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Where are you now? - Mary Higgins Clark

This book was a big disappointment to me. Either I have gotten really good with figuring out her endings or she has become repetitive. I really wish the ending was something more exotic like Mack being alive. And it wasn't even half as scary as some of her previous ones. Sigh! I will however still read her next one:)

posted by Smita @ 11:52 AM 0 Comments

The White Tiger - Arvind Adiga

This was another highly recommended read by my sister and also a Christmas gift from my husband. I found this book rather depressing and scary. A lot of grim realities that we avoid thinking about in day-to-day life were depicted realistically in this book. My sis even told me that there is a magazine like Murder Weekly that gets published in Delhi. I never got the whole point of the ending and wished the ending was something different from what the story was building up to all along. Also I think the part where he moves to Bangalore and becomes a big shot would have been more interesting to me. But I can see why it won the Booker prize. I do recommend this as an interesting read but do not get your hopes too high.

posted by Smita @ 11:45 AM 0 Comments

Monsoon Diary - Shobha Narayan

How I love books that talk about food! A big thank you to Sindhu for letting me borrow this book from her:) This book is kind of an autobiography of the author where she talks about her childhood and years spent growing up and after but every single description is around food and there are recipes at the end of each chapter. I loved reading about her childhood days in Kerela at her grandparents' home and I really wished I had taken up the offer that my friend Vimi made as a kid to goto her hometown in Kerela. None of the dishes were new to me but it was fun to read about them in the context of her family and life. I really wish there were more pictures in the book but oh well. I recommended it to Asha of foodies hop and to my delight she had already read and reviewed it. This is a highly recommended read if you are a foodie:).

posted by Smita @ 10:39 AM 0 Comments

Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

It has been a while since I posted about books that I have been reading. I blame the TV in my bedroom entirely for my reduced reading. Why would I read when I can go to sleep while watching House, 24, Law and Order and the food network shows that I have on my DVR! Its not like I haven't been reading at all but I ahve been slower. Also to blame is the fact that I have discovered the joy of reading during work out and the joy of reading multiple books at a time. The context switch does not bother me, only makes me go slower.

This book was another depressing one like the Kite Runner. The conditions they describe and the life that people become used to left me wondering why people would even continue living like that but I guess if they have not known a better life, they wouldn't know any better. Also I kept asking why the women would take the beating and abuse and not kill their husband sooner. Again, I think people in such situations get used to life the way it is. I would not recommend reading this if you are in a sad place in your life. I am glad I was reading another happy book at the same time.

posted by Smita @ 11:44 AM 0 Comments

One Night @ The Call Center

I simply had to read this book before the movie based on it released. I simply had to read the book where Salman Khan comes and dances bare chested on the stage. I simply had to read the book that writes about God making an appearance in the middle of a call center story. The book was bearable but the movie was horrible. Nothing more to say on this one.

posted by Smita @ 10:42 AM 0 Comments

The Three Mistake of My Life - Chetan Bhagat

This is an very nice and gripping book by Chetan Bhagat set to the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. I somehow didn't expect the book to go so wild towards the end and it caught me by surprise although according my my sis I should have seen it coming all the time with the build up of the Muslim kid and the fanatic mama. She also told me something interesting - my BIL sent some feedback to Chetan Bhagat, one of them being that the way Govind got close so quickly with Vidya and their sexual adventures on the terrace seemed a little too fast for a place like Ahhmedabad (I agreed with this too) and he responded saying that this is how things are these days even in places like these and not just metros of India. I guess I left India a long time ago:). The other funny thing was that by the time I reached the ending of the book I forgot how the book all started with the suicide note. That must tell how gripping the rest of the story was. I am definitely going to read One Night @ a Call Center soon.

posted by Smita @ 10:44 AM 0 Comments

Almost Single - Advaita Kala

So I have my sister to thank for sending this book with my parents who are visiting....Having just finished an M&B (yeah I still read them and I am ashamed of it but they are fun sometimes:) ), it didnt take much to shift to this chick-lit......This book is an Indian woman meets Bridget Jones meet Sex And The City. Its got elements of clumsiness/cuteness from Bridget Jones and a Charlotte like friend and lots of other similarities. The point where Karan suddenly becomes interested in the protagonist left me a little baffled. There was not much build up leading to that. There were funny moments too and thats what made the book readable in spite of it being a rehas of already written/seen stuff.

Now it has been really long since I read a mind blowing book that kept me awake. Any suggestions?

posted by Smita @ 2:25 PM 0 Comments

Can you keep a secret? - Sophie Kinsella

I am soooo not ashamed to say that I read yet another chick-lit especially when it is a fun one like this...It took me longer than usual to finish this because chores around the home kept me busy but must say it gave me a few good giggles which annoyed hubby occasionally because they distracted him from the chores:D:D ......Must say that Emma is a totally cute character.......I ROFL when Jack talks about Benhur in front of her parents....I can totally imagine what she is going through.....Imagine what happens when all your secrets are spilled out.........:D:D.....Love the part where she chases Jack and says that she didn't care to know the big secret but wanted to know the small silly secrets of his...:D:D....Thanks to Sindhu for lending me this book and thanks to Sweety for recommending me this one...Definitely enjoyed it better than Undomestic Goddess......Wondering what I'll read next...I started one called Next.....Might get back to that one...:)

posted by Smita @ 10:34 AM 0 Comments