Top 5 Books To Read During The Lockdown Period

I am a book worm (or maybe a book dinosaur, if only there was such a term!). I read when I am happy, I read when I feel not so happy, I read when I am angry, I read when I am calm, basically I read whenever possible. Do you like reading as well? Are they your favorite companion in this lockdown period? Here goes my top 5 books for this confinement period. These books talk about Isolation, Quarantine, Virus, Survival and most importantly about Life.

Inferno by Dan Brown

This is the fourth book featuring Robert Langdon. Though I still prefer 'Angels and the Demons' and 'The Da Vinci Code' from the Langdon series, yet this one seems more apt during these times. The antagonist, an exceptionally brilliant scientist, wants to release a virus which will reduce the word's population substantially. Langdon travels across the beautiful architectures of Florence, fights with a loss of memory, works with WHO, references Dante's Inferno and finally ends up in Istanbul. In a race against time, will Robert be able to save the world? 

 

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Remember the History class in school? An invaluable piece in terms of History , this was the book our History teacher recommended in school. An Insightful read. Anne started her diary when she was 13, kept writing for 2 years about their life in hiding. Eventually they were discovered and she died in the concentration camp. It was after the war that her father found it and published it. Isolated from the world, they were truly locked down and trying to 'live' and 'survive'. It is remarkable how a teenager raises some very matured (sometimes disturbing) questions around humanity. So, let's show gratitude, and let's love and pray for all.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Have you watched the movie? If you have and you liked Richard Parker, now is the time to go back and read the book.
All about survival right? Piscine Patel aka Pi can survive for 227 days in a lifeboat with a tiger, why can't we? Next time when we think about Isolation, Quarantine I am sure Pi's image will come to your mind. This book is about survival and also about keeping faith.

So let's not complain about the limited ration anymore, let's celebrate life and happily read Pis journey.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The book is set in Afghanistan and portrays the story of two women, Mariam and Laila, a story about life of Afghan women, about the purpose to live, most importantly a story of sacrifice and friendship. This book tells you about Afghanistan, how much the people have endured and how beautiful the country is. Mariam gets married to Rasheed, years later Rasheed marries a much younger Laila. How does Mariam react to this marriage? No spoilers for now. I am surely going to write a detailed review on this book someday.

For now, cheers to Mariam, Laila and their indomitable spirit.

Johnny Gone Down by Karan Bajaj

'Johnny Gone Down' is one of my personal favorites. This book takes you around the world in a roller coaster ride! It seems unbelievable at times, but that adds to the excitement. This book revolves around the life of Nikhil aka Johnny. He was once a scholar, an MIT graduate, about to start a bright career with NASA , but life had different plans for him. From being in the middle of a genocide, to being a Monk, to working with a drug lord, falling in love and getting married to a Brazilian model, he had a very eventful life. This book tells us about life and it is all about the choices you make. Be thankful and celebrate each day. Loved it from cover to cover!

So, happy reading. Leave a comment mentioning your favorite one from the list.
Stay Safe, Stay at Home.
Happy Reading.

5 Best Harry Potter Gifts

My checklist as a Harry Potter fan:

• Read all the books
• Watched all the movies
• Wrote a Harry Potter review in my blog...but I am clearly still not over Harry Potter yet. So next I find the Harry Potter gift items and list my my top five Harry Potter gifts,  surely what can be a better gift for a fan than this? Gift it to your loved ones, or to yourself!

1. Harry Potter Back Pack:

How cool will it be to carry your stuffs in a back pack with Hogwarts Logo.  Imagine yourself walking across a platform (even if it is not Platform 9 and 3/4) carrying that back pack. Surely you will get attentions of a few muggles and fellow wizards!

         

2. The Golden Snitch

 This one is a must have for the collectors. A Golden Snitch is something all Harry Potter fans would love to own. This looks antique, the watch is beautiful and the wings look like they have just come out of the pages of a HP book. This one is my favorite from this list!

           

3. Pendant Set

A set of two pendants one with the Hallows and the other sporting the time turner. They are available individually as well. To my male readers, if your wife or girl friend is a HP fan, this gift will make their day. To my female readers, don't wait for him, gift it to yourself! You totally deserve it. This goes well with all dresses, be it the little black dress or your red t-shirt, just put this around your neck and you will look magical!

                                                       
        

4. Sipper Bottle

How cool will it be to sip from a sipper with HP message. I like the one which says "I Solemnly Swear that I am up to No Good" the best. But others are good too. Keep this in your desk at work or take it out from your bag in public to take a sip (or to just show off !)

                                                     
       

5. Harry Potter Hoodie

Now this one is one stylish hoodie to own. Though it is in the men's section, the size chart mentions it as unisex and I would not mind buying it. Looks cool and sporty when paired with your favorite pair of jeans. So next time you go out for a movie with friends, you know what to wear.

                                                       
     




Disclaimer: I do not own all of these, but found these pretty interesting.

HARRY POTTER

In my review of Enid Blyton’s school stories, I had promised the Harry Potter fans that I would soon write about Harry and his friends. So, today I am here to keep my promise.
I have been a proud book worm since my childhood days. But for some reason, maybe for the too much hype it created, I never thought that I would like Harry Potter. I could never understand the concept of people getting crazy with someone flying on a broom. So, I had not read Harry Potter for a long time. And then some magic happened and I became one amongst the million HP fans.
I was in Chennai for my job. I was new to the software industry, in fact, it was my first project. New city, new surroundings without many friends. So, of course, I started spending more time with my friend forever – books. So this is how after having read whatever was available to me, I thought about giving HP a try. I am thankful that I did.

I started on this magical journey and I read one book after other and was totally addicted. The journey of friendship and magic, of wisdom and greatness, of love and family, made me overjoyed and elated. While some parts made me cry, and unknowingly I would wipe a tear or two as I read on...
 I could never believe that Dumbledore could die, and till the last book, I kept thinking that he would somehow come back. Also, how I loved Fred and George. Why did Fred have to die? The book would have remained equally interesting if he would have lived till the. Another of my favorite character is Sirius. His association with Harry should have been longer (Dumbledore thought so too, and so do I)

Now for some of my favorite parts from HP which never fails to bring a smile to my face:

• When Hagrid crashes down the door in the middle of the night to announce that Harry is a wizard.
• Harry meeting Ron, their first ride on the Hogwarts express
• When Harry and Hermione save Buckbeak and Sirius 
• In the last book when Ron comes back, saves Harry.
• When they fly on a dragon’s back from Gringott’s !!!
• When Ginny asks James to give their love to Neville and James responds saying: Mum! I can't give a professor love!................... I can't walk into Herbology and give him love....”. Hillarious. 
• and manyyyyyyy more

Well, there are too many to list…I can go about writing this. But then this is just to stir your thoughts. Maybe you can go back and pick your favorite one from the series and read it again. I am going to do exactly that this weekend. Don't forget to leave a comment with your favorite lines from HP!

Till then you might as you wait to receive your letter from Hogwarts, you can add one of the books(links provided below) to your collection if you don't have it already!

Link to the Harry Potter Series:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter 2)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter 3)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter 4)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter 5)

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Link to the complete collection:

Malory Towers and St.Clare's: Boarding School Stories by Enid Blyton

St. Clare's: series of 6 novels by EB.
Malory Towers: A series of 6 novels by EB.


Did you know???????

1. Pamela Cox added new titles to both the original series. (6 new titles for Malory Towers and 3 more books to the St.Clare's series)
I have not read the ones by Pamela Cox, leave a comment if you have read those.

2. The name Darrell Rivers is derived from Enid Blyton’s second husband
Kenneth Darrell Waters

3. Malory Towers is based on a girls boarding school that Enid Blyton's daughter attended






Enid Blyton has been one of my all-time favorites. I have grown up reading
The Five Find-Outers, Famous Five, Secret Seven and other series. Today however is a day to write about St.Clare's and Malory Towers:
about the O’Sullivan Twins, about Alison, about Claudine, about Darrel,
Sally and Alicia. Their stories would attract any school-going child. (and some young at heart elders like me too). These books make us go back to our own school days maybe that is the
reason I often take up a school storybook and read or most of the time
re-read it!
What grand days they have, the tricks they play on their teachers,
especially Mamzelle Dupont. Let's admit most of us if not all of us have played some sort of prank on friends and teachers during our childhood.
Secret midnight feasts add more excitement to the stories.. Food always
tastes better when you have it secretly with friends at such odd hours. And the games they had, simply captivating. Lacrosse in St.Clare's
or Malory Towers is like Quidditch in Hogwarts. The difference being
that Lacrosse is a game that actually exists in the real-world (I am not saying Quidditch does not exist, just that muggles can never
participate in that). More about Quidditch and Hogwarts in my upcoming
Harry Potter review. A sports freak like me would always love reading
about the matches and tournaments. I even searched up on the internet
recently to find out if there are actually some Lacrosse team in India.
The search results are not too hopeful. But can that make our spirits low?
Of course not. When you read St.Clare's or Malory Towers there are
characters who resemble people you know. I am sure most classes would
have an art or painting genius. There would also be a timid Mary Lou in the
class and the intelligent don’t care mischief-maker like Alicia. The essence
of being in a school of being in class, with friends always remains the same.
The house competitions that we had in our school, are they any less special
than the Tower wise competitions that St.Clare's or Mallory Towers had?
Darrel and Sally are best of friends..don’t we have such friends in our
schools and classes too. These stories will surely take you down the memory
lane and make you remember your own school days. It seems like Enid Blyton has picked the characters from our school life and transformed them into their most interesting versions. That is why a girl living in a city in
India can to an extent resemble herself to a schoolgirl from Britain. Schools
and classes might be different. But certain things are the same across
country / geography. The values, the principles, the differentiation between
the good and the bad - that is what teachers all over would teach.


Link to the St.Clare's Series:
The Twins at St Clare's: Book 1
The O'Sullivan Twins: Book 2
Summer Term at St. Clare's
The Second Form at St Clare's: Book 4
Claudine at St. Clare's
Fifth Formers of St. Clare's

Link to the additional three titles by Pamela Cox
The Third Form at St Clare's
Sixth Form at St. Clare's
Kitty at St Clare's

St Clare's Collection Set:
St Clare's Collection 1: Books 1-3 (St Clare's Collections and Gift books)
St Clare's Collection 3: Books 7-9 (St Clare's Collections and Gift books)
St Clare's Collection 3: Books 7-9 (St Clare's Collections and Gift books)
St Clare's Box Set of 9 Titles

Link to the Malory Towers Series:
First Term: Book 1 (Malory Towers)
Second Form: Book 2 (Malory Towers)
Third Year: Book 3 (Malory Towers)
Upper Fourth: Book 4 (Malory Towers)
In the Fifth: Book 5 (Malory Towers)
Last Term: Book 6 (Malory Towers)

Link to the additional six titles by Pamela Cox
New Term: Book 7 (Malory Towers)
Malory Towers Summer Term
Winter Term at Malory Towers (Malory Towers (Pamela Cox))
Fun and Games: Book 10 (Malory Towers)
Secrets at Malory Towers
Malory Towers: 12: Goodbye

Malory Towers Collection Set:
Malory Towers Complete Box Set of 12 Titles

Jabra Evolve 20 UC Wired Headset/Music Headphones

My previous job required many meetings, skype calls, WebEx meetings, etc. 
I was managing a global team spread across the world. This meant I would be in front of my laptop at various hours of the day. I definitely needed a good headset, better than the ones I normally use to watch movies or listen to music. After doing some research I decided on Jabra, and then picked this up as it was cheaper than the other Jabra headsets (I am sure they have additional features, but this works fine for me). I have not been disappointed. Everyone said they could hear me really well during meetings, people often asked me for the headset brand and model I was using. It cancels background noise to some extent. (I have a railway track passing very near my house, the headset couldn't cancel the sound of the whistle though - I wish it did). 
Also, you can wear this for a long time without feeling uncomfortable. Having very clear sound from both ends, this is a very good choice for professionals. 

MaTiLdA - Roald Dahl

             

                                  

Everyone will tell you this is a great book for kids, well yes it is indeed. But let me tell you it is a great book for adults as well especially for those adults who used to be the mischief-makers during their days and also those who adored the mischief-makers. The story is also about taking control of your own life. In fact, this is one of the most important learnings that the book gives you. The story revolves around Matilda who is barely 5 years old. She has taught herself to read by the age of 3,

by 4 she has read all Children's books in the local library and has started reading more like Dickens and Hemmingway. She is a gifted child, a prodigy. At this age when her fellow classmates can barely read a sentence, she has taught herself to read and has read a good number of books. Her parents, however, do not care for her, nor do they approve of her reading. They prefer the 'Telly' instead. They are ignorant of her great talent and instead of encouraging her, they think her as a problem. The story is how she goes about her life, when her parents are beastly to her she takes her small revenge making it into an amusing story. In school, she meets the formidable miss Trunchbull who is the headmistress. Miss Trunchbull can pick kids up by their hair, ears, ankles and throws them like a hammer. She also meets her form teacher the good and kind Miss Honey. It turns out that Miss Honey has her own problems, the two confide in each other and then Matilda solves Miss Honey's problem, how she does it is interesting but to find out that you need to read the book....after all, passion for reading is an inseparable part of this book.

Holde Pakhir Palak - Leela Majumdar

".....সেখানে সীতাহার গাছের পিছনে সূর্য ডুবে  গিয়ে যেই তার লাল আলোগুলিকে গুটিয়ে নেয়, অমনি নাকি আকাশ থেকে সোনালি রঙের অবাক পাখিরা বটফল খেতে নেমে আসে। তারা ডাকে না, কারণ তাদের গলায় স্বর নেই। তারা মাটিতে বা গাছের ডালে বসতে পারে না, কারণ তাদের পা নেই। এমনি উড়ে ফল খেয়ে আবার আকাশে চলে যায়। কিন্তু দৈবাৎ যদি একটা পাখির ডানা জখম হয়ে সে মাটিতে পড়ে যায়, আর ঠিক সেই সময় যদি তাকে শেয়ালে কী কুকুরে খেয়ে ফেলে, তা হলে সেই শেয়াল কী কুকুর মানুষ হয়ে যায়।......."

A story where fantasy meets real life. While you get engrossed in the book you can feel the magic on every page and maybe you try to find the same magic in your life. The story revolves around Bogi, his sister Rumu, Bhulo their dog and Jhogru who brings all the magic to their life.

A perfect book to read when you are alone, it takes you away from reality. As you read on you don't know when reality ends and fantasy begins. From mermaids to flying horses, to that special tree and fairies, forests, magic glasses and a magical bird with yellow feather...unrealistic yet so very real. You would feel like looking outside your window and search for a special flower, or you look at the sky and try to find that very special golden bird.