The Mouse and the Books

I saw an excellent short story on Mr. Coelho's Blog today, so I thought I post it on my blog.

The Mouse and the Books

Published by Paulo Coelho on May 27, 2009 in Stories.
Url: http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2009/05/27/the-mouse-and-the-books/

When I was interned in Dr. Eiras Hospital, I began to have panic crises. One day, I decided to consult the psychiatrist in charge of my case:

“Doctor, I am overcome by fear; it takes from me the joy of living”.

“Here in my office there is a mouse that eats my books”, said the doctor. “If I get desperate about this mouse, he will hide from me and I will do nothing else in life but hunt him. Therefore, I put the most important books in a safe place and let him gnaw some others.

“In this way, he is still a mouse and does not become a monster. Be afraid of some things and concentrate all your fear on them – so that you have courage in the rest.”

Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom

Hmm...I don't know what to say about this book. I was disappointed. There was so much hype about this book, but looks like I missed something. I deeply enjoyed For One More Day, but to me Five People was lacking a good story/plot.

I understood the message Mr. Mitch was trying to convey. Every person that you cross paths with is important. They do affect your life in one way or the other. That was always one of the questions I wondered all the time. If I did not meet certain people, how my life would be. Anyways, getting back to the book. The book did leave me wondering about my life, but on more technical level, it did not appeal to me as much. My expectations were high based on all the reviews I read online. I would still recommend it but with an indifferent tone.

I would give this book 7 out of 10. I will watch the movie soon.

Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

The movie Namesake was released three years ago (2006). It was an excellent movie and is one of my favorites. Ever since I watched the movie, I wanted to read the book. I finally got a chance to listen to the book, and I must say that Jhumpa Lahiri has written a beautiful novel once again.

The novel Namesake is about a Bengali family settling in USA, and how there is cultural and communication gap between the parents and the kids. Parents love their homeland country, India, and do not understand the customs of USA. On the other hand, the kids feel more connected to their birth country, USA and do not understand the importance of India and its traditions and customs; thus, causing a rift between the family members. The family is together, but the desire to be separate has become part of kids. One thing that brings them closer is the passing of the father, which was shocking. I did know about it in advance due to the movie, but I was equally shocked and sad.

The novel is about inner struggle of the character Nikhil/Gogol due to his name. He feels that he does not belong. I felt he blames his parents for this struggle, because he never understood the importance of the writer Gogol in his parents' lives. He changes his name to Nikhil but for his parents, he is always Gogol. However, as he gets more and more involved in his life, the name Gogol is left behind. He is again in struggle as he likes his new name but he wants to hear his original name again too.

I would give this book 8 out of 10 and look forward to reading this book again sometime in future.

For One More Day: Book Review

This was one of the most beautiful stories I have read in my entire life. I listened to the story during my commute to work. I finished the book this morning, and I wanted to turn around, go home, and hug my mom. I think after reading For One More Dayby Albom Mitch, I appreciate and respect my parents a lot more.

I think everyone has those moments in their lives when they think that their mom nags too much or is controlling. This book shines a light on what is behind those nags. I think everyone should give this book a chance, especially today's teenagers. I know I am going to make my brother read this book, and maybe after that, he will appreciate my mom and her cooking a lot more. JK :)

You know what they say, "You never truly appreciate someone until they are gone." Just a word of advice: You will cry while reading this, so make sure you have a box of Kleenex by your side.

The Sweet Far Thing: Book Review

I listened to the book on CD, and it was 20 hours long. I noticed some people complain how it was 800+ pages to read. I totally agree with them. It was too darn long. I felt that Libba Bray was valuing quantity over quality. I felt that this was the worst book in the series. All the events that happened in the first two novels were repeated with details in this novel, which was very annoying.

There was no character development. Their stories were same old. Ann is the depressing one. Felicity was intolerable. Pippa was the predictable one and Gemma was brainless. Along with that, they are all very childish and selfish. Every single decision Gemma took was wrong. The friendship was filled with backstabbing and treachery. The end is the only time when you can truly call their relationship friendship. The only character that seems to make sense was Kartik. I loved his character, but the ending ruined it all.

The ending was much unexpected, but did not make any sense just like rest of the novel. The plot did not make sense. Overall, I was disappointed. I think the author could have done so much more with the last book in the series. To me, this book was a disappointment in comparison to the first two novels.

Beware of the Birth of May...

The title of the blog comes from the novel, The Sweet Far Thing. Since my last post, I have read/listened to five books. So that tells me that it takes about 2 months to finish five books, granted that the last book was only 3.5 hours long.

Besides books, a lot has happened in past 2 months. I got Lasik done, so no more glasses/contacts. Yay!!! The experience was interesting. There was fear but it was overcome by desire of clear vision. Now my vision is better than 20/20. So now when I wake up, I see everything clearly. No more squinting to see the time. :-P But even though my glasses are gone, I am still a nerd at heart.

Then it was my best friend's birthday so had a surprise party. That was too much fun. I am still waiting on pictures.

I had my first CPA exam. That experience was scary. I am not so sure what will happen but I have my fingers crossed. I am hoping and praying that I pass. I don't want to look at that stuff again. I started studying for the second exam, but that is not going so good. I have 2 months to be prepared.

Last but not the least, March for Dimes happened. I collected $100 and walked 5 miles. I think it is an awesome cause, as these babies will be our future. I also got a cute teddy bear. :-)

I made up for a month and a half of disappearance from Blogger, and wrote three blogs today. Lol.