Travel With Books!

I avidly read fairy-tales because they are replete with folkloric characters (fairies, goblins, witches, giants, and many more), enchantments ineffable, and mysteries inconceivable! They infallibly cure hearts that have stopped believing in the power of goodness and miracles. Additionally, they attach morals to the plot, if not explicitly but subtly! Post finishing these magical books, the hearts overflow, with ideas of magic, ambitions of achieving the impossible , and smiles nestled with hope inculcated!  They generally proclaim victory of good over evil, all the killings and cruelty are justified by acts of kindness, and kingdom of love thrives amidst all the treacherous and pernicious surroundings! And Bingo, for me “The Girl who drank the moon”, ticked all the departments of fantasy steadily! I am “enmagicked” post reading this incredible magnificent fantasy-piece! It is an endearing, spell-binding, resplendent  fairy-tale bursting with enchantment, moonlight, starligh...

Warning - This is an outlier review for "The Ocean At The End of the Lane" My sensitive, empathetic soul, love for animals and a cogent thought-process couldn’t marry the plot. The first-half with the animal-cruelty and child-abuse by the protagonist’s father gave me heebie-jeebies. The novel starts with a quote by Maurice Sendak- “I remember my own childhood vividly . . . I knew terrible things. But I knew I mustn’t let adults know I knew. It would scare them.” The delicious food devoured by our unnamed protagonist throughout the major part of the plot was my only fuel to keep up with the book. I was jolly-well wallowing in the vivid description of the meals. Our 7-year-old nameless protagonist, uses kitten (who is killed quite early-on in the plot), books and “world of fantasy” as escape mechanisms from the indifference of his loveless parents and the company of humans. "Books were safer than other people anyway" He is extremely imaginative, creative, detailed, ob...

An endearing heart warming story creating a palpable nature-laden reality, edifying the magical powers of nature and gratefulness for being alive. It professes the power of living and embracing the beauty around us. I don't want to limit it as only-children's read, but a must-read for everyone in order to be permeated with positivity and leave all the negativity behind. Many of us delve into negative feelings in different stages of life and end up losing hope. This book should be marked as a must-read whenever hopelessness or hard-hitting times hit us. " The Secret Garden " is a capsule for keeping negative feelings and toxins at bay! :) A definite 5-star NB - I found ther ending abrupt, I wish it was a little bit more beautifully described(wanted it to be hauled around the plush garden) :)  Indeed nature is magical and can make even dead to walk and sing :)

The   “Funny Thing Is…” , is an ingenious effort, a book of comical essays on daily musings and ramblings. Comical books are mostly at a danger of sounding grotesque and outlandish, but this definitely didn’t go bizarre. It wasn’t an indispensable but definitely a one-time-read! Ellen DeGeneres, has written about stances to be adopted in real life instances. The subtle-nuances in the book, went a tad imperceptible for me, though they are woven with sarcasm, but the chucklings acquired in the first-half of the book, succumbed to ennui, by the second half. Light-hearted folks would love it was a one-time read, but wallflowers and serious-minded, might grapple to enjoy. There are witty insights and light-hearted ribbings, but second half onwards the efforts sounded impetuous, hurried to finish the book! Millennials, born in the generation of ipads, may find it a tad outdated. For instance, they may find citing of tangled and wired phones as obsolete and unrelatable. But 80s populace w...

  " Rebecca " is a strong evocative and an exceptional endearing read filled with vivid world-building, strong characters but a relatively slow-moving plot mixed with gothic and suspense elements.  The protagonist’s name isn’t shared throughout, though she ends up interacting with all the characters in the novel, big or small! Hope it doesn't sound like gaslighting the readers, but I would seriously doubt the sanity of anyone condemning this novel at any level, including the floundering of the plot or the bulkiness of the novel. The cornucopia of the strong idiosyncratic characters, a plethora of atmospheric detailing and a major plot-twist supersedes any of the weaker attributes of the novel .   The novel predominantly revolves around " Manderley ", an English town where the husband of the protagonist resides. Daphne Du Maurier, has doused the book with profuse magic using her magic-wand of atmospheric-laden words, describing Manderley in vividity. ...

Unmitigatedly felt duped with this one!  It is just a replica of "The Four Agreements" with an added principle towards the end. One can directly pick up this one. The 5th added principle is- 5. Be skeptical and listen for the truth. I felt totally cheated !  Very cleverly marketed. I definitely would not have expected this shrewd display of the same material, ostentatiously! Gave 3-stars to "The Four Agreements" but only 2-stars to this one for all the dodging :/ 

The fictitious town of “ Cranford ” is in possession of amazons, dominated by the genteel women comprising of widows and elderly spinsters. The novel is recited by Mary Smiths (which we eventually get to know as the novel progresses). Written as a collection of inter-woven short stories, Cranford is not based on a major-plot but I felt it to be a Victorian-era soap opera belonging to the aristocratic genteel class. This fictional city has an infallible religion of - abiding to the social-hierarchy and contempt for men. But the beauty of the novel is, though initially they speak of indifference towards men but nowhere there is a stern condemnation for men portrayed, rather in subtle gentle ways help towards their family is rendered and their wisdom/instruction is followed.   All the episodes are cited in a satirical and hysterical tenor. Even the poignant episodes ensue into a happy ending. The novel brims with emotions and lessons of friendship and kindness. Even foe...