Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

 This is a book club read.

Not everyday you read a book, that is written in second person. Where the protagonist is you. Is the author inviting me to walk in the protagonist’s shoes? This is about love, identity and race. Its about being black in the current world. Its written beautifully, in a lyrical way. You can feel the pain. You can feel the struggle in the open water. Will you drown or swim?

There are plenty of references to books and music. Don’t think I have ever heard the music or read the authors. Search for a home, where you could live without fear. Where you could be you.

I finished it in one sitting in a few hours. It is not an easy read. Heavy themes. Think it will take time to digest and plenty to chew on. 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis

 #6 of 54 BBC Big Read

This is the second book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. Why is this book so popular? Why not the first one or any from rest of the series. Have a feeling that is probably recommended reading for school kids or something they read in school. Stranger is His Dark Materials Trilogy is book 3 in the list and only one book from Chronicles of Narnia. My initial thoughts on starting the book.

Susan, Peter, Lucy and Edmund are sent off to live in the countryside as War is raging. They explore the big house and find a wardrobe that takes them to land of talking Beavers and White witch and the Lion.

This was a small book and I finished it in a couple of hours. There was a nice little twist. Its been a while since I saw the movie, so I didn’t remember the twist. I didn’t read the first one, but didn’t feel like I was missing something. While this a part of the series, I did feel that it can be read as a standalone, maybe that’s why it is in the list.

But after reading this, I do feel like I need a break from talking animals. I have been reading Watership Down and started Magic Faraway Tree which I am going to put on hold and move on to something serious. Maybe it is time to tackle ‘War and Peace’?!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling

 #5 of 54 BBC Big Read

I started my journey in Harry Potter series with Prisoner of Azkaban. By then I have already seen the first two movies and I know the story so didn’t feel the need to read the first two. Prisoner of Azkaban by far is my favourite in the series.

So this the first book, setting the scene, introducing the characters and hook for the rest of the series. So if you read the first book you didn’t like it, it is not likely you would read all others. I finished the book in a few hours. It was engrossing and interesting. The actions moves fast. You meet the characters and you know about them.

If Harry wanted, he could have been friends with the Rich and snobby Darco. So he ended up his enemy as he stood for his new friend Ron. Its also interesting how Ron and Harry are irritated with the Rule following Hermoine. And finally how they become friends. There is always something more the books give than the movie, mostly. 

I would be reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets soon. But not too soon. I do need a break from talking animals. Toad, Mole, Badger, Rat and Beaver and Lion and a whole bunch of rabbits.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

#4 of 54

Not really sure what to make of it. Would I have enjoyed it more if I read it as a kid? But I did read much of Children's book as a grown up. I was busy reading Dickens, George Eliot, RLS and Walter Scott as a kid. 

I did enjoy Winnie the Pooh which I read last year, and Alice in Wonderland a few years before. 

Rat, Mole, Toad and Badger. A motor-car obssessed Toad living in Toad Hall. Nice little story. Rat takes in Mole and introduces his friends to Mole. Badger is elusive. But finally Mole meets Badger and they become friends. Toad dressed up as washerwoman and breaking from Prison is funny. Dont think a few months down the lane I would remember anything from this. Maybe I will. 

The Code of the Woosters by PG Wodehouse

 I don’t really like to reread books. There is so much out there I haven’t explored. So don’t want to read a book how much ever I enjoyed book. But some are comfort reads. I know I will enjoy and it has been really a while since I’ve read PGW. 

Don't remember much of the story, so it was like reading it anew. But there were quite a few moments when I knew what was going to happen. Its a chaos, glorious mess. Laugh riot. Absurd. Rich people who got nothing to think of but cow-creamers. Bertie gets into trouble again and again and Jeeves is there to save him always. Many comedy films and scenes are clearly inspired by PGW.

Why is this book not in the BBC Big Read? Why!

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

This is an old post from 2016 in the draft stage. Don’t remember reading this book or anything about it. But it is essential to blog as I don’t want to read it again accidentally. Like how I read Great Gatsby twice and still don’t remember anything about it.

Its been a while since I blogged. I hadn't been reading as much as I used to read before.  I have joined two book groups to get back to my reading and also to diversify my reading. For the past decade or so I had been reading crime fiction exclusively with a few exceptions here and there. Now it seems just right to explore farther off to fields unknown.

As I started reading Bel Canto, I couldnt help feeling that this is some sort of joke. The book starts with a siege- terrorists have sieged the house of Vice-president of a unnamed third world nation who is hosting the birthday party of Mr. Hosokawa, founder and chairman of the largest electronics corporation in Japan, in the hope of future investments in the nation. There is no fear or tension about the situation. The President of the nation does not come to the party because he does not want to miss an episode of his favourite soap opera. Terrorists at one point say something like don't kill her accidentally. While we hear a few times that the hostages fear for their life, there is something comical about the whole seige. 

Double Act and Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson

 #2& #3 of 54. Looks like lots of little girls participated in this Big Read Survey. There are 4 books by Jacqueline Wilson in the list. I have finished 3. Easy reads I read them in less than couple of hours. Enjoyed them a lot. Maybe if I had them read as a kid, this would have been my next Enid Blyton. Lots of references to my favourite books in both the books. If all books in the Big read were  like this, I would finish this list in less than 54 days. 

Double Act is the story of Twins Ruby and Garnet. They live with their Dad & Grandmother. Ruby is naughty, chatty and the dominant one. Garnet is the shy and sensitive one. But they are always together in mischief. A new character enters their life with it some big change. They move to the countryside a bit like Railway Children. Ruby wants to act in Twins at st.Clare, she wants to go to boarding school. So what happens. 

Story of Tracy Beaker- I have seen the series on TV. So it was the actress I was seeing in my mind when I was reading the book. Tracy is in a children’s home. She wants someone to foster her. But she is quite a bit of trouble. She meets Cam, an author. Does Tracy finally gets the family she wants?

Girls in love by Jacqueline Wilson

This is #1 of 54 in my BBC Big Read reading list. Reason I chose to read this is obvious. Should be an easy read that I can finish in one sitting. I did finish it in one sitting. I haven’t read any Jacqueline Wilson before. But I have seen the Dumping Ground and Tracy Beaker. Liked them both.

This is the story of 3 girls in year nine. Nadine and Magda both have boyfriends. Ellie is desperate for one too. She creates a fictional boyfriend based on a boy she met in her holidays and another she sees on the way to school. 

Things turn nasty for a bit for one of the girls before they turn normal again. Its about growing up and making good choices. Reminded me bit of Anne of Green Gables, especially Dan bit. Nice breezy read, with a hidden warning. 

BBC Big Read

Planning to read through the list. If the question is why? Answer is I think I may have read already more than half so think it is an achievable target. Ok not more than half. Just nearly half at 46 now.I love my list. Could be any list. Why not this one? Not sure about Stephen King, Salman Rushdie and Ulyssess. Hopefully Lolita is not on the list. I am not going to read that one. Regarding horror, magical realsim and stream of consiousness, We will think of that when we get there. Lots of childrens books on the way that I hadnt read, so think I can do this by end of 2023? 8 months 54, can be done. 

 1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien - Read 

2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen- Read 

3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman -(3/3) Read

4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams - Read

5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling- Read 

6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee- Read 

7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne- Read 

8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell- Read 

9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis - Read

10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë- Read 

11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller- Read 

12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë- Read 

13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks - Read

14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier- Read 

15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger- Read 

16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame - Read

17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens- Read 

18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott- Read 

19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres -To Read

20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy- To Read

21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell- Read 

22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling - Read

23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling - Read

24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling- Read 

25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien- Read 

26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy- Read 

27. Middlemarch, George Eliot- Read 

28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving -To Read

29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck -To Read

30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll- Read 

31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson - Read

32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez- Read 

33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett -To Read

34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens- Read 

35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl - Read

36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson- Read 

37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute - Read

38. Persuasion, Jane Austen- Read 

39. Dune, Frank Herbert -To Read

40. Emma, Jane Austen- Read 

41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery- Read 

42. Watership Down, Richard Adams -To Read

43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald- Read

 44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas -To Read

45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh -To Read

46. Animal Farm, George Orwell- Read 

47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens- Read 

48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy - Read

49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian - Read

50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher -Read

 51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett- Read 

52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck- Read 

53. The Stand, Stephen King -Read

54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy- Read 

55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth- Read 

56. The BFG, Roald Dahl -To Read

57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome -To Read

58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell- Read 

59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer -Read

60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky- Read 

61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman  - Read

62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden- Read 

63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens- Read 

64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough- Read 

65. Mort, Terry Pratchett -To Read

66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton -Read

67. The Magus, John Fowles -To Read

68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman -To Read

69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett -To Read

70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding- Read 

71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind -To Read

72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell -To Read

73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett -To Read

74. Matilda, Roald Dahl- Read 

75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding- Read 

76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt -To Read

77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins- Read 

78. Ulysses, James Joyce -To Read

79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens -To Read

80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson - Read

81. The Twits, Roald Dahl - Read

82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith - Read

83. Holes, Louis Sachar -Read

84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake -To Read

85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy- Read 

86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson - Read

87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley- Read 

88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons -Read

89. Magician, Raymond E Feist -To Read

90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac -To Read

91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo -To Read

92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel -To Read

93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett -To Read

94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho- Read 

95. Katherine, Anya Seton -Read

96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer- Read 

97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez- Read 

98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson - Read

99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot - Read

100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie - Read

Love after Love by Ingrid Presaud

Another book club read. Am I just reading book club reads now. Partially true, I have also read 'Look both ways' by Linwood Barclay, 90% of Noise downstairs by Linwood Barclay. Re-reading Code of Woosters by PGW, Long Call by Anne Cleeves. But ya mostly book club reads. Any book that makes yoy think is a good book, isnt it. This did make me think, not just on the heavy themes that were presented lightly (domestic violence, self-harm, homophobia) but also on reading choices. Have I ever read a book based in Trinidad? Does Carribean Mystery count? Dont think so. I have read Small Island thats based partly in Jamaica mostly about Post-war world in Uk. Not based in Carribean, but I have also read Love in time of Cholera, One hundred years of Solitude. But majority of reads are based in Uk and US. Maybe next Europe. Asia would come next. Africa would be Wilbur Smith and other mysteries I have read. Australia ? Few more mysteries I would say. But there is this wide world uncharted. Coming back to the heavy themes, domestic violence, why does no one try to help Betty. Sunil's family normalise it. They knew this was happening but instead of trying to get her out of the situation, they blame her. But why didnt Betty's family help her. She didnt plan it, but she did kill him. Was there an ivestigation? What happened? Did they all know and feel that it was justified? Heart-breaking is how Solo, just cuts ties with Betty. Murder cannot be forgiven, especially one's own father, more so when the murderer is the mother. But it was always Betty and Solo. Why did Solo never stop to ask his mammy why? Solo, all alone in a big city, resorting to cutting himself. He finds a father figure, who helps him in many ways. But essentially, he is all alone with anger, bitterness. Mr.Chetan, in this age and time, not being able to be yourself. Always afraid that you could be attacked for who you are. I was shocked at the ending. But I think that was the only way for Solo to be back home. But is that it? It took sometime to get used to the tone of the book and how they talk. People sticking on to their culture and tradition 5 generations after they left the homeland. Trying to preserve it by the names of their kids and food they eat. By customs and rituals of marriage and ceremonies in temples. Most of the mens names are Indian, Chetan, Dev, Sunil, Hari but all the ladies name are English Betty, Sherry, Gloria, Deedee. But the younger generation kids names are English too, Solo, Ian, forgot his cousins name. Love and family doesnt necessarily needs to mean it has to be traditional. Chetan, Betty and Solo are a family.

Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada

Again a book club read. I am not one to pick up a book with Berlin in title. I didnt read any reviews, didnt read the summary or blurb. Just went in blindly. I was expecting it to be the story of the Frau Rosenthal and how she survives the holocaust staying alone in her apartment. Something on the lines of Anne Frank. But in the very next chapter, she is dead. So at that point wasnt sure where this was going. We have two 'good for nothing' characters Eno Fluge and Brokenhaus, who seem to occupy many many pages of this story. An old German couple, angry with the Nazis start writing postcards as a form of protest and leaving them in different locations. Did these postcards cause a silent revolution, was there a civil disobedience movement because of this? Or is this a cat and mouse thriller. Noose closing in on the old couple. Its not both. Its about futility of protest in a totilatarian regime. Still protesting because as a decent human, you cant live with it. The torture at the end is a bit of torture, it seemed to go on and on. I didnt realise untill the very end this book was written right after the second World War. It did read quite modern to me, something like a period drama written in recent times looking at the life in Berlin during Nazi regime. Also, it seemed like a very tiny world. Like Eno getting arrested or how Brokenhaus' son gets adopted. Too many coincidences