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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.
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| Moi in Sari |
We celebrated Independence day (August 15) in our Apartments. Everyone gather for Flag hoisting. We sang the National Anthem and shared sweets along with greetings. Sharing a few photographs of that...
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| Flag Hoisted |
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| Children gathered for the event |
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| My nails in the colour of our National Flag |
What was the most emotional read you have ever had?
There have been many emotional read. But one that stands out is I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. Here is my review of the novel.
Title: I Know This Much is True
Author: Wally Lamb
ISBN: 9780061097645
Publisher: HarperTorch/ReaganBooks/1998
Pages 890
Thomas Birdsey, a 40-years old, goes to a library, all the while praying and with quite deliberation cuts off his right hand from the wrist. His only explanation being: by his sacrifice he can stop the war. His twin Dominick has always taken care of his schizophrenic brother for the last twenty years.
From there starts a journey of their story backwards. Dominick is the sane identical twin. He is the narrator of the story. This book goes back and forth from present to past. With deep dark secrets, a dysfunctional family, who really is responsible for Thomas' state? Born illegitimate with an unknown father, only father they know is Ray Birdsey, who had adopted them when he married Connie, their mother. For them he always remains the step father, at least in Dominick's eye.
The deep search into Dominick's own psyche to understand his own inner being might give a clue about Thomas' state of being. That's what he believes. No matter what, Dominick has to take care of Thomas. We see him hating his identical twin, and also the deep abiding love for his other half. The question is who is the stronger twin? Dominick also gets to read his family history but he still can't know who is his real father. His mother died without letting it out. Despite his love and care for her, he hates her for it.
This novel questions our own beliefs, our life's journey, and soul searching. Reading it makes us go through a whole gamut of emotions. Despite its length, it takes us in, with beautiful prose. With wit and dark humour, reading is not as difficult as I had initially presumed. With complexities of relationships, it is not a book for those who want everything neat and hunky dory.
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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.
Today I am showcasing Suzy's Case by Andy Siegel.
This wild ride of a debut thriller is packed with insider details that reveal the fascinating world of a New York lawyer who’ll stop at nothing to secure justice.
Introducing Tug Wyler, a dogged and irreverent New York City personal injury and medical malpractice attorney. He is as at home on the streets as he is in the courtroom, and larger than life in both places. Once you’ve met him, you won’t ever forget him.
When Henry Benson, a high-profile criminal lawyer known for his unsavory clients, recruits Tug to take over a long-pending multimillion-dollar lawsuit representing a tragically brain-damaged child, his instructions are clear: get us out of it; there is no case. Yet the moment Tug meets the disabled but gallant little Suzy Williams and June, her beautiful, resourceful mother, all bets are off.
With an offbeat, self-mocking style, Tug Wyler’s a far cry from your ordinary lawyer. Unswerving in his dedication to his mostly disadvantaged clients, he understands only too well how badly they need him with the system stacked against them. Tug is honest about his own shortcomings, many of them of the profoundly politically incorrect variety, and his personal catchphrase, handy in all situations, is “At least I admit it.”
When his passionate commitment to Suzy’s case thrusts him into a surreal, often violent sideshow, the ensuing danger only sharpens his obsession with learning what really happened to Suzy. Blending razor-sharp intuition, intellectual toughness, and endlessly creative legal brinkmanship, Tug determinedly works his way through a maze of well-kept secrets—encountering a cast of memorably eccentric characters along the way—to get to the truth.
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).
Today I am posting the opening paragraph of The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller
All that I have I carry on me.
Or: All that is mine I carry with me.
I carried all I had, but it wasn’t mine. Everything either came from someone else or wasn’t what it was supposed to be. A gramophone box served as a pigskin suitcase. The light overcoat came from my father. The fancy coat with the velvet collar from my grandfather. The knickers from Uncle Edwin. The leather gaiters came from our neighbor Herr Carp, the green woolen gloves from Aunt Fini. Only the burgundy silk scarf and the toilet kit belonged to me, presents from the previous Christmas.
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 Book Romances That You Think Would Make It In The Real World
We the Living by Ayn Rand:
The book starts with.....
"Kira Arguonova entered Petrograd on the threshold of a box car. She stood straight, motionless, with the graceful indifference of a traveler on a luxurious ocean liner, with an old blue suit of faded cloth, with slender sunburned legs and no stockings. She had an old piece of plaid silk around her neck and short tousled hair, and a stockingcap with a bright yellow tassel. She had a calm mouth and slightly widened eyes witha defiant, enraptured, solemnly and fearfully expectant look of a warrior who is entering a strange city and is not quite sure whether he is entering it as a conqueror or a captive."
Taken from Wikipedia:
The story takes place from 1922 to 1925, in post-revolutionary Russia
A heroine like Kira has two men in her life, Leo and Andrei....Kira loves Leo and Andrei loves Kira.....
Kira and Leo are shown to be united by their desperate lives, and their lofty beliefs that ran counter to what were being thrust on them by the State. After a couple of meetings, when they share their deep contempt for the state of their lives, the two plan to escape together from the land, on a clandestine mission operated by secret ships. He contracts tuberculosis and is prescribed treatment and recuperation in a sanatorium in Crimea in the South. Kira's efforts to finance his treatment fail, and her passionate appeals to the authorities to get State help for his stay at the sanatorium fall on deaf ears.
Andrei, an equally important person in Kira's life, is portrayed by Rand as a man of character, resolve, and an unassailable loyalty to his party and ideology. Despite his political beliefs, Kira finds him to be the one person she could trust, and with whom she could discuss her most intimate thoughts and views. Not even Leo could fulfill that role for her. Andrei's affection and respect for Kira knows no bounds, and it slowly turns into love. Worried what this might do to their "beautiful and rare" friendship, he starts avoiding Kira. Kira misses him, and needs his help. Eventually when she confronts him in his house, Andrei explains his avoidance of her and confesses his love for her. Kira is dismayed at first, but recovers to find in it a way to finance Leo's treatment. Reluctant, but in desperation, she feigns love for Andrei, and agrees to become his mistress in return for the promise of complete secrecy about their relationship. Kira is never comfortable with what she was doing with her body, but is even more frightened by "what she was doing to another man's soul".
Kira remains loyal to her love for Leo until the end, and says at one point, "When a person dies, one does not stop loving him, does one?"
I feel that such situations happen in real life and love does drive one to madness..
Only one novel....and this is it...
He disappeared into a utility closet, came out the other side onto a landing which led to another hidden staircase. In decades past, this had been used to haul convicts from the jail to the main courtroom to face the wrath of the judges, but now it was seldom used.
Title: Theodore Boone: The Accused
Author: John Grisham
ISBN: 9781444757194
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton/2012
Pages: 288
Synopsis: [From the back cover]
Theodore Boone is the thirteen-year-old who knows more about the law than most adult lawyers. He certainly never expected to be a victim of crime himself. But then his bike is vandalized, he's attacked while doing his homework. and, worst of all, framed for robbery.
When stolen computer equipment turns up in Theo's school locker, the police start leaning on him hard. And he is the only suspect. What if he's found guilty? What about his dreams of becoming a lawyer?
In a race against time, aided by his renegade uncle, Ike, Theo must find the rel felon and reveal the true motivation behind the crimes of which he stands accused.
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My views:
Theo's bike is vandalized, someone throws a rock at his window while he is doing his homework, and most of the stolen computer equipment are found in his school locker. The police get an anonymous call and Theo is the prime suspect for the robbery.
Theo has nightmares of being put in jail and everyone calling him a jailbird. It went on and on. Then his Uncle tells him to steal the password of his parents filing system in the computer. Pre-teens are easily influenced and might end up thinking it is the done thing!
I do like Grisham novels but this one did not appeal to me.
Bleed For Me by Michael Robotham
The story starts with Sienna. Sienna cuts herself. “you want to know the reason? you want to know why someone would want to bleed in secret? it’s because i deserve it. i deserve to be punished. to punish myself. love is pain and pain is love….you think you understand me. you don’t. i bleed for you.”
This book gets right to the business of sucking you in as a reader as any good crime fiction should. Ex-detective Ray Hegarty is found in a pool of blood in his teenage daughter Sienna's bedroom. She is found covered in his blood. It looks like a clear cut case of the daughter murdering the father. The protagonist, Professor Joe O’Loughlin is made investigating psychologist on the case. Sienna happens to be his daughter Charlie's friend. When Joe starts his work of analyzing Sienna, murky details start coming up, with the murderer being someone totally unexpected.
Professor O’Loughlin is battling the onset of Parkinson’s disease, along with battling separation from his wife and daughters. Parallel to the main story, we also get to know about the trial of a boy who has been accused of burning an entire family of immigrants to death. It seems like a racial hate crime. There are many issues dealt with in the book, e.g., psychopathic murderers, child abuse, and racism all dealt in a very plausible manner.
I teach young girls like Sienna and Charlie. At certain points, the novel scared me. It does deal with teenage issues, like anguish, conflicted emotions and confusion. The novel resonated with me. Yes, I recommend this novel. To all crime fiction readers and also for teachers as well as parents. Do you really know what goes inside your child's mind?
Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. 5 Minutes For Books hosting MM for the month of August.
My mailbox was empty last week. Hope I get a few in the coming week. However, I downloaded a few galleys from Netgalley.
1) Waiting For Zoe by James Russell Ament
2) Montana Dreams by Jillian Hart
3) Deserving of his Diamonds by Melanie Milburne
4) Tower of Treasure by Scott Chantler
5) Luz Sees the Light by Claudia Dávila
6) The River by Michael Neale
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey
I finished reading:
Love's Portrait by Monica Burns
The Marriage Price by Alma Katsu
Oceans Between Us by Helen Scott Taylor
This Side Of Eden by Derrick St. James
Sea Scoundrel by Annette Blair
Montana Dreams by Jillian Hart
I am in the midst of reading:
Varied Novels!
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Do you snack while you read? If so, what is your favorite reading snack?
I usually do not snack while eating but I do, I pick up crispies, rice crispies being my favourite. In summer, I like a tall glass of iced lemon tea...
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.
It was Krishna Janmashtami (Lord Krishna's Birthday) yesterday. I had gone to Sri Jagannath Temple, Hauz Khas, Delhi. Took some pictures. Posting a few here.....Click on the photos to embiggen....
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| Look at the flooring |
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| Everyone seems to be taking pictures |
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| Floral cradle for the birth of Lord Krishna |
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| People queuing up for food coupons |
