MellowDrama

We have put International Women's Day behind us just yesterday but I am sure some people are just waking up to it. Literally and metaphorically, both! So in continuation to the point that I was trying to get across yesterday I am here to speak about the bitter half. No, you read that correct. The bitter half has been complaining why no Men's Day (BTW it falls on Nov 19th, if I am not mistaken), give us an entire day to celebrate. Ask them what and I don't think they have a concrete answer yet. It is better to leave certain things just as they are and move on like Sahir Ludhianvi wrote: Wo afsana jise anjaam tak laana na ho mumkin, usse ek khoobsurat mod de ke chodna achha. Coming back to the main idea of today's post. I have a son and a daughter, so it has fallen on my broad shoulders to bring to your kind attention a very important thing.  Let me first make a thing clear, I am not here attempting to bring this point out for conversation and debate because either I am b...

In my school group today morning, someone posted  Strong women do not have an attitude. They have standards and boundaries. I wrote fab to that in my comment. And then it happened. I analysed the statement quite unintentionally because I am not the one to keep up with gender tropes.  Well, well, well ain't that food for thought! Come let us dig deep(err).  I think this must have come from a man and there is an obvious problem with the first part of the statement but we will get to it later. Hear me out  first, So, strong woman- who is this creature? A mythical being or a character from folk lore? Does she exist beyond the realms of imagination of feminists- both male and female? Let's turn the question around.  Who isn't a strong woman, rather? You are my friend. Yes you too, gentlemen! Remember the concept of Ardhanaareshwar? The coexistence of the feminine and the masculine. The naari form before the eshwar.  Every man and woman, every human being on the ...

I just saw a tweet asking people why they read YA or middle grade fiction and this made me contemplate my recent choices ahem ahem!! I have been reading some (or maybe a lot!) thanks, mostly to Dave and the fantastic book tours he organises, as well the fact that I have a teen in the house. So it is just sheer cleverness on my part that I read YA and try to see what goes on in the minds of today's young generation. Well, to read Bad Habits by Flynn Meaney was one such attempt. Which mother of a teen can resist going through a book titled THAT? Enough of jokes, let's get to the serious business of reviewing this book. So, first things first, an introduction to the book and the protagonist. Alex goes to a strict Catholic school and wants to be expelled from it. Her story is an attempt at gaining some shock value and getting the school authorities to chuck her out. What actually happens is a tangential growth in Alex's character and discussions and debates on topics which have...

  The Cousins by Karen Mc Manus is delightful, young, involves a mystery and is a very very readable book. Read on to find why I found it "very very readable". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BLURB The Storys are the envy of their neighbours: owners of the largest property on their East Coast island, they are rich, beautiful, and close. Until it all falls apart. The four children are suddenly dropped by their mother with a single sentence: You know what you did. They never hear from her again. Years later, when 18-year-old cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story receive a mysterious invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother's resort, they have no choice but to follow their curiosity and meet the woman who's been such an enigma their entire lives. This entire family is built on secrets, right? It's the Story legacy. This summer, the teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family. B...

First Date by Sue Watson is an extremely interesting and readable psychological thriller. The book releases today and I can't stress enough that if you are a reader with a special place in yo ur  heart for mystery/ thrillers, you must get to it ASAP.  Book Blurb First Date is the story of Hannah who has  done everything to make sure her life is safe and secure. A long way from her unstable childhood growing up in foster care, she’s content with her sweet, little, messy apartment and her satisfying job as a social worker. She quietly worries that, aged 36, she might never fall in love. But otherwise her life is where she wants it to be. Until, encouraged by her best friend to join a dating app, she meets  Alex  who is  irresistibly handsome, loves the same music as her and the same food as well. Both of them would love to own a Labrador one day. It’s like he’s made for her.  It’s like he’s too good to be true. Hannah’s friends aren’t so sure about him. ...

For the first time in my life I was devastated by the feeling of being left out. It happened when the usual suspects from Dave's The Write Reads Blogtours opted to read and review The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and  I did not. Then when the reviews began to pour in and I read them, I wrote back to Dave asking to be let in. And to his credit he sent me the ARC link. As luck would have it, the link didn't work and thinking that maybe me and this book weren't meant to be, I yet again told Dave that I won't be able to participate in the blog tour. And then again one fine day, the link to an ARC landed in my mail box. Going through a pretty nasty phase I wasn't sure if I could finish it off or would now even like to read the book but as soon as I started The Inheritance Games, I fell for it, hook, line and sinker. Ms Barnes please take a bow for  writing the most readable book I have come across so far in 2020. The book is about a girl Avery Kimberley Grea...

  It happens very rarely, if ever, that you just hear one praise after the other from the members of your book reviewing community.  It happened with me for the very book that I am going to be reviewing here: (though not given to the use of adjectives much, I break the rules and.....) the hilarious, the fabulous, the must-read, the heart warming, the amazing.....DRUM ROLL.... THE BEAST AND THE BETHANY.  The book targeted for  middle grade readers  has been written by Jack Meggitt-Phillip and illustrated by Isabelle Follath. What a team have they made to bring us this delightful book! I read it with both my kids-the12 year-old and the 5 year-old and we had some hilarious times. Let me start by giving you the blurb from Goodreads.  511 years. How, you may wonder? Ebenezer simply has to feed the beast in the attic of his mansion. In return for meals of performing monkeys, statues of Winston Churchill, and the occasional cactus, Ebenezer gets potions that keep ...