Book Review - Nirbhaya And Other's Who Dared

First off the bat, let me clear one thing. This book has nothing to do with the Nirbhaya Case! The title is a little misleading, but once you start reading you will find faint echoes of the same case resonating through each story.

 

 (Click on the image to buy the book right away!)

 This is a book of 22 stories of Women. Women who dared to be different, to change from who they were all their life!  Some are inspired from real stories and some are real stories. Author Kusum Choppra has very clearly and without the use of superfluous words brought home the point with each and every story.

Each story revolves around the woman. She is the central character in each of the stories. She has various names, she comes from a different strata of society, she lives in a different part of the country, but every woman in each story has one thing in common. She decided to stand up for herself.
Even though we call ourselves as being in the 21st century, the mindset of people, men and women have not changed.
The woman is still considered the weak link. A burden for the father, a trade off to the boss for a higher position, a meal ticket, a punching bag, a caretaker!! And what not!
But there comes a time when you have had enough and you have to decide ..ENOUGH is enough! And that's what these women did!

Its heartwarming in some places, its shocking and some stories will make you cringe! But the essence is the same. They Dared and they decided to stand up for themselves. They rebelled against the so called rules of society and decided they wanted to live for themselves.

Is it a must read. I would say, if you like a little dose of empowerment..do read it.

Just a little drawback according to me. I wish the author had started the narratives differently. It just takes a bit of re-reading to know what the story is about. Maybe that was her intention, but I didn't like the narration style...starts abruptly. Guess it comes down to my habit of perfection. It was different enough for me to take notice of that fact!!
 But the ending!! Ahh! Each story ends with such a bang..even a small sentence sounds like a loud clang! Wake up sound kind of! That part I really liked!

Its one of the more different books that I've read. Different. Totally. 

Where have I been...

First of all, Thanks to all the nuts who went along with my boredom and played along the Tag game!! I have had so much fun reading it all...If I've not stopped by your blog, leave me a comment...I will stop by!! I am going to make a crazier version of a Tag and do it later on!! That's a promise...

So there haven't been many posts from me, not much crafting on my part.. I'm in the transition period right now....I am a CAS girl..but somehow now I find that boring. Its the story of my life. I get bored very soon...

Right now I'm on a discovering spree...I played with watercolors but decided, it wasn't my thing...now came decoupage. Its still in the expreimental stage.. but not getting a perfect finish..that is bugging me. Need to play around a bit more till I feel that I've done a good job!

And then there is lots of behind the scenes research that I do...for Swaps (err..that's just an excuse to watch more YT videos, plus I have to keep myself updated, if I am to be the walking talking Google :p)

And especially when hubby gets holidays, there goes my crafting for a toss...2 weeks of holiday for him means no crafting. I am the messy types and he is the cleanliness freak and even though he tells me to go ahead and craft...from the corner of my eye, I usually see him cringe at the mess I make.

I know his fingers itch to go and pick up that piece of scrap I just threw off. But like a darlin that he is, he resists. And like a darlin wife that I am, I try not to put him in that spot and keep away from crafting. When I don't craft. I shop! Brought some dies, stamps, and more dies which will find its way to me end of December.

Plus there have been books....The Krishna Key, Almost Single...Movies- The life of Pi...so things have been moving, but just not happening on the blog front.

If you like Mythological books, you will like Krishna key... I won't say you love it. Because the resemblence to The DaVinci Code is so evident, it puts you off at times. Its fast, its racy, its full of stories, legends, and mytho references. There are some really awesome theories, some mind boggling details. Some fabulous discoveries that make you wonder, is it fact or fiction.
 But why is all the running, why is every third dialogue a lecture on the history and its origins, it didn't make sense to me. And the ending...wasn't what I expected. It was too open..maybe it was his intention, but I like closure in a book...So borrow it and read...I am rather waiting for the 3rd book in the Trilogy of Shiva...Amish hurry up!!

The life of Pi. The visuals, stunning. The animation. Stunning.  Story line - Didn't know there was one. The tiger- awesome.
I am not trying to kill the beauty that this movie is, for anyone. But I probably went with too high expectations after reading the 4 star reviews. Sometimes it felt like I was watching National Geographic in 3D. One review said, if you want to know what mediation is, go watch this. You will discover God.

Did I find God, or learn how to meditate...nope!!  I just came back with some stunning visuals, and some good 3D. Though Irfan Khan did manage to choke a tear out of me....but then he's brilliant.

So that's about what's happeneing with me. Should be back to post my planner which I made for the Swap Central's swap, Its already up on facebook if you want to see. Hoping to start a few cards .... but I want to write write and write some more!! Maybe my writing bug has bitten me again!!

before I ramble anymore, I'll say bye here...and be back soon with some crafty posts!
Tee

Book Review - Losing My Virginity And Other Dumb Ideas!

Thanks Khush for this book....loving this idea of reading one book and sending it across...kinda reminds me of the movie...Sisterhood of the travelling pants! We could have our group of the traveling books! :) What say?
Here's my thoughts on this book by Madhuri Banerjee

I hated this book after the first 50 pages or so. The writing wasn’t the fault. It was because I could so identify with the main character. She was making the classic mistakes that I had made and I so wanted to scream out at her and tell her …Stupid girl..ditch him right now..he’s not good for you…ask me how I know!! That itself should have told me that I would like this book once I finished it. 

And finish it…I did!! The last few pages of the book..30-40 pages to be precise made me feel so proud of her..For where she had reached. And to know that she had grown up…I would say that amounts to superb writing. Its not mind-blowing stuff..its not record breaking stuff…It’s not the book that will make histories…but the fact that I identified with it from beginning to the end makes this book special in my eyes.

If you’ve not had your heart broken, moped after the one person who you thought was your true love, and in the process of moping found yourself to be a stronger person than what you thought you were…you won’t identify with this. This book might feel absurd…But me…I’ve done it all…I’ve had my heart broken to the point where I thought I might not survive another day…I’ve moped for months believing that I’d lost everything when I lost the person I thought was my one true love..And then came out of it stronger than before, to the point where instead of wishing for lighting to strike that person( I've wished for worse, but this is all I can put in print), I can go across and shake his hand, look him in the eye and say hello. 

And I realized that one true love in my life was “me” I needed to learn to love myself and everything would be good…I still haven’t achieved that 100% but I’m hacking my way through the shrubs and bushes of life to find myself. 

I might copy the last few pages and keep it with me to remind myself that no matter whatever happens, I’m always stronger than I think I am. I would strongly recommend one read if you are in a quest to find your true self…it just might give you a few pointers! 

And don't ask the men in your life to read/like or understand this book....they never will....

Book Review - Nicholas Sparks

I'm deviating from what I'm supposed to be doing today...making a post for Pie Lane...since that will take a bit of time...I thought I'd jot down a few words on the books that are at my  bedside right now!! I've slowly and steadily become a fan of Nicholas Sparks books. I picked up the first one 10 yrs back,The Notebook and man I was in love!!! And what I loved most was it was so much from the heart...

The book that I recently.. The Lucky One...The story is about an ex-army protagonist who is in search of a woman...he doesn't know her name, doesn't know where she stays...all he has is her photo.He believes she is his lucky charm. Eventually he finds her....and then begins the tale of how he gets to know her.
Along with that is how he develops a bond with her son, her nana....I love her nana...she's one feisty lady! she should have been given more pages to her!
And then there is the bad guy....her ex-husband who will not allow anyone to get close to her...even though they're separated. Read on to watch the story unfold.
Why I loved this was the beautiful blooming of their friendship. I am thankfully blessed with a fabulous imagination and I could see the story unfurling in front of my eyes! I love Logan's character...who wouldn't love a military guy and who has a dog crazy enough to bark underwater??
I love the book for its feel good factor..Definitely worth a read.

The next one that I read was The Choice....I had a mixed feeling about this one. Its about Travis, a guy who is content with the life he has..enjoys a beautiful house and beautiful views of the sunset everyday...but hasn't found love....and isn't too bothered with it.
Then comes over his neighbour...Gabby, who is engaged...and has moved just so she can be closer to her fiance. Then she spends the most perfect day with Travis...and that day never seems to end.....
And there in she has a choice to make....where does her road lead...towards Travis or with her fiance....
This first half I loved...I could feel the butterflies in my stomach when I was reading about their slowly developing attraction....it reminded me of my days when I first fell in love!! Fabulous read so far!
Then comes part two...this part deals with the choice he has to make...Before the book begins the author gives us vague hints...that Travis is meeting his wife...taking flowers for her...and that he ought to talk to her...that they had a fight and haven't been speaking....and then the second half tells what that fight was all about ...
I found this part a bit haphazard....lots of back and forth between the past and present...I was tempted to chuck the book....because the second half didn't match to the pace of the first half....but as I kept on reading....things fell into place...
The ending is expected, but still the kinds I wanted.
Again, this would be a one time read... if for nothing the first half of the book.

All in all definitely a good way to spend an afternoon cuddled with your book.