Dreams Galore

Any one familiar with Vampire Diaries, either with the book or the TV soap would know what I mean. Damon Salvatore is the anti-hero in the story. He is vile, ruthless, merciless and takes advantage of people's weaknesses. He is a BAD vampire. Yet, we love him. Why? There are many other such examples in the books/movies we read - Severus Snape of HP, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, Shylock of Merchant of Venice. A few of them, but we have rooted for them in the books. We shouldn't have. Afterall, they are the villians in the story. They are bad and mean. What makes them special? A redeeming act - Often our anti-heroes have one or more weak spots that endears to us. Because of that one weakness, they do good things that normally a hero does. We call it their redeeming act. It redeems them from their bad future. For example, Damon Salvatore is a bad vampire but his redeeming act was his love for Elena. He would do good things for her, even if it means he dies. Similarly,...

I know it is now 19th century to debate about printed vs ebooks but guess I am from 19th century for I just can't let go of the printed book. I dearly love the shiny covers, the not-so-fine paper and the printed word. Somehow I feel the worth of the book only after I feel its weight in my hands. As if the same book is an ebook, the author did not work as hard which is ridiculous but that is how I feel. So, this weekend I was faced with a very uncommon problem. The urge to read. No not a simple urge. That would be common. It was the strong, unavoidable pull to a book. I had to read a book, a romance novel and specifically a Mills and Boons (yeah I read them and I am not hiding it! They are a good break from the heavy stuff! :)). So, I scoured through my collection which isn't much due to my recent move from India and sat disappointed that I had none. Then I looked at my husband like a hopeful puppy for a quick trip to the bookstore, but he didn't buy it as he was work...

Genre: YA Fantasy It serves me right. For judging books by its cover. Not satisfied with Fallen by Thomas S , I searched for another angel story to better judge the book. Alas, I fell for the bait and picked up Lauren Kate's Fallen. I can easily claim this to be one of the  most frustrating reading time I have spent in so many years. And yet, I read all the three books in the series with patience. Why? I should have quit right? Guess I was testing my breaking point. So, unlike before, I have to start with what DOESN'T work for this book. Because that better expresses my review. What Doesn't Work For This Book? As mentioned above, it was frustrating. A good book keeps a balance between information and suspense. The organized unraveling of a mystery is what keeps the reader going. If the ending or any part of it throws the reader completely off in a bad way, as in the hero turns absolutely nasty for no reason, the reader quits. But what do you do when neither the he...