The Seaside Library

Author: Enid Blyton and Pamela Cox Acquired in: December 2013 A few years back, there wasn't much to do except play fantastic imaginary games or watch TV when I got bored. When toys lost their charm, I depended a lot on books to while away time. Now, looking at my crammed bookshelves, I thank two wonderful people (besides Mother Librarian) for giving me the first books that served as a catalyst for a continuing love for books (these aren’t my first books, mind you). The St Clare’s series by Enid Blyton were among those and these are some of the very few books I've read more than three times.  The St Clare’s series is a set of nine books about the exploits of two twins, Patricia and Isabel O’Sullivan and their friends over six years. Like many stories set in schools, these books too, have a bildungsroman feel as we see how fussy, stubborn children turn into mature young adults. Think of it as an early version of Harry Potter. You’ll realise that it’s not exactly magic, but close...

Author: Sylvia Plath or under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas Acquired in: October 2020 Much like music, books can easily influence your mood. A skilled writer can move you to feel things as you have never felt before and open your mind to the vast expanse of his/her imagination. And all this through a single piece of writing! Such books are few but when you find them, take care to never let them go. Sylvia Plath’s unassuming book encompassed far more than what I thought it would- though I may not remember it verbatim, its singular prose is forever etched in my mind.  Her book stands testimony to the trivialisation of mental health issues from time immemorial. Perhaps the conditions were worse in her time and even before that when psychological breakthroughs were emerging. It chilled me to read about people, women mostly, who endured much in the early sanatoriums and so-called nursing homes.  Sylvia Plath’s part-autobiographical novel portrays her as a young woman, Esther Greenwo...

Author: Jenny Han Acquired in: August 2019 Some people say that books are better than movie reprisals. I'm one of those people too, but I beg to differ regarding this book. The sequel to the popular Netflix film To All The Boys I've Loved Before, this book by Jenny Han felt a little empty when compared to the movie of the same name. Oh, Lara Jean, why do you make me say this?  After the events of the first book, Korean-American Lara Jean Covey is now preparing to attend college. She's even set her eyes on  the  place: the University of Virginia (UVA) which she and Peter Kavinsky dream of attending together. But amidst wedding preparations for her dad, final exams, bidding farewell to school and trying to diffuse sister-stepmother tension, her college plans don't go exactly the way she planned. Slowly, she realises (with a bit of help) that denying herself opportunities to grow to save a relationship isn't going to help her or Peter.  It was quite a lacklustre read a...

 

 

Author: Margaret Atwood Acquired in: October 2020 Ah, the glee of finally reading a book you've wanted to for a long time is a feeling like no other. And yes, The Handmaid's Tale is like no other. Books like these belonging to speculative fiction have enormous potential for imagination. Margaret Atwood's work aims to show what a government led by a fundamentalist regime would pan out.  A radical quasi-Christian outfit overthrows the US government and establishes a totalitarian theocracy named the Republic of Gilead where women have no rights. They have no right over their bodies; only fertile women are considered useful. Women hold different positions on the social ladder according to their past roles in pre-coup America- the Wives, the Handmaids, the Marthas, the Econowives and the Unwomen. Due to the dangerously high levels of radioactive pollution, most Gileadians are sterile, including the new elite consisting of the Commanders and their Wives. To somehow salvage a chil...