Write-ups and reading lists of our members in July 2023
Beloved, our July club read, has resonated well with our readers as is reflected in the write-ups.
- Euro Trip by Vibha Batra
- The Boy Who Wanted To Fly JRD Tata by Lavanya Karthik
- The Girl Who Loved To Run PT Usha by Lavanya Karthik
- Mrs Bhushan To The Rescue by Ruskin Bond
- The Boy Who Wore Bangles by Riddhi Maniar
- The Boy With Flowers In His Hair by Jarvis
- The Yellow Umbrella by Ruskin Bond
- Old School Tales by Ruskin Bond
- Radhika Takes The Plunge by Ken Spillman
- The Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
- Pugmarks And Carbon Footprints: A Green Humour Collection by Rohan Chakravarty
- My Father’s Last Letter by Ruskin Bond
- The Rain-maiden And The Bear-man by Easterine Kire
- The Great Poop War by Ranjit Lal
- Spirit Nights by Easterine Kire
- Map Reading by Abdulrazak Gurnah
- Jnanam Chekkina Shilpam (Zero Nundi Hero Ki) by Yandamoori Veerendranath
- The Secret Of The Cemetery by Satyajit Ray
- The Book Of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
- Indian Folktales Retold by Ruskin Bond
- The Crocodile Who Ate Butter Chicken For Breakfast And Other Stories by Khyrunnisa A
- Lessons In Fun And Frolic by Ruskin Bond
- The Lizard Of Oz And Other Stories by Khyrunnisa A
The Book of Lost Names
The story runs between two time periods, during the Second World War and one in the 2000's protagonist is old and working as a librarian in the US. Her life as a young woman, Jew during that time in Paris. Deals with how emigration took place, the problems faced etc.
- Tickle Me Don’t Tickle Me by Jerry Pinto and Sunaina Coelho
Why is the hamster such a scamster? What’s it with mothers and coconut oil? What happens to children who dig their noses? Why do we need new days of the week? What’s a question? Award-winning author Jerry Pinto answers all these questions and more in his first book of poetry for children. Here you’ll find happy poems, serious poems, poems that sound words of warning, poems that leave you on the floor laughing. There are poems about children who top their exams, or go swimming with sharks; and there are poems about fat cats lounging on mats, and rats in Bombay flats. Filled with illustrations as quirky as the poems, Tickle Me, Don’t Tickle Me is hilarious and intelligent, tender and wicked. It is glorious.
- Beloved by Toni Morrison.
Reviewers have compared this book to Uncle Tom’s Cabin [1852] by Harriet Beecher Stowe and To Kill a Mocking Bird [1960] by Harper Lee. Morrison’s Beloved is set in 1873, when the slave trade was flourishing in America. I read Uncle Tom’s Cabin when I was elevenish and I remember crying. That too, an abridged version borrowed from our school library. To Kill a Mocking Bird moved me as a young girl in college. Beloved simply pains the reader. But this time I had to question my own values, as I am now on the other side of the equation…or so I realised. In short, Morrison has effectively touched on the very ulcer of racial subjugation that still plagues the world
- The Sinner And The Gunslinger by Lana Pecherczyk
- How To Marry A Marquess by Stacy Reid
- Where The Forest Meets The Stars by Glendy Vanderah
- A Fatal Affair by A.R. Torre
- The Beaming Soul (Translation of Kiran Kiran Suraj) by Wasif Ali Wasif
- One Season With The Duke by Addy du Lac
- The Better Half by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans
- An Unfinished Story by Boo Walker
- Write My Name Across The Sky by Barbara O’Neal
- The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
An Unfinished Story
It’s a contemporary fiction focusing on grief, healing, and second chances. The story is both sad and happy. And it shows the best and the worst in people. The best thing about the book is that its main characters are easy to love and root for.
Claire Kite is a widow of three years still struggling with the loss of her husband’s untimely death. On his third death anniversary, she finally decides to sort his things. And in his home office, she finds an unfinished manuscript of a story. She knew that he was writing, but she had no idea it was so good. The more of the story she reads, the more she wants to find out the ending. In a desperate attempt to complete her husband’s unfinished draft, she seeks the author who had inspired her husband in the first place.
Whitaker Grant only wrote a single best seller that made him famous. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to write in a while. And he is beginning to think maybe he should just give up on writing altogether. But the thought makes him sad. He has a job he hates and struggles to come to terms with his current situation. And then, a woman comes to his door asking that he finish her husband’s story.
Reluctantly, he agrees to work on the manuscript. The more he gets involved in the story, the more he begins to wonder if it’s fiction. The story is about an orphan boy and Claire and Whitaker both believe that he actually exists. Together, they try to find him and learn his side of the story. Because then they can finish this unfinished story in an acceptable way.
Overall, it’s a great read for a lazy day. The story flows smoothly and I also enjoyed the connection Claire and Whitaker develop over the course of their acquaintance. It doesn’t have any notable twists or turns, but it’s still fun to read; the kind of book you would enjoy with a cup of tea on a hot summer afternoon. Though there are many sad moments and the two main characters are living depressing lives, it’s beautiful to watch them overcome their problems and become the people they are meant to be.
- Quantum Healing by Deepak Chopra
- The Power Of Sleep by Jennifer Molano
- Synchordestin by Deepak Chopra
- Zero Limits by Joe Vitale
Zero Limits
This book is about the ancient Hawaii practice of Hoopponopono. The story is about a guy called Hu Len who cured a mental ward of patients in Hawaiian jail who were seriously sick. Hew len took charge of the hospital and used the Hawaiian prayer to heal the hospital. The core principle of the book is that we need to take 100% responsibility of our situations or circumstances. The outer world is a manifestation of the inner world and the core principle is love can heal the world. The concept is a bit difficult to understand, but it really works.
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- The EX factor by Harini Srinivasan
Beloved
Set in the period after the American Civil War, the novel tells the story of a dysfunctional family of formerly enslaved people whose Cincinnati home is haunted by a malevolent spirit. The story deals with themes like slavery, family relationships and pain. The book was able to show the horrors of slavery. The graphic depiction and the effect on the mental health. The book begins with an interesting note, and it’s paced very well. As it’s based on true events, we will be able to emphasise the characters to an extent. However, I felt the amount of sex and violence could be reduced. There are a couple of bizarre and disturbing scenes which have no meaning. Overall, Beloved is a horror story about slavery which is kind to surprise and shock you. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
The EX Factor
Oindrilla Roy is having a lousy week. At work, her boss, Hawkeye, is making her life miserable. Her cousin Ankita and her best friend Sweety Chopra have their own issues respectively and they involve Oindrilla in those matters. Then Vivek Rao makes an unexpected entry back into her life. After years. Even before she has had time to get over the previous heartbreak. With the many issues that haunt Oinks and demand her attention. Can she resolve those issues? Will she get together with Vivek this time or face heartbreak again?
The book is so funny, I have never laughed like that while reading the book. Sometimes, Hindi Language is used in the jokes and this gives a sense of realism and relatability. All the characters in the book were written very well, whether it’s Oindrilla Roy, the main character, or the supporting characters like her family members and friends. Their mannerisms and dialogues are bound to amuse you. The plot of the story isn’t new, it contains familiar tropes of a rom-com novel. In spite of the predictability, the book will manage to hold the interest of the reader and convey serious themes in a funny way. Overall, EX-factor is a stress buster. The book’s characters, humour and fast pacing make it worth a read.
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beloved is an allegory of slavery victims. It’s a story of a black woman Sethe who kills her baby daughter to save her from the clutches of slavery and later the baby ghost haunts her and her family members. It talks about the devastation slavery does not only to the society but to the slaved person’s psyche. Through the story, narrated with the aid of the Gothic genre, the author is giving a painful message that though slavery was abolished, the effects of it haunts the person’s mind. With a good start, Beloved falls in the middle marathon phase. It could have been narrated better but still it makes a fine reading.
- The Road Less Travelled by Michael Johnson
- The Complete Key to Progress by John McCallum
- Care Of The Soul by Thomas Moore
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
