There is nothing more satisfying than reading a book while sipping a hot cup of tea.
Richard Mason (1919-1997) was a British author who served in the RAF during the second world-war and fought on the Indo-Burmese front, later becoming an Intelligence officer. Best known for his 1957 novel, The World of Suzie Wong, Mason also wrote a handful of other novels, two of which, The Wind Cannot Read (1946) and The … Continue reading Forgotten Book: The Fever Tree by Richard Mason
Lost Among the Living by Simone St. JamesMy rating: 2 of 5 stars Random thoughts after reading Simone St. James' Lost Among the Living, a book listed on 50 Most Suspenseful Novels:1. Who makes these lists???????2. Why am I sucker for such lists??????3. If you are going to introduce the supernatural in a mystery, take … Continue reading A Ghost in Pearls: Lost Among the Living by Simone St. James
The Cry by Helen FitzgeraldMy rating: 1 of 5 stars Do people really like such books? Peopled with unsympathetic character; alternating narrative by hysterical women; it being thrust down our throats that in an extra-marital relationship, the man is the villain - not the wife, not the mistress who, poor things, are nothing but victims … Continue reading Waste of Time: The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald
I hadn't heard of Ellery Queen till I started blogging. Then I got to know that not only is he (actually the pseudonym of two American cousins) a well-known mystery writer but also one of the Big Four. So I went searching for his books and was happy enough to discover that some of his … Continue reading Forgotten Books: The Murderer is a Fox by Ellery Queen
Does anyone remember those bulky black umbrellas that every Indian household used to possess before the coming of the dainty, multi-coloured umbrellas from Nepal and China? That large contraption saved us from rain and hail but was heavy to carry and was most certainly not an accessory. Folding it would require elephantine effort too and … Continue reading U is for Umbrella
There is something intimidating about Virginia Woolf. As the High-Priestess of High Modernism, she has a reputation of being opaque and denying easy access to her texts. So, though I've read and enjoyed her texts like Mrs. Dalloway and A Room of One's Own, there are a couple of her texts still languishing on my shelves. … Continue reading Review: Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Imagine you are the one cooking for US President, Theodore Roosevelt. Then one day as you have served him breakfast and are humming in the kitchen, you are told that the President has thrown out the plate of sausages. What will be your reaction - a quaking in the boots, palpitations of the heart, breaking … Continue reading Forgotten Book: Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle
Little Bruno's world changes when he shifts from Berlin to a place called Out-With as his Father has been posted over there. But what exactly his Father does,Bruno has little idea. All he knows is that his father was a man to watch and that the Fury had big things in mind for him and … Continue reading His Father’s Thoughts: John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
What do you do when you are passionate about animals? Well, if you are Gerald Durrell, you set about creating your own zoo. Oh, so you first find/ construct/ renovate a zoo and then go in search of animals? No, if you are the aforesaid eccentric (or 'animal maniac' as a character calls him), you … Continue reading Animal Antics: Gerald Durrell’s A Zoo in My Luggage
Since this is the season of good cheer, it seems appropriate to review a book that embodies the season's message of hope, and forgiveness.Tucker Mason (Tuck) is a world-renowned photographer who puts all his energies in his work, staying on the road and hardly ever returning home. A chance encounter with a woman who is … Continue reading A Book for Christmas: Charles Martin’s Wrapped in Rain
a hot cup of pleasure 