#PratsReads Reading Wrap up : November 2019

So, I am once again trying to do a wrap up of my reading adventures on a monthly basis. This will cover all books that I have not reviewed in detail ( and might never do ) or ones I re-read and I have any new thoughts on the same. So here is the list for Nov 2019 [ Review posts from the blog linked ] - 

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks - Historical fiction | 5 star | Story of a Jew Prayer manuscript passed and saved from destruction over centuries.

You beneath Your Skin by Damyanti Biswas - Indian thriller | 4 star | story of an investigation into a series of murders in Delhi involving a psychologist and a police officer and their families. 

The treasure syndicate by Jatin - Indian mythological thriller | 4 star | A group of five men seeking a treasure buried centuries ago for using it for the benefit of society. 

The Blossom Twins by Carol Wyer - Thriller | 4 star | Detective Natalie Ward series (book#5 ) | A case from the past gets linked to the present and it complicates a lot of things for Natalie. 

The Speaking Stone by Ratnadip Acharya - Indian historical thriller | 4 star | A couple in present times searching the truth about a couple in the past , bound by a stone figurine. 

Mixture is the new secret by Anusha Sridharan - 5 star | a small Poetry collection coupled with some lovely pictures. 

Marked Men series [books 2-6 ] by Jay Crownover - Adult romance | 3.5-4 stars for various books | Stories of a group of tattoo artists & friends and their search for love and meaning in their life. 

Apart from reading these lovey books,  I finished writing and published two kindle books of my own - The Muse ( a short fiction ) and Mosaic ( poetry collection ) [ Linked to amazon page of the books ]

The Garden of Love, edited by Anuj Kumar

They say any person who has fallen in love, and felt its joys and its pangs, will turn into a poet. Not all poems need to be written though. This collection has 40 poems under the umbrella of love and its various shades. These 40 poems come from the pen of 4 poets as well, so they add their own hues to the poems.

How each reader reads and interprets poetry is different. Some might see depth in simplicity, some will see simplicity in depth. It's quite difficult to review poetry for this reason. If I were to pick up a few poems as favorite from this collection, it would be these...

Of Anuj Kumar's ten poems, I liked Jar of Hearts the best. The poem has the emotion of heartbreak penned down nicely. It's something that many would be able to relate to, I feel, even if the he and she in the poem were interchanged.

The poem titled Yes, I Will is my favorite from the poems penned by Maliny Mohan. The rhyme doesn't seem forced and the flow from line to line is beautiful, just like the happy emotions of love, one that seems forever, that that poem talks of.

Akash Deep Gupta's verses are longer than that of the other three poets. Yet the poem I like the best from his 10 verses would probably be his shortest. One Day portrays a love that remains the same no matter what changes. I liked that portrayal.

From Abhijeet Singh Yadav's poems, perhaps the one I remember is The Text. I leave you to read it interpret, but I thought it could be interpreted at least a couple of different ways.

I like the concept of the book. Love is an emotion that has both a good side and a bad one. And to split the book into poems that relate to both was quite nice. There are some things that didn't work from my perspective. The first is that there were missing letters from the poem titles. Perhaps I got a bad print, I'm not sure. Second, there wasn't a demarcation between the sections of each poet, so I didn't whose poem I was reading. Thirdly, some of the poems, the rhyme felt forced, or the words out of place. Apart from a few poems, I don't think there were poems that wowed me.

I liked the title of the book, and the cover art that went with that title well. And there were definitely few poems that I liked a lot. Like I said earlier, each reader interprets poetry differently, so I do feel the collection would appeal to other readers more than it did to me.

The Dark Side of Light by Sanil Sachar

I can sense the end approach

Although I am yet to begin

As I started to write this review , and think back on all that I read , understood , pondered and questioned about in the book , these lines sum the whole experience for me. The book has ended for me but it has opened up a lot of probable stories for me too. 

The book opens with a story “An eye for an eye” which is like an infinite loop of action and reaction. And it immediately is followed by two poems. If you read carefully and yet let your  feelings make their own connections between dots that are not there ( perhaps ),  you will realize that all these are part of one single idea , an overlapping thought. I usually read stories / poems in random order but not this time. Not after such a beginning. I was kind of forced to read in order as if the magic of the words be broken.  While the prose took me to different worlds and people ,mostly sad and broken – each story a short quick snap of lives of different characters.Each story leaving something for your understanding and imagination.

 My favorite story is Tamanna, the tale of love and sacrifice. It is a beautiful portrayal of friendship and loyalty we rarely see around. Another story that struck a chord with me was "Distant closeness" - a tale of writing and inspiration. "Members Only" and "Dinner with the Turners" ,written in two unique ways- as play and as a story,both equally pleasure to read. In fact, I think I enjoyed the plays more.

But what I will remember and return to this book personally is for the poems. After a long time,i am kind of inspired to write and read poetry. Each of the poem seemed to speak directly to me , and not just project the author's version. Such varied emotions and range of human psyche is covered in the verses- so short , tightly packed shots in middle of meaty stories. The Poem “ The dark side of Light” was for me , aptly written to explain the book and the stories / emotions portrayed in the book.

This book is a treat for all book lovers - poetry fans and short fiction admirers.

Unanswered, by Kunal Uniyal

Life is all about questions and answers. When in our journey, we don't seem to find an answer, we invoke the almighty and put the question to him, see if he can give us the answer, or better yet, help us to find the answers within ourselves. That is a part of spirituality that I admire. And to me, that's partly the path that this book "Unanswered" takes. The book is the poet's contemplation on life, and these questions, and at times, the answers that he finds to these questions.

How one looks at different aspects or characteristics of life varies with each person. Through this book of poetry and philosophy, the poet looks at and discusses on topics like death, immortality, morality, dharma, ego etc. He seeks answers for these in the pages of spiritual and religious texts like the Bhagwad Gita, and enlightens us on what they say about these. And in his own style, he makes us think on those topics as well. Something that I noted down in particular was a quote from Bertrand Russell that I hadn't come across before: "It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else that prevents us from living freely and nobly." I don't quite feel the poet or Russell talks of the very human yearning for something, but it's an obsession that we seem to have for something materialistic that kills peace. And another aspect of this book I could relate to was the contemplation on prayers, for they are something that's very common to mankind, not just a religion.

Poetry cannot really be reviewed, I feel. One can only review or state what one finds or understands in the poem. It is an interpretation of the reader. If it matches the intent of the poet, the joy is more. If not, it doesn't mean that the poet or the reader has failed. The poet here shares many of his verses, but perhaps the one that stands out to me is the very first. What I can relate to is what will be memorable, after all. The poem, titled "You and I" questions and seeks the almighty, and queries if we, or the poet, can see Him in his form, that if He is everywhere and in everything, can He, for some moments, be ours and only ours. I've felt that often. More so, it reminded me of Hiranyakashipu, who wanted to see if God was in a pillar, though not with the same emotions.

There is depth, I accept, in this collection of Capt. Uniyal's thoughts. And it is warranted. But it might still be a bit heavy for most readers, with the vocabulary especially not helping to keep my attention on the prose. But it is worth diving into, and it is appreciable.

I like the book for the most part, but it doesn't engage me a lot. So I rate it 3.5 stars. Best wishes to the author for his future books.

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Reviewed by Vinay Leo R. for the author, who gave a copy of the eBook.

Edgar Allan Poe - The Raven (Review)

To write poetry in itself is no easy task, but to tell a story in verse is, I feel, more difficult. And to tell a horror story in verse, I doff my cap to Edgar Allen Poe. I wouldn’t be able to pull it off. What the book The Raven manages to do is bring a feel of horror to the story. I’ve told before too, when it’s the genre of horror, the reader must be able to get into the skin of the character and feel the chills, and with this poem, Poe manages to successfully do that. He even manages to bring a bit of lightness to the experience, which is remarkable. To step into the man’s shoes, wondering where the knock was, who the visitor might be, and then throwing the door open only to see the empty night outside was brilliant, and then the winged visitor at the window too. The Raven, with just one word, felt a little disinteresting, but it still worked for me. This book was the illustrated version, and the artwork was quite fascinating too, though I think only the verse would still work well to bring the art to the imagination of the reader. If this book is labeled a poetry classic, I have no doubts now why it is so, and why it is so evergreen. An enjoyable read this was, for sure.

Rating: 4 Stars

Genre: Poetry

Source: Own Copy

Reviewed by Vinay Leo R.

Book Review: Beastly Tales from Here and There - Vikram Seth

Books are fantastic when they help to take you down memory lane. Reading is something that has been inculcated in me since childhood, and there are some fables that stay in my mind even today. Vikram Seth, through this book, Beastly Tales From Here and There brings back those stories, but giving his own spin on it. He puts them, not as they were, but in verse, with simple rhyme and wonderful flow.

He begins with a favorite, the tale of the monkey and the crocodile, one that my sister and I heard and asked for many times. Then there’s the tale of the louse and the mosquito, the cat and the cock, the mouse and the snake etc. Each one of them is an animal fable in verse. And they, as far as I’m concerned, bring with them morals as well.

Reading these beautiful stories in verse, I can’t help but fall in love with poetry again, and with those fables as well. It brings magic with it. No matter what the mood, I feel these tales in verse will leave you with a smile. No. I don’t think they’ll leave you that easily either.

Rated: 4 stars.

Genre: Poetry

Source: Library Copy

Reviewed by Vinay Leo R.

Cafune by Archana Kumar

There are poems and then there are poems by some you know.

There is expectations and anticipation for the latter and also much love when you read the verses , knowing how wonderful the person behind these thoughts is.

 

Cafune by Archana Kumar is not just love poetry or poems on feelings of heart re told. It is love in a way that many of the readers would relate to.

 

Say is a poem that asks you to say your heart in many or any way ( a sound advice ) whereas Gods became my favorite poem for being so amusing yet simply practical. Is it okay to be in Love Archana asked after listing so many things that you fear losing love to and when I read “she” I smiled for she had captured a story I once wrote on same thought. And as you are turning a little mushy reading the random images , suddenly a poem makes you aware of the world around and how love alone does not makes this world. And there is not just one feeling or thought that this gifted lady can touch with her words.

 

The poems are as heartfelt for a reader new to Poems and as sharply constructed to someone who has an eye for details and technique of this art. I really liked the haiku in the collection.  The poems also appeal to you for being short but meaty enough to feed your thoughts and feelings from their chest. I am glad there are poets who dare write their heart out on pages and the poems would link even strangers reading them.

 

I would though want the book to end on the poem “Beautiful “ for that poem is something that is so simple and sweet and heartwarming and hopeful too. If I had to learn a poem to quote somewhere , I will learn this one and share it with all.

 

My rating : 5/5

 

Wild Woman Waking, by Morgan Dragonwillow

“Sleeping isn’t possible once you explore the inner and outer world of poetry; transformation happens and your eyes open wide.” – Morgan Dragonwillow.

Truer words have not been said for the power of poetry. Being a poet, I can understand it, having traveled through the lanes of my imagination, exploring verse, and letting it explore me whenever it wants to. It must have been kismet that this book fell into my reading path, for I’ve not read a collection of poems lately that has spoken to me more than this one.

“My Words”, a poem in the collection so effortlessly says what I go through as a poet, what words do to me at times, how they escape from my hands and spill onto paper. In life, a lot of times, I’ve been “Hiding from the Pain”. It’s a lesson that most of us learn the hard way I suppose, and some of us not at all, even though it stares us in the face. We “Fall” to realize who we are, “Haunting” us till the words come out and another poem is written.

Reading her words, I wonder at times “What Happened” to our lives, when making money became more important than making moments to remember, when hearts that mattered became “Neglected”. It makes me think of “Anger” in a different, almost “Unforgiving Light”. It takes some words out of me, leaves me “Shouting” silently and “Grasping Air”.

Whatever I’ve put in quotes here are the titles of some of my favorite poems in the book. There are more that I love, some that I don’t quite get. Another thing that makes this book beautiful is the image with each poem. I’ve seen acrostics and cinquains in this collection. But mostly, it’s just fabulous free verse. It is a collection that, as a poet, I will return to reading often.

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Title: Wild Woman Waking
Author: Morgan Dragonwillow
Genre: Poetry
ISBN/ASIN: B00IP1E1FG

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Dancing Within Shadow, by Morgan Dragonwillow

Poetry of a known person is always wonderful to read. You have a sense of their muse, even if it is an incomplete one, and that sense helps to understand that poem a little more than reading the poem of an absolutely unknown poet. Of course, it helps if the poetry is understandable and not too deep. I’ve known the poetry of Morgan Dragonwillow only through her blog and through the OctPoWriMo writing challenge. So when the opportunity came to get her eBook for free, I grabbed it.

Section 1 of the book is titled Darkness, and true to the title, the poems in the section are dark, poignant and thought provoking. I think the poem I could relate to mostly was “I remember me”, for I have seen a similarity to my life and that of the comic character she mentions in this poem.

Section 2 of the book is titled Rebellion, and it’s about standing up for what you believe in. The poems in this part were about strength, and somewhat about other’s opinions. My favorite from this part of the book was “Out loud”, which is about laughter, and laughing out loud even when others try to stifle it.

Section 3 of the book is titled Love, and the poems in the part are about love, and feeling it. Though I liked most poems in this part, the one that I loved the most was “Grandpa Joe”, for I could relate to it easily, my grandfather having taught me a lot of things even though his ideas were mostly inflexible.

Section 4 of the book is titled Light, and the poem I loved is “Peace”. A palindrome poem that felt as peaceful as the title. And she ends the book with a poem that ends with the lines “Who I really am… is me” which felt just wonderful.

There are poems in this book which I do not understand as easily, but some that I really like and relate to. But none of the poems deter me from trying to understand it. I would rate this book a 7 on 10. And yes, I would read it again.

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Book Details:
Title: Dancing within Shadow
Author: Morgan Dragonwillow
Genre: Poetry
ISBN/ASIN: B00C100FPC

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Gifts with no Giver, by Nirmala

To read poetry is easy, to understand poetry is a little more difficult. Spirituality and poetry have always gone together. A casual look into Indian history and mythology will show the same. Meera Bai or the sage Narada, they have composed poetry in dedication to the gods. Those poems cover the aspect of love and truth often. It is with a mix of alacrity and anxiety that I began to read this book of poems.

So, what are the poems about? In the poet’s own words, they are an attempt to capture the undying presence of love. They are to touch our souls, the words of a lover drunk with a passion for the truth.

Do they work? I suppose to each person, the understanding of a poem varies. I did enjoy and understand a few of the poems. Like one that speaks of being satisfied in the moment that is now; or the one that talks of the good things in “not knowing”. They carried meaning, and they were beautiful.

But, for the most part, these poems were confusing. Yes, I could sense that the poems were talking of love. But to me, they spoke in riddles that were too hard to unravel.

I’ll not be re-reading it. But I feel, if the reader can unravel those riddles, they might enjoy it enough to read them again.

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Title: Gifts with no Giver
Author: Nirmala
Genre: Poetry
ISBN/ASIN: B003YL4FUI

Rainy Day Poems, by James McDonald

There is something quite cheerful to poetry. It makes you remember things, takes you back in time.

The book “Rainy Day Poems” by James McDonald is something I found while browsing the Kindle store for free e-books. I’m not sure what made me try it, but it is a collection of poems that is (and I don’t think there’s a more suited word for it) cute. It brought out the innocence of childhood.

These are poems about a child dreaming of the future, a nightmare he has after seeing a spider etc. One that really felt nice was the one where the boy builds a sandcastle for his sister, but starts again when the sea washes the castle away. It’s sweet in showing the boy’s patience and limitless energy. And oh yes, the one about the cow and the farm got a big smile on my face.

Just for an e.g. here’s part of a poem from the collection.

Right then and there I stood straight up,

And looked her in the face.

And said with pride and confidence,

I plan to live in space.

Like pirates of long ago,

My ship will take me far.

Around the moon and back again,

And to a distant star.

The illustrations for the poem are somewhat odd perhaps, but still cute (yes, I know that I told this word before). The rhyme is mostly that familiar ABCB beat. This is children’s poetry I guess. This is a book for the child’s imagination to grow, and one for the adult’s mind to take a break after a heavy literary fiction.

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Why should you read it?
Fun, light hearted poetry that feels like it is a perfect fit for children.

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Rating: 3.5 Stars

Book Details:
Title: Rainy Day Poems
Author: James McDonald
Genre: Children’s Poetry
ISBN/ASIN: B00A9AN0DK
Publisher: House of Lore via Amazon
Price: Free (as on 12th June 2014)

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Shared with
First Reads Challenge at b00k r3vi3ws

Reviewed by Leo.

Meri Aankhon Mein Mohbbat Ke Manjar Hain by Dinesh Gupta

Poetry is the exact opposite of writing novels. What poet says in a few stanzas, an author has to say in thousand words! Because of this reason poetry becomes much difficult to master and also difficult to deliver that pleases people. Dinesh Gupta, with his debut novel tries to do so.

He is a poet who describes the beauty in his own way.  It might not only be for a beloved but can be the beauty of anything or anyone. As the description at the back says that the book contains poems, shayris, articles and songs on topics other than “Love”, I went on reading it. There were some lines that captivated me and some which made me move ahead.

I love romantic songs and most of us do. The way words flow and make us remember of the past or the present. It is rightly said when you are happy you enjoy the music, when you are said you understand the lyrics. The same goes for the poet and writer, Dinesh Gupta. He is cut from the same cloth; he loves to read romantic poetry. His favourite is Kumar Vishwas and his admiration can be seen through the book.

Back to his book and the poems he has written. It is divided into five parts: Romance, Patriotism, India against Corruption, Problems that plague our Society and Dreams. All have poems ranging from few lines to 3-page long poems.

It is a nice experience to read poems from a person who is from the similar age group and understands what the youth wants. All his poems are worth reading one time but one that is the most praised and loved poem of his is ‘Diya Antim Aas Ka’ and I realized why it was so. The poem describes the last few minutes of a dying solider, how he feels about his impending death and with courage he faces it, for his country.

Apart from this I liked “Main Anna Bol Raha hun’, which was a poem under the category of India against corruption. Since the book was a Hindi poetry book, it is special for me. The time when I see all of us vying to be modern and which leads our inclination towards English, it is good to see people still wanting to write in Hindi and giving books worth reading.

I will give the book three stars for the poems, and one star for the courage of the author for being different.

Mind Locks by Amias

My thoughts on the book:

There are people who influence our journey as writers. For some of us, those people are family, and for others, they are friends. When I started out on my journey as a blogger, and poet, there were friends who I had never met and they influenced my journey in so many ways. I met a few of them, Nimue included, and I am happy for that. One person who I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet is Amias, who I still call as my teacher and guide for a form of poetry – the acrostic. This book is hers, and it was sent by her from the United States, long back. As I try to rediscover my love for that poetic form, I thought I shall start with sharing my thoughts on her poems and reviewing this book.

It is difficult to do poetry when restricted by form. Some find the first aspect of the form and write on that, thinking that that’s all there is to it, only to discover more in it later on. That’s how my acrostic discovery has been. Amias shares with us her life in poetry. It has beauty in depth, and sometimes a little difficult to understand immediately. It takes time to set in. Sometimes, few lines of a poem just get to you, and you see yourself.

i’m tired of life; i’m tired of me
i’m tired of pain always catching me
most of all, i’m tired of running

Yes, I relate to this at times. Sometimes I just want to take a breath and stop going a million miles an hour. The pain of missing out some precious things later becomes unbearable, and makes me tired of life itself.

I also relate to the closing lines of an acrostic on the word Nocturnal

Nighttime’s quietness
A relaxing place to be, while
Living within the stillness of me

I guess a lot of writers might be able to relate to that relaxing night time when we aren’t disturbed while writing.

There are gems like this throughout the book, and you’ll find yourself going “wow”. There are others that are true to her, but not something we might understand. I like this book for those gems. I also am thankful for her words at the start that she writes to me. 

She’s been away from the blog world for a while now, but if she chances upon this somehow, I hope that she shall return to blog world and her meme which misses her touch, something that I have not been able to replicate though she handed it to me to manage.

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Book Details:
Title: Mind Locks
Author: Amias
ISBN: 0-9776450-0-2
Genre: Poetry

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Reviewed by Leo
Shared with First Reads at b00k r3vi3ws

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Karma by Cathy Ostlere

There are good books, there are great books and then there are once-in-a-lifetime books. Cathy Ostlere's 'Karma', which is a novel in verse, falls in the third category for more reasons than one. It hit all the right spots even before I had read the award-winning book. It was as if Karma was meant for me. The title, the cover design, the concept and the style of the book - everything called out to me.

Written in a diary format, the story is told through  Maya and Sandeep's poetic entries. Maya is a Indian-origin Canadian teenager who straddles the two worlds of Indian values and her Canadian life on the one hand and her mother's Hindu beliefs and father's Sikh pride on the other. She also has bestfriend-boyfriend issues like any regular teenager and struggles to stay afloat in a sea of identity crises. But Maya's already fragile world crumbles when she loses her mother to depression and is taken to India by her father to be married off. Maya and her bapu land at the time of modern India's worst political crises - the assassination of  Indira Gandhi. Maya is separated from her father in Delhi's riotous atmosphere and she escapes to Jodhpur leaving behind her life and her voice.

Enter Sandeep. Child of the desert, an orphan adopted, maverick and Maya's unlikely hero. When Maya is rescued by Sandeep's sister, she is no more than a frightened creature, rendered mute by her grief. Sandeep's family take Maya in for a while and through his words, Sandeep must coax back Maya's spirit and words. Several adventures follow and the seeds of friendship and young love are sown. Sandeep helps reunite Maya with her father, but they must pay the price with separation.

You see how the plot is so thick with action and emotion. Now multiply it many times over with Ostlere's poignant poetry. The poet-novelist writes striking free verse, which is laden with powerful imagery. I am hard pressed to pick a favourite (every line in the book is, really), but I don't think I'll ever forget these lines from Sandeep's diary on page 422.

Sandeep's answer

I hear him arguing

We are made of love. Love! Do you hear me, old
man! We are made of the love that finds us. The
love we make. And even the love we are fated to
lose! 

Otslere strikes you down, lifts you up, makes you cry and moves you irrevocably with her poignant poetry. There may be only 15 words on a page, but you are never left wanting, so evocative are the images she paints. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is curious about poetry but thinks they do not have the patience for it.  Let not its 500 plus pages scare you. For once you've dipped your toes in its first few lines, you'll want to swim and drown in it and never come back again. 

RATING: 4/5
Author: Cathy Ostlere 
Publisher: Inked
Publication Year: 2013
ISBN-13:9780143332503
ISBN-10: 0143332503
Language: English
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 536 pages

A Pen In My Heart - Bobby Stevenson

About the author:

Bobby Stevenson was born in Scotland and schooled in Paris before he settled in the Catskills with his family. He traveled to various parts of the United States as a software designer before attending film school in London and getting a Masters in Screenwriting and Film Production.

My thoughts on the book:

It’s not easy to understand or review poetry. It’s nice to read. What is interesting to note is that sometimes, or most times, the same verse is interpreted in different ways. This review is my interpretation of this book, but I think most who read this set of verse might be inclined to think the same way that I have.

There is vividness in the verse here, but what I find in common is a quality to inspire not only more verse but also life and love as well.

One of the poems in this book is titled “Leaving Traces”. In its simplicity, it invites hope unto itself. It tells us to not think that we are alone, or that what we do might not be impactful in life. It tells us in a moment we pass another life; we leave a part of us with that life to take it with them wherever they go.

Another is titled “To All The Things”. This leaves me with mixed feelings. Though I can relate with the poem, this small eight line verse is also poignant for it ends on a sad note.

The poem titled “Be Who You Are” is quite inspiring. It ends on the note that says – “Be who you are, let happiness and joy break through, for the universe was wise enough to only make the one of you”. Though “happiness and joy” feels redundant, the thought behind it is something I appreciate.

There are 35 poems in total in this Kindle book which are simple and well written. However, there is one minor problem. The poet has accidentally printed the same poem twice. It’s a free book as of now, so I think it is well worth a read. Poets of ALOP, give it a go!

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I rate this: 4/5

Title: A Pen In My Heart
Author: Bobby Stevenson
Type: Kindle eBook
Price: Free
Genre: Poetry

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Reviewed by Leo
Also shared with First Reads at b00k r3vi3ws Blog

Fragments by Nimue

About the author:

Nimue is the author of the blog “Pages from my mind” and she’s the vice-principal of a quite hectic school of review bloggers called “A Lot of Pages” (this blog, just in case you missed the title). She’s a fun-to-be-with, talkative, friendly, smiling gal with an appetite for reading books and a talent for writing poetry. “Fragments” is her debut collection of poetry.

My thoughts on the book:

She says the book is the musings of a broken heart, mending the same with poetry. I can’t think of a better way to summarize the book actually. This is poetry to touch the heart, since it is penned from her heart. Nimue was one of the first people I ever met on blogsville, and her poetry has been quite revealing and inspiring since then, even on my own journey as a poet. (I think I’ve told her that, but if not, here it is!)

Some of her poems, you know, make me feel like I can be in those shoes and understand that. It’s like she’s written one of my thoughts, like we share that thought. I quote from one of her poems there titled Nightmare: “People most times, promise to stay, yet are gone”. I can feel that. I have been one who has had it both ways. I’ve promised to stay and then gone, and I’ve been promised and the promise broken. It ain’t the best of feelings I can tell you that. The poem after that is titled Broken Dreams, and that one to me defines the book. Life goes on, and we have to understand that. This poem has the healing words I feel: “I clear the way for a new and happy tomorrow.” Another favorite of mine is the poem on secrets.

I’m also given a big smile by some of her descriptions before the poem. The one for the poem titled Home for e.g.: “Home is not the measured space, the color of walls, the dark and dusty corners or the smell of the cleaning liquid you use for floors. It sometimes is just the memory you create there.” Yeah, that’s home to me alright! The poem that follows quite leaves me wonderstruck (her poems have that quality).

What I liked:

The cover, so simple yet alluring, in that orange that is so vibrant yet calming like the setting sun on the seaside, I adore that. I just wish the poetess’ name was on it too you know. The poems are something I could understand (well, mostly I guess, though how I interpret and what she means might be totally different things!) and I loved them. The explanation brings that personal touch to it.

What I didn’t like:

Well, I didn’t like that the poetess’ name isn’t on the cover! That was needed. And also, some poems I wished that they had a title.

Closing thoughts:

A collection of poetry to let you ponder, and then make you voice along with it. Nothing complex, all simple in creation. I do wish there was a Hindi poem there with its translation. A collection by Nimue sorta seems incomplete without that trademark! If your poem was supposed to be marked by my (reader’s) breath, I think that may have happened, coz I’m quite out of breath after!

Rating: 9 on 10

Book details:

Title: Fragments

Author: Nimue

Genre: Poetry

Type: Kindle e-Book

ASIN: B00ASNQUC6

Price: INR 80

Pages: 57

Reviewed by Leo

Also shared with IQRC and First Reads challenge.

Ink Dries - by Anand Vishwanadha

Impressions off the back-cover:

A book of poems which are vivid in the pictures that they paint in words, and explore the many facets of emotion, of life, and presented with honesty and directness. The meaning of the title itself is quite profound, as indicated in the back cover.

My thoughts on the book:

To be a good poet, one must read good poetry too. I read some wonderful poets on Blogsville, but only have few poetry books in my collection. One of my recent acquisitions was the poetry collection of one Anand Vishwanadha, entitled “Ink Dries”. Seeing it on Flipkart, the first thing that allured me to it was the cover page. A simple sunset… I couldn’t imagine anything better for a book of poems.

A good poem is what makes one think, a better one is what tells it true and still makes us think for the beauty the words portray. Some of the poems in this collection are nothing short of brilliant. If you, like me, are intrigued by the title itself, you’ll find yourself looking through the contents page for the poem titled by that name, and once you’ve read that, and then read it again, you’ll whisper a soft wow, as the meaning of the poem sinks in. It’s small, but something I could relate to. Another one that caught my attention is entitled “Dry Days” and it speaks of the days deprived of love, and how yet, even after that, love survives. A third that is memorable is the one titled “Meaning(s)”, which speaks of life that holds meaning only when we give it, like any other word. “Moment That Rhyme”, “What does the heart say?” and “Gilded Moon” are some others that spring to mind.

Overall impressions:

For poetry lovers; and I mean one who is interested in reading them as well, this book holds many poems that will touch your heart. All are written with a certain crispness, and meaning that is deeply etched.

Rating:
3.75 / 5

Book details:
Title: Ink Dries
Author: Anand Vishwanadha
Genre: Poetry
Price: INR 200
ISBN: 9788190947411
Publishers: Coucal Books

The Songbird on my Shoulder

Author: Saaz Aggarwal
ISBN: 978-81-922728-1-8
First published: 2012
Pages: 240
Binding: Paperback
Genre: Autobiographical

Every good thing in life has a price tag. My new job close to home, which is as close to a boon as any Mumbaikar can get, has a price tag too. No traveling time has translated to no reading time. And my love for reading is only slightly less than my hatred for traveling. No, I’m not really complaining, but I miss my books. I miss that frenetic reading I did on BEST buses during my six months at the Bandra job. I miss being the object of awe and admiration when I would post a new book review every other day on social networking sites. Now I am like anyone else; I struggle to finish a book and occasionally, stare wistfully at my blog, which begs for a new post.

I was, thus, learning to fit into my new mantle of assistant editorship of not one but two magazines and crawling through the pages of Orhan Pamuk’s much-venerated work, My Name is Red, when my old colleague and friend, Veda asked me to review her mom’s new book. I was more than honoured, because I’ve admired Saaz’s work before, and it was her book review blog that inspired me to start writing my own reviews. I said yes, albeit warily, because I wasn’t sure when I’d find the time to read it; much less, review it.

The book arrived a few days later, and out of the parcel came a happy-coloured cover with Saaz’s distinctive artwork on it. Titled, The Songbird on My Shoulder, the book had a slightly naughty subtitle: Confessions of an Unrepentant Madam. I was drawn in. The fun testimonials on the back cover by Saaz’s friends and family, the terse little introduction and the fact that it was a compilation, which did not need me to read in sequence, drew me further in. It was a welcome break from Pamuk’s need-to-ponder-upon prose.

Before I knew it, I had breezed through the book, even as the incessant wheels of domesticity and profession whirred. I wishfully flipped through the pages, taking in snippets from Saaz’s life, enjoying the randomness of it all. Here was a 30-something Saaz writing a poignant poem that betrayed her youth, and here was a 50-something Saaz reminiscing about a quaint little episode from her life, her perspectives firmly in place. Here I was laughing one moment at her toilet humour, and here I was weeping at her emotional journey into (step) motherhood. Here I was marveling at the depth of her 3-line poems, and here I was identifying strongly with her experiences as a woman, a writer, a wife and a mother.

Saaz is an easy writer to read, without her being flippant. She’s witty without being comical, deep without being pretentious and articulate without being verbose. The Songbird on my Shoulder is a compilation of articles and poetry she has written over the years, of things published and unpublished, of matters great and small. It is a pretty picture of a life lived full and well. Her life; but you will very easily see many scenes and shades from your life in it too.

Rating: 3.5/5

Price: INR 300