A Three Dog Life : A Memoir by Abigail Thomas

So I was getting the Nora Ephron book from the non-fiction section when this book showed up right next to it. It is easy to assume that it is a generic dog book based on the front cover and the title but it is one of the most heartfelt memoirs I have read in recent times.The prose is honest, simple and down to earth and rather elegant.

"Australian Aborigines slept with their dogs on cold nights, the coldest being a three dog night". These lines in the preface made me curious to know more. A most beautiful memoir. I couldn't put it down even among the chaos of our kitchen remodeling! Interestingly enough a certain warm cozy feeling lingered with me even after I had finished. The author claims she dropped out of the first year of college and never thought she could read a book much less write one! She started writing seriously only after her husband got into an accident. The book is about all that happened in their lives afterwards. A superb and well grounded book rooted very much in the realities of everyday life. Yes, it is all sort of tragic but you will find the underlying warmth of this excellently written book quite inviting. Because it resonates so strongly with our thoughts I bet this book will continue to haul in readers for a long time to come.

The Snow Child By Eowyn Ivey

Just finished reading this magical book . More than two thirds of the book is pure unadulterated writing at its best. Felt like a combination of Pearl S Buck (Good Earth, to be specific) and  Hemingway (for the non-flowery but engaging style of writing) of all people! I can assure you with confidence that it will be difficult for you to put it down once you start. There is no starting trouble for this one. You are in from page one! Then, depending on what held your interest, you might feel a let down towards the end. As if the book's end compromised on the enormous promise it held at the beginning. Not a show stopper though.This is Eowyn Ivey's first book but the writing feels more like pure gold formed over burning hot coal. The book is populated by catchy stories and evolving characters, not to mention pure magic threaded through the story fabric. I love this book. I do. Ivey has a master hand in what she does which is obvious from early on. Magical realism has never been so real for me. Story revolves around Mabel and Jack moving up to remote Alaska to farm virgin land and the mystery child who enters their lives as if through a snow fall. Let me just quote a few lines here for the yet hesitant: "She could not fathom the hexagonal miracle of snowflakes formed from clouds, crystallized fern and feather that tumble down to light on a coat sleeve, white stars melting even as they strike. How did such force and beauty come to be in something so small and fleeting and unknowable?" I have only advise for you now. Please do not skip lines. Each line is imbibed with a beauty that should be devoured slowly. I have splattered superlatives all over this post which is not at all how Ivey handles her prose. In her hands words are like pliable mud formed so dexterously into what she wants. Ok, I'll stop babbling but I hope you got the point. And remember not to be too disappointed at the end. It is still enjoyable, just not as much as the majority of it. That is all.

On other news, see what my girl got on her hands with the henna kit we got from amazon? She saw it on a friend's hands who had gone to India, waited for summer to come since school won't allow it, reminded me promptly and went for it. It was fun. Took me back some days...

We then topped it off with a strawberry pattern on the nails that I had seen somewhere! My little customer was as happy as a butterfly!

Hemingway's Boat

I wasn't always a great fan of Ernest Miller Hemingway despite the Nobel Prize win. Had read some of his books long time back and it was not as satisfying as I had thought.  'Farewell To Arms' notwithstanding. Yet, the man is well respected and much loved by Americans as one of the great writers this country produced besides Faulkner, Fitzgerald and the likes. I had bought two of his books to own too. So it was that I re-read 'The Old Man And The Sea' on a recent whim. Now I am not sure why I didn't like it before. It is a good read except for a few pages that are like the last chapter of Hesse's Siddhartha albeit in the form of the interminable wait in the sea with one man and the one fish he wants to catch:-) Maybe I missed the warm relationship between the boy and the old man earlier because that is what anchored me this time. I was still in the throes of catching that Marlin when I saw this biography of Hemingway written by Paul Hendrickson in the library. It came home with me and took much longer than expected to finish. But let me tell you, you need to read this book if you have any liking for Hemingway and would like to know the man behind the author. Hendrickson, an accomplished writer in his own right has done a well researched and in-depth portrayal of Hemingway. He is not just that man with the long white beard and the benign smile anymore for me. Ernest H had a very interesting and tormented life. He tried to enjoy life to the fullest until he took it away himself one day in 1961 at the age of 61. Apparently he was following a family trait in this matter. He had a strong personality that was difficult to ignore and was a contemporary of many other great writers with whom he was well acquainted.

What Hendrickson tries to do is to divide Hemingway's' life into two parts. He postulates and lays out valid points to show that the author's style of writing changed after he bought his boat 'Pilar'. With this well equipped boat Hemingway spent more and more time in 'the Stream' (so named lovingly by Hemingway for the stretch of ocean between Key West, Florida and Cuba). He was indeed a great Marlin fisherman too! Hendrickson's success in this particular biography about this much written and researched author is the way Ernest was personalized for the reader. It looks like he checked out every link and any person who could give us a clue into this complex man's life. Kept me interested despite the daunting size. Do read it if you ever get hit by an urge to know more about Hemingway, aka 'Papa'. This is the book you need. It will show you the man and how his non-flowery, curt and to-the-point style of writing captured the imagination of readers everywhere, along with his life on 'the boat' that was the one constant in his life, more than can be claimed by any one person.

Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn

It is a lovely Saturday morning here at Vaayanasaala. My boy and H are asleep and my girl who wakes up and watches the flowers and birds with Mommy is at a friend's place for a sleepover.

Just finished reading this lovely book by Colm Tóibín over my morning coffee. Only one word to describe this book. It is such treat! It is all about an Irish girl named Eilis who travels to America in the 50's to find a job and be independent. It was not her choice but that is what life threw at her and she adapted very well to it. I am very much in awe of how well Tóibín is able to portray this girl, her actions and thoughts. Guess that is what makes one an accomplished author. Unlimited by one's own gender and write with such assurance and control about any character that comes to you. He will be one of my authors of choice where I am sure not to be disappointed. An engaging and light read with lots of substance to tingle 'the little gray cells' as M. Poirot would say. The Master apparently is his more acclaimed book. If Brooklyn is this good, it goes without saying that The Master is next in my reading list and I assume you are writing down the names of these two books for yours as well:-)

The Two Books

Remember the two books on the top of the pile from my previous post? I managed to finish them both though I had to let go of the others. I do have another stash piling up which is hopeful or hopeless as the case maybe. We had lots of visitors last weekend for my girl's First Communion which went well and it was great to have my brother, his wife, HAunt, HUncle and Hcousins all together. Lots of cooking went on and hopefully filled at least some tummies. Kids are ecstatic when people mill about the house. It is a fun feeling especially when in short supply.  Having work stress abated momentarily helped a lot too.

Chronicles In Stone By Ismail Kadare
If you have lived in the green state of Kerala during the monsoons over many years the first chapter of Ismail Kadare's much revised book will seep into you like rainwater and cool you down. Such beautiful and native is his description of the rain that the first chapter alone is enough to read if you don't have time to read the rest of it. I am serious. It is a total experience just on that first chapter. Given that he did many revisions to the book, added chapters, changed stuff etc, after it was published this is not surprising. It gives us a glimpse into a small little town of strategic importance during World War II called Gjirokastër in Albania . Its day to day life comes alive in Kadare's hands with familiar and real small town characters. The Man Booker Prize win and multiple Nobel Prize nominations are quite justified here. Everyday life in the town is the storyline and Kadare manages to make it so interesting! The book was originally translated by Arshi Pipa and there's been some controversies in that regard. Political connotations aside this is a good read.

Q By Evan Mandery

Yup, that is the actual name of the book. The alphabet Q! It really stands for the love of the narrator's life, Quentina Elizabeth Deveril. I sure had to know what it was all about. Very interesting love story where the narrator explains how he didn't marry the love of his life because of an advise from his own future self ! Sounds like science fiction? I agree, but my reservations were blown out the door because of Mandery's straight faced way of telling the events which included frequent time travel. To read is to believe. So go for it and have fun!

Pearl Verses The World by Sally Murphy

This is all about the beautiful book for children that I got from the Library to read to my girl. Yes, I still read to her although she is a pretty good reader because, well ... because we love it. It is our cuddle time.

Then why do I show all these books in the picture here? It is a sad story. I had all these fun books from the Library in high hopes of finishing them fast. I always get tempted and get more books each time I take my kids when I still haven't finished the first set! Usually I get to them fairly soon but this time it was just too much rock for this poor dragon fly:-) Yes, I like dragon flies! It is a childhood thing. I'll finish the 2 books on top before the due date. I hope.

Our book  today is a beautiful narration in poetry written by Australian Sally Murphy. It is really an everybody's kind of book. Pearl worries about writing the rhyming poem requested by her teacher since her poems never seem to rhyme naturally. She is also suffering the slow loss of her Grandmother. Beautiful, beautiful book It has a single theme written not in rhyming verses but to rhyme with your heart. (Pearl Verses the World. Get it? Verses.) Murphy seems to have gotten the gist of the matter out very well  in her simple yet endearing verse novel. Do read it with your kids and if they don't want to, then read it for yourself. It is a treat.

A Tag from Soul Speaks and Some Random Stuff

 If the name Udacity does not ring a bell, we can try Stanford and go from there. I have never doubted the awesomeness of Stanford University (Ivy League of the US West) except for the equally awesome tuition fee. Now that I am getting a chance to enjoy a little of that awesomeness for free it is all good from here. When I heard about this free online University on NPR which goes by the name 'Udacity' I took a quick shine to it. I evangelized it to anyone willing to listen. Then it occurred to me that I should put my money (time in my case) where my mouth is and so here I am being a student at my own leisure in a wonderful learning environment of top notch quality. I know that my takeaway from an experience can be quite different from someone else's from the same set of events but still think this is a unique event for anyone to take part in.

Apparently Sebastian Thrun who is a Stanford educator as well as a Google executive loved the overwhelming worldwide response to a free online computer course he offered through Stanford. So he decided to spin the idea into a start up with the help of like minded world class educators. He has made it a reality and the teaching method from these stalwarts are so basic, down to earth and top notch that only a fool will ignore them. Despite the simple nature of the lessons, it is not easy to get back into being a student even when grading is pretty benevolent and there are no risks involved. The whole thing is free. Remember? I am on unit 5 of this elementary first course and I have to say I enjoy it much in the little time I have for it after dispatching kid activities, work and home duties. It reminds me why I loved being a student and makes me want to go and live in a University campus forever. Udacity is offering many free courses and you don't really need any programming experience to join up for this course although I found that having a decent smattering of programming background helped me to go on with the class without giving up as a first step. If you'd like to bring out that student in you or if you are just looking for something simple to play with, this will fit right in. There is only one thing to watch out for. It can become addictive and like all those books waiting to be read, it could mark the start of another craving to take all those courses offered for free by this quality team.

I will understand if by now you want to throw in your towel and say "I don't know what she is talking about...". Before that happens, let us move onto more immediate things like the tag from soul speaks that I should have done earlier.. Thanks soul speaks, who speaks beautifully from the soul in her blog.

The Tag
=======
1. You must post the rules.

2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post & then create 11 new questions
   to ask the people you’ve tagged.

3. Tag 11 people and link to them on your post.

4. Let them know you’ve tagged them!

So here are the 11 questions that soul speaks has tagged me with

1.) If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
    for everyone in the world to have the exact amount of love, power and money they need
    and not a penny more or less.

2.) What was your favorite childhood television program?
    can i simply say doordarshan? :-)

3.) Have / had any celebrity crushes ?
    most recently? arjun rampal!! i think the face is rather intelligent despite the looker label.

4.) If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?

    i just read about the Akshardham in delhi.
    embarassed to say i didn't know of its existence before and would like to visit. pictures look awesome!


5.) Name 1 thing you miss about being a child.

    asking mom "what's for dinner?" with the knowledge that something made of
    farm fresh ingredients will be ready for me instead of being on the other end
    with a bunch of mostly processed food to offer.

6.) Name the one comic/book character that you loved the most and why?

    mandrake for his magical powers and diana palmer walker (mrs. phantom for the uninitiated) for her     courage and beauty.

7.) What is the one thing that you are dying to try but haven’t had a chance to do so yet ?

    skydiving. the husband won't allow it. maybe when the kids r in college?


8.) Do you have a role model – someone you want to emulate? Whom do you admire the most?

    my maternal grandfather. one of a kind guy who i deem a classic. will be fine in any generation.


9.) What do others make of you?

    an enigma? just kidding but i liked how it sounded:-)


10.) Have you ever gotten into a fight or punched someone ?

     no. er.... maybe a little when the brothers egged on for a rare fight between me and my sweet sister?


11.) For Girls – If you woke up tomorrow to find out you are Brad Pitt, what would be
     the first thing you’d say upon looking in the mirror???

     how soon can i change back??????? nothing against the poor guy.
     i am happy being me warts and all..


Rules Check:
============
1. you know the rules as laid out at the top.
2. in the same lazy tradition of this tag, i am not changing the already great questions:-)
3. I tag anyone who spends their time reading my self serving posts in deep appreciation of the said act.
4. This post lets you know that you should take this up


Can't let it go without a book : Just read After The Prophet : The Epic Story Of The Shia-Sunny Split in Islam  by Leslie Hazleton. One of the many books on display in our Library. Since it was non-fiction I thought I may not last through it. But I underestimated Leslie Hazleton. Hazleton wrote the book in the same Arabic tradition of telling history through stories remembered without bending or limiting it. Just telling it like it is and traced back to an eyewitness account. Beautifully written and informative! She has given the most source credit to historian al-Tabari from the time of the fabled Caliph Harun-al-Rashid (i remember some comics featuring this Caliph and of course one thousand and one nights). Finished this gripping saga  in almost one sitting. I will be looking for other books by the same author. Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin Mary sounds promising for the next pick.