Spine-chilling Reads for this October: The Stuff of Nightmares!

If there is one maxim about books that every book-lover knows and agrees to, it is this: The book is always better than the movie! The reason is quite simple, really. The words in a book are fodder for that thing in our mind that is rarely ever in our control - our imaginations! What we can conjure up in our imaginations is much more thrilling than anything man can represent through the visual medium. 

This is more true than when you are reading the horror genre. There is something about horror that pulls you in, against your own good sense. This happens to me all the time. In the course of reading a horror novel, I keep jumping at every little sound or movement around me, and am convinced that some horrible creature is hiding behind every curtain, chair and darkened door. The minute I finish the book, I tell myself, "Never again!" And then I go to the library, and the Stephen Kings and the Dean Koontz' start calling out to me, and I cave and borrow another 800 pages of fear and regret!

So, 'Misery' loves company (get it?) and I am passing on these horror gems to you too. Here are a few novels that made me afraid of my own shadow for a really long time. Enjoy!

1. Lisey's Story, Stephen King: What is a list of horror fiction, without the king of horror himself? I

was watching a talk that Stephen King gave some students, and in it he says that people always ask him about his childhood to find out what trauma could have messed up his brain so badly. He claims that nothing happened, but I have to humbly disagree. That man has a very active imagination, I accept. But that level of 'messed up' has to be purely certifiable trauma! Just saying... Lisey's Story is another one of King's novels that I feel has a lot of him in it. It's the story of Scott Landon, a successful novelist, as recollected by Lisey Landon, his widow. Along with her, we peek into the history of mental illness that riddles Landon, his brother and his father that ultimately led to the death of the latter two. We also see the "other world" that Scott has created, to deal with the traumatic incidents in his life. If the creatures in "Boo'ya Moon" don't give you the heebie-jeebies, I don't know what will! By the way, I am reading King's Duma Key right now, and already mentally prepared to kiss goodbye to nightmare-free sleep.

2. The Visitation, Frank Peretti: Ghosts and demons are all scary enough, but throw in some

religion and it downright freaks me out! This is one of those novels that made me feel so unsafe for more than a week. The protagonist of the novel is former pastor and now drunken recluse Jordan Travis, who is disillusioned with the church and its hypocrisy, and shuns everyone in his little town. A series of miracles (weeping statues, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing and the wheelchair-ridden walking) sets the tone for the arrival of a man called Brandon Nichols who does not protest when people call him the messiah. Apart from healing people, Nichols also has the eerie ability to find out what everyone in the town is up to, without even spying on them. Turns out he is in cahoots with the Devil himself, and has a couple of demons running around doing his dirty work for him. It now lies with the reluctant Travis to find out the secret past of Nichols, convince the town of the man's evil nature, and save the town from the wrath of this demonic man. The final reveal of how Nichols became what he is, is too scary to read or recount. Please do not read unless your religious convictions, whatever they may be, are really strong. I'm serious.

3. Dean Koontz: Though his stories are not outright paranormal and supernatural like King's novels, Dean Koontz's books can be every bit bloodcurdling. I think he is seriously underrated as a horror writer. I am including 3 of his books here, because they are really gripping and fast-paced, and Koontz's story-telling skills are better than most others in his genre. 

From the Corner of His Eye: The first book of Koontz that I read, this book has one of the most malevolent villains that the horror genre has seen. Enoch Cain Jr. is first introduced to us trekking up a mountain with his girlfriend who he adores. It's a romantic walk uphill, and when they finally reach the top, he pushes her off a cliff, killing her in cold blood! There are a lot of other characters in this novel, but Enoch is the one that gave me nightmares. He is a psychopath in every sense of the word, and often there is no rhyme or reason for his malevolent behavior. His unprovoked anger combined with extreme physical strength chills the blood of everyone who comes across him, and one has to wonder what it would be like meeting an actual person like that. No one gets out alive, I'm guessing.

4. False Memory: Imagine being afraid of your own self... Koontz fast-paced and gripping narrative forces us to experience the abject terror of people with various crippling phobias. They imagine sinister beings hanging around their homes, are afraid of stepping out of their homes, or are terrified of the cutlery  in their own kitchens. I thought I would be less afraid of the phenomenon when I found out that it was just hypnosis. But then I freaked out thinking that there were people around who had the power to shut down the minds of intelligent normal folk and misuse or abuse the poor things for their twisted pleasure... Brrrhhh!!

5. The Eyes of Darkness: This is the latest Dean Koontz that I read, and I have to say, it simply gets better. Interesting thing, though, is that this was

one of his earlier works, written under the pseudonym of Leigh Nichols. A bunch of kids go on a camping trip with their teacher, and are all killed in an accident. Among them is Danny, the son of Tina Evans, who died in that accident up in the woods, when he was just 12 years old. One day Tina has a nightmare where Danny comes alive, and she wakes up with her heart pounding. Soon after she finds the words "Not Dead" written on a chalk board that has been toppled over in her son's hitherto undisturbed room. There is one scene where the housekeeper hears a really eerie high-pitched sound coming from the boy's room and goes in to find the room literally freezing over. The characters constantly get the feeling that some sinister presence is lurking in the shadows and watching them. Although Koontz gives us a plausible explanation for it all, it still did nothing to calm the hyperventilation I experienced while reading this story!  

6. Deception Point, Dan Brown: This book came as a nice surprise to me, just when I was beginning to have enough of Dan Brown and his symbolism. Deception Point was literally a case of "don't judge a book by its cover" moment for me! Deception Point is a political+sci-fi thriller and calling it a page-turner would be an understatement. Every page has suspense, twists, and the heart-pounding that Dan Brown is known for. Plot points? Well, suffice to say that scientists find definitive evidence of alien life. And when I say 'definitive evidence', you know that Dan Brown has the magical ability to smudge all the lines between reality and fiction, and make us question our very basic knowledge and beliefs regarding our whole existence!! That's what he does here! Read it! It'll drive you bonkers!

7. Neanderthal, John Darnton: Ever heard of him? This was the first time I had heard his name, and

I was not prepared for the level of suspense in this book. A scientist finds a tribe of actual neanderthals living somewhere in the mountains in Asia. (Wait... is that racist? Oh well, whatever). Anyway, this fact is not revealed straight away, and it takes the two protagonists a while to figure this out. Meanwhile their journey there is simply nerve-racking for the reader. Coming face to face with the neanderthals is also spine-chilling, as it would be if we actually met some real ones, I'd imagine! The book does drag into the second half. I expect that is because the most interesting part (finding the existence of neanderthals) is over, and now we just wait to see what modern humans are going to do with that information. I read some reviews on Goodreads and I have to say some of them where a bit ungenerous. Still, I liked it a lot because the theme was so new to me, and I thought Neanderthal should find a place on this list. Yes, I realize I am apologizing too much for this book!

8. The Next To Die, Kevin O'Brien: Someone is killing off gay people in Hollywood in the most gruesome ways possible and leaking the personal stories of the stars to the press. Dayle Sutton, a rising actress, is all set to play the role of a gay lawyer in her next movie. As she sees her gay friends being butchered in real life, and their personal lives butchered in the press, she wonders if she will be killed next. The parallel story is of a Hollywood couple who are the people's sweethearts but they have a sad marriage owing to the mental illness of the wife. The characterization is very realistic and the murders chilling enough to make it seem all too real in our minds. 

9. Flash Point, Metsy Hingle: Another new find for me, Metsy Hingle is a great storyteller who creates enough suspense to make us want to turn the

page in a hurry. She also creates detailed characters who become endearing with their quirky conversations and their tender romance. The story is so simple that the paranormal aspect of the story catches us off guard every time. Kelly Santos, a New York photographer, comes to her hometown when she hears that her favorite friend and mentor from her orphanage has died. She returns reluctantly, only to see a vision of the murder of a man. She goes to the police to warn them of the murder, but finds herself suspected of the same. Only homicide detective Jack Callaghan is willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Kelly is shy by nature, and what forces her to avoid people even more is the fact that every time she touches someone or something, she gets a vision of the past of the person or senses if they are in danger. Hingle springs Kelly's visions on us so suddenly that it sends us reeling, just as much as it does Kelly Santos. A good read with enough twists to keep us guessing.

10. The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe: Well, hello! There has to be Poe! The Raven is not a novel, I know. But you read that poem and tell me it doesn't give you the chills. A raven itself is quite an unsettling creature, with its dead eyes, pitch black feathers, and the potential to gouge your eyes out (Thanks a lot, Hitchcock!). And then it just sits outside Poe's window, and repeats "Nevermore" and then stares at him. I think it was Poe who single-handedly turned the raven into a quintessential symbol of horror, thus completing the scary fauna selection for horror-movie directors everywhere. With the owl, the raven, shrieking bats, and the black cat, I think we have blood-curdling covered!


So there it is. 10 horror novels that gave me my worst case of neck-hair prickling, goose-bumps inducing, spine-chilling scares. Read at your own peril! Don't forget to enjoy...

Love Walked In - Marisa de los Santos

There are many different reasons why we like a book. Sometimes, it's because the story is so gripping. Sometimes, it's because the author is our favorite and we just like his/her style, sometimes we love a book because one of the characters reminds us of someone we know (sometimes even ourselves), or we love a book because we wish we had that sort of romance/thrill/happy ending in our lives. But sometimes...sometimes... we love a book because it is pure poetry. As cliche as that sounds, I am saying it from the depth of my book-loving soul!

It is not so much as the story itself, or the plot that carries the beauty. Instead, the beauty lies in the place that it should - the words, the diction, the thoughts, the expression, and the heart of the writer. I experienced this poetry in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. Pure poetry! I also remember feeling the same sense of upliftment, of being taken to a different plane when I read Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie". And now, I felt the same beauty flowering inside of me when I read Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos. 

The way the book starts - the very first line that the author decided to write on the very first empty page - is itself breathtaking: "My life - my real life - started when a man walked into it, a handsome stranger in a perfectly cut suit, and, yes, I know how that sounds."

And YES, I know how this sounds! You're going to say, "Pfft! there she goes again! Raving about some soppy romance novel!" But my dear friend, that's where you are terrible mistaken. This is not a soppy romance. Yes it is a romance, but there is a beauty in there that appeals to every woman. The beauty of love and motherhood, and the pain of having a beloved child plucked out of your hands and handed over to someone else, the reassuring warmth of family, and the wonder of life itself.

The plot is actually quite simple. Cornelia Brown (a most unlikely pairing of first and last name, if there ever was one), the manager of Cafe Dora, a little warm coffee house in Philadelphia, has a good, strong college education but prefers to work in a restaurant. She is a die-hard romantic and believes that every girl's life should be like The Philadelphia Story, where she finds the right dashing, tall-dark-handsome, smooth and suave man for a soul mate! And she truly believes it will happen to her!! (Yes, double exclamation marks right there, because, seriously, who is she kidding?! That stuff doesn't happen in real life. In fact, it doesn't even happen in reel life nowadays - anybody watch Knocked Up??)

But find him she does, and his name is Martin. She is head over heels in love with this man who can do no wrong, who will listen calmly to her without saying a word, and who will take her on the most starlit romantic dates. Suddenly, one day, Cornelia's world is turned upside down when a little 11 year old girl walks into the coffee house with Martin, and he introduces her as Clare, his daughter....


The book consists of two stories told alternately, from the point of view of the central characters  - Clare and Cornelia. Finally, their lives dovetail, Clare finds the family she longs for, and Cornelia finds the love of her life. As usual, I am not going to give you anything more on the plot. It is actually quite simple, and comes to the most logical conclusions.


However, there is a huge advantage in the plot being so forehead-slapping simple. Instead of filling the book with twisted plots, the author uses her space to flesh out the characters, to create a clear picture of each scene, each interaction, each incident, and each reaction of each character. She does this so well that at we easily begin to think like the characters in any given situation in the plot! It's like listening to your best friend talk about her life - you listen with involvement, have an opinion about everything, advice your friend on the next move, and are dying to know what happened next.


Read this book to see how a modern novel should be written. Hope love walks in for you too....sigh! That is so soppy and cliche but what the heck...

Commitment Issues and an Evening Class

I have loyalty issues - with books. You know, that urge to ditch a book few chapters in, and run to another one, simply because the blurb on that one is too darn attractive? Yes, I think if we had psychiatrists for bibliomaniacs, they would say this was a serious ailment... Commitment issues.

I went to Chennai last month, and where people come home with loads of clothes, fashion jewellery, jeans, and more normal stuff, my family went to Chennai and came home with a cartload of books. Now, give me a "whoop" if you get what I'm talking about! Some people out there might think it would have been more clever to buy something more worthwhile, valuable, shiny... I did try, you know. I went into Spencer's in Chennai, and I DID oggle at the purses, the jewellery, the food, and the clothes (especially the Kurtis and the jeans). But then I walked into the books section, and my mind went blank. I forgot about all the awesome things I saw back there, and gave up.

So, now I have more than 5 books sitting on my shelf, and I can't decide what to read. I also borrowed two books from The American library (located inside the American Embassy compound), and I have literally picked at one chapter each, still unable to decide what I should settle down with.

What did I do finally? I decided to clear the air (and my head) with Maeve Binchy. So, I read     Evening Class. It's a lovely book.

This was the first time I read Maeve Binchy - thanks Nameeta and Karen for introducing me to this lovely writer and for feeding my obsession!

So, anyway, Evening Class. The story is about how an Irish lady teaches Italian to a very diverse group of people. She runs the class along with a teacher who works in the school on whose grounds the evening classes are held. The class has around 30 students, and the entire novel tells the story of each one of these students and how they came about attending an Italian class.

So, if you're thinking, "Whups, that's a hell of a lotta characters," then you couldn't be more right! It starts with the story of Aidan, a teacher who has been waiting for the post of School Headmaster all his life, and the love affair between his 20-something daughter and the 40-yr-old teacher who actually gets the headmaster job... Oooh Harsh!

Aidan meets Signora, an Irish lady who followed her Italian lover to his hometown and settled across the street from him, and watched as he married an Italian girl his family chose for him, and had babies, started his own restaurant, and eventually died. During all of this, she keeps their love affair a secret, and finally returns to Ireland when the widow of her lover requests her to please leave the country and his memory to the grieving family. At this point, Signora also finds out that the family knew all along about the affair that had been, but had also decently refused to make an issue out of it. Poignant!

The story of Signora is really what laces the entire novel together, as she comes in contact with each character, advising here, helping there, appreciating one, learning from another, until all of them take home something beautiful and valuable from her Italian lessons and her personality.

Having said that, just you try keeping track of all the Irish names, the stories, and the back stories, and the what-not!! I really became confused at times, when two characters had similar personality traits, spoke in a similar way, or had criss-crossing story-lines.

In the end, though, it is a lovely book that you should read on a sunny Sunday afternoon, curled up on your couch, or you can read it in between watching MasterChef (like I did), or read a few pages every night, and go to sleep knowing that everything will be okay, which is my favorite way of reading a book! (So different from the sheer terror that you take to bed with you, if you read Harlan Coben! But that's a story for another post.)

I read the book, and isn't it a nice coincidence that a second book by Maeve Binchy, which another friend gave me (Thanks DazzlingRay!) was like a tangent story of Evening Class? The main characters of Quentin's are minor characters in Evening Class. So, it makes me feel happy that I know what EVERYONE is doing... :P

Anyway, I'll be back with a review of Quentin's as soon as I'm done.

Thanks for sticking around. Love ya!

Someone Will Be With You Shortly - Lisa Kogan (excerpt)

I'm reading Lisa Kogan's Someone Will Be With You Shortly, and I'm trying not to ROFL, so that I don't do further damage to my already creaky and achy bones!! Let me tell you, she is seriously funny! 

Note: I'm reading it for free - yes! Absolutely for FREE! - on Daily Lit. 

After I'm done with the book, I'll tell you about how good it was. Right now, I just want to share this gem with you...

"Chapter 5. What to Expect When You're Not Expecting

ABOUT THREE WEEKS AFTER my daughter, Julia, was born, I was standing in line at Russ & Daughters, a lovely little shoebox of a shop that's been serving the most exquisite Jewish delicacies ever since Mr. Russ loaded up his pushcart and headed for the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1908. I was ordering smoked butterfish and nova, sliced thinner than angel wings, as the guys behind the counter plied me with samples of apricot strudel and raspberry rugelach. It was spring, my baby was healthy, Russ & Daughters had just put out their marble nut halvah, and all was right with the world.

I was experiencing what the late, great Spalding Gray used to call “a perfect moment.” Please note, Mr. Gray didn't talk about perfect days, he didn't even refer to a perfect half-hour stretch. Nope, he only suggested that there are moments when life is inexorably sweet, but those moments are few and far between—and generally over before you can capture them on the teeny camera in your ridiculously tricked-out cell phone.

The little old lady to my left decided to strike up a conversation. “So, how long have you been coming here, dear?” She smelled like Pond's cold cream and cinnamon, and I liked her immediately. “Well, ma'am, my aunt Bernice first brought me here when I was just a kid,” I answered between bites. She smiled warmly and told me she grew up right around the corner, on Orchard Street, and had shopped here since the 1920s. “I raised five children on this food,” she said, pointing to the baked blueberry farmer's cheese. We were soul mates in sable, partners in pickled herring; we spoke the language of lox. And that's when it happened.

My new buddy suddenly reached out her bony little liver-spotted hand, patted my baby-free middle, and asked the one question nobody should ever ask: “When are you due?”

I toyed with the possibility that she had some sort of death wish. Perhaps the question was actually a thinly veiled plea. I mean, isn't it plausible that what she was really saying was “I want to go out on a high note, so I'll just have a taste of chopped liver, and then do something so heinous that it drives this perfectly reasonable woman to club me to death with a side of salmon”?

You see, there are certain questions that must never be asked:

1. Has your surprise party happened yet?

2. How did you first learn that your husband is cheating?

And, above all:

3. When are you due?

I don't care if the woman you're asking is wearing a T-shirt with a giant rhinestone-encrusted arrow that points to her belly and reads BABY ON BOARD. I don't care if she's writhing on a gurney in the birthing room of Mount Sinai Hospital, screaming for an epidural as an obstetrician announces, “One more push and the baby will be out!” You never, let me repeat, never, ever, under any circumstances, ask a woman when she's due.

“June,” I replied.

Some people collect coins, some prowl the Internet for vintage guitars; I know a woman with a closet full of antique Kewpie-doll heads. I'm not totally clear what turned her against everything from the neck down—she may have been frightened by a Barbie breast as a child. But I'm nobody to judge, because I, too, am a collector. What I collect are slights, digs, withering remarks, and the occasional mean-girl glare. I examine a good when-are-you-due story from every angle, I trade them with friends, I commit them to memory, I savor them for eternity.

Here are a few of my favorite insults:

    * My old friend Alison remembers the first time she had her Hungarian husband's family over. She cooked for three straight days. The woman goulashed and paprikashed and even put her tomato sauce through a food mill, for God's sake. At the end of the meal, her new mother-in-law took Ali's hands in hers, looked her straight in the eye, and said: “I'm so glad you feel you can practice on us.” Ouch.
    * My former roommate Laurie came home with an A+ on her test and proudly handed the paper to her father. “Jesus,” he said. “I always thought you had to be really smart to get this kind of grade.” Kaboom.
    * My pal Faye tells the story of spending an entire evening with a guy she met when they both reached for the same stuffed zucchini blossom at a fancy fundraiser. He suggested they get together the very next day for a picnic in Central Park, and she was delighted to take charge of the fried chicken and potato salad. The next day she waited and waited. Nearly two hours, one drumstick, half a pound of red bliss potatoes, and five weeks of dieting down the drain later, Faye picked up the phone: “What happened?” His reply: “Well, I honked ... but you didn't come out.” Yikes.
    * I bring Jules to the pediatrician for her annual checkup. “Would you say she's unusually tall?” I ask, hoping that she'll someday be able to reach all the stuff her five-foot two-inch mother cannot. “No, she's average,” he replies, quick and to the point. “Are you sure?” I persist. “My friends all tell me that she's really quite tall.” The good doctor peers down his bifocals. “Maybe your friends don't want to tell you that she's really quite average.” Touché.

Forget about kids; grown-ups say the darnedest things. Sometimes they mean well, sometimes they mean to lacerate, sometimes they're just clueless. The challenge (at least for me) is not to take any of it personally ... even when it's meant to be taken personally. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me, unless of course I decide to let them.

I've decided to stop letting them. I don't want to lock and load when a nasty comment comes my way, but I also refuse to duck and cover. Instead, I am going to answer clumsiness with equanimity, bitchiness with compassion, and verbal violence with disengagement."

Gone for Good - Harlan Coben

There's something wonderful about borrowed books! You know, you see it in someone's hand, and you lust after it with all your mind! You ask them for the book, or like some nice people, they give it to you when they see the crazy look in your eye :P and then you read it in one big hurry! Somewhere in between, they ask you whether you like it, and you say "YES"! Then they look really proud that they gave you the book, and you enjoyed it! And then, when you return the book, both of you spend a good 10 minutes discussing the characters and the best parts of the book, and how some character was really funny ("Hahaha! He was so funny, riiiighhht! hhahahahha!") and the villain was really villainous, and all that. Then the conversation ends with you saying, "You know what, I have another book by that author. Have you read it? No?! Then I'll bring it for you tomorrow, okay? Okay, yar. Thanks a lot, huh?!" And then it is that person's turn to look forward to the book....!!! Wow! If you love reading like I do, you probably just lived that whole thing in your mind just now, and are totally craving a new novel!! I know I am!

Anyway, Gone for Good by Harlan Coben is just such a book. I borrowed it from a friend, and read it in the shortest time possible inspite of a day-job, a daughter, loads of dishes, laundry, 3 meals to cook, a bad back, and the insanely childish urge to crash in bed at 9:30pm!!! And that, for me, is 1 week.

I loved the book. One of the best reads I have had in a really long time. It had action, drama, love, romance...no scratch that...it had almost NO romance. I honestly think that was why it was good! Leave the romance to chick-flicks and Jennifer Aniston, people. In a book, you want characters, drama, and pathos. This book had that. Oh, and a heck of a lot of twists...a tad too many if you ask me, but it kept me hooked, and that's all that matters, really.

The main character is Will Klein, whose life is filled with tragedy and horror that no one, including himself, wants to talk about. A few years ago, his girlfriend was found raped and murdered, his brother (and his hero) Ken is believed to have done it. Ken went into hiding, and the government has been looking for him ever since. Some say that Ken is probably dead, and Will slowly begins to believe that. Will's father is continuously grieving the loss of his favorite son, and the loss of the happiness of the ever-lovable mother, who used to be like a ray of sunshine in all their lives. Will becomes a social worker in an organization that takes in children off the streets, and rehabilitates them. He also now has a beautiful girlfriend, Sheila, who is all that he could ever have hoped for, and some more. Sometimes Will cannot even believe that he got this lucky.

Harlan Coben

The story begins with the death of the mother, and the shocking secret she relieves minutes before she breathed her last - Ken is alive! Will later finds a picture of his brother (much older now) and keeps it a secret from his father. He ventures out to search for his brother, and is helped by Squares, a former anti-semitic who is now a yoga guru, and is in love with an Afro-American model! Will's search for his brother becomes more and more complicated as Sheila suddenly disappears, and is found murdered in another state, and he unearths many horrific details about his brother, and about the woman he loves.

The story takes us into the darkest, most revolting depths of human-trafficking, drug-trafficking, murder, and the sleazy dealings between criminals, the law, and the police. At the end, your emotions can go two ways - you either feel disgust for the human race in general, of you feel that there is still some hope in this world, as long as people like Will Klein exist. 

My favorite character is Squares. He is a huge bunch of paradoxes. He looks like a gangster, but is a compassionate social worker who just wants to get little kids off the streets before they are pulled in to the filth of human-trafficking and crime. He is going to be the father to the child of an Afro-American woman whom he loves with all his heart, but used to be part of a Klu Klux Klan and used to be staunchly anti-semitic. He even had the Nazi symbol, the swastika, tattooed onto his forehead, but then added a few more lines and made it into a square! Hence the unusual name. 

Squares' words of wisdom - you should never judge a person by their appearance and activities. A person who looks dangerous could very well have a sympathetic heart inside, while a person with the most benign smile might turn out to be the devil himself! Just because someone was a pleasant and seemingly innocent person when you met them, does not mean that they will always be nice, or have always been this pleasant! Basically, what he is trying to say it, "Don't put anything past people! The human personality is so complex, that you can never assess what is going on inside a person's mind! So, simply don't judge, or form any conclusive opinions." Now, that's very pragmatic, level-headed talk, if you ask me.

Gone for Good is, as they say, Un-putdownable! I know that's a cliche, but there is nothing that describes this book better! This one's begging to be made into a movie - probably Matthew Macfadyen playing Will Klein, because he has the face of the naive guy that everyone takes advantage of. Also, I can only think of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith for the role of Squares!

Look at him! This is what, in Malayalam, we refer to as "Paccha paavam"!! Painfully, adorably innocent and naive

Okay, stop. Question: Has this book already been made into a movie? Hope I'm not making a big fool of myself here! :P Will you let me know in the comments?...whether the movie has been made, that is!

Top 10 Magnificent Literature that Made Me!

I don't know how many of you know this about me, but I'm an English Literature graduate. When I say this, people (including my parents when I told them I have decided to study English Literature), give me the 'woe-unto-you' look!! This look is closely followed by the knowing nod of the head to mean, "Oooohhhh, you didn't score well in your high school final exams, did you? Tsk, Tsk!!....Woe unto you...."

I've learnt to deal with the nay-sayers, though...mostly because I can use words like 'nay-sayers' and actually not feel foolish...HA! (I have no idea how that is even related...) Anyway, I took this decision knowing fully well what I was getting into, and I was actually excited to be doing something I wanted to do, rather than something I have to do...And, really, the best part of my studying literature, is that it gave me the passion for writing that has helped me express myself better, sharpen my creativity, and given me a darn good job!! So, what's not to like, I ask??

Being a student of English Literature meant that I was introduced to some of the best writers in the world! And I devoured these works of literature like I would devour a Chocolate Brownie now (by the way, I have a special announcement regarding Chocolate brownies!! I will tell all in a few days, in my other blog...!)[update 30 August: post is up now] And these works of literature have shaped my personality in a significant way. Sometimes, I realize that a particular book or poem taught me to think or react in a particular way, and sometimes, I don't even know I have imbibed a certain way of thinking from a book....Still, these books I bring to you have inspired me, consoled me, and guided me through the best part of my youth... 

I have provided links to these works that lead to the entire text of the book, poem, play etc. found on ReadPrint.com. I found this website a few months ago, and I can't believe my luck!! I mean, to be able to read some of the best books for free...that has got to be some kind of miracle!! Anyway, read on and enjoy... 

1. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - I read this book when I was in my first year of Undergrad, and I had tears in my eyes, thinking about the protagonist and her troubles. The important lesson I learnt from this book was 'Never judge people before you know the whole story....And believe me, everybody has a story'.

2. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost - not to be confused with "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening". "The Road Not Taken" talks about the difficulty of making a decision, and standing by it, about going against the current, and taking a risk. When we can do that, and not care what the world talks about us, I think we stand a chance in this life...

3. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen - Apart from the ultra-cool name this author has (I first thought he was Henry Kibzen!), I can't believe that a man from that age could actually empathize with women, and be a kind of ambassador for them. If it took phenomenal courage for the women of the age to stand up for their rights, then, I think it took equal courage for a man to stand up and tell the world to leave these women the heck alone! If you are hooked on this guy, read Hedda Gabbler...you will never recover!

4. A Hanging by George Orwell - A man known for his insight and foresight, this story stopped my heart at the horror that was the human mind! If we can hang a man, and do it with the nonchalance of doing our daily chores, then we are all that is wrong with the world!

5. Silas Marner by George Eliot - Well, first of all, this book made me appreciate the fact that I was born in an age where a woman can be creative, and get full credit for it without having to make people believe she is a man! I fell in love with this book because of a totally different reason. It was like this - we had a teacher called Mr.Elango in our second year of post graduation. He was the bees knees as far as teachers go!! We could listen to him for hours and not know the time fly by!! When he discussed a play or a fiction novel, he didn't just talk, he performed! He became the characters he spoke about, and we hung on his every word. When he discussed Silas Marner with us in the class, well, my admiration for my teacher somewhere flowed into my fascination for the story, and the lines are quite blurred now!! Mr.Elango is the person I try to emulate as a teacher and trainer, and the person I want to be when I grow up... There! now you know everything about me...not quite, but almost....:P

6. I'm Nobody! Who are You? by Emily Dickinson - This woman has guts, I tell you...and not in the mindless, maudlin, suicidal sort of way like Sylvia Plath (who, by the way, I totally detest...but I guess you already picked that up!). Just read this poem, and you will know what I am talking about. With these few lines, I think she just insulted every politician that ever lived, lives, and will ever live!!! Her sense of humor....well...I just wish I could have half that humor when I look at myself objectively. She is also fearless. I'm not talking about guts, I'm talking about fearlessness. Read up on her and you'll understand. Emily Dickinson is a true hero.

7. Othello by William Shakespeare - Okay, if there's one thing I sometimes wish for from the very depths of my heart...it is that I was born in Elizabethan England, and went to see Shakespeare's plays. Probably meet the Bard himself, and get an autographed poster of one of his plays...How cool would that be!!! Anyway, that's not happening...so I read Shakespeare's works, and stuff about him, like my life depends on it!! I loved, loved the movie Shakespeare In Love, and I cannot imagine how anyone can ignore/dislike this guy. I loved the play Othello more than any thing else Shakespeare wrote, because I felt in it he created the truest testimonies of human nature than any one has created in literature. Everyone who writes psychological thrillers, I think, in a way, borrows from Shakespeare.

Because I just have to have a picture of Shakespeare in this post!!

8. Mending Wall by Robert Frost - Robert Frost is a genius! His words are really simple, and yet poignant in the most profound ways. His poems are one of the most quoted in the world, and everyone knows at least one line of Frost, no matter what their standard of education!! I recited this poem for an inter-college poetry recitation competition in my undergrad years, and I was trained by Ms.Betty D'Couto. Cool name, cool personality, she was the epitome of Cool! Every girl in that Girls-only college wished she would one day look even half as good in a cotton sari as Ms.Betty D'Couto (she of the super cool name). She had bangs that came down to her eyebrows, and she made English classes fun...no scratch that...she made them heavenly. The teacher that had a session following Ms.Betty's, was always, ALWAYS, met with glazed eyes mournful looks - as if to say, "God, woman...why do you even try?!" I love all my teachers from Undergrad, but Ms.Betty made us speechless!! Oh, by the way? I won that poetry recitation contest!! Howza?!!

....Ahem...moving on...

9. David Copperfield and The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens - David Copperfield (not the magician, please, Gawd No!) made me cry, and The Pickwick Papers made me laugh...there were copious amounts of tears involved in both instances.... What the Dickens?!?!?!?

10. If by Rudyard Kipling - How many works of Rudyard Kipling you know, shows your level of familiarity with literature. If all you can think of is The Jungle Book, then your literary pursuits probably stop at Disney Animations!! On the other hand, if you have read the The Second Jungle Book (heh!) you're getting closer.

Okay, that makes my list of top 10, but you're crazy if you thought I could stop with that...Some works of literature that touched me, top 10 or no....

The Last Leaf by O Henry

A Prayer for My Daughter by W.B. Yeats

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Paradise Lost by John Milton

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas - this is not available on ReadPrint.com, but I the text is available on the Wiki entry on the poem.



Note: This post was entered in the Top Ten Tuesday Linky party over at OhAmanda.com. Enter your post and play!

Disc-lame-er: This post contains one dog, a book, a movie, 2 readers, a partridge and a pear tree!

Think you can handle that? Then read on...

Has anyone ever felt slightly weird when they start blogging? Like, 'Dude, why the heck are you talking to yourself?' That changed today for me, because I had something lovely waiting for me on my Dashboard -  listeners (a.k.a readers...commentors...people who actually read a post and responded!). I am pleased as punch...although I have never had punch...Hmmm....Nope...not even been punched...Yep...pretty sure...

Anyway, thank you guys - my two readers! Love ya :)

So, I have started reading after....like...forever!! I forgot how to read a book...chalk that down to having 6 gray hairs, one daughter, one job, one husband, and no time (or life) to speak of....This, people, THIS, right here, is precisely why I have only two readers...I am no fun, I tell ya...

I am reading Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts. I love that name...Billie Letts...the possibilities are endless - "Billie Letts go to the movies!", "Billie Letts vacation at the Bahamas!", "Billie, Oh Billie! Letts just sit out here on the patio, stare at the sunset and sip iced tea, and forget the world...Oh Letts, please?!"

I haven't gotten to the end of the book*, but it was like a sweet breeze that creeps up on you, blows the hair away from your face, and cools the sweat on your brow...I needed to read a book that told me that nice people really exist, and are not an extinct species. You know, Faith in Humanity and all that stuff. Thank you for the book, Dazzling Ray! And this is the cover of the book that I am reading:

image courtesy http://lyrics.smashits.com

Just seeing Ashley Judd and Natalie Portman on the cover told me that I just have to watch the movie. This has got to be full of Southern wholehearted kindness, and the drawl that I have really come to like more than all the other American accents. 

I have never reviewed a book until I have finished it (and a couple of lives have passed by!), but I simply had to make an exception for this one. It was too good to not talk about. Read this one, especially if your heart is suffering from frostbite, and you just want something to warm you up inside, or cool you down, depending on which part of the world you live in...This book will do for your soul what a lovely sunset and a sip of iced tea will do for your temperament.Trust me. So, Letts read Where the Heart Is...!

I am also now going to gripe about a disappointing movie I saw the other day - Marley & Me...OOOkkkeeey, that is probably soooo not going to help increase my readership..."Gasp! She doesn't like Marley & Me?! Oh, the shame...Tsk tsk!"

But, to be perfectly downright blatantly honest with you? I saw too much blonde in that movie! No, don't get me wrong...I have nothing against blonde people. In fact, I am amazed at how hair can naturally possess that color, since all I have ever seen is dark or black colored hair. Mine has a few streaks of ugly gray...which I totally mourn.

Anywho, I just don't feel that comfortable with all the 'bright'ness in the movie. The movie is an adaptation of the book, which is supposed to be a true story. Somehow, I did not get that impression when I watched it. It was too much like a no-brainer romantic comedy. 

And, I strongly feel that Owen Wilson should not be playing husband/boyfriend to Jennifer Aniston. You know, like I said, too much blonde!! He looks like a guy who could play her brother...come on, you know it...they look like blood relatives...it's kind of creepy...Okay, you don't have to agree...just my honest opinion here!

Pair Jennifer with someone like...Oooh, I dunno...Uuhhmmm...Gerard Butler...then we're talking! (about a totally different movie, but still...it works, right?) Or even David Schwimmer (Oh no...wait...that's just my FRIENDS hangover!)

But these two:

image courtesy http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews 

Nope...not working for me...cross your heart and tell me these two don't look like siblings...Go on!

Another thing - dogs movies...or animal movies in general...not really my thing! Now I could just relocate to another planet, I know. I must be the only person on the planet not interested in animal movies...but I just cannot enjoy them...cute ones, funny ones, huge and ugly ones...none of them go down well with me...I don't like this thing about making animals act...or worse...basing an ENTIRE plot around them (PETA will probably give me a medal for this!)

Note: I am also not crazy about having pets in the house....hence the lack of fun on weekends, and the totally bored expression on my husband and daughter (who both love animals), and their desire to go chase lizards instead...Brrr...I have shivers running down my spine right now, just thinking about it.

So, I sat down to watch Marley & Me for Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston (both actors whom I like a lot) but was very disappointed that the dog (who is from hell!) was the center piece...and I was bored very very quickly.  An hour and more of this was not really exciting:

image courtesy http://www.fanpop.com/spots/book-to-screen-adaptations

People walking one way, and the pet ALWAYS going the other direction!

And this:

image courtesy http://jtjoshy.wordpress.com

image courtesy http://www.cleveland.com/moviebuff

Dog going berserk and people chasing him all over town/beach/house...whatever.

And this:

image courtesy http://reviews.filmintuition.com

image courtesy http://www.theepochtimes.com

Dog wrecking stuff for the heck of it, and people tolerating/enjoying it. 

So, I posted all these pictures because really, this is the last time...

Note: I realized that I have more to say when I gripe than when I approve. Someone please hand me a self-help motivational book that does not involve animals...sigh!

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*UPDATE: I've finished the book, and I love it even more, if that's possible!

Pop-Ups, Choo-Choo Trains, and Silly Soup

The good man brought back some lovely children's books from his week-long trip to the USofA, along with some other cool stuff. I have always been a sucker for kiddies books...my mom loves to tell the tale of how I used to station myself near the book stand whenever we went to the department store, and would finish reading a couple of books while my parents went grocery shopping!! Parents are really proud of what their kids can do, aren't they, including reading an entire book without having to pay for it!! (This is soooo off the record, Okay???)

Anyhoo, I was 8 years old then, and now...well, I am a little older, okay...STOP counting...no, don't do that...

Okay, suffice to say, I still love kiddies books, and so does my Debbie, and we read together all the time...and she recognizes every story we have ever looked at... and I will now stop myself from going into an "I have a genius for a kid" rant...By the way, did I tell you that, this morning, Debbie got up on a chair, opened the CD drive of the computer (which was on), removed the boring music CD inside, opened up a Mickey Mouse Education Game CD box, inserted the CD, and sat down coolly to watch it!! My husband and I just stared for a whole 2 minutes, and then went to pick our jaws off the floor! She is 2.8 yrs old...!!!!!

So, these are the books that have kept her quiet, and out of our hair for the past week...

These were all gifts for Debbie from a good friend...

Everyone's Sleepy by Ed Vere - This is about how this little bear sees all the creatures around falling asleep, and finally goes to sleep himself. The repetitive nature of the words add a lulling effect that any energetic kid needs to settle down at bed time.

Richard Scarry's Pop-Up Numbers - Pop-ups are fun! End of story. Better if they are about numbers, and perfect for a little girl soon to start Pre-school.

Barney's Alphabet Soup by Mary Ann Dudko - Some silliness that every little kid needs, even when learning the alphabets (because the alphabet is serious business, people!). However, no points for guessing how ice cream, quiche, carrots, radishes, doughnuts, and all that taste in a soup! Silly, I guess!

In the Garden with Van Gogh by Julie Merberg & Suzanne Bober - I am still pleasantly surprised at a book whose sole purpose is to let little kindergartners gaze at classic paintings! This is a total Win!

Bake Sale - I could not find a link for this...so, my four readers (really, there are only about 4), if you find a link, please let me know...in your comments...not at work or at home, when you see me...that doesn't count as readership...please people, give me a leg up here!

The AtoZ book by Sandra Bounton - which was absolutely funny, but with really weird animals that I have not heard about at all...for goodness sake, what is an aardvark?!?!?

 My wild-haired child is frowning with interest (yes, we're Indians and we frown with interest) at a Princess Book to Color (again, no link, help please..)

This, here, is a train that doubles as a toy and a book. James the Red Engine by Rev. W. Awdry was lotsa fun. Debbie loved it (so did I!)

That's all folks, till next time...!

The Third Twin - Ken Follett

After a really long time, I was able to actually sit down and read an entire novel! I started with a determination to finish this book, but I was surprised at how easy Ken Follett made it for me!

The Third Twin is a fast-paced story of associate professor Jeannie Ferrami, Psy.D, who works at the Jones Falls University. She is carrying out a study on the relationship between a person's DNA to the probability that he or she will have criminal tendencies... you know, like whether you are born bad, or just made so.

The most important aspect of her study is that it is done on twins who have been seperated and are not aware of each other's existance. Twins who have turned out to be entirely different personalities are of the highest interest to the beautiful professor. In the course of her studies she meets Steven Logan, who is to be one of her subjects for study. At around the same time, her close friend Lisa Hoxton is raped by a mysterious man in the commotion that followed the break out of a fire in the women's changing room. A red cap worn by the man, with the word 'Security' written on it, is the only clue that the police department has to go on.

Torn between her friend's misfortune, Jeannie's aging mother's sorry state in an ill-kempt old-age home, painful memories of her irresponsible father who is still serving term in prison for theft, and her slowly growing attraction towards Steven, the young and driven professor does all she can to make the scientific study a success. Added to this, is the fact that Lisa claims that Steven is the rapist, because he looks like the man who attacked her! What's worse is that another man who looks exactly like Steven is serving time in prison for murder!!

Inspite of what her rational mind says, Jeannie believes that Steven is innocent, and now is even more eager to find out his wicked twin. Her work is suddenly shut down when Berrington Jones, the very man who spurred her study on, uses his power in the University to get Jeannie sacked!

Convinced that Jones and his high-profile friends (who own Threeplex, a medical research company that also provides a great deal of JFU's funding) have an evil secret that they would do anything to hide; Jeannie sets out to unravel the truth, prove Steven's innocence, and find Lisa's rapist.

The novel is rendered more intriguing because of all the twins walking around. The biggest hurdle in Jeannie's way is figuring out which twin she is talking to at any given moment. It gets worse whene she falls in love with Steven, but cannot reciprocate his love for her, as she really is not sure whether the man sitting on her couch is a rapist, a decent man, or some totally strange third twin!!

If that doesn't make your heart pound, I don't know what will!

Ken Follett is not one of the most widely read novelists for nothing! Making a knot in a tale is fairly easy. It is the unravelling of the plot that has most fiction writers stumped. Ken Follett does not allow you to guess the ending...ever! How did he know I love to do that! Just when you think you know what is going to happen, something totally unexpected takes place, and your heart skips a beat!

Definitely un-put-downable, Ken Follett's The Third Twin is one of the best reads I have had in a long while. Have you read it? What did you think of it?

Timeline - Michael Crichton

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Today I review one of Michael Crichton’s many books, TimeLine, one of his best works and one of many that were later made into movies. The story is about a group of historians and archaeologists who, while studying a site in the Dordogne region of France, find a mysterious message buried in the earth, and the lens from one of the archaeologists glasses. Soon, Professor Johnston (the owner of the lens), who works for ITC, goes missing, and the rest of the crew travel back in time to the medieval towns of Castelgard and La Roque (which were believed to be located near the site where they were carrying out their research). Researchers Chris Hughes, Kate Erickson, Andre Marek, and David Stern, along with a marine travel back to 1357 to look for Johnston.

Here they come across many misfortunes. Chris meets Lady Claire, whom he helps to escape from the clutches of the evil Sir Guy. The men are forced to fight in jousts, and somehow manage to survive and win, to their surprise. The team finds that another person from the present has followed them into the past. It is Rob Deckard, an ITC employee and former marine, who has gone insane as a side effect of constant time travel. Deckard has remained in 1357 after his last travel back in time.

After a series of skirmishes, the team get ready to go back home through the marker beacon that Chris has managed to get from De Kere. Noble Andre stays behind with Lady Claire to help her people win the battle against Arnaut, another bad guy.

The team saves Professor Johnston and, minus Andre and some people who don’t deserve to live, return to the present. Chris and Kate fall in love and Kate is pregnant. They find the tombstone of Andre and Lady Claire and are happy to know that Andre lived a good life.

Crichton reveals the depths of quantum leap, and the theory of the multiverse. The theory is that time travels in different speeds in different universes and that when one person jumped from one universe into another, he would land in a different time, either in the future or in the past based on whether time moved faster or slower respectively.

Another important concept is that changes made in one universe affect the events of a future time of other universes. Crichton explains these theories in such a simple manner that any reader, whether familiar or stranger to scientific theories, can understand the principle behind time travel, albeit as Michael Crichton sees it.

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