Have I waited enough time to read this that the entire world knows what am going to say? That it was a great book? Anyway today I feel like I just ended a relationship and am frantically trying to replace it with another book. It was absolutely absorbing. A mystery novel with a pretty predictable ending and all that but the character placement and the writing style was brilliant. It was like watching a movie. I would not recommend this book for people on a vacation or reading by the pool. Its a book to be finished in one sitting. I was so addicted that three hours after reading the book, I tried to re-establish the relationship with the movie. The movie sucks in comparison.
In between vacation planning, house and job hunting, paper writing, finishing up, getting frustrated, it was so difficult to find time to read. I had neglected social contact in person and online. This book somehow gave me a break from what was occupying my mind. I was reading in the restroom, making coffee, asking husband to drive me to work so that I can read on the way, walking, gymming so on. Thanks to kindle it was actually possible!
Now to reestablish this relationship, suggestions anyone?
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Kindle - A review
After consistently running for three months and developing a sore on my little toe, we decided I get myself fitted for running shoes and that is my ideal birthday gift. Surprisingly, my feet are stable. They did not need any additional requirements other than the normal cushions. I got some pretty good, pretty expensive shoes. Therefore did not see the kindle coming. When I saw the Amazon cardboard box, I knew what it was
I had some opinions on electronic readers. Therefore I had not expected to be gifted one. I love the look and feel of books, to feel the fresh pages and the smell of paper. Well, that’s what I thought. My love for reading also got me to own copies of books I really like. The result being an over flowing bookshelf. I guess receiving a kindle is an end to my clutter collection as well. But holding it really changed everything. It is really light, easy on your eyes and works with you to whatever comfort you want to get. I love it. I think paper is over rated. Really. I do think this is eco friendly, and the publishers get their money anyway. There have been books I had wanted to read, but waiting on the library for it. It does save a lot of time, quick downloads, free classics, audio friendly and wi-fi assisted. It is not a necessity, especially if you are not a regular reader. But if you are someone who reads to sleep every day, want to catch up on a lost reading habit or someone who reads more than three books a month, I would definitely recommend it. Some of my friends compared and contrasted it to Ipad2. I think the IPAD2 is not an e book reader and therefore does not have some of the reading comforts. And also, it is expensive.
I read Molaka’i, a fiction based on the leprosy scourge in Hawai’I. It was pretty good, and I thought the scientific misunderstanding of the disease and the biblical references were captured well. I have a long list downloaded including Ponniyin selvan and sivagami sabatham. A brave attempt to read tamil fiction. This whole week I have just been waiting to go back home and to my toy. (So there goes my need for running shoes). Happy birthday to me.
I had some opinions on electronic readers. Therefore I had not expected to be gifted one. I love the look and feel of books, to feel the fresh pages and the smell of paper. Well, that’s what I thought. My love for reading also got me to own copies of books I really like. The result being an over flowing bookshelf. I guess receiving a kindle is an end to my clutter collection as well. But holding it really changed everything. It is really light, easy on your eyes and works with you to whatever comfort you want to get. I love it. I think paper is over rated. Really. I do think this is eco friendly, and the publishers get their money anyway. There have been books I had wanted to read, but waiting on the library for it. It does save a lot of time, quick downloads, free classics, audio friendly and wi-fi assisted. It is not a necessity, especially if you are not a regular reader. But if you are someone who reads to sleep every day, want to catch up on a lost reading habit or someone who reads more than three books a month, I would definitely recommend it. Some of my friends compared and contrasted it to Ipad2. I think the IPAD2 is not an e book reader and therefore does not have some of the reading comforts. And also, it is expensive.
I read Molaka’i, a fiction based on the leprosy scourge in Hawai’I. It was pretty good, and I thought the scientific misunderstanding of the disease and the biblical references were captured well. I have a long list downloaded including Ponniyin selvan and sivagami sabatham. A brave attempt to read tamil fiction. This whole week I have just been waiting to go back home and to my toy. (So there goes my need for running shoes). Happy birthday to me.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
On the other side
Sumi drove back home with her head swirling with the smell of pressure cooked rice. It was queer to her how nostalgia was mixed in the smell of cooked rice, ends of green beans on a cutting board and grated coconut. She was getting back from her favourite new client's house who was from her own hometown, a place that no longer held visuals in her mind. They had become friends and Priya invited Sumi home. In a few seconds of entering Priya's house the screeching sound of the girls, sharp whistle sound from the pressure cooker and over hospitality of Priya's mother brought her childhood back to her. She had taken those things in her childhood for granted and actually never missed it later in life. Having migrated to NY for college education, Priya had consciously decided every step of her career from then on. She met her husband in law school, an aggressive farming lawyer. Sumi and her husband had always stepped each other's career up. Every decision concerning them, and their only son Ananth had been consciously taken and in their opinion, the best way for their son to learn. Ananth went to montessori day care,trained to be a latchkey kid and had a packed schedule to meet that of his parents. Sumi and her husband made sure Ananth did not decide their career. She loved her job. Every client and case brought her a high that routine family time failed to give. They could also easily afford Ananth's private soccer coach, Montessori day care, play dates, private schools and Disney land trips. Sumi felt it worked and Ananth had no regrets.
Priya's house hold got her introspecting every decision she had taken so far. Priya's lifestyle made her think if she was denying Ananth a childhood that she had enjoyed.
Priya and her husband had moved to Connecticut right after the birth of their first daughter. Being raised to be fiercely independent, Priya had lived by herself in her early twenties in Manhattan. She had graduated from Colombia and worked in the city for three years. Thats when she met her husband. The economic recession ate into her job but she quickly grabbed the opportunity to do other things that she had always wanted to in life. After the birth of her first daughter, she decided not to go back to full time work. It had been willful. She thought she knew exactly what she wanted from her life. Besides, between selecting home furnishing, picking up the family's groceries and carpooling, she hardly had time for anything else. Her girls had her full time and her husband's salary was enough. Her husband was not all for throwing away a Masters diploma from Columbia but soon realized she looked pretty contented at home. What he made was enough. She debated that if his pay was not enough, then what she brought back would not be enough either. They could afford fancy vacations, a town house at connecticut, and the girls' trainer. Probably not a private education yet. With the girls' grandparents constantly visiting, the house always buzzed with Indian cooking and high pitched conversations, she felt the girls were secure and happy. She convinced herself, her husband and her daughters that it was a decision, not a sacrifice.
Priya picked up a green scarf that Sumi accidently left behind. The soft fabric and the smell of Armani coming from it made for a second longed for busy 9-5 days, dressing up,coffee to go, mail-check on the train and the gratification finishing a code brought her. She admired Sumi and for a second wondered how much of difference she was making in her daughters' life.
Parallely, across the states a single thought wandered - At sixty, when the kids had grown up and left home, when they were back to being a couple, vacationing and debating where to retire, then would they feel every decision had been worth it?
Priya's house hold got her introspecting every decision she had taken so far. Priya's lifestyle made her think if she was denying Ananth a childhood that she had enjoyed.
Priya and her husband had moved to Connecticut right after the birth of their first daughter. Being raised to be fiercely independent, Priya had lived by herself in her early twenties in Manhattan. She had graduated from Colombia and worked in the city for three years. Thats when she met her husband. The economic recession ate into her job but she quickly grabbed the opportunity to do other things that she had always wanted to in life. After the birth of her first daughter, she decided not to go back to full time work. It had been willful. She thought she knew exactly what she wanted from her life. Besides, between selecting home furnishing, picking up the family's groceries and carpooling, she hardly had time for anything else. Her girls had her full time and her husband's salary was enough. Her husband was not all for throwing away a Masters diploma from Columbia but soon realized she looked pretty contented at home. What he made was enough. She debated that if his pay was not enough, then what she brought back would not be enough either. They could afford fancy vacations, a town house at connecticut, and the girls' trainer. Probably not a private education yet. With the girls' grandparents constantly visiting, the house always buzzed with Indian cooking and high pitched conversations, she felt the girls were secure and happy. She convinced herself, her husband and her daughters that it was a decision, not a sacrifice.
Priya picked up a green scarf that Sumi accidently left behind. The soft fabric and the smell of Armani coming from it made for a second longed for busy 9-5 days, dressing up,coffee to go, mail-check on the train and the gratification finishing a code brought her. She admired Sumi and for a second wondered how much of difference she was making in her daughters' life.
Parallely, across the states a single thought wandered - At sixty, when the kids had grown up and left home, when they were back to being a couple, vacationing and debating where to retire, then would they feel every decision had been worth it?
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Chaos
I wish someone picks up this world, shakes it, twists and turns like a rubix cube and put the colours back together.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
In a couple of lines
Very few pieces of a movie or a book leave you with a light feeling in your head. Like all your neurons just found something new to network like it never has before. After every such movie or a book, the deep feeling cannot be shrugged. A part of it follows you. I thought I will put down only a very few books and movies that at some point, in some dialogue or quote gave me that feeling. These are quotes from memory, therefore may not be the exact line.
PS: These are not necessarily my favourite books or movies just a select few that stuck to my head despite the bird brain!
Sleepless in Seattle:
Yes, starting with a cheesy chick flick. Tom Hanks after he lost his wife.
On the radio to “What are you going to do?”
Well, I'm gonna get out of bed every morning... breathe in and out all day long. Then, after a while I won't have to remind myself to get out of bed every morning and breathe in and out... and, then after a while, I won't have to think about how I had it great and perfect for a while.
All the King’s men.
I think I should have read the book. This is just an extra ordinary movie to describe the faultiness of nobility, if that makes any sense. Jack tries to reach out to his childhood buddy, but only for a purpose.
“Everyone has only one friend from their childhood. And this friend represents all their lost ideals, mostly lost. And this friend is probably only a mirage from memory.”
Shawshank redemption:
No explanation needed here I guess.
Red’s narration after Andy helped the guard keep his money,
“You could argue he'd done it to curry favor with the guards. Or, maybe make a few friends among us cons. Me, I think he did it just to feel normal again, if only for a short while”
Apocalypse now:
Well, I did not like the second half of the movie. But there were some brilliant parts about the movie. Something that will always help me connect with Vietnam war veterans and its probably this line by Kurtz.
“I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor... and surviving”
Picture of Dorian Gray:
That’s just a great book. Should make it more than a book. It should be a religion or something. Here are some of my favourites:
“ “”You are much better than you pretend to be”
““I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit.””
“Conscience makes egotists of all of us”
Fountainhead: This book sort of changed my thinking steering away from an underdog socialist, here is one of the lines, probably the most quoted line.
“A man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress”
On a lighter note
From Ice age:
Ice age is my favourite movie. My comfort rainy day movie and I love Sid, so every line is almost my favourite. Here is a sample:
Sid: Whats the problem?
Manny the mammoth: YOU are my problem.
Sid: Well, I guess you are just stressed. That’s why you over eat. Otherwise its hard to get fat on a vegan diet.
Blind side:
“I never thought we will have a Black son before we meet a Democrat”
Madagascar, again a rainy day comfort movie.
On hearing the train announcement
Did he just say "Grand Central Station," or "My aunt's constipation"?
PS: These are not necessarily my favourite books or movies just a select few that stuck to my head despite the bird brain!
Sleepless in Seattle:
Yes, starting with a cheesy chick flick. Tom Hanks after he lost his wife.
On the radio to “What are you going to do?”
Well, I'm gonna get out of bed every morning... breathe in and out all day long. Then, after a while I won't have to remind myself to get out of bed every morning and breathe in and out... and, then after a while, I won't have to think about how I had it great and perfect for a while.
All the King’s men.
I think I should have read the book. This is just an extra ordinary movie to describe the faultiness of nobility, if that makes any sense. Jack tries to reach out to his childhood buddy, but only for a purpose.
“Everyone has only one friend from their childhood. And this friend represents all their lost ideals, mostly lost. And this friend is probably only a mirage from memory.”
Shawshank redemption:
No explanation needed here I guess.
Red’s narration after Andy helped the guard keep his money,
“You could argue he'd done it to curry favor with the guards. Or, maybe make a few friends among us cons. Me, I think he did it just to feel normal again, if only for a short while”
Apocalypse now:
Well, I did not like the second half of the movie. But there were some brilliant parts about the movie. Something that will always help me connect with Vietnam war veterans and its probably this line by Kurtz.
“I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor... and surviving”
Picture of Dorian Gray:
That’s just a great book. Should make it more than a book. It should be a religion or something. Here are some of my favourites:
“ “”You are much better than you pretend to be”
““I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit.””
“Conscience makes egotists of all of us”
Fountainhead: This book sort of changed my thinking steering away from an underdog socialist, here is one of the lines, probably the most quoted line.
“A man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress”
On a lighter note
From Ice age:
Ice age is my favourite movie. My comfort rainy day movie and I love Sid, so every line is almost my favourite. Here is a sample:
Sid: Whats the problem?
Manny the mammoth: YOU are my problem.
Sid: Well, I guess you are just stressed. That’s why you over eat. Otherwise its hard to get fat on a vegan diet.
Blind side:
“I never thought we will have a Black son before we meet a Democrat”
Madagascar, again a rainy day comfort movie.
On hearing the train announcement
Did he just say "Grand Central Station," or "My aunt's constipation"?
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Dobhi Ghat
First of all, its "Dobhi GHAT" not gat. I was told this repeatedly before seeing the movie. But who cares, I am tamil! Its dobi gaat.
I thought the movie was caught between a documentary and a real movie with characters. The documentary part was great, did what the characters failed to. To me, someone who was never a mumbaiite other than just a visitor, the movie was soulful. I saw immigrants in India, how the city was built, whose existence I had not paid much attention to. The husband next to me kept asking, "So whats the point of this movie?" continuously. Well, I thought Kiran Rao was caught between trying to explain a story and romanticizing Mumbai. The latter, she did a very good job at. The layers of economy in India. These, a visual treat to the foreigner was not enough for the Indian in me. I expected to see that more, given the name of the movie. I wanted to see more of life in Dobhi Ghat, not a camera snap shot.
A friend told me it was a beautiful poem, another said the movie was like a painting. But to my unartistic head, I felt the movie lacked direction and it could have been great if there was only one purpose, either to tell a story or to capture the shades of Mumbai. The colours were beautiful. Mumbai, was pictured really well. I feel I would have had more appreciation for the movie without the three main characters in it. But to me, a person who loves places, likes to know the history of a city, it was a get away to Mumbai.
I thought the movie was caught between a documentary and a real movie with characters. The documentary part was great, did what the characters failed to. To me, someone who was never a mumbaiite other than just a visitor, the movie was soulful. I saw immigrants in India, how the city was built, whose existence I had not paid much attention to. The husband next to me kept asking, "So whats the point of this movie?" continuously. Well, I thought Kiran Rao was caught between trying to explain a story and romanticizing Mumbai. The latter, she did a very good job at. The layers of economy in India. These, a visual treat to the foreigner was not enough for the Indian in me. I expected to see that more, given the name of the movie. I wanted to see more of life in Dobhi Ghat, not a camera snap shot.
A friend told me it was a beautiful poem, another said the movie was like a painting. But to my unartistic head, I felt the movie lacked direction and it could have been great if there was only one purpose, either to tell a story or to capture the shades of Mumbai. The colours were beautiful. Mumbai, was pictured really well. I feel I would have had more appreciation for the movie without the three main characters in it. But to me, a person who loves places, likes to know the history of a city, it was a get away to Mumbai.
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