Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Oh, well... I picked this up now only to strike off a reading challenge prompt from the list.
Ms Ice Sandwich is a novella written in semi stream of consciousness narrative of a nameless young boy. It deals with his infatuation with the lady who serves sandwiches at the supermarket. Mainly, it's her huge eyes and the electric blue eyeshadow that grabs his attention.
The story shows his life with his widowed mother who's always busy, his bed-ridden grandma, and his life at school. His friendship with Tutti is another part of the story.
The story is a chapter in the boy's life, and that's about it.
Nothing really stands out except for loneliness. It has been shown in different ways, so yeah, the book was worth reading.
Don't look for answers to all questions. Things are rather vague.
Ms Ice Sandwich is a novella written in semi stream of consciousness narrative of a nameless young boy. It deals with his infatuation with the lady who serves sandwiches at the supermarket. Mainly, it's her huge eyes and the electric blue eyeshadow that grabs his attention.
The story shows his life with his widowed mother who's always busy, his bed-ridden grandma, and his life at school. His friendship with Tutti is another part of the story.
The story is a chapter in the boy's life, and that's about it.
Nothing really stands out except for loneliness. It has been shown in different ways, so yeah, the book was worth reading.
Don't look for answers to all questions. Things are rather vague.
3 stars
The book started with a bang (even if the first line in the prologue had an adverb) and proceeded well until about 50%. Then it became a regular Bollywoodish or rather a Tollywoodish story with all elements that would cater to the emotional audience. A rebellious sister who turns from a village belle to a city girl in a few pages; a scandal that threatens everything the heroine worked hard for; hardships, insults, and hopelessness; internal conflict and indecisiveness; an opportunity to escape and start fresh; issues that get sorted without much effort; and finally a neatly tied hopeful ending that gives scope to continue with book 2.
The narration is easy to follow, so that was a plus. The imagery is great, especially the descriptions of the setting and henna designs.
However, the characters had much to be explored. They ended up quite shallow and seemed to be acting as per a list of traits. The sister, Radha, reminded me of a character (a namesake) from a Hindi daily soap, Saath Nibhana Saathiya.
Overall, it was an easy read but not something that'll stay with me.
The book started with a bang (even if the first line in the prologue had an adverb) and proceeded well until about 50%. Then it became a regular Bollywoodish or rather a Tollywoodish story with all elements that would cater to the emotional audience. A rebellious sister who turns from a village belle to a city girl in a few pages; a scandal that threatens everything the heroine worked hard for; hardships, insults, and hopelessness; internal conflict and indecisiveness; an opportunity to escape and start fresh; issues that get sorted without much effort; and finally a neatly tied hopeful ending that gives scope to continue with book 2.
The narration is easy to follow, so that was a plus. The imagery is great, especially the descriptions of the setting and henna designs.
However, the characters had much to be explored. They ended up quite shallow and seemed to be acting as per a list of traits. The sister, Radha, reminded me of a character (a namesake) from a Hindi daily soap, Saath Nibhana Saathiya.
Overall, it was an easy read but not something that'll stay with me.
3.3 Stars
Disclaimer: I am not the target audience for the book. I’ve read it because it was sent to me by the review club. I’ve never been a fan of self-help books, and my opinion remains unchanged.
12 Rules for Life offers just what it claims in the title and much more. The author is a professor of psychology and a clinical psychologist. He mentions how the idea of writing the book (by compiling his answers on Quora) came when a literary agent suggested it.
The book is more than 400 pages long with 200+ footnotes and not to mention a bundle of references at the end. The author deals with each rule in detail. There are frequent references to Bible, religion, and at times, other religions.
He also talks about animals, evolution, human nature (obviously!), and situations from his life. I liked the dry humor in bits and pieces, though the overall tone (that’s exclusive to self-help books) bored me quite a bit.
The rules I liked were the ones that deal with friends and kids. He uses his personal and professional experiences to explain, and that made them interesting. My personal opinions aside, I liked how he put across his ideas for these.
The other two that caught my attention were about listening being precise in speech (irony, I know), and not bothering kids when they are skateboarding.
To sum up, I enjoyed the book better than what I expected when I started it. The book did give me a few points to think about, so that’s something for sure. The rating went from 2 to 3.3 stars for the same reason.
People frowning and smirking at my review (rant) are likely to enjoy the book a lot more. Don’t listen to me to make your decision (as you would have already summarized). Go ahead and give it a shot. You might love it. Who knows!
I received a review copy from Indic Academy and Indic Book Club. This review is posted as a part of the Thousand Reviewers Club.
P.S: Can Penguin please use a larger print next time to save readers’ eyes?
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Disclaimer: I am not the target audience for the book. I’ve read it because it was sent to me by the review club. I’ve never been a fan of self-help books, and my opinion remains unchanged.
12 Rules for Life offers just what it claims in the title and much more. The author is a professor of psychology and a clinical psychologist. He mentions how the idea of writing the book (by compiling his answers on Quora) came when a literary agent suggested it.
The book is more than 400 pages long with 200+ footnotes and not to mention a bundle of references at the end. The author deals with each rule in detail. There are frequent references to Bible, religion, and at times, other religions.
He also talks about animals, evolution, human nature (obviously!), and situations from his life. I liked the dry humor in bits and pieces, though the overall tone (that’s exclusive to self-help books) bored me quite a bit.
The rules I liked were the ones that deal with friends and kids. He uses his personal and professional experiences to explain, and that made them interesting. My personal opinions aside, I liked how he put across his ideas for these.
The other two that caught my attention were about listening being precise in speech (irony, I know), and not bothering kids when they are skateboarding.
To sum up, I enjoyed the book better than what I expected when I started it. The book did give me a few points to think about, so that’s something for sure. The rating went from 2 to 3.3 stars for the same reason.
People frowning and smirking at my review (rant) are likely to enjoy the book a lot more. Don’t listen to me to make your decision (as you would have already summarized). Go ahead and give it a shot. You might love it. Who knows!
I received a review copy from Indic Academy and Indic Book Club. This review is posted as a part of the Thousand Reviewers Club.
P.S: Can Penguin please use a larger print next time to save readers’ eyes?
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This is such a cute, sweet, and funny little book. A perfect choice to feel better after a heartwrenching read. Took me 30 minutes tops to finish it.
To review or not to review?
Writing-wise it is raw, detached, dark, and drifts from one point to another.
Character-wise Esther is a paradox. She wants too many things and nothing. She is never fully herself but shows tendencies of being full of herself.
Story-wise I do not want to comment as it is termed semi-autobiographical.
Writing-wise it is raw, detached, dark, and drifts from one point to another.
Character-wise Esther is a paradox. She wants too many things and nothing. She is never fully herself but shows tendencies of being full of herself.
Story-wise I do not want to comment as it is termed semi-autobiographical.
This is my first book by the author, and I didn't know what to expect. The writing style is different and takes a while to get used to. It doesn't help that the narrator is a child for some chapters while the other parts are in the third person. Yet, as the story progresses, we see how it works so beautifully to give the readers the backstory of the characters in the book.
This helps us understand their actions (and we are free to like or dislike them). The underlying theme of the book is how the blacks were treated as second-class citizens or worse, and how white privilege was evident in every word and silence. The book also deals with human nature and how one's actions can ruin another's life forever.
Though there is a conclusion at the end, I felt the book was more of a slice of life story than a regular one.
This helps us understand their actions (and we are free to like or dislike them). The underlying theme of the book is how the blacks were treated as second-class citizens or worse, and how white privilege was evident in every word and silence. The book also deals with human nature and how one's actions can ruin another's life forever.
Though there is a conclusion at the end, I felt the book was more of a slice of life story than a regular one.
3.5 Stars
I've read a few books from the series and liked them enough. It took a few pages to get back on track, but soon I was reading and skimming through with practiced ease (the author spends way too much time on things that sometimes don't matter).
The plot is pretty much in her style, and it was a decent read that kept me engaged most of the time. The mystery is neither too complex nor straightforward. Thankfully, it doesn't have that 'twist' at the end.
Going back to familiar authors does give the breather one needs.
I've read a few books from the series and liked them enough. It took a few pages to get back on track, but soon I was reading and skimming through with practiced ease (the author spends way too much time on things that sometimes don't matter).
The plot is pretty much in her style, and it was a decent read that kept me engaged most of the time. The mystery is neither too complex nor straightforward. Thankfully, it doesn't have that 'twist' at the end.
Going back to familiar authors does give the breather one needs.