On the way to the wedding - Julia Quinn

Lovely book ! I like Julia's style of writing. An out and out romance novel about the Bridgerton siblings :) It's about the quiet son Gregory who falls in love with a lady but on the way, realises he is in love with the friend who tries to help him win the girl :)

Hheheh Lovely book and a lovely romance :)

Insider dating - Jennifer O'Connell

This was a different kind of novel. Sort of where the heroine who is divorced in the book comes to terms with her divorce.

Starts off with her creating a database of guys and their habits/dislikes/quirks so that ladies can check out guys before going out on a date with them to see if they suit to their taste. hehhe I found it a bit funny. :) I guess in the long run, I would not like to know how a person takes his tea or what are his habits before meeting the person.

But it was a good book in the long run :) Read it while running to catch a flight for Xmas holidays

Love in the time of cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

This was a book suggested to me by one of my friends. He told me that it was quite different from the other books that I read. So thought why not read this one for a change?

Turns out that this is really a nice book. It was a romance novel of a different kind. We have three main characters in this book. Fermina Daza - the heroine :) , Florentino Ariza - the so-called hero and Dr. Juvenal Urbino - Fermina's husband also another hero. Ariza sees Daza and falls madly in love. She with time falls in love but her father is against it. Then the father sends her off to his hometown, but still the lovers persist. When she comes back, after meeting with Ariza after all these years, she decides that she is not in love with him.

Then comes our Dr. Urbino who meets Daza when she is ill to check her. Somehow as you go long in this story they get married.

In the end, Urbino dies and Ariza comes up to Daza again to propose. And after a lot of dilly-dallying and chit chatting , they go off on a cruise :)

I have really made the story very short while telling you about it. There is more to it than what I wrote out here. But the book is a lovely one and the author's style is simply superb.

The Bone Vault - Linda Fairstein

This is simply a must read for the mystery buffs :) It is too good.

It involves a mystery where in a dead person's body ends up in an ancient sarcophagus just before it's shipped out of the country. This story involves the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Natural History, and the Cloisters.

A very good explanation of the musuem processes to acquire an item and how all items are identified and labelled is given in this book. We learn about burial customs about some tribe ( Don't recollect which one). The persons who investigate this crime are Alexandra Cooper, Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace.

All in all, it's a good book to read :) I understood a lot about museums and different aspects of things stored in a museum through reading this book

The secret of lost things - Sheridian Hay

This book certainly made me feel lost. It started out well with a girl whose mother passed away and who has moved to US from Tasmania for work. It tells her story how she helps out in a book store and how a missing book by a famous author gets located. Although Im still confused whether they find the book or not :) But overall the writing of the author is really good.

I came across the word "albino" here - It refers to a person who has a deficiency of melanin.
Good book in all.. but the novel was not found :( I was hoping that they would find it.

Also this is my first post with a link heheh was trying to see how it works :)

A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

Most of you must be wondering why I havent posted recently. That is because I have started reading this novel " A Suitable Boy" which is around 1300 pages. And even for a reader like me who reads pretty fast, this is really huge. So I thought I ll keep you up-to-date with whatever I have read so far.

My main intention of choosing Vikram Seth was that I wanted to read something written by an Indian author. Wanted to hear more from my country :).

So here goes the story line so far.

There are numerous family lines entwined here where ones sister is another person's sis - in-law. So in brief, so far the main crux of the story is Lata. She is a single woman who has just finished her studies and falls in love with a Muslim person Kabir. The story is so far around them and their families and how the family reacts to such news. The mother is on a search for a suitable boy for her, along with her brothers and sisters. :)

There is a nephew Bhaskar who is interested in Maths a lot. There is some sub plot invovling shoe makers :) And lots of other twists and tales. I liked the novel so far and hope it has a good conclusion :)

Three old books that I read

This is different from my usual posts :)

This is about three books that I read sometime earlier this year -
Memoirs of geisha - Arthur Golden
A thousand splendid suns - Khalid Hosseini
The Kite Runner - Khalid Hosseini

All three books are so good. I would recommend them any day

The first one is about a geisha. I used to think geishas were prostitutes or something on those lines. But these are girls who are selected and have a lot of work to do. They have to be good in the art of converstaion, pouring sake and entertaining people. Dont want to reveal all the details here :)

Khalid Hosseini's books also are too good. Both of them were marvellous and worth reading :)

Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen

This is a beautiful novel. I liked it a lot and have read it twice. Usually I don't like to read novels twice but I liked this one a lot. The name itself sounds weird. It is about an old man who is in an old age home now and how he reminises about the past and how he ended up being a vet in a circus :) The author tells us his story and moves from past to present many times in the novel.

It talks about Rosie the elephant who is a cutie but no one realises that she can understand only Polish and for a certain time, everyone thinks she is dumb and can't do any tricks.

It talks about Marlena and August who play the main characters in the novel along with Jacob ( the old man now) and how August has a personality disorder and how Jacob falls in love with Marlena.

All in all, the story is a delightful insight into how a circus works and how friendships are made :)

Hidden Places - Lynn Austin

Ohhh I started reading this book while travelling this weekend and I just could not keep it down. I just love this author's style of writing. She has a very feminine way of writing i.e. with emotions. I was upset, sad, happy and felt all the emotions while reading this book.

The story is about a young lady who is recently widowed and has now to take care of a fruit orchard. She has no idea of what to do and how to handle an orchard. It is also the story of an aunt who seems sane and insane at the same time. It is also the story of a man, a person who comes in their time of a need, who is seen as an angel to their prayers. The story is told through four different views and it is during the Great Depression when times were hard.

I don't know what attracted me to pick this book from the library. Perhaps the cover which I liked or the title which sounded promising :) or probably the wish that I also want to go to a hidden place and be there for a while, away from this world of mixed happiness and sorrow.
I plan on reading few more books from this author since I am so delighted with her style of writing. Will keep you posted on it :)

The Outlander - Gil Adamson

One of the weirdest novels I have ever read. I kept on waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen but alas nothing exciting happens :(

Was so disappointed with the storyline. It is basically about a lady who kills her husband and who is now running away from her two brothers-in-law who are twins :)

She meets various characters on the way and that is how the story enfolds. I was very much disappointed with this novel. Probably the author meant for the book to be that way :)

At times, I wonder if the lady is insane or sane. No idea and I still have no idea even after reading the entire novel.

If someone could explain the objective of this novel to me, it would be great :)

Note : Checked for the meaning of the word "Outlander". Here is what I found - a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country

The Wedding - Nicholas Sparks

I wanted to read this book after hearing so much about the movie "The Notebook" which was based on his book. I have always seen bits and pieces of "The Notebook" but never as such sat down and seen the entire movie :))) I know that "U, Me Aur Hum" movie was based on this book. And that movie touched me so much. Another plus point was that the movie had my favorite heroine in it after such a long time :))) hehehhehe Just love that movie.

Now about this book, it is so delightful. I just loved it. It touched the bottom of my heart :) It's a light romantic novel about a husband who forgets his wedding anniversary and how he wins his wife all over again with the help of his kids hehehhe

Simply superb! Would definitely recommend it for an afternoon read :)

Two Little Lies - Liz Carlyle

:) Actually I am a big fan of romance novels. God alone knows why :))) I have been reading them from a long time even though I know it is not worth it. I just like it. This is one of them.

It starts out with an affair between an opera singer and a Lord of some place. Then the lady leaves without telling him why she left and then they come together

All in all , it's a good romance novel. No complications and there are some suspense things. But it's cute!

A nice timepass for a long boring evening. I read this book while waiting for a flight and time literally flew :)))

The Abstinence Teacher - Tom Perrotta

From the title of the book and the way it starts out, it literally gives me a scare about what is happening in that book :) But it turns out for the better as it progresses in the story. I liked the story but I don't agree as such with everything in the book.

It talks about a sex - education teacher whose thoughts are that kids should know how to use a condom and blah blah and it sort of encourages sex while at a young age. I am not for that. I agree that we should be educated but we should know that it should be abstained until marriage. But it was a lovely book and I enjoyed reading it.

The funny thing right now is that one of my friends wanted to learn sketching and the cover of this book has two birds and few bees on it. I also want to learn how to sketch it :)) Probably will sketch it someday and post it here.

Remembering Sarah - Chris Mooney

This is a good mystery book about the murders of three young girls. It is about priest, abortions and how our beliefs lead us to do many things.

The suspense is kept till the very end. I really enjoyed this book. It talks about the emotions of a father who feels responsible for the death of his child, about a son who feels unloved by his father, about a husband who is unable to connect with his wife.

Talks about the wife who is hiding a secret and many other smaller stories entwined in this.
A must-read in the section of mystery novels.

The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd

This was a wonderful book that I read. It has also been released into a movie. I have not seen the movie yet but found the book very delightful. It talks about a white girl and a black worker who leave the girl's home in search of her mother. They land up in a town and find three sisters ( all black) who make honey.

The label on the honey bottle is of Our Lady but as being black. She is called the Black Madonna or Lady of Chains. There is a story associated with this and I wont let that story out. Read the book to find out.

Really a good book with great insight into bee-keeping :)

Goodbye and Amen - Beth Gutcheon

Hmm this book was a bit weird in the way that it is written from different people's perspectives. So at one point in time I got confused who was related to whom and in what way are they talking.

It is mainly about a family whose mother and father have passed away and about a cottage "Leeway Cottage" that is left to them. There are three sisters and one brother who are all married and have kids and how life passes on for them with various misunderstandings and surprises.

I expected more from this book but was just satisfied with it. Wasnt a very memorable book for me.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See

This book is a wonderfullllllllll book. The best that I have ever read till date. It is written by Lisa See and describes in detail about the foot binding process in China and what importance it holds.

After reading this book, I felt oh my God how these people suffer just to look good and attract a good match for their marriage.

It is about two girls Lily and Snow Flower are a laotong pair. Laotong pair means they are friends cum sisters for life. They match it through their signs and and all sorts of stuff.
The worst is when the author describes the painful process of foot binding where the leg bones are broken so that the feet are made smaller to resemble a lotus. It must cause excruciating pain for these small girls.

Also, Lisa mentions a secret language Nu Shu used during that time to communicate between laotongs.

It is a wonderful book and definitely a must read.

Read more about foot binding here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding

The pictures itself are so frightening. I do not know how much patience and endurance a mother must have to do this to her baby girl :)

Happy Diwali to one and all! May the festival of lights illuminate in ur a desire for learning and a quest for knowledge. Have a safe and fun filled Diwali bursting crackers.

Color of Water - James McBride

Hi .. I have finally made up my mind to start blogging after reading many people's sites. Some are fun and interesting, some provide valuable tips, some I use just to check what my friends are upto and some for recipes :)

I have decided to start a blog on my passion for life - Reading books!

Most people who know me know that I am an avid reader of all kinds of books, be it novels, historic books or science. They usually ask me for advice on what to read and what to start out with when they see me reading.

So for now, my today's book will be the one I just finished. "The Color of Water" by James McBride.

A wonderful novel and a lovely insight into inter racial issues. The book is meant to be a tribute to his white Jewish mom by him ( He is a black). He speaks in this book through two ways - one as himself and the other as his mom.

Reading this book makes you aware of the distinction in society and how people around you react to mixed marriages.

Are mixed marriages wrong? Do they work? I guess that is not for us to say or comment. It depends on the two individuals and the seriousness and commitment that they have.

Reading this book makes me change my thinking. Seeing the world and its persecution based on religion makes me wonder why we fight in the name of religion. What is achieved by it? At the end of the day, it's our belief in God that should make us want to be a better person or not...

Read this book for a lovely insight into blacks and whites of America. No one imagines that these things happens in America - the so-called land of freedom :) But it happens daily. The time we travel to office, the looks we give to "colored" people.

Let us hope that through such books, people get enlightened and realise that our color or religion is not who we are. But we are who we become through our various experiences of life and through our upbringing by our parents.

On this nite, I think this is enough philosphy for this day :) Take care and do comment on my blog with constructive critiscism.