The Casual Vacany by J K Rowling: First Page Mondays

I've already been talking a lot lot about this one and you probably have realised by now that this is definitely one of my favourite books - what can I do, I simply love these plots!

So, without further ado, here's the first page from the book 'The Casual Vacancy' by J K Rowling....Enjoy and do read it!!!

Part One

6.11 A casual vacancy is deemed to have occurred:

(a) when a local councillor fails to make his declaration of acceptance of office within the proper time; or
(b) when his notice of resignation is received; or
(c) on the day of his death...

 - Charles Arnold-Baker
Local Council Administration,
Seventh Edition

Sunday

Barry Fairbrother did not want to go out for dinner. He had endured a thumping headache for most of the weekend and was struggling to make a deadline for the local newspaper.

The Casual Vacancy: Real Life Reference To The Town of Yate?

 image sourced through Wikipedia

I'm currently reading this amazing book called The Casual Vacancy by J K Rowling. I've never read any of the Harry Potter series, though it's labelled as one of the most popular book series worldwide - I still think I'll be giving it a miss. And neither have I watched the movies, except the first one, which, I felt was okay - I'm not a fan of this genre, so I'm not missing out on anything.

Coming back to The Casual Vacancy, am I glad I am reading it?

The Casual Vacancy by J K Rowling: Sneaky Peeky Sunday

Reading this much-interesting book called The Casual Vacancy by J K Rowling. This was on my wishlist for quite some time but I was waiting to get it in paperback...that hasn't happened yet, and when Flipkart came up with their Grand Book Carnival, I made sure I got this one right away!

So here's the page I am on now....

'Go on.'

'I fucked her last night.'

Online Purchase: Flipkart Grand Book Carnival Haul

So few days back I told you how Flipkart was holding this Grand Book Carnival that was on for just 2 days....The moment I got this information, I logged on to the site, checking out the books that were on sale! The genre was vast, the books were really good and there were many I was already planning to read up.

Incidentally, just 2-3 days before I talked about the Flipkart Carnival, I had vowed to stop buying books for some time, as I had been buying like crazy and now there's hardly any space at home :-O

But...you know me, just like all my friends who immediately laughed off my claims that I wouldn't be buying books for some time....Ha! I know myself as well....so here's the list of books that I actually did buy.....

The Grand Book Carnival At Flipkart: Last 2 Days!!!

It's the Grand Book Carnival at Flipkart and it's the last 2 days - a carnival you just can't afford to miss.

So here's where you can immediately check out the books and order...CLICK HERE

No Longer At Ease by Chinua Achebe: First Page Mondays

Chinua Achebe is absolutely one of my all-time favourite authors and I have only read Things Fall Apart by him till date. So recently I picked up two more of his works, and here, I'm gonna share the first page of No Longer At Easy by Chinua Achebe....happy reading!

'For three of four weeks Obi Okonkwo had been steeling himself against this moment. And when he walked into the dock that morning he thought he was fully prepared. He wore a smart palm-beach suit and appeared unruffled and indifferent. The proceeding seemed to be of little interest to him. Except for one brief moment at the very beginning when one of the counsel had got into trouble with the judge.

 "This court begins at nine o' clock. Why are you late?''

 Whenever Mr Justice William Galloway, Judge of the High Court

Just Bought: Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue, Maps For Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam

So I had gone to the mall 'just like that', believe me when I say it - JUST LIKE THAT.......

It was a lovely afternoon, the plan was to have a few bites at KFC and just come back home and laze around in the house, not doing anything else the whole day. And then....

My daughter spotted a banner that said Kids Fest on at Crossword...so obviously we had to go, right?

And what happens when Debo enters a bookstore?? Well, you all know the answer! She comes back with books that she wasn't planning to buy at all!

Well, this time I can say with a little less guilt that the books I ended up buying were ones I was on the lookout for for some time and couldn't really find (spare 1 out of the 3 I finally bought after keeping the rest back on the shelf!) :-(

But the less guilt didn't last for long as I realised that though I had gone to the bookstore in the first place to buy books for my daughter, the poor thing only bought a Barney book while I ended up buying 3, for myself!!!!!

So what did I buy?

White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth Century India by William Dalrymple: First Page Mondays

An amazing writer, storyteller, historian and master spinner of word, no wonder this is one of my favourite books! Here's the first page from White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth Century India by William Dalrymple

On 7 NOVEMBER 1801, under conditions of the greatest secrecy, two figures were discreetly admitted to the gardens of Government House in Madras.

 Outside, amid clouds of dust, squadrons of red-coated sepoys tramped along the hot, broad military road which led from the coast towards the cantonments at St Thomas' Mount. Waiting in the shade of the gates, shoals of hawkers circled around the crowds of petitioners and groups of onlookers who always collect in such places in India, besieging them with trays full of rice cakes and bananas, sweetmeats, oranges and paan.

 Inside the gates, beyond the sentries, lay another world: seventy-five acres of green tropical parkland

Out of The Shadows And Into The Darkness by Senta Holland: Review Quotes

Harper Collins has just come out with a new Erotica called Out of The Shadows And Into The Darkness by Senta Holland.

So here's a look at what the international reviewers are saying about the book:

"Senta Holland, one of the new wave of erotic writers from heavyweight publisher HarperCollins..."

“Senta Holland: ‘As a writer from the next generation [of erotic novelists], I feel that it is time to step out and step up. I feel it is time for a new sexual revolution.’ - Marie Claire Magazine, UK

"Written in a fast-flowing staccato voice, this book delivers on all counts. A fresh and intimate picture of a quest for, and enjoyment of, BDSM as a sexuality. From jungles to urban landscapes, it challenges our capacity to fantasize and imagine and has us melting with delight." "No holds barred erotica....depictions of heartache, desperate loneliness, and the punishing social impacts faced by those walking this path" - CoffeeCakeandKink, London

Out of The Shadows And Into The Darkness by Senta Holland

Out of The Shadows And Into The Darkness by Senta Holland has come out this 2013 with Harper Collins publications.

A deeply felt and superbly written BDSM love story, Senta Holland’s ‘Out of the Shadows’ explores the beautiful darkness in seven bedrooms. You’ve been enthralled by ‘The Bride Stripped Bare’ and ‘The Secret Diary of a Submissive’, now prepare to devour ‘Out of the Shadows’.

Senta, a thirty something Londoner, travels around the planet looking for the man who can match her. The one she finds is her ‘Nai’, a high society American in Asia.

Senta’s story is both complicated and made more exciting by the fact that it unfolds in the dark world of BDSM, a world that can be hostile to single, independent females. Highly erotic, deeply romantic and insightful, this book shows the BDSM experience from the inside out, as reality, not just fantasy.

Colin Jackson The Autobiography: On The Cover

I absolutely love biographies and autobiographies, and the one I'm onto right now is called Colin Jackson The Autobiography by Colin Jackson and David Conn. 

So here's what the cover jacket reads like...trust me, it's a really good book and I definitely suggest you get a read...

...talks candidly about drugs, corruption and the personal sacrifices an athlete has to make.' Athletics Weekly

Colin Jackson is one of the greatest British athletes of all time. A sprint hurdler of phenomenal speed and ability, he holds two world records and has collected a record-breaking haul of 25 major championship medals. Spring 2003 saw him finally hang up his spikes after an amazing 20 years at the top of his sport.

 Here, in his first ever autobiography, Colin describes with

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon: Sneaky Peeky Sundays

Yes, I know am a day late here, sorry about that...so here's the page I'm on right now from the amazing creation called The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. What IS it with this writer??? Can't seem to get enough of his writing...

Here we go...

'.........them,' he said. 'As important as knowing when one is stubbornly following the wrong path.'

 'Might that path be the one that goes past Case Marlasca, number 13, Carretera de Vallvidrerea?'

 Valera smiled patiently, as if he were scolding an unruly child.

 'Senor Martin, believe me when I say that the further away you stay from that house and that business, the better for you. Do accept at least this piece of advice.'

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon: First Page Mondays

Reading this absolute stunner of  a novel called The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Ever since I chanced onto The Shadow of the Wind by the same author, I realised he's definitely one of my most favourite authors ever - with that dreamy, magical, mystical and somewhere-else kind of thing to his works.....I was waiting to get my hands on this one and finally did....So as I gobble it up, here's a look at the first page...enjoy..

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Act One
City of The Damned

1

A writer never forgets the first time he accepted a few coins or a word of praise in exchange for a story. He will never forget the sweet poison of vanity in his blood, and the belief that, if he succeeds in not letting anyone discover his lack of talent, the dream of literature will provide him with a roof over his head, a hot meal at the end of the day, and what he covets the most: his name printed on a miserable piece of paper that surely will outlive him. A writer is condemned to remember that moment, because from then on he is doomed and his soul has a price.

Crossword's Top 10 Non-Fiction Bestsellers This Week

The book chain giant Crossword just came out with its top 10 Non-Fiction Bestseller list this week...Here's the numbers...Yes, am definitely dying to read some of these, while some I may give a miss...Let's find out....And let me know which ones are on your wishlist too :-)

The #1 Spot is for Yuvi's book that talks about his life in the game, his fight against cancer and coming back to the game.
The Test of My Life, from cricket to cancer and back by Yuvraj Singh

Yes...this is definitely on my wishlist...I was looking forward to this one...

 

On #2 is the book Business Sutra: A Very Indian Approach To Management by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Best-selling author, leadership coach and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik shows how, despite its veneer of objectivity, modern management is rooted in Western beliefs and obsessed with accomplishing rigid objectives and increasing shareholder value

I think I'm gonna give this one a miss...or maybe not. My most favourite management book still remains The Tipping Point. 

The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor: On The Cover

Okay, I'm almost halfway through this epic 418-pager and already feel I'm taking quite a long while finishing it up...not finishing, rather I should say, devouring! Since I'm traveling, it's a little difficult for me to make time for reading right now, but I'm trying as hard as I can as I'm simply loving the book! A full review shall follow soon, for now here's what the cover says. And since the cover jacket does not say anything about what the book is about, I'll also add in the note from the author that's more of a disclaimer....Read on!

The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor

'An entertaining tour de force' - Sunday Times

Shashi Tharoor reinvents India with a dazzling marriage of Hindu myth and modern history...

' Perhaps the best work of fiction written by an Indian' - Khushwant Singh, All Asia Review of Books

'This is [a] fascinating novel. It made me sit up' - P.Lal, Telegraph

'The Great Indian Novel is a masterpiece of Indian writing' - Sunday Observer

'Shashi Tharoor's brilliantly written book.....merits to be called a classic' - The Hindu

'Every sane Indian should buy a copy of this book' - Indian Express

'A brilliant concept, well executed and something in it for everyone' - The Book Review

'The Great Indian Novel might upset a few people, but more than that it will entertain and amuse' - Bombay

A Mother's Love by Rosie Harris: First Page Mondays

Recently I picked up this lovely book titled A Mother's Love by Rosie Harris. One of the first things that pulled me to the book was the beautiful cover - a mother holding a little nappy-clad baby in her arms. As I read the cover jacket, I knew I had to read it. You can read the cover jacket here. Below is the first page of the book..Enjoy!

 'Julia Winter stood transfixed; her turquoise-blue eyes wide with surprise, completely mesmerised by the reaction registered on the faces of her parents in response to her simple statement, 'We want to get married.'

 She had thought they might make some sort of protest, probably try to walk her out of it even, especially since Bernard was due to go the Front any day now, but she hadn't expected either of them to look so shocked and outraged, especially since it was 1915 and the War had been going on for over a year. After all, she was the eldest daughter, and so it was surely expected that she would get married someday soon.

 Apprehensively, she linked hands with her cousin, Bernard Winter, who was standing soldier-straight at her side, and looking very handsome in his officer's uniform.

 The silence in the room, broken only by the stentorian ticking of the grandfather clock, seemed to last for ever.

 Julia bit hard on the inside of her cheek as the panic that had begun to build up inside her became an ache deep in her chest. She felt.......'

- Debolina Raja Gupta

RIP Chinua Achebe: A Master Storyteller And His Quotes

22nd March 2013 - the world lost a great storyteller today: Chinua Achebe....

The first time I got a glimpse of this master storyteller's magic was when I read one of his most popular work - Things Fall Apart.

It was the first time I was reading African literature, and as I turned each page, I couldn't help but get lost in the wilderness and richness of a culture that was so different from mine, yet felt so connected in some way. I was bowled over!

By the time I reached towards the end, I had already fallen in love with the characters, thinking of them as my own friends, people who were facing a common enemy, friends who were facing an assault on themselves, their culture and their beliefs, and it was making me jumpy. I so wanted them to be able to live the life they were leading. I was engrossed, connected and the story forever imprinted on my mind and heart.

It's been at least 10 years I first read Things Fall Apart, and I am about to read it again (it's a co-incidence that the news of Chinua Achebe's passing away came when it did. I wasn't able to locate my old copy of the book and just bought a new one.)

As I was going through the online world, I couldn't help but want to share a few wonderful quotes of the master story teller himself....

Art is a man's constant effort to create for himself a different order of reality from that which is given to him.

People create stories create people; or rather stories create people create stories.

Nigeria is what it is because it's leaders are not what they should be.

One of the truest tests of integrity is its refusal to be compromised.

A Mother's Love by Rosie Harris: On The Cover

Recently picked up a lovely book called A Mother's Love by Rosie Harris. The cover read really interesting, let's hope the book is as good too!

'When the truth lies buried in the past......

She disobeyed her family, and paid the price.....

Finding herself pregnant, Julia Winter is forced to leave home rather than bring shame on her family. Reduced to living in the slums of Liverpool, she eventually finds work in a respectable hotel where Eunice Hawkins, the manager's wife, is also expecting. For a while, Julia dares to hope for a better future for herself and her unborn child. But soon tragedy strikes - Julia's baby is stillborn at the same time as Eunice gives birth to a healthy baby girl, Amanda.

 Although heartbroken at the death of her own baby, Julia helps to look after Amanda. However, Paul and Eunice Hawkins hide a secret too terrible to reveal and it is only their deaths and teenage Amanda's sudden disappearance that Julia learns the truth. And just when she might have a chance of happiness at last, she is faced with the hardest decision of all........'

- Debolina Raja Gupta

Author Devon Trevarrow Flaherty Talks About Her Big Dream Come True: Her New Release Benevolent (That's Available Now!)

When Author Devon Trevarrow Flaherty wrote in to me talking about her book Benevolent (it has just released virtually on the 18th of March 2013), the first thing that drew me to have a closer look at the book was definitely the cover (I always believe that a good book should have an equally good cover!) and the way in which she described the book to me - '........also falls under the labels of magic realism and coming-of-age, and includes some satire, humanitarianism, and romance. Plus, if you loved the 80s, the 90s, Detroit, the suburbs, the Midwest, or Israel, you’ll feel right at home with Gaby and the rest of the characters.'

I immediately fell in love with the 'idea' of the book and was curious to know more. It was great that she had attached a link to the first chapter of her book, and once I was through with it, I knew I wanted to read what happened next. And I wrote in immediately to her, asking about it! I'm sure you'll feel the same, so here's the link to the first chapter of Benevolent by Devon Trevarrow Flaherty.

Since her book has just now released virtually, to hit the reading market everywhere, it's an honour to have her here on the blog writing a guest post....Over to Devon to know a bit more about her as a person, as an author, about her experiences, ideas and what all went into creating, and finally, giving birth to Benevolent...

Benevolent by Devon Trevarrow Flaherty: Available For You To Bring Home Now

Author Devon Trevarrow Flaherty's book Benevolent has just come out this 18th of March 2013, and this is one book you surely can't miss out on! As I was speaking to her some days before the launch, she told me that though most would categorize this 406-page novel as literary fiction, 'it also falls under the labels of magic realism and coming-of-age, and includes some satire, humanitarianism, and romance. Plus, if you loved the 80s, the 90s, Detroit, the suburbs, the Midwest, or Israel, you’ll feel right at home with Gaby and the rest of the characters.'

So what is the book all about??

Gaby LeFevre is a suburban, Midwestern firecracker, growing up in the 80s and 90s and saving the world one homeless person, centenarian, and orphan at a time. With her crew of twin sister, Annie, smitten Mikhail, and frenemy Mel, she’s a pamphlet-wielding humanitarian, tackling a broken world full of heroes and heroines, villains and magical seeds, and Northwyth stories.

Beginning with a roadkill-burying nine-year-old and a gas-leak explosion, Benevolent follows Gaby from her formative years; through her awakening during a soup-kitchen stampede; through high school drama; a college career filled with an epic term paper, a building fire, and a protest-gone-bad; to Israel, a land full of romance and mysticism. It all ends back in metro-Detroit with a cataclysmic clash to resolve all good intentions.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: First Page Mondays

I happened to read about this book in a newspaper column. The article was so interesting that I immediately checked online to see if I could find a copy - sure I could - though it was quite expensive, at INR 640 for 234 pages of paperback! But since I knew what the book was about, I just couldn't let it go. And so, as a birthday present last month, hubby got it for me :-) Super happy! I finished reading it in a day......it's an un-putdownable one and if you haven't read it yet, you've missed out on a masterpiece!

Here's what the first page reads like....

'It was a queer and sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York. I'm stupid about executions. The idea of being electrocuted makes me sick, and that's all there was to read about in the papers - goggle-eyed headlines staring up at me on every street corner and at the fusty, peanut-smelling mouth of every subway. It had nothing to do with me, but I couldn't help wondering what it would be like, being burned alive all along your nerves.

 I thought it might be the worst thing in the world.

Paradise by Toni Morrison: Sneaky Peeky Sundays

As always, I'm blown away by the work of Toni Morrison...I have read 2 of her works before, and this is the third, and as expected, the magic, continues and intensifies.....!!!! If you haven't read Paradise by Toni Morrison, you definitely got to read it !!!!!

Here's the page from the book I am right now on.....

...for sacks of raisins. Invariably they picked up a little something more from the shelves.

 The contentment she drew from Richard's fire made her smile. But she couldn't be a minister's wife. Never. Could she? Well, he had not asked her to be one - so enjoy the stove heat, the nape of his neck and the invisible presence of kittens.

 After a while, a station wagon drove up and parked so close to the store, both Misner and Anna could see the fever in the baby's blue eyes. The mother held the child over her shoulder and stroked its yellow hair. The driver, a city-dressed man in his forties, got out and pushed open Anna's door.

 'How you all doing?' he smiled.

For The Lovely Authors Who Write In To Me

All you lovely people who write in to me, the authors, the PR people, the bookstores or sites....I am really thankful that you take the time out to reach out to me, and that you liked my blog in the first place to want to send me a copy of your work so that I could read it and talk about it here.

While I absolutely love reading, there are of course a few genres that are not really my cup of ginger tea :-) I understand that they are well-received by many fans, but sometimes, there are books that I just don't get that interested to read, so I honestly have to refuse to be able to read such work.

Then again, one thing that I always end up refusing is the offer of reading a free e-book and talking about it. Just to illustrate once again, I'm like that cave-girl who will only only and only read a book that's physically alive in her hands, and not read something that's caged up in a screen. Sorry if I sound rude or harsh, and of course out-dated, but that's just who I am and I can't pretend to be something I'm not. So for all you lovely people whom I have refused and who I shall refuse on the offer of reading an e-book, I hope you do understand.

Lastly, just to let you know once again (it's there in my info section but I guess some people do end up missing reading it), I am based in Mumbai, India, and if you want me to review one of your books, you'll have to ship me a copy to my Mumbai India address. I understand that's it's not always possible to send over a book so far, so that's perfectly okay too :-)

I thank all you lovely people once again for taking your time out and visiting my blog, and liking a bit of it and reaching out to me......Wish you all the very best for all your future projects.....

- Debolina Raja Gupta

The Stalker by Mack Tanner: Review

Recently I finished reading The Stalker by author Mack Tanner. I happened to pick up this book by chance at a local used-books store that I often frequent, and since the cover jacket sounded interesting, I thought I would give it a try. As I hadn’t heard about this book ever, I had no expectations, and in fact began reading it thinking if it had been worth picking up. I was sure to find out.

The plot is set through six different cities across the world, where strangely, six Americans are found murdered – hanging in the bathroom. While this is one common occurrence in all six deaths, there is another, extremely disturbing similarity in all these tragic incidents. What baffles all those investigating the deaths is whether these are tragic accidental deaths, planned suicides, or the work of an extremely sharp mind of that of a crazed serial killer. The FBI, the State Department, foreign police and the Horizon Insurance Company officials are at a dead end, trying to pool in their minds and resources to arrive at a conclusion and get that one clue that will let them make some headway. 

Separate Beds by Elizabeth Buchanan: Sneaky Peeky Sunday

Have been missing out on this one for some time now, so here it is...the page I'm on at the moment...from the book Separate Beds by Elizabeth Buchanan.

...Tom kept his eyes on the board. 'But I agree we should guard against being too acquisitive.'

 'Dad.....pompous or what?' Emily poked his arm.

 Tom grinned. 'Games are useful in this way. The government should demand everyone plays Monopoly once a week in order to allow our rotten impulses full rein and to purge the system. Wouldn't you say, Annie?'

 Was this his way of making up for being so unresponsive earlier? Once, he had used this easy good humour to woo Annie and she had loved it. She hadn't thought back to that time very much in recent years but when she did so her heart took on a life of its own.

 She got up, ran water into a glass and drank it thirstily.

Dilly Dallying Books

The last few days, actually weeks, have been extremely hectic. Whether its work, freelance assignments, my daughter's social and school life and the many year-end annual performances she's a part of, and me trying to squeeze in some time and arrange the new home where we shifted barely a month back, it's going away pretty much in a blur now!

I generally pride myself in being a fast and voracious reader, and truly, I need to read to be able to feel complete, and that's something I've been missing out on these past few days and weeks!  Just not getting the time!!

There are so many books on my book list right now, books that I have with me and am dying to read.....such a difficult situation for someone like me!!!! Huffff......

- Debolina Raja Gupta

Separate Beds by Elizabeth Buchanan: First Page Mondays

The cover looked quite interesting, so I picked it up couple weeks back...Here's a look at what's on the first page.....the book is Separate Beds by Elizabeth Buchanan...

Zosia said to Annie, 'I'm glad you got home before I left.'

 Annie dumped a whole lot of Christmas shopping on the table and ran her fingers through her hair. Bad-hair day. Very bad-hair day. 'So am I. Are you in a hurry? Would you like a glass of wine?'

 There were just the two of them in the kitchen and the house was quiet and dark. Zosia always turned the lights off as she worked through the rooms. When Annie commented on this thrift, she had replied, 'We must not waste,' for the deprivations of Zosia's upbringing were lodged deep in her.

 Annie retrieved a half-drunk bottle of excellent claret left over from the previous evening and gave her a glass. 

 Zosia took a mouthful and leaned back in the chair. 'Very nice, Annie.'

If Only by Geri Halliwell: On The Cover

So I was browsing through a local bookstore that also has a maaaaassssive collection of old books in the form of old used books...so you can get anything from a second-hand book to a five-hand or more book, but always in perfect condition.....

The book I absolutely had to pick up was If Only by Geri Halliwell. I have always been a fan of the Spice Girls and absolutely loved their songs when I was growing up...so I had to pick it up...Plus the fact that I love bios, especially of the entertainment industry kinds, and the cover jacket was just too tempting.....Have a look....The best part about this deal for me? While this is available online for INR 642 in paperback, I picked it for only INR 25!!!! I can't even call this a steal!!!!

So now, without any further delay, here's the cover jacket...

 'Compulsory reading for every wannabe.' Mail on Sunday

 Like many starstruck girls, Geri Halliwell grew up with one ambition. She wanted to be famous. She had the determination to succeed. If only she could get just one lucky break, one chance, she'd prove to all the doubters that she could make it - and make it BIG.

 But as Geri discovered, the road to fame can be a very rocky one. Often broke and lonely, her life became an endless round of failed auditions and dead-end jobs. Then one day she answered an ad in The Stage. Someone was looking to form an all-girl band. The rest is history.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: On The Cover

Aaahhh....so I recently read a bit about this book in the papers, the columnist was discussing about a certain genre of writers and that is how she came to mention Sylvia Plath. The book is 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath. I was so intrigued by the description of the book and the author that I knew I had to read it. And the fact that my birthday is just round the corner kind of helped, as I could feel a little less guilty about giving myself a book treat. (For those of you who may have read one of my earlier posts, I am on a kind of book-buying ban right now, from my end as well as from my harried hubby, as I end up spending way way too much on books, plus now I really need to find new places to keep them!)

First lets see what the cover jacket says about the book.....

'Sylvia Plath
The Bell Jar

 'A near-perfect work of art.' Joyce Carol Oates

 'A girl lives in an out-of-the-way town for nineteen years, so poor she can't afford a magazine and then she gets a scholarship to college and wins a prize here and there and ends up steering New York like her own private car. Only I wasn't steering anything. Not even myself.'

 Working in New York one hot summer, Esther Greenwood is on the brink of her future. Yet she is also on the edge of a darkness that makes her world increasingly unreal. In this vivid and unforgettable novel about struggles of growing up, Esther's world shines through: the wide-eyed country girls, her crazed men-friends, hot dinner dances and nights in New York, and a slow slide into breakdown.

'Sylvia Plath's attention has the quality of ruthlessness.....imagery and rhetoric is disciplined by an unknown intelligence.' Observer

I got my copy online from Flipkart and it came for INR 610 in paperback....

- Debolina Raja Gupta

If Only by Geri Halliwell: First Page Mondays

Last week I ended up picking up this book at a local bookstore. I've always been a fan of the Spic Girls and found 'Ginger Spice' Geri quite cute! So it was obvious that I was drawn to pick this one up....

I'll share two first pages here...one from the Prologue and one from the First Chapter.

Prologue
Los Angeles, 6 August 1998

 Maybe I should start my story here, lying beside a swimming pool in Beverly Hills on my twenty-sixth birthday, watching a spectacular sunset through the smog. Between my toes, past the tangled hedge, I can look across Coldwater Canyon at hundreds of sprinklers revolving on perfectly manicured lawns beneath the palm trees.

 Winona lives down there somewhere, in a pastel-coloured stone-cladded mansion. Woody and Roseane are there, too. You can get a movie-star map down the road for $3.50 from a guy who wears a pistachio-green baseball cap and has a mobile souvenir stand in the boot of his Cadillac. I should buy one so I can tell mum about the neighbours.

 The police blocked off Sunset Boulevard for twenty minutes last week because President Clinton was in town for a Democratic fundraiser. There were secret servicemen on every corner, and the traffic lights were set to green so the motorcade could sweep through without stopping....'

Author Interview With Dee Williams

I was looking around the web for author Dee Williams and came across this interesting interview. I love knowing a bit more about authors whose book I have read or am reading and have liked, so I'm sharing this interview here with you all, hope you like it too :-)

I found this on the blog Romantic Novelists' Association Blog. The interview was conducted by Freda Lightfoot and Kate Jackson and the author is a friend.

Author Dee Williams was born and bred in Rotherhithe, south-east London, where her father worked as a stevedore in Surrey Docks. Having left school at 14 to become a hair dresser's apprentice, she claims her father accused her of not not being able to spell. 

Q: Tell us how you sold your first book  and if you had any rejections before getting that exciting call?
A: I have been very lucky. I have never had any rejections. I sent my very first m/s to Headline and after a couple of rejigs it was accepted.

Q: Where is your favourite place to work?
A: My study, it overlooks my lovely garden. When we first moved here after returning from Spain we had an extension added so it was purpose built.

Q: What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
A: The middle. I'm full of enthusiasm at the beginning as I know where the story's going and how I want it to end, but sometimes I feel the middle lacks a bit of get up and go, so I throw another problem at my heroine or bring in another character. This must all tie up with the story and all be resolved properly at the end.

Sunshine After Rain by Dee Williams: First Page Mondays

Happened to pick up this cosy book over the weekend and already about to finish....Here's the first page from the book 'Sunshine After Rain' by author Dee Williams.

'February 1912

'CONSTANCE. GO TO your room at once and take that ridiculous thing off.'

Jenny cringed. Her father was furious with her older sister. Their parents only called them by their full names when they very angry.

Connie stormed out of the room. Jenny went to follow, but her father barked, 'Jennifer! Sit down.'

Jenny immediately did as she was told.

'Now, young lady, what's all this about? Have you taken leave of your senses like your sister?'

 Jenny shook her head. She would have liked to have added, I'm not considered old enough, but if she told him what was on her mind regarding votes for women, it would really stir things up. She believed women should have the vote as strongly as her sister did, but......'

The book was published in 2005.

- Debolina Raja Gupta

The Book Worm Legacy Continues

Being a born book worm myself, what could have better for me than seeing the legacy passed on? Yes, that moment has finally arrived when I can proudly announce that much as my friends have forever known of me as the book worm, now my 5-year-old daughter too is following in the footsteps, and has already taken her initiation to the world of reading books, on her own!!!
(this image is for representation purpose only)

While me and hubby were the ones reading out to her all her favourite books the whole time, the day recently came when she surprised me by starting to confidently read on her own, starting from her books to her activity sheets to what she saw on the telly to even labels on bottles and all!

Of course I'm the happiest, but if there is anyone else who is happier than me, its my mum! After all, she is the one who introduced me to the wonder world of books and to the magic of reading..

The Stalker by Mack Tanner: First Page Mondays

Am reading this book called 'The Stalker' by author Mack Tanner in the middle of reading a few other books. This is a quick read, especially so coz its about a serial killer and is quite interesting. So here's the first page from the book....enjoy!

'CARACAS, VENEZUELA.'

THERE WAS NO REASON WHY SHE HAD TO BE THERE before they removed the body and Gomez knew it. All she was supposed to do was take possession of the dead man's passport, inventory the effects, and hold them until the family told her where to send them. Captain Gomez could have easily waited until the scene was cleaned up, then invited her in. Instead, he had called the Embassy and insisted she come immediately to the Fortunata Hotel. The sadistic, chauvinist bastard hadn't given her a hint about what she was going to see either. She had been expecting someone who had died in their sleep, lying on a bed.

 The door to the hotel room was open when she arrived, the room filled with uniformed policemen and investigators dressed in civies. Gomez saw her come in and invited her immediately into the bathroom, then stood there watching, waiting for her reaction. He didn't get the reaction he was hoping for.'

- Debolina Raja Gupta

Chocolat by Joanne Harris: First Page Mondays

I'm reading this cosy book right now (yes, that's the word that came first to mind when I started reading the book and even when I was watching the movie) Chocolat by Joanne Harris. Here's a look at the first page from the book...enjoy :-)

February 11
Shrove Tuesday

WE CAME ON THE WIND OF THE CARNIVAL. A WARM WIND FOR February, laden with the hot greasy scents of frying pancakes and sausages and powdery-sweet waffles cooked on the hotplate right there by the roadside, with the confetti sleeting down collars and cuffs and rolling in the gutters like an idiot antidote to winter. There is a febrile excitement in the crowds which line the narrow main street, necks craning to catch sight of the crepe-covered char with its trailing ribbons and paper rosettes. Anouk watches, eyes wide, a yellow balloon in one hand and a toy trumpet in the other, from between a shopping-basket and a sad brown dog. We have seen carnivals before, she and I; a procession of two hundred and fifty of the decorated chars in Paris last Mardi Gras, a hundred and eighty in New York, two dozen marching bands in Vienna, clowns on stilts, the Grosses Tetes with their lolling papier-mache heads, drum majorettes with batons spinning and sparkling. But at six the world retains a special lustre. A wooden cart, hastily decorated with gilt and crepe and scenes from fairy tales. A dragon's head in a shield, Rapunzel in a woollen wig, a mermaid with a...........

- Debolina Raja Gupta

Live Chat with Author Manil Suri About His Book The City of Devi

Bloomsbury India hosted a live chat with author Manil Suri today about his book 'The City of Devi' on ibnlive.com and some interesting discussion popped up. Here's a look at the chat transcript for those of you who may have missed it and would like a look :-)

To know about the book, click here

Q: I recently read an interview on Bloomsbury India's Facebook where you mentioned your recent love for seafood. What else do you like about the city? Asked by: Sunil
A: The sea! Mumbai has one of the most dramatic sealines I've ever seen. I've visited the French Riviera, the Caribbean, and the Amalfi Coast - they all are very beautiful, but there's something about that sight of Marine Drive that never fails to get me each time.

Q: Do you think people read a lot less now, than they used to? Asked by: Joycee
I think they probably read less books, given that there are so many different pastimes and pursuits vying for their attention. Look at us, chatting away on the computer - perhaps a half century ago, we'd both be curled up, engrossed in a book.
A: What was the biggest lesson you learnt while writing The City of Devi? Asked by: Rajat
I had a very tough time writing it - tying together the plot strands was incredibly different. At one point, I approached it like a mathematician, drew out a decision tree, much like you would plot possible moves in a chess game. Realized that none of my "moves" worked, so thought I had proved mathematically that the novel could not be written. Abandoned it, but eventually picked it up again, and managed to finish it this time. Lesson learned: fiction is different from mathematics.

Q: Congrats Manil. I am fond of writing and would love to write a novel, but haven't written one as yet. How can i know if I have it in me what it takes to be a good novelist ? Asked by: Ravi
A: The only way to know is to give it a try. In fact, give it two tries, since a long time ago, I started a novel, and then abandoned it after 5 chapters.

Q: Wow! That was a very mathematical response! A little difficult for me to comprehend! Will your next book on maths make it simpler for mathophobics like me? Asked by: Rhea
A: I certainly hope so! The idea is to do math outreach, since it has such a bad reputation. The ideas of mathematics are actually very interesting, it's the calculations that people have problems with.

Q: Do you have a favourite, out of all the books you've written? Asked by: Simone
A: Well, right now, I can only think of "The City of Devi" - definitely my favorite for the moment. Perhaps you should ask this on my deathbed - maybe I'd give a more reasoned answer then. Not only is it my favorite, but Jaz is my favorite character - and I even have a favorite amongst his one-liners: "I gave the Sikh a seekh kebab of my own." That one had me rolling on the floor for a while.

Q: What do we look forward to next from you? Asked by: Debolina Raja Gupta
A: Well, there's the math novel I think I mentioned earlier - I was hoping that one would be a quickie, but it's probably going to take me my usual five or so years.

The City of Devi by Manil Suri: About

Okay, so Bloomsbury recently launched the book 'The City of Devi' by author Manil Suri. Here's a bit on what the book is about....

'In the desolate streets of Mumbai, empty after threats of nuclear annihilation, Sarita can only think of one thing. She must buy the last pomegranate that remains in perhaps the entire city for her physicist husband Karun, who has been mysteriously missing for over a fortnight. Jaz - young, cocky and handsome - is also looking for his own lover. 'The Jazter', as he calls himself, is a Muslim, but his true religion has steadfastly been sex with men. Traversing the surreal landscape, always under the pervasive influence of the Bollywood cinema megahit Superdevi that some blame for sparking religious fanaticism, both Sarita and Jaz find themselves drawn to the patron goddess Devi ma, supposed saviour of the city. A wickedly satirical and fiercely provocative tale of individuals balancing on the sharp edge of fate, 'The City of Devi' upsets assumptions of politics, religion and sex in the present day's rising global superpower and demonstrates that, in the fallout of our mass media world, we are left seeking those we love most.'

You can head out to your nearest bookstore to get your copy, or buy it online from the Bloomsbury site here.

The book description looks interesting, and I will surely try and grab a copy :-)







- Debolina Raja Gupta

Chocolat by Joanne Harris: First Page Mondays

Wow, so I came across this gorgeous book at a local road-side bookseller selling old second-hand books. I grabbed it the moment I read the title...Who hasn't seen this magic of a movie? Im totally in love with it and couldn't have been more delighted to get the book Chocolat by Joanne Harris. If you haven't watched the movie, this is one story that was adapted as much magically in the cine world as in the words world....

Here's a look at the first page of the book....

'February 11
Shrove Tuesday

WE CAME ON THE WIND OF THE CARNIVAL, A WARM WIND FOR February, laden with the hot greasy scents of frying pancakes and sausages and powdery-sweet waffles cooked on the hotplate right there by the roadside, with the confetti sleeting down collars and cuffs and rolling in the gutters like an idiot antidote to winter. There is a febrile excitement in the crowds which line the narrow main street, necks craning to catch sight of the crepe-covered char with its trailing ribboms and paper rosettes. Anouk watches, eyes wide, a yellow balloon in one hand and a toy trumpet in the other; from between a shopping basket and a sad brown dog. We have seen carnivals before, she and I; a procession of two hundred and fifty of the decorated chars in Paris last Mardi Gras, a hundred and eighty in New York, two dozen marching bands in Vienna, clowns on stilts, the Grosses Tetes with their lolling papier-mache heads, drum majorettes with batons spinning and sparkling. But at six the world retains a special lustre. A wooden cart, hastily decorated with gilt and crepe and scenes from fairy tales. A dragon's head on a shield, Rapunzel in a woollen wig, a mermaid with a ........'

Author Joanne Harris













- Debolina Raja Gupta

Ayn Rand And The World She Made by Anna C. Heller: On The Cover

If you've read The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged, you probably love Ayn Rand too. I read both the books quite a long time back and don't really remember much of it now - I'm gonna read them soon all over again. So I was pretty excited to see this book at my local bookstore - Ayn Rand And The World She Made by Anna C Heller.

Here's a look at what the cover jacket says:

'Ground breaking...a thoughtful, flesh and blood portrait of an extremely complicated and self-contradictory woman.' - Janet Maslin, The New York Times

''Famous for her credo of individualism and unbridled capitalism, novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand never talked about her life as Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum, an awkward and offbeat Russian Jewish girl of startling intelligence. Yet Heller believes that Rand's adamant self-regard and vehement protest against any form of collectivism or social conscience are rooted in her family's suffering in early-twentieth-century Russia, where Jews were violently persecuted and personal freedom was abolished. Heller is the first to fully investigate and vigorously chronicle Rand's willful life and phenomenal and controversial achievements, from her sense of destiny (by age 11 she had already written four novels) to her arrival in America at age 21 in 1926, her work in Hollywood, and her reign in New York as a cult figurehead. Heller also offers arresting analysis of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, Rand's critically condemned yet perpetually popular and enormously influential novels of erotic melodrama and self-aggrandizing ideology. But the heart of the book is the wrenching story of Rand's marriage to long-suffering Frank O'Connor and her affair with the much younger man who packaged and peddled her beliefs as Objectivism. The champion of individuality who insisted on obedience and conformity from her followers (including Alan Greenspan), Rand emerges from Heller's superbly vivid, enlightening and affecting biography in all her paradoxical power.''
- Excerpts from Booklist review

Anne C Heller is a magazine editor and journalist. She has been the managing editor of The Antioch Review, a fiction editor of Esquire and Redbook , the features editor of Lear's and the executive editor of the magazine development group at Conde Nast Publications. With a special emphasis on money and finance, it was Ayn Rand's writing about money that first aroused her interest in the author, who is one of the most passionate defenders of capitalism of all times. Heller has written for a number of national magazines.
- Debolina Raja Gupta

Books I Read In 2012

Image courtesy beaubooks.tumblr.com- representation purpose only

I took the GoodReads Reading Challenge for 2012 and had set myself a goal of 70 books. I finished the challenge and am still reading. So here's the list of books I read here, have you read any of these?