Book review: The Alchemist

‘It’s the possibility of having a dream come true, that makes life interesting.’

This is one of my favourite quotes from this book and really strikes a chord with me. I mean isn’t that life all about? Hoping for a better tomorrow? Hoping for better things? It’s the hope that keeps us alive, isn’t it?

This is a book with a minimal number of pages and simple language which makes it great for beginners. And what better way to start your journey into the world of books with something motivational. The alchemist is the perfect book to teach you about hope, dreams, following your heart and looking out for signs. Call me old fashioned, but I really do believe in all these. Those who believe in the ‘law of attraction’ can definitely resonate with this book.

To be honest, and this might be an unpopular opinion, I did find it to be a drag initially but was hooked as the story progressed. The author has really done a great job in capturing the true essence of what dreams really are. The writing is really straightforward and easily understandable and that makes it a very quick read for bibliophiles who are in this world for quite some time.

If you are interested or looking for some motivation and inspiration, then just grab a cup of tea( tea lover here!!) and settle down with this gem that radiates positivity. I am sure you will start seeing the world in a new perspective, once you are done with it.

My rating: 3.8/5

If you have read this book, do let me know your perspectives in the comments below. For those who want to check out this book, here is the link: https://amzn.to/34XJI3e

Author: Paulo Coelho
Publisher: HarperCollins

Restaurant review: Fromage, Chennai

Happy to say that my last lunch for the year was excellent!!! I went to the MRC nagar branch of Fromage along with my sister for lunch.

The following are the dishes that we devoured. I also ordered the Veg Tortizza as a takeaway but that didn’t make it to the list as it was gobbled up by then.

The Chicken Tortizza was amazing and really was light. The cheese was gooey and yumm!! Of course, being a restaurant that specialises in cheese, I would expect no less.

I would say the same about the Chicken Parmigiano. Chicken tenders loaded with gooey mozzarella cheese an served with a salad. The dish was really cohesive and the cheese definitely took the dish to the next level.

For dessert, we had the death by chocolate cake. The buttercream filling and the ganache on top was really moist and delicious. The cake however was a bit dry and we were able to eat it only because of the buttercream.

Overall, the food was excellent and totally met my expectations. I just had one problem and that was the choice of desserts. Besides this chocolate cake and rainbow cake, there was nothing else as an option. Also, this cake was a 12 layer cake which was really tough for 2 people to finish. I actually had to ask the waiter to cut it in half and bring the remaining home. Overall, an amazing experience and looking forward to going there again.

Food: 4/5
Ambience: 5/5
Service: 5/5

Book review: Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice!! There is something about the combination of these 2 words that just makes you want to say it again and again. Don’t you think they just flow effortlessly from your tongue?

“It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

This opening line needs no introduction and is definitely one of the most well known quotes. Mrs.Bennet is someone who strongly believes in this and wants to get her daughters married off to rich men. She feels that a woman’s only goal in life is to get married and be a good wife. Well with her second daughter Elizabeth around, her task is not going to be that easy.

Elizabeth Bennet, a strong-minded woman who believes that a woman is destined to much more than marriage (and yeah she is right) doesn’t agree with her mother’s thoughts. She is a spitfire and rebel who believes in doing what is right for her. This only adds to her mother’s worries as she believes no man will be willing to marry her daughter because she lived in a society where a woman being like this was frowned upon.

Enter Fitzwilliam Darcy, or Mr Darcy as most of us know him. A handsome young man who is allured by Elizabeth’s behaviour but appears to be haughty. So what happens? Do they fall in love or were they not meant for each other? Read the book to find out more.

This book is a timeless classic and will always be one. Though this book was published in 1813, the author was way ahead of her time in capturing the essence of what a woman truly felt on various aspects such as societal pressures, marriage, honor, judgements and dependence on a man after marriage with dollops of sarcasm.

One of the books to have captured my hearts with its writing and broad thinking, this book will always be special to me. I really wish I could have met Jane Austen and had a fangirl moment with her , just to tell her how much I love this book. Jane Austen!! I will always bow down to you for giving the world this amazing gem!! A timeless classic indeed!!

My rating: 5/5

Author: Jane Austen

Book review: The Breakdown

As my blog suggests, I think it’s pretty evident that I am into psychological thrillers. There really is something about this genre!! It never fails to mystify or bamboozle you whenever it gets the chance. According to my personal opinion, I feel that this genre is really tough to nail it right. So did this novel meet all these expectations? Read on to find out more.

Cass Anderson, who is the protagonist of this story lives a happy life with her husband. All seems to be going well until the day she decides to take her usual shortest route to her home on a rainy night in spite of being told not to by her husband. Along the way, she sees a car parked in the woods and finds a woman inside it. Not wanting to get out of her car in the downpour, she just waits inside expecting the woman to come to her if she needed help. Since the woman doesn’t come forward she just drives off and goes home. But to her shock, she finds out the next day that the woman was murdered!! Not only that, she realizes she is becoming more forgetful!! So what happened? Read the book to find out!!

Coming to the overall writing of the book, though the plot was really good, I felt the part where she forgets things was quite a drag. I mean, we get that she is forgetting a lot. Hence I felt that there was no need to dedicate so many pages just to that fact as it deviated the focus from the main story. But other than that, the plot was perfect and the suspense was amazing. I really could not figure out what was going on and was really shocked reading the ending. So kudos on that!!

So if you are really looking for a good psychological thriller and would be willing to forgive the fact that there are quite a few pages dedicated to forgetting things, then this book is for you. But once again, I would like to highlight the fact that the plot was amazing!!

My rating: 3.8/5

If you have read this book, do let me know your perspectives in the comments below. For those who want to check out this book, here is the link: https://amzn.to/2WpPtSk

Author: B.A Paris
Publisher: HarperCollins

Book review: The girl on the train

I don’t know if you all would agree with me on this but Winter really calls for thrillers and if you are in the mood for a psychological thriller with an unexpected ending, then this is the book for you.

This book follows a first-person narrative and revolves around three women, Rachel, Anna and Megan. Rachel here is the woman that the title refers to. She is an alcoholic who is still depressed after her failed marriage with Tom, who is now happily married to Anna. She also ends up losing her job as a result of her binge drinking. In order to hide the fact that she lost her job from her roommate, she takes the regular train to London everyday where her job actually was. During her journey, she sees the everyday happenings mostly focusing on her old house where she and Tom lived and an attractive couple whose life she idealizes from her own imagination.

One day she notices Megan kissing another man and this enrages her as it was not how she idealised her life. The next day morning she wakes up with blood stains in her apartment and fears that she did something to Megan but can’t remember it due to her blackout. What follows is a series of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge.

The author’s writing style is really good and keeps you thinking on what’s going to happen next. Though it felt like a drag in the first few chapters, it really got interesting as it progressed. I really could feel Rachel’s deep emotions, Megan’s frustrations and Anna’s motherly instincts as they narrated their perspectives.

So just snuggle up in a blanket with a cup of tea and get ready for an amazing mystery. This is definitely a winner of a book.

My rating: 4/5

If you guys have read this book, do let me know your perspectives in the comments below.
For those who want to check out this book, here is the link: https://amzn.to/33lE7T9

Author: Paula Hawkins
Publisher: Transworld publishers

Restaurant review: Toscano

Throwback to last year at Toscano in Nungambakkam, Chennai.

I wanted to put up a post on food as well but due to the current pandemic I was not able to that. So I thought I could share one of my experiences from last year instead. I had gone to this place in the month of October 2019 with my friends after a few people recommended it. After hearing the rave reviews that they gave me, I really had to check it out.

We had ordered the ‘Pesce del giorno’ which literally translates to fish of the day, the ‘Vegetariana’ pizza and the ‘Four seasons’ pizza both of which I did not take pictures of. The fish that we were served that day was sea bass. Everyone says that you eat with your eyes first, and that is so true because the moment I saw my plate, I was really blown away by the presentation and just wanted to dig in. Oh my, I wasn’t disappointed!! The fish was really juicy and succulent and cooked perfectly. The grilled vegetables which were served as accompaniments were perfect and they complimented the fish really well. The sauces that were served also did their purpose and they were really good as well. The cohesiveness among the elements in the plate was really strong and it really played an important part in making the dish perfect.

Now coming to the pizzas, one bite was all it took to transport me to another world. The pizza was so light and the base was amazing. Usually most of the pizzas that I eat, make me feel so full after a while but this did not. It just made me crave for more without the feeling of being full and I really loved it. Both the pizzas with the different toppings were unique in their own way and it was really amazing. I would definitely recommend you all to try out their pizzas first when you visit, before you go for anything else on their menu.

The ambience was a cherry on the top and made the whole experience really surreal.

My overall rating: 4.5/5
Food: 4.5/5
Ambience: 5/5
Customer service: 4.5/5

Unfortunately, I didn’t try out the desserts but I look forward to trying out the Tiramisu during my next visit.

Book review: Marley and me

If you are a bibliophile and cynophile, then you are in for a double treat. This beautiful book is a true story which chronicles the life of the titular character Marley, with his family. John and Jenny, a newly married couple, decide to adopt a dog to gauge their parenting skills before they plan for a baby. Little did they realize that their life would never be the same again.

Enter Marley, the cute little Labrador Retriever who turns their life upside down with his antics. From swallowing Jenny’s gold chain to chewing up everything to being kicked out of obedience school, this dog has done it all. Though the title of the book says, ‘World’s worst dog’ and he did live up to it, he proved that he had a heart of gold when Jenny suffers a miscarriage and he just lays his head on her lap and allows her to weep. The usually out of control Marley actually had it in him to understand her grief.

If you want a nice warm fuzzy feeling along with your cup of tea, then this book is perfect to evoke those emotions. I am sure all dog lovers out there would relate with it. It also beautifully portrays how a dog easily blends into our family and becomes one of us. They have a far better understanding of us than we have of ourselves and truly love us for who we are and not what we are. I am sure if we all follow this simple rule what dogs follow, this world would be a much better place.

I actually became nostalgic writing this review as I started thinking about my dog who would happily be chasing chameleons in heaven now. So all dog lovers out there, even if you don’t read books much, do give this a try. I am sure it will be worth your time. Be ready to shed a few tears as well!

My rating: 4/5

If you guys have read this book, do let me know your perspectives in the comments below.
For those who want to check out this book, here is the link: https://amzn.to/3dTL6qy

Author: John Grogan
Publisher: HarperCollins

Book review: The psychology of time travel

If I were to rate this book based on the concept alone, then it definitely gets a 5 star rating. I mean what’s not to like about time travel? The fact that it also includes four women engineers who actually discover time travel, diversity and inclusion and different sexual orientations is also a great thing, so kudos to that. Being a debut novel for the author, I really feel she has done a great job in terms of the concept and also being original with the rules that come with time travel. The plot also involves a woman being murdered and a young woman named Odette who is determined to find the murderer. Again, great concept But that’s where the compliments end.

The writing was totally scattered and completely missed the cohesive element. I felt that unnecessary characters were introduced without any significance and there were many loopholes in the plot. To be honest, this made the book quite boring and I had to force myself to read through the first half, which in itself is shocking as I am a bibliophile. It also has the psychometric tests conducted for a time traveller candidate by the Conclave, which is the agency that governs time travel, at the end of the book and I felt that was quite unnecessary to add. This book definitely did have great potential but completely missed the mark due to its various flaws. In spite of its various shortcomings, the author definitely deserves a thumbs up for the concept and its originality.

My rating: 2.5/5

If you guys have read this book, do let me know your perspectives in the comments below.

For those who want to check out this book just for the concept, here is the link: https://amzn.to/2HdhMj1

Author: Kate Mascarenhas
Publisher: Head of Zeus

Book Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns

This being my first post, I wanted to start out with a book that had a huge impact on me.

I am sure most of the book lovers out there would have already read this book or would have plans to do so. This gem of a book which is set in Afghanistan is about the sufferings that two women undergo with an abusive husband and the takeover of the Taliban in their country. Mariam, who is an illegitimate child has to undergo a lot of social stigma for no fault of hers and this continues throughout her marriage as well. Enter Laila, the girl who lives next door and is much younger than Mariam. After a few hiccups in their relationship, she assumes the role of a guardian to Laila and thus starts the saga of one of the purest forms of love ever seen.

The author has wielded his magic throughout the book with his impeccable writing which will definitely keep you captivated till the end. It also highlights the toxicity of a patriarchal society and how women were victims of it. A definite tear jerker which will melt even the hardest of hearts.

If you haven’t read it yet or if you plan on entering the world of books, I strongly recommend that you start with this. I am sure you will thank me later.

My rating: 5/5

If you have already read this book, do let me know your perspectives in the comments below.

For those who plan on reading it, use this link to buy yourself a copy: https://amzn.to/3djhGlq

Author: khaledhosseini

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing UK