[Book] My Brother's Wedding by Andaleeb Wajid

I came to know of Andaleeb Wajid through a friend when he sent me her book to read & review- Blinkers off. Since then we have been in touch through Facebook and Twitter and so it was nice to meet this lively author when she launched her new book "My Brothers' wedding" at Crossword Bookstore in Chennai. It was a fun filled evening where we got to interact with her on a personal level, and hear tales of how she writes, where she got the inspiration for the book from and what else is in store from her treasure chest.... 

Book Name: My Brother's Wedding
Author: Andaleeb Wajid
Publisher : Rupa Books
ISBN : 978-8-1291-2399-2
Genre: Fiction: Romance, family drama, chic-lit [call it what you want, it is a very breezy light read]
Pages: 264
Price: Rs 295/-

My Brother's Wedding is a book based on the chaos called 'wedding in the family".  But it goes beyond the groom and his family, there is quite a bit of craziness connecting people beyond the immediate family members. It has a splash of drama, a generous amount of spice and romance as well.  It is a book that is as close to reality as you will get~!! 

I for one hate weddings. Why? To me weddings are synonymous with tempers flaring, craziness bursting everywhere, expenses sky rocketing and unnecessary squabbles coming into the scene. Weddings according to me should be simple sweet affairs, where the focus remains on the bride and groom, but instead it is all about who gives/receives what gifts, the sudden chaos within the house related to other members, an illness, god forbid a death, how elaborate the menu is, who has been invited, what are the return gifts and what not... These paint quite a disturbing image right, but then that is the reality..

“My Brother’s Wedding” opens with Saba’s blog. All of 19 years Saba starts an anonymous blog, a platform where she can vent, rant and share.  She gives alphabets as nicknames for her characters- her sis, her best friend, her cousin who she has a huge crush on, other friends and so on. The book actually has 2 parallels to it- one the main wedding related chaos and other is saba's blog.  The entire plot is set in Bangalore and revolves around how this wedding is planned and its impact on Saba's life.  

Andaleeb takes the readers through a typical Muslim household and the wedding preparations.  It is also about how families maintain a brave face when meeting others but within the four walls their lives are falling apart. There is the sister who believes her husband is possessed, a Djinn, the guy who lusts after Saba's sister at the wedding who secretly meets Saba and ultimately how all the pieces of the puzzle fall into the place and comes to a happy ending or not.. ;o)  

It took me all of 3 hours to read, the last half hour dragged on, only because I wasn't ready to be done with the book yet. :-) It was such a delightful simple breezy read, ideal for anyone who wants a light book.

For those who want to buy the book, pick up your copy from Flipkart or the nearest book store

Andaleeb also has another book ready to be launched in a month or so-->  More than Just Biryani  and she has started a blog which was about recipes but is also about this book of hers..

An evening with the Lord

A failed attempt the last time around had me on High Alert. I was at Landmark by 6 pm for an event scheduled for 7 pm. Yes Yes I know I was early, but heck, the event was in a book store. So, what is the harm in being there early? Yes, of course I read.

Why was I in Landmark in the 1st place? To meet the Lord ofcourse. 

Who Lord? Lord Jeffrey Archer... D'oh!! 

<silence> Yes, that was it. 

The third book  in the "The Clifton Chronicles" was to be launched that evening by the author himself.   "Best Kept Secret" is the highly anticipated third installment of "The Clifton Chronicles" and takes the reader on a breakneck journey from Bristol to the US and on to Buenos Aires in the mid-1950s.

He walked in, grabbed the bike , reprimanded the girl who was doing emcee saying he would do all the talking and began. Opened his talk by saying I love this country, wanna know why? Cos England beat you hands down in cricket... And I also love this country for another reason. wanna know why? Cos you are beating Australia to dirt... 

A man in his 70s, the amount of energy, enthusiasm and zeal was just amazing.  He shared with us the 1st ever story he had written, which had to be 100 words only. He read it out, asked us to guess which was that one extra word he added while he was struggling to push the 99 to 100. Thereon, the evening was filled with laughter, enthrallment and fun...

He then went on to speak about The Clifton chronicles, the plan he had and how it looks like it is going to go beyond 4 books spilling over to a 6th maybe.. "Only Time Will Tell" is the first where Harry Clifton's life begins in 1920, and then came the 2nd book "Sins of the Father" that begins from the time before Britain declares war on Germany. And now, here comes the 3rd....

He spoke about how in Bangalore, a 12yr old girl had stumped him. She had a book published already. He mentioned how at the age of 34 was when his 1st book got published. In Chennai, a girl who asked him a question shared that she had recently published a book, and she was all of 22 yrs of age. He shared with us how tough it is to get published, how to sustain and how to write so as to keep the audience engaged.  

During the Q&A session, there were so many of us with our hands raised, alas only a few got the chance to ask their questions. One of the questions put forth was - Will you ever write a book on India? For which he promptly replied "oh no, I am very scared, India overwhelms me"

Before closing the session, when asked about his personal favorite and most popular of his books, he shared that Kane & Abel was in its 94th print. 

When he was done talking and it had been over an hour, he announced that he would now be signing copies of the books. He took on a stern look and said "look her children, I want you all to come in line, behave and get the book signed. I shall sign each and every one, but only 2 per person and no personal requests"... :-))

Yes, I did get a copy, actually 2 copies autographed by the Lord. One for me and other for a friend, dint mind that I had to stand in line for nearly 45mins.. ~!! 

Books books.. Am back to you, my love!!!

Its been a while.. and now am finally back to reading like the maniac i am!! Had bought a couple of books at the newly opened Full Circle abt 2months back!!! And now those books keep me company at night before hitting the zzzzz..!! i love you booooooks.... every page is divine!!!

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

I have read his earlier books.. Blink, recommended by a friend, following which i read Tipping Point[ which is in fact his 1st book]...

In this book, he talks about what makes high-achievers different from others.... According to him, we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and not enough to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and even links their birthday or month or year to their success. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made Beatles the greatest rock band.

Just about 100 pages into the book.. will finish reading and write complete review!!!

The 2nd book i've started is Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon... The cover looked appealing and it was related to India, so thought let me give it a shot!! Not bad i must say!! :)

Alexander Frater follows the monsoons-unsteady northerly progress, pursuing its bliss and destruction as well is his own family ghosts, Elegantly insightful and humorous, he captures the delirious celebration and relief with which India greets its liquid transformation. If all travel books were this good, everyone would just stay home and read.

The last book in the list was what i got day before evening-- Chai Chai by  Bishwanath Ghosh

This book has me engrossed... its a super light read.. things we can relate to, identify with.... He decides to roam the towns beyond station yards — towns with unique names like Itarsi, Mughal Sarai, Arakkonam and Jolarpettai, Jhansi, and Guntakal.. All he does is mix with locals, learn about history, discover the lives of those who pass by that town.........

There's a discussion on this tomorrowe... Hoping to go for it... will be my 1st such book meet.... :)