Read along: Love in the Time of Cholera

There are books you want to read and acquire yourself and then there are those which someone suggests you read and hence you acquire it. The latter, in my case, mostly goes into my TBR pile (which is a sizable heap right now). So here I am, this Monday morning, pledging solemnly that I shall read atleast a book from that pile every month and get done with it.

Love in the time of Cholera was one of the two book a fellow bibliophile and pluviophile friend of mine suggested a good 6 months. Since I was in my all dark-and-underworld phase of mind around the time, I choose Godfather, another classic-cult novel, over the bespoke book (And no, I don't regret my choice). Now that I've reached my everything-lovey-dovey phase of mind after reading The Fault in Our Stars I guess I'm ready to take the plunge into this magnum opus. But is not my only reason for choosing this book right now.

On the balmy morning of April 18th this year when the news of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's sad demise hit the headlines all I could feel was a sense of guilt for not reading his works in his time. So this is my way of paying tribute to this celebrated genius. I hope it will open a new wave of thought into me. Happy reading to all of you.

Let me know if you have read any of his works, and if you have what have you liked about it. Ciao!

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

ISBN 978-0-141-34565-9

Author: John Green
Year    : 2012

Pages  : 316 

Price    :Rs.399/- (paperback)

My thoughts are stars I can't fathom into constellations.

John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

When I like a book it it could end in two ways. Either I could be dying to reach the very end as I want to

The Fault in Our Stars book cover

know how it ends, or I just don't want it to end. But something went terribly wrong here. In this case, I loved the book, and I badly wanted to know how it ended (atleast for a while) but I also couldn't part ways with the characters. Never have I so deeply invested my emotions in a book, in fictional characters as this one.

Fault in Our Stars is the story of a sixteen year old Hazel Grace Lancaster who never remembers her having anything but "crappy lungs". She is terminally ill with leukemia.She has to move around with an oxygen tank, she so fondly calls 'Philip', which helps her breath. She believes she is a "grenade that can blow up anytime leaving everyone around wounded." Her worst nightmare could be leaving her loving family wounded by her 'shrapnel' once she's gone. She has been out of school for a while and practically stopped socializing much. All she has been doing lately is to watch episodes of America's Top Models and to re-read just one book, her favorite, An Imperial Affliction and obsessing over what a sequel to the book would be like. Her socializingwas limited to attending a support group for Cancer kids. Except from her high-school friend Kaitlyn, who she hardly ever wants to talk to these days, he kids at the support group are her friends now. 

That's where Hazel meets Augustus Waters, the blue-eyed, one-legged boy with a sexy crooked smile. Augustus Waters is full of life. He is doing "grand" and is "on a roller coaster that only goes up". He keeps a pack of cigarettes at hand and occasionally hold one between his lips, but never lights it. It gives him a a sense of victory to not give the cigarette the power to "kill"him. He fears being forgotten once he's gone, and wants his life to be meaningful.

At once, Augustus is everything Hazel is not. It is like they are yin-yang. Hazel is the smart,intelligent and composed one, while Gus is the witty, humorous and creative one. While she is is strong Gus is persistent. So, quite predictably, they were meant to fall in love with each other. And this book is about their love and how it changed their lives.

This book is a cancer book, except for it doesn't drown us in sentiment and drama. This story is of a resilient battle to live a life as close to normal as possible, not giving cancer the power to kill for as long as possible. And hence the story never calls for us to sympathies over any character, be it Hazel, Gus or their friend Issac. They don't ask to be indulged in sympathy-they hate it.

The book also deals with how a life-threatening hurdle, as cancer, can alter your life in different ways, and yet it up to you to choose how you want to life your life.

This book sheds thoughts on feeling pain, on being hopeful about life even when there is practically no hope, and of being in true love even through the uncertainty of a future.  

I liked the book for the light nature in which it deals with grim and morbid sentiments. I like it for the positiveness it instilled in me. I would have given it a miss but for some awesome turn of fate. And as this is my first John Green book, so I'm not in a position to review this one with respect to any other of his books. So if you have read this book, or any other John Green book do let me know. Also share your thoughts on this book or any other book you think is worth a read. 

Rating

3.5/5

Verdict: The story is a light read that starts as a cliche cancer story progressing into deeper sentiments on life and death. 

Kindle the reader in you.

I have, more than often, heard bibliophiles speak at length about the lure of paper. Let me start by saying that this post would never have happened if I held my love of paper higher than my love of reading, because this is about my e-reader: Kindle Paperwhite.

Kindle Paperwhite 2013

Before I start ranting about how much I love this piece of technology and why, let me add a disclaimer that I'm biased about my ereader for the emotional value it holds, as it is a gift from someone I hold high in regard. But apart from that, for all practical purposes this isn't for those who can't let go of their love for the aroma of a book, new or old, or for those who have to hold their book in their own hands to read it. This is for those who, for all practical purposes, love reading and reading alone. This is for the 'on-the-go' person who loves reading thick paperbacks and hates dog-ear marked book or fumbling with a bookmark, yet is forced to use the bookmark because it helps maintain the aesthetics of the book( I get paranoid when someone mishandles my book. I can go to great lengths to keep them looking fresh).

 It's a 6", rectangular slab of bliss that's a staple in my handbag right now. It makes reading all those big, bulky paperbacks a piece of cake, more so, because now carrying them is easier than before. Gone are those days when I'd choose small books to read on-the-go, and big ones to read at home, simply because I didn't want to carry around those huge paperbacks. And this then put me behind my reading schedule because I ended up finishing only the small ones and the big books just kept lagged thereby causing me to lose interest in them over a period of time.

A girl has to read what she has to read. And I for one, like to keep a healthy mix across genres. I like my share of Elizabeth Gilbert, James Patterson, Sylvia Day and George R R Martin all the same. And I hate it when people preen and crane their necks to catch the cover of the books I read to judged me by the cover. Enter Kindle Paperwhite-now people don't have to know what I'm reading, not unless of course I blog about it.

By this point of time you probably have guessed that I'm touchy when it comes to my books. So after intrusive comments on my reading choices, the next thing I hate is to lend my books. (Yes, that's a not-so-subtle hint to all my friends.) Almost every time I've lent my books they have either never returned, or have returned doggy-eared, stained, scarred or, worse still, with missing pages.So come on, let's all face it. We can't trust anyone with those precious little things. But now since Kindle Paperwhite happened to me I don't have to part with my precious' as technically all of them are stored in it can't be parted with.

If you still aren't convinced of getting yourself an e-reader,last but not the least here is a YouTube video that I came across while I was doing my market research on what to buy. I will never try this at home. I strongly recommend you don't either. Hence the video.

My Kindle Paperwhite cover

Up to this point it's pretty clear that I'm biased towards my Kindle, But I'm not. Though I love the e-ink technology which gives me a nearly paper-like feel and just the adequate amount of side-lighting, there are a couple of things I would like for Amazon to improve on. I would love for them to introduce colour atleast to give the book art some appeal. I also wished they revised some of their payment options. I live in India and I don't own a credit card. But amazon.in does not allow me to make debit card payments for digital books. It's frustrating, especially when I have one of those book pangs and just HAVE TO read a particular book immediately. (Irrespective I still love my Kindle, but in case you want options you may want to consider Kobo ereader, or read this.)

Now, time for the final note. If and when you buy an ereader don't shy away from buying it a cover. You get quite an option on Amazon itself, but there are plenty other options available outside. You may check eBay, staples or mobilefun in India. But I choose a fun, creative and organic cloth cover from Runa. (Here is the link if you are interested.)But there  Following are a few things you need keep in mind before you take the plunge into buying an e-reader.

Formats compatiable with Kindle: pdf,mobi,sdr,azw,prc and txt (compatiability chart of other e-readers)

Pros

• Easy to carry; lightweight.
• You can read in any light, even in no light- all thanks to the sidelight.
• Perfect for sudden book cravings. Just go online and buy a book and voila: the book reaches your device.
• The device comes with a pre-loaded dictionary.
• Enables discreet reading. Nobody can judge you by the covers of the books you read.
• A drop or two does no harm to it
• Last but not the least, you no longer have to share books because you can't.

Cons

• The print is in black & white.
• It may hang from time to time. (Just plug it to charge and then try to switch it off/on.)
•  You may purchase your books only from the Amazon website, and you need a credit card for all online purchases.