A Babbling Booktrovert

Book Title : The Hunger Games Trilogy                   The Hunger Games                   Catching Fire                   Mockingjay Author : Suzanne Collins Genre : Science Fiction ISBN :  9718184771695         9718184774009         9718184776218 Publisher : Scholastic Publication : 2008 - 2009 - 2010 Pages : 1163 Binding : Paperback Plot: The Hunger Games  trilogy takes place in an unspecified future time in a dystopian post-apocalyptic nation of Panem, in the ruins of North America.  The country consists of the wealthy Capitol located in the Rocky Mountains  and twelve (formerly thirteen) poorer districts ruled by the Capitol. The Capitol is lavishly rich and technologically advanced but the twelve districts are in varying states of poverty – the trilogy's narrator and protagonist,Katniss Everdeen  lives in District 12, the poorest region of Panem, formerly known as Appalachia , where people regularly die of starvation. As punishment for a past

This poem highlights the fact that whatever we do in our life time, we still come alone in this world and leave alone. No one accompanies us in either of these two situation, but human beings are still afraid of being alone... They forget, that they themselves are the only people who stay with themselves till the end and then afterwards and thus never enjoy the lone time they get... A baby born, Comes alone... Then why does he, For a company craves... So why does he, For some love craves...? Why does he wants, To be accepted... Why does he needs, To be wanted...? What does he need,  Friends for... What does he fear,  Making enemies for...? Why does he smile, When he finds someone... Why does he cry, On loss of someone...? Why does he have to, Feel lonely... Why, when no one's around Should he want some company...? For an old man dead, Dies all alone...!

Going through the posts on the facebook page of CAL, I stumbled upon this wonderful 7 minute microwave recipe for khandvi by Ms. Charu Bhargava. I decided to try it out, since it was the simplest recipe I could find on CAL page and least time consuming. How I thought I would surprise the husband, if the dish came out perfect. The joy, when husband came in, saw the dish and simply said, " arre waah, kahan se mangaya " and when I told him, I made it. But the joy was only short lived because when I asked the husband to taste it, he simply said, he didn't like the khandvi much. Well, I said, if you don't want it, its okay. I can have it all since I love khandvi; I picked up the plate and started eating it all on my own. And the husband gave me such a look and said, " zyada pasand nahi hai, lekin thodi to khaunga ". That certainly made my day. Since then, I have been wanting to give this plain and perfect recipe a twist of my own. And today, I finally found

Book Title : An Ember In The Ashes Author : Sabaa Tahir Genre : Young Adult Fantasy ISBN : 9780857502896 Publisher : Bantam Press Publication : 2015 Pages : 492 Binding : Paperback Plot : Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after.  What if you were the spark that could ignite a revolution? My Rating : ☆☆☆ Review : Truthfully, I couldn't decide, whether I liked the book or not - thus I decided to give an average rating to the book. What wasn't right with the story was: The character and world buildup was very poor The story was dragged in most places unnecessarily Furthermore, the narration seemed very disjointed - in the sense, there didn't seem like a logical end to one part/chapter before the next began; it took me first few chapters to realize what was happening Despite the flaws, the book was gripping and made you want to read fu

Book Title: The Architect's Apprentice Author: Elif Shafak Genre: Historical Fiction / Architectural Fiction ISBN Code: 9780241004920 Publisher : Viking (Penguin Books) Publication : 2014 Pages : 452 Binding : Paperback Plot : An epic tale spanning nearly a century in the life of the Ottoman Empire. In 1540, twelve-year-old Jahan arrives in Istanbul. As an animal tamer in the sultan’s menagerie, he looks after the exceptionally smart elephant Chota and befriends (and falls for) the sultan’s beautiful daughter, Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to Mimar Sinan, the empire’s chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct (with Chota’s help) some of the most magnificent buildings in history. Yet even as they build Sinan’s triumphant masterpieces—the incredible Suleymaniye and Selimiye mosques—dangerous undercurrents begin to emerge, with jealousy erupting among Sinan’s four apprentices. A memorable story of artistic freedom,

Book Title : Life and Death Author : Stephenie Meyer Genre : Young Adult (Supernatural Romance Fiction) ISBN : 9780349002484 Publisher : Atom Publication : 2015 Pages : 387 Binding : Hardbound Plot: When Beaufort Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edythe Cullen, his life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With her porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice and supernatural gifts, Edythe is both irresistible and enigmatic.  What Beau doesn't realize is that the closer he gets to her, the more he is putting himself and those around him at risk. And it might be too late to turn back... My Rating : ☆☆☆1/2 Review : So this book is a "bold and compelling reimagining of the iconic love story that will surprise and enthrall readers." Being a twihard fan (yeah actually in my case it's multiple fandom - but that's not the point here), I was looking forward to reading this edition of the much love

Okay, so breastfeeding isn't a taboo per se, but yes talking about it or worse doing it in public sure is... but why? The benefits of breastfeeding are known wide and far - then how come anything to do with it be a taboo? Recently, Facebook had been doing rounds of one Ms. Ashley Kaidel from Australia, who's proven to be one badass momma, feeding her baby in public and giving a bad stare off to someone who was contemptuously watching her feed. If you ask for my opinion (actually it's my blog, and I'm here to give my opinion whether you want one or not) - she is an awesome momma and I would totally do it myself faced with a situation where my son is refusing the bottle feed and needs to breastfeed to calm down and/or satiate his hunger. Actually let me share my version of the Ashley incident... I had gone with my husband to attend a farewell party. My son, aged 5 months, took his first feed there with a bottle. After that he refused to take the bottle f

Book Title : Make Me  Author : Lee Child Genre : Suspense Thriller  ISBN : 9780857502896 Publisher : Bantam Press Publication : 2015 Pages : 492 Binding : Paperback Plot : “Why is this town called Mother’s Rest?” That’s all Reacher wants to know. But no one will tell him. It’s a tiny place hidden in a thousand square miles of wheat fields, with a railroad stop, and sullen and watchful people, and a worried woman named Michelle Chang, who mistakes him for someone else: her missing partner in a private investigation she thinks must have started small and then turned lethal.  Reacher has no particular place to go, and all the time in the world to get there, and there’s something about Chang . . . so he teams up with her and starts to ask around. He thinks: How bad can this thing be? But before long he’s plunged into a desperate race through LA, Chicago, Phoenix, and San Francisco, and through the hidden parts of the internet, up against thugs and assassins e

In my quest to search and cook new things for hubby, I stumbled upon this wonderful group - Chef At Large (CAL). The wonderful people, cooking wonderful dishes inspired me to no end. I had bought a kg of baby potatoes to try my hand at 'dhaniye ke aloo', inspired by my mum in law and my bua saas. That my friends, was a failed first attempt. I will need to go back to those wonderful cooks to learn that recipe properly. So I had these left over baby potatoes and a husband who kept mentioning dum aloo and how he is going to cook the dish one of these days. Being inspired by the group, I fired up my laptop, searched the internet for a recipe, found one - altered and tweaked it a bit to my taste and voila - I had the perfect Kashmiri Dum Aloo! And the real happiness comes when after the first bite husband says - bahut badhiya... oh the joy that filled me! So here's my altered recipe... Difficulty Level : ☆ ☆ Time Required :            Preparation - 3

So this was a piece I was working on a long time ago... I showed it to the husband, he loved it and wanted more of it. I promise to continue abs finish this piece. So, it's our story that I was writing. He came up with a brilliant idea that since whatever I was writing was my perspective, he would write his own and then we could have a book from both ends - meeting up in the center. But then, of course, busy schedules catch up on you and things just remain in the pipeline... but I have decided to give it one more try - at least finishing up with my part of the book.  So, here goes... CHAPTER 1 ----- LOVE STORIES ---------------------------- This is my story - scratch that - this is my 'love' story. Every one has a love story - some start in school days and end when we change schools or we grow up and go to different colleges. While others start in college and see their end with college life. Sometimes, relationships end because of family pressure, society, r

Many people live with a mask on their faces, hiding their true faces from the world, for reasons known to them. This poem is about one such person... Who am I, Why am I, No one knows I will follow which road! An organ lying below my lung Makes direct contact with my tongue And holds me back From reading books of my life, lying on the rack. My heart is a well of secrets Keeping secrets there I don't regret; From what I feel To whom with I deal Is not known to a single soul Not even my dear mom! So much lying in that muscular space No one knows I'm running in which race, No one, mean No One Has ever guessed what I feel for anyone Even if they tried They never got the answer right, Though I've friends whom I trust I tell them many things, but not every crust! Some bitter experiences of the past Left me alone in a ground which was vast To collect all alone, my belongings And then I decided - never again will I b

Book Title : Rise of Kali (Ajaya II) Author : Anand Neelakantan  Genre : Mythological Fiction ISBN : 9789381576045 Publisher : Leadstart Publishing Pvt. Ltd.  Publication : 2015 Pages : 530 Binding : Paperback Plot : THE DARK AGE OF KALI IS RISING and every man and woman must choose between duty and conscience, honor and shame, life and death…  The Pandavas, banished to the forest following the disastrous games of dice, return to Hastinapura. Draupadi has vowed not to bind her hair till she washes it in the blood of the Kauravas. Karna must choose between loyalty and gratitude, friend and Guru. Aswathama undertakes a perilous mission to the mountains of Gandhara, in search of the Evil One. Kunti must decide between her firstborn and her other sons. Guru Drona has to stand with either his favorite disciple or his beloved son. Balarama, having failed to convince his brother about the adharma of violence, walks the streets of Bharatavarsha, spreading