RecommendedReads | Three shades of E L James

I have lately realized that I have no idea what's going on in the present world of commercial blockbusters because of my marathon viewing sessions of Buffy the Vampire Slayer- incredible yes but leaves little time for reading and two, my penchant for finishing my burgeoning reading list. Since I am almost done with Patrick Suskind's ingenious novel Perfume, (post coming soon) I decided to check the New York Times Bestseller List.

What do I see? 'Mommy Porn' is back. E L James shocking bestseller - 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and its sequels- Fifty Shades Darker &  Fifty Shades Freed,  make up top 3 positions of Trade Fiction Paperbacks. My mother refuses to review what she calls, 'A waste of paper' and my co-blogger is shocked that its on the charts. And yet, this little novel has taken the world by storm. So I believe its up to me to review it.

Other bestselling novels include Charlene Harris's Sookie Stackhouse back on the hunt with Deadlocked, along with Stephen King,  (curtsey), in his next Dark Tower novel, A Wind Through The Keyhole.  Fantasy is live and kicking my friends, only further reflected in the fact that GRRM's, A Song of Fire, and Ice is all over the Mass Market Rankings.

Sookie Stackhouse and Anita Blake lovers will enjoy this banter between the two novelists, Charlene Harris and Laura K Hamilton as they discuss writing among the longest series in fantasy.

I have been stocking up on Henry Miller myself as I buy Tropic of Cancer and Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. Also excited about The Island by Elin Hilderbrand.

RecommendedReads | Game of Thrones is back!

And it's back: sloth, greed, lust, envy, pride, gluttony, wrath and you can catch it in all its panoramic glory from April 1st on HBO. Watch the trailer, set to the beautiful lament by Florence and the Machine's Seven Devils

Headline: A conversation between Bernard Cornwell and George RR Martin

Publication: A song of fire and Ice website

Reshma Says: A most fascinating insight into what the two greats love to read, what they like to write and and how they handle their ridiculous amounts of fanmail. It sometimes stuns me how two such game changing writers can be so down to earth. BC uses every chance to tell GRRM how pissed he is that he killed Ned Stark off and GRRM shows how much he loves historical fiction by constantly referencing Sharpe. Both writers focus on the past and in many ways, Bernard Cornwell is as fantastical as GRRM - Stonehenge. Lovers of both these authors will really enjoy this little tete-a-tete.

Headline: Pottermore opens to everyone early April. 

Reshma Says: And she's back, the queen of merchandising, marketing and general wizardry with Pottermore. The place for everything Potter including lucrative e-books, whose rights she has so cleverly kept to herself. Such a smartie! Since I am not a beta user, despite begging for entrance, I have no idea what awaits inside but I do believe there are backstories- How did Vernon and Petunia really meet?,  artwork and ofcourse games and an entire social media platform. No, it's not for us. It's bad enough we spend entire weekends reading stories written for 13 year olds, but I think it is a brilliant example of extending a brand and keeping it alive for the new little converts that really find a hardcover book so old fashioned!

Club Updates | The fantastical month ahead

Our first bottle of wine broke. Not on my carpet thankfully. In the din of traffic on a one-way street with a valet man gesturing frantically to pull out right next to a car that was simultaneously pulling in, is how I imagine Reshma getting her crocodile skin shoes stuck in the handle of her eco-friendly bag, thus setting the poor bottle on the course of it's demise.

But a quick pit stop at Nature’s Basket later, we sat down on my couch to talk books, literature, the best in reading and the most beautifully flawed authors. After we got discussing Frank Herbert's Dune, of course.

There were a lot of mixed feelings. I personally hadn't got past the first 50 pages (sorry) but I know I'll read it, when I'm in "the zone" for a sci-fi novel that isn't The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. As for the frills and finalisations, here's the general lowdown.


Book Talk/ Swap: Wherein we bought a selection of books to recommend and then as an option, allowed fellow Caterpillars to borrow for the month.
We went to town with this one. The table held titles like After Dark by Haruki Murakami, A Dance With Dragons, George R.R. Matrin’s 5th installment of The Game of Thrones series, Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa and Manga Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Buy A Game Of Thrones 5-Book Boxed Set from Flipkart.com

It went very well, and all the books except the Martin got swiped, but that’s only because the owner was still reading it. Manga’s went to a member who claimed he doesn’t read much, Murakami went to a virgin in the genre of Magic Realism and I quickly pocketed Mornings in Jenin because I haven’t read any literature from Palistine. Needless to say, I think this one ought to be part of The Club’s regular culture.

October’s Read
Theme: Fantasy
I’m quite pleased to announce that I successfully marketed The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgewick for October’s read. It’s about a boy named Boy who must help his cruel master, a sorcerer called Valerian, save his soul from a Faustian pact he made years ago. This must be done before the Dead Days, the days between Christmas and New Year’s, are over. The book is dark, mysterious and filled with adventure that makes your reading speed accelerate in anticipation of the end. The climax… it doesn’t disappoint, but leaves a lot of loose ends and unanswered questions about Boy’s origins and identity. Good thing there’s a sequel then, isn’t it? But reading that is entirely optional. The Club recommends you read The Book of Dead Days in time for the first Sunday in October, for which we have some pretty fantastical plans.

Buy The Book Of Dead Days from Flipkart.com

In conclusion:

I still have Bourdain to breeze through, but I really can’t wait to get cracking on the loot and of course, the recommendations from my fellow Caterpillar’s. But most of all, I’m looking forward to reading The Book of Dead Days, which I’ve ordered and shall review next month along with its sequel, The Dark Flight down.