Life...The Most Complicated Thought

And Then There were None

2011-08-08T13:09:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday (July 31st) we went to watch the play And Then There were None presented by Alley Theatre. The following picture is from the play:

Source: Alley Theatre Website > Photos of the Play

We had really nice seats and could hear and see everything very clearly. The play was 2 hours and 30 minutes long with two intermissions. There was only one stage set-up. Initially, I wondered how they were going to manage because parts of the book take place outside the manor. The play was beautifully done despite the setting limitation.

Among the four of us, I was the only one who had read the book. I knew what was next. I knew the sequence of the deaths. The ending was changed, which was unexpected. I enjoyed it nonetheless. The novel's ending is definitely better but I understand why it had to be changed for the play.

I think the other three enjoyed the play as well. Two of them have asked me to be on a lookout for other plays. One of them has expressed a desire to see the play Mousetrap by Agatha Christie. I don't think they have that play in US. The play I want to see is Wicked The Musical. Maybe we will see it when we go to New York or London. I know there is a play in Austin next February. Maybe we will catch that one. All I know that I want to watch it soon!!!

I read the book And Then There were None at the beginning of this year and enjoyed it very much. Ever since then, I have been wanting to watch the Bollywood movie, Gumnaam and other adaptations. I think I watched Gumnaam when I was little. I want to re-watch it and find out who the murderer was in the movie. If you have not read the book, what are you waiting for? Go to the nearest bookstore and pick up a copy. If you like to read it online, there are plenty of free legal copies online.

That is it for today. Time to disappear again!

Top Ten Books I'd Like to See Made Into Movies

2011-04-14T15:38:00.000-05:00

I first saw this meme on Suey's blog. The Broke and the Bookish is hosting a meme, which asks for top ten books that I would love to see made into movies. Though I firmly believe movies ruin books, I still have a small wish to see the following books be made into movies.

The Giver by Lois Lowry - IMDB says that the movie will release in 2011. I have yet to hear more details.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - Make the movie already. Instead of making a movie, they made comic books out of the series. I think this will be one of the movies where I am willing to stand up in line at midnight to watch the first show.
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella - I think this will be a damn funny movie.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - No words. Just waiting for the movie...
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - I am keeping my fingers crossed for whenever they make a movie out of this book, they don't ruin it.
The Hunger Games (Book 1) by Suzanne Collins - I know they are making the movie and they already have some cast finalized.
Serious Men by Manu Joseph - Okay...this book...I don't know why but I think this will make an excellent movie. I enjoyed the book very much.
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen - I think this will be a cute children's movie. I chucked when I listened to the audio book.
A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray - This book is like Harry Potter. The differences are that the protagonist is a female and it is a trilogy unlike HP, which is a Heptalogy (had to google that).
Life of Pi by Yann Martel - I am very excited about this movie. Tobey Maguire, Irrfan Khan, and Tabu (3 great actors) are part of the cast. Irrfan and Tabu were great in Namesake and I can't wait to see this one.

That's it for now. See ya!

We are the CHAMPIONS!!!

2011-04-04T10:23:00.002-05:00

April 2, 2011: India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets and became World Champions. The last world cup that India won was on April 2, 1983 - 28 years ago.

The win was just unbelievable. After the first two wickets fell, everyone was disheartened. Somehow, the faith remained. Sachin (The God of Cricket) was the second one to be out, but we still had players like MS Dhoni, Yuvraj, Raina, and others.

Right after Sachin got out, I had to leave to go somewhere. I turned on the radio in my car to listen to the score updates. The radio jockey decided to play a prediction game of who will win and by how many runs/wickets. A guy named "Ali" called and predicted that India will lose by 100 runs. Another called and said India will lose by 177 runs. The score at that time was 75/2. I am not one to discriminate but I think those were disgruntled Pakistanis who wanted to see India lose.

As the game progressed, we saw a steady increase in Indian runs and the run rate. Gambhir played an outstanding game. I felt for him when he got out at 97 runs. I wish he had made his century. I agree with Dhoni that Gambhir was solely responsible for not reaching the mark. I think he was just impatient to reach that 100, and thought a four or a six will get him there quickly. At the same time, I think his out might have served as a boon for the Indian team. He was getting tired, and with new player (Yuvraj) on the field, the win just became more possible. The game had a perfect finish with Dhoni hitting that sixer. Dhoni is truly Mr. Cool. He did not even smile when he hit that six. He just turned around and calmly lifted one wicket and walked toward Yuvraj and then he smiled. India won by six wickets!

Who can forget Sachin? He is the God of Cricket who waited very long to hold that Cup. The team followed through with their promise and he finally held the Cup. I want to share a link just to show why he is the best:

Sachin Tendulkar – The Master who was Born to Bat

Best quote in the article is, "There are two kinds of batsmen in the world. One, Sachin Tendulkar. Two, all other batsmen. - Andy Flower." He has proved why he is called the "God of Cricket" by his actions. I think people need to stop speculating when he will retire. He has played for 21 years and even today, we can count on him. Let him decide when he needs to stop.

The win was possible because of one guy: Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He is Mr. Cool, who led India to victory. He scored 91 runs under the stress. He was awarded "Man of the Match," which he rightfully deserved. On April 3, 2011, he showed up with his new bald look. I must say he is looking handsome. I LOVE this new look:

He has gone through so many different looks. He started with long here. I remember when he did really well and Aaj Tak's headlines were "Dhoni ki zulfo neih dho daala..." Then he went with short hair. Now completely bald. Here is another look at his different looks:

Yuvraj Singh was awarded with "Man of the Tournament." I did not watch all the games to know the stats, but heard about his achievements. I think he also deserved that title. I know he did wonderful in India vs. Pakistan game.

I heard it was crazy in Houston. People danced and partied on streets of Hillcroft. Restaurants gave away free dosas. According to the news channel, Indians had a parade in New Jersey right after the game. Celebrations in USA were nothing compared to how people celebrated in India. These are times that I miss India so much. There were celebrations on the streets and online as well. Twitter was bombarded by the tweets with minute by minute updates and people's opinions. Indian Homemaker did an excellent post noting the interesting and fun tweets. Check it out!

I am sure of one thing though. No matter where everyone was, they all had a big smile on their faces on Saturday and Sunday. We are still talking about it and we will continue talking about it even after we win the WORLD CUP 2015!

Source for images: Google search

The Hanging Tree

2011-02-18T09:36:00.000-06:00

I am listening to Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. This morning I listening to the chapter that had the "The Hanging Tree" song and the song is stuck in my head. Here it is:

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man they say murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run so we’d both be free.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

I am enjoying the book. Since my last post, I have listened/read the following books:

And Then There were None by Agatha Christie: Excellent book. I can't believe I never read her stuff. Loved the book. I can't wait to get my hands on the movie adaptations of the movie including Bollywood movie Gumnaam. It is a must read book. (10/10)
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Another great read. I think there are enough great reviews online.(10/10)
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins: I read this on the plane to and back from India. The book is okay. The first book in the series is the best. (8/10)
Sisters Eight series - Book 3 & 4: Cute children's book.
Scott Pilgrim Vol 1 & 2. I watched the movie and I must say the movie was quite random. After some research, I found that the movie was based on Scott Pilgrim Manga. I am not a big fan of Manga but I had to pick this one to find out more about the movie. The books are okay.
Room by Emma Donoghue: I listened to this book and absolutely loved it. Whoever read this book, I suggest you pick up the audio book. Michal Friedman (an adult woman) narrated the character Jack and she actually makes the listeners believe that they are listening to a five year old. (10/10)

I am currently reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand on my iPad and enjoying the book very much.

I will do another post about the trip to India and my sister's marriage hopefully soon. Over and Out.

Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-03T15:48:00.000-06:00

2011! Wow! It is finally here! I think this year is going to be most exciting of all. I can just feel it.

The year is going to start on a positive note. My sister is getting married end of this month. I love weddings and celebrations. Since this one is family wedding, there is more excitement in the air. Packing is in progress and everything else is at starting stage (not good). Again, I have the feeling that it will all work out. I think this year has a lot in store for me, and finally things will start to look according to the plans.

2010 was a roller coaster, with many ups and downs. The best thing that happened was that I became a CPA. As for rest of the resolutions, I think I did fairly well. I read more books, baked cakes, and joined the gym. Besides reading books, I have no resolutions this year.

When it was Dec. 31, 1999, people predicted that all the computers would shut down because they cannot date further than 1999. A decade later, we have faster and better computers. Now the rumor is that life will end in 2012. Well, we will just see...

As for reading, according to Shelfari, I read 55 books in 2010. Shelfari makes it so easy to maintain the books. I think it should be 55.9 books, as I was so close to finishing Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. I finished it this morning.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Blog Analysis

2010-12-17T11:58:00.000-06:00

Here is Urlai's analysis of my blog:

iPad: The Blog Killer

2010-12-08T14:31:00.001-06:00

Two months ago, I bought my iPad, which is around the same time my last entry was posted. Do you see the connection? Every day I drove to work thinking that I will post something from my iPad today. However, every time I get a hold of my iPad, I am either reading, playing games, reading news...doing everything but blogging. Today morning I made a decision that I will write an entry the old school way - on my computer :)

After my rant, I am sure you have figured out why the title of the blog is "iPad: The Blog Killer."

Here is what all I have on my iPad:

1. Books: I uploaded tons of books on the iPad. I downloaded the apps iBooks, Kindle and Nook. I have used both iBooks and Kindle. All the classics books are free online. On top of that, Amazon has tons of free books, which include Tagore and historical non-fictions about India. I really liked the ability to highlight and comment on text and look up words in the dictionary while you are reading.

2. Games: I downloaded tons of games. The best ones are Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds, Sudoku, and Mahjong. What can I say? I am a nerd at heart.

3. Music: I love listening to music when I am doing chores around the house and having them on my iPad is definitely a plus. These two music apps, Shazam and SoundHound, recognize songs. It has happened many times when I have listened to a song on the radio and did not know the singer/band/album. Now I just record 30 seconds of it and let these apps figure out the song. It is awesome!!!

4. Photo editing apps: I am a sucker for photo shop and having the apps that make it easier definitely makes the whole iPad fun.

5. Other apps: I have news apps, entertainment apps (StumbleUpon), and social apps (Facebook and Twitter)

As you can tell, I love my iPad. Now if I can just find some cool noise-cancelling headphones :)

On to the books: I have read many books since my last book post. I am too lazy to talk too much about any of them.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bend - 5/10 - Some books start off good but leave a bitter taste in your mouth at the end. This was definitely one of those.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Audio Book) - 9/10 - This book is among the good books I read this year.

What is This Thing Called Love? by Gene Wilder - 7/10

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (Audio Book) - 10/10 - I am a fan of Neil Gaiman and love everything by him. This book was not an exception. I loved it. The book is actually based on the BBC show called "Neverwhere."

Serious Men by Manu Joseph - 9/10 - This was an excellent book. I felt this was better than The White Tiger.

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak (Audio Book) - 7/10 - I am still so confused about the ending. If anybody knows what happened at the end, please let me know.

The Arabian Nights (Children version) - 10/10- I missed lots of stories but at the same time, the book brought back childhood memories. I remember reading Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves in grade school and some other stories. Someday I want to pick up the unabridged version of The Arabian Nights.

The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow (Audio Book) - 8/10 - It is a chic lit - enjoyable.

Arranged Marriage by Chitra Divakaruni - 8/10 - I was so looking forward to Chitra Divakaruni's Arranged Marriage. It was good; however, I must warn you, the stories are depressing.

London is the Best City in America by Laura Dave (Audio Book) - 8/10 - Another chic lit- enjoyable.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok - 9.5/10 - This was a really good book.

The story deals with Asian American emigration experience. Kim, who immigrated to America, has to balance between work life (she is underage) and school life. She works to help her mother and make ends meet. It is really a touching story.

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession by David Grann (Audio Book) - 8/10 - There are some topics that just appeal to me, and Sherlock Holmes is one of them. I have never read any of the mysteries but the books are definitely on my list. This book deals with real life events of "murder, madness, and obsession." I would listen to the stories and then check online afterwards for the full stories and the current status. I felt some stories did not relate; thus, I am giving it an 8. I highly recommend this book, along with other book that I rated above 7.

I read few more but I will talk about them in a separate posts.

I signed up the Audio Book Challenge last year. I chose the obsessed level, which was listening to 20 audio books. I had listened to 16 audio books before I took a hiatus. This post has five audio books, which puts me at 21 audio books. I just finished The M-factor, another audio book and will start The Hunger Games tomorrow. The total for this year is 23 audio books. I am done with the challenge. Yay!!!! This was fun. I am going to sign up again and will make a separate post.

P.S. I got my CPA license.

Life Update

2010-10-09T20:00:00.001-05:00

I realized that I am getting more and more lazy. Life is so routine and I need a change. I guess I was so used to spending 3 hours after work every day at the library and now I need something exciting to fill that time. Daily soap on TV is so boring because I have no idea what is going on in each show.

As I am writing this, I am yawning. Any ideas on how to make life not so boring???

Well, here is an update about life (more like this week):

Last weekend, I joined the gym. All that sitting in the office and then at the library did not do me any good. Monday was the first "work-out" day. I attended Zumba class. I was always considered a good dancer in my family, but after attending that class, I no longer consider myself a good dancer. I felt so stiff. The last ten minutes of the class, the instructor taught belly dancing. I stood still because she was doing stuff that I cannot dream of doing. Overall, it was okay.

Monday/Tuesday: I finished I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. He wrote The Book Thief, which is one of my favorites. I am the Messenger was an okay book. The ending was little confusing. I will talk about this later.

I also finished Serious Men by Manu Joseph. This book really picked up and just got better and better. I enjoyed it.

I started One thousand and One Arabian Nights by Geraldine McCaughrean and As Luck would Have it (Audio CD) by Joshua Piven.

Wednesday: We had health fair at my workplace. I got bunch of goodies. Also, I signed up to be an organ donor. I figured the end is undecided for us. However, I might as well make a difference in somebody's life after death.

Thursday: Family decided to go out to eat at Olive Garden, which recently opened in our town. Our server was horrible. We waited a long time on our food and when we finally got it, it was wrong dish. I was annoyed but we still generously tipped him.

Friday: I found out that the second disc of As Luck would Have it is missing. I think it was missing when I checked it out from the library. I did a thorough search of my car when I got home. It was sort of annoying because I was really enjoying the book. I will get the book from the library to read. Now I have to figure out which book to listen to next. I have Emma by Jane Austen in my car, but I do not feel like listening to it now. I want something light. Any suggestions???

Saturday: I met with a trainer at the gym. I think I will stick to my ways at the gym. She made me do exercises that look easy. I am so sore. I also watched The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock. That was a good movie. As I am typing this, I am watching Bluffmaster. I love this movie.

I also bought my brother an iPod Touch 4G. He is excited about it. Of course, I have full access to it. :)

This weekend I am planning to buy the iPad. I am excited!!!

Anyways, time to get/cook something to eat.

Time Quartet Series by Madeleine L'Engle

2010-10-04T05:00:00.003-05:00

Before I start talking about the books, I have to say I only listened to the first three novels of the total five. I am mad at myself that I actually wasted time on the second and the third novel. I do not plan on finishing the series or reading any of the author's other works.

I checked out all three audio books together, which I shouldn't have done. Since they all were sitting in my car, I listened to all three.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle is considered a classic children's book. I am going to come out straight. I did not enjoy any of the three books. I feel like I wasted my time listening to them. The stories did not make any sense, especially the third book. The third book was very choppy and was very difficult to follow. I wish Ms. L'Engle had continued the story from the first book. The stories were unrelated and the only common thing between the books were the Murry family. The only character I liked was Calvin O'Keefe and Ms. L'Engle made sure that his role was less and less as the series progressed. I think he was the only sane and normal character in all three books.

I give all three books 2 out of 10. I do not recommend these books.

All three books qualify for the Audio Book Challenge.

I am DONE!!!!

2010-10-01T15:38:00.001-05:00

I received my score for the last CPA exam last Friday. I am very very HAPPY to say that I am DONE with the CPA exams. In about a month or so, I should receive my certificate (all depends on my manager signing my documents). For me, this is one of my biggest accomplishments so far. I cannot believe that I am going to be a:

CPA

I am 22 and I have my Bachelors degree and CPA certificate. I hope that next year I will start my Masters. That is my short-term goal. As for long term, I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I do not want to continue doing what I do for rest of my life. Oh well...I do not want to think about that now. I am just happy with what I have done so far. I will think about the future tomorrow.

Since I am done, (took me almost 2 years), I think I am going to give myself a treat. I am going to buy an iPad. I am too excited. I have already decided the apps and books I want on there. I cannot wait to get my hands on it. That's it for my life update.

My Top Ten: Books I've Re-Read

2010-09-28T11:25:00.002-05:00

I saw this post on It's All About Books by Suey: Books I've Re-Read.

I think the title is self-explanatory so here we go:

The Giver by Lois Lowry
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Outsiders by S.E Hinton (needs another read)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Sideway Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

I really really want to re-read these books:

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Many books by Neil Gaiman

What books do you find yourself re-reading over and over?

Tweet Tweet

2010-09-20T10:30:00.000-05:00

I have been pecked by the Twitter bird...you can find me @ www.twitter.com/totallytanu.

Reading Meme

2010-09-18T22:30:00.000-05:00

Uniquely Priya had this reading meme about a month ago. I have been meaning to do it, and finally I had the chance.

1. Favorite childhood book?
Cam Jansen Series (The girl with the photographic memory). My love for reading started with her.

2. What are you reading right now?
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and Serious Men by Manu Joseph

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
As of now, none. I am trying to place a hold request on The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

4. Bad book habit?
Take too long to read a book just because I am lazy.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Ummm…too many to write down. All the books I read/listen to are checked out from the library.

6. Do you have an e-reader?
Not yet. I hope that soon I will buy an iPad.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
Usually I am reading one book and listening to another.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
Yeah.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
Tie between Half Life by Roopa Farooki and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
I try.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?
I am still trying to figure that out. Chic lits, fiction, non-fiction humor (few)

13. Can you read on the bus?
No

14. Favorite place to read?
My bed

15. What is your policy on book lending?
I want my book in the same condition I lend it to you. I have gotten books back without the book covers. Grrrrr…

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
I used to but not anymore.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Not anymore. I was required to do that in high school.

18. Not even with text books?
Nope because I wanted to sell them back :P

19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English

20. What makes you love a book?
A good story, an unexpected ending (but not too much out there)…something that makes me think.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If I enjoyed it, I will recommend it to anybody and everybody.

22. Favorite genre?
Hmmm…I don’t know. I enjoyed few romance novels, few chic lits, and few non-fictions. If the story interests me, I read it.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
I used to love mysteries but haven’t really picked one up for a while. I don’t usually read Sci-fi; though, I enjoyed Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card very much.

24. Favorite biography?
I can’t think of any…

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Chicken Soup for the soul books are among the best self-help books. Enjoyable and helpful

26. Favorite cookbook?
I don’t own any. Google is my best friend here.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
Inspirational?...hmm…again..Can’t think of any (not for this year).

28. Favorite reading snack?
Chocolates…but then I usually read before I am about to sleep so no snacks at that time.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
I pick up a book if the story interests me. If I am enjoying a book or want to read a book desperately, I avoid all reviews. If I feel the book is so-so, then I usually go and read the Wikipedia entry for it.

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I actually look for positive reviews to see that maybe I missed something. I am indifferent about writing a negative review.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
I can read in Hindi but, that is fading away. Maybe french?

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
I try to stay away from these kinds of books.

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
Shantaram…I so want to read this book. I actually made the librarian order an audio book.

35. Favorite Poet?
I am still exploring this. I do enjoy reading Rabindranath Tagore and enjoyed Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
Anywhere from 4 books to 10 books, (this includes books and audio books)

37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
When I was studying to be a CPA, I did that often. I am trying to change that.

38. Favorite fictional character?
Ender (Ender’s Game), Jonas (The Giver), and Nobody Owens (The Graveyard book)

39. Favorite fictional villain?
I don’t think I have one. I have to think about this one..

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Entertaining Chic lits - something that does not make me think.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
Years – Most of my college days, I did not read (textbooks don’t count as books).

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
The Numbers Game

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Music

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
Pride and Prejudice (BBC episodes) and Namesake

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
I was somewhat disappointed by The Time Traveler’s Wife.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
I usually don’t buy books.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
I just read the back cover.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
If I am half-way through and I still don’t know what is going on, I will stop reading it.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
I usually organize them by the height of the book. I don’t have that many books to organize.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I am opposite from everybody. I check out books from the library first. If I enjoyed it, then I want to buy it.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Shantaram. There is also Atlas Shrugged. I am not avoiding it but I have to be in the mood to pick up the book. I am going to dedicate the next month to Atlas Shrugged. I really enjoyed Ayn Rand’s other stuff and I am looking forward to Atlas Shrugged.

52. Name a book that made you angry.
I cannot think of one right now, but I am sure there are several.

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
Eat, Pray, Love.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
As It was Written by Sujatha Hampton and My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult.

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
Sophie Kinsella.

Phew…that was long but I had fun!

Unfinished: The Numbers Game by Michael Blastland

2010-09-09T09:50:00.002-05:00

I tried multiple times to read this book. I think I got as far as seven pages. It was very boring. I finally decided to stop torturing myself. If anybody has read this book and thinks otherwise, let me know.

I have finished six books since my last book post:

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (Audio CD)
A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle (Audio CD)
Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life by Roald Dahl
What is This Thing Called Love? by Gene Wilder

I am currently reading:

A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle (Audio CD)
Serious Men by Manu Joseph

I have gotten as far as the third chapter in Serious Men and so far, it is an okay book. I will read few more pages before deciding whether to stop reading this book. I only picked it up after seeing the cover.

I also watched the Pride & Prejudice BBC mini-series. I absolutely loved it and Colin Firth was just great. It is definitely going to be part of my dvd collection. Now only if I can get my hands on the Keira Knightley version (2005) movie.

Movie Review: Raavan

2010-09-03T14:00:00.003-05:00

I watched this movie about a month ago on Sony TV. From the reviews, I knew this was not worth watching in the theater. You know what? This movie is not even worth watching on TV. I wasted 3 hours of my life on this movie...those precious hours. I could have read or something. What can I say? Curiosity got the best of me and you know what they say..."Curiosity killed the cat."

There was no plot, no story, and very bad direction. I got the gist of what the movie was suppose to be about. Apparently, so-called Raavan (Abhishek Bachhan) is actually good and Ram (Vikram) is the true villain. They have taken all the memorable parts of Ramayana and presented it in the movie:

Lord Ram - Sita- That is portrayed by Aishwarya Rai and Vikram as Ragini and Dev Pratap. Ragini is very much in love with her husband and will support him no matter what.
Lakshman (Ram's brother) - Nikhil Dwivedi as Inspector Hemant. He almost dies. (Lakshman almost died in Ramayana)
Hanuman - Govinda as Sanjeevani Kumar. Here I drew the line...In his introduction scene, Govinda was jumping off trees and playing hide and seek, like a mischievous monkey. He led the police force in Beera's "Lanka."
Raavan - Abhishek Bachhan as Beera. He is a mix of Raavan and Robin Hood. What I did not understand about his character was the weird noises he made. I think the movie could have done without those. They became annoying.
Surpanaka - Priyamani as Jamuni. She is Beera's sister (true to the real Ramayana). In Ramayana, Lakshman cuts Surpanaka's nose and insults her. In the movie, Inspector Hemant, at Priyamani's weddings, picks her up from the mandap by holding her nose and take her to the station, and physically insult her there.
Kumbhakarna and Ahiravana - Mangal (Ravi Kishan) and Hari (Ajay Gehi).

Here are the parallels between Ramayana and Raavan:

In Ramayana, Ravan abducts Sita mata to avenge the insult of his sister, Surpanaka. In the movie, Beera kidnaps Ragini to avenge his sister's insult.
In Ramayana, Ram killed Ravan. In the movie, Inspector Dev Pratap kills Beera.
In Ramayana, Ram doubted Sita's character after she returns. In the movie, Dev Pratap "doubts" Ragini so that she can go to Beera and he can follow her.

Now to the ending [Spoiler Alert]: Beera dies happy because he knows Ragini has feelings for him.

So yes, like others, I wasted 3 hours of my life on this movie.

I enjoyed the songs and I felt they were the only good part of the movie. A.R. Rehman did a great job. You can check them out here at Raaga.com.

Subse aage honge HINDUSTANI....

2010-08-15T10:43:00.001-05:00

Happy Independence Day to my fellow Indians!!!

Look What I Created...

2010-08-11T08:57:00.000-05:00

Source: Wordle

Book Reviews

2010-08-03T13:15:00.002-05:00

It has been a while since I wrote here. During that time, I finished three books. Here are really really short reviews of the books.

1. Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers:

Short summary: Life on the Refrigerator Door is a poignant and deeply moving first novel about the bonds of love and frustration that tie mothers and daughters together. Told entirely in a series of notes left on the kitchen fridge—some casual, some intimate, some funny, some angry—it is the story of nine months in the life of 15–year-old Claire and her single mother.

The concept was good; however, I felt that very important elements of the story could not make it to the notes. There were many parts where I was confused. Since the story is told by notes, the details of the story are missing. Lots of conversations take place outside the book, and the readers are left guessing. I give this book 7 out of 10.

2. I'll Mature When I'm Dead by Dave Barry:

Short Summary: A brilliantly funny exploration of the treacherous state of adulthood by the Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist. Some people may wonder what this subject has to do with Dave Barry, since Dave's struggled hard against growing up his entire life-but the result is one of the funniest, warmest, most pitch-perfect books ever on that mystifying territory we call "adulthood". In hilarious, brand-new pieces, Dave tackles everything from fatherhood, new fatherhood, self-image, the battle of the sexes, celebrityhood, technology, parenting styles, certain unmentionable medical procedures, and much more.
I complained earlier that I will not be listening to any audio books because my brother will be carpooling with me. Well, his friend and he got tired of listening to the radio, and we decided to try audio books. First, we tried Jane Eyre because that is their summer reading. It was boring. Then we picked up Dave Barry.

This book has adult humor. Imagine listening to this book with two 17-year olds in the car. You bet I had to skip some chapters. Even then, I enjoyed this book. Along with essays, there are two spoofs of 24, TV show, and Twilight and something for dog lovers. There were several laugh out loud moments; however, there were some boring sections as well. Dave Barry did a good job reading the book. Overall, it was a decent book. I give it 8 out of 10.

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

3. Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen:

Short Summary: One day I was 12 years old and broke. Then Grandma gave me Grandpa's old riding lawnmower. I set out to mow some lawns. More people wanted me to mow their lawns. And more and more. . . . One client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to teach me about "the beauty of capitalism. Supply and Demand. Diversify labor. Distribute the wealth." "Wealth?" I said. "It's groovy, man," said Arnold. If I'd known what was coming, I might have climbed on my mower and putted all the way home to hide in my room. But the lawn business grew and grew. So did my profits, which Arnold invested in many things. And one of them was Joey Pow the prizefighter. That's when my 12th summer got really interesting.

This book was one of the best children books. It was short, funny, and educational. Usually that combination is hard to find. My brother and his friend enjoyed this book, and that is saying something. Sadly, it was so short that we finished it in two days. We just could not wait to get back to the book. My brother decided to recommend his Economics teacher to assign this book to the students.

There is nothing to say about Gary Paulsen. He is simply a genius. I had a friend who had read Hatchet like million times. That book is on my TBR list.

All I can say is read this book. It is very good. I give this book 10 out of 10. Lawn Boy Returns was released on March 23, 2010, and I can't wait to get my hands on that book.

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

Spooky Little Girl by Laurie Notaro

2010-07-15T07:19:00.090-05:00

I enjoyed Spooky Little Girl by Laurie Notaro very much.

Short summary: Lucy Fisher just returned from her Hawaiian trip and finds all her stuff outside her house. Martin, her ex-fiancé, is not picking up her calls. She is then fired from her job. Her bad luck does not end there. She dies in an accident. She then has to attend ghost school and learn how to haunt. She finds out that she will have to fulfill an assignment in order to pass on to the State. The fun continues as Lucy finds herself on Earth sitting on her ex-fiancé's couch ready to haunt...

My eyes were glued to the book from page one to the last page. Even in my lunchtime at work, I was hoping I had brought the book with me to read. It was light, funny, and interesting. Laurie had all the classic haunts such as the flickering of TV, light bulb, writing on foggy mirror, etc. in the novel. The character of Lucy is very likable and the readers will support her.

The concept of the afterlife was interesting. Initially, the book reminded me of the novel Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, but the novels are different. The only thing that is similar is the word "afterlife". The concept of ghost school was new. I liked how their teacher, Ruby, "gently" breaks the news to all the dead people. There are other ghosts as well but they all have their own assignments. I do not want to give away any spoilers, so I will not discuss what Lucy's assignment is.

Overall, it is one of the best chic lits I have read in a long time. I give this book 9 out of 10.

I visited the author's website and noticed that I had two of her books, but I donated them without reading them. I wish I had read them and then donated them. I will keep an eye out for her books now.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

2010-07-13T07:19:00.026-05:00

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a classic children's book. I did not know that. This book has been on my TBR list ever since I created a spreadsheet to keep track of my books, which was about three years ago. It seems like whomever I mention this book to have either read the book or watched the movie.

Short summary: Claudia and Jamie decide to run away and live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City because Claudia feels she is not appreciated enough by her parents. The museum buys a statue called angel from Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and the statue is suspected to have been crafted by Michelangelo. Both children research to find out the truth.

The story is highly entertaining. I think almost every kid dreams about running away and living someplace exciting like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I enjoyed listening about Claudia and Jamie's adventures at the museum and afterwards. Jamie is so darn cute and Claudia is equally smart. Jamie handles the money matters and Claudia does the rest. Mrs. Frankweiler is old and childish. She wants her own secrets and adventures just like the children.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about adventures of two little kids. I listened to this book and the reader, Jan Miner, did an excellent job. I give this book 9 out of 10.

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

Half Life by Roopa Farooki

2010-07-12T05:00:00.004-05:00

Half Life by Roopa Farooki was one of those books that I did not want to read but just had to finish.

I checked this book out because the author and the cover. The cover is so pretty. I read the description and thought it might be like Eat, Pray, Love, is one of my favorites. The saying "Don't judge a book by its cover" is right in this case. I was highly disappointed.

Short Summary: Aruna married her husband just because he asks her. She was trying to run away from her past. Now she has decided to run away from her current life back to her past. Is she running to her past or trying to figure out her present?

I liked the writing style to say that I will read more from Roopa Farooki. However, I did not like this story. The plot and the characters were new. There were many secrets in the story. Some were revealed and some were left as secrets. At times, the story became confusing. There was suppose to be an emotional roller coaster, but I just could not get on it. I felt nothing toward the characters. I might even say that there was a little disgust.

The novel is the story of Aruna, Jazz, and Hassan and the chapters juggle between these characters. Aruna's husband and Jazz were nothing like normal people. I did not like Aruna's character as well. I found her character irritating. The only sections I enjoyed were by Hassan, Jazz's father. I enjoyed reading about Hassan's past and the secrets. The ending was predictable as well.

I hope I enjoy Farooki's other work. This one was not for me. I give this book 4 out of 10.

‘My Sins against Gender-Stereotypes’

2010-07-08T16:36:00.004-05:00

Priya from Uniquely Priya tagged me to create a list at least 10 of my sins against gender stereotypes. This tag was started by IHM. I am suppose to list at least ten things I have done, which are against my gender stereotype, i.e., things I should not have done or not suppose to do because I am a female.

Gender inequality is there in every culture, but since I am from India, my experience is only limited to India and USA. Gender inequality is definitely present in Indian culture. India is a male dominant society, where in many parts, women are still considered property. Although it is a male dominant society, India was once led by a female, Indira Gandhi.

Along hearing with broad statements like "Ladkiya paraya dhan hoti hai" (Girls are property of others) and "Ladkiya ma baap par bojhe hoti hai" (Girls are burdens on their parents), I have heard specific statements like you are a girl and running a house should be a first priority and there is no point studying further.

Without further ado, here is my list (~~I do not know if I can make it to 10~~):

I will study more after getting my CPA and get Masters in International Business. I have heard comments like, "What's the point of studying further?" I feel that education and career should be my decision. Having said that, I also understand the importance of family and balancing professional and personal life.
I know how to whistle. I taught myself how to do whistle when I was little.
I love to dance. I am usually the first person on the dance floor, and I do not care what people are thinking or saying, as long as I am enjoying myself.
(This one is common across many blogs) I love to read. I enjoy other activities such as embroidery and scrapbooking. Reading is my passion and I do not think reading has anything to do with gender. I am told that reading is wasting time, which could be used to better activities around the house.
I like to volunteer. I helped in building houses for Habitat for Humanity, and there were people who said I should be the one helping out with nails and tools, since I "cannot carry heavy stuff or do" any "manly" activities.
I have a full-time job and will continue working after marriage. According to some, that is impossible. Girls who work after marriage cannot be a good wife. Hello…this is 21st century. If I have studied and worked hard to be where I am, then it should be my decision. It is my responsibility to balance both. I have not even gotten there in my life and how can someone who does not know me say that I will do a crappy job.
I like to shop but cannot do it for hours and hours. I do not go for any and every girly thing out there. I am more of jeans & t-shirt person and would prefer that to a fancy top any day.
I played Tennis for 4 1/2 years. I have played Cricket in the past. I love to watch sports (except for Golf) on TV.
I sit on motorbikes and scooter "guy" style. I cannot sit with both legs on one side. (I cannot find a picture of this online but people in India probably know what I am talking about).
I do not care about matching my purse with my outfit on day-to-day basis. I use a purse until it is time to retire it. Thus, I do not buy too colorful purses. I stick with general colors like black and brown, because they match everything :)

Wow...I made it 10. There are so many more to write. I will mention few more:

I would like to own a business sometime in my life.
I love computers and cell phones and cannot imagine a life without them. They are not "dude" gadgets.

I think that is it. There are many more but I will end my post here. Thanks Priya for making me think about things like these. There are many other gender stereotypes annoy me but that rant is for some other time.

The Last Airbender

2010-07-05T23:24:00.000-05:00

My brother and I saw The Last Airbender today. I felt the movie was so-so. It could have been a lot better.

The movie is about an Avatar, who has returned after 100 years to bring balance to the world. There are four nations: Water, Fire, Air, and Earth. Fire Nation has taken over the world in the last 100 years. It is the Avatar's job to master all four elements and bring balance.

I have seen the original animated series. The characters in the TV shows are so lively. The storyline can easily be followed. The main character, Aang, is the best in the series. He is about 10 year old, and he acts like it. He does not understand few things and Katara and Sokka, his friends from Southern Water Tribe, act like his body guards, protecting him and guiding him.

The movie failed to capture all these elements. The characters were flat. Aang, played by Noah Ringer, was not animated. According to Wikipedia, Noah is Black Belt, but in the movie, even his martial arts did not seem to be at his best. I do not know much about martial arts. I wanted to see some "jaw-dropping" moves. Katara, played by Nicola Peltz, was the best character. I felt she did justice to the role. Jackson Rathbone as Sukko was also good, but he was more mature in the movie than the series. His childishness is what makes the series fun and same goes for Aang.

As for the story line, it was confusing. I have seen most of the series and the movie was still hard to follow. Imagine going to the movie without having any background knowledge about the storyline. I think that M. Night Shyamalan should have just concentrated on this movie instead of worrying about the trilogy. The movie had so much potential, but it got lost somewhere in the transition.

I give this movie 5 out of 10. Even though this movie was not what I expected, I will still watch the remaining two in the trilogy.

Book Thongs & the Weekend

2010-06-30T12:46:00.003-05:00

Monday, I received the Book Thongs that I won at BookSnob's blog. They are gorgeous. As promised, here is a picture of all three beautiful book thongs:

On Sunday, I went to Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center to donate blood. This was my second donation. My first donation was on January 19 this year (parents' anniversary). Both donations were eventful. First time I donated blood, I fainted twice afterwards. I think that was because I had fasted the day before. After the donation, I did not drink lots of fluids as instructed by the nurses. On June 27th, I was better prepared (learned from my past mistakes). I had a good breakfast and drank plenty of fluids all day so I did not faint. It was the donation process that was eventful.

First, the nurse could not find my veins. The whole process was slower for me because my veins are small. On top of that, the needle stopped withdrawing blood after 5 minutes into the process. The nurse did not want to mess with the needle as it was barely in my arm. Another nurse came by and she tried messing with it, but she also did not want to touch the needle. Then they called another nurse over. I think he was more experienced. He checked to tube to make sure it was not clogged. Then he checked the needle (that was painful). He pushed it a little bit more, and the needle started pumping blood again. Another five to ten minutes and I was done. I have a real nasty bruise now, but it will go away in few days.

They withdrew about a unit (about one pint) of blood. I got a cool T-shirt and 600 points for their online store. I can donate again in August, and I am going back for sure.

--------------------------------------------------------

I leave you with today's "10 Sec Read: Kings" on Paulo Coelho's Blog:

The Kingdom of This World

An old hermit was once invited to visit the court of the most powerful king of the day.

“I envy a holy man, who is content with so little,” commented the sovereign.

“I envy Your Majesty, who is content with less than I. I have the music of the celestial spheres, I have the rivers and mountains of the whole wide world, I have the moon and the sun, because I have God in my soul. Your Majesty, however, has only this kingdom.”

The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg

2010-06-25T13:20:00.002-05:00

This is one of those books where I want to jump up and down and say, "Read it." It was cutely good. The novel is about a 40th high school reunion. There are five main characters: Dorothy Shauman Ledbetter, Pete Decker, Mary Alice Mayhew, Candy Armstrong, and Lester Heseenpfeffer. There are other characters but the story mainly revolves around these characters.

The novel starts with each character discussing the reunion and the reason they are going. It is cute how some characters start acting like teenagers and decide to go to the reunion to "hook up with an old flame." The book then shifts toward the reunion, which starts with the arrival at the venue. The last part of the novel is about characters' lives after the reunion.

The story was cute. The reunion served as a self-awareness retreat for the characters. The characters are portrayed a certain way and the readers can see the development in the characters as the story progresses. I felt that at the end of the novel, the stories of the characters are also wrapped up nicely. I liked the ending. Overall, I enjoyed the entire novel and looked forward to listening to it every time I got in my car.

Secondly, the overall theme of a 40th reunion was an interesting topic. I graduated high school 5 years ago and a 10-year reunion sounds exciting to me. Imagine going back for 40th reunion. Nowadays, it is easier to keep in touch with friends through social networking websites like Facebook, Orkut, MySpace, etc.

Lastly, the book was read by the author. I am a fan of audio books that are read by the author. It gives the authors an opportunity to present the characters exactly how they imagined them. Same goes for Elizabeth Berg. I think she did an excellent job with the audio book, and I really enjoyed listening to it. Just from listening to Berg, I could make out that in the novel, Mary is the calm one, Peter is the impulsive one, Candy is lonely, Lester is satisfied with his life but he is missing something, and Dorothy is like a child.

I highly recommend this book and give it 9.5 out of 10.

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

I Won!!!

2010-06-22T10:22:00.001-05:00

Booksnob was hosting a Follower Contest and I won!!! I won three Book Thongs.

In celebration of topping 25 followers this week I am having a contest. I am giving away Three BOOK THONGS. Each one will be hand made by me and my children. The winner gets all three unique designs. My kids are super excited about the contest and making the Book Thongs. Good Luck everyone and thanks for being a follower!

I am excited and can't wait to receive them. Whenever I get them, I will post pictures of them.

Thanks Booksnob!

My Second Book Blogger Hop

2010-06-18T09:02:00.001-05:00

Every Friday Jennifer of Crazy-For-Books hosts The Book Blogger Hop. The Hop is a great way to meet new bloggers and introduce your blog to others. This is my second time entering the hop. Last time I came across many interesting blogs (listed here).

For more details, please see Jennifer's post.

Reading update:

I am currently taking a short break from books. Before the break, I had just started Half Life by Roopa Farooki. As for audio books, I am really missing listening to Audio books. My brother carpools with me to his internship and we listen to the radio. If anyone knows of a good audio book that would interest a teen boy, please leave it in the comments. I don't have a preference, and I am open to listening to any book. Maybe I should just accept the fact that I won't be listening to audio books until August and deal with it, instead of forcing him to listen to audio books :)

Happy Blog Hopping!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update:

I came across some interesting blogs:

Super Mario: BP Oil Spill Edition

2010-06-17T16:12:00.000-05:00

No description needed :-)

More Books

2010-06-08T13:31:00.004-05:00

My parents returned from India on June 5th. Guess what I got? I got books. I had asked them to bring all the books by Chetan Bhagat. So far, he has written four books:

Five Point Someone (Movie: 3 Idiots)
One Night @ The Call Center (Movie: Hello)
The 3 Mistakes of My Life
2 States

I am super excited about reading these books. I have yet to watch Hello and 3 Idiots and I think I will read the books first and then watch the movies. These books will go on my TBR list because I have couple of books that I would like to read first.

I am currently reading Half Life by Roopa Farooki and Last Time I Saw You (Audio CD) by Elizabeth Berg. Next to read is The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender only because it is on hold at the library. I won't be listening to any audio books for a while since my brother and I carpool to work. After this, I will read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. This book has been on my nightstand for such a long time. This is one of those books that I would like to read without any breaks, and lately I have been taking many breaks while reading a book. For now these books will do. I have other books that I would like to read soon. I want to read Sophie Kinsella's other books, Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry, and Vish Puri Mysteries by Tarquin Hall. There are just too many books and too little time.

Last time I went to Barnes and Nobles, I saw this really cool bookmark called "50 books to read before you die." I think I will get it next time I go there.

While searching for this bookmark, I came across a really cool blog named Bookmark Kingdom, a blog managed by Vaida. She collects bookmarks from all over the world. I have not had a chance to view them all. I really thought this bookmark was cute. I tried putting the picture on here, but it is too big.

Time to go...I will be back!

As It was Written by Sujatha Hampton

2010-06-07T06:00:00.042-05:00

This book has been on my "Reading Now" shelf since February of this year. Due to hectic study schedule, I read about a page a day. After I finished the book, I could not decide what to think about this book. Before I write anything else, here is a short synopsis from B&N:

The epic journey of an Indian-American family which unfolds when men and women, Hindus and Catholics, histories and curses, collide.

In McLean, Virginia, Dr. Raman Nair lives a life of abounding satisfaction with his tiny wife, Jaya, and his harem of enormous and beautiful daughters. He has been away from his native Kerala, India for so long that he has happily forgotten the ancient Brahmin curse that follows his family like a black cloud, killing one girl for love in every generation. But his wife hasn’t forgotten, nor has his baby sister, Gita. Suddenly his daughters are up to no good and Dr. Raman Nair doesn’t know which way to turn.

Initial attraction to book was due to the cover. I am a sucker for books with cover that had something related to India. Then I read the short synopsis on the inside of the front cover, which made me want to read this book even more.

I was very disappointed with the book. I felt the story had so much potential. The story of five sisters and Gita was too much to handle at one time. The story is mainly about two of the five sisters, Veena and Dhanya, Gita, and Omanakumari. Veena and Gita's portions were okay but every time Dhanya's story was mentioned, I cringed. I wanted to skip those portions. However, the way the whole book was formatted, I had to read it. The stories jumped around too much. I felt there was no organization to the book, which made it confusing. The only part that was somewhat organized was when Omanakumari's story was mentioned, but even that became confusing at times. There were bits that I enjoyed, which is why I finished the book. I don't even want to talk about the ending. I think Sujatha Hampton was inspired by M. Night Shyamalan when writing this book. Hopefully everyone gets this reference. I was expecting so much more from this book.

I give this book 6 out of 10.

So overall, I would not recommend this book; however, if you have spare time, you can pick up this book. It is an easy read. I would not say that I wasted my time reading this book, but I could have read something better. I think this is one of those books, where a week is enough. More than a week is waste of time. This is Sujatha's first book. I would give her another chance and read any books she writes in the future.

The Graveyard Book Movie

2010-06-01T13:18:00.001-05:00

Awesome news for all Gaiman fans: The Graveyard Book is going to be a movie. There was a rumor that the project was dead. Neil Gaiman posted this article on his Facebook page last week. Here is a piece of the article related to the book:

The Graveyard Book is being adapted as a live-action feature to be written and directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, The Brave One, Ondine). The story is Gaiman's nod to The Jungle Book where a young boy is raised by the ghostly, ghoulish occupants of a graveyard, instead of animals. It sounds like the project is moving forward the exact same as it was earlier this year. Wayfare Entertaiment, Framestore (the visual effects company) and Gaiman will also produce, and CJ will co-finance the film and distribute in Korea and Japan. "The projects we are developing together meet our shared goal of producing movies for the global audience," Columbus said. "We see this as just the beginning of many terrific movies together." I hope so!

I am too excited and cannot wait for this movie.

I finished As It was Written by Sujatha Hampton today in lunch time and will review it soon. I also started The Last Time I Saw You (Audio Book) by Elizabeth Berg this morning.

Now back to work, something I get paid to do.

Yay Me!!!!

2010-05-27T09:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (TSBPA) finally posted the scores for the AUD section of the exam. Here is a screen print of what I saw when I logged in:

I passed my third exam. Yay me!!! I am 60% done. I have one CPA exam (30%), an ethics exam (7%), and four hours of ethics CPE (3%) is left. I am hoping and praying (and keeping my fingers crossed) that I pass it. I do not like Tax and that is my last exam. I am so close that I can almost taste it. I have invested one and a half into this. It is time to wrap this up. I am going to steal Carrie's motto:

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…

Now back to the books/work.

Not So Happy Post

2010-05-26T11:35:00.002-05:00

There are certain people and things I cannot stand. I HATE people who prey on children. In my opinion, they should not be shown any mercy and should be granted a death penalty. I know this is little too extreme, but I do not think they have any right to ruin anybody's life like that. What prompted this post? Rathore is found guilty and sent to jail.

Background: He was a cop who preyed upon Ruchika, a 14-year old girl (1990). After which, Rathore used his position and power to trouble her family and three years later, Ruchika committed suicide (1993). IBNLive and Times of India are stating that Ruchika (the victim) finally got justice. That is a bunch of BS. She got "justice" after 20 years. The definition of "Justice" for these newspapers is 18 months in jail. 18 MONTHS!!!! 18 months is nothing in comparison to what he did, and I say let him stay there until his last breath. I read the news yesterday and as expressed in this post, it just made me mad. This is not justice. 18-month jail time does not send a strong message to these kinds of people. They will continue to ruin the lives of children and get away with this heinous crime.

Seriously, Indian judicial system needs to reconsider the punishment for crimes such as these. The maximum jail time is 2 years. Only 2 YEARS!!! It is time for some serious changes...

Fun Meme: If....

2010-05-20T09:30:00.008-05:00

If...

I borrowed this "If..." meme from Thinking of Thinking who borrowed it from Helen @ Helen's Book Blog. I really had to think about some of these but overall it was fun.

If I was...

a month I'd be February

a day of the week I'd be Friday

a time of the day I'd be Evening

If I was...

a sea animal I'd be a jellyfish

a direction I'd be north

a piece of furniture I'd be a bed

a liquid I'd be lemonade

If I was...

a gemstone I'd be Amethyst

a tree I'd be a palm tree

a tool I'd be a hammer
a kind of weather I'd be a rainy day

If I was...
a musical instrument I'd be a guitar
a color I'd be purple
an emotion I'd be excited
a fruit I'd be watermelon

If I was...
a food I'd be Chhole-Bhature
a material I'd be silk
a scent I'd be lavender
a flavor I'd be vanilla with a drop of chocolate

If I was...
a sound I'd be laughter
an element I'd be water
a mammal I'd be a tiger
a phase of the moon I'd be New Moon

If I was...
a berry I'd be a cherry
a bird I'd be a peacock
a book I'd be Ender's Game (still indecisive...too many to choose from)
a place I'd be a library with a fireplace

Now back to work :)

Book Blogger Hope

2010-05-07T09:54:00.001-05:00

This week I am participating in Book Blogger Hope hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books. It is a great way to meet new bloggers, find some new blogs to follow and gain some great readers for your own blog. This is my first time participating in this event. I hope that I will find some great blogs to follow!

I started this blog with intentions of posting about my life events. Over the time, this blog has steered more toward books with occasional posts about CPA exams, March for babies, and life in general. I love books. I remember one of my first books were Cam Jansen series (a girl with photographic memory). I read mostly fiction and some non-fictions occasionally. I read whatever comes my way except for mystery, sci-fi (Ender Saga is an exception), and romance (few exceptions). I usually just browse the fiction shelves at my local library and see if there is something I like. As for Non-fiction, I enjoyed Outliers (my favorite), Freakonomics, Eat, Pray, Love, and Missiles in Cuba. I also tend to lean more toward books by authors who are Indian or has Indian origins (Jhumpa Lahiri) and if the topic relates to India, and the culture. Right now, my To-Read list has too many books. I read book reviews and if I like the short description, I add the book to my list. That is about it.

Update (5/8/2010): I discovered the following blogs thru the Book Blogger Hope:

It was fun and would love to do it again!

Music for Memory

2010-05-06T16:20:00.000-05:00

It is interesting how our minds work. One thing our brain does is associate unrelated things to objects, persons, and music (this one applies to me). This morning on my way to work, our local station was playing "SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake. The association with this song is completely unrelated: drive to my university. Before conclusions are drawn, let me say I was not a wild child in college. I went to class, did my homework, and came back home :). Every time I hear that song, I think of turning left on Middlebrook Dr. and entering the University parking lot.

I enjoy listening to Linkin Park. For some reason, whenever I listen to any of their songs, I think of my Spanish III class in high school. That is going back about 6 years and the songs have nothing to do with Spanish.

Another song is "Wake Up (Make A Move)" by LostProphets, which reminds me of my Calculus class in high school. There are so many more songs and so many memories. Some are related and most are unrelated. This is kind of cool because these are few moments in life I will remember as long as I listen to these songs.

P.S. I am too lazy to get the video of these songs or even link them.

Fun Meme: Book List (100th Post)

2010-05-04T11:15:00.004-05:00

Rebecca from Lost in Books is hosting a fun meme: Books You've Read Over and Over and Over. The rules are simple. Make a list of 3 Books You've Read Over and Over and Over and...

Here is my list:

1. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

The first time I read this book was in 9th grade and I fell in love. I read it again in college. Again when my brother was reading it. I will pick up this book again sometimes soon. I enjoy it more and more with every read. I admit I could not get into rest of the books of the saga. Nevertheless, I love this book. I did enjoy the parallel book "Ender's Shadow" and looking forward to reading that series. I might also pick up "Ender in Exile" which is a sequel to Ender's Game. (I am little confused as to what Card is trying to accomplish here as "Speaker for the Dead" was part 2 of Ender Saga). I hope they will make the movie in my lifetime because it has been on hold for a long time.

2. The Giver by Lois Lowry

I don't think I can count how many times I have read this book. I read this in 7th grade and read it several times after that. Another book that needs to have a movie. IMDb states the release date as 2011.

3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Another book that is going to stay with me for a long time. There is something about Gatsby and the society that has attracted millions of readers around the world.

There are many more books but I have to limit myself to three :)

P.S. This is my 100th post. Yay me!

I just had to post this picture.

March for Babies

2010-04-26T16:22:00.001-05:00

I walked for March for Babies yesterday. It was my third year participating in the fundraising and the walk. The walk was pleasant. I met new people, who were friendly even after they found out that I am an internal auditor of the company. Usually that is when people rather get a mean look on their faces. I guess these individuals had not been in the company for long. I am just joking about the mean look part.

The weather was nice and windy. The walk was five miles with rest areas every mile. At the first stop, Continental Airlines had set up a stage and there were Hawaiian dancers there. Their dancing moves were hot. Here I am at 3-mile checkpoint:

Somewhere down the walk, we saw Mr. Snuggles, the bear. I still do not know which company he was representing. I felt sorry for the person in the bear costume since it was hot outside. I think somewhere around 4 miles, the person just could not take it anymore and had to step out because we saw deflated Mr. Snuggles. I did not take a picture of that but that was funny. I believe the person finished the 5-mile walk in the bear costume. I bet he lost a bet with his co-workers and had to wear the costume. Anyways, here is a picture of Mr. Snuggles from the back:

Close to the finish, the volunteers were distributing Blue Bell ice cream sandwiches. We made it to back to our company tent and enjoyed the cake. There was food but I skipped it since I am a vegetarian and it was all non-veg. My goal was to raise $110 and I successfully raised $110. I am hoping that next year we can make it bigger. Our company only raised about $6,500 and our goal was $20,000. I think everyone is feeling the pinch. I am looking forward to next year's walk.

I believe my next break will be when Shrek 3D will be released. I am looking forward to that movie.

Ever Searched for a Book...?

2010-04-23T13:05:00.002-05:00

I decided to make a list of books that I had read and enjoyed over the years. Facebook Visual Bookshelf is really helping me with that. Initially it was only books that I had read 2008 (that is when I joined FB) and after. I thought about all the books I had read in junior high, high school, and college that I really enjoyed and starting adding those. Now this is going back 5 years and more and I do not remember all the books. There were a lot of books. There were three books that I just had to add. I remembered the title of one, The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright, but I had forgotten the name of the other two. I remembered the stories and I thought that would make the search easier.

Anyways, the second book was about a boy who has this special ability of telling when somebody is lying. His arm tingles when somebody lies. I knew the title was something like "Lies" or "Liars." Now imagine searching that on Google. They should ban the authors from using that as a title. Eventually, I found the book and it is titled Liars by P.J. Petersen. I went to the author's website and sadly, he does not even list the book on his site. It is a great book and I really enjoyed it.

The third book was the most troublesome. I vaguely remembered the story as I read this book 6+ years ago but I remembered enjoying it very much. It was about a boy who is researching his family history and comes across the family secret about murder and lies. I knew there was an old woman in the story who gives him misleading information. I told the librarian about it and she said she will look for the book. Yesterday she emailed me and gave me couple of titles but none of them sounded familiar and one of them was written recently. I told her again what the story was about but this time I thought about how there was something about a shadow. After emailing her, I went to the library's website and looked up "murder" and "shadow." I got too many hits. Then I thought that maybe one of the famous children's authors had written the book and thought about Lois Lowry. I misspelled the last name and searched "Lowery." I hit books by Joan Lowery Nixon and that surely rang a bell. Then I went through the books by Nixon and FOUND the BOOK!!!!! I was so excited. It was Search for the Shadowman by Joan Lowery Nixon. It is interesting how mind works. I think I will make a decent librarian. :)

More about books: I am not listening to any books for now. I listen to CPA related material and the radio. I was looking forward to end of May when I can go back to listening to books. I found out that my brother got an internship at a hospital (which is awesome) that is 2 miles from my work, so I will be his ride. That means no audio books until he is done with internship, which is will end of July. Therefore, until August, I can say good-bye to audio books or listen to 10 minutes every day.

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

2010-04-06T12:08:00.000-05:00

I finished the novel end of March but didn't get around to posting my opinion about it. I usually do that in lunchtime or in the evening at the library. I have been studying non-stop during those hours as I am so close to finishing the CPA exams and do not want to screw up. Due to which, I have stopped reading and listening to books. No No...I take that back. I am reading CPA related book and listening to CPA related material. I will post my opinion about those later (just kidding...or maybe I should do it). Anyways, after this post, I am taking a break from the blog until end of May. Time to get serious about the exam!

Now back to this book. Heidi W. Durrow has done a great job. I really enjoyed this book. Here is a description from the author's website:

A timely and moving bicultural coming-of-age tale about the daughter of a Danish immigrant and a black G.I. A beauty with light brown skin and blue eyes, she attracts much attention in her new home. The world wants to see her as either black or white, but that's not how she sees herself.

Meanwhile, a mystery unfolds, revealing the terrible truth about Rachel's last morning on a Chicago rooftop. Interwoven with her voice are those of Jamie, a neighborhood boy who witnessed the events, and Laronne, a friend of Rachel's mother. Inspired by a true story of a mother's twisted love, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky reveals an unfathomable past and explores issues of identity at a time when many people are asking "Must race confine us and define us?"

The book is beautifully written and the narrators did an excellent job. I did not like few things but I will talk about those later. The concept is original. I picked up this book by reading "inspired by a true story." Now I am curious to know how much of the story was actually true and which parts were fictitious. The book is thought provoking. I think this book would appeal more to others but I still liked it. Lastly, I don't know why, but the whole concept of a "blue bottle" inside everyone intrigued me.

Bad points: I felt the characters were not fully developed especially the grandmother, the father, and the aunt. I think the author should have written more about them to give the full picture. There were few events in the novel that I felt were unnecessary, and the story would have been better without them. I won't elaborate more on that. I was highly disappointed with the whole mystery. The author built it up by mentioning minor details here and there.

I give this book 8.5 out of 10.

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson

2010-03-24T13:40:00.000-05:00

Ummm...what to say? This book was weirdly good. I mean I am still considering how and what to think of this book. There are eleven short stories and author's interview at the end. Here are the stories:

Grand Stand-In
The woman who rents herself out as a grandmother usually to families that had lost their grandmothers but do not want their children to miss the fun or are too coward to tell the children about the loss.

Blowing up on the Spot
The main character works in a Scrabble factory sorting the tiles to look for the letter Q. His younger brother is suicidal ever since the parents passed away. How did they die? They exploded and there were no explanations.

The Dead Sister Handbook: A Guide for Sensitive Boys
This is formatted as a guide (thus the title). There are topics and then instructions. For example, one of the instructions stated what to do when the brother finds the sister's diary.

Birds in the House
A competition is planned to see who will inherit the ancestral mansion after the death of the mother. The narrator, daughter of one of the brothers, witnesses death and greed into action as each brother fights to win the mansion.

Mortal Combat: (I do not think I can say anything else without giving away the entire story.)
Two guys fondle each other once while studying in the library. One friend wants to advance and the other does not. Then there is the game, Mortal Combat.

Tunneling to the Center of the Earth
Three friends graduated from college with degrees that are useless in the real world. With having nothing to do, they dig and dig and dig.

Shooting Man: This story was my favorite.
The circus comes to town and one trick is that one guy shoots himself and comes back to life. The guy convinces the wife to go to the show. Later he goes back to the circus to learn the truth.

The Choir Director Affair (The Baby's Teeth): I felt that this story was pointless.
There are two parts to the story. The first part is about the father having an affair and second part is about the baby having full set of teeth at that age and the narrator's fascination about them.

Go, Fight, Win
Penny (16) is a cheerleader in her school. She has a relationship with a 12-year-old boy who lives across the street.

The Museum of Whatnot
This story is about a lady who takes care of a museum, which collects other people's obsessions, which are donated after they die such as collection of regular spoons.

Worst-Case Scenario
This story is about a man whose job is to tell people the worst-case scenarios (disasters they might face in their lives).

There is definitely more to the stories than what is written here like human nature, dysfunctional families, feelings, emotions, and more. My favorite one was the "Shooting Man" and I enjoyed "Grand Stand in," "Birds in the House," and "Go, Fight, Win." Some stories were too much out of the ordinary and I just did not know what to think of them. I felt some stories were unfinished. Some were depressing, but some had happy endings.

If you ever decide to pick up this book, which I recommend you do, do read the interview at the end. Kevin Wilson will dive into the reasons he started writing. I give this book 8 out of 10.

You Can’t Drink All Day If You Don’t Start in the Morning

2010-03-20T21:22:00.004-05:00

One of the librarians recommended this book to me. I saw the title and thought, "This has to be funny." Well it was damn funny!!! The author is Celia Rivenbark. She is too good at what she does. This is my first Celia Rivenbark's book. My first Rivenbark book made me her fan. There are many many LOL moments in the book. Each chapter is a different story. I just loved her too much. I highly recommend this book. I just don't know what else to write. She simply is The Best in her genre. I give her 9/10. Read this book!!!

I found a YouTube video of Hilarie Burton's reading of the book. Check it out and decide for yourself:

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

Time to watch Comedy Circus. Good Night!!!

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

2010-03-18T13:40:00.001-05:00

I finished the book last Friday and I am glad I waited a week to blog about it. When I finished listening to it, I wanted to chuck the book out of my car. Thank god that I realized that the book belongs to the library. Now that should tell you how I felt about the novel. I think I am calmer about the book.

A short synopsis from Jodi Picoult's site:

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and a role that she has never questioned… until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable… a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life… even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less?

The story is told from various points of views. Chapters shuffle between characters. Anna is the main character (which is obvious from the synopsis). She is a typical 13-year-old girl, who is unsure most of the time. At the same time having dealt with a sick sibling, she is mature for her age. Then there is the sick sibling, Kate. She is not given a voice in the novel; thus, it is harder to judge her. There is an older brother, Jesse. At times, I felt that he is just hungry for attention, which is definitely present in the novel, but at the same time, it is his way of dealing with a sick sister. He cannot be a donor for Kate, which frustrates him. Then there are the parents, Brian and Sara. Brian is a firefighter and is closer to Anna. His character is bearable. Sara, on the other hand, is irritating. She is manipulative. I felt like at times Sara did not see Anna as her daughter but only as a savior of Kate.

Beside the Fitzgerald family, there is Campbell Alexander, the lawyer, and Julia Romano, guardian ad litem. Campbell has a service dog but does not explain why until later. His explanations for having a service dog bring comedy relief to the book. Julia is Campbell's ex-girlfriend and readers can easily see what will happen to them.

The book started out good. The story is captivating from the start. I liked how each situation is presented from different point of views. I wish Picoult had given a voice to Kate because I feel she is very important to the story. At the same time, I understand why Kate's character had to be mute in order for the story to build. Just like everyone else, I am not happy with the ending. I felt betrayed when I listened to it, but now I am somewhat okay about it. I still wish Picoult had taken a different route. I got teary-eyed twice during the book.

The audio book is read by various artists, where each character is represented by one. I liked that because I think it would have been difficult for one reader to present so many characters. Having various artists read the book definitely added to my likeness of the book.

I would give this book 7.5/10 for two reasons. One reason is Sara Fitzgerald and the second is the ending.

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

The Gift by Cecelia Ahern

2010-03-14T14:51:00.000-05:00

I became curious about this book when I read about it on Swapna's blog in December 2009. The festivities were in the air and I felt like reading a holiday novel. However, I finally got a chance to read it in beginning of March, not so Christmassy then. My excitement went down slightly but since I finally got my hands on this book, I figured I read it.

Lou Suttern is a hard working man. Work is his priority due to which he might be up for a promotion. He makes sure he is first at work and does whatever he can to prove himself. He does not spend time with this family and misses all the family gatherings. Amidst all this, he meets a homeless man named Gabe. Gabe has a talent of remembering people by their shoes. Lou hires him, an act that will turn his life around.

The novel is told from a police officer's point of view, which put an interesting spin to the story. He is trying to convey a message to a teenager who is in trouble with the law. The story was heartwarming and original. As norm for all the Christmas stories, there is always a moral and a miracle in the book. I won't say what the miracle is because that will spoil the book. The moral of the story is the value of time. Lou finally realizes how important it is to spend time with his friends and family. I want to write more about this book but I think whatever I say after this about the book might become a spoiler. Last thing I will say, make sure you do check out this book.

I give this book 8 out of 10.

This was my first Ahern book. Now that I have her on my radar, I will be sure to check out her other books.

Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell

2010-03-11T22:00:00.003-06:00

There are six study rooms at my local library: three on the children side of the library and three on the adults. The days I get the room on the children side, I usually end up browsing the books in the children section. I came across this book last month. This was a very cute book.

Book's website: Dork Diaries follows eighth grader Nikki Maxwell, who chronicles through text and sketches her move to a snooty new school; her epic battle with her mom for an iPhone; her enthusiasm for drawing & art; and a love/hate fascination with the new school's queen bee, a girl named Mackenzie who becomes Nikki's rival in a school-wide art competition.

Nikki Maxwell is just adorable. I think if the junior high girls read this, they would say, "Oh my god....this is soooo true." My junior high experience was not any similar to this book; but nonetheless, I enjoyed it very much. The artwork was nice. Every time I came across one of the pictures, I wanted to grab some color pencils and fill in the colors.

I felt the story was not original. It ran on the same lines as Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The older brother like figure from Wimpy Kid was missing in the Dork Diaries. Beside that, I thought this book and the Wimpy Kid had many similar situations, except for the point of view. Nikki is slightly more mature than Greg (Wimpy Kid). Overall I enjoyed it.

I give this book 8 out of 10. I will look out for the second book, which I believe will release later in the year. If anybody is looking for a very light read, go for this book.

Reading Status:

Reading Now:
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (Audio CD)
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson.

Book to Review: The Gift by Cecelia Ahern

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury

2010-03-07T21:28:00.000-06:00

This audio book was a full-cast radio play by the Colonial Radio Theatre (2 hours). This was my first "full-cast radio play" and it was a different experience. I liked Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and decided to try this book.

Wikipedia: Two 13-year-old boys, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway, have a harrowing experience with a nightmarish traveling carnival that comes to their Midwestern town one October. The carnival's leader is the mysterious "Mr. Dark" bears a tattoo for each person who, lured by the offer to live out his secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the carnival. Mr. Dark's malevolent presence is countered by that of Will's father, Charles Halloway, who harbors his own secret desire to regain his youth.

Story was good. The characters were good. I liked everything about the book. Now on to the audio book. This was my first experience with radio play so I had no idea what to expect. While listening to it, I felt that I was watching a movie with my eyes closed. The cast did an excellent job but I really needed the visual with it. There were moments when one character said, "Look," and all I head next was different sounds. I was hungry for some description of the events. Because of which, I felt like I was missing bits of the story. I don't think I did. This audio book did make me curious enough to check out the original book soon.

I give this audio book 7/10 and the story gets 10/10, so the average is 8.5/10.

This audio book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

2010-03-05T08:37:00.000-06:00

I think I am going to end up reading all the books by Sophie Kinsella. At the same time, I do not think she is one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed The Undomestic Goddess very much and Shopaholics series are okay. I really wanted to listen to Can You Keep a Secret? by her but I have to find the audio book for it. In the meanwhile, I decided to read Remember Me?

Remember Me? is about Lexi Smart who wakes up in a hospital after a car accident to find that she has no memory of her past three years. However, in those three years a lot has happened. She became the director of the department she used to work in 3 years back. She now drives a Mercedes. Best of all, she is married to a good-looking millionaire. She realizes that with every good thing, there is something bad. Now she has to work on figuring out her life.

One thing I liked very much about the book that it did not drag. I finished the book in a day and a half. It was a very light read and after listening to The Unnamed and The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, I appreciated this book very much. The personalities of the characters were justified. I was disappointed with one fact but I will not say it here. I think it is a spoiler.

Jon was such a sweetheart. I felt bad for him for a while but I have noticed that Kinsella does not leave her characters stranded. He definitely has a positive ending. Lexi's rich husband is too focused and businesslike to understand relationships. Lexi, the main character, is charming and witty. I felt that Lexi and Samantha from The Undomestic Goddess shared few similarities.

Overall, I enjoyed it. I give this book 8/10.

Fact: Madeleine Wickham goes under the pen name Sophie Kinsella.

I did not know that. Interesting.

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County - Tiffany Baker

2010-03-01T13:22:00.001-06:00

You know there are some books that leave a sour taste in the mouth. Well, this was one of those books. I had very high expectations and at one point this book came close (not very) to meeting them, but then BOOM...it all came crashing down. I realize what happens in the book was necessary to the plot but at the same time, I don't think it was. Before I go more into it, here is a little summary of the book:

Truly is bigger than average in Aberdeen County. In fact, her teacher in school calls her "A little giant." Her mother dies in childbirth and the father becomes alcoholic. She has an older sister, Serena Jane, is opposite of Truly, beautiful and seemingly perfect. Serena Jane marries Robert "Bob Bob" Morgan, the son of the doctor of the county, against her wishes. After 8 years of marriage, Serena Jane disappears, leaving Truly responsible for taking care of Bobby, Serena's son. Men in Morgans family have always been the doctors of the county, starting from first Robert Morgan, who married Tabitha, the witch doctor. Tabitha has left the recipes of her remedies hidden in the house. The story becomes interesting when Truly discovers those remedies...

I hope I have not given away too much of the story. Overall, it was a decent story. It was original. However, the characters spoiled the fun for me. I found Truly, the main character, really really annoying. She does not speak up for herself and I felt that she is overly obsessed with her sister. Due to which, she doesn't appreciate the people who gave her roof over her head, the Dyresons. All was good and dandy, until certain events happened which made me unhappy (so there is a fault in the story...so I take my words back about it being a decent story). Serena Jane was just plain selfish. She didn't care about anybody, including her son. She was definitely the second character that I didn't like.

After I was done listening to it, I felt relieved it was over. I did enjoy most of the story. The story took some turns, which made me very unhappy. Since I enjoyed about 80% of the story, I give it 8/10.

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

Before I end this post, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Holi!!!

Coraline Graphic Novel - Neil Gaiman

2010-02-27T21:30:00.002-06:00

Another Neil Gaiman...well not really. I listened to the audio book of Coraline last year. I enjoyed the audio book so much so when I saw the graphic novel, I checked it out. I felt it was a very good depiction of the original book. I think the "Other Mother" in the movie was designed after the "Other Mother" from the graphic novel.

I had imagined the events in the book certain way. So when I watched movie, I was disappointed in a way. The book and the movie are very different. The graphic novel is very true to the book. I enjoyed reading it. I give this book 9/10.

2 down, 1 in Transit, and 1 in May

2010-02-25T21:11:00.001-06:00

I am currently studying to be a CPA. Today I had my third exam. Now I wait...and wait...and wait...I think 3rd week of March will be the dreadful week when I will find out that I failed. :-( For some reason, I am not sure that I passed. I have my fingers crossed.

Monday I get back on the train and start studying for REG, which is hopefully the last exam. I am going to schedule the exam in May.
-----------------------------------------
Second: I added links to the website that provide free things and money and they actually work.

Swagbucks: Search and Win Website. The website rewards you "swagbucks" randomly on searches and then you can redeem prizes such as gift cards.
**My brother redeemed $25 Amazon giftcard and subscription to Time Magazine.

InstantCashSweepstakes: Gives money for very very short surveys. When you collect upto $2.00, you can cash out with Paypal. With every survey, tickets are earned to enter the daily $50 drawing.

iRazoo: Another Search and Win Website. Here it is very easy to earn Amazon giftcards. Give it a try.

Lockerz: You collect points by logging in daily and answering one question daily. Then you can use those points to redeem prizes. They have redemption days.
**My brother just got Modern Warfare Reflex for Wii in the redemption today. Just leave me a comment with your email address and I will send the invite.

Enjoy!!! Good Night...

More Neil Gaiman - M is for Magic

2010-02-25T19:51:00.002-06:00

Neil Gaiman has become one of my favorite authors. I think I have said that enough times and I will continue to say it until I am done with all his books. So far I have read the following:

1. Coraline (Audio CD)
2. Odd and the Frosted Giants (Audio CD)
3. The Graveyard Book (Audio CD)
4. M is for Magic - Hardcover (Reviewing now)

Currently I am reading Coraline Graphic Novel. I can't wait to check out his other books.

Well...here is a review of M is for Magic. The book is a collection of short children stories. Before I start on the content of the stories, I must say one thing. I feel that Neil Gaiman books are better in audio cd format than paper format. I think Neil Gaiman brought the other books to life by narrating them. When authors are writing the novels, they have a certain personality in mind for each character. Neil Gaiman got a chance to portray those personalities through the audio books. So when I read M is for Magic, it didn't have Neil Gaiman's "magic" in it. For some reason I couldn't connect with the stories as I did with his other works. I strongly believe that was due to Gaiman narrating the stories.

Here are the titles of the short stories (courtesy of Wikipedia) and my short descriptions after them:

"The Case Of The Four And Twenty Blackbirds" - This story is about the death of Humpty Dumpty, which was actually a murder. Little Jack Horner is hired to solve the mystery. I personally didn't enjoy the story as much. It was okay.
"Troll Bridge" - Also printed in Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman - This story is about a Troll who lives under the bridge. A little boy meets him and promises to come back if the troll doesn't eat him. He promises to come back again and again. Readers have to read to find out if he goes back or not. I didn't enjoy it as much either.
"Don't Ask Jack" (Smoke and Mirrors) - The story is about Jack in the Box that sits in an attic waiting. As per my description, you can probably tell that this was my least favorite of all. And I am starting to think that Gaiman really likes the name Jack.
"How To Sell The Ponti Bridge" - Members of the Rogues Club in the Seven Worlds are suppose to be biggest cons around. However, a man name Stoat tells them how he pulled off biggest and easiest (according to the members) scam of all time. This was definitely one of the best stories in the entire book. I enjoyed this one very much and was wondering how Neil Gaiman would portray each character especially Stoat.
"October In The Chair" - Twelve months are sitting around the fire in the month of October. Since it is his month, he sits in the Chair. Each month tells a story and "month of the month" tells his story last. However, October goes ahead and tells his story first. His story is about a little boy who runs away from home because he is not appreciated at home. He meets a ghost boy. There is more to the story but I don't want to spoil it. I enjoyed this story. All I have to say that story leaves the readers wondering.
"Chivalry" (Smoke and Mirrors) - Mrs. Whitaker purchases a silver goblet. Knight Gaalad arrives at Mrs. Whitaker's door, time and again, with varied offerings in exchange for the "Holy Grail", which he needs to complete his quest. Mrs. Whitaker is finally convinced to trade for the ancient items. This was an interesting story. I am still unsure how I felt about this story. I enjoyed it but at the same time there was something missing.
"The Price" (Smoke and Mirrors) - A Black Cat arrives at a man's house and stays. Every morning the man notices that the cat has scratches and marks and is hurt. He figures that the cat had a fight with another animal during the night. One night he decides to stay awake and find out what or whom the black is fighting. This was my 3rd favorite after "Sunbird."
"How to Talk to Girls at Parties" (Fragile Things) A boy who is too shy to talk to girls ends up at a party of girls. As his friend Vic says, "They're just girls," ... "They don't come from another planet." Right? This was a weird story. I didn't like it that much. As per Gaiman's website, this story was nominated for Hugo Award 2007. Read it to find out why because I don't know why.
"Sunbird" (Noisy Outlaws) - An Epicurean Club with five distinguished members have tasted all sorts of creatures except for Sunbird. One member says he knows how to get his hands on the creature - in Egypt. They successfully catch the bird and even cook it. But then something happens...I won't say anymore. I really liked the concept of this story. I think this could easily be converted into a book. Shall I say any more...
"The Witch's Headstone" - This story is part of The Graveyard Book; thus, I did not read this story. I highly recommend The Graveyard Book.
"Instructions" (first published in Wolf at the Door) - a Poem. It is a set of instructions of what to do if you find yourself inside a fairy tale. Quite interesting.

I think that is enough on this book. Overall, I found it so-so. I give this book 7/10. I might try this out in audio just to see/feel/hear the difference.

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris

2010-02-19T10:06:00.003-06:00

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris was something different to say the least. I enjoyed listening to it and I think the author did an excellent job narrating it. There is no differentiation in voice when it comes to different characters, but from the starting, I associated his voice with the main character, Tim.

Tim Farnsworth is a partner in a law firm. He has a beautiful wife named Jane and a daughter, Becka. However, there is a chance that he will lose it all. He calls his wife to say, "It's back" and that will change everything. Tim has a condition, which makes him walk. He walks miles and miles and for hours until he is so tired that he falls asleep. His wife picks him up from random places at random hours. At first, his daughter feels that Tim is doing all this on purpose. That changes over time as she grows order and sees her dad struggle with this condition. However, in the end, it is Tim who has to deal with it and stop himself from walking away from his life.

I read about this novel on NPR and found the plot interesting. Whenever I took a break from listening to the novel (when I got to work or home) I kept wondering what will happen next until I got a chance to listen to it again. Joshua Ferris creates these characters and makes them so real that the readers feel emotionally attached to them. Even though this novel is fiction, there is a non-fiction feel to it. I think some readers might be able to relate to the frustrations Tim and Jane face throughout the novel. The readers will sympathize with the characters, their triumphs, and their loses (not too many triumphs though). This novel is definitely on the sad end of the scale.

I felt that Joshua Ferris did not leave any questions unanswered and lose ends. The story starts from the beginning and ends at the End. The readers are not kept wondering about the future or wishing for an alternate end (at least I wasn't.) I felt the ending was very peaceful as compared to the whole book. I give this book 8.5/10.

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

P.S. Here are the two NPR articles: An Aimless Walk With An 'Unnamed' Destination by Glen Weldon (book review) and Tracking A Man's Life, In Endless Footsteps (author interview).

Now I am listening to The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker and enjoying it so far. I am also reading M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman.

Good day

2010-02-19T08:46:00.003-06:00

Today is definitely a good day...and yesterday was better...don't know much about tomorrow!!!

That's all I have to say in this post.

Don't Judge a Book...

2010-02-14T22:52:00.000-06:00

...by its cover. I think almost everybody in this world have heard this saying. I agree with the literal and metaphorical meaning of the statement. However, whenever I pick my next book, I can't help but judge the book by its cover.

Whenever I chose a book, I consider the following:

The story/plot of the book
If it was recommended, it usually goes to my TBR list automatically, (unless it is non-fiction...then have to do a little research)
If I see a review on the book blogs I follow
Usually Facebook's Visual Bookshelf and Shelfari's reviews
The book cover.

Recently, (sometime last week), I was browsing through the non-fiction audio books section (I occassionally do that). One audio book caught my eye because the spine of the book was colorful. I just had to pick it up and it was none other than Amy Sedaris (David Sedaris's sister). I will listen to it soon (a colleague is borrowing it right now.) Here is what I know:

Plot: something to do with hospitality
Recommendation: Not really....I had read something about her promoting the book and that got me interested.
Review: Waiting for the colleague to finish. She said she is enjoying it so far.
I haven't looked on Facebook or Shelfari but I have a slight idea what they will say.
The book cover: well...it was interesting. Have a look yourself.

Anyways, time to sleep. It wasn't such a good day and on top of that, didn't get much accomplished. I have my exam next week on the 25th. Good Night.

Sisters Eight Book 1 & 2 - Book Reviews

2010-02-13T22:13:00.001-06:00

Last week I read first two books for Sisters Eight series: Annie's Adventures (Book 1) and Durinda's Dangers (Book 2). I believe there are total of five books out and I think there will be total of either eight or nine books.

Series Sisters Eight is about octuplets (and eight cats) whose parents disappear on New Year's Eve. They have to figure out what happened to their parents, while keeping in mind that nobody should find out about disappear of their parents. If somebody finds out, then the sisters will be separated. They find unsigned notes that tell them that they each have a power and a gift that they have to find. The oldest, Annie, finds her power and her gift in the first book and Durinda, the second older, finds hers in the second book.

The stories were cute and quite unreal. They learn how to drive a car and go shopping. I think all the kids should read these books and adults can check these out for some light reading. Overall, I enjoyed it. I give them 8.5/10. I can't wait to get my hands on rest of the books of the series.

SRK on NPR :)

2010-02-11T09:14:00.002-06:00

Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) is one of the best actors out there. I don't think this is just my opinion (Even NPR states that). He continues to prove himself. The movies are automatically a hit if his name is somehow attached to it. His new movie "My Name is Khan" is releasing tomorrow and I am excited.

He was on NPR this morning, which I missed but I am listening to it online right now :-)

Here is the interview:

Here is the article from NPR's website:

His Name Is Khan (And It's One You Might Know)

Can you tell I am excited? :-P

Time to get back to work. I will write about Sisters Eight Book 1: Annie's Adventure soon.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

2010-02-09T22:35:00.000-06:00

After listening to Neil Gaiman present The Graveyard Book, I have concluded that he is one of the best storytellers. Again, he did an excellent job creating the characters.

Here is the summary of the book:

Nobody (Bod) Owens is raised by the ghosts of the graveyard. His family was murdered by the Man Jack when Nobody Owens was a baby. He learns the ways of the graveyard such as fading, dreamwalking, etc. However, his ghost family cannot always protect him or shield him from the outside world.

This book was awesome. There are short incidents of Bod's life such as his graveyard teachers from early 16th and 17th century, his days in school, Silas who is his guardian, and his encounter with the Man Jack. There is so much more than these few mentioned above. Readers will find out the reason behind the murders and other supernaturals. There are ghouls, vampires, werewolves, sleers, and ofcourse ghosts. There is so much that it leaves the readers hungry for more in the end. I have no comments about the ending. It was bitter-sweet for me which made me like this book even more.

I discussed this book with a colleague and we both concluded that we would love a sequel. There is so much more things to imagine. We want to meet Bod again and hear more about his life. I want to say so much more but I am afraid that I might give away some spoilers.

What's more exciting is reading about a possible movie for this book. Here is Neil Gaiman's journal entry about the movie. I am excited. I wonder if it will be an animated movie like Coraline. I would love to see this movie as real people with computer-generated imagery.

I will give this book 9.5 out of 10.

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

Jahanara ~ Kathryn Lasky

2010-02-06T17:43:00.003-06:00

I remember when I was younger, girls in school would read the "The Royal Diaries." I always thought about reading it but never got around to it. So while I was browsing the library bookshelves to look for Gaiman's books, I saw The Royal Diaries section and decided to check them out. I checked out Jahanara, Princess of Princesses, India, 1627, mainly because it was about India.

Here is a summary of the book from our Library's website:

Beginning in 1627, Princess Jahanara, first daughter of Shah Jahan of India's Mogul Dynasty, writes in her diary about political intrigues, weddings, battles, and other experiences of her life. Includes historical notes on Jahanara's later life and on the Mogul Empire.

It was an interesting read. It started slow for me as I found the beginning quite boring. Toward the middle, it started to get interesting as the brothers are introduced. Before Jahanara only talked about them. At the end of the book, the history of India is explained and I enjoyed that very much. There was a family tree of Shah Jahan's family. I did not know that Jahanara actually existed so this was a history lesson for me. I give this book 7/10.

I am almost done with The Graveyard Book. I am on the last track of the last disc. I will listen to Unnamed by Joshua Ferris next.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

2010-02-05T13:52:00.000-06:00

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell was an interesting read. I enjoyed Gladwell's Outliers very much and just had to check out his other works.

The Tipping Point treats different phenomenon in the history as epidemics and discusses the three rules of epidemic that explain the phenomenon:

The Law of the Few
The Stickiness Factor
The Power of Context

I liked that the author simplifies the concepts for the readers and uses case studies to explain them such as sale of the Hush Puppies and Airwalk shoes. The book is also different from the book Outliers. In Outliers, Gladwell built points after points and ended the book with a boom. This book, Gladwell mentions the points in the very beginning and explains them throughout the book. I give this book 8.45/10. I think I am going to add all Gladwell books to my wish list. I really enjoy reading his works.

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

I found the following graph, which complements the book very well:

Now I am enjoying The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. He has become one of my favorite authors. I must say he is an excellent storyteller.

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan - Sophie Kinsella

2010-01-31T22:40:00.001-06:00

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella is the second book in the Shopaholic series. I listened to the first one in the series and read the second one. I enjoyed the second one more than the first one. It was hilarious.

In this novel, Becky Bloomwood moves to New York with Luke Brandon, leaving her debts in London. However, the debts will not leave her behind. The readers have to read it to find out what troubles Becky faces in this novel.

I felt that Becky Bloomwood and her lies were not as annoying as in the first one. Her addiction is clear, as she never has "anything to wear." Her relationship with Luke was also clear in this novel. Luke's mother is introduced in this novel.

When I watched the movie, The Confessions of the Shopaholic, I was kind of disappointed because I felt that the story was too different from the novel. The movie drives a lot from the second novel.

I give this book 8/10. I am looking forward to finishing this series.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

2010-01-31T21:41:00.001-06:00

Where do I start about Outliers? This was one of the best books ever. I enjoyed listening to it very much.

The book focuses on the opportunities and legacy. Under opportunities, Gladwell explains how the exceptional people or the "Outliers" do not become outliers only due to talent. They are presented with opportunities along the way to help them. The book starts with the explanation of the baseball players and how their success in the game is based on the date they are born on. Gladwell moves on to the 10,000-hour rule. He explains how famous band Beatles and world's richest man, Bill Gates had opportunities which led to them having 10,000 hours of practice in their respected fields. Then Gladwell discusses how one's environment can help in the success. He discusses this point by comparing Christopher Langan and Robert Oppenheimer. He wraps up this section by discussing the New Yorker lawyers. I have to say that was a brilliant finish to the section.

Gladwell then talks about culture and legacy and he starts this by discussing the airplane crashes in the history. He wraps up the book by going back into his family history. Gladwell's history will be a surprise to the readers.

The book was read by the author, and just like the book, the audio book was amazing. The writing was very clear and simplified. The author built up the each point to have a grand finale. The book is filled with many wow factors. I give this book 10/10 and highly recommend this book.

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

Virtual Bookshelf - Shelfari

2010-01-28T16:47:00.001-06:00

I recently read a review of virtual bookshelves online on Wired.com. The blogger "Geekdad" reviewed LibraryThing, GoodReads, and Shelfari. I use Shelfari on my blog and I have seen other bloggers that use LibraryThing and GoodReads. I wondered how these sites were but I was too lazy to check them out. I am pleased with Shelfari.

I like how the bookshelves widgets look on my blog. I just don't like the fact that I cannot make more categories on there. The categories are "Reading now," "Favorites," .... You get the idea. I wanted to make categories like "Books I read in 2008," "2009," and so on. However, I was able to accomplish that on Facebook's Virtual Bookshelf. But, the problem is, both virtual bookshelves do not match. I will have to match these two and make sure all the books are included and I am too lazy for that.

Anywayz, GeekDad's results were:

After working with all three sites for the past month, I concluded that LibraryThing is the best site of the three for maintaining and organizing your book collection. GoodReads is close second if you want to share your reading habits with your friends. Shelfari is a distant third.

I am somewhat disappointed that Shelfari got last. It is a good site, except for the whole list deal. Oh well...I don't think I am going to switch. Here is a link to the article: Catalog Your Books Online

Time to sign out and start packing...almost time to leave and head to the library to study :(

Life Update and Books

2010-01-23T20:08:00.004-06:00

Since my last post, many things have happened in my life. I will not post about most of them. I will talk about one new thing (a good thing) that happened. I donated blood for the first time in my life. The aftermath was not so good but that is not important. I wouldn't mind doing it again but I have to keep in mind that it is over the weekend and I can come home right after that. Today I received my Commit for Life blood donation card.

I also finished two books:

A Short History of Myth: I started this as an audio book but ended up reading the last chapter. The book was very dry. I thought I would enjoy it. The audio book was about 3 hours and it took me two weeks to finish it. Every morning after listening to it for 5 min. I would switch to the radio. Finally, I just checked out the book and read it. Even then I was like, "Why am I reading this?" I felt as if the author did the research and wrote the book but did not present it properly. I would give this book 4 out of 10 because there were some interesting stories. So I don't think this will qualify for the Audio Book Challenge.

The Christmas List: I read this book and enjoyed it very much. The story is a modern adaptation of A Christmas Carol. It is about a businessman names James Kier who only cares about money and success. In order to become successful, he destroys many lives. One day he sees his own obituary in the newspaper and reads other's reaction to his death. Then he realizes what he has done and decides to atone for his doings. He makes a Christmas list and goes on a journey looking for forgiveness. Now the readers have to find out if he can make everything okay or maybe he is too late. I give this book 8.5 out of 10.

Now I am listening to the Outliers and enjoying it very very much. I also have to pick up a book to read at night and I think I want something funny. I think I might read some Sophie Kinsella. That's it for tonight!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T23:39:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!!

I can't believe it is already 2010. I remember when it was 1999 and people were contemplating that all computers will crash when 2000 will come. Now we are celebrating the decade after 2000.

The party last night was okay. It was quite and more of an "adult" party. I am 21 and I want my music and masti. I want dance. None of that was there. My ideal New Year Party is dinner by 10 pm and dance until midnight and even after that. The games that were played at the party were lame. I guess the good part was that we were among family and friends. However, one very important person to me was missing. Maybe next year the start will be right. Last year I got sick. Well it is a New Year and enough of complaining...My day was good.

We went to the temples today and got god's blessing for the new year. In the evening, we went to Bhajan Sandhya and enjoyed it very much. What a great way of starting a New Year. All is good.

Now on to my new year resolutions (just like last year):

Get my CPA license.
Get into shape.
Read more books (definitely!)
Maybe cook more often. (I want to be able to prepare a meal in a timely manner. It usually takes a long time just to prepare one dish)
Take one very very important decision :-)

I know this year is going to be a tough year. Lots of things will change, some for good and some for bad. I am hoping and praying that things do work out and events take place at the right time and in the right way.

Time to head to bed. Good Night...

Neil Gaiman is back!!!

2009-12-31T19:43:00.002-06:00

I finished Odd and the Frosted Giants by Neil Gaiman today on my way back home. It was read by Neil Gaiman and I think he is one of the best readers out there. He did an excellent job.

Summary: "Winter is lasting forever in the far north. But when 12-year-old Odd helps a trapped bear, he meets an eagle and a fox – all of whom are actually Norse gods trapped in animal form by the frost giants who have conquered the city of the gods. Odd must reclaim Thor's hammer, outwit the giants, and release the gods." Source: Audio Editions

I enjoyed the book very much. Neil Gaiman is an excellent storywriter and storyteller. His voice makes the listeners believe in the characters and I felt that he himself was enjoying reading the book. I look forward to his other works. I give this book 9 out of 10.

This is it. This is the last post of the year. Time to head to the party!!!

I hope next year brings lots of happiness and success to everybody.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

2009-12-31T19:29:00.000-06:00

I think I am going to make this my last entry for the year. I am not done listening to my audio book. If I finish it tonight, I don't know if I will get online to write the review. Tonight is PaRtY!!!!!

I finished Elsewhere on Tuesday. I was on the last disc before my vacation so I had a week break before I could finish it.

Elizabeth "Liz" Hall is fifteen years old and she dies in a hit-and-run accident. She ends up in Elsewhere. Elsewhere is the place where all the dead people and pets end up. It is similar to earth, and the individuals must take a ship to get there. The native of Elsewhere get younger as oppose to getting older. When they are 7 days old, they are sent back to Earth to start life over again. When Liz reaches Elsewhere, she meets Betty, her grandmother. Liz cannot comprehend the idea of this place and cannot settle down. It is her story in the world of Elsewhere.

I enjoyed the story very much. Even though it deals with death, it is not as sad as expected. The author is trying to convey the message that one should live life based on quality instead of quantity. It did make me curious about other animals that are not pets. What happens to them? Where do they go? Beside this curiosity, the story also did not leave any loose ends for me. I felt the story of Liz was followed through. The writing style was simple. I give this book 8.5 out of 10 and highly recommend it.

I did finish listening to my book on my way back from work so one more entry before the end of this year.

James Cameron's Avatar

2009-12-30T20:35:00.009-06:00

We watched the movie Avatar on Sunday. I think it was one of the most talked about movies of the year. I honestly don't know what I think of the movie. I enjoyed it very much but at the same time, there was something missing or something I didn't like. I just can't figure out what that something is. The digital works is great. I love the world "Pandora" and the native of the planet. The synopsis of the story is as follows (from the website):

"The story’s protagonist, Jake Sully, is an ex-Marine who was wounded and paralyzed from the waist down in combat on Earth. In order to participate in the Avatar program, which will give him a healthy body, Jake agrees to travel to Pandora, a lush rainforest environment filled with incredible life forms – some beautiful, many terrifying. Pandora is also the home to the Na’vi, a humanoid race that lives at what we consider to be a primate level, but they are actually much more evolved than humans. Ten feet tall and blue skinned, the Na’vi live harmoniously within their unspoiled world. But as humans encroach on Pandora in search of valuable minerals, the Na’vi’s very existence is threatened – and their warrior abilities unleashed.

Jake has unwittingly been recruited to become part of this encroachment. Since humans are unable to breathe the air on Pandora, they have created genetically-bred human-Na’vi hybrids known as Avatars. The Avatars are living, breathing bodies in the real world, controlled by a human driver through a technology that links the driver’s mind to the Avatar body. On Pandora, through his Avatar body, Jake can be whole once again. Moreover, he falls in love with a young Na’vi woman, Neytiri, whose beauty is matched by her ferocity in battle.

As Jake slides deeper into becoming one of her clan, he finds himself caught between the military-industrial forces of Earth, and the Na’vi – forcing him to choose sides in an epic battle that will decide the fate of an entire world."

I loved Neytiri's dialogue when she says "You are like a baby" to Jake Sully and I think her character was my favorite.

Overall, this movie was one of the good movies I have seen this year and would love to own it in DVD.

FYI: The origin of the word "avatar" is from Sanskrit and most commonly it has been translated into "incarnation."

One or maybe two more entries and then time to celebrate the end of this year and beginning of the new.

Trip to New Mexico...Loved it :)

2009-12-30T13:16:00.001-06:00

I am so behind on blogging. Many things happened in the past week or so that I want to write about. I want to write about my trip to New Mexico, the movie Avatar, and the last book I read. Since the trip was first, this entry is going to be about my trip.

We left for New Mexico on Sunday Dec. 20th. We were to drive 670 miles on that day and I drove 300+ miles at 90+ mph. I loved it. There were very few cars on the road. We got to Carlsbad in the evening, and went to see "Christmas on the Pecos."

Next day we left for Alamogordo and saw White Sand National Monument. It was so pretty. I definitely recommend that place. After which we went to Albuquerque. There we rode the world's longest tramway called "Sandia Peak." It took us 10,000 feet above the ground level and it was so cold. Next day we went around in Albuquerque and saw the old style houses. We also visited Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. We also did some shopping. Then we headed to Santa Fe. In Santa Fe, we saw Loretto Chapel and the Mysterious Staircase and did more shopping. By the time we made it the Canyon Road, it was already dark out so we did not see much there.

Then we spent the night in Espanalo and went to Sipapu Ski Resort next day. It snowed all day. We skied and I know for sure that I cannot ski. The gliding was fun but I couldn't make the turn when needed. We went to our room in the evening and realized that there was no TV and no cell phone signal, so we ended up playing board games and playing cards.

Our last stop was Taos, where we visited a Hanuman Temple. The site itself was so peaceful. There were peacocks there. Then we left in the evening to head home. We stopped in Amarillo. The roads were very icy. Next day the trouble began. We left and drove about 160 miles non-stop. Then we stopped. What we did not know was that it was not safe to travel, as there was a snow storm a day before. The roads were icy and cars were skidding. On the side of the road, we saw cars that we assumed were stuck since the snow storm seeing their condition. During the day, it was slow but okay as the snow was melting. The night came and snow started freezing up. Our car would go left when we tried to make it go right. That was a scary moment. We decided to stay in Bowie, which is about 200 miles from Amarillo. Therefore, we had travelled 200 miles in one day. Finally, Saturday we made it home in the evening. Here are few pictures:

Time to work now...few more posts before end of tomorrow.

Vacation time is almost over :(

2009-12-26T23:30:00.001-06:00

We just got back from vacation today...phew...what a vacation. I will write about it in details soon. I have to head back to work on Monday. I want more days off. Oh well! Only five days until New Years! I love celebrations.

I did not have access to a laptop during the past week. Even though I had internet connection on my phone, it still wasn't fast enough. So today when I was catching up on news and events, I found out that Asheem Chakravarty, singer percussionist of Indian Ocean, passed away on Friday. I am very sad to hear this. Indian Ocean is one of my favorite bands and they will never be the same without him. I met the band when we went to the concert last year. Now I just don't know how it is going to be for the band. :-(

Night...

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2009-12-18T16:19:00.004-06:00

I finished the novel and I enjoyed it. Initially, I felt that I will not like the book as I was annoyed with some of the characters. After a while, I started to enjoy it. I liked most of the characters.

The novel is about the Bennet family. There are parents and five daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Lydia, Kitty, and Mary. The novel's main character is Elizabeth Bennet. Mrs. Bennet is worried about getting her daughters married, so when rich Mr. Bingley come into the town, Mrs. Bennet tries to get Jane married to him. Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley's friend, joins him for the stay and notices Elizabeth. At first, he finds her plain, but slowly starts to fall in love with her. On the other hand, Elizabeth despises him due to his rude remarks at the ball. Another character, Mr. Wickham, recounts his unpleasant dealings with Mr. Darcy, adding to Elizabeth's dislike. Eventually, Mr. Darcy confesses his love to Elizabeth, who rejects the proposal. As the story progresses, she reconsiders her opinion of him and her affection for him grows.

Even in my short summary of the novel, I have left out many characters and details that are important. This was a love story. The characters that annoyed me slightly were the mother, Mrs. Bennet, and Mr. Collins. I felt both characters were superficial, but seeing the society, I guess that is required. Elizabeth and Jane were definitely my favorite characters and I liked Mr. Darcy. His effort to please Elizabeth after their encounter was a nice gesture on his part. Even to the last disc, I kept wondering if they would get together. I mean, it is expected, but I was curious about how it will take place. In the end, I concluded that most of the Bollywood movies use this novel as the base story, add one or two twists, and add about ten songs.

When I started the book, I thought it is going to rate about 6 on my scale but I have to give it 9 out of 10. I am actually considering giving his 10/10. If I do, I will edit this post.

I look forward to Ms. Austen's other novels. I can't wait to see both Pride and Prejudice movies.

Btw...I got my phone...I am so excited about it..Yay me!!! Now I can access the web and hopefully I will be able to access the email soon. Ciao for now...off to my vacation.

Another Challenge

2009-12-12T00:24:00.002-06:00

I can't believe I have decided to do this, after what happened with last two challenges. I do think I can actually finish this. This challenge is hosted by Royal Reviews and I saw it on the blog "Devourer of Books."

Challenge Guidelines:

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.

--Non-Bloggers: Include your information in the comment section.

2. There are four levels:

-- Curious – Listen to 3 Audio Books.
-- Fascinated – Listen to 6 Audio Books.
-- Addicted – Listen to 12 Audio Books.
-- Obsessed – Listen to 20 Audio Books.

3. Audio books only.

4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010. Only books started on January 1st count towards this challenge.

I am going in as Obsessed and I think I can do more than 20 audio books. I think I will add a gadget on the side for this when it starts and add books to that list. Can you tell I am excited?

As for the book I am listening to now, I am on the 9th disc (last one) and dying to know what will happen. I am listening to Pride and Prejudice and I have to agree that I took a while to get into this book, but it is getting better and better by each chapter. Then I will give the audio books a break for a week. I would hate to leave any audio book in the middle when I take my vacation. I think next audio book is going to be either Neil Gaiman, 1984 by George Orwell, Shopoholic 2 by Sophie Kinsella, or A Christmas Carol. I want to start Ayn Rand's third novel, Atlas Shrugged, soon. I think tomorrow will be the day.

No updates on the personal life beside CPA studies and audit world. Both could be better. I finally ordered my phone today and I am getting Samsung Mythic and I am very excited about that. My brother ordered the same phone, so now I am thinking about buying some sort of sticker to distinguish between the phones. I also got data plan so it will be nice to have access to email and internet at all times. I will post pictures when I get the phones but in the meanwhile here is a pic from AT&T's website:

Btw...I am not liking the new Blogspot compose page. There is no spelling check icon and I can't customize the picture size to my liking...urrgghhh..this is irritating!

It is past midnight now and I think it is time to sleep. So should I say Good Night or Good Morning?

Last Week

2009-12-07T09:16:00.003-06:00

Last week had some unexpected events.

Monday: An inmate escaped in Baytown while they were transferring him from one jail to another. He was wheelchair bound as per the medical records but he managed to tie up the police officers escorting him and ran away on foot. They lockdowned Lee College and Lee High School and the library closed early. An update on that: they caught him today..so YaY!!!

I also started the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Thursday: A friend of mine got engaged, so I am super excited for her. I can't wait for her wedding. I just love celebrations.

Friday: It actually snowed in Baytown. It snowed last year. I think this might become something regular in Baytown. I don't have any pictures to share because I decided to stay inside the house.

Something on the bad note, I give up on the challenges that I took last year: the Countdown Challenge and the Author Challenge. I am sure I have completed at least one of them, but I am too lazy now to go and update those entries. I think I will just write "Abort" on top of the entry.

That's it for now!!! Back to work...

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

2009-12-01T12:31:00.006-06:00

Last week was very eventful. I took my second CPA exam and finished Her Fearful Symmetry. The FAR-CPA exam was 4 hours long and when I finished, I was so brain-dead. I better pass this exam as I spent over 6 months studying for this exam alone. I should find out by late December.

Secondly I finished Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. This is Mrs. Niffenegger's second book. I love The Time Traveler's Wife; thus, had very very high expectations from this novel. All my expectations came crashing down. Honestly, I am not a huge fan of the book and now I am wondering why did I give it a 4.5 out of 5 on Facebook. I can only think of things that I didn't like.

The summary of the book goes something like this. Elspeth and Edie are twins who have not seen each other for 20+ years. Now Elspeth is dead and has left her estate to Edie's twin daughters, Julia and Valentina. J and V are 21-year old Americans with no degree and no job, and are staying at home. Julia is the dominant one among the two. They both move to London to live in the flat, where they meet with Robert, Elspeth's lover, and Martin, neighbor suffering from OCD. Then they meet Elspeth or should I say Elspeth's ghost, who is stuck in the flat and cannot leave. The story continues on from there.

Here are few things that I didn't like:

When I picked up the audio book from the library, I didn't realize that the reader Blanca Amato is the same individual who read Margaret's part in The Thirteenth Tale. Margaret's character was very irritating and I associated Blanca's voice with Margaret; thus, her voice was sort of irritating. But I got over that quickly. However, since The Thirteenth Tale was about messed up twins, and messed up family, I kept expecting that initially only due to Ms. Amato's voice.

To me, Robert was a very flat character. He had no will of his own. He did what Elspeth and Valentina asked of him. He couldn't even face the girls. In the end, he did something that he wanted to do, but the readers will have to wait till the very last line (literally) to find that out. Second, Julia was just plain irritating, but I think that is what the author was aiming for. Same goes for Edie. I felt that she could have done more in the book. Did she represent Valentina in the twin's relationship?

The **BIG** shock in the book...hmm...I was expecting that. The author gave it away way before the whole situation came about. The readers just have to pay attention to the thoughts and dialogs to figure it out.

I also felt that the story wasn't really over. The author left many loose ends as to the final destination of the characters. The good deeds were not rewarded and the bad were not punished.

The character that I did enjoy was Martin and his relationship with Marijke. I looked forward to bits and pieces that included these two characters. I enjoyed Highgate Cemetery and London described in the book.

One more reason why I didn't enjoy it because as it reminded me of a book that I had read in high school called Twins by Caroline B. Cooney. I do have to say that there are not lots of similarities. Overall, I will give this book 7 out of 10.

Library Loot

2009-11-23T11:01:00.022-06:00

Here is another entry about books. I visited a book blog recently and the blogger mentioned her "Library Loot" for the week. So I thought I do the similar thing. I am going to steal her idea. :-P

I go to the library every single day to study for CPA. CPA has taken a toll on my life. I don't have a life anymore. No more having fun. I am out of shape (not that I used to work out or anything before). But it is not all that bad. Being at the library gives me more chances to checkout books. So the average number of items of my cards are usually 10, which includes books, audio books, magazines, and movies. I am listening to more books and hopefully my reading will also get back on track once I am done with CPA. At the same time, I hope my reading/listening continues as my library stops won't be as frequent.

Back to my library loot. I went to the library yesterday and got three audio books. I am almost done with Her Fearful Symmetry. I am going to read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand next and I have my own copy. I got the following:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - This is a classic read and I have been meaning to read it for a while now. Yesterday, I saw the audio book and checked it out. Now I am contemplating if I should read this next.
The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs - According to the author's website, The Know-It-All is the story of one man's quest to learn everything in the world. His method? Reading the encyclopedia from A through Z.
Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga - I read Mr. Adiga's first novel The White Tiger and I enjoyed it very much. I am looking forward to this novel. The reviews have been okay so far. And the reader is Harsh Nayyar so hopefully the experience will be better than last time.

That is all for today. I don't know which book will be next. Time to get back to work.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2009-11-13T11:05:00.008-06:00

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was one of the most intriguing book I have read in a longest time. The book is dark. First of all, here is the summary and then I will write about why I liked the book.

Set in WWII, Death meets a 9-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger as he is there to pick up her younger brother's soul, and he cannot resist knowing more about her. She steals the first book at her brother's funeral and goes on to steal many more as indicated by the title. Narrated by Death, the book is about her life with her new foster family on the Himmel (Heaven) Street in Munich. He talks about her fascination with the books, Jews' lives in Germany during Hitler's reign, her best friend Rudy Steiner, and her foster-dad who loves to play an accordion and teaches her how to read.

Here are the reasons why I enjoyed the book:

The story is told by Death; thus, the reader's get an idea of author's perspective of Death (who doesn't carry a scythe but gets a kick out of the idea ).
The story does not leave any loose ends. It closes all chapters and doesn't leave the readers wondering about different characters.
Since Death is narrating the story, he is quite clear about the timing of a person's death, such as (I will be meeting him 2 months from now). So throughout the book, the readers get the gist of what is to come. However, it keeps them interested as to how it happened.

Overall, it was an excellent book. The writing style was excellent. The reader Allan Corduner did a wonderful job as Death. I will have to look into his other works.

I was disappointed to learn that all the books mentioned in the novel are fictitious and do not exist. I was really looking forward to reading The Whistler and The Shoulder Shrug. I think the author should actually write these books as supplements to the novel. I would read them.

I will give this book 9.5 out of 10 and will definitely recommend the book.

Speak by Laurie Anderson

2009-11-08T19:17:00.004-06:00

I finished this novel 17 days ago (as per Facebook Visual Bookshelf :-P). The book was so-so. I had heard that this was among the best, but I disagree. I picked this up from Young Teen section and it was truly a young teen book. The writing style was simple. The book is narrated by a teenage girl named Melinda Sordino. She is hated by the entire school body because she busted the end of the summer party by calling the police. However, she needs to speak and tell the truth.

The book reminded of me of school days. The narrator, Melinda, talks about her classes and pep-rallies, which were somewhat similar to classes and pep-rallies in my high school.

Overall, it was an okay book. I would give this book 7 out of 10. This is not much of a book review, but I am almost done with "The Book Thief" and can't wait to write about that.

Shopgirl - Steve Martin

2009-10-25T22:03:00.007-05:00

I finished Shopgirl by Steve Martin on Oct. 20th. It was recommended to me by a librarian who was impressed by Steve Martin's talents. He is an awesome actor but as for an author, I was not very impressed. After finishing the book, I wondered why I listened to it. I found the book boring. The book is about a depressed girl who finds her true "soul mate" after having an affair with an older man. There is a movie on the book, which I am not sure about. Overall, it was an okay book and I don't think I will recommend it to anyone. I will give this book 5 out of 10.

Literature World collides with Business World

2009-10-22T10:25:00.008-05:00

It is interesting to find famous authors names in the business news. Today I came across an article titled F. Scott Fitzgerald Did His Own Taxes (Until He Arrived in Hollywood) posted on WebCPA (find it here). William J. Quirk reviewed Fitzgerald's tax returns (you can only do that if the author is dead...I think) and found

Fitzgerald’s ledger for 1929 recorded royalties of $5.10 from the American edition of Gatsby and $0.34 from the English edition, Quirk noted.

Fitzgerald kept the ledger and did his own taxes by hand until 1937, when he went off to Hollywood in search of further fame and fortune. Once he arrived in Tinseltown, Fitzgerald used accountants to prepare and type his returns.

This was interesting because I loved The Great Gatsby and dying to read/listen to "The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons." Quirk states that Fitzgerald's returns reveal a lot about his life. Interesting...The original article is here titled "Living on $500,000 a Year" in The American Scholar.

Second article sent to me was regarding Ayn Rand. I have listened to two of her books, We the Living and The Fountainhead. The article is titled "Greenspan Backs Key Obama Wall Street Reform Effort" at Huffington Post (read here). The article starts stating

A keystone of Obama's Wall Street reform agenda is getting support from the unlikeliest of corners. Alan Greenspan, an acolyte of Ayn Rand and extreme free-marketeer, is backing one of the most far-reaching elements of the financial overhaul: the Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

In the article, Alan Greenspan admits that he was shocked to learn that this ideology was not right and was not working. The article further states, "He [Alan Greenspan] has already said that he erred in assuming that the market would take care of things--the Ayn Rand point of view--but this seems to go farther than he's gone before in calling for a new agency to protect consumers from financial products" to hammer the point that Alan Greenspan has now become a "former" Ayn Rand acolyte. I enjoyed reading Ayn Rand, but for me her novels were more like novels than an economic way of life. I understand her ideology, but I don't agree with it one hundred percent. Reading this article gave me a new insight. I remember, in college Alan Greenspan was worshipped in the economic world. At that time, I didn't take initiative to learn enough about Greenspan to know his ideology. I wonder what Ayn Rand followers have to say about this.

Coraline - Neil Geiman

2009-10-20T09:29:00.004-05:00

During our daily walk, Christina and I discussed Coraline by Neil Geiman when she was listening to it. The story captivated me. I had seen trailers of the movie, and wondered if which is better: book or the movie. Well, I found out as I finished the book mid-week last week and watched the movie over the past weekend.

The book is a children's novel. It is a cute horror book. The story is about Coraline, which is obvious. The family moves into a home, and Coraline, who loves to explore, is bored. She decides to explore the house and finds a secret door, which is closed. At night, the brick wall disappears and the secret door leads to a different world, which is copy of Coraline's real world. However, in this other world, Coraline has an "Other" mother and an "Other" father. The world is fun and exciting. The difference between her real parents and her "other" parents is that her "other" parents have buttons for eyes. They tell Coraline that they have been waiting for her and would like her to stay with them forever with one condition, which is that Coraline lets them sew buttons on her eyes. Coraline refuses and goes back to her real world. The other mother, who has constructed this other world for Coraline, kidnaps Coraline's real parents to lure her back. Coraline goes back to save her parents, and my summary ends here. I won't reveal the end, or what happens to the characters.

I didn't find the "buttons for eyes" creepy. However, I did find the mice's song creepy. I will give this book 8.5 out of 10. I look forward to listening to The Graveyard Book by Neil Geiman in near future.

I watched the movie over the weekend. I was not disappointed as the movie stayed very close to the book. I enjoyed the movie. I missed the songs that were in the audio book, but not in the movie. The movie also added a new character, a little boy, but I think that was to make the movie longer as the book is very short. In conclusion, the book was better than the movie.

The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield

2009-10-19T22:11:00.006-05:00

I am about to finish the novel "Shopgirl" by Steve Martin, so I figured I should write about my opinion about The Thirteenth Tale and Coraline. So here is my "review" of The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

The Thirteenth Tale is a debut novel of Diane Setterfield and I am impressed. I enjoyed it very much. It is a ghost story without being a ghost story (if that makes any sense). The novel revolves around two characters: Margaret Lee and Vida Winter. Vida Winter is a renounced writer who refuses to talk about her life to anybody. She decides to tell Margaret Lee the "truth" about her life for the reasons revealed later in the book. As Margaret learns about Vida Winter's life, she also learns to cope with her story.

Overall, the book was great. I found the tale enchanting. After getting out of the car, I kept speculating what will happen next. The book was read by two readers; one for Margaret and one for Vida. I will give this book 9 out of 10.

Happy Diwali!!!

2009-10-17T22:25:00.001-05:00

This Diwali, may you be blessed with good fortune as long as Ganeshji's trunk, wealth and prosperity as big as his stomach, happiness as sweet as his ladoos and may your trouble be as small as his mouse.

Happy Diwali !!!

Raha Dekhe - Shubha Mudgal

2009-10-15T13:18:00.004-05:00

I heard this song on Mera Sangeet Radio channel on iTunes. It is from the movie Raincoat. It is such a touching song.

Here is the song:

I finished two books (The Thirteenth Tale and Coraline) and will write about them soon. Time to get back to work.

Remembering...

2009-09-30T10:56:00.002-05:00

Another year went by...

We miss you Bua Ji and Fufa Ji...you will be in our hearts always...

Happy 1st Anniversary!!!

2009-09-28T10:16:00.006-05:00

I started this blog one year back on Sept. 28th. Happy Anniversary to my blog. :D

When I started, I had no idea what I was going to write. Then I just wrote whatever came to my mind. I realize that this blog has become more about books than my life. That is okay as I love books very much.

So far I have written 52 entries and this will be my 53th!!

Well...here is something about me.

On the 24th, I went to the library and when I got there, I was told that a study room was not available as they were all reserved for literacy tutors. I was also told to check back in 10-15 min. to see if any rooms become available, which might be due to the tutor not showing up. I thought, "Great...Now I have to sit out in the open and listen to bunch of high schoolers squeal, talk, and laugh." So I decided to sit on one of the tables that were located between two rows of books. I got to the table and put my stuff down. Then suddenly I was distracted. I was distracted by comic BOOKS. I thought, "Oh yay!! They have new Calvin and Hobbes Comic books, and few more. I will only spend few minutes on looking at them." This is kind of sad that I go to the library to STUDY but I am distracted by books. I am such a nerd...

See...this entry is even about books...

T.E.A of Life

2009-09-24T09:25:00.008-05:00

I attended the Matri Diwas celebration at JVB Meditation center a while back. During one of the plays, they mentioned "T.E.A of Life." The play explained the importance of the T.E.A. in all the relationships in life, whether the relationship is parent-child, husband-wife, or friends. I thought it was a very interesting and totally agree with it. I think this will be something that will go long way with me in life. :)

T: Tolerance

E: Emotional Balance

A: Appreciation

The play showed a husband-wife arguing to the point where they decide to divorce. A friend sees what is going on and explains the "T.E.A. of Life" to them. The friend points out that the argument started because the wife accidentally broke a picture frame that was bought by the husband. He stated that the situation could have been handled using these three points. He states that if husband-wife had tolerance toward each other, had managed their emotions, and had appreciated each other even on little things, they would have been much happier.

The Curious Incident and The Time Traveler's Wife Movie (2 in 1)

2009-09-16T09:11:00.005-05:00

The novel "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon was an interesting and a sweet novel. I enjoyed listening to it. I think the reader, Jeff Woodman, did an excellent job narrating this novel.

The novel is about a 15-year old autistic boy, who is framed for killing a dog. As he unravels the mystery of the murder of the dog, he discovers family secrets. He also learns to conquer his fears.

There were few cons for me. I could not relate to the novel, as I am not aware of any autistic child. I did learn a lot about their behavior through this fictional piece of work. Secondly, I felt that the book started great. However, it sort of went downhill after that. The ending was good. The story was like an upside down bell-curve for me. I am glad I gave it a try. I would give this book 8 out of 10.

I realized that I forgot to blog about the movie, "The Time Traveler's Wife." I can't believe that I forgot. That novel is one of my all-time favorites. I watched the movie on August 23rd. Surprisingly the theater close to my house was not showing the movie.

I loved the movie and enjoyed every second of it. It was tear jerking or in other words, I cried a lot during the movie. I was a little disappointed as I noticed that few characters in the novel were missing in the movie. I wanted to see Ingrid and her girlfriend in the movie. I was also disappointed with the characterization of Gomez. Gomez is not nice and supportive in the book, but in the movie, he is presented as a good person and a good friend. Lastly, I thought that the movie could have done a better job depicting Henry's death. I felt that too much was left to viewer's imagination regarding his downfall and ultimately his death. I understand that there were time limitations on the movie. It was 1 hr and 48 minutes. I wouldn't have minded 2 hrs and 30 min. movie if they had included all the scenes and the characters. I still loved it and this movie is definitely going to be part of my future video collection. I would give the book and the movie 10 out of 10.

I really really want to listen to The Time Traveler's Wife. I read the novel, and I want to give audio book a try. But having so many books on my plate, I think this audio book will have to wait. Maybe I should retire from my job, spend all my money on books and audio books, and spend all day reading and listening. What a thought... :)

Yesterday...

2009-09-11T10:45:00.003-05:00

Yesterday something interesting happened. I went to the library as usual. This time I saw Sharmila Auntie there talking to Ms. Jaime about colleges and majors for her older daughter who is about to graduate school. Ms. Jaime asked me few questions regarding scholarship and college since I graduated from HS few years back. So I answered her and then I turned to Auntie and started telling her few things. All of the sudden, Ms. Jaime says, "Oh my god, your accent completely changed as you started talking to her." I said, "That's not true. My accent did not change." Sadly, another librarian standing close agreed with Ms. Jaime. This was news to me. I did not know that I was capable of changing my accent or that I even did that. I found it funny though. I wonder what the difference is. I guess the only way to find out by recording myself and not know that I am recording myself or get somebody else to record me. I am too lazy to go through all that hassle. Oh well...I guess I will never find out.

BTW...I forgot to add in my blog about Zip-Lining that I did get my "Earned My Wings" Badge:

Time to get back to work.

P.S. This is my 51st blog entry...Yay for half-century!!!

Ortist on Orkut

2009-09-09T15:15:00.001-05:00

I saw this on Orkut and thought it was too cute...

9/10/09 - I like today's Ort of the Day too...Here it is:

Weekend

2009-09-09T10:18:00.005-05:00

On Sunday, we decided to finally go to Tyler, TX. My parents have been wanting to go there even before their Vegas trip. Anyways, first we went to Canton. We left the house at 6:30 in the morning and made it there by 10:00. That is where we zip-lined. That was the highlight of the trip. We went to Wired. I linked the name of the business to their website (free publicity for them). It was fun. I won't lie and say it was a piece of cake. I was scared at first, as I don't like heights (thus, don't like to fly). But you know what, that feeling you get during turbulence was not there in zip-lining. The ride was smooth and the height wasn't as scary. Here are some pictures:

You can turn off the music by clicking on the speaker up on top.

As you can see, we had fun. I wouldn't mind going again. Actually I am looking forward to it.

Then we went to the water park. I thought it was a bad idea to go to outdoor water park due to the heat and finally my parents decided that it would be best if we go to an indoor water park. We went to Water park at The Village. I think the website has a good video and gives an idea how the place was. That was my first ever trip to a "proper" water park. I have been to Sea World in San Antonio and there were water rides there. We also went to Disney World in Florida.

The overall trip was fun. It was my mini-vacation. Until next time or I should say, until next book... :P

The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

2009-09-02T16:22:00.008-05:00

This morning at 8:00 I finished the novel, The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand. It does not have a tragic ending like We the Living. Little bit about the book before I start my views.

There are five main characters in the book:

Howard Roark: He is the protagonist of the novel. He represents the views of Ayn Rand. He is an architect who works on his own terms. He is a modernist. Due to this, he struggles to establish himself.

Ellsworth Toohey: He is the antagonist. He is a collectivist and preaches altruism. He represents everything that Howard Roark despises and vice versa.

Dominique Francon: She is the daughter of Guy Francon, the owner of one of the biggest architect firms in New York. She is in love with Howard Roark.

Peter Keating: He is everything that Howard is not. He pursues the career because his mother tells him so. His success is temporary since he does what pleases others.
Gail Wynand: He is a big newspaper tycoon. Roark and he become very good friends, but Wynand's need of others ends the relationship.

There is so much in the novel that I am not going to summarize the story. I enjoyed listening to novel. Ayn Rand's theory "Objectivism" can be seen throughout the novel, and through Howard Roark. In the end, Roark's speech explains Ayn Rand's theory. As I listened to it, I realized I was nodding my head and was agreeing with every single word. The theory is 100% true when it comes to creation and destruction; however, there is more to the world than that. Even though I agreed with the novel, I don't think I completely agree with what she preaches. I feel that we need others for support and survival and we must depend on others. One must be selfish but to an extent where others are not hurt. When a person crosses that line, then relationships end and suffering begins. I said enough about my views in the review of We the Living so I am not going to repeat that again.

Overall, this book was great. I am still debating if this book is going to be one of my favorite books or not. I think I will give it another read and then decide. I will give this book 9.5 out of 10.

I think I am going to take a break from listening to the books until next week. As I say this, I have three audio books in my car. But it has been a while since I listened to some good music during my commute and I think I will do do that Thursday and Friday. Monday I am off..yay!!! Tuesday I will pick up another book. Good bye for now...

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People - Farahad Zama

2009-09-01T20:33:00.006-05:00

I finally finished this book. Actually I finished the book on Friday (Aug. 28th). I am sort of getting better at writing reviews right after finishing the book. Another reason is that I am about to finish The Fountainhead and I would hate to write two book reviews back to back.

The book was a very light read. After I started it, I finished it within a week. Here is a quick summary of the book:

Mr. Ali opens a marriage bureau after this retirement. Initially the business is slow, but it starts to flourish, he hires an assistant named Aruna. It turns out she has her own problems regarding her own marriage. One of the clients of Mr. Ali's falls for Aruna and proposes to her. I will leave it to that. I won't say what happens after that.

I felt that the author did a great job capturing the marriage process. The times are changing and more and more people are having love marriages. However, arrange marriage is still the norm in India. Farahad Zama explained the ceremonies as well, which I liked. One more thing that I admired about his writing was the fact that he covered different societies of India without any bias. At least I thought there was no bias in his writing. I have read books where the authors favored one category of people over the other. Biggest example of bias toward characters would be E.M. Forster and his novel, A Passage to India, which I read in 12th grade.

Anyways, for me this book receives 8.5 out of 10.

The History of Love ~ Nicole Krauss

2009-08-21T12:39:00.002-05:00

I finally finished this book last week. It took me over 2 months to read this book. I do not think that was because the novel was boring. The beginning was slow. When I saw the book, I thought, "Do I want to read a cheesy love story?" Then I read the back cover and talked to the librarian, and after reading it all the way, I realized it is not a "cheesy love story." It made me go "aaaww" at times, but overall, it was interesting.

The story is little complicated. There is a novel within this novel called "The History of Love." I started explaining and realized that I was doing a horrible job. So I went to Wikipedia entry for "The History of Love." I think they do a very good job providing a summary of the novel.

The story was slow in the beginning and it got little confusing as it was hard to establish how the characters connected. However, as the book went on, it got better and better. I liked it even though at times it was melancholy. It was good book. I would give the book 8 out of 10.

Hopefully I will start The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama soon. I have been picking that book up every night and putting it down...I already renewed it.

Anyone but You - Jennifer Crusie

2009-08-18T12:53:00.006-05:00

I listened to novel while waiting on receipt of The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. The book was waste of my one week of listening. Several people found Jennifer Crusie's books funny. I found first Jennifer Crusie's book I listened to irritating and have no desire to read/listen to any of her other works. Some people compared her to Sophie Kinsella. Sophie Kinsella is better than her, even though Becky Bloomwood from Shopaholic series also gets annoying with her lies and shopping problems. Rebecca's character reminds me of certain someone, but let's not get into that. I loved Sophie Kinsella's Undomestic Goddess, and looking forward to listening/reading to her other novels beside Shopaholic series.

Back to Anyone but You, the story can be summed up in less than a paragraph, and Jennifer Crusie took that one paragraph and extended it into a long lame book. Notice that I am calling the book long when it was only 5 hours long. I felt that it will never end. I still listened to it till the end because I don't like to leave books half-read. I have listened to longer books and enjoyed them.

I would give this book 4 out of 10. Four points are for the picture of the dog on the front cover of the book since that was the only cute thing in the book.

We The Living - Ayn Rand

2009-08-10T11:37:00.005-05:00

I picked up this novel based on a recommendation. I must admit that I had heard of Ayn Rand but never expected to pick up one of her novel. Well I finished this about 2 weeks ago, and here is my review of the novel.

When listening to the Introduction, I realized the Ayn Rand actually has humor. I don't know why but I always considered her a very serious personality, and thought that that would be reflected in her works, and make them boring. I am happy to say I was wrong. The introduction was funny and her novel was interesting.

After the introduction, the novel started and it introduced the Argounovas travelling back to Petrograd. The starting didn't capture my interest as much and I had to rewind the chapter few times before I actually understood what was going on. After which, the story went only uphill. The novel revolves around lives of three characters: Kira Argounova, Leo Kovalenski, and Andrei Taganov. Kira is the protagonist. She represents Ayn Rand in her days. Kira is born in a Bourgeois family. Their house was taken away by the government and their factory was nationalized; thus, they were left with nothing. Kira is an individualist, who solely believes in her existence and opposes Communist's views of the society. She meets Leo Kovalenshi, who shares her views. They fall in love, although I feel Leo's love was not really love, and they move in together, which is against the society. At the same time, Kira is attending University of Petrograd with a desire to become an engineer. Again, she expresses herself as an individualist by wanting to do something that is not acceptable by the society, but she wants to do it. Andrei Taganov is introduced at this point. He is an officer in G.P.U., secret police of the Soviet. He is also an idealist. Even though they are opposite, they get along very well. After Kira is expelled from the University due to her past, Leo and she are forced to work odd jobs in order to feed themselves. Leo's personality starts to become indifference toward everything. Kira chooses to ignore this change as she loves him too much. Leo gets sick and Kira tries to do everything in her control to help the situation. Since the income is not stable, she decides to have an affair with Andrei, in return she receives money and gifts. Both, Leo and Andrei, are unaware of Kira's relationship to the other. I think I have said enough about the novel, and won't reveal the end.

My views on the novel and Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism: The novel was good. I agree with Ayn Rand's philosophy to an extent. I feel that Ayn Rand is too extreme, and I see that in her second novel, The Fountainhead. I think one must live for themselves but should not forget those around them. Everyone has something to contribute to one's life and that should not be forgotten. We must learn to appreciate and repay other's good deeds toward us and others. About the novel, I don't disagree with Kira's decisions. I feel that her decision was good considering the situation. I can't say what I "would've" done then, but I don't hate Kira for her actions. I have so much more to say but it is time to get back to work...sigh....

I will give this book 9 out of 10.

Happy Raksha Bandhan

2009-08-05T11:37:00.006-05:00

Just wishing everybody Happy Raksha Bandhan.

P.S. Hopefully next few blogs will be review of books I have read since last entry because I am too lazy to blog in time.

Movie: Slumdog Millionaire

2009-07-25T13:10:00.004-05:00

I finally watched "Slumdog Millionaire." I was not impressed by the movie. I don't see what the hype was about. I did enjoy the movie. I was not "offended" by the scenes in the slums as that is a reality in India. I did not care much about the title of the movie. It fits the content of the movie.

The actors were good. Dev Patel did a good job. I saw the "desipan" in him when he says "Arey Bhaiya, I am the dishwasher." Overall, he justified his character. Freida Pinto, the leading lady, was okay. I felt she was more of a pretty face than an acteress. She cannot act. I would like to see her upcoming works to see if she truly has the talent. The kid actors were excellent. They definitely deserve all the fame they got.

Comparison to the book: The book is much much much better. That is all I have to say. The movie is nothing like the book, as in quality and content. I think people should read the book.
The main character in the novel has no religion. His name is "Ram Mohammed Thomas." More about the book here.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. However, I don't think it deserved all the Oscars it received. I did like the songs.

Respecting..

2009-07-11T13:49:00.005-05:00

It is interesting how people DEMAND respect but they themselves do not know how to give respect. They demand respect based on either age factor or experience factor. I think in this world, everyone needs to be treated with respect, doesn't matter how young or old. However, at the same time, in order to get respect, you MUST GIVE respect.

If you are one of those individuals who treat others as a doormat, and then in return expect to be treated with respect, then I say shame on you. You are selfish and you will not get any respect from me.

Also, I have noticed how people belittle other's jobs because they have an office job. WTH? The other person is also working to earn money and feed mouths. All jobs are jobs, no matter how big or small. If a person is dressed as a monkey, jumping around, and getting paid for that, then good for him. If the other person is sitting in an office and getting paid, good for him too. Whatever keeps the person happy and well fed.

Mood: Annoyed

Confessions of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella

2009-07-09T11:57:00.009-05:00

I read my blogs from past months and I noticed that I only wrote about books. It is kind of sad. I am such a nerd. Today it will be a little different. As my label says "Book Review," it will be a book review but little later.

First of all, I would like to say that I am so so happy that Roger Federer won the match. He is truly number one and he deserved that title. But I must say that Andy Roddick was excellent in his game. He exceeded my and many others' expectations. But in the end, Federer remained victorious. With 15 grand slam titles, he is # 1 and even few loses to Nadal won't take that away from him. I just hope that he continues to win few more titles and set the highest and unreachable goal for others.

Little on the sad end: I was shocked to hear Michael J.'s death. That was quite unexpected, and for few hours after reading the news, I thought that "maybe they will come back and say it is a rumour." That didn't happen. I am sad for all his fans. I am not his fan, but this news did shock me.

Now we are on to my book review. While all this was going on, I was listening a comedy: Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. I really enjoyed Kinsella's The Undomestic Goddess. I had also read great reviews about Shopaholic series. Anyways, I wasn't as impressed.

Pros: The book is good and funny. The storyline is different but at the same time, more than 50% of women can relate to the story. You will learn about brand names. The writing style was very simple. Lastly, Luke sounded very cute. :-P

Cons: Becky Bloomwood is an annoying character. I wanted to slap her few times, but her luck that she is not real. The story kind of dragged and at times I was irritated by events happening in the book. I felt that the end of the novel was truly the best part. There are some similarities (very few) between Shopaholic and Goddess.

Having said all that, I would give this book 7.5 out of 10. Surprisingly, I think I will pick up rest of the books in the series later. Our town library only had the first book in audio book format. I guess I will check out other libraries to see if they have the others. I have the movie on hold, so another movie to watch

Now I am listening to We the Living by Ayn Rand. Before that I tried listening to The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons and other Jazz Tales by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but sadly that CD was messed up. Damn people who cannot and do not respect books from the library. Nobody should mishandle books, and if you are one of the individuals who does, then buy your own copy. Don't ruin the experience for other readers/listeners. Signing out...entry too long...

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

2009-07-03T22:53:00.006-05:00

Khaled Hosseini wrote an excellent history-based novel. I had read many reviews about this novel and was looking forward to the book. I must say that if a book can move you in any way or in other words, forces you to show some sort of reaction other than "Boring," then it is an excellent read. This book qualifies as an excellent read for me. I was happy, sad, and angry at the characters and the author. The book is now part of My-Favorite-Books list.

In summary, the novel is about two boys living in Kabul, Afghanistan before the war, and how the war causes them to go separate ways. The two main characters are Amir and Hassan. Hassan is the son of the servant, and believes that Amir is his best friend. Due to a tragedy, Amir no longer wishes to be associated with Hassan. Amir and Baba, his father, leaves the country and move to America during the war. The novel continues and the readers see the characters grow up in their own two different worlds. There were times in the novel, where I wanted to scream at the author and say "WTH?" I think I have said enough. I definitely will recommend this book to whoever wants a good read. I do warn you that it is not a cheerful novel. I will give this book 9 out of 10.

As usual, there is a movie based on this novel, and I will watch it soon. As I read the books, my list of movies-to-watch also grows. I did read on Wiki about the movie and how the movie actors playing "Hassan" and "Amir" had to face so much criticism and had to go through difficult times. Some people take the entertainment industry so seriously. Anyways, time to sign out. Later!

Pooh Bear and the Tiger

2009-06-28T20:34:00.006-05:00

I read/listened to few books since my last post. I read Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne and Tiger by Jeff Stone. I also listened to The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (I will blog about that in a separate entry).

Winnie-The-Pooh by A.A. Milne
This book was recommended to me. I was told that as a kid, we watched this cartoon, but as an adult, we should read this book, to see different personalities present in the story. We understand the personalities better as adults. I read the book, and concluded that the book was cute. However, the characters were little disturbing. Eeyore is extremely depressed and somewhat creeped me out. Rabbit and Owl think very highly of themselves, where Pooh has very low self-esteem. What to say about Piglet? Piglet is gullible. The author does not introduce Tigger in the first book. Overall, I enjoyed it. I look forward to reading “Tao of Pooh” which should go more in detail about the characters and their personalities. I give this book 9 out of 10.
Tiger by Jeff Stone
I had read some reviews of the series, and I wondered if the concept for the movie “Kung Fu Panda" was taken from the book. I enjoyed the book, but its not my favorite. I realized that I don't enjoy reading about fights as much, especially kung fu style. The concepts are somewhat similar. There is a master, and his pupils, learning how to fight and they must protect the dragon scrolls from a former pupil who has switched over to the dark side. There are several books in the series, and each book is based on the one of the major characters. However, the main character in the movie "Po" is missing from the books. Overall I enjoyed the book, and I might read rest of the books to finish reading the series. I give this book 7 out of 10.

Now I am reading Who killed Change? Its okay so far. Signing out of the blog...Good Night.