Top 5 Books of 2014

What a fantastic year of reading! Agreed that 2014 flew by and was probably not my best year , I owe a debt of gratitude to all the literary adventures I went on which made this year endurable.

I don't , nor ever , have had any resolutions. However this year, the upcoming year precisely , I have decided to do the  ' Top 5 Wednesday ' tag starting from today. Basically , every week a new genre or theme will be added to the Top 5 Favourites list (which will have its own category on the blog) and will be posted every Wednesday .  This week's Top 5 coincidentally falls on New Year's Eve. Perfect timing I'd say ! So here are my most favourite books that I read in 2014.

5)  Every Day by David Leviathan 

This book wounded me emotionally. The helplessness of the situation , the inability to have control over life and the attachment I had with the nameless , faceless , gender-less character ' A ' was heart wrenching.  There is a slight philosophical bend underlining the plot that is not overly preaching yet gets you thinking - Can you really choose between the heart and the mind?  A full fledged review is up on the blog.

4) Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami 

A cult classic , Murakami weaves a poignant coming of age tale. Each character well-rooted and dynamic with their own internal conflicts , this is one contemporary novel that no one should miss.

3) Making Faces by Amy Harmon

I cannot talk about this book enough. Such an unexpected emotional roller coaster ride. Mostly this book revolves around the different kinds of loss we feel , especially loss of beauty and how the characters cope with it. Several points in the book make you reflect on the multifaceted aspect of 'beauty' and personal conflicts regarding it.Detailed review is up on the blog too.

2) 1984 by George Orwell

Most people who have read this book have deemed it as 'mind boggling ' or 'weird' and couldn't digest the concept. I come under the opposite category of people successfully frightened by this book. Orwell has envisioned a dyspotian world so evil and controlling that you would think even moving your arm or leg unnecessarily would get you into trouble beyond your worst nightmare. A society built entirely on fear and oppression with no way out. Hands-down a pioneer in the dystopian genre.

1) The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Who would have thought a 100-odd page book would hit me so hard?! My father had been pestering me to read this for a while now and since this isn't fiction, I guess that's why I took so long to get to it. BOY! Did I miss out! For something that was written in the 1920s,  this book's suitability has stood the test of time.  More than just a read , its mostly a life guide on human conditions like love , marriage , children , giving , trade , crime , laws , freedom , passion , religion , pain , death so on and so forth, it answers everything in minimum words relevant to every generation. Anyone and everyone should own a copy of this.

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Phew! Narrowing down your favourite books to just 5 is a real challenge. I wish I could mention each and every title that I read and loved this year.
Year-endings always manage to make me somber and reflective. This year was a real challenge for me and I am proud of being able to triumph it. Bad experiences make great life lesson and most lessons were learnt in 2014.
On the bright side , I did get my blog up and running. For all those who read my rant-y posts and support me nonetheless , I can't thank you enough.

See you all on the other side!

Love.

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Book Review : Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Pages :  337

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 4.34/5

Review:  I'm not one to like a sloppy love story. Ironic, you say , as most of the books I have reviewed have been predominant romantic in element. In my justification , I pick up books that have obstacles in them. 

 

This book is about attraction, physical attraction. Tate Collins has no time for love. Miles Archer does not want love. The perfect setup for ' just sex '. Miles has two rules - Never ask about the past and Don't expect a future. They think they can handle it. But what happens when they realize they can't. * DUN DUN DUN*

Knowing my generation well , I see this as a relatable topic for most girls and guys. Some of them do successfully manage to put feelings aside completely. This book elaborates that to Tate's perspective and Miles' perspective. So you can see and comprehend what a girl in this situation is feeling and thinking and vice versa. This is not a 50 Shades of Grey archetype! It does have a very high amount of explicit content but what is poignant are the feelings that are proceeding parallel to the deeds.

The back-story of either of the characters and the reasons why they indulge is heart breaking.  Get ready to shed some tears! You will feel the pain and annoyance at the same time. The guilt looms over and  will hit you as a reader. Such a riveting read, I sacrificed sleep to finish this.  Most Goodreads reviewers have absolutely loved this book and rated it a full 5 stars. Also a nominee in this year's Goodreads Choice Awards in the Romance category.

Since the central component  of this novel is sex , this book has been placed under the new adult. Personally I feel its more suited for the adult contemporary genre. Nonetheless , every girl and guy should read this at some point. 

Final Rating: 4.5/5

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Book Review : The Nidhi Kapoor Story by Saurabh Garg

Pages :  316

Read on : Kindle

Goodreads Rating : 4.39/5

Review: I have often wondered can there ever be a fool-proof crime? What pushes a person to do the ultimate and irreversible act of killing? Just like most book lovers , I have spent several teenage years reading crime fiction and loved every moment of it.

The Nidhi Kapoor Story is no less of a page turner. Right from the first page till the end of there wasn't a single  droopy spell.

Leading actress Nidhi Kapoor is set to shoot her most anticipated film when her pets are found brutally murdered along with an  anonymous letter threatening her and her family. ACP Prakash Mohile and Rujuta Singh , a photojournalist , take lead in the investigation but soon get ensnared in the perilous events.

Like I mentioned previously , the story kicks off from the very beginning. The pace is ideal with no time wasted on dilly dally. The author has successfully managed to layer the on going incidents with some back story or history about the human and concrete characters. Every additional element is precisely in sync with the continuing  timeline sans brain wracking. Garg has left no stone unturned in his research. The Bombay film fraternity paints a glorious and extravagant  picture of their dedication in film-making masking all the filth , vulgarity , manipulation and dirty politics persisting behind the silver screen. A very raw yet refreshing expose. None of the crime scenes are short of details , gruesome descriptions which I feel is necessarily for the reader to fathom the severity of the situation.

However , As much as my love for descriptive writing goes , there are several instances when there was an abundance of detail exceeding requirement. Prakash and Rujuta tend to overthink which does diminish their intellect and made me question their competence. Since the duo were handling such a high-profile case , pressing and pestering questions , I feel ,would be protocol.  The climax was a tad bit too corny for me with all the dedication to ACP Prakash Mohile whose presence was needed but was lukewarm. The character that stood  out strongest although it might have been just a backdrop was Ronak - the Kapoor's pride and joy , keeper of all their secrets , past and present.

Overlooking that , for a maiden venture,  Saurabh Garg has packed a punch in this riveting read.  The language is kept rapid and simple .Despite being 300-odd pages long , the urge to scurry through this book in one go would be hard to suppress.

Final Rating : 3.5 / 5

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Why I'm a Woman of Questionable Character

Painting by Thomas Saliot

After a night-out , at 4 in the morning I end up at a friend's house for more drinks. Drowsiness ( or tipsy-ness) catches up. I yawn and am ready to crash.

' I have a spare toothbrush If you need one' he says,

' Oh that's alright. I have my own ' I say and pull one out of my bag.

' You have a toothbrush with you?! That means you're a slut '

' A What?!?!'

' A slut. Means you were going to crash somewhere'  he says.

Hmmmmmmmm.

So now I'm a slut just for carrying my toothbrush around on a pre-planned night-out that all my friends knew of.

Now that I ponder on it, I am in fact , as deemed , a 'slut'. I go where I like, I dress rather provocatively whenever I head out. My hair is an unnatural shade of red. I once had my eyebrow , tongue and navel pierced. Controversial personal choices decodes for 'slut' or 'hooker' by itself.
I gossip with my girlfriends about who's hot , who's cute , who's doable and who's not , and all sorts of stereotypical depraved behaviour.

If a woman has a sexual appetite or lives the lifestyle equivalent to that of a 'player' , she's a slut by default. If she's an older woman , she's a cougar. If she is wearing a fitted leopard print dress then that translate as kinkiness that could make a man's teenage wet dreams come true.

Ironically , the guy with the spare toothbrush , who might have been mostly or even half expecting sex is not labelled anything.  But I'm a slut. I'm a slut for choosing to wear red lipstick and smoldering kohl during the day. I'm desperate if I desire a male body to sleep beside me tonight.

Sadly , I have no shame, I'm not at all bothered by old-dusted-off-to-look-new title that I recently acquired. Foolishly I thought now that I'm an adult , all this would stop and prior to this there hadn't been an echo of it either.

Henceforth I shall proudly put on my proclaimed  'SLUT ' sash and crown, smoke a cigarette as I would on a normal day and ash on your misogyny-crafted shoes.

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*Disclaimer: This post is purely satirical however the catalyst incident was true to life. The post was written to highlight how hurtful it is to call a girl a 'slut' and is not a matter that can be joked about or a word to throw around casually.