Did anyone see that twist coming on How to get away with murder?
Are you happy with the ending? I can’t believe that happened to them both. TBH I didn’t want anything to happen to that guy but it had to, right?
I hate it when my head tries to reason out my feels, like I know it had to happen but can I have a heart break for a fictional character, for a minute in here?
Sigh. Also talking about How to get away with murder without spoiling it for the rest of the world is difficult!
Oh by the way, my laptop stopped making that weird noise out of nowhere in the last two days. I still do not know what I did right, but I would like to think I solved it somehow. I tried most of your suggestions, as soon as I got them last Sunday (because I was desperate for a solution).
Thank you so much, guys especially Michelle @ Because Reading for your elaborate explanation about the issue.
What I read this week
I am reading two books currently. And I will finish both of them probably today.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
What I watched this week
I am currently watching Dead to me S2. I am watching 3 or 4th episode and I am enjoying it at all.
On the other hand, I am rewatching Brooklyn Nine Nine from season 1. And it is freaking fabulous, as we know it to be.
As I was saying I watched the last two episodes of How to get away with murder, yesterday and I dunno how people waited for one whole week to see the next part.
I am not able to do that for even Masterchef Australia or other reality shows. Also whom are you rooting for?
On my blog
In case you missed this week’s posts on my blog, here is a brief recap.
That is one week into the social distancing thing and I am happy to announce that I have not stepped out of the house for anything. I know it sounds bragging, and yes I am. It has been Netflix and books and home cooked meals for the week now and I am loving it.
Dubai has been taking the pandemic seriously and currently they have started a ten day intensive mass sterilization drive. As on date we have had 140 cases with about 30 recoveries and 2 deaths in the past 3 months and I really hope things would be under control soon.
Back in India, the spread has just started and the Central and State governments are doing a good job, apparently. But the worse is yet to come sadly. Again, it is on the residents to follow the safety protocols and social distancing norms.
What I read this week
I am currently reading Girl, Woman by Bernardine Evaristo with two of my friends.
But my week has been good in terms of reading because I read TWO hyped books. Not my best but hey I am recovering from a long term slump!
One I loved and the other was not good. Can you guess which one is which?
What I watched this week
I had a lot of screen time last week and I am not ashamed at all. And for the first time ever, I had a legitimate reason for that – yes the social distancing and self isolation, blah blah!
I finally caught up with the Brooklyn 99 S6
Rewatching Sherlock
A few episodes of Mentalist on Prime!
Currently watching On my block S3
Not bad at all eh?
On my blog
In case you had missed my posts this week, here is a quick recap!
So how is the social distancing working for you? Have you been using it to read everything on your to read shelf? Also, how is your country/city dealing with it? Lets talk.
The International Mothers Day falls on the 12th May of this year and I hope you all have got your gifts all packed for your mothers. And if you are a mother yourself, I hope you have a special day for yourself.
Badass Mothers from the books
While we are on the topic, I am gonna use this chance to talk about my favorite mothers in the literary world that I totally love.
Marmee is an epitome of strong women in not just literary world. She raised her four daughters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy under the terrible circumstances of the Civil war that called their father away and drained them financially.
But she never lost her patience and smile even she reprimanded her girls, who turned out to be well read and ambitious making Marmee a great feminist ahead of her times.
Mrs Bennett, Pride and Prejudice
I know Mrs Bennett was not exactly a role model to mothers, but she always had her heart set out for the best of her daughters which was in her eyes – getting married to wealthy men.
She had less or no support from her husband in this area, and despite him, she did achieve what she set out for. I guess that makes her a badass mother. Don’t you agree?
Marilla Cuthbert of Anne of Green Gables
As quite opposite to Marmee, Marilla was not pleasant and she seldom smiled. She didn’t even let Anne call her ‘Aunt Marilla’. But that definitely doesn’t undermine her strength and love for her ward. She was a feminist and practical woman who comes to love the orphan in her own way.
Ma from Room
Despite being imprisoned in a small room for years, Emma did all she could to keep her son Jack, who has never been outside the four walls in his life, spirited and full of positivism.
She does not only teach him to read and write but keeps him engaged creatively and even gets him do yoga. That alone makes her a badass mother.
Cersei Lannister of A Song of Ice and Fire series
I am currently binging on the Game of Thrones and I would never be able to sleep if I don’t add Cersei to the list of badass women. I initially wanted to add Catelyn Stark. But now that I have watched the third season, I know Cersei will be the better choice.
She has her flaws about her being power hungry, cunning, ruthless and such. But one thing that comes so strong is her love towards her children. Her motto was ‘don’t mess with my cubs’, right from the beginning even when they were not appreciative enough.
Pin me!
Let us chat
Did I miss your favorite mothers in the list? Tell me who is your favorite mother in the fiction world. What are your plans for the Mother’s day? Let us talk.
As many other bookworms I know I started obsessing about books right from my childhood. I can not remember how and when I started reading books in English, and as it is not my mother tongue the books that were available at home were very limited. This meant I had to make do with books that my much much older cousins had on their shelves.
But this also meant I never got to read books that were meant to be as a middle grader or a teen. I know it is not a big deal and I may have not lost much. That is what I thought until I read a few of those middle grader books that everyone loved but me.
Five Books I Wish I Had Read As A Middle Grader
Let us talk about some of those books, shall we?
5. A Wrinkle in time by Madeleine L’Engle
I didn’t read this book until I turned 27, and that might be the reason that I didn’t enjoy it at all. I kinda tried to ignore the strong religious undertone and even then the plot was kinda over simplified, character super unrelatable and dialogue repetitive.
4. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
When I started this book I never knew it was a middle grader book. Soon I was sucked into the period trouble and bigger bust goal of the twelve year old Margaret. I liked her relationship with God, but I was sad that I was not able to connect with the characters, again may be due to the age difference.
3. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
I am yet to find a reader saying they don’t like this one. I had to read this before I could watch the Netflix version starred by Neil Harris Patrick. In fact I didn’t even know about the book before I saw the ad for the show. Of course, I liked it but it was obvious that I was not among the target audience. I loved the show though.
2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
I was probably 25 and I enjoyed it enough to continue reading the series. I didn’t dislike it, rather it seemed to be again repetitive and sorta preachy. And that seems to be the theme for all the books of that age, I guess. Again I might have loved it if and when I was 8 – 10 years.
(Does anyone else think the Netflix version is too sad and less endearing?)
1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Oh I love Little Women and I am not gonna complain about it. Except for the fact that if I had met the March sisters especially Jo and Laurie when I were a pre teen, they would have been my heroes. Well that didn’t happen and I hate that I missed it.
I am kinda sure I would have loved these book if I read them when I was supposed to have read them. While I didn’t hate them, I could not fall in love with them and that maybe attributed to my ‘older’ age. Sigh. Well, I tried right?
Do you have any such regrets related to your reading choices? When did you start reading? Tell me some books that you missed reading when you were younger and did you regret reading them now? Let us chat.
Last year I read the Handmaid’s Tale, another one of Atwood’s masterpieces and it ended up being one of the best books I have ever read. So when I saw that Netflix is adapting another of her tales, I promised myself that I will read the book before I watch it, as any sensible bookworm would do.
Unfortunately it took me a while to get to it because let us face it, Atwoods aren’t the easiest read, especially considering that these are and I had easier books to read. So finally when I actually got to read it, was it worth it all? Read on by Book review of Alias Grace!
Grace Marks has been imprisoned since she was 16 years old for the murders of Mr Kinnear and his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery along with the fellow servant James McDermott, who was hanged. A select group of gentlemen and ladies who are convinced that Grace is innocent try to acquit even after an almost a decade has passed since her imprisonment.
They request Dr Simon Jordon, a doctor of the mind, to interview her and build a report to support their cause. Dr Jordon is fascinated by Grace and is more interested in understanding the levels of her sanity than worry if she is guilty. Thus Grace starts recounting her tale from her impoverished childhood in the Northern Ireland to her incarceration.
Born in a family that had too many mouths to feed, Grace was the one to look after her surviving siblings. They sail to Canada when their father becomes a person of suspicion in a local arson and a related murder. Her mother passes away during the journey and their father’s ways soon make her the only working member of the family.
Grace joins Mrs Parkinson’s household as a help where she meets Mary Whitney, who becomes her trusted friend. Mary’s death in ‘abrupt circumstances’ causes Grace to search work in other places and finally she ends up at the Richmond Hall. Within a few weeks, her life is turned upside down and she is sent to the asylum and later the penitentiary on being convicted for the murders.
Dr Jordon is baffled without being able to tell whether Grace is as innocent as she tells him or he is being played. He also struggles through his own battles trying to ward off his desire for his landlady and his mother’s pressure to settle down soon.
How far will he go to find the truth, especially when the truth is too close to home and he is facing the same dilemma himself? How does his scientific mind fare against her faith laden beliefs? Is he a worthy opponent for Grace at all? You will have to read Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood yourself.
Book review of Alias Grace
Atwood’s writing is as expected hard to get into but once you do that, time will fly while you read through those 450+ pages. Much like the Handmaid’s Tale, Alias Grace speaks much about the gender and the class discrimination. I was hooked to reading about symbolism on the quilt pattern that I had to Google more about them.
I loved the story of Dr Jordon interwove with that of Grace’s personal story without pacing it down. His relationship with the landlady, how he succumbed to it after much resistance and then his dreams about him murdering the estranged landlord showed how much common he had with Grace than he realized.
Alias Grace is dark and melancholic and yet Atwood’s fictionalized version remained true to the facts, as per her afterword where she discusses the known facts of the case. My stance on whether Grace was guilty, or not, changed every time a new part of the puzzle was revealed
Only a seasoned writer can have that ability to make the reader do that even when they know how it was gonna end (thanks to the reviews I had read earlier).
Bottom – line
I can’t now wait to see the Netflix adaptation of the Alias Grace and hopefully I will feel as great as I do after reading the book. If you like true fiction and/or the Handmaid’s Tale you need to read this without fail. I loved it.
Have you read Alias Grace or any of Atwood’s other books? Do you like the book to TV/movie adaptations and have any of them lived up to the book? Let us chat.
