review |
There are times in life it seems you can’t do anything right. Then one fine day all of a sudden you can’t just stop writing. Thanks to you my dear motivators (by that I mean, the ones who wield clubs and bats and run behind us for our entries – oh what would we do without them), who gave us a seasonal prompt and even tried to lure us with prizes, I found a topic to write about.
My love towards Hyperbole and a Half and Allie Brosh’s blog as such is not a secret and I cannot think of anything closer to truth than these images now. Yes CBC gave me a topic to write one post and I ended up creating a series. Thanks to Deepak, hereon officially my not-so-secret design guru, for the brilliant cover design
Introducing #writealoveletter series here at my blog, that would be running as a weekly feature for the month of February – you got the flow right? Watch the space for the letters to real and imaginary people out, starting this week.
What can you do? Pick up your pen and notebook, oops.. type in your letters to your loved ones, right now, mail it us with #writealoveletter and I will feature yours in the series. You can post your letters on your blog and leave a link in the comments section and use the #writealoveletter to spread the word.
![Book Review: The Grownup]()
Paranormal, review |
I love Dr House from the TV series, Harvey Spectre from SUITS and Alan Shore from Boston Legal. Oh Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind, of course. Wondering what is common among these characters that I seem to love so much? They are all arrogant, cocky and snarky and of course self obsessed. Yes I have set out to like all grey characters somehow and may be that is why I seem to love every one of the books of Gillian Flynn. Things weren’t any different with The Grownup.
Wait I am just trying to reason out my favoritism, but the truth is I really do like her writing and her well thought out character. For obvious reasons I had to pick up her new short story The Grownup as soon as I could and how could I end up liking her more than I was liking her earlier, if that makes any sense.
Book Name: The Grownup
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Fiction – Paranormal
Characters: Narrator, Miles, Susan and Mike Burke
Setting: The USA
The narrator works at Spiritual Palms as a fake psychic, rather a keen and quick observer, a rise from her earlier occupation of providing hand jobs (yup you heard me right). She is smart, manipulative and of course selfish, much as expected from Flynn’s novels. When her newest client, Susan is worried about her house being haunted, the narrator decides to use that opportunity to earn some easy money.
But her visit to her house reveals much darker secrets and her step son Miles even threatens her to leave if she wanted to save her life. She chooses to ignore the teenager’s warning only to find out more creepy things like a cat whose tail had been cut off. But things take a turn when she hears out Miles’ side of story, when she finds Mike’s books at their library. Was she being conned by Susan, the wife of her favorite customer Mike? Or does the house really have some ancient history? What to believe and what not?
From a short story with less than 50 pages, I could not have asked for more. And if you were into horror and super natural, you sure would love the second part of the story. Like most of her books, The Grownup is filled with grey characters and I could not decide whom to believe or not. The story is filled with twists and left me wondering if I were siding the right guy / lady at all, much like the narrator.
Flynn has become one of my favorite writer in a very short time. She has the wicked way of making the reader reach out to his dark parts of the brain, even if he does not generally (I do). In this story I was hooked to her flow of unexpected twists and I loved the open ending, which may not work for many.
We start with the skeptic outlook of the narrator, then we start to look out super natural elements because your narrator does, thanks to Susan’s creepy house and creepier step son. Then we just unlearn everything we just read because there is a new version of the story. It is almost like Flynn wanted us to go, ‘phew we reached almost the end’ and she does it all over again and again and again. Damn it, READ IT ALREADY, I say.
P.S Did I say the narrator was not named at all?
P P S. Watch out for my next book review from a completely different genre from anything I have written yet – yes, we are going on a spiritual trip to Himalayas!
![Book Review: The Grownup]()
Drama, review |
I have promised myself to try out new authors and try not to be a book snob, as hard as I can. When I saw the book on Netgalley I was so drawn to the cover and decided that I have to get / read My DisOrganised Life. I have never read any of the author’s books but read the first line again – yup I am treating myself (hopefully) by reaching out to new horizons.
Book Name: My DisOrganised Life
Author: Nina Whyle
Genre: Fiction – Drama
Characters: Eve Poots, Jake Richards Luce, Chuck, Adam
Setting: The UK
Disclaimer: Thanks to the Author and Netgalley for the Advance Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review
Eve Poots has had her moments of shame on Youtube thanks to Tequila and an ill timed confrontation with her cheating and rude Ex and her loyal friend Luce and Nell, her sister help her through. But that was six months ago and she is trying to put them all behind her.
She works as an assistant at a TV channel and lives with her boyfriend Adam who is a junior doctor. She loves her job, in spite of repeated sexist attempts to put her down by Brian, and works hard to be Producer some day. She is an avid list maker and no thanks to her uptight religious parents and her brought up, Eve ends up being a shy, prissy and easy target for embarrassments.
When one of the contestants is disqualified from the Wedding Wipe-out the reality show that her TV channel is producing, Brian puts Adam and her name to fill in. One thing leads to another and Adam breaks up with her on camera in front of her colleagues. She is also attracted to her director Jake who finds her amusing.
What ensues is a series of hilarious incidents that happen in the shooting sets and her visits to her therapist Gudrun. The story follows her life till the end of the show shoot, when she finally stands up for herself defending from Adam and Brian and finds the man of her dreams.
My DisOrganised Life is written from a single point of view, Eve’s and seems like a long monologue. The writing is crisp and witty, at most places, making the read interesting, even if the scenes are somewhat cliched. There are many funny instances in the book, especially her talk with Gudrun and the very many tongue in cheek sexual innuendos. I like the prude, list making, in-the-closet-atheist Eve, even when there were times when I cringed at her ‘innocent'(?) thoughts (assumptions?) about Adam.
On the other hand, I felt that the story is one dimensional and did not feel the depth of any character, making it hard to like them. I had several questions unanswered. What was happening between Chuck and Luce? What was Jake thinking? Who won the contest? At one point of time, I felt Eve was just being so self obsessed that she never once enquired about Luce’s relationship (Yes I know. I imagine the characters and their emotions are real). There were many British pop culture references that I had to Google to understand (or could have ignored them.. ermm.. you know me) but they worked in most places.
My DisOrganised Life is a light-hearted breezy novel with witty and snarky dialogues, I will look forward to reading further more from the author.
![Book Review: The Grownup]()
Quotable quotes |
Oh look, where are we already – week 3 of the #100daysofbookquotes. Yeah, I am attempting to post100 quotes from books for 100 days and can see the quotes from past weeks here and here.
So if you had missed any of the quotes of the week, here is a quick recap and follow our FB page to keep yourself updated.
It’s probably what I love most about writing—that words can be used in a way that’s like a child playing in a sandpit, rearranging things, swapping them around. They’re the best moments in a day of writing—when an image appears that you didn’t know would be there when you started work in the morning.” – Markus Zusak, The Book Thief
Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence.”― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Manon, Ballerina
I hope something happens. I’m restless as the devil and have a horror of getting fat or falling in love and growing domestic.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise
“What a terrible mistake to let go of something wonderful for something real.”
― Miranda July, No One Belongs Here More Than You
We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget. We forget the loves and the betrayals alike, forget what we whispered and what we screamed, forget who we were. I have already lost touch with a couple of people I used to be;― Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem
“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.” – Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
“In order to move on, you must understand why you felt what you did and why you no longer need to feel it.” ― Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Share your favorite quote in the comments
![Book Review: The Grownup]()
Quotable quotes |
Did you miss out our quotes last week? Here is a recap of the daily dosage of quotes with #100daysofbookquotes.
If you were new around here, I am attempting to post 100 quotes from books for 100 days and we are at week 2. You can see the quotes from last week here.
Like, follow comment and share our FB page and stay updated
Let us start with my favorite author of recent times
“..people mostly have it backward. They think they live by what they want. But really what guides them is what they’re afraid of. What they don’t want.”
“I’m scared I’ll never feel this again with anyone else,” I whisper. He squeezes my hands. “I’m scared you will.” ― Colleen Hoover, Confess
By trying, we can easily learn to endure adversity. Another man’s, I mean. – Mark Twain
Feeling sad means having too much time on your hands, usually. Really – Gillian Flynn, The Grownup
The last thing I wanted was infinite security and to be the place an arrow shoots off from. I wanted change and excitement and to shoot off in all directions myself, like the colored arrows from a Fourth of July rocket.” ― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh.W. H. Auden
I know exactly how that is. To love somebody who doesn’t deserve it. Because they are all you have. Because any attention is better than no attention. For exactly the same reason, it is sometimes satisfying to cut yourself and bleed. Augusten Burroughs, Running with Scissors
So what are your favorite quotes? Share it with us in the comments or mail to us.
There are times in life it seems you can’t do anything right. Then one fine day all of a sudden you can’t just stop writing. Thanks to you my dear motivators (by that I mean, the ones who wield clubs and bats and run behind us for our entries – oh what would we do without them), who gave us a seasonal prompt and even tried to lure us with prizes, I found a topic to write about. 
