The Selection by Kiera Cass

Book: The Selection (#1 in The Selection Series)

Author: Kiera Cass

Published by: Harper Collins Publishers 

Price: 350 INR (Paperback) 

My Rating: 4/5

"No I am not choosing him or you. I'm choosing me." 

So, yesterday night, after coming home from college (I had my English Novels' paper), I decided to read something light, something which will pull me out of my classic-novel-coma. I picked up The Selection and boy, I had no idea how time flew by and I finished that book. I started reading around 11 at night and finished it by 3 in the morning. I was mesmerized by the story. I know that it is YA but hey! even 19+ people like me like reading YA.  In fact, everyone needs a dose of YA novels. 

(YA as in Young Adult Fiction, if you had no clue) 

The story is very simple. There is this country Illiea in which people are categorized by their castes. The Ones are the Royal family. Twos and Threes include the well-earning and reputed families while The Fours and all below them ( till Eight) are the working class. America Singer( the protagonist) belong to the Fives and works as a singer. She takes part in this competition The Selection. Now, this competition is a platform where girls aged between 16 to 20 are asked to submit a form. Thirty five girls from across the country are selected and taken the palace. Out of these thirty five girls Prince Maxon has to choose one and gradually eliminate others. The One will be his wife and the future Queen of Illiea. America Singer gets selected and goes to the palace. 

America was forced to take part in this competition by her boyfriend, Aspen and her mother. America belonged to the Fives and all those who were below Fours had to work really hard and earn the money. Everyone in the family is supposed to work and earn. Aspen belonged to the Sixes and it was looked down upon if you marry a rank which is below yours. America's mother pestered her to take part because if she got selected the family will be getting a check as long as America stayed at the palace and America would get elevated to the rank of Threes. 

America, as described in the novel, was very beautiful. Due to some things, Aspen breaks their relationship before America goes to the palace. 

All this happens in the 1/3rd of the novel.

The rest  of the novel is just a whirlwind of her stay there, her meeting with Maxon, their building relationship  and the return of Aspen to the palace as one of the palace guards. 

I have given a brief of the story, i.e, the beginning. I loved the book. I don't know if I am being partial because I love stories which have a royal setting and this one was refreshing. I can't wait to read the next one, The Elite. 

The language is very simple and easy to understand. I just finished it in 4 or 5 hours. I was so engrossed in it. First, I wanted to know whether she will get selected or not and then when she got selected, I wanted to know about Maxon (the prince *swoon*) and then I wanted to know whether America has fallen in love with Maxon or not. I am dying to read the second one and I have ordered it online. 

If you have read the novel, I would love to know your views. You can either comment on the post or e-mail to me at : bibliophile.beingnerdy@gmail.com

You can follow me on my Instagram page too:The Bibliophagist

Until next time,

much love

The Bibliophagist. 

xoxo

Picture courtesy:theselection.wikia.com

Career Of Evil by Robert Galbraith

Career Of Evil is the third book in the Cormoran Strike series and it has become my favourite out of the three. I found the previous two novels a tad slower. But this one was literally un-put-down-able. As you all know, I love reading such crime, suspense, thriller fiction novels, and I found it quite interesting. It sure kept me glued to the book and did not disappoint me. 

Here's a little bit about it: 

(don't worry I won't give away the climax)

The story starts with a person following Robin, who he calls The Secretary. This person is a sadist, you will gradually realise the height of his madness. Robin, then receives a severed right leg of a girl in her mail (yup, she signs it herself and picks up the box and enters the office). There is also a note with it, on which there are lyrics of a song, Blue Oyster Cult band's song, Mistress of the Salmon Salt which was a tattoo that Strike's mother had. Something strikes Strike (lmao) and he gives names of four people who he thinks are behind it to the police. 

Now, as we all know, Strike won't stay put after such a thing, he himself starts looking out for signs, making sure Robin is safe, and tracing people who he thinks might be behind the crime. He rules out one person: 'Digger' Malley, a prominent gangster. 

In the whole novel, Strike and Robin are seen tracing the whereabouts of the other three suspects: Whittaker, who is Strike's ex-stepfather, who Strike believes killed his mother, Noel Brockbank, a paedophile and who got convicted, then third one is, Donald Laing, accused of physical abuse on his wife and child. 

Strike had nothing to start with, except a few connections in the police. So, in the novel, Strike and Robin trace the present location of these three people and when they find that the three of them are living in London itself, they start keeping watch at the places they believed the suspects were living in. 

Meanwhile, Robin is also preparing for her wedding, due in June. We also get to know in this novel, why Robin had dropped college, why is she so interested in the criminal psychology. Then, there is also a row (A serious one due to 'some major' fault of Matthew) between her and Matthew(her fiance, a dumb-wit). Robin removes the engagement ring, leaves the house and lives temporarily somewhere else, before returning to her place. Towards the end, Matthew with his puppy face persuades Robin. 

As we all know, that somewhere Strike likes Robin a lot but he strictly likes to keep their relationship professional. In the course of novel, we see that few chapters are dedicated the 'criminal', where he is shown following The Secratary, aka, Robin. Also, yes, the 'criminal' wants to take revenge from Strike and he believes that torturing and murdering Robin will be the best way to take revenge. 

The 'criminal' also attacks Robin, but she gets away because of the rape alarm and her self defence training had also helped her. 

Throughout the novel, Strike meets several new characters, who are connected to the victims of this 'criminal' ( he murders one more girl and seriously hurts two other). 

The climax of the novel is surprising. 

I actually thought it would be someone, but then Rowling took me by surprise (did I mention that J.K. Rowling's pseudonym is Robert Galbraith? ) . 

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. 

Even Rowling wrote " I can't remember ever enjoying writing a novel more than Career Of Evil." 

Such a great piece of detective fiction after so long. 

Cormoran Strike Be My Favourite. 

The book is published by Sphere. 

It costs around 699 INR (Paperback)

I hope people who love crime, mystery, thriller, detective fiction will love it. 

I will give this book 4.5/5 

Love,

The Bibliophagist

  

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Do not read further if you don't want to. 

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P.S; Spoiler Alert: the 'criminal' is one of three suspects. Police have proved their dumb-ness again.

Sorry. :) 

Picture courtesy : www.littlebrown.co.uk 

I am on Instagram!! <3

Did I tell you guys that I am on Instagram now? Well, there I said it or rather wrote it. 

Okay, no more lame jokes. Sorry. 

So, yeah. I am on IG and I absolutely LOVE it!! 

Here is what the page looks like:

I jave posted like 40 pictures already and I am becoming quite good at clicking some really amazing pictures of books. Head over to my page on IG and just look at them. I feel proud of myself already. *pats her back* 

I am loving my fellow bookstagrammers and the community is so welcoming. I adore them. It's like I am living in a parallel universe where I am discussing books with random people and enjoying the discussion. It feels so nice to find people who have read the same book and then you chat and discuss the storyline and the characters and what not! 

I have attached a picture of my IG page for the readers to have a look. Hope you all will like it. :) 

And yes, do follow me on IG if you like my feed and if you want to know things like what I am currently reading, and my TBRs and Book Hauls and other random stuff about books, because I am more acitve on IG. 🙈 

Till then, keep reading. ❤️

Love, 

The Bibliophagist

Yes, My Accent Is Real by Kunal Nayyar

I took quite a lot time to read this book. I know that I shouldn't have taken so many days to complete it but then  blame the tests and the assignments which kept me busy all day and night long.
The book is memoir and I am not generally into reading memoirs and biographies or autobiographies but then Big Bang Theory is kind of my thing so I had to pick this book from the shelves.
And soon, I started reading it.
The book is not a typical minute by minute account of the life of Kunal Nayyar. It is more of a platform for him to share his stories, his experiences of settling in a different nation for studies, his accomplishments, his failures, and how he overcame his failures without giving up. The book is refreshing. Very refreshing.
Or maybe only I felt this because  I was in such a bad mood yesterday ( read my last blog post to know the reason).
Okay, so yesterday night I decided that I have to finish this book anyhow. And I did. And I LOVED it.
Kunal Nayyar takes you through the most important events in his life. His experiences in New Delhi, his experiences abroad, and his struggle in theater. AND, his Big Fat Indian Wedding. Yup, there is a whole chapter dedicated to it.
There are so many beautiful things that he has shared that I don't think writing a blog post about them would be enough.
Still, I'll try.

I absolutely loved the chapter titled "Dinners with Dad", where Nayyar shares the small things that his dad told him. One of them is "If what you want happens, good. If it doesn't happen, very good." Now considering, what I went through during that debate thing this thought consoled me, I realized that this failure is an opportunity to learn more.
When reading the book, all Indians who go abroad to study or pursue a career can definitely relate to it.
This boy did not give up his passion for acting, even when he faced rejections.
He always looked out for more opportunities.
Never letting the rejections take away his confidence.

Nayyar has so vividly described his childhood, his college years, his friendship and the lessons that he learnt.
After reading the book, I felt that I have known this guy for a long time, I know what he has been through, I have been a part of his victories and defeats, I have witnessed his rejections and success. It is as if I was his imaginary friend. I know him now. Until after reading the book, I had known Raj Koothrapalli, the astrophysicist. But now, I know Kunal Nayyar. He might not know me, duh, but I know him.
And I guess that's the main aim of a memoir, to help connect to people on a personal level.

That's all for now. :)

Love,
The Bibliophagist

P.S.: If you guys have read the book, then please do share your valuable thoughts.  :) And yes, I clicked that photo. ;) 

Mrs. Funnybones by Twinkle Khanna

So, after i finished the crime fiction The Girl On The Train, I wanted to read a light book (not light as in the weight, duh! Light means a rom-com ) and then I started reading Mrs. Funnybones by Twinkle Khanna, (does the name ring any bells? Wife of Akshay Kumar, daughter of Rajesh Khanna, ahaan , remember?) I finished it in a single day, and i had gone to college that day, so basically within half a day.
Now, let me tell you that the title is justified because there IS a lot of humor in the book. Twinkle Khanna has really outdone herself and brought the bar of comedy in the Indian English Fiction to another level (in a positive way). The book is also controversial but hey, it does send you in fits of laughter. There are some very sharp observations that she has made and her opinion on trivial matters and the way she describes little things with a sarcasm is also quite good.
Although, I had expected a little bit more from the book, looking at the number of pages, a little bit more on the content side but then I had to satisfy myself with what was there in it.
The novel is a take on the society of modern India, a satire on all things human. She sheds the star wife image that people have of her, and talks about the problems which every working modern mother faces. Her family consists of the man of the house(Akshay Kumar), the prodigal son, the baby, the mother and the mother-in-law. Apart from these characters, others are also present. She shows the multi-tasking with which modern Indian women have to acquaint themselves to in order to fulfill the duties of a wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend.
Twinkle Khanna frankly shares the anecdotes from her life, her daily routine consisting of making sure the kids are happy, her husband is happy, her mother and her mother-in-law are happy and then looking after her own happiness. She gives us an insight into her life and that her life is not all that glittery. She also has her shares of changing diapers, getting mad at servants, cooking food, taking her kids to hobby classes and then, also go to work.
The chapters are really interestingly placed, they are not numbered but placed alphabetically, from A to Z.  Like, the first chapter is "A: Am I an idiot?" and the second chapter is "B: Beware of mommy dearest" and so on and so forth until the last chapter "Z: Zip your mouth for God's sake". In the beginning of each chapter there are funny couplets or paragraphs. For example, there is one that says, "Don't look down on people because then they can see the crap stuck up your nostril" , another one goes "Why do women have longer lifespans? Is it because we express ourselves all the time, thus reducing stress? Or are the men just trying to die earlier to escape the incessant chatter?".
Twinkle Khanna, in the beginning of the book has mentioned that the woman in the book is "slightly lazier, a bit more high-strung and her jokes are a lot funnier" than hers.
In the book, you get to witness the rantings of a wife, mother and a daughter. She shares with her readers instances when her mother had embarrassed her in front of people by telling how she had got stuck in a bucket when she was young. Khanna shares loads of stories from her childhood and also making fun of her name, she mentions people sending her messages which said, "Twinkle Twinkle little star, I hope you get hit by a car".
As you  progress through the book, you start relating yourself with the protagonist and the reader gets to see the nuances of daily life.
All in all, the book is a good read, very light( again, not the weight :P) and full of humor. Sometimes the word Blimey occurs way too often but otherwise, the book is quite good. The book will put you in a good mood and I am sure that you will have fun reading it with the constant funny anecdotes. I sure did find it quite interesting, and enjoyed reading it.

If you have also read the book, then do comment and share your views on it.

Happy Reading! :)

Love,
The Bibliophagist

P.S: I am currently reading To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and I want my tests to finish quickly because I have like 10 more novels which are sitting on my table all having the When-Will-Our-Chance-Come expressions. So, I guess i will have to take out 'more' time for them.

P.P.S: I am now on Instagram by the name of  TheBibliophagist, so please follow me there for my latest purchases and what's next in store for all you.

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

I am currently juggling between novels. My hands are full of them. Recently on my visit to Crossword bookstore I bought four books that I wanted to read and there are still twenty or so books remaining on my To-Read list. Out of the four books one is The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins. 

The novel comes under the Crime and Mystery Thriller genre and the lines written under the name of the book "You don't know her. But she knows you." gave me creeps. 

I loved the cover page of the novel with the in-motion title. I wanted to read this novel because on a website I saw that it has become very popular in the United States and also because of my undying love towards crime, suspense, detective and the synonyms that describe this stuff, my favorite being The Godfather and Sidney Sheldon's novels.  

To be really frank, in the beginning I was quite unsettled with the way the protagonist Rachel is portrayed. The novel is written like the protagonist is writing a diary. The time, day and date is mentioned whenever the scene shifts. It is in the first person narrative and there are multiple narrators in the novel. One chapter shows what Rachel is thinking and doing. Next chapters shows what Anna is thinking and doing and another chapter shows what Megan is thinking. The thing which confused me was that the date and time of Megan's activity is in the past. It gets really confusing in the beginning but then some incidents make you want to read it and collect the clues and put it together. The novel follows the troubled Rachel and daily life as she takes the train to London everyday. 

Rachel is alcoholic, drunk most of the times. Her drinking habit got worse after getting separated from her husband  Tom. 

Anna is the second wife of Tom who lives with him where Rachel used to live.

Megan is the neighbor of Tom and Anna, she lives with her husband Scott and has a dark past. 

Rachel is the woman who takes the train from Ashbury to London every weekday for work and sees past the her old house, and Megan's house which lie alongside the railway tracks. Everyday she is witness to the activities taking place in the house which makes her believe that she is also a part of them.  

The novel is a psychological thriller and inlcudes some serious brainwashing. If you are into such serious thrillers then probably you should read it. At first the novel will seem boring but then as you progress through it, the tension builds up. 

I would say that it is a good read. But there is a just a tiny drawback because of all the multiple narrators and the shift in time. It just gets confusing. 

The novel is serious and seeks full attention of yours to understand the nuances which the narrators describe. 

I would suggest to read a rom-com after it. Trust me you do not want another thriller after this. 

I haven't disclosed any climax and have just given a little introduction to the novel. If you are interested then please do read it. I hope that this post helped you. 

Happy reading! :) 

Love, 

The Bibliophagist

P.S : I have submitted my assignment which was due this week. I might be a procrastinator but i get things done on time. B) 

And i have also finished Mrs. Funnybones and soon i will be posting about it. 

I am currently reading To Kill A Mockingbird. 

Lights will guide you home.

Has it ever happened when you have felt lost? I am not talking about losing your way and ending up some place wrong and just getting physically lost. I am talking about 'feeling lost'. The feeling you get when there is no one that can help you and you desperately want answers to some questions that you just can't figure out yourself.
I have gone through this I-am-seriously-in-a-effed-up situation when I completed my class 12th boards. Everyone was too busy filling out applications of their "dream colleges and universities" and I was sitting their like a donkey. I had no idea what i was suppose to do with and in my life. My life felt like a complete waste. Wrong, a psychologist would say at this point, and even add shit like "embrace your shortcomings, and blah blah blah". Being an 18 year old and having no idea which course you should opt for was a nightmare which i don't want anyone to have.
My case was that i wasn't sure what i wanted with my life. Now, I will take this moment to tell you all that i like to dabble in a lot of different things. I love to learn different things, like baking, horse-riding, playing golf(which i have started to learn), playing piano and stuff like that. I have a creative head and i like designing. My love for designing led me to believe that I should probably get into NIFT and learn fashion designing (which was my go-to career since class 8 because i am good at art and painting). But even when i was giving my NIFT entrance i wasn't sure. Me and my confused mind! Phew! Plus, all the aunties that used to visit my house now and then would say, "Arey, designing acha!" making a pitiful face as if sympathizing with me and the gloomy future that I will have when i take up designing. They would continue to say, "hamare jaan ne wale hain unki beti ne designing ki, ab aap meri beti ko dekhiye jo itna acha kama rhi hai aur unki beti ko dekhiye jisko job hi nhi mil rhi (There is an acquaintance of mine whose daughter had done designing, now see my daughter who is earning so much and their daughter who has no job)". I won't say that it had any impact on me but my family was apprehensive about it because not one but many aunties said such stuff.

This shit aside, I did get through the entrances and the second paper and was even offered NIFT Hyderabad in the last counselling which took place after one and a half month of the announcement of the results. Within that time I had lost my grandma and was in no mood to give a eff about my life. This and then the irritation that i had not been offered any centre even when i had a good rank in the first few counselings led me to say NO when they offered my Hyderabad. It is human nature to get frustrated when you keep on waiting. I used to check the website every time they uploaded the allocation list and every effing time they disappointed me.
So to get away from it, I joined a university in my city and i enrolled myself in a B.tech course even after repeatedly mentioning the fact that i don't want to do B.tech, i don't want to be an engineer (i don't have any grudge against engineers by the way). I went for a day, came back home, went the second day with an application to change my course from B.tech to B.A. (Hons) English. I found myself quite at home in pursuing this course and now I am in second year. My passion for designing has not died and I plan on getting a Diploma from NIFT.
Sometimes i think that i made a mistake in not accepting NIFT Hyderabad but then people kept saying that maybe life has some other plans for me and i have my hopes pinned on it. Maybe life does have some plans for me even if i don't.

Right now I am happy studying English Lit because I have always loved reading books (you must be thinking that this girl seems to love every thing, well i like being in love) and i have also secured the highest marks *_* .
I don't know what future has in store for me so i am kinda doing my work,writing my blog and waiting for the lights to guide me home, as in, to my rightful place.

Love,
The Bibliophagist

P.S.- Do share with me if you have experienced the same.
Mail me your story at: bibliophile.beingnerdy@gmail.com
Picture credits : pinterest.com

Wuthering Heights

I have got a very interesting subject this semester. Yep it is all about the novels. I have got four novels to study in this semester apart from other subjects and believe me there are a whole lot of other subjects like Indian English Poetry and Indian English Prose and Literary Criticism and many others. The four novels are Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. So I am currently reading Wuthering Heights and i wonder why the hell i did not read it before. I finished ten chapters yesterday and i just can't put it down. Heathcliff has run away from Wuthering Heights and Mrs. Dean is testing my patience leaving the narration in the middle of nowhere. I can imagine what Mr. Lockwood must be going through.
The novel is a tad bit different from the other novels that i have read because we see the world through Mr. Lockwood's eyes and how he interprets it. When i started reading it I was confused when Mrs. Heathcliff is shown sitting, who by the way is Mr. Heathcliff's daughter-in-law. I had to go over that chapter twice to understand who was that young lady and the lad. Then when Mrs. Dean narrates the story, things start becoming a bit clearer and though, i am yet to finish the novel, I am fully capable of making a family chart of the Earnshaws and Lintons.
I am thoroughly enjoying reading it and just can't put it down because I am so into it. It's like being there in the sitting room of Wuthering Heights and seeing all the drama unfold before my eyes.
It also has some horror elements with the weather and the dream that Mr. Lockwood had when he spent a night in Wuthering Heights because of the storm. [I love when some mystery and horror elements creep up in novels. As a result my summer project was based on The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole which was the first ever Gothic novel written in the history of English Literature. I also love S.T. Coleridge for his poems are soaked in mystery and horror.]

I hope that i finish this novel in another day or two because i have my mid-semesters exams probably at the end of September.
I can't believe that i can't seem to have any time for reading novels. I also have to write my term paper on Robinson Crusoe on which i am doing a Post-Colonial study. I have so much to read and you people won't believe but apart from two or three novels that i must read at any cost if i have to sail through this semester, i have twenty other novels on my 'To Read List'. God only knows how i will manage to read them.

Do tell me about your views about Wuthering Heights if you have read it or any of the other classic novels.
Love,
The Bibliophagist

P.S. - The quote is by Catherine Earnshaw ( the lady love of Heathcliff) when she confesses her love for Heathcliff to the servant Mrs. Dean after having given her word to Edgar Linton for marriage. Phew! Complicated right? I thought so too.


 Picture credits : First one from indulgy.com
                           The quote is from pinterest.com

Welcome to my World.

Hey pretty people out there. This blog is dedicated to my undying love towards novels. I am a English Literature student so my love for books is justified. I love discussing books and the characters which are so close to my heart. The only thing is that i seldom find a person who is as dedicated towards reading as I am. I rarely am able to discuss a book which both of us have read. Though I am blessed to have Potterhead friends with whom I constantly discuss Harry Potter and all its nuances, but I don't often find people who have read Jane Austen or Sidney Sheldon, or Dan Brown, or some other writer. My passion of reading books started way back in Class 7 when i laid my hands on Nancy Drew. I started with detective thrillers, read Sidney and loved the suspense and crime thrillers. I then moved on to the Shopaholic series for some entertainment because i <3 shopping [i wanted to become a fashion designer but life had other plans :) ]. Presently, I have a collection of 150+ novels which I have been reading and collecting from Class 7. I don't like to borrow and read because I seriously don't like having another person's book in my hands. It feels like a stranger in my house.
Also, I am suffering from bibliosmia.Calm down. It is not some major disease. Don't know what that is? Bibliosmia is the sensation of smelling the books. It gives us, all bibliophiles, a major satisfaction when we smell the book. Weird? Nah, I don't think so.
Coming back to the point. I have made several blogs but i am not a regular because i don't think that the topics for which they were made were my calling. So i have ended up making another one and i hope that i am able to get through with this one. I will be posting my views not only on books but also my views in general. Hope you guys will like it.
The comment section is always open for all the reader to post their opinions which i will be more than happy to read.

Till then.
Ciao.
Love,
The Bibliophagist.

P.S - Bibliophagist means a person who is a voracious reader. I think it suits me.