Just like me to write about a book. Don't you think? And to write about a book by Neil Gaiman, again. I can't seem to help it. Remember when I wrote about American Gods? This time it's Anansi boys.
Anansi Boys is a wonderful read. It's witty. Funny. Gripping. and sometimes a little sad. It's a story about family ties and brothers. It's a story about fathers and sons. Mostly it's an Anansi story. What's an Anansi story? I don't want to give the story away. I have been blamed countless times for giving away endings of books, tv shows, movies and so on, and told that I ruin the stories for people. But as one who reads the last page of a book first, I really don't get what the big deal is. You know what I mean? Or maybe you don't? So what I'm trying to say is, it's best if you get the book and read. And trust me, you will not regret it. It is that awesome!
If you are a fan of Neil Gaiman like me, then you probably have read Sandman and Stardust. The book Stardust is a little different from the lovely movie with the same name starring Michelle Pfeiffer. But that's not the point and I'm straying from the topic.
As I started to read Anansi Boys, I got a strange spidey feeling. I really don't know how to explain it, but it was only later I realised that it was because the book was about Anansi the spider God. That's how genius Neil Gaiman's writing really is.
What else is in it? There's a boy named Fat Charlie. And his brother who is called Spider. One a rather normal person and the other charismatic ans suave.
When you read the story you realise that the Gods aren't so different after all. And they are people too. That's how I felt anyway. So I thought I write this post because lately I've been feeling like I need to tell people my opinions. :)
Even if you are not a Gaiman fan or have not read a single one of his books yet, start with this one, It will have you hooked by the time you're done turning the cover page.
The funny thing is that for a while now, every time I went to a book store (which is frequently by the way) I've asked for any Neil Gaiman books. And the nice bookstore people have kindly informed me time and time again that they are out of stocks. Only one day for me to come home to find that my sister had found Anansi Boys. Here I am searching for them all over the place. But my sister, up gets and finds one.
So if you have time, find it. Read it. And tell me how it went. I would also love to hear any of your thoughts on all things Neil Gaiman. :). I'm a little obsessed. Did you notice?
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Behind the wheel in the dark hours
I drive. Everyday. Back and forth. Except for those annoying and irritating moments when fellow drivers on the road are maniacal and makes me wish for the wagon-carts, I'm a cheerful driver. It is my resolution that I don't let myself be bothered by the indiscipline of others. I follow road rules. Keep to my lanes. And am courteous to others.
Sometimes it happens that I drive at night. And most of the time, driving at night is easier than daytime. There is usually less traffic. Until last Saturday night, the latest hour I had driven was about 11 at night.
Last Saturday night, my husband went to party. In a moment of chivalry I suggested that I should take the car in case he drank and couldn't drive. And I offered to wait at my parent's place and pick him up when he called.
I myself was having a good night until my mother asked "when are you going to pick him up?"
I said "amma.. he said he'll call.."
"When is he going to call?"
" I don't know.. two or three I guess".
"WHAT??? WHAT??? WHAT?? YOU'RE GOING TO DRIVE ALONE AT THREE IN THE MORNING????" while she was shouting at me, she was calling my dad. "DID YOU HEAR WHAT SHE SAID? SHE'S SAYING SHE'S GOING TO DRIVE ALONE AT THREE. STOP HER!!!"
So while the whole house was going up in flames around me, I pointed out, with a little help from my sister, that :
a) I was not scared
b) I was a grown up
c) I was not scared
d) I drive all the time
e) I was not scared
f) there are law enforcement people all over the place in case something happens
g) I was not scared.
All of my good arguments fell on deaf ears I'm afraid. Finally I had to say " amma.. go to sleep, I'll text him and see"
"Text him now"...... "Did you text him?"................ "What did he say?"
Their arguments were that:
a) roads were filled with drunkards, psychos and molesters.
b) a girl could not trust the law enforcement authorities when she's alone
c) there were bad drivers on the road.
d) someone would ask me to step out of the car and steal the car.(My favourite)
In the end it turned out that I didn't have to drive alone at three in the morning, darling took a taxi and came.
But all this drama left me wondering, is it so dangerous for a woman to drive alone at night? Should we really be this scared? Are all these fears justified?
Sometimes it happens that I drive at night. And most of the time, driving at night is easier than daytime. There is usually less traffic. Until last Saturday night, the latest hour I had driven was about 11 at night.
Last Saturday night, my husband went to party. In a moment of chivalry I suggested that I should take the car in case he drank and couldn't drive. And I offered to wait at my parent's place and pick him up when he called.
I myself was having a good night until my mother asked "when are you going to pick him up?"
I said "amma.. he said he'll call.."
"When is he going to call?"
" I don't know.. two or three I guess".
"WHAT??? WHAT??? WHAT?? YOU'RE GOING TO DRIVE ALONE AT THREE IN THE MORNING????" while she was shouting at me, she was calling my dad. "DID YOU HEAR WHAT SHE SAID? SHE'S SAYING SHE'S GOING TO DRIVE ALONE AT THREE. STOP HER!!!"
So while the whole house was going up in flames around me, I pointed out, with a little help from my sister, that :
a) I was not scared
b) I was a grown up
c) I was not scared
d) I drive all the time
e) I was not scared
f) there are law enforcement people all over the place in case something happens
g) I was not scared.
All of my good arguments fell on deaf ears I'm afraid. Finally I had to say " amma.. go to sleep, I'll text him and see"
"Text him now"...... "Did you text him?"................ "What did he say?"
Their arguments were that:
a) roads were filled with drunkards, psychos and molesters.
b) a girl could not trust the law enforcement authorities when she's alone
c) there were bad drivers on the road.
d) someone would ask me to step out of the car and steal the car.(My favourite)
In the end it turned out that I didn't have to drive alone at three in the morning, darling took a taxi and came.
But all this drama left me wondering, is it so dangerous for a woman to drive alone at night? Should we really be this scared? Are all these fears justified?
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Romancing the novel
Shady title eh? I've been reading so many romance novels lately I think it's becoming difficult for me to speak normally. Exactly how many romance novels have I read in the past two weeks? err.. let me see.. I'm too embarrassed to count.
While they are juicy, steamy, sometimes very very embarrassing to read (and I continue to do so) I wonder, should I be embarrassed to admit that I read them? My brother used to say that if he catches me with another one of them, he will burn it. My sister while rolling her eyes and calling me names reads them nevertheless. My husband, well, he calls them p**n for girls. :)
OK so here's the gist. I don't read Mills and Boon or Harlequin. I'm partial to the historical kind. With dukes and earls and damsels in distress. You know the kind I mean. I wonder if it is because we, the ladies, are now supposed to be (and want to be) strong, independent and confident with hardly ever a need to be rescued by a dashing hero. But then when I come to think of it, the heroes in our lives do come to our rescue (to quote yet another romance novel) at the drop of a hat.
So, are we really any different from the ladies in those books? Here's one aspect that makes us definitely different from them. The number of children they produce. For example, I was reading a series of books about eight siblings, each book dedicated to the love life of each sibling. To start with, eight children? Well that's a little overboard. To top it all, the last of the brothers (It was four brothers and four sisters by the way) gets married and the poor woman whom he marries produces, WAIT FOR IT, nine offspring. Nine. Yep. You read that right.
I have friends who love a romance novel. And I have some other friends who hate them. Considering that every book shop carries a selection of romance novels to choose from and the fact that people continue to buy them, maybe people do actually like them. (Behind closed doors)
Do you read romance novels ladies? or gents? There is absolutely nothing wrong with a man reading about how another handsome and dashing man with a devilish gleam in his eyes came to the rescue of a frail young lady is there? heh.. hee.. :D
While they are juicy, steamy, sometimes very very embarrassing to read (and I continue to do so) I wonder, should I be embarrassed to admit that I read them? My brother used to say that if he catches me with another one of them, he will burn it. My sister while rolling her eyes and calling me names reads them nevertheless. My husband, well, he calls them p**n for girls. :)
OK so here's the gist. I don't read Mills and Boon or Harlequin. I'm partial to the historical kind. With dukes and earls and damsels in distress. You know the kind I mean. I wonder if it is because we, the ladies, are now supposed to be (and want to be) strong, independent and confident with hardly ever a need to be rescued by a dashing hero. But then when I come to think of it, the heroes in our lives do come to our rescue (to quote yet another romance novel) at the drop of a hat.
So, are we really any different from the ladies in those books? Here's one aspect that makes us definitely different from them. The number of children they produce. For example, I was reading a series of books about eight siblings, each book dedicated to the love life of each sibling. To start with, eight children? Well that's a little overboard. To top it all, the last of the brothers (It was four brothers and four sisters by the way) gets married and the poor woman whom he marries produces, WAIT FOR IT, nine offspring. Nine. Yep. You read that right.
I have friends who love a romance novel. And I have some other friends who hate them. Considering that every book shop carries a selection of romance novels to choose from and the fact that people continue to buy them, maybe people do actually like them. (Behind closed doors)
Do you read romance novels ladies? or gents? There is absolutely nothing wrong with a man reading about how another handsome and dashing man with a devilish gleam in his eyes came to the rescue of a frail young lady is there? heh.. hee.. :D
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Delusions of a new housewife
I aspire a lot. Whether my aspirations realise or not is another matter altogether.
When my husband & I moved into a place of our own a few months ago, I had all sorts of grand plans. And mind you, everything D.I.Y too. Fix up the garden, bake regularly, wake up before the sun & cook, mop the floor every morning etc etc etc.
This long and industrious list also includes menu planning for every week & preparing a grocery list. While some of the others above I might not have achieved yet, ( Mopping the floor every day! It's not a healthy goal, mind wise) every week I do plan ahead what to cook for the coming week & make a grocery list. That way we don't end buying things we don't need & minimises impulsive buying.
So here's where I went wrong. When we moved in we stocked up the pantry by me spending one whole day at Cargills. Then, the first few weeks, we bought all our groceries from Keells in the neighbouhood. Prices aren't too bad. Can buy pretty much everything from the same place. You know the merits.
Then a funny thing happened. Delusions of austerity. I thought it was too much of grandeur to be shopping at super markets.
"Look at all those people shopping at the Sunday pola. Darling can you take me to the Manning market? Thousands of people shop at the Manning Market!, No?, How about the economic centre in Narahenpita then? Nugegoda pola is good, let's go there"
My indulging husband took me to both the economic centre and the Nugegoda daily pola. But of course we always had to go to Cargills to buy other house hold stuff after buying vegetables & such from the pola.
He outright refused to take me to the Manning market. I have never set foot in there. But really really want to.
At first prices seemed fair, the merchandise good, the vegetables fresh and I thought one could find anything one wanted in the pola.
Particularly, the Nugegoda pola has a meat stand which sells sausages and such for half the price of that of Cargills or Keells. Also, the fruit vendor wasn't very strict about the weight of the fruit when he charged us.
Last Sunday night, we went to the pola again. Here's where my delusions shattered. I bought garlic at the pola for 300 Rupees for a kilo. And a kilo of tomatoes at the pola was 80 Rupees.
We crossed the road & went into Cargills.
a kilo of garlic was 199 Ruppes & a kilo of tomatoes was 40 rupees.
There. That was it. All because I thought I was being too grand to shop at the Supermarket while others were shopping at the pola. Learned my lesson. Grandeur apparently is good. It's definitely good for me. Not to sound snotty or anything.
When my husband & I moved into a place of our own a few months ago, I had all sorts of grand plans. And mind you, everything D.I.Y too. Fix up the garden, bake regularly, wake up before the sun & cook, mop the floor every morning etc etc etc.
This long and industrious list also includes menu planning for every week & preparing a grocery list. While some of the others above I might not have achieved yet, ( Mopping the floor every day! It's not a healthy goal, mind wise) every week I do plan ahead what to cook for the coming week & make a grocery list. That way we don't end buying things we don't need & minimises impulsive buying.
So here's where I went wrong. When we moved in we stocked up the pantry by me spending one whole day at Cargills. Then, the first few weeks, we bought all our groceries from Keells in the neighbouhood. Prices aren't too bad. Can buy pretty much everything from the same place. You know the merits.
Then a funny thing happened. Delusions of austerity. I thought it was too much of grandeur to be shopping at super markets.
"Look at all those people shopping at the Sunday pola. Darling can you take me to the Manning market? Thousands of people shop at the Manning Market!, No?, How about the economic centre in Narahenpita then? Nugegoda pola is good, let's go there"
My indulging husband took me to both the economic centre and the Nugegoda daily pola. But of course we always had to go to Cargills to buy other house hold stuff after buying vegetables & such from the pola.
He outright refused to take me to the Manning market. I have never set foot in there. But really really want to.
At first prices seemed fair, the merchandise good, the vegetables fresh and I thought one could find anything one wanted in the pola.
Particularly, the Nugegoda pola has a meat stand which sells sausages and such for half the price of that of Cargills or Keells. Also, the fruit vendor wasn't very strict about the weight of the fruit when he charged us.
Last Sunday night, we went to the pola again. Here's where my delusions shattered. I bought garlic at the pola for 300 Rupees for a kilo. And a kilo of tomatoes at the pola was 80 Rupees.
We crossed the road & went into Cargills.
a kilo of garlic was 199 Ruppes & a kilo of tomatoes was 40 rupees.
There. That was it. All because I thought I was being too grand to shop at the Supermarket while others were shopping at the pola. Learned my lesson. Grandeur apparently is good. It's definitely good for me. Not to sound snotty or anything.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Lead me not into temptation
Before you get the wrong idea, this is about food.
There. Resolution renewed. Will not eat meat. Period.
See you later.
BookBaker Out.
I've decided to go vegan. Twice in the past I have tried being vegetarian, each spell lasting about an year before I relapsed into my carnivore habits.
This time, I'm more serious than ever, and want to make a life long commitment to not consuming anything of animal produce.
I'm alright with cooking meat. I manage it every day. I cook for my husband & manage not to eat it at all. Every day it gets easier & each day is one small victory. I have already switched to soy milk from dairy milk. I anyway never wore fur or used real leather. alright! so faux leather is cheap! who cares. A cow didn't die to give me a new hand bag!
Anyway, so here is the afore mentioned temptation. I come my parent's place and there on the kitchen counter is my dad's chicken stew. (groan groan groan). I haven't quite got the grasp of how he makes it, I have tried & yet again I can't seem to make it just the way he does. The point is that, it's sitting there, on the counter. and I have already opened it & looked at it and kind of sniffed it.
I will not eat it. Dhal curry is enough for me.
And, if anyone's interested why I decided to go all vegan.
1. Every time I eat meat, an animal who has done nothing to hurt me, dies.
2. I'm hoping it will help me lose weight.
3. I was fine with dairy products before, but I've realised that the milk we consume does not come from free cows grazing in green pastures giving us their milk because they have it of abundance. They do it by being forced to, with tubes attached to their udders for extracting milk. I'd like to see women do it!
4. Even if my skin is lightly bruised, I hurt. I don't want handbags,dresses, shoes or anything else made from the skin of someone else.
Watch this video please.
There. Resolution renewed. Will not eat meat. Period.
See you later.
BookBaker Out.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Holmes on the matter of dogs
"My line of thoughts about dogs is analogous. A dog reflects the family life. Whoever saw a frisky dog in a gloomy family, or a sad dog in a happy one? Snarling people have snarling dogs, dangerous people have dangerous ones. And their passing moods may reflect the passing moods of others."
- Quoted as being said by Sherlock Holmes, in the Adventure of the Creeping Man.
- The case-book of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
- Quoted as being said by Sherlock Holmes, in the Adventure of the Creeping Man.
- The case-book of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
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