Sunday 31 December 2017

My 2017 in Books




It is the end of the year, and statistically GR says,

I have completed 143 books against a target of 125.
Page count - 33748 (with 4 books missing the related data)
Average rating - 3.8

Several 5 stars this year, so naturally it was a great year for me.

Started with FD's Idiot, and ended with M.R. James's creepy cutesy horror story, (well the kind of horror actually suited for kids like me) a fabulous year, particularly the period ending August. The last four months brought me several things to focus, or reasons to quote for not focusing on reading.

Some best reading experiences this year -

* Dostoevsky, falling in love with his rants, admiring his women, taking emotional rides with his narration. My last FD for the year was a gentle creature, which I picked just like that to pass a brief period of feeling low for no reason I wanted to break down and so I chose a FD. And one of the best pieces ever read. It is this kind of love that touches my heart, which is also why every other popular love story doesn't go well with me.

* Brothers Karamazov - Immediate thought - was this good or was Idiot better. Well Idiot was my first FD, and I love it more. BK is a masterpiece, FD's perfection.

* Short Reads - One of the best things that happened to me. Several novellas, anthologies and short stories. I have always loved these over long books, reason these need enormous talent to keep the reader hooked. It was one of the reasons for the magic number of 143.

* Failed Experiments - Popular reads that totally failed, the genres I never ventured into safely, tried experimenting and failed miserably, one and two stars. But that was good too, I tried and only then failed. :-)

* Randomly my best reads out of the 5 starred ones other than FD,

Ghostwritten
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

* Books that surprised me,

Train to Pakistan
The Library of Unrequited Love
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character

* Made me Ecstatic, ultimate reading experiences

A Room of One's Own
Chess Story
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Like Water for Chocolate


* Reco-es that were lovely and totally stumped me,

Breathing Lessons
A Clockwork Orange
Dandelion Wine

* Books that sounded better due to lovely discussions,

When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife
Miss Laila, Armed and Dangerous
A House to Let

* Books that I read with friends, successfully completed and loved,

The Woman in White
Norwegian Wood
The Count of Monte Cristo
Farewell My Friend

* Books that I wish I unread,

Paper Towns
The Handmaid's Tale

Friday 8 December 2017

Bloody Kids by Andrew Holmes




**I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
My Rating: precisely 3.8 stars.



I stumbled upon the author's thread requesting a review, found the blurb interesting and so chose to read and review this book. I have almost read 0 books in Horror genre, so technically this probably is the first time I chose to read one. Needless to mention the catchy and creepy subtext children shouldn't play with chainsaws.

The author's first novel, ‘Sleb’, has been shortlisted for the WH Smith New Talent Award in the UK. His other works ‘All Fur Coat’, ’64 Clarke’, and ‘Rain Dogs And Love Cats’, also seem critically well received. This book is definitely a 4-5 stars for any fan of the genre. It was a bit horrible around 70% and somehow it was unfathomable or scary to imagine such kids. But the story didn't sound unreal.

At the outset, the cover is perfect for the genre and the title. The plot and the characters are interesting and engaging. There is never a dull moment since the beginning of this fast paced horror story, that has each chapter alternating between past and present. The element of mystery on who and why continues until the end, and the twists and turns of events made me seriously pray for some miracle to steer the story in a different way.

The end looked a bit hurried. If not for the reduced reading time that I am prone to these days, I would have completed in a day or two, such was the narration and story-line. Highly recommended for horror fans.

Sunday 3 December 2017

An Awfully Big Adventure by Aniesha Brahma



The novel starts with the story of the heartbreaking divorce of Yoshita's parents, and the author has brilliantly narrated the effects on the nine year old, her emotions, beliefs, all the time not taking sides with either of the parents. This is totally from the viewpoint of the young kid, and forms the core of the story.

The story then ventures into the second marriage of Mr. Ray, to a widow Mrs. Bannerjee, thereby adding Tanay, her son to the story. While Yoshita's belief in fairy tale and fantasy have disappeared since the great debacle that is the divorce of her parents, Tanay is still strong about these and is a true believer. Add to it the age difference between the two, and that explains their disagreements most of the time.

The author has refrained from taking the usual route of wicked step mom  or the wicked step dad, and kept the premise simple, real and more positive. This is laudable, and gives better scope in reflecting the feelings of the young kids, and ponder on why they feel the way they do, is it because of the circumstances that led to their parents becoming single parents or due to their age?

On Tanay's tenth birthday they accidentally end up at a magical place, The Charmed City. What unfolds is a really awesome adventure for the two and the reader. It's a magical ride through known fairy tales, characters already heard about, but kept simple and lovable. The conversation between the characters are funny and make an interesting read. 


Aniesha Brahma has given a wonderful tale, reinforcing the need to believe in magic, and have hopes. The end of the story suggests the adventure is only briefly closed, so a series could be expected, wish the series keeps the interest of the readers intact.

I would definitely recommend this book to kids aged 9 and above.