Book Love 2016

Book Love 2015 here!
 
Starting to pen down this year's 'read' book list well in advance. Because I'll be in the mountains on new year's (mild show off) and don't want to fall behind on my yearly ritual. A slight change this year, is I am also going to put down the list of books I really want to get my hands on and start reading in 2017. In case you know me, you know what book gifts I would really appreciate! (needy much?)

So tah-dah!! Here are the books which made me go all aww, inspired me, made me contemplate, gave me hope, made me hopeless. I am only elaborating the great ones (according to me) i.e. the ones I felt connected with. The complete list with goodreads link at the end of the post. Let me know your personal favorites, I am always on the look out to expand my reading horizons. Without further ado:

1. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - I had been wanting to read Ray Bradbury for quite some time. Judge me all you want, but I decided to wait 20+ years to get one Bradbury book in my hands. Earlier in August, I gifted F.451 to Pushkar (he is an avid reader and reads many interesting books). I promptly asked him to lend his copy once he was done reading. I also started reading this book on my birthday last month. Boy, was I delighted! The book is often dark and depressing, even devastating. But the hope in the last 15-20 pages is unmatched to fools and romantics alike. Also, to pack so much in mere 150-160 pages! Writing miracle.

2. On Writing by Stephen King - A memoir of the craft by Stephen King - Essential reading, if you write. Even those painfully tedious work emails (at times) or long facebook posts or tweets or letters or for fun. As much as it is personal, some of the most basic writing advice from a stern teacher like Mr. King leaves lasting impact. Also, he knows what he is talking about, because he has succeeded at this i.e. Writing. I still check, re-check, edit everything I write after having read the book. I also use some handy online tools, to make sure I avoid typos, common grammar mistakes (you are never too old or learned to make those).

3. The hard thing about hard things by Ben Horrowitz - My non-fiction reading list used to be abysmal until 2016. This year I pro-actively picked up books that seemed like 'not my forte'. This book was pretty easy-going and written in a matter of fact way. To top it off, my current work profile and the book's theme aligned. I not only understood a lot of scenarios he talked about, but could relate to some situations. Handy rule-book if you are in technology business.

4. Zen Garden by Milind Bokil - Only Marathi book I read this year. It was a compilation of short stories. Some of the short stories stayed with me for a long time. Simple, uncluttered and contemporary writing despite being thought-provoking.

5. Kafka on the shore by Haruki Murakami -I love Haruki Murakami's characters and writing. They are such a bundle of conflicts and melancholy. They are weird is such an under-statement. There are random music, literature references throughout this book. A library and a librarian of treasured works is at the center of the story. What more does a girl want!

6. My brilliant friend by Elena Farrante - OMG! Reading good original fiction which you can relate to feels so fulfilling. Elena Farrante's protagonists Lila and Elena are us. They are growing up in Naples, Italy. The trials and tribulations of their younger years and their friendship is the focus of this book, first in a 4 part series. If you dig good fiction then I highly recommend you read Farrante. Even though I read the translation and had a tough time remembering all the other characters' Italian names, I really liked the book. Her deep grasp on nuances of emotions moved me.

Moving on to the complete list of books I read!
Here's a picture from goodreads.

#WhatIReadIn2016

I already know what I am reading through January 2017.
Margaret Atwood's Bluebird's egg and other stories
Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Gene
Elena Farrante's The story of a new name (2nd in the series)

What about you ?

the unfinished

Been quite a long time since I set myself a target.
Here's a list of books that I left unfinished/ started but lost interest midway/ just forgot about them after starting, thanks to the ever expanding library of my stanza app on the touch/ just like that.


1. second foundation (3rd book of the trilogy)
2. surely you are joking mr. feynman
3. a math book (the one which must not be named for fear of being called names :P)
4. art of war
5. othello (had started reading after vishal bharadwaj made them seem extremely interesting with his movies)


its 4 days to go for the year to end and I have 5 unfinished books at hand. Manageable right ? 
I am doubtful about the math book since its not just reading I have to solve stuff and all. Anywhooo I am going to try. Plus I will be travelling for 2 days. Challenges! Love them! :P


Anything unfinished at your end which you don't want to carry over to the new year as a baggage ? :)


~nightflier

J.E.R.S.E.Y. boys

There is so much I dont know about music! Bah!


Experienced Broadway musicals for the first time yesterday! And boy what an experience!
So thrilled I am, that I have to blog about it. To share it with you. And if you are not much of a fan of musicals/theatre or have not experienced it, then to urge you all to please please try it. At least once! 


To start off, Jersey Boys is a musical about the most famous American pop and rock band The Four Seasons. It tells the story of a class act, some pure musical genius and talent, in the form of Frankie Valli (the lead Italian singer with an I and not a Y), Tommy De Vito (the leader), Nick Massi (the sentimental Italian) and Bob Gaudio (pure genius and far sighted businessman). The four seasons who started off as the Four Lovers, to become Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons ultimately. 
The narration was crisp with the right touch of humour and wit. Nothing dark, shady or sad about it. The sombre moments were handled with an easiness. The lighting was perfect. The stage just transformed the whole theatre into the 60's and even me, a person who does not know the abc's of rock-n'roll travelled back to the era of handsome guys (no offence to this generation :P), Italian mafia, funny clothes (stripes and all yaa!!). 
The music and the dances were the essence of the play. Not at a single point did I feel out of sync. I think thats the best thing about plays, there s always something going on the stage. The energy these guys put up in making those 3 hours memorable, is commendable. I think thats why I have always been awed by my college theatre group. It must be a different world, performing to a full crowd and riveting them. I literally laughed, sang, tapped my feet, anticipated in anxiety as to what will happen next, as the show progressed. I enjoyed it more than a movie would not be an understatement although sounds a bit dramatic. 


Recently Ketaki wrote about how frustrated she was with movies (Hindi) in general. And I realized how much sense she was making, as I stood there transfixed and mesmerized, clapping till my hands ached, to the last performance of the Four Seasons. Why theatre remains so less explored is a mystery though. (I have figured out a few things but thats not what the blog is about, so lets leave it for a rainy day)


So that's my returning post! About the musical that moved me. So much, that I had to write about it :)
I hope and wish that at least those of you who are in the US, watch it.


Sharing one of my favourite tracks with you all. This Frankie Valli is one hell of a singer. Enjoy!





~nightflier!


P.S. Now lets move to the topic of your concern. Kindly lower those raised eyebrows for moving away from blogger without any notice or reason. I dont want you guys to understand my reasons, cos I know you understand ;) 
I think we lie to ourselves. On a daily basis. And I needed to do some serious introspection to find some answers. Well, the deep side of me had taken over. I was worried cos she never takes over unless its something to do with SRK. But anyways, now that I am back in blogville, I am sure you will re-welcome me with warm hugs and comments (convenient assumptions and more lies to myself ;)). And as to those who really missed me, thanks guys!  I appreciate it. I mean it! And for those who thought I had deleted the blog, how could you ???? BOOOOOOO ya!!! Its an integral part of me, and you just dont throw away your cell phone cos its old and out of fashion, but you upgrade it. A really bad example, but I know you have understood what I meant. Smart people you all are ;)

When a prick reads an epic!

Recently I read a Marathi novel named Yayaati. (Mind you its a dynanpeeth award winner, which is the highest award any book can get in India). It is written by V.S.Khandekar.

It's a great work of art. It carries deep social message. But frankly I did not like it. I guess my faculties are not yet developed to understand such heavy stuff.

Some things which I did appreciate about the book are its strong characters and mythological background.

There are 4 main characters in the book

1. Yayaati - the lecherous prince (and of course king) who has no control over his mind

2. Kacha - the godly man. the real hero. I went weak in my knees as his character started developing!!

3. Devyani - the ultimate self centered bitch!

4. Sharmishtha - the unconditional lover/friend anyone can desire for.

Actually all the 4 were the extremities of human behavior.

The story develops around the 4 and engulfs their fate. There are so many twists and turns, that one feels like caught in the middle of a K series serial. So many villains, so many 'situations', so many emotionally shitty circumstances, so many monologues, so many co-incidences, so many returning characters, so many curses and counter curses, the list is pretty endless..

At one point, I actually went like 'Aww come on!! Don't tell me this is the girl who wants to marry Yayaati's son, and looks like Yayaati's ex-lover who accidentally got killed some 20 years ago!!' I know this wont make any sense to you. But mind you reader, great works of art never make sense!

So moral of the story, is (or was considering the 'k' magic is fading now) Ekta Kapoor reading all this for inspiration ? The thinking part of me took over so never mind!

Read at your own risk reader! As for me, I shall just keep away.

Sorry mom! (its one of her younger days ka first novel and kinda favorite! She read it sometime in the 70's!)

~nightflier

10 reasons I love superheroes/movies

My 5 cents on why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, I love them.

1. Every superhero has a story, a humble beginning, circumstances which make him/her 'not normal'. That strikes a chord. 

2. They are unsure of their motives and morals. Unsure of their responsibilities. Don't we all face such situations in real life ??

3. They always choose what is right for everyone. They see the bigger picture. I believe we all play the super heroic part at some point in life.

4. They want you to believe in goodness, fairness (not of the skin, duh) of the system.

5. These Hollywood people make the movies so spectacular and larger than life, it's hard to not get affected. Check out the harry potter trailer in my earlier post.

6. And if you rope in a hottie like Hugh Jackman or a cutie like Tobey Macguire, who would not like to die (watch the movie in spite of its craziness or long length) for them ?? 

7. As a personal gain from these movies I see everyone around me as a hero. Remember the incredibles ?

8. At the end there's always something to ponder upon or feel good about. A dark knight leaves you baffled whereas Harry Potter leaves you wiser.

9. Sometimes even with super heroic/magical powers they are as miserable as us. The to be or not to be dilemma ...

10. I finally quote a dialogue from Spiderman 2 here, which pretty much sums up all the 9 points above, 

We need a hero, courageous sacrificing people, setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero, people line up for 'em, cheer for them, scream their names, and years later tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who told them to HOLD ON a second longer. I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble. And finally gets us to die with pride. Even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want most, even our dreams. 

X men origins - wolverine releases today. Roger Ebert here smashes the movie (my initial reaction after watching the trailer was not very exciting) but what the heck.. 

To my believes :D

cheers,

~nightflier

 

Globally yours!

Wonder what are the benefits of living in a global environment (I mean actually surrounded by all kinds of foreigners..duh!!)?? For me it is the exposure to various cuisines. Specially if you know what you are eating, in short if you are a foodie!
One look at me and the thought of 'me being a foodie' won't even cross your mind. But then there are those fringe benefits of growing up in a household where, typical Indian cuisine is a way of life and you have a foodie, innovative, adventurous (with food of course!) brother as the partner in crime!

Anyways, my stay away from home (past 6 years, plus this new global phase) has given me an opportunity to get to know and learn many interesting Indian recipes, many household tricks to make yummier food out of simple stuff, and different tastes. I have shared food interests with the weirdest of people. Well, those people are bound to have a totally different opinion about my food habits like, ye bahot nakhre karti hai, bahot kam khati hai, etc. etc. But the fact remains I love trying out new stuff and spreading my meagre knowledge as well.

So, finally coming to the point (yeah, some bragging about my food culture was necessary as a starter!), as part of the global culture here, I am trying out Indian recipes on my Bangladeshi roomie. The recent one was Susheela.

A brief how to..
Ingredients:

puffed rice (murmura) - half out of a standard pack, soaked in water (make sure you soak it only for a minute)
onion - 1/2 finely cut
green chillies - finely cut, 1-2
jeera (cumin) seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
cilantro (coriander) - finely cut
haldi (turmeric) powder - a pinch
lal mirchi (red chilly) powder - 1/2 teaspoon
salt - to taste
sugar - a pinch
lemon (nimbu) juice - 1 teaspoon

How to:
Saute the onions,green chillies and jeera in a pan. After done, add haldi, chilli powder. Then add puffed rice. Mix all this well. Then add the sugar,salt,nimbu juice and garnish with cilantro. Voila...There you go. Its an amazing snack. Filling and yummy. The lemon and green chillies combo makes it just too irresistible!!

My friends from Latur (a district in Marathwada, Maharashtra) introduced me to this snack. And they would be happy to know, that today I made it global. At least prepared it in foreign land!! Well, as for the new things I tried out, then I have gone a bit ahead in the non-veg section. I tried crab and turkey the other day. Chicken still remains my favorite though!!

And if you are thinking whether my roomie who tried out the snack is still alive or not, then she is working on that damned assignment (whose deadline is tonight..OMG!!) Her remark - 'You guys are so creative with simple food stuffs!!' You bet she wants to try out more typical Indian dishes now.

a lady's day out !!

For me a day out is more about, giving time to myself, cook, read, relax and shop !!!!
yes, the purrrfect feel good thing that's a routine in any lady's life, is a shopping trip to the nearest mall :)
well, i happened to visit numerous malls here, since i landed..for various reasons..kabhi grocery (which s a routine now), sometimes mall hunting for household stuff to get better, cheaper deals..and sometimes just to give friends company..

But i tell you, this can become a serious addiction..especially when it comes to clothes :)

I happened to visit some really posh stores in downtown recently..gosh twas like somebody had set me off from a prison..the stores were a run for money for sure..amazing variety and really good collection..i carried almost 10 sets of clothes to the trial room..and made myself feel like a princess..i liked the system here, your allowed to take as many as 6 clothes at a go..In Indian malls, they allow only 2 clothes at a time :(
and ask a girl, what joy it is, to try so many things at a time !!!
i mean, i ended up buying only the essential stuff, but i found the whole process amusing :)

If you happen to go to a clothes store sometime, just observe a lady shopping..we just handpick stuff, stuff that r eyes fall in love with at the first glance..its no looking back for us then..
females also keep an eye for the stuff most of the other girls are buying, for some it gives an idea of the common taste, for some its an indication that they should not be buying that style, to get added to the 'oh-so-common' or general group..for me it just tells that, if i have missed out on some really good section of the store !!

But again ask a lady, what pain it is to give up stuff which she really likes, but doesn't need; to give up stuff gracefully as someone else has already picked up the last remaining piece or to give up stuff which is not available in her size..that's the worst agony of life..and i think that's why ladies are so reasonable in life, they can give up on stuff coolly :) (hope guys are listening ;))

Many ladies think that shopping is the ultimate salvation..and i agree almost entirely, cos we have this uncanny ability of feeling good about ourselves, by just spending some bills, sometimes on nothing :D I have done the same on many low days and given company to many girlfriends on their bad days..so i can tell you that it works :)

I was watching the movie 'sex and the city' (silly movie actually) the other day and felt the same, when all girl gangs would just go for fashion sales, auctions or shows, for a day out !! I have never been a fashion icon, in my life, but i know somewhere we all want to make r statement..it is a way of expression :)

And now you must be wondering why I'm so hell bent on defending the whole 'shopping extravaganza' ?? Cos i bought a really pretty summer skirt (now don't echo the fact that its winter time, dumbass :-\) which i fell in love with, and moreover twas in sale and cheaper and dint want to let go of it (read essential) and really really pretty (again!)..
so is it making sense now ??
Cant really keep that girlie one in me, in control, at such times !!

nightflier
(the one who is very happy over her shopping skills !! pats herself :))