Desirables...

A few things on my Christmas list...

1. A drop-dead gorgeous bag
2. Books

By books, I mean one that I've been hunting for a really long time...

Chocolat by Joanne Harris.

I see the Lollipop Shoes everywhere but its a sequel to Chocolat in a way...so I think it's finally time that I succumbed to temptation and bought the book. I remember seeing a whole shelf load of J. Harris books and never buying Chocolat or Five Quarters of the Orange...etc. Until I saw the Lollipop Shoes, that is. Then, I remembered wanting the Chocolat book and my putting it off for what will be a few years now.

I think the only place where I will find the book in the cover I long for will be at Strand. Hopefully, they will continue to give discounts on all their books else it's too far a trip. None of the bookstores keep this book now; for some strange reason in bookdom, they've all decided not to stock it anymore. Else, a new book usually brings forth almost all past offerings from the author to the world of literature. Not this time, I guess. Even JK Rowling's book release was quite low-key.

Hope I get the book soon.

Scarlet Feather

An amazing book if you love human interactions - place polar opposite human beings in a conversation and with a slice of wit, a generous dash of everything human (anger, jealousy, wrath, love) and a topping of some really crazily wonderful dialogue. Also great if you love food; love to read about food, talk food, eat food....if you're a foodie. Although food is not the main thing in the book, its relationships and the feelings that make us all very human. No one's perfect; our parents, our mates, or friends.

Scarlet Feather is about two individuals with a lot going on in their personal lives, trying to live their dream in the form of a catering business. They long to see themselves being lusted for by everyone and anyone who wants to throw a party but they're getting there slowly, the hard way. Their personal conflicts with those related to them, their ever-deeping friendship, their love lives and the fondness they develop for certain people while pursuing and staying faithful to their aspirations; this book embraces them all. It makes one realize that one's life is not a one-way journey to an island. Millions of people along the way shape us, our feelings, our outlook and we often need an entire support system (a village) to survive and grow in our own personal paths. Each person they are associated with plays a part in their triumph or failure. Relationships are made and broken but in each happening, we experience a mirroring of our own understanding about human life, its fragility, its wrong and right moments. Although the path the two protagonists' lives take in the end seems a bit contrived and selfish...something like this can happen only in novels is what you tend to think. But on the whole, its a wonderful insight into families and friends and mainly what makes this world go round: relationships and food. And yes, love.

I recommend it to those who dont stick to their set path but plunge into the uncertainty of literature. Every book seems to mirror the author's own sensitivity and preferences (perhaps even an ideal world situation) no matter if they've all studied literature in college and are Ph Ds or MAs in their chosen field of writing. Every effort is marked by an individual's mental make up like his or her DNA.

It's wonderful to discover Ireland through Maeve Binchy. It's even more comfortable to do it through the medium that bonds people and families together - food!

Lord Emsworth and the Loonies

Not really exaggerating; once you read Blandings Castle series (whichever one), you think you're either an Alice in Wonderland or everyone's just loony in varying degrees.

It's all about Emsworth and his pig. Everyone else is just causing havoc and tormenting him refusing to allow him to sit in his study with Whiffle on the Care of the Pig or lounge in the pig sty staring at his prize possession (possibly the only one). The first intruder is Constance (his sister, also known as Connie) who absolutely thinks of him as a project that cannot be left by itself. Her absence in one book was not a pleasant break for Emsworth; there are four sisters equally unbearable and weight-throwing-about and one promptly came to replace her. The girls, as in all P G Wodehouse books, are either Connie-like or are extremely nice but a bit batty. The one I'm reading right now even has a Gussie-like character (from the Wooster series) and a young Spode-ish character but you find yourself liking him better than Spode. I dont think I'll ever like Spode unless as a salesman for Eulalie (a lingerie brand), which he's successfully hidden from the eyes of all but Jeeves. This is also how Bertie successfully blackmails Spode (even if it is only to save his life).

Anyway, this is not about Bertie, this is about Emsworth. He also has guardian angels who watch over him and are basically on his side. One is Lord Ickenham (in the book I'm reading) and the other is Galahad Threepwood (his brother). I'm sure there are others but I havent read the entire series.

It's an enjoyable afternoon read. You can involve yourself totally in the insane schemes they hatch and the way they work out but in unpredictable ways. Everyone's plotting; Connie's plotting to make a man out of Emsworth (a better man), Ickenham is trying to make it all right for lovers to get married (despite opposition from guardians), Emsworth is trying to protect his pig or struggle with listening to someone for more than the minute they start talking, Beach the butler is trying to lose weight, the young men are trying to make money or get married. Only the girls arent working at all at something or the other; they're looking pretty at balls, or playing tennis with the men or going for walks with a particular man after dinner. Only in Jeeves and Wooster are girls trying to scheme round the clock with Wooster expected to be the person carrying out their brilliant plans.

Definitely an adventure waiting to happen the minute you pick up any of P G Wodehouse's books. To think that he left his day job at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank to pursue writing! What a loss to literature if he hadnt!

You're Destroying the Chocolate!!!

I'm re-reading Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto for probably the 100th time. The first book I'd read of Yoshimoto was Hardboiled/Hardluck. Kitchen I like better...anything that revolves around food and its place of creation scores more points with me, but this book is really great. It comforts and allows you to sink deep into any emotion you're feeling right now. The play of words, inanimate objects having a life of their own and their own personalities...a kitchen being a refuge from the outer world and its worries, I could list down many things about this book that I love experiencing over and over again every time I pick it up from the book case.

Anyhow, the above paragraph was just an excuse to write something I associate with the book. I'd lent it to a friend of mine (also my ex-boss). She didnt like it as much as I did; she found it too depressing. I remember walking with her to her temporary house (a friend had asked her to move in while she was away for a few months) for a snack and coffee. We stopped at a bakery on the way for some fudge brownies (chocolate sauce topped off on plain brownies). While talking, she suddenly turned to the owner who was taking brownies from the counter and told him very plainly, "Don't lift it that way, you're destroying the chocolate!!" Instead of using the tongs to lift the cake's sides, one of the tongs ends was scraping into the chocolate topping. She made him drop the one he had picked up and asked him to lift the brownies from their sides. He did it quietly and we went home with two "perfect" brownies which were demolished in a few minutes.

A Good Book is like a...

...pair of arms that hold you tight and secure you in their cuddly embrace.
...tea, slightly tasting of herbs, flowers and wood, warm to the touch and taste and cool in the stomach.
...a forever, waking dream...I dont need to add that it's a good dream.
...a quilt of a thousand different patterns, each individual and holds a special meaning, together it can overwhelm you with its might, enchant you with its beauty and hold you captive with its power.
...ream of many dreams.

I love books. I also love writing. I want to share some views I have about the books I love, hate and am indifferent to. I would also love to include other things until they want me to consume more web space and have individual blogs under each category.

Till then, dont hold your breath. I may not be regular but I will be faithful. That's a promise one neednt break.