Aranyaka - by Amruta Patil and Devdutt Pattanaik

Book: 🅰🆁🅰🅽🆈🅰🅺🅰 by Amruta Patil and Devdutt Pattnaik

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 🌿🌿🌿🌿/5 

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄:

Aranyaka is a book about the forest. That's the most simplest introduction I can give you. But is it just that?

No. It's more! This graphic novel speaks in more words than what's printed on the book.

𝑲𝒂𝒕𝒚𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒊 - the large.. is the personification of nature. The role she plays is bifold. She is the glutton, overwhelming and mystical at the same time. The book is written from her perspective. A woman, a mother, and the all encompassing Nature.

𝒀 - the man in search of knowledge, unknowing it's within and around him. One who threw away ritualistic teaching to glean knowledge outside the boundaries of yagnas and sacrifices. He is the personification of Human civilization. Forever in search of the next good thing. 

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓 is ego and a quest. She is ever persevering and headstrong. She feeds off of the knowledge but yearns to prove it wrong. The unquenchable need to satisfy the thirst, the dream to be the best, shows the current society we live in. The competitiveness never ends.

𝑴 𝒐𝒓 𝑭𝒊𝒈 as she comes to be known: is Vanity. Aware of what she is and aware of the feelings she arouses in everyone around her.. but also a dream to find more in herself than what already is. She wants to be seen as intellectual, known for her mind, rather than her appearance or upbringing. She represents the youth. 

The cycle of life, the interdependence of nature and mankind, the Vedic concepts of Aranya, Jiva,Himsa, Aham, Bhakti, Grihasta, Gyan, Prati-Sparda, Vyavahara and many more are depicted in intense graphics. 

The novel is intriguing for its graphics, sometimes very layered and sometimes too blatant. But the book calls for it. This is a graphical dissertation on Veda and the Vedic concepts in a way one can resonate with. 

✨𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗜 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗶𝘁?

Difficult to express it as enjoyment. What the book is.. is thought provoking.

✨𝗜𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱?

Definitely. But for a mature mind. The concepts and some of the graphics are not suited for young readers. 

✨If you do read it.. please do drop in a comment on this blog post. Would love to discuss this with a fellow reader. 

The Poison of Love by K R Meera (Translated from Malayalam)

🆃🅷🅴 🅿🅾🅸🆂🅾🅽 🅾🅵 🅻🅾🆅🅴 - by K. R. Meera

Original: Meerasadhu (Malayalam) 

Translated by Ministhy Nair

Read for:

* March Prompt - She Writes for #letsreadmalayalam #readingchallenge by @bookwormandherchild

*Prompt: for #champacareadingchallenge by @champacabooks

08 - with less than 200 pages

22 - written by and translated by a woman

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 😐😐😐/5 

I cannot use stars for this book. 

𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜: manipulative behaviour and extreme vindictiveness.

𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄:

Tulsi is a bright student with great prospects, coming from a respectable and loving family. And that's until she meets Madhav (a journalist) through her friend Vinay. Everything in her life from there focuses on him - like he is her lodestar. 

She elopes from her engagement (with Vinay) to be with Madhav ….and here begins the story of a 'Meerasadhu'. 

Somewhere this relatable story of a girl in love, a wife , a mother changed into vindictive poison (as indicated by title - expected) of retribution, revenge and madness. The plot is loosely based on the love Meerabhai had toward Kanha.. making him the center of her Universe but twists it in the most toxic of senses.

𝗠𝘆 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:

K R Meera has done a good job highlighting the toxic, male ego and the twisted way our society works to normalise that male behaviour. 

BUT, and that's a big one - The author herself through this story, nor in her afterword, mentions or encourages women to remove themselves from a toxic environment. Nor does she call out such behaviour and take positive steps to self heal and move on. 

Agreed, this is fiction. But when the author says people walk up to her and relate to the character, a word of positive influence is necessary, given the toxic solutions Tulsi found in the book. 

I'd sure have liked the book a bit more if the author could have used this relatability factor to influence positive change in society.

#rashureads #rashu_reads_reviews #malayalambooks #translatedbooks #indianbooks #indianauthors #bookstagramindia #readinggoals #readingisfundamental #bekindtoyourself #mentalhealthmatters #books2022 #booksiread 

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie

March Read for #bookclub with my book reading buddies, Anjali, Anu and Ramya.

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

This little piggy went to the market.

This little piggy stayed at home.

This little piggy had roast.

This little piggy had none..

And this little piggy went ...

 ....wee wee wee...

..all the way home!

A young woman, wants to revisit the 'solved' case of her Father's death. 

Reason: To prove her Mother's innocence.. years after she was convicted and is dead too. When she approaches Hercule Poirot, what plays in his mind about the people involved is the nursery rhyme! 

Which little piggy got away with Murder - is what he needs to deduce.

My Experience: A good mystery read with more emphasis on the personalities of the characters in the situation.  Poirot's ability to pick through what seems like an everyday conversation and pull out pearls of deductions is super fun!

In the frame: 

* 2008 Harper Collins publication of the book. 

* A Crochet piggy I made #inspiredbybook. My yarn creations can be found at @rashmibinu_saiasmi

#handmade #bookprop #saiasmidreamzinyarn #crochet #amigurumi #rashureads #agathachristie #agathachristiebooks #herculepoirot #bookclubreads #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #rashu_reads_reviews #books2022 #booksiread #crafters #readers #readingisfundamental #ilovereading #ilovecrafting

The Rising by Tanhee Perry

A book, I was keenly waiting for!!!  Book 2 of the Osiris series! 
🆃🅷🅴 🆁🅸🆂🅸🅽🅶 - by Tahnee (Click for Goodreads)

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Summary of Book 1 - The Killing plot (Click for Goodreads)

When @cherumanalil Tagged me on , last year..  The genre of  #fantasybooks was a new to me. But Tanhee Perry and her writing drew me in. The world of Osiris was both daunting and captivating.

❤ Arela - a character as unique as her name is much loved. A teen in essence but a fighting spirit to find herself, her origins takes her on  journey through Book 1. She meets Cenric Sauer, descendant of the ruling family in a happenstance that takes her further into the mysterious undergrounds and brings to light Thaddeus Grant and his experiments. In trying to expose him,  Arela finds herself sentenced to Exile,  to be banished from the safe igloo of Osiris into the unknows of the outer world,  with un-named terrors. At the cliff-hanger end of Book 1, Arela finds herself pulled from the brink of exile but carried away by  a group of Revolutionists who are looking to overthrow the Sauer's (Cenric's Father) authoritarian rule! 

Book 2 - The Rising picks up right from the cliffhanger with a smooth transition. Even with the year between reads,  I found myself falling back into the story as if no time had passed! 

My Review of Book 2:

Arela is back, with more mysteries from the land of Osiris. Coming back from the edge of Exile cliffhanger of Book 1, this book delves literally into the depths of human survival.

Finding herself among the Revolutionists,  Arela tries to find her bearings,  to make sense of all she has found out about Thaddeus Grants's nefarious experimenting and worrying for the friends she left behind when she escaped.  She struggles to find peace about Jaela's death and forgiving those responsible for it. She is torn between loyalty to her previous life and the only path she sees ahead. 

We meet some very strong characters and see layers to the ones we know. What more.. We find out more about who Arela is.. Both as in her parentage and as to who she is. This self finding journey she started in Book 1 has now become a mission of survival and perseverance.

🤔The struggle for power is too prominent among the leaders. So much so that they are willing to lose it all rather than think of an alternative. There are too many secrets there. It's not clear in this book, but I am hoping it forms the premise for the next one.

❤ If Cenric and Arela were cute.. Then Harlow and Arela are electric! The indicators are obvious but I totally didn't mind it as I was totally rooting for them. In Harlow we see the passion to fight for the cause, the will to take action to save the ones you love, than with Cenric.

❤ We see a slightly different Cenric, one who when pushed can take up the mantle. But in his case, it's too little and too late, both the situation and with Arela.

Loved the second installment more,  as now  Arela and Osiris were more familiar. Totally recommend it! 

Can't wait for the next installment ❤❤❤

Both books are available on Kindle Unlimited. 

NOTE: I read it as part of 

*𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭 - Read the   second book in series for #readingwithmuffy

* A 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 for my personal #readinggoals for January 

* A #Buddyread with @cherumanalil

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Book#3 - Persuasion by Jane Austen. #audiobooks

#audible

This was a complete last minute join for @solennsbooknook #readlong with my bestie @cherumanalil 

The discussion on the group was animated and very insightful.  Loved the experience! Thanks to everyone,  as this checks as my must read genre of 2022!

My rating 🌟🌟🌟/5 for the story. As it reminded me a lot of Pride and Prejudice from the opposite side of things. It wasn't unique but a good depiction of the people and the period it was written in. 

As an Audio book, full credit to the Narrator Greta Scacchi for keeping the interest going. 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

My Review:

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It was narrated very well which was probably the only reason I could finish it. A good story for it's times. The correctness of the language and the writing style unique to Jane Austen were the prominent features of this story.

😍 Anne Elliot comes across as a mature, sensible young lady, who rightly, as she states later in the book has only benefited from not making an acquaintance with the good Captain in her 'youth'. This, because, she is the only character that seems to have grown out of the existing mould and bloomed as a compassionate and kind person.

👨‍🍳 Captain Wentworth is as male as a male protagonist of those times are. The haugtiness, the avoidance of one's emotions and a cherry on top, 'ego'. But he did get brownie points for some key decisions he makes over the course of the story.

🙍‍♀Most memorable is Mary. This character is still present in all of us. More so in some, than others, but evergreen nonetheless! Her self-importance, her afflictions and sufferings, her wish to contradict and insist on being right 😁.

👥Anne's family, bar Mary, are extremely obnoxious as a social connection and proves that money, back then had the reins over civility.

Overall a good Listen.

#rashureads #janeausten #janeaustenbooks #readalongs #classicliterature #booksiread #books2022 #instareads #booksaremyfriends #bookstagrammersindia #classicreads #anneandwentworth 

Finding Julie - by Doris Rangel

Book#2 for the year...  It was a Kindle suggestion that caught my eye.  

Book: Finding Julie by Doris Rangel

My Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

My Review: James has loved his wife always but cannot live with her anymore as he doesnt recognize the woman he married. Julie has a block amnesia after an accident and remembers everything about everyone.. Just not her marriage or her husband or her life with him.

The book deals with a lot of general emotions and topics. There is always a time to take a step back in any relationship and see what has changed. This one proves that to a large extent.

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My personal take - The struggle Julie goes through was relatable.  Though in the extreme,  the panic of losing someone you love,  puts a tiny glimmer of fear.  When we are emotionally vulnerable,  it's very easy to jump to the worst possible consclusion about a loved one.  How many times have i wondered, letting my kids go out but somewhere in the back of my mind wondering, will they be ok?  What if they get hurt? Do I hold them back and keep them safe, or let them go and think positive? As a parent, a spouse, a daughter, or just a friend, there are so many people I'm emotionally connected to.  So when I read Julie's struggle,  i did empathise with her. 

QUESTION: If you'd read a plot like this..  What  would your reaction be? 

*READ

*NAAAH

*OOOH INTERESTING! 

Drop in comments, on this post.  Would love to hear your take on this!

Book is available for free on Kindle Unlimited (India) Currently. 

#rashureads #goodreadschallenge2022 #goodreadschallenge

#goodreads #romancebooks

#bookstagrammers #lovestory #interestingread #booksiread #books2022 #bookstagrammersindia #bookblog #bookblogger 

The Liar Next Door - Audible book

The Liar Next Door by Nicola Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an amazing narrative. People all around us have many layers, emotions, past and histories. What happens when you welcome someone next door, only to have the carpet pulled out from under your feet soon after.
How do you trust someone? How well do we know who lives next door?

A wonderful complex plot of human relations, lies and a complicated mesh of relations. Welcome to the neighborhood 😜"

View all my reviews  

Some books take you along with the words, wrap around you, pull you in. This is one such book.  As an audible listen, this was a great one. I love such mystery-next-door stories. The characters are so close to the ones you'd come across in you own lives. The nosy neighbors, to the wierd ones.. The over enthusiastic, to the mysterious ones. Everyone has a story to tell, if one can listen, if one can observe.