Monday 30 December 2019



Once again we are at that point of the year where we reflect on our actions so far and plan for the future. Yes, 2020 is almost here and it is a leap year. Hurrah!! More time to read.

I think I was too ambitious and had planned to read about 60 books including the Popsugar regular challenge. By the end of January I was lagging behind the schedule. My reading took a hit when I had to juggle reading with some other. There was a slump for about four months. By August I was way behind to recover. Still I tried to complete as much as possible and ended the year with 43 books. Out of the 40 books in Popsugar regular challenge, I finished 26 of the criteria. 65% completion rate is not so bad after all!!

Below is the list of prompts I completed



I went beyond my favourite genre and took chances on new authors due to some overwhelming reviews. There were many surprises and a few disappointments. My top 5 books in no particular order for the year would be

1. The Man Called Ove
2. The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
3. The Book Thief
4. The Help
5. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Eat, Pray, Love and Where'd You Go, Bernadette were disappointing in-spite of the raving reviews I read. I wish I could have read Becoming by Michelle Obama. It is still in my TBR (the ever-growing list). 

Please find the list of all the books I took up for 2019 in the link below


This Year was comparatively short in numbers but that's okay. I have attempted some books which I normally would not pick up at all and I found some gems. 

What's next? This year I have created my own reading challenge and you can find the details here. In 2020 I am going to attempt the Popsugar advanced reading challenge. It has 10 prompts only, so I think I can do it. I have lined up the books already and aiming for 35 in total. Also I am going to include Tamil books in them. Hoping for a good reading year. 

As usual, I pledge to be regular on updating the blog. 

Happy Reading Folks!!


Thursday 28 November 2019

Bookish Thoughts : Whats up with my reading!!

After a very long hiatus, I have picked up the pace in my reading challenge and need not mention I am falling behind. I am picking up the bits and pieces and running still. Lets see how 2019 ends for me.

In the meantime, I had a thought.

2020 is around the corner and I am gearing up for new reading challenge. I thought why not create a list of my own with 2020 in mind. Hence the Quirkysoul Reading Challenge.

Being a debut list, this is a very short one and a trial of how I am faring. 



Why the 5?

I couldn't resist my bookish bias hence the first & second challenge.

The year 2020 reminds me of the Missile Man of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Sir and his vision for India in 2020 leading to the 3rd challenge.

The US Presidential Elections is being held in 2020 and I am borrowing the theme in challenge no.4.

Japan is hosting the Olympics this time and hence the honorary challenge no.5.

This might not be a difficult list or even a childsplay. Babysteps people.

If I am successful this time, I am planning to create more lists/reading challenges.

Jump right in if you think you can do it. 

Will be back with a detailed post on how I did in 2019 and the books I am planning for 2020.

Until then,
Toodles.

Saturday 4 May 2019

Book Review: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine


Author: Gail Honeyman
Genre: Contemporary
Type: Fiction

This book is something I am glad I picked up for the Popsugar prompt 25 – A debut novel. It is not usually a genre or premise I would usually read. But I chose it through recommendations.

Eleanor Oliphant is an adult who is generally considered a social misfit. She lives alone, has a job and there is a routine for everything in her life. She doesn’t socialise. Her mother is the only person in her life she speaks to regularly. One day, she sees a musician at his band performance whom she decides is her soul mate and plans to meet him, fall in love and get married to him. Also she is introduced to a colleague, Raymond who is friendly and doesn’t see the flaws in Eleanor. The remaining story tells why Eleanor is the way she is and did her plan to covet the musician work.

The entire book is single character centric and we see a character arc in Eleanor that happens by the people she meets. You don’t see a sudden twist and turn until you know her back story. I did feel a hint of mockery on all the questions on the norms, decorum and code we follow on social behaviour. Sometimes we don’t ask questions where we need to and hide behind etiquette.

The character does grow on you as you read. Eleanor is sometimes aware of her shortcomings but she doesn’t let that bother her.

The read is a smooth ride with the ebbs and flows of laughs and grief. It can be heart-warming and heartbreaking at the same time.

This one definitely goes into my list of good reads for the year.

Verdict: Highly recommended in contemporary fiction with odd characters are odd and a warm story.

Friday 3 May 2019

Book Review: Where'd You Go, Bernadette


Author: Maria Semple
Genre: Humour
Type: Fiction

I had selected this book for my Popsugar reading prompt 16- A book with a question in the title. I am still not sure how I feel about this book. I will try my best to put it into words.

The whole title is a little misleading. I was expecting some search expedition for a missing person from the start. But it comes almost at the end.

Bernadette is an opinionated mother of a 15 year old, Bee. She hates her neighbourhood and does most of her work through an outsourced personal assistant. Her husband is a Microsoft employee and is almost absent physically and emotionally. Bernadette has gone through so many issues like a big hit on her career as an architect, issues with her pregnancy and Bee’s health problems. When her daily life gives her grief, Bernadette disappears. Bee, who is very close to her mom, decides to find her. The remaining story says if she finds her mom or not.

The storytelling is done through a series of letters, notes and emails and a few narrations from Bee. So it makes the reading quick and easy. It is hilarious at a few scenes. But I wouldn’t say it is a laugh out loud humour. There is a whole lot of satire and sarcasm on the suburban culture of private schools, mommy clubs and Microsoft culture. But the world and characters in which the satire is played on is too shallow. I did feel sorry for Bernadette once all the reasons for her anguishes are explained.I couldn’t care any less about her neighbours. I couldn’t pine for anyone here. That is one downside about this book.

Verdict: At the end of the book, all I felt was uncertainty. I am still a bit confused if this is satire or humour.

Thursday 2 May 2019

Book Review: Behind Closed Doors


Author: B. A. Paris
Genre: Thriller
Type: Fiction

I picked this book for their reviews and rating from different sources. The author is new to me so I started with an open mind.

The story is a about a couple Jack and Grace Angel who seem to be the perfect couple to their friends. Jack is a domestic violence lawyer and has an amazing track record. Grace who used to be a fruit supply buyer for a big department store, quit her job after marrying Jack. Grace’s sister Millie has Down’s syndrome and is attending special needs school. The couple have great looks, a cute story about their courting, amazing holidays and a gorgeous home. The cherry on the top is Grace’s cooking which their friends applaud at the dinner parties. But with all the happy couple show going on, there are some deep secrets turning their life to a sham.

The story goes back and forth between Grace’s past and present. The author does not beat around the bush and there is no suspense about the dark secrets. You are immediately introduced to 2 different worlds.  Though there was potential for dark content I am grateful that there were no rambling psycho thoughts on display. There are no vivid and graphic descriptions of the cruelty, but you do fear for the person. Sometimes you feel so helpless that it makes you want to find a way to end the horror. The story keeps flowing uninterrupted and you come to the end without realising it.

In terms of character design, I think all major characters were well defined. I see the flaws on the decisions Grace makes but you can only know how your mind works if you are in that situation . Millie is observant and clever and my favourite in the novel. If it wasn't for her I don't know how the story would have proceeded.

Once I finished I thought it fit the Popsugar prompt 4: A book you think should be turned into a movie. If not a movie I think this could make a pretty good mini web series. I also think this book has a potential for a sequel.

Verdict: An engaging and exciting psychological thriller. Must read and highly recommended of the genre.

Wednesday 1 May 2019

Book Review: Master of the Game


Author: Sidney Sheldon
Genre: Thriller
Type: Fiction

This book was chosen as part of Popsugar prompt 35: A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter. Sidney Sheldon is one of the primary authors that I had read when I moved on to thrillers from Enid Blyton’s works and Nancy Drew and I was never disappointed with any of his novels.

The novel starts with Kate Blackwell where on her ninetieth birthday she recollects the past events of her life and history of the conglomerate she owns Kruger-Brent Ltd. The story mostly happens in South Africa when diamond mining was a booming industry , describes how her father started the company from the scratch and showcases the hunger for power, riches, revenge, passion, betrayal, manipulation spanning across four generations.

You might find yourself pining for a character and the next second hating the same person making the character more humane. In most of Sheldon’s novels we can find strong-willed female characters. One such person is Kate though I am not going to debate on if she is good or evil. Every generation has 1 or 2 central characters and the writing does not make us feel the length of the book.

The novel never slows at any point. It is entertaining, ruthless and unputdownable.

Tuesday 30 April 2019

Languages and Me


Being in a country with people speaking many languages, I have encountered a few hurdles with languages and here are some incidents with how strange it can be in our country.

Case 1:

I was raised in Bangalore until I was 10 and I never attended proper tuition of my mother tongue, Tamil, in school. My parents chose Hindi as second language for me in school as it would be easy for me to if we were to move to another state in the future.

I slowly learned the Tamil alphabet from my mom, newspapers and TV. I started reading and was able to read sentences without much effort. But I didn’t have the practice of writing. Even now I can write Tamil quickly. When we moved to Tamilnadu, for a couple of years I had a school which had an option selecting second language as Hindi. But in 7th standard I changed school which had Tamil as mandatory language along with Hindi. That's when I started having problems. I had no knowledge of grammar of the language. I had to cope up with the meager knowledge I had. The first monthly test results came and my answer sheet were fully marked in red. It was not just the grammar or spelling mistake. But I had been writing the script incorrectly. Or to be more accurate I was writing in an obsolete script, thanks to the newspapers I was using for my reading practice.

Now for a little history. Periyar, a prominent and famous politician and social activist of Tamilnadu, had proposed changes in the format of some syllables of Tamil during 1950s. It was something like this.
                    


The latter syllables were brought into effect and were been used ever since. 40 years later I had been using the former pattern in my exams, courtesy of the newspapers. It never occurred to me that none of my textbooks had the letters that I was familiar with. Maybe I thought that you can write it in either way. God only knows what went in my mind at that time. (I still don’t know why the newspapers had been using the obsolete script) Much to my teacher’s bafflement, during the paper disctribution he asked me where I learnt from my Tamil from. After that I had to unlearn and learn again the letters. My Tamil teacher was patient enough to tolerate the mistakes I made in Tamil and he is one of my favourite teachers from my school days.

Case 2:

Me and my husband moved to Hyderabad a couple of years before. My husband can speak Telugu well whereas I have just started learning the language. I can understand most of it but can’t reply immediately if someone speaks to me. The house we moved to recently is owned by a Malayali couple and they have been living in Hyderabad for more than 20 years. 

Malayalam and Tamil are very close to each other and share most words. So it is logical for us to speak to the landlady in Tamil and them to us in Malayalam. But since my husband started off in Telugu to the landlady they continue to converse in Telugu. I assume her husband is not that fluent in Telugu as he never speaks in Telugu. Though I understand most part, I stand as a mere spectator to these conversations.

It’s funny how a third language is chosen to communicate when both the parties know much similar language as each other.


Saturday 2 March 2019

Book Review: To All The Boys I've Loved Before

Author: Jenny Han
Genre: YA, Romance
Type: Fiction

This is the first book of a trilogy and I liked the lighthearted read. I chose this book for Popsugar prompt 29 - A book with 'love' in the title.

The story revolves around a 16 year old Lara Jean. In order to let go of her crushes and move on, she has a habit of writing letters to her crushes expressing all her thoughts. But these letters are for her eyes only and are not intended to be posted ever. One of her crush is her sister’s ex-boyfriend Josh who is also a childhood friend and neighbour. Lara Jean’s world turned upside down when her elder sister leaves for college and Lara has to be the mother of the house. To make things matter worse, all of her letters get mysteriously posted. How does Lara Jean confronts the mayhem after that is the crux of the story.

Lara Jean is a shy girl and shares most of her private time with her family only. She has a deep relationship with her elder sister Margot who seems to be the most efficient and responsible person of the family. And it makes sense why Lara Jean looks upto Margot for approval. It is also nice to have an understanding dad like Dr. Covey. I am simply amused by Kitty’s character. She is a kid but as the story goes, I feel she is sensible enough to be Lara Jean’s elder.

The drama between Lara Jean and Peter is cute and as the story moves along we get the sense of where this goes.

The writing and the plot is simple and quick to read. Both the book and movie are equally good. I hope the other two books are as engaging as this one.

Verdict: This is a sweet, lighthearted, contemporary fluff but adorable nonetheless. Recommended for YA romance fans.

Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Author: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Genre: Historical Fiction
Type: Fiction

It has been so long that I have read books that made me feel so grateful for the life we have.I am always hesitant to pick historical fiction as most of them deal with the war and its consequences. It had raving reviews and was highly recommended in a book forum. I was happy to read this book for the Popsugar prompt 21–A book by two female authors.

Set in the post-war period of WW II, this is an epistolary historical novel. Juliet Ashton, a writer comes to know about a queer little book society called the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in Guernsey. Yes, the name is a mouthful. She is dating Mark who covets her for her hand in marriage. After learning how this society came into being during the German occupation, Juliet falls in love with the land and the people. She discovers more about them and understands how little she knew about the Channel Islands. She goes to Guernsey to collect material for her next book based on this society. How Juliet brings change in the life of the people of Guernsey and vice versa forms the remaining story.

It took me time to know who is who in the book. But once I was set, there was no stopping. With every letter curiosity keeps building up. Not many books probe into the minds of book lovers and their obsessions. I am not a person who picks on the quotes I liked. But with this book I was marking down quotes that resonated with me. It is always nice to read about people’s experiences about how books have touched their lives and turned it around.

The book recollects the gruesome and depressive period of the war but the author has managed to lace it with humour. I found it was easy this way to comprehend the incidents of the war.

The book is divided into 2 sections: Part 1 was fast-moving. I felt part 2 was a bit stagnant at places. I loved the array of characters, their back stories and peculiar connections to books. I loved Juliet and Elizabeth the best.

I also watched the movie but I liked the book better. What else can you expect from a book worm? The modifications on the story-line and the characters did not sit well with me.

Verdict: I am quite happy with myself that I decided to read this book and this definitely goes into my list of forever favourites. I think most fiction book lovers would love this historical fiction.

Book Review: A Cry in the Night

Author: Mary Higgins Clark
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Type:  Fiction


I find Mary Higgins Clark’s works quite engaging and I need not say this is a suspense thriller and set in the 1980’s.

The plot starts with Jenny, a divorcee and a mother of 2 kids, who works in an art gallery. Her ex-husband Kevin is a struggling actor and often leeches off on Jenny for money. She meets Erich the painting artist during his art exhibition and he sweeps her off her feet with his charm and warmth. Within a month they get married and she moves from New York to his mansion in Minnesota. He is rich and has people working for him to cater to his every whim. Jenny slowly realizes that Erich is a perfectionist and very possessive. Slowly her life turns into a nightmare when weird incidents begins happening. At one point, Jenny feels she is entrapped in the mansion. Does she escape her nightmare and the answers to why strange events keep happening.

The author takes her time to set the premise before the creepy events unfold. At one point the book feels like a horror story. The pace is quick and there are so many unsolved questions which are answered at the end. There are several other characters attributing to suspicious circumstances and make us shift our doubts to every other person. The final reveal is a good one.

The primary point by which Erich is besotted by Jenny is that she is almost a replica of his dead mother Caroline. Jenny realizes that she and Caroline have more than physical similarities. But one question that bothers me is how does any woman, let alone a mother of two, decide to marry a person she knows only for a month and knows basically nothing of his life. I even thought that Jenny has some psychological issues. Also, she invariably tolerates Erich’s annoying acts and felt maybe she should not be this naïve.

Verdict: Overall the book an engaging easy read and is a mix of romance, thriller and horror. It keeps you hooked till the end.

Thursday 28 February 2019

Book Review: A Stranger in the House


Author: Shari Lapena
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Thriller
Type: Fiction

I picked this book as I liked the previous book 'The couple next door' by the same author. 

The plot is about a murder that drags a couple Tom and Karen into it. The wife Karen gets in an accident in a troublesome neighbourhood right around the same time when a murder takes place very close to accident spot. As a result of the injury, Karen doesn't remember anything from the day of the accident. Evidence makes the detectives suspect that Karen was at the murder scene. Adding fuel to the fire is the over-indulgent neighbour Brigid who has nothing but to watch the couple from across the street but seems to be the close friend of Karen. The couple become paranoid when the detectives start drilling with questions.The whole story revolves around who, what and how. Any further details would be a spoiler. So I am curtailing myself there.

The characters are very few. Karen is secretive, smart and is guarded in her thoughts and actions whereas Brigid is manipulative and nosy. I was a bit disappointed with Tom's character. For a person who's wife is in a grave circumstance of being charged for a murder, he is so indecisive and meek. I felt most of the time he was rolling in self-pity and was immature. The plot started off interestingly but after a few chapters the story fell flat. There was too much of redundant question of 'what happened that night' passing though everyone's mind. felt a few pages could have been reduced to avoid the redundancy. The author maintains the 'whodunnit' suspense throughout which makes us keep going. 

I did not expect the double twist at the end. The hint of a subtle cliffhanger is good and maybe there could be a sequel. I The premise was promising but writing was not as good as I expected. In fact, a few places were predictable which is a bummer for mystery genre.

Verdict: I would recommend it as a one-time read if you don't want a serious or intelligent mystery story.






Monday 4 February 2019

Book Review: The Murder at the Vicarage


Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Type: Fiction


This is the first book on the famous fictional detective Miss Marple. Being an ardent fan of mystery and thriller plots, I cannot believe I haven’t read the Agatha Christie books ever. I chose this for the Popsugar prompt No. 30 - a book featuring an amateur detective

Colonel Protheroe is murdered at the Vicarage while waiting to meet the Vicar and almost everyone in the village is a suspect including the vicar. He is not a person loved by all in the quiet neighbourhood of St Mary Mead and everyone thinks the world is better place without him. The inquisitive old Miss Marple tries to find the missing pieces of the murder mystery.

With so many suspects on the list, the plot is engaging and we are not given any hints on who might be the killer. Most characters have a backstory. Entwined with the murder are 2 separate crimes which come to light as the story proceeds. The story is told from the Vicar’s point of view and though a central character we do not have heavy doses of Miss Marple’s appearance. And when she does appear, she just throws in simple statements and questions. The old lady is a relief from the conventional formula for detective characterisations.

When I started this book I noted down the characters, their movements during the murder. At one point I even stopped reading and reflected on who could be the murderer. But all in vain. I could never guess what happened. This is not a story where the answer was right there but we didn’t see it.  I don’t know if this is Agatha Christie’s style. So if you read this book, do not try to solve it by yourself.

Verdict: After reading this I am yearning to read more of Agatha Christie’s novels and this is a great read for all 'whodunnit' fans.

Friday 1 February 2019

Book Review: Remember Me?


Author: Sophie Kinsella
Genre: Romance, Chick-lit
Type: Fiction


I reread this book after 8 years and still love it as much as I did the first time. Thanks to POPsugar prompt 7 - A reread of a favourite book.


Sophie Kinsella is one of my regular authors and I find her works equivalent to a comfort food. If I am not in mood for any heavy book Sophie Kinsella is my go-to author.

The plot is simple.What sort of twisted position would it be if you wake up one day to find 3 years of your life is missing from your memory. The same happens to Lexie Smart where she wakes up in a hospital and remembers nothing of her past 3 years. She is perplexed at how rich, good looking and career driven she is. And she is married to a handsome real-estate businessman. She concludes that she has got a perfect life and tries to fit in. Slowly she realises her life is mechanical and she has lost her close friends in the journey up the career ladder. Then comes a blow in the form of an architect. So the plot swivels around if Lexie gets back her memory and returns to her new lifestyle or stays the old self and resolves her issues. 

This is one of the typical Sophie Kinsella templates where a young woman is struggling with personal life and career ends up in a mess. The writing is simple and I did not find it anywhere boring. I did find the Porsche element in the end a bit unconvincing. Eric the husband, Jon the architect, Lexie’s friends, her mom and sister share some space in the story. 

The plot is from Lexi’s point of view and there is humour and romance like all her books. I had loved it when I had read it for the first time. But when I started it again now I knew only the plot but the scenes seemed to be entirely new. I think along with Lexie even I got amnesia. So it was more of reading a new book rather than a re-read. I like how there aren’t many incidents in the book that projects Lexie reacting stupidly to crisis. The characters are a bit mature than what I have read in other chick-lit novels. Overall it was a good read for me.

Verdict: I recommend this for all the chick-lit fans and those who enjoy reading mild dose of romance and humour. This will always be in my reread list of books.

Wednesday 30 January 2019

Book review: A Little Something Different


Author: Sandy Hall
Genre: YA Romance
Type: Fiction

I read this book for POPSugar prompt 17 A book set on a college or university campus.

It is a pure college so-called romance story between Gabe and Lea. Lea is a new student enrolled for creative writing class and Gabe is enrolled in the same class. He is a shy guy and is back to college after a sabbatical. Both of them are attracted to each other but are held back by a few apprehensions. Gabe has a secret that only his brother and his friend know. Lea is confused whether he is interested in her or not. Do Gabe and Lea cross their hurdles and get together forms the remaining story.

The story is told from multiple POVs though none from Lea and Gabe. Every other character in Lea and Gabe’s universe roots for them to be a couple. Not just their friends, but their teacher, coffee shop baristas, food delivery guy, bus driver. Everyone!! So it felt completely surreal and the romance element did not work for me. Stereotypical awkward conversations, shy glances, let the other person approach scenes are being used here. Nowhere could I see the spark of romance that says they are meant to be with each other. May be if Lea and Gabe were allowed to say their perspective of the story, it would have worked.

A little something different was different only in using the bench and a squirrel as characters. I wish I was able to root for the couple as the characters did. I love romance and tried to find that something to hook me into the story but this book was not for me.

Verdict: This was an easy read with no fluctuations on the emotions and will recommend only if you like mild YA romance.

Saturday 5 January 2019

Counting My Blessings!!


I moved to a new home last year where the real estate is still developing. There are a whole lot of houses under construction nearby. The people who work there have been setting up their homes beside the construction site in a makeshift tent. So there is this family just opposite to my house and they have made themselves comfortable in the tent they made. That family has a couple, 2 children and sometimes an old lady too. One of the kids is school going and the other is just a toddler.

Hyderabad weather has been quite cruel this season and the temperatures have gone lower than the lowest. The other day my husband pointed me to the lady of that family chopping wood from the dried branches of the trees in an empty plot. We both understood that it was for their stove to cook food and to keep themselves warm. It was then it struck my mind that how simple their life is. They don’t have a concrete roof above their heads. The children just have mud and stones to play with. They aren't running behind targets or goals for the year, EMIs, bills, etc. Probably farthest plans for their future would be to find a better paying job at a new construction project. I can only guess.

Their life seems very simple to me. Just to approach one day at a time.  They don’t have to worry about the gas connection or electricity or petrol prices. If they don’t have any comfort, then so it is. Maybe could have actually opted for a permanent residence. But they chose this life like nomads. They work, earn, eat and rest. We also do something synonymous to that. But we are amidst a complicated system. Yes, they might be wondering about the life that we have - comfortable home, vehicles to go about to places, machines that make life less tiring, healthcare facilities during sickness. The grass is always greener on the other side.This is not pity. I do not feel sympathy for them. I am just amused to see them living life on their terms. I keep coming back to a thought that we need to reduce our addictions on mundane things and enjoy the life as it comes, rather whining and complaining on what we don’t have. Sometimes this seems impractical as we run to secure our life as much as possible from unforeseen circumstances.

I have begun to appreciate that we are blessed with many things in life and need to show more gratitude by being better than what I was yesterday. Less whining and more smiling!!