Life Changing Reads

Yet again, here I am, a changed person.

I do believe that in the last few months, the books I have read have made me laugh, moved me deeply, and have become a part of my life. Today, I want to share a little bit with you all about these three books I encountered:

"Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" - Amy Chua
"To Kill a Mockingbird" - Harper Lee
"The Hindi Bindi Club" - Monica Pradhan

MY first book - Battle Hymn - is the one that made me laugh, and nod my head along with. I was born in India and came to the United States at the age of 6. SO, in parts I can understand where Amy Chua was coming from, because I think I had her childhood for a part of my life, and her kids' childhood for another part. A blending of generations and countries I suppose. I wouldn't say that this book was well-written, but boy was it a fun read.. you gain quite a bit of perspective on what exactly goes on in an Asian mother's head - a mystery to most I'm sure. This book was a fast read as well, so I'm certainly glad I gave it a go. Not much more substance than the "funny" I suppose - so it was a great "light" read!

"To Kill a Mockingbird" is a classic for a reason. I first read this book in 8th grade as part of the curriculum. I had fallen in love with the book and it became my favorite, but somehow over time, the memory of the characters faded from my mind and I started wondering what had made the book so great? So, 9 years after I first read the book, I decided to give it another read. I must say, this is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read in my life. And the only book I have read twice. I now understand why it become my favorite, because it has taken the title all over again! I must say though, as an adult I got a profound view from these few hundred pages. I'm in that phase where I question life and the world around me, but with a skeptical view, not a child's innocence. And Harper Lee's beautiful words made me realize that a child's innocence is inherently how the world should be looked at, because without it, we lose all perspective. The simple words of the book, the power of each of the words, the scenery, the characters, and the plot of course could not have been better - this truly is a gem of a book and if I could (I might someday) I would buy everyone I know a copy a of this book - it's that good! :)

I think I've saved the best for last - the Hindi Bindi Club. Now, as touching as To Kill a Mockingbird is, and as much as it has become my favorite novel of all time, I must say the Hindi Bindi Club shocked me in terms of how much I enjoyed reading it. As I mentioned, I was born in India and grew up in the U.S. - a combination that gave me a perspective quite unique on this particular book. Three families - two generations - one grown up in India, one in the US - what a combo! There are so many of us today that are part of this combo - yet no book, no words have quite captured our emotions, our trials as well as this book has. At the same time, it quite aptly captures the emotions most folks feel when they immigrate from their home country to a foreign one. Meenal, Kiran, Uma, Rani, Saroj and Preity have become a part of my life - I don't think I will forget them, and I do believe I will visit their story again when I'm seeking comfort from my culture. Because at the end of the day, this mind-provoking, heart healing/hurting book is a mix of Indian spices and American comfort food - an irony isn't it? Oh, and the book has some lovely recipes peppered throughout - something that inspired me to cook some Indian food and enjoy the flavors of the book even more!! :)

So, my friends, I leave you here - however, I do urge you to read these three books. All different in their own ways, all lovely in the own ways, all having given me immense pleasure in the same way..

For those of you who have never read "To Kill a Mockingbird" - put down whatever you are doing and read it, you will always be glad you did.

For those of you who are of mixed descent, or first/second generation immigrants, or just want an insight into those of us who are - read "The Hindi Bindi Club", trust me, you will make friends with the characters and miss them sorely when you finish!

For those of you want advice on what to do (or not to do really) when parenting - go ahead and give Amy Chua's book a try.

And here, I do bid you all adieu! :)

A Part of Me Will Never Be the Same

Alas, I am back from my hiatus!!

And the only thing that has pulled me back: two very different and very strong books I have recently finished reading.

The first of these books is "Water for Elephants" by Sarah Gruen - a book like nothing I have read before. I must admit the writing is very basic and straightforward, but the content, quite unique! A story about the circus - unique. A story that flashes back and forth between youth and old age and captures each emotion vividly - unique. I won't say much about the story because it is worth the read. I will, however, say that I have a whole new persective of the circus and what goes into it, a deeper understanding of love and the need to protect, and a greater respect for those that age and are left behind but are still living beings that need a bit of love and care. I think I've changed a little with this book, in a way that I know I'll never be the same again.

Soon after I finished the first book, I started one called "A Fresh of Breath Air" by Amulya Malladi. I have a confession: I have never cried reading a book or watching a movie, and then very silently, this book came into my life and pulled out a few tears from my stoic soul. It was such a simple book, yet so powerful. It was like a Hindi movie, but one done so well and based on such true events that it forces you to get involved. I think the characters of this book will stay with me for a long time - Anjali, the girl who grew into a strong but tired woman; Sandeep, the calm infallible husband who secretly has his insecurities - my favorite character; and Prakash, the one you want to hate, but feel sorry for as well. And of course the other numerous characters that are peppered flawlessly through the pages. Especially the character of Amar, a child whose name turns out to be terribly ironic.

I want to say so much more about these books, and go on about the stories and the plot, but that is up to you to read - which I highly recommend. However, I'm going to leave this post here, simply by saying and knowing that I will never be the same again. Not after the experience of these beautiful, heart felt novels!

Procrastination brings me here..

So, as usual, I have procrastinated. And hence, this blog post will have a little bit about the books I have read since my last post. Get Set, Ready? GO!

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari:
An excellent book! Although I have to say that the writing style was super simple, and the voice of the book felt as if it was trying to coddle me, the message was brilliant. The meaning and purpose behind this book has had a direct impact on my life (well, at least it's trying to). Without giving away the advice in the book (which is for the book to give and not me!) all I'll say is that I am more productive now, more methodical now. I was before too, but I have realized how to improve on that and how to not let stress get the best of me! Now I know that that has got to make you want to read the book, who knows, maybe your stress will run too! ;)

A Still Forest Pool:
Great advice from a great monk. Achaan Chah gives very simple, to the point, precise advice on how to go about our daily activities. You don't have to be a buddhist or have to follow all of what he says. Just reading his stories and points make things seem clearer. Especially his analogies - they are so meaningful. For example, he talks about planting a seed, watering it, and taking care of it - but ultimately giving it the space and time it needs to grow. You can sow a thought or action, and take care of it and be mindful, but you can't do much more than that so you have to cultivate patience and let it grow on its own. You can't control time!

Five People you Meet in Heaven:
This book was everything I had heard it would be. Strong, powerful, great. It was well written, and took turns you never expect from a book like this. The title tells you what to expect, but what you get is far different. The characters are vivid - the writer's expertise should be commended for that one! And the plot seemlessly flows from one part to another. This is a thinker book - I found myself constantly stopping to consider who my five people would be, who I would want to meet, what in my life is meaningful enough. But alas, it is something I will never know, but I did enjoy pondering over the book and my life - taking parallels - getting the message out of it that we are meant to be who we are. That our actions might inadvertently land us into what we will do for the rest of our lives. That sometimes what we think and hope for doesn't happen, and we have no one to blame or thank except ourselves.

Animal Farm:
A hilarious, satirical, political book by George Orwell. I wish I had read this sooner! Not only is the writing great, but the voices, the characters so real it is hard to not believe it. Of course the story seems ludacrious, but when thought about in depth, one that makes a lot of sense. Orwell wrote this with many current events of his time in mind. But it makes me wonder, isn't this story true to our world today too? A group of people overthrow or run out their leader because they are unhappy, they promise to run a "democracy" but eventually elect a leader to handle the democracy, the leader lets the position go to his head and becomes eventually into the leader that was once overthrown. A vicious cycle, where the people elected might be good, but the position and power corrupts them. How difficult is it in our society to have a fair, good for everyone, leader? Pretty darn difficult I would say! And I don't just mean in politics or in presidential positions - I mean all leaders - political, religious, professional - all of them. Orwell's book makes me wonder if we aren't just like those animals who get fooled by someone amongst their own? Perhaps we are smarter, or perhaps, we just think we are.

Well.. that's all folks! :)

"The Mango Season" by Amulya Malladi

I'll be honest: I don't know where to begin!

Well, I guess I should start somewhere.. Let me re-introduce the book then!
"The Mango Season" is written by Amulya Malladi. It is the first book I have read by her - and I completely have mixed feelings. I agree with a lot of the story, the traditions, the methodology of things she mentions - the book certainly reads fast enough - and yet I'm left slightly unsatisfied.

Although Ms. Malladi does a great job developing her characters, and certainly her story - she doesn't completely finish it. I felt like the book could have had another 50-100 pages going into details of how the overly conservative family of American-return Priya actually handles her marriage to a foreigner. Perhaps even a sequel might have done it justice - alas, I was left at the end only guessing how it could have been.

This is one of those books I don't know what to talk about - probably because it didn't have such a big impact on me - or any impact for that matter. I certainly enjoyed the story, but didn't find any substance in it. Not all good stories make great literature, and this happens to be one of those - sad, but just the way it is!

I do, however, appreciate Ms. Malladi's wit in her writing - I constantly found myself chuckling at her sarcasm and strong feministic tendencies not belonging to Indian society. The twist she throws towards her reader near the end is one that leaves you laughing and in disbelief all the same. I think that right there made this read worth it - not a classic - but something light and enjoyable.

Perhaps my next endeavour will be one a little different from this.. perhaps something more along the line of "great literature" - or not - let's wait and see! :)

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

Taoism = simple, yet hard to understand for some, philosophy/way of living.

Winnie-the-pooh = A.A. Milne's children's book character who is a silly, cute little bear.

The greatest teacher of Taoism, according to Mr. Hoff, Winnie-the-Pooh!

How?! "The Tao of Pooh" tells us exactly that.

This is one of those rare books you come upon: adorable, quick, and soaked with so much meaning. Taoism is this philosophy of nothing-ness. Of not thinking, worrying, just having inner quiet - inner peace. Pooh bear is the ideal candidate for this type of behavior. He doesn't bother about anything, nor does he run around like a chicken with no head just trying to do things for the sake of doing them. He is a simple little bear - just like a true Taoist. I highly doubt that A.A. Milne knew he was writing the world's greatest taoist into his little silly bear's character. But that leads us to ponder - how did Pooh end up being like this?

Mr. Milne, perhaps stumbled, or had perhaps known, that the character of Pooh would represent a kind, silly, simple-mindedness. He might not have written it with the Taoist concept in his mind, but maybe he was commenting on society and the roles we all hold within it. Like Rabbit for example - he is the one who most of are like - type A, running around at all times, always trying to get something done, making sure everything is perfect, etc. etc. In today's society don't we all just go about having "no time" and not enough hours in a day to complete our "to do" lists? Sounds just like Rabbit; and take a look at Eeyore - we have all come across (or perhaps even are) the pessimistic sort, the downers, the ones who think the world is doomed from the start. Then there is Owl - the "smart" sort, the know-it-all, or rather the ones who think they know everything and are completely full of it. And although Tigger was a much later character - we definitely have come across his types - the ones who jump around always and try to be the center of attention. Of course I'm leaving out Piglet - the scared sort, not wanting to take chances, ready to take the back seat to avoid confrontation. And then there is Pooh - the empty headed one - deemed as silly, but really simple; he comes up with things unknowingly, and doesn't want much more then just some honey and his friends to keep him happy. How many of these have we come across? Very Very few, and yet, this is the type we all secretly wish to be like.

Simple, not worrying, not thinking, living life as it comes, enjoying each day and the beauty within each day. Not waking up to worry about the day's chores, but waking up to the sounds of birds and feeling the sun's warmth. Not thinking about what bird it is, or how warm/cold it is, but just relishing the moment that is life. I do truly believe most of us progress through life without stopping to "live". Pooh bear apparently teaches us this; and Mr. Hoff points that out quite wittingly in his 158 page book of pure, simple silly-ness.

Highly Recommended for those who want to be amused, who love Pooh, have an interest in Tao, or simply want to read something that makes sense! :)