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.