When Breath Becomes Air

Nopes... I haven't finished my second book of the year already. But I had read this while I was traveling in last November and I remembered that this book of all deserves to be here as a review. To be honest, I was skeptical about picking this up because I had heard that it has a lot of medical jargon and I wondered whether I would even be able to get a hang of it. Also, this is supposed to be an autobiography and I am just not a non-fiction person. But, I did pick it up even if out of curiosity around what is in it to generate such hype and have amazing reviews.

For start, it was an easy read. There were all those medical terms but I had kind of blocked my mind from delving too much over them. Moreover, it helped that it was gripping right from the word 'go'. The writing is actually pretty neat, thoughtful and well structured. So much so that I felt that Paul was not wrong in thinking about career options in literature though he didn't pursue them until this book.

Unlike some of the reviews, I didn't really find it heavy. I didn't shed a single tear and believe-you-me I shed tears on snaps. So, I don't know why most of the readers say that it's heart-breaking. I mean, the book is an auto-biographical account by a terminally ill person so the scenario is heart-breaking but other than that, I did not think it was a sob-story. In fact, I had an image of Paul as someone very optimistic and a happy person to be describing his life so beautifully even while on death-bed.

I found the climax abrupt but to be fair to the person, his death was too sudden and that's how the story ends. And then one thinks that is exactly how fragile life is. For me though the best part of the book was how Paul sheds light on the patient-doctor relationship in a deep and humane manner. And the rest was all about transition of this person from leading a normal life with the eventuality of death only at the back of your head to a life where that eventuality is in the foreground of everything you do. Under the same shadow of a meaningful life, Paul comes to the conclusion that suffering and striving are the main components of a meaningful life.

#WhenBreathBecomesAir

#Autobiography

#PaulKalanidhi

#booklover

The Institute by Stephen King

I have re-adopted / re-kindled the reading resolution this year. I am not a fast reader so 12 books in a year (i.e. one book each month) looks both reasonable and not overtly ambitious considering that I more often than not struggle for time. What helped was that my daughter's exams are around the corner so her Kindle was free which I borrowed and kept in my handbag. So, every free time, no matter how short, has kind of become reading time. I was able to wrap up my first book yesterday. It took a couple of days over a month but that's okay as I might be able to make up few days if I pick up some shorter book.

The reason it took over a month was two-fold. First, I was not able to decide which book to read. I have quite a few unread books with me but I wanted to pick up something which I could recommend to my daughter to read after her exams. Something that meets her interests but is one level above from what she has been reading off late. Now, Science Fiction or Scientific Thrillers (I hope I mentioned the right category where this book falls into) is not my cup of tea but that's my daughters favourite genre. So, I searched the most well-known author of the genre and tried to select a book which might be of interest to her and also has really nice reviews on Goodreads. Second, since it was not my preferred genre, I had a really sluggish start. I dragged the book initially but took over it seriously only once I had hit February.

Now coming to the book... As I already mentioned the start was sluggish. I found the book boring in the beginning. It picked up my interest only after the entry of Luke Ellis, the lead protagonist, which happened well after a quarter of the book. But, did it pick my interest or what? The book thereafter was almost un-put-downable, if that is even a word. The characters were well-etched (although - spoiler alert - I wondered if Luke is such a brilliant child prodigy then why is his talent not any useful or displayed during his stay in the Institute but people may argue that there is some explanation to that in the book) and you almost are able to form a mental picture of how they might look like. The language is crisp, smooth and simple enough to keep you hooked. There are swear words used freely (and that too by 12 year olds) but that is not any problem for the adult readers although that is the only one thing which is making me indecisive about letting my 13-year old read the book. Not that 13-year olds nowadays are not aware of these words. Last, I was slightly disappointed with the end, especially the climax which let me slightly down. It was quite dramatic but just not the kind I would have liked. Then again, it's my personal view totally. In the reviews, people had mentioned that the plot is similar to the Netflix series "Stranger Things" but I cannot comment on that since I have not seen the series myself.

#TheInstitute
#StephenKing
#Thriller
#FirstBookOfTheYear
#12BooksToRead2020

#recentread
#justfinished
#booklover

We should all be feminists

"Some people ask: 'Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?' Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general - but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women. That the problem was not about being human, but specifically about being a female human. For centuries, the world divided human beings into two groups and then proceeded to exclude and oppress one group. It is only fair that the solution to the problem acknowledge that."

#humbled 

#truerwordshaveneverbeensad

#feminist

#feminism

#Adichie

#ChimamandaNgoziAdichie

#recentread

#justfinished

#booklover

#booksthatmakeyouthink

Dear Ijeawele

I just finished reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's book "Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions". This small book should be used as a parenting checklist in today's times. The author weaves beautiful words and includes very relevant examples while giving us fifteen suggestions about how to raise a feminist daughter or I would rather say, a feminist child, for I believe that some suggestions given by her are equally relevant for raising up boys.

I have already been following a few while bringing up my little one and some are not applicable to me (like normalizing the fact that your spouse participates in your chores). Yet there are still a few suggestions that I need to remember and imbibe in my behavior. I think that should be my task for this year.

Next on the list... "We should all be feminists" by Adichie.

Persuasion and Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

I have been sluggish on my two pacts this year, and especially sluggish on this one. I have moved at a snail's pace since the start of the year and had contented with two unfinished books and two kids novel's to speak of.

Though, I would love to pick up books I have not read earlier, I recently picked up two of Jane Austen's novels back to back for quick, leisurely reads. I have said it before and I will say it again, Jane Austen is my most favourite author as an adult, along with probably J.K. Rowling. When I was in my teens and early-twenties, Jane Austen introduced me to romance and when I set foot in my thirties, she introduced me to feminism. I have read all her books multiple times with ‘Pride and Prejudice’, ‘Emma’ and ‘Persuasion’ being my absolute favourites.

I can pick up a Jane Austen book anytime anywhere and read it. What I love in her books is how all her characters are absolutely real and so perfect in their imperfections. Moreover, despite the fact that her books were based and written in early 19th Century England, much of the context and the details of the society are still very relevant for the contemporary yet traditional Indian set-up where men still dominate the patriarchal society and marriage is often an obsession with the women. And in this orthodox set-up too, women, much like Jane's protagonists, still tend to stand out with their individual and independent views. That's exactly what I love about Jane's work.

So, when I did pick her books, first 'Persuasion' and then 'Mansfield Park', I couldn't keep them down though I had read both of them before. I love Anne's character from 'Persuasion' for her consistency and will power and though I find it a bit difficult to relate to Fanny Price from 'Mansfield Park', I am able to appreciate her for her values and beliefs and I can identify with her absolute sense of decorum and propriety.

They were good reads, alas!

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

So, finally I did complete the book last week. It was again a kid's book, meaning that I read the abridged version which took me probably 5 hours when you take out the frequent breaks.

The ending was kind of sad and it fails me why we would want our kids to read books where almost everyone dies in the end. Oops! Did I just give a spoiler?

But as a classic, it is a good book and it gives us a peek into the lives of people in 19th century Paris.

I would still recommend this one despite the heavy feeling I got after finishing it.

Nancy Drew! Really?

I am faring really bad at this pact.

I picked a book and left it mid-way. And then when I actually did read one whole book, it turns out to be a kids' book. I read "Nancy Drew and The Mystery of the Missing Mascot (Nancy Drew, #119)" by Carolyn Keene. Well, what to say? It was a good book though. It kept me hooked until the very end of the four hours it took for me to finish the book.

I have again picked a children's book now. But, at least this one is a classic. I am reading "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" by Victor Hugo. You see the only time I am getting to read is the four hours I spend in a library in a pre-primary school on Saturdays. *smile*

With some luck, I will finish this book tomorrow. And I would also try to carry one of my own to read as well.