Nirupama P.R.V.'s Blog: Catty Opinions of a Book Loving Couch Potato, page 5

Monday Motivation

Reading Challenge- April

Today’s post is a recap on the books read in April.

This month I was able to complete 4 books and almost read a fifth. (Will reflect in May though)

All four were illustration/ comic books but all are meant for adults. Simply because they are books that take a humorous look at the challenges of adult life. (None of them are the risqué sort, in case you got misled by the term ‘adult’.)

Here is a snapshot from my Goodreads page:

The snapshot shows that I raced through the book in a day but in reality it was over two days or three days each. I just decided to read instead of updating my reading status on Goodreads. (That kind of a month)

I enjoyed all four a lot and had so much fun appreciating the nuances and delicacy and the ability to use humor to emphasize certain points and social aspects.

Who says humor is easy or simple or only about the good and the silly?

What books have you read look like light reading but are a reader’s delight with the easy way the author steers the reader through various complex or uncomfortable concepts? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Monday Motivation

What a few pages every day are adding up to!

Monday Motivation

Magic

Today’s post is the third of the Poirot Book Review challenge. The theme of the week is Magic.

As a reader, I find Agatha Christie’s work to be pure magic. Let’s face it- the Queen of Crime is revered by many, including Isaac Asimov himself, who fashioned his Back Widowers series as “comfortable armchair detective” stories.

Magic and conjuring appear in Problem at Sea where Hercule Poirot unmasks the murderer as not being a former magician but a ventriloquist.

Some short stories like the Dressmaker’s Doll even deal with spirits and psychics and seances frequently appear in her novels.

Allied to the theme of this week, the book I am reviewing is literally a collection of fairy tales.

A gift for my daughter, this book has some extremely interesting notes before each story begins. And its foreword was simply amazing.

Chosen by Michael Morpurgo, in his foreword, he ponders over what makes a fairy tale stand the test of time.

Is it the story itself?

Does the hope that it infuses that goodness indeed does triumph over evil make it lovable?

The adventures involved- do they hold a special appeal for humankind- that curiosity to explore and be part of something bigger, bolder than our own everyday lives?

They made me think as well.

My answers as a parent are an eclectic mix of all the above and a few as listed below.

I like some stories because they are short. (Hello Bedtime!)

Some stories are beloved because of the look on my child’s face when I first read it to her. Priceless! I am sure that thinking about Those moments will bring a smile even when I am too old to read or see their smiling visage.

A few stories remind me of my own childhood and so, they remain precious. Ah, good old childhood! (Why on earth did we want to grow up?)

I have to say that there were some strong contenders to this theme and I am listing two of my other favorites:

The first is The secret by Rhonda Bryne

The second is of course the Mahabharata- magic, mayhem and morals- a wonderful combination.

How about you? What book comes to mind when you think of Magic? Share in the comments below.

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

Reading Challenge Updates- March

Another month, another update on the Reading Challenge.

I read three books last month:

Windmill of the Gods by Sidney Sheldon ( re-read after about 15 years)HBR collection: 10 Must Reads on Career Resilience (how apt given the present times)#IMomSoHard by Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley (real Mom anecdotes, practical solutions, heartwarming confidence boosting)With three books done for the month, I am well on schedule at the end of Quarter 1 on my reading challenge! Hurrah!For me personally, books are such a solace that no matter what happens, I take comfort in the fact that at least am on track with my reading. Given the endless repetition that is synonymous with raising a small child (the current season of my life) – that is a huge fount of giddy delight. (Littered blocks blinding my hardwood floor, I am looking at you!)How about you? What does your reading represent for you? Entertainment? Inspiration? Escape? Happiness? Good old enjoyment? Let me know in the comments!

Monday Motivation

Rumors

Today’s post is the second of the Poirot Book Review challenge. The theme of the week is Rumors.

In the original story, Agatha Christie has deftly handled rumors as the voices hinting about murder and not accident for a village doctor who is actually innocent. Hercule Poirot’s mastery lies in sifting through the rumors and discerning what is truth and what is mere fabrication and idle gossip.

The theme has been also used in other stories like The Cornish Mystery.In Miss Marple’s story, The Thumb Mark of St.Peter too, Ms. Marple has to go on a relatively cold trail, and then discern from rumors and recollections and then reconstruct the exact sequence of events and words to come upon the truth.Elephants can Remember is another story where rumors and recollections are at the crux of the story and Poirot and the other recurring character, Mrs.Oliver have to get to the bottom of the truth.

The book I am reviewing here for the theme of rumors is the children’s novel TJ Zaps the Rumor Mill by Lisa Mullarkey.

At 80 pages and simple prose, this is a fascinating story about how gossip spreads and hurts people. It also highlights how staying mum or neutral actually makes us co-conspirators in the act of bullying and wrongdoing.

And the best is of course, how children and grown ups need to verify the information they get, assess its validity and usefulness and then act on it. As someone who is actively trying to teach my own kids about digital literacy, this is an important lesson that we all need to remember.

I actually loved how a simple story managed to convey a wealth of useful life skills- especially ones that I can only see gaining more significance in the future.

Needless to say, I loved the book and made my child read it as well. We are also looking for way to reading the other books from the series.

Among other things , the narrative is simple yet powerful. And the illustrations are gorgeous. I have to say that the cartoons looked familiar at first, and then I realized that the illustrator actually has worked for companies like Hasbro, etc. Were you able to guess from the cover?