Paradise is there, behind that door, in the next room; but I have lost the key. Perhaps I have only mislaid it.
- Khalil Gibran ( Sand & Foam )
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Nothingness
After the last heart break,
She locked her heart so tight,
And threw the key so far,
That now when she wants to retrieve it,
To breathe again,
She cannot find it.
She has lost the key to her heart…
She has lost herself…
And she will soon die,
Suffocate with nothingness…
And sometimes i write something like this too!
Review – Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding (Book)
Bridget Jones’s Diary, the first episode in the Bridget Jones’s Series, is a novel written by Helen Fielding.
Although I know this novel has been in the market for more than a decade now but I recently got the chance to read it. Yes sometimes I completely forget about a task… for years. This book had been on my to-read list for years now and I forgot about it every time.
Anyways, starting with the review, this book did hold up to the popularity it had gained. It is a funny book written about a normal English girl in her early 30s who is fretting about her weight problems, single life and career issues, though career being of the least importance.
The story starts with Bridget, single and a very accident prone person, who is frustrated with her life as nothing in it is as she would like it to be. She has no idea where her career is going and what she is doing with her life as a whole. On top of that her mother and Mrs. Jones’s friend is trying to set her up with an old acquaintance’s son, Mark Darcy toward whom Bridget forms an immediate dislike.
On New Year’s Eve, she makes a journal to keep a record of her resolutions and evaluate by the end of year how much she has accomplished. Some important points that make her resolutions list are her losing weight, lower alcohol and smoke intake and her obsession and progress with her boss for a relationship.
This book takes on how woman often go for an ass leaving or ignoring the good guy totally. This is one point I guess every one of us can relate to easily. 
Also how most woman assume/daydream that they are superwoman and can easily ace in every task they take. Some unfortunate events also take place relating Mrs. Jones.
Also how most woman assume/daydream that they are superwoman and can easily ace in every task they take. Some unfortunate events also take place relating Mrs. Jones.
It is hilarious in parts where you can actually find yourself grinning or often laughing out loud as well. The set of friends that Bridget has are equally amusing in their own way. Jude, the emotional one, who suggest books of all kind of healing and understandings, Tom, the homosexual who is a sweetheart (which girl doesn’t want to have a gay friend to talk about boys and shopping) and Shazza, the feminist.
A few points that increase a reader’s interest are:
1) Extensive use of the word “Fuckwittage” gets you intrigued to understand its complete meaning which is explained pretty nicely with lines like
“That is such crap. How dare you be so fraudulently flirtatious, cowardly and dysfunctional? I am not interested in emotional fuckwittage. Goodbye.”
“I will not fall for any of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, commitment phobics, people with girlfriends or wives, misogynists, megalomanics, chauvists, emotional fuckwits or freeloaders, perverts.”
If you still don’t get what it means here it is:
Mind games men play when dating. It can also be applied to women in rare cases.
It can be preceded by “emotional” to make it about manipulating emotions or just plain “fuckwittage”.
2) The mention of a kind of power Mrs. Jones posses over men.
“Mum has power over dad and Julio and tax man and they sense it and want a part of it making her even more irresistible.”
I think this part was simply amazing. It was very interesting and served as a food for thought too.
3) How treating a man in a very ‘aloof; unavailable; ice queen’ manner gets him more and more attentive to a girl.
This book is a MUST read for anyone in their 20s or have been through enough relationships (problems) regardless of their own or friends’ to understand every bit of it.
Not written as a normal novel but more like diary entries makes it interesting to read. A reader won’t get impatient to wait for a whole chapter to end before taking a break. A little diary episode ends and that is it, end of chapter.
Lastly, there have been some arguments made as to how a person can write a journal while they are in places creating havoc. Well I being an ex-journal keeper myself can actually verify that YES we can do that very easily which is the precise reason why we lose so much time on tasks that require our immediate attention. We are too busy writing away our inner-selves that we don’t even notice how seconds turn into minutes and minutes turn into hours. 
Haha! Hope you guys enjoy the review and if you haven’t read it already will think of reading it. Do share your opinion about the review or the book. Anything is welcome. 
My Journey with Paulo Coelho
Reason of such a title:
Because it’s always written at the end of his books “Life is a journey… Live it with Paulo Coelho”
This post is an attempt to take you all on a journey of my experience with Coelho’s books. For those of you who have no idea who he is, my Last Post was a brief introduction of him.
When I started reading Coelho I had no idea who he was or where he was from. But when I read his work I was mesmerized with his writing. His books are very easy to read, understand and relate. The main theme is always on life lessons, be it a person’s destiny, change or love. You get a variety of all emotions.
Following is a list of his books I have read in chronicle order.
1) Like the Flowing River: I believe I got on a great start with his work by LTFR being my first one. Because often people I know complain they did not like Alchemist, his first book. Anyway, according to me, Like the Flowing River is one of his best works. This book is made up of his thoughts and short stories of 2-4 pages, all very interesting and fun to read. These stories focus on topics ranging from archery, music, elegance to good and evil. If you like this book, you will like rest of his collection.
2) Veronika Decides to Die: When I read this book I was still very young to understand the concept of masturbation or how the world takes it. Born and raised in a South Asian culture, these concepts are not highly regarded in our community at least. That is why when I read the book, I felt kind of disgusted by that one particular part where Veronika does it. I thought I would hate Coelho’s work now. But fortunately I didn’t stop reading him.
3) The Witch of Portobello: I LOVED it. In fact that’s an understatement!! My weakness for blue color, as the cover was blue, made me read it. But I just LOVED reading it. The concept of the book was feminine divinity and finding one’s true self. My favorite part was the ending, Athena’s death.
After reading these three, there started an endless craze. I just had to read all his books.
4) Brida: Another book I loved. The thing I liked the most about this book was its cover. It was beautiful. I think beside the fact that Coelho is such an amazing writer, his book covers are the BEST. And it’s sad when they release more than one cover of a book. Because then people like me have to buy another copy just for the cover. (Freak, much?! Very much!!) I loved the story, how the wise man knows she is his soul mate but lets her go because he believes that she should fulfill her destiny.
Another beautiful cover of Brida
5) By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: This is another of my very favorite books. The theme was Love. It’s about a girl named Pilar who is frustrated with her life and wants something greater than mere university life and the prospect after. She meets her childhood sweetheart and the story unfolds. My favorite part was the ending. It was surprising, beautiful and had me in tears. Simple love story of feelings and not of materials.
My favorite part was the ending. It was surprising, beautiful and had me in tears. Simple love story of feelings and not of materials.
6) The Zahir: Theme of this book was Marriage, Love and finding your true self. The story revolves around a successful writer in search of his missing wife. This book reminded me of a Hindi movie, Love Aaj Kal, because of similarity of the climax scene.
7) Eleven Minutes: I did not want to read it at first because it widely revolved around the life of a prostitute and her business, I have a weak heart and all this freaks me out. But later I did, and I liked it. Though to me the ending was kind of not practical, but maybe in some other world it would have been possible.
8) The Fifth Mountain: a book on religion and love, another favorite. This book was capable of making me feel Love.
9) The Devil and Miss Prym: It focused on the decisions that we take in our life and how they are manipulated by Good, Evil, Fear and Temptations.
10) The Valkyries: It actually is an autobiography but narrated by a third person’s perspective. In this book Coelho and his wife go on a journey to find his guardian angel.
11) Aleph: It was the then latest piece when I went to Borders. I just had to buy it. The cover was beautiful as ever. This was a crazy book and to think that Coelho actually did all that was amazing. Yes, it’s an autobiography too in which Coelho embarks on a Trans-Siberian train journey in search of his true path.
12) Manual of the Warrior of Light: This was next in my to-read list. I got it in e-book format and downloaded it. This book was more like a real manual that summarized Coelho’s teachings about how a Warrior of Light should be. Short and interesting.
13) The Winner Stands Alone: I read this recently. It revolves around the media world, fashion, movies, fame, money and no happiness. Coelho’s book always has an ending with positive feeling but this book left me with a negative one. Yet again a great cover.
And finally looking very much forward to Coelho’s new book Manuscript found in Accra which is already available in Borders. I will be treating myself to it soon!!!
I will be treating myself to it soon!!!
PS. Yes I know there are still some books I haven’t read. It’s not easy to get them here but I have downloaded some in pdf format and will be reading them soon too!
My Favorite Writer ❤
Paulo Coelho
Paulo
Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In his teenage he realized his
ambition was to become a writer. But his parents were against this path of a
career and insisted on him joining a Law school instead. An year later, Coelho
dropped out of college and traveled to South America, North Africa,
Mexico, and Europe.
After two
years, Coelho returned to Brazil and became a songwriter and had a successful
career. In 1974, he was imprisoned for a short time by the military
dictatorship then ruling in Brazil considering him dangerous due to his
occultist lyrics in some songs.
Finally in
1986, Coelho pursued a full-time career as a writer. His first book The
Alchemist was published in 1988. After that, began a series of brilliantly
written novels with life lesson theme and light-reads.
Some of his
books are: Veronika Decides to Die, Like the Flowing River, The Fifth Mountain,
Aleph, etc and the newly released Manuscripts found in Accra.
PS. My next post is about my experience with his books. Stay tuned!! :D
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