Book Review: Final Cut by Uday Gupt

I tend to read chick-lit and short stories as “fillers” between two heavy books. Chick-lit because they’re light and generally feel-good stories. They rarely linger with you too long. Short stories, on the other hand, are always a joy to read. A few pages and the story is done. Perfect for times when you’re  feeling kinda restless and not in the frame of mind to read an entire novel. (That happens very rarely around here, but it does happen!) Final Cut by Uday Gupt is a collection of longer than usual short stories.Continue reading

Book review: The Virgins by Siddharth Tripathi

I wanted to read Dan Brown’s Inferno. In fact, I had just finished a book before I had to leave for work that day, and was anticipating going home and immersing myself in Robert Langdon’s world of art and Dante and symbology. Then, I received a review copy of The Virgins in the mail, and I was torn between Langdon and this book. I knew I would go through Inferno slowly, savoring the art and detail in the book. And that after that, most books would feel flat, even if they are actually good books. So I thought it only fair that I should finish reading The Virgins before losing myself in Inferno.

The Virgins by Siddharth TripathiSet in Banaras, a town that’s famous as a Hindu pilgrimage spot and for it’s Banarasi saris, The Virgins is a story of three friends and their “sexpot” adventures. Guggi, the son of a local politician, is a spoilt rich brat who comes up with crazy ideas for fun and adventure. In one of their first “sexpot” adventures, the three friends stand outside the girls hostel of Banaras Hindu University as Guggi screams “Hey GIRLS, OPEN EVERYTHING….NOW!” As the girls freeze, a beat constable comes rushing onto the scene to apprehend the eve teasers. Guggi escapes on his scooter with Bandhu, while Pinku is left to fend for himself. As he is running away from the university with the cop at his heels, he realizes that being the poorest of the three, he is always the one who is left behind. Even his drunkard father had disappeared one day, leaving his mother alone to fend for her seven children. The 19-year old school dropout has only two dreams left: to open a cassette shop one day and to marry the plump girl who caught him stealing flower pots. As he is running away from the cop, Pinku promises himself that he will take on the job at Cheeni Chacha’s grocery store and walk on the straight and narrow, staying out of Guggi’s crazy plans.Continue reading

Year-end Wrap-Up: Top 5 books of 2012

2012 was a stellar year for me in terms of reading and all things book-related. I read over 60 books this year, across a variety of genres. I came across some brilliant writers, and some not so brilliant ones. I was approached by Random House India to participate in their book bloggers program, under which they send me books to read and review. And I joined a cool Twitter book-chat – TSBC.

So, what better way to kick-off this year-end wrap-up than by sharing with you my 10 favorite reads from the year? Without further ado, here they are!Continue reading

Confessions of a bookaholic

Bookshelf

Image via Wikipedia

I’m going to let you in on a little secret today. Come closer, so I can whisper it into your ear.

I’m a hoarder….a book hoarder.

I have two bookshelves at home stuffed to overflowing, with enough books to start my own lending library. And yet, I cannot help myself when I walk into a bookstore. I almost always walk out with 2 or more books, no matter how often I chant to myself “You will not buy a book today, you will not buy a book today.” Well, actually, I never buy a book – I buy books!

And then I come home, bag of books in hand, look at my stuffed bookshelf, and leave the bag on a chair in the drawing room, until I figure out a way to squeeze my latest purchases in. That bag generally sits there for a week, with the books wondering when they will be taken out and displayed, only to be joined by yet another bag of books the next week, at which time I finally decide to take out said books and cram them somehow, anyhow, into my bookshelf.

Like I said, I hoard.

Stack of books

Which also means that I absolutely refuse to part with a single one of my books. Not that they are all masterpieces of literature. Some of them are downright unreadable, like Taslima Nasreen’s Lajja. But still. I cannot bring myself to purge my books.

The husband has been nagging telling me that it is about time I acknowledged my addiction, and that if I could not curb my urge, nay, my need to buy a book, the least I could do is to get rid of some of them.

Now, I think I am going to take some inspiration from my fellow blogger Debra, who is going on a de-cluttering drive of her own to get rid of some of her “things” even though she loves them. If she can do it, so can I!

Just don’t hold your breath…yet! I may need to join a 12-step program just to be able to start purging some of my books!