drficticity

Children’s book which is not just for kids

Originally published in 1995,(i was 1 year old)

This book is first in the Abhorsen series, but it doesn’t have a cliffhanger,

It is a fun well written fantasy,which take grim turns at times

The protagonist is a young woman,Sabriel, has a good, clear head on her shoulder. She’s smart, she’s strong, she’s a well-balanced and interesting character. The characters in Sabriel are all interesting and capturing in their way. Mogget was just pure win. He cracked me up. Touchstone was annoying at first but quickly won me over.

The world is interesting and complex, filled with enough creepy things that keep the reader interested.

And yet I will persist in believing that there is such a thing as the harmony of completeness in humanity, where poverty does not take away his riches, where defeat may lead him to victory, death to immortality, and where in the compensation of Eternal Justice those who are the last may yet have their insult transmuted into a golden triumph. Let our life be simple in its outer aspect and rich in its inner gain. Let our civilization take its firm stand upon its basis of social co-operation and not upon that of economic exploitation and conflict.”

Essay by Rabindranath Tagore on Nationalism

In this he kind of compares Nationalism in the West, Nationalism in Japan, Nationalism in India, and fittingly it is ended by a poem originally written in Bengali.

The Casual Vacancy – Little things snowball effect

Author- J. K. Rowling

Publishers-Little, Brown Book Group

Released-2012

Genre- (according to the author herself) – it’s more of a comic tragedy”, It’s was Rowling’s first novel for adult readership,Major themes in the novel are mostly dark including class, politics, and social issues such as drugs, prostitution and rape,pornography, domestic abuse, child abuse, self-harm and suicide.

I have read jk Rowling since I was a child but this is her new side,this time she got us in real world ,unintentional cruelty of humans is omnipresent & it does not have to be dramatic. There is no grand magical battle between good an evil, or any significant confrontations, or any remotely heroic feats – no, it is about how small little seemingly insignificant things can combine into a depressing picture of everyday tragedy.

This book is a mythological fiction, inspired by Maharishi markandeya,a Hindu saint who came to Bali and introduced Hinduism there and Erlangga,the king who won back his kingdom (once ruled by his uncle) and went on to become one of Java’s most notable kings(I did not know that, I googled a few characters and ended up knowing some history/mythology too)

The writing style of this book is very simple and kept me interested throughout.

No spoiler Story:Neer,the main protagonist,resides in Himalayas and has a magical powerful stone,he is quite distressed by visions about Bali islands and evil forces trying to overtake the place, so he start his voyage to Bali and meets the captain,prince of Bali -Erlangga and his commander Kebo Chiwa,

Meanwhile Bali on one side is being cursed by the evil power of queen Rangda and the other side, the king of Java was also planning to attack Bali, to conquer the throne.

(Why java want to conquer a already drowning kingdom? Read the book for the answers, no spoilers here)

The entire story goes around how Neer and the prince try to save the kingdom.

#What I liked?

•there are no extra unnecessary characters in the story

•The story is mostly adventurous but still manage to touch you with emotions of loyalty and friendship

•the physical descriptions of both people and places are very smooth

•the illustrations are good

This book is a new touch on mythology in terms of narration,it is in form of conversations between the characters & their interactions and not just dictation of events and that makes it more lively.

If you like mythology, I would

recommend this ✅

Thank you @ for the review copy.

Newton gave us answers,Hawkins gave us questions

Last book ever written by Stephen_Hawking (sobbing)

The book examines some of the universe‘s greatest mysteries, and their answers according to Hawkins

this book covers questions I used to think about a lot and may be you too :-

The ten big questions are :-

Is there a God? How did it all begin? What is inside a black hole? Can we predict the future? Is time travel possible? Will we survive on Earth? Is there other intelligent life in the universe? Should we colonise space? Will artificial intelligence outsmart us? How do we shape the future?

All the ten questions are written as brief chapters and questions are dealt beautifully and in the simplest possible language.

Also It has a beautiful introduction written by eddy raymande, who played Hawkins in his biopic, another introduction by prof. Kip S Thorne

This is a science book but even if you don’t like science you may like it,

Im a science lover and I loved this book, This book has changed my perspective towards things and I agree real science can be far more strange than science fiction and much more satisfying.

This book is as interesting as its tittle written by Neurologist Oliver sacks in 1985 is from the genre of medical history,describing the case histories of some of his patients

This book tells the stories of individuals affected by bizzare kids of neurological conditions.The title is also taken from a case of patient with a special type of visual agnosia.

But it’s not some boring book and you cannot read it if you are not some one from this field ,these brilliant tales remain ,in Dr. Sacks’s splendid and sympathetic telling, he remains deeply human and involved in all his studies of people dealing with life against incredible adversity.

The Alchemist follows a young Andalusian shepherd in his journey to the pyramids of Egypt, after having a recurring dream of finding a treasure there.

Coelho wrote The Alchemist in only two weeks in 1987. He explained that he was able to write at this pace because the story was “already written in his soul.”

The book’s main theme is supposed to be about finding one’s destiny, although according to The New York Times, The Alchemist is “more self-help than literature” & I kind of agree it has really helped me in some bad times,so if you are in a bit low phase , New Years starts are kind of overwhelming for me too..

The advice given to Santiago is basically “when you really want something to happen, the whole universe will conspire so that your wish comes true” is the core of the novel’s philosophy and a motif that plays throughout it.

This book was gifted to me by my boss and I was immediately so attracted to the beautiful book cover and as I read it , I realised Madeline miller has beautifully moulded Greek mythology and literary fantasy.

You need to have some walking knowledge of Greek mythology but even if you are not a fan of mythology you’ll enjoy this book,

This book has all the characteristics of an interesting book – complex heroines,adventure, bloodshed, betrayal, magic, and monsters.

We follow cerci from being a lesser naive nymph, who has been bullied, belittled and trod her entire life slowly converting to a vindictive powerful woman .

While reading the book I researched more about cerci and Greek mythology and developed sort of attachment to the character ,few parts are different from the mythology and are fantasised but it’s all good, though like the original story her successes are bittersweet though,due to the pain she endures along the way.

In the end, Circe might be full of greek mythology & fantasy but ultimately it is the story of one woman’s life – through pressure of expectations,pain, love, desire, heartache and motherhood.

Have you ever bought a book knowing nothing about it because it has an awesome cover? I did

This book or novella I should call it,tells quite a personal story of Jhumpa Lahiri as an author from her fascination for Indian school uniforms as a kid to the process which goes in making of a book cover,It’s actually an altered version of a lecture Lahiri gave at a literary festival,

Jhumpa Lahiri’s opinion on book covers is summarized nicely in this passage:

‘The right cover is like a beautiful coat, elegant and warm, wrapping my words as they travel through the world, on their way to keep an appointment with my readers.

The wrong cover is cumbersome, suffocating. Or it is like a too-light sweater: inadequate.

A good cover is flattering. I feel myself listened to, understood.

A bad cover is like an enemy; I find it hateful.’

People who are such huge role models when write or talk about their normal life struggle ,it gives normal people like us faith,That we would be able to do something meaningful with our lives

Not something so magnificent but may be a little of what we have dreamt about ourselves and the world around us.

Even Michelle once thought ‘am I good enough?’

The book is in three parts becoming me,becoming us and becoming more.

Becoming me is more about her childhood her parents home and family,

Becoming us covers How she and Barack Obama met,and I loved it all especially the early part of becoming us where she is unsure about her career choices and where she is going to land,the loss of her friend and later her father,Her being two ways about wanting to be a career woman and a homemaker and to balance them ultimately,is the story of many other women,next is her story of motherhood.

The later part of becoming more,covers how she learned the machinations of politics and the power up closely ,We get to know closely how the election campaign works, how fame brings you under magnifying glass

The amount of work how she did side by side for the people and the causes she believed and her being with Barack through it all the time inspite of her strong distaste for politics.

i always knew her as the role model but now after this book I know her as a soft hearted mother,a wife who went through with her husband through it all inspite of her distaste for politics and above all a good human

To sum up the amount of work Obamas have done in a 400 something page book must have been a task so the book is kind of in a fast pace and

being the hopeless romantic I am I could not help but admire the love and mutual respect between Michelle and Obama inspite of so much differences in their upbringing and thought process .