to do it? Why is it so important for him?
Via this novel, I learnt about the politics of Turkey in the early 1900s, its after effects, the unheard of genocide, about gendarmes, their various roles, the exodus, the Armenian connection. I also learnt about a world and a culture, that I know nohing about.
Love transcends time, countries, cultures and sustains, no matter what.
What is the first book you remember reading? What about the first that made you really love reading?
I don't really remember my first book but I do remember I loved all the fairy tale books I was gifted by my dad. I used to read those books again and again, looking at the pictures. The first author, that I truly loved reading, is Enid Blyton. I read all her Noddy books and subsequently, the adventures of Wishing Chair series, Five Find-Outers, Famous Five, St. Clare and Mallory Towers. Infact I have read almost everything that she wrote. How I loved to read and re-read her books every summer! I owe my love for reading to Enid Blyton books.
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Update: I forgot to mention that it is my 1000th post, on this blog. I started to blog about books in 2006. And in between, as most remember, I lost a blog. I retrieved a lot of stuff, yet a lot were lost. Anyway, I was never one to look back. I have come a long way! I love my book blogging community, your love and support!
I thought I would take a moment to rant here. I do that once in a while although in the recent past I have not done much of that.
Today I will talk about the comment boxes.
As we all know blogger has introduced the embedded comment box, and it has been a while now. Somehow I don't find it user friendly, especially if one uses word verification. Why do I have to click it at least thrice to get my comments through? It truly pisses me off.
I also don't like the intensedebate way of commenting. It also takes a while and I kind of desist from commenting there unless , it is something I can't miss.
Open id is a good way. Wordpress uses it, although it is somewhat different. Commenting on wordpress blogs is a pleasure.
I don't mind comment moderation and/or word verification, but both being used together, is not a good option. Have either of the two, not both. I didn't have either but due to spam, I have resorted to word verification. And any comment older than two weeks, goes into moderation.
We all thrive on comments. And the least we can do is to make it easy for our visitors to leave their foot prints.
That's all I gotta say for now. I do welcome your inputs too.
Title: Deadly Fear
Author: Cynthia Eden
ISBN: 9780446559249
Publisher: Forever/2010
Pages: 385
Monica Davenport, a FBI special agent, has the ability to think like a serial killer, profile them and finally, nab them. Lucas Dante has the protective instinct for the victims. He can put them at their ease and cooperate with him in the investigations. Together, they make a terrific team professionally.
Monica's work has taken its toll on her. She has kept to herself, not wishing for any kind of closeness with anyone. However, Luke and Monica have a past and he can't let her go. Both get together, after six years, to catch another serial killer, their chemistry as strong as ever, although Monica is not ready to give and Luke can't take no for an answer.
The serial killer seems to be on a rampage, but there is a pattern. He feeds on the fears of his victims, in one way or the other. He also has some kind of inside knowledge, about the FBI's work. He wishes for Monica to be one of the victims, fully well knowing about her fears. He always seems to be one step ahead of the investigations. He kidnaps a special FBI agent, and taunts them to rescue her. The reader is left wondering who is the serial killer, although it had been narrowed down to a few.
Monica has a lot of personal history, which is unknown to Luke. That is one of the reasons, she can get into the minds of serial killers. Luke too has a past, which has given rise to his protective instinct.
This is fast paced book, with gripping tension, with a very vile serial killer , also a lots of steamy scenes between Luke and Monica. A few of those were not really needed. And at times the language too got bad, with liberal use of the F-word, which felt completely unnecessary. Yet, it tells us about different kind of fears, how does one overcome those. Monica does it in the end.
I liked one of the secondary characters too, especially that of Hyde, their FBI superior, who knows all about Monica's history and in a way is responsible for her well being.
She said she wanted to be like the trees, that she had read they were most trusting of creatures because they put their roots down in one place, knowing they'd be there for their entire lives."
~Page 41
Title: the Language of Trees
Author: Ilie Ruby
ISBN: 978-0061898648
Publisher: Avon HarperCollins/2010
Pages:339
One only has to look at the trees to learn all about roots, being totally grounded or be down to earth. Every part of a tree speaks to us. Reaches out to us. This novel too does that for the reader. Yet we find the novel in the realms of what is nowadays called magical realism. Roots (of ones own self) and flying (that of the mind) go hand in hand.
Grant Shongo is back to his roots in Canandaiga, to deal with his broken heart. His wife has left him and he knows that only solace he will get is by coming back to his childhood home. He also knows that his Seneca blood will not let him rest until he deals with a past tragedy. The spirit of a young boy, haunts him.
Melanie and her sister are unable to get over the death of their younger brother, Luke, which happened more than a decade ago. Almost eveyone who had been connected with Luke, has not been able to get over it. THen Melanie disappears all of a sudden leaving her boyfriend, Lion and their newly born son, Lucas...
Echo O'Connell, too comes back to the place she calls home after 15 years. When she meets with Grant again, she knows that, she can't go back, leaving her first love. But before both can find love love again, they have to face the past, the spirits of the place, the whisperings of the trees. Echo has to let Grant know, what he really is. Only then the healing can overcome the past tragedy, the spirit may leave to rest eternally.
How the lives of Grant, Echo, Melanie are connected by a spirit? Why is Luke not ready t leave yet? The secondary charracters are all essential for the story and have been well etched out by the author. I really loved the language in the Language of Trees, both literally and figuratively.
Started by Marcia, this August, Monday Mailbox is hosted by Shanyn at Chick Loves Lit.
I received the following five books, thanks to the authors/publicists:
1) Hidden Wives by Claire Avery
2) The Journey of Om by Chandru Bhojwani 
4) Blood Harvest by S J Bolton
5) The Wolf of Tebron by C S Lakin
In the past week:
What book tops your TBR (to be read) pile right now? Is it something you own, or something you have to borrow, or something you’ll be purchasing? Why do you want to read it so badly?
It is almost 5 AM. I have a cup of tea in one hand. Right now while I am writing this, it is raining cats and dogs. I am always exhilarated by thunder showers, lightning and rains. Somehow I feel so closer to nature.
July was a slow month for me, reading wise. I had read only one book until the 16th of July. But read 6 more in the next 15 days. 7 is a respectable number although I would have liked to read at least 5 more! Maybe in August I will add to my numbers. I read the following books. As you can see, all are of different genres ( I do have eclectic taste!) and not exactly easy reads. :
The Language of Trees by Ilie Ruby
The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley
The Wild Irish Sea by Loucinda McGary
Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross
The Gendarme by Mark Mustian
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
Last Last Chance by Fiona Maazel
One good thing I did that I finished with all of my reviews. Two of these reviews are scheduled to come up in the next few days, others you can read by clicking on the titles. Kind of liberating, don't you think, when we don't have pending reviews?
I don't really join challenges anymore, yet I decided to join in the Canadian Book Challenge 4, hosted by John Mutford of The Book Mine Set. I have already read one book for it, The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley.
Today I plan to read Blood Harvest by S J Bolton, for my own pleasure!
So what are you reading today, on a lazy Sunday? Do you have any recommendations for me, leaving out fantasy novels/Chick Lits? Better, if you want to send me some books, feel free to do so! *grin*
