The Classics Club Monthly Meme

The Classics Club monthly meme is another way to bring members of The Classics Club together.

I have been pretty irregular with the memes…two small kids, tons of work, and moving house could account for that .

Let’s see if I can do a little better for later memes.

The meme question for this month is:

Tell us about the classic book(s) you’re reading this month. You can post about what you’re looking forward to reading in May, or post thoughts-in-progress on your current read(s).

OK, this month, I am reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (from now on called GGM). I have had this book on my shelf for some time now. After my so-so earlier reading foray into GGM, I did not feel like he was the author for me.

But after reading one too many light reads, I really wanted to sink into something more challenging and complex. And this beautiful cover was just calling out to me begging to be read.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I am mid-way into the book now, and so far I have zero issues with the book. The writing is beautiful and is a wonderful example of the magical realism style that GGM is famous for. The story is wonderful, meandering, meaningful, and filled with wonderful writing.

The story may not appeal to everyone but it appeals to me. I love how the story is fantastic but yet not too fantastic. It’s challenging to read, but not so challenging that reading is hard work. I love it!

If you are into reading classics by the pool-side or beach (and if you are a member of The Classics Club, wouldn’t you be?), I highly recommend this book as your reading companion.

Have you read this book? Agree, disagree with my thoughts?

I realized this during our trip to Chennai, when he got up and started walking around still strapped in the stroller dragging it wherever he went!!! It was so funny to see, I dropped my phone from laughing and never got a proper photo of him.

Basically, everyone at the mall gaped at him like he was He-Man or something.

So, last week at yet another mall, we visited Hamley’s in Phoenix MarketCity in Bangalore (one of our favorite places to hang out) to see if we could find a more suitable ride for him.

What’s not to like about Hamley’s? There are plenty of toys on display, children can try out a lot of stuff, and the staff are the most serene. At one point, Piglet threw a dump truck on the ground, and I instinctively looked around guiltily (I really should have been sharper), but the sales assistant was very chill about it. According to him, the children throw toys around all the time. It really showed the quality of that truck, that nothing happened even though it was thrown with such force!

Anyway enough rambling about the store, and on to the main topic. Ride-ons!!

I was thinking for some time now that Piglet doesn’t really need a stroller as such, but he could do with a ride-on. His best frenemy has a bunch of ride-ons (a car, a bike, and a scooter! Overkill, you think?), and Piglet and he often get into jealous tussles. I thought it would be nice for Piglet to have one so that they can both share and ride together.

So, that’s what Piglet road-tested while we were at Hamley’s.

There were a couple of parameters that we kept in mind throughout:

• No motorized vehicles because I never remember about replacing batteries and stuff like that
• Must be good quality and rugged keeping in mind Piglet’s awesome destructive capabilities
• Something that can be used for a several years. These things are expensive, and I don’t want to spend so much moolah for Piglet to outgrow within the year

So, Piglet first tried out this car. He liked that it was a car, but it was a bit of a squeeze for him. Also, it doesn’t have pedals which basically means that he has to pull himself along with his feet, unless I push him from behind. Pushing him around was very uncomfortable as I had to stoop a lot.

I could also visualize Piglet walking around everywhere with this thing around him so we put a stop to it right away.

The next ride-on we tried was the Little Tikes trike (the red one in the background of the following picture)

I liked it straight away. It’s pretty rugged, it has pedals so Piglet can cycle on his own when he is ready for it, there is a comfortable holder that I can use to push him along if he is slow or tired, and it comes with a sun protection shield which I appreciated but Piglet hated.

Yeah, Piglet hated the ride-on that I loved . For some reason, he kept getting off/sliding off, and no amount of coaxing could get him to ride it for a long enough time for us to test. I suspect he found the seat uncomfortable.

Anyway, the last ride-on we tried was the pink all-in-one scooty that he is riding in the above photo. It doesn’t have pedals, boo, but he could sit comfortably on it and move around on his own. As he grows older, it converts into a proper scooty that he can stand on. I love convertibles. The downsides? The only color available was pink, and it doesn’t have a push option so that it can be used to move him along when he is tired. And, there is no strap-on available to keep Piglet firmly in his seat. See here for a better idea of the specification of this ride-on.

So, basically, we came out of the store with our heads spinning. Now, I understand why Piglet’s friend has so many ride-ons. It seems it’s pretty much impossible to find one ride-on that suits all our needs

Do you have any ride-on recommendations for us?

The big picture is radically changing in movies across India. Hollywood characters such as Spiderman, Iron Man, and Kung fu Panda are surpassing language barriers in Bollywood. These movies have reported big profits in the Indian market, in comparison to big-ticket Indian releases.

As the multiplexes are growing with the advent of malls in smaller cities and towns, the penetration of dubbed Hollywood movies is getting deeper into this market along with the niche up-market metro audiences. Concrete, big budget marketing and distribution strategies make Hollywood movies compete with the Rs. 100 crore clubs.

The collections are quite encouraging for Hollywood with Spiderman 3 reporting a collection of Rs. 65crore, Avatar clocking in Rs. 90 crores, Avengers taking in nearly Rs 47 crore. The data is extremely encouraging for Hollywood movies in Hindi, in India.

The Big Hollywood releases that are well appreciated with the mass audience in India are grouped in the following broader categories:

• Visual spectacles like Avatar, Jurassic Park,
• Disaster movies like 2012,
• Power packed action thrillers like Speed.
• Supernatural thrillers like Star Trek, Transformers3.
• Real life narrations or book adaptations that are partly or fully set in India like Slumdog Millionaire, or Life of Pi.
• Global Superheroes like The Iron Man, Batman, and Spider Man.
• Animated movies like Kung fu panda, Toy story, Ratatouille, Ice Age

Hollywood movies in Hindi have a formula that works – imposing illustrations, ostentatious visuals, cinematography, and unique plots. The magnanimous scale of their visuals and simplicity of the plot allows these films to break language and cultural barriers.

At present, youngsters in India prefer Hollywood films to Bollywood if they are made well and connect with the audience. And Bollywood producers have already started feeling the heat of competition from the dubbed movies and have started scheduling Hollywood launches along the domestic ones.

As per industry sources, dubbed adaptations add between 45 to 60 per cent to each of Hollywood film’s revenues launched in India. The increasing share of Hollywood productions launches and the pace of its acceptance in the market are posing a great threat to the local industry.

Hollywood studios are outlaying huge amounts on marketing for the big films, and there is a rising trend seen lately where few movies are having their grand launches in India prior to the US market. Multiplex owners stand to gain mainly among all the local businesses from the mounting attention of Hollywood productions in India. Multiplex chains like the PVR Cinemas get 30 percent of their revenue from Hollywood releases.

It is emerging as an undisputed win-win situation for the overall film industry, as it’s raising the bench-marking levels of Indian Cinemas, giving the audience many more options to visit the cinema halls and thereby expanding the sales graph of multiplexes.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

He soon acquired the forlorn look that one sees in vegetarians.

I LOLed at that one, even though I’m vegetarian. I know several friends who think the same…

And here’s another quote on aging and dying…

a process of aging had taken place in him that was so rapid and critical that soon he was being treated as one of those useless great-grandfathers who wander about the bedroom like shades, dragging their feet, remembering better times aloud, and whom no one bother about or remembers really until the morning they find them dead in their bed.

~ One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Ouch! That sounds harsh but somewhere it rings true, doesn’t it? I suppose that’s what makes great writers great? The ability to discern and then be brave enough to tell the truth about life? What do you think?

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

Lottie is tired of long-term boyfriends who don’t want to commit to marriage. After yet another disillusionment with her current boyfriend, when ex-flame Ben reappears and reminds her of their pact to get married if they were both still single at thirty, she jumps at the chance.

There will be no dates and no engagement-just a straight wedding march to the altar! Next comes the honeymoon on the Greek island where they first met.

But not everyone is thrilled with Lottie and Ben’s rushed marriage, and family and friends are determined to intervene. Will Lottie and Ben have a wedding night to remember, or one to forget?

I’ve been looking forward to this book from the time I read the news about its publishing, and I was beyond thrilled when I got a review copy. I read it within the space of two days, so yes, it is an engrossing, absorbing, and interesting read for sure.

Unlike earlier Kinsella books, this book is told from the point of view of Lottie and her elder sister Fliss.

Lottie is very similar to Becky Bloomwood of the Shopaholic series…ditzy, scatter-brained, and impulsive. When her boyfriend does not propose marriage to her, she impulsively accepts a marriage proposal from a teenage fling, Ben who she barely knows.

Her sister Fliss is going through a bad divorce and she is like Lottie only bitter. She is very aware of the consequences of a bad marriage and she is determined to put a stop to Lottie’s impulse marriage before it becomes too late (i.e. before the marriage is consummated making an annulment is no longer possible).

What follows is a series of comedic hi-jinks where all the people concerned try to put a spoke in the wheels of Lottie and Ben’s honeymoon fun.

To me, this book is good fun and enjoyable as far as chick-lit goes, but it falls well below Sophie Kinsella standards. I think Kinsella has trouble restraining herself when it comes to OTT situations sometimes.

Unlike her earlier book I’ve got Your Number, which was funny but still believable, the comedy in Wedding Night stretched the incredulity factor a bit too much for me.

The romance is also a little sub-par. The hero and Lottie are together only in few sections in the novel and most of those interactions are pretty forgettable. I enjoyed her sister Fliss’s story far more and her interactions and romance although not a part of the main story were far more enjoyable and more important believable.

In short, this is a good chick-lit book, but not Kinsella’s best. However, it does have some fine moments, and it’s worth a read if you are looking for some light and funny chick-lit. After all, it’s Kinsella…and if you’re a fan of her books, you will like this one too.

Thanks to Random House for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

The Secrets of the Dark by Arka Chakrabarti

This book is set in the mythical land of Gaya. It is a tale of wise kings and evil guardians, brave warriors and devious renegades fractured by a prophecy foretelling of doom. Involving elements of both Western and Eastern Fantasy and myths, the author vividly creates a new world of wild adventure.

My Review:

For a debut novel, this is a pretty strong offering. It’s a good, if not very original tale of adventure and fantasy. The hero is Agni – a boy who grows up in a foster family with no knowledge of his parents or destiny. After an attack on his foster family, he and his friends go on a mission to find the evil doers and extract revenge.

On the way he learns a bit more about his heritage, and the prophecy that seems to refer to him.

I liked this book very much, but didn’t quite love it as much as I expected it to.

Here are some reasons why:

• Pacing issues: The book starts off fast, and then starts to slow down in places. Towards the end, it picks up and becomes really exciting, but the middle of the book was very slow.
• Stereotypical plot and characters: Probably later books will develop the main characters a bit more – now they seem like stock fantasy characters…you know, warrior princess, boy with super-natural powers, the chosen one, etc.

  In some places, the plot also seems a little contrived. There are references to a wall that is built to keep the demons of the North away, references to the Seven (all these reminded me much too much of George R R Martin’s plot constructs), and I hope that future books in the series will take the plot through less well-known paths.

Once I got over the plodding parts, the book starts to flow freely. I loved the second half of the book where our hero and his friends actually embark on their quest. All the fight sequences are very well-written, and there is a certain suspense to the proceedings that brought me to the edge of the seat.

The plot then moves into a really thrilling finale, and I admit makes up for all the flaws in the beginning and middle sections.

Last Words:

This is a promising debut. It will be interesting to see what is in store in future books in this series.

Oh and btw, you guys know how much I love maps in Fantasy books, so here’s one drawn in the author’s own hand. I loved reading about the places in the story and then going back to the map to see where it is…it’s one of the best things about Fantasy books according to me . Do you get all excited like that?

A Map of Gaya

Thanks to Srishti Publications for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

Can’t wait for the next book in the series. The Winds of Winter is supposedly due out sometime mid-2014.

Anyway, when piglet was a newborn, he never had a problem sleeping, he would nurse and then turn around and sleep without any issues. All that changed after a couple of months when he would need songs or light rocking to get him to sleep.

He never though needed to be carried or held. He was always happiest on the bed, even if I wanted to take him, he would yell until he was back on the bed, and all I needed to do was pat him and sing lullabies.

Fast forward one year later…

Now that piglet no longer fits on my lap…well, being the contrary baby toddler that he is…that’s exactly what he wants. He desperately tries to fit into my lap, which he doesn’t, making it the most uncomfortable experience for the both of us. Soaring temperatures and humidity add further to the discomfort.

The routine now is as follows:

• Use my left leg as pillow for his head
• Use my right leg as pillow for his feet
• With my left hand, I massage his head
• With my right hand, I pat his bottom
• All the while singing his favorite lullaby

The first 10-15 minutes are pleasant and sweet, but once it goes past 30 mins to sometimes as much as an hour, before piglet finally falls asleep it becomes agony, literally. My legs get cramped, my voice goes steadily hoarse, and piglet keeps tossing and turning uncomfortably…because it is a pretty darn uncomfortable way to sleep.

Just see the way he is sleeping on my lap and the floor!

It literally makes me want to cry when I consider how lovingly I revamped snubnose’s old crib for piglet and that he hasn’t slept even one single night on it . It ended up getting used as a playpen while piglet continues to co-sleep on the big bed.

We have now finally given up on the crib and converted it into a toddler-bed/children’s sofa.

At least, it gets good use this way. And considering how contrary piglet is, he might actually want to sleep in it now!

Then yesterday, while switching channels, I came across this rather haunting and beautifully sung song by Atif Aslam – Mori Araj Suno. I love Atif Aslam’s voice and I love this song and the way it’s filmed). It also reminded me that I need to reserve this book next time I go to the library – which is a bit of a rarity these days…somehow lost the urge to read over the last couple of weeks.

Anyway, here’s this song…isn’t it nice?

The movie trailer also looks good (although more Bollywood than Hollywood in style), but it seems to have received mixed reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

In spite of the mixed reviews, I would like to watch it anyway (purely based on this song, and the lead actor’s charisma on-screen). If I am unable to watch it, I can at least read the book. It sounds very interesting.

Have you read the book and/or watched the movie? How did you like it?

This summer, it’s the turn of the King of Pop himself – Elvis the Pelvis and his famous hit – Love me Tender.

It’s kinda funny that the snubnose loves this song so much considering he died almost fifty years? before she was born. But, she’s too young to be hipster/cool, and it’s a pleasure to hear her warble this song along with him.

I have even written out the lyrics for her in her notebook, and she’s ended up learning the complete song itself .

Another song that we sing around the house these days is much more modern. While talking recently with a friend about Western popular music I realized that I have absolutely no clue about what’s happening in Western music these days. My tastes seem to have gotten stuck around the grungeish phase of the early 90s.

Anyway, what’s youtube for if not to discover unfamiliar artists/music? And I stumbled upon this one by Demi Lovato – Skyscraper. I”ll be honest and say the song doesn’t do too much for me, but it’s easy to sing, the lyrics are simple, and the message is nice. So, snubnose is learning this song as well this summer.

Nothing like her childish, very off-tune voice to bring a smile to my face