Recommended Read: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

"As part of leaving Bloomington for college and my brand-new start, I'd made a careful decision to never ever tell anyone about my sister, Fern. Back in those college days, I never spoke of her and seldom thought of her. If anyone asked about my family, I admitted to two parents, still married, and one brother, older, who travelled a lot. Not mentioning Fern was first a decision, and later a habit, hard and painful even now to break." 

How do I write about this book without mentioning the one detail that forms the crux of it's beginning, middle and its end? I could "start in the middle" as our narrator, Rosemary Cooke does and take it from there.  But I would still find it hard to write a good enough recommendation that you probably could get from the blurb anyway.

So how do I begin? Do I tell you about Fern? It's impossible to leave her out of this because she's the reason the characters' lives turn upside down. But telling you about her right now would also change the way you approach the novel and influence your judgement right from the start. I'm sure you're not one to trivialise certain details of family life. But if you know about Fern before you get to it yourself, you won't appreciate the bigger picture,

If it wasn't for Fern's disappearance, Rosemary would probably not spend her time and energy avoiding the subject of her family. Their brother Lowell would not have run away from home before graduating high school. If it wasn't for her reluctant abandonment to the jowls of science, their mother would not be prone to depression and would still perhaps play the piano. The family would not have left their sprawling farm house for homes that were smaller and smaller to din out the silence and emptiness of a shattered nest.

How do I begin to describe how utterly beautiful and heartbreaking this novel is without adding spoilers? As you can see, I'm trying... really hard.

So the book starts in the middle, in the year 1996 when Rosemary Cooke's in the 5th year of college. She has a secret and it involves her family. Years ago, her sister Fern was plucked from their lives and never spoken of ever again. Fern or the subject of her, isn't buried. But her fate and the feelings it incited in the family, are.

I think it's okay to tell you that Fern did not die in an accident nor was she kidnapped with a child snatcher. Fowler makes that clear pretty much from the start. That's actually what draws you into the novel because a) curiosity and b) once you start reading it, the book is so immersive, there's no turning back.

I see that haven't written much about it without giving it away, have I? So let me try one last time to do this recommendation justice.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves is a novel about a child who is loved so dearly that her disappearance breaks her whole family. But what's truly tragic is that the while Cookes force themselves to give her away believing it was for the greater good which, really, is a matter of perspective but I'll tell you right away that it wasn't.

So for the first time I'm asking you to trust me and just read the damn book because it's good. Like really, really good. It won't change your life. It won't make you bawl but it will make you well up every once in a while. It will give you fresh fodder to analyse things you already know about science, psychology and family life.

Read it because it is very well written and will keep you hooked right to the end. But most importantly, it may not force you to see things you'd rather not but it will make a great case for opening your eyes.

RecommendedReads | Judging a book by its cover and bottling the taste of love

You know you aren't meant to judge a book by its cover. But you also know that the story contained within can get so much more interesting with the right kind of cover art. Here's a column that compares the UK and US versions of books nominated for the Morning News Tournament of Books... just for fun... and comes up with some interesting, albeit self-admittedly "inexpert" observations.

"Book cover design never seems to garner much discussion in the literary world, but, as readers, we are undoubtedly swayed by the little billboard that is the cover of every book we read. Even in the age of the Kindle, we are clicking through the images as we impulsively download this book or that one."

Read full story here

There's a lot going on with our reading lists at the moment, one of which is the excess of books to get through and the sparsity of time in which to do it. This of course doesn't stop us from adding more books to the pile. One of our more recent additions is Aimee Bender's The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake which details the life of a girl who can taste moods through food. Love in a bottle anyone? Here's a take/column/review on how love might actually taste.
"The fact is, we know relatively little when it comes to those invisible, intangible energies that pass between humans. Beyond the chemical reactions triggered by pheromones that make us want to lunge into the (preferably naked) laps of virtual strangers, we can also “sense” other things, like when someone’s in a bad mood or even lying."
Read full story here

RecommendedReads | Rare interview with J K Rowling

As The Casual Vacancy flies off the shelves -- mostly because of pre-orders like mine which get bought solely on the fact that it is J K Rowling -- the web is awash with criticism. She's not on the bestseller list yet, but it only came out Friday. Some of the reviews, like the New Yorker, are scathing while the Guardian's is more restrained, preferring to say,
"Rowling relies on stock situations and verbal clichés; if you're irritated by important episodes being telegraphed with phrases such as 'But then came the hour that changed everything,' then this is probably not the novel for you. But equally, it offers something that more stylish, highbrow fiction often doesn't or won't: a chance to lose yourself in a dense, richly-peopled world."
The cafe is sharing this read with you not for the review -- any respectable potter fan is going to buy this book -- but for the extremely rare and insightful interview that has been embedded here where J K Rowling doesn't whine, understands her life is perfect, hasn't read Fifty Shades of Grey and says that the worst they can say is that it's shockingly bad.

Watch the video on The Guardian here

Buy The Casual Vacancy from Flipkart.com
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Recommended Reads | Unfinished Business

With Reshma about town, hustling and bustling to finish up her novel, even as her laptop’s on vacation at the repair shop, and me being lazy disorganized extremely busy, oh what the hell, it’s been hard to keep this space consistent. We’re sorry dear reader. We love you, you know that, and we sincerely appreciate your loyalty to our little blog. We promise to be more consistent here on out, even if it’s just RRs such as this.

Having spoken to lots of our friends, family and fans, we’re in the process of deciding how to take this space to the next level in terms of variety and versatility. But more on that when it’s set in stone and polished. Until then, keep looking in on us, sending us your feedback and hitting us up for a nice literary chat.

Unfinished Business

‘I could write a book about it…’ How many times have you said these words to yourself? It’s irrelevant what ‘it’ actually is. What matters is that ‘it’ is on your mind and you wish you could turn it into a full blown novel. Why, if EL James and Chetan Bhagat can do it so badly and get rich, you’re bound to do it well and get respectably richer! But we all know that competition in the publishing industry – already in a flux, dangling between foggy futures with e-books on one side, and print on the other. Moreover, you start a novel, or two, maybe even five until you realise that perhaps you’re not cut out for this. Or maybe you just need 10 years, more life experience and better writing skills.

Of course, you could die somewhere along the way, or get committed to an asylum before finishing your masterpiece, like many of the greatest writers of all time. Anything's good if we could only just join the ranks of Flaubert, Joyce, Steinbeck and Tolkien in their unfinished glory...

For you perusal and pleasure, a list of 9 Unfinished Novels by Great Writers by Publishers Weekly. It’s really cool to know that even the greatest have works that are incomplete, unpolished and come undone for various reasons. Although, please bear in mind before taking heart, these are still literary greats who churned out some of the most inspirational writing that stood the test of time. So there's still a long way to go, and lots of work to be done.

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RecommendedReads | Of Flies and Forevers

Copyright and Credit: Eliza Powell (14)
shortlisted for The Lord of the Flies
cover competition by The Guardian

I was almost 20 years old when I first read The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. As a literature student who paid more attention to pulp fiction sold cheap on the streets in order to avoid the prescribed texts, I started to see literature in a whole new light when I devoured it twice in the same week! And both times I didn’t really think of it as a children’s novel, even though it was about children, how they cope with being marooned on a deserted island and go a bit bananas, to put it mildly, without adult supervision.

My school curriculum didn’t have a module to introduce us to English literature, so it makes me jealous when I hear people who’ve analysed texts like Hamlet in-depth before the 10^th grade or in the current scenario, illustrated the cover for a new school edition of The Lord of the Flies for a competition run by The Guardian. Between the ages of 13 and 16, these young adults have gone to town in their attempt to illustrate their vision for the book cover. Pretty, gritty and thought provoking here’s where you can find a slideshow for the short-list and peek in here if you want to learn more about the winner. (Buy a copy of the book from Flipkart here and Amazon here)

Flip open the culture section of any website, newspaper or magazine and there she is – Katherine Boo, whose book Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, death and hope in a Mumbai undercity is getting rave reviews. Boo seems like quite an articulate journalist –she did win a Pulitzer in 2000 for reporting on poverty in the US for the Washington Post – but to do so in a slum in Mumbai without even speaking the language must have required a lot of patience and hard work. I haven’t read the book yet so I don't know about all that she might or might not have achieved. But here are some reviewers who do. The Places in Between | The Economist, Bare Minimum City | The Indian Express , Puncturing a Fable | Mint Lounge


Buy Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers from Flipkart Here and Amazon Here and then read this columnist's expedition to Annawadi for a bit of fact-checking to see whether the world described in the book was indeed real or mild exaggerations of a creative mind.

RecommendedReads | Who wants to be attractive?

Happy Valentine's Day and all! For those of you who are wondering how to make yourselves more attractive by 9pm tonight, a new translation of the Kama Sutra has a solution: "A paste of rosebay, wild ginger and plum leaves can make one seductive. So can a salve for the eyes made by grinding these same herbs, putting the powder on a wick and burning it with myrobalan oil in a human skull."
Read a more excerpts from the book on thehairpin.com or buy it from Amazon.com for the whole hog this Valentine's Day. A special prize shall go out to the reader who reviews the book for us by Feb 29. Two special prizes if you can wing it by the end of this week.

Now that you're a tad closer to scoring tonight, here's something you might find handy in taking the conversation beyond the run-of-the-mill "Are those eyelashes real?" The Jaipur Literature Festival may be old news in a world of ADD inducing sources that create a hype about something and then abandon them for the next one much like roosters on heat. But here's a column written around that time you might have missed in the headlines that were dominated by Rushdie and Oprah. This piece in The New York Times by Manu Joseph, author of Serious Men and editor of Open Magazine, talks about the world of publishing and the quality of Indian English literature in relation to the the hype that surrounds its authors. It's not time or event specific so you must read it if you haven't already.

In other, more current news, a book that I'm personally itching to read Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil is on stands now. The name does sound intriguing, doesn't it? The plot, even more so. Juxtapose that with reality and we might just have a book club discussing Opium in the time of a serial killer who smashes your head in with a stone. For an interesting take on Narcopolis, you might want to read what this columnist for Mumbai Boss has to say.

RecommendedReads | Weekend poetry

Slyvia Plath's Bell Jar

Headline: Slyvia Plath's Unbearable Lightness

Publication: The Economist's intelligent life

Reshma Says: Good poetry is powerful. When I cut my wrist open while lifting a jug full of watermelon juice and saw the red blossom out of a gash, the first thought that came to mind was was *&#%! quickly followed by 'What a Thrill, my thumb instead of an onion'; the opening lines of Slyvia Plath's brilliant poem Cut.  I am in no position to critique her poetry since I got a measly C at English A Level but I do love it. And for others who love it as much as me her pen and ink sketches are on show  Mayor Gallery in London. For fans closer to home here is one of my all time favorite poems.  Preferably neither read before nor after food. 

Cut

for Susan O'Neill Roe

What a thrill ----

My thumb instead of an onion.

The top quite gone

Except for a sort of hinge

 

Of skin,

A flap like a hat,

Dead white.

Then that red plush.

Little pilgrim,

The Indian's axed your scalp.

Your turkey wattle

Carpet rolls

Straight from the heart.

I step on it,

Clutching my bottle

Of pink fizz. A celebration, this is.

Out of a gap

A million soldiers run,

Redcoats, every one.

Whose side are they one?

O my

Homunculus, I am ill.

I have taken a pill to kill

The thin

Papery feeling.

Saboteur,

Kamikaze man ----

The stain on your

Gauze Ku Klux Klan

Babushka

Darkens and tarnishes and when

The balled

Pulp of your heart

Confronts its small

Mill of silence

How you jump ----

Trepanned veteran,

Dirty girl,

Thumb stump.

Headline: Christopher Hitchens Obituary - Where have all the journalists gone?
Publication: The Guardian
Reshma Says: When was the last time you read something that jolted you or opened your eyes to a new thought? Who is your go to person for an opinion in politics? Don't know. Our parents would have said N Ram at The Hindu or S. Gurumurthy at the Indian Express. So you didn't agree with them or their sometimes extreme views but at least they were consistent and always questioning. No, Frontline is not my favorite magazine but at least it stands for something. Now opinions don't matter because honestly when was the last time someone really knew their stuff. Our views are governed by noises emanating from the television craving for TRP's. They shout, they dramatize in the end telling you what you possibly already know. This is a lovely obituary that also seems to double up as a tribute to the lost art of standing your ground. A fine tribute to a rockstar journalist whose life seems almost as dramatic as the events and people he covered.
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RecommendedReads | A taste of Murakami

I’m going to dedicate this week’s RR to one of my favourite authors (in translation), Haruki Murakami. I’ll be honest though, he’s tough to understand unless you read his books twice over and then slyly Wikipedia the title when no one’s looking. Oh get off your high horse… You know you do it too! Murakami’s different, you see? And every time I finish one of his books, I want to pat myself on the back because I’m proud of my inability to put him down mid way, give up, even though I find myself doing that very often with other authors.

Murakami transports me to a zone that's somewhere between concentration and spacing out, but ultimately manages to keep me hooked to the worlds within the worlds that exist in pockets of Tokyo and other parts of modern day Japan. In fact, I fully plan to write a review of Kafka on the Shore, the second Murakami I ever read, which sealed my bond with him forever.

I’ve been ploughing thorough The Elephant Vanishes, a collection of short stories for a while and would really recommend you start with that if you’ve got a short attention span or just can’t wait to get to the end of a really absurd story. You won’t regret it. I promise. Buy The Elephant Vanishes from Flipkart.com

But if you want a taste before actually making the investment, you might want to read Town of Cats, a short story that was recently published in The New Yorker. Sure, it starts off well enough: Son goes to visit an emotionally unavailable father for whom he feels nothing. Suddenly, he recalls a scene from his infancy that seems innocent enough until a certain detail, disturbing to the reader, not the son who’s reminiscing it, strikes him as odd. Is there a possibility that his father, with whom he doesn’t really feel a connection, who won’t talk to him about his dead mother, is not his biological father at all? Tengo, the protagonist, can only hope.

Another interesting, though confusing read today was an article in The Economist about The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle being adapted into a stage play that premiered at the Edinburgh Festival on August 21. I know chances of us ever seeing this, or any of his other stories, performed in the likes of NCPA, Bombay are bleak, but to watch Murakami's imagination interpreted through sound, light and real people would be worth its weight in creative gold.

This piece though, oscillating between good and bad, just like all of the author's works that blur that lines between the real and surreal, does little to support my resolution not to travel to the next destination that will be showing the play. But I guess, once you fall in love with Murakami, it’s important to plunge first and think later. So far I’ve gotten through Kafka on the Shore, Dance Dance Dance, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and After Dark. I haven’t lamented yet and I still love cats, goats and well, maybe not televisions or all-night diners. So away I go!


Please leave pledges for the Caterpillar Wind-Up-Bird-Fund for Afsha in comments section below.

RecommendedReads | Thursday Book Quiz!

THURSDAY QUIZ: What do the three books shown above have in common? Tell us and we will bestow the first ever Caterpillar Cafe Award to the first person who guesses it. The prize is, well we are poor, so the prize will be a copy of one of the books shown above. (Your choice!)  Now I am off to catch a flight. (Quiz idea is courtesy of ABE books.) Leave your responses in the comments section and we'll get back to you with a winner! 
Take it away Afsha. Ta Ta folks!


While my blogging buddy Reshma is gearing up to travel to England, Italy and where-about-not, I've been very busy losing myself in fantasy. But I do love literature that allows you to travel which is why I think you should, as much as I, look forward to the forthcoming posts from her Travel Guides in Disguise series. But while I may not be able to travel for at least another year, having a full-time job and all, I'm not fussed. I just want to read. And the book I'm most looking forward to belongs to a genre I can't quite place since I haven't read it yet. This is actually the first time I'm anticipating and recommending a book that is just about to release based on the extract. Fan of fantasy, fiction, Goth, noir? Pre-order with me and let's coffee.


Headline: The Night Circus's dazzling, high-wire debut
Publication: The Guardian
Afsha says: It may be fantasy month for The Caterpillar Club, but for for me fantasy is a way of life. When we published the last set of Recommended Reads last week, we linked you to The Guardian's list of best debut authors. Since then, I haven't been able to stop thinking about The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern. The artwork, in black and white with one lonely item in red, promises a story from a period that passed a century ago and another dimension that can only come to life with a vivid imagination. The extract was intriguing enough for me to pre-order it on my Kindle so that I can enjoy it before the world goes to town with it, running the risk of rendering it as just another overrated novel. The author is being pitted as the next Rowling, something she appreciates but doesn't agree with for several reasons. But what upsets me is that the movie rights have already been bought over by the guys behind, gulp, Twilight (God save us all) . Read an extract here.
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Headline: The Man Booker 2011 shortlist

Publication: Man Booker

Reshma says: The twitterverse was abuzz with excitement as predictions were made. Bookies were talking to people wondering whether it would be a newcomer or an old hand. Who would take that glittering prize? But then you wonder, it's early for the Oscars right? It's the Man Booker prize. My mother waited for it as she would the Oscars and it became the reading list for the next few months. I discovered Amsterdam by Ian McEwan and Disgrace by J M Coetze only because of the Booker.  When I look back I realize that every book I studied at English Lit A-level was part of a shortlist at some point, (The Handmaid's Tale, Paul Scott's Staying On),  from which I infer that they seem to get it right. At the end of the day it's about the authors and not the list. Of late I have not agreed with some of the choices. I did not particularly enjoy Alan Hollinghurst's A Line of Beauty or Arvind Daga's The White Tiger. I did however fall in love with Wolfhall by Hilary Mantel, the best book I have read in a long long time. For me the Nebula and Hugo awards are much more dear in that they cater to that that ignored yet hugely popular spectrum- science fiction and fantasy. I yelped with joy when Sussana Clarke's Strange and Mr Norell (Damn you book thief who stole my first part on a plane!), was long listed. I felt vindicated, like my choice of reading material was finally being acknowledged. Ok fine, so the Booker prize is important. There are two debut authors on this years list and I have read neither. But Pigeon English looks like a favorite to win and my reading list only got longer. Sigh!

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RecommendedReads | So many books, so little time.

Happy Vinayaka Chaturthi!
At the outset The Caterpillar Cafe would like to say that it is a sad day when people are not allowed to tell their stories. The cancellation of the Harud Literary Festival in Kashmir on the back of partisan lobbying is an outrage, especially when it has been based on hearsay. Rahul Pandita's The Autumn of Hypocrisy is a beautiful lament to the freedom of expression. If we stop people telling their stories quietly, how can we blame them when they begin to shout?

Headline: The best new debut authors!
Publication: According to the Guardian Long List
Reshma Says: Looking for something to read? A fantastic new list of debut authors is ripe for the picking. I am salivating at the thought of reading Sidereal by Rachel Boast, who they say is like a confident Seamus Heaney. High Praise indeed! The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed has been receiving rave reviews and is the first on my must- read now. The Night Circus seems to echo The Water for Elephants but other wise the list is chocoblock with newbies that will make your bookshelves sparkle.
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Headline: Do I Have to Read 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' Before I See the Movie
Publication: The Atlantic
Reshma Says: “Argh! How could they leave that scene out? How could they possibly cast that singular expression Keira Knightly as Elizabeth?" Books-to-movies is a perennial source of frustration to both fans and directors alike. Be honest, you have always visualized your favorite movie being put to screen. You were the first to run to the cinema when X men hit the screens and you waited patiently for Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the ring to be released even as you refreshed the web page day after day to ogle at Aragon and check if the Uruk-Hai matched your childhood fantasies. No? Ok, ignore that. About 13 movies are coming out this autumn that are based on books-after all novelists do all the hard work to come up with the story that script writers joyfully tear apart. This write up is useful for those who want to know whether to read the books before they watch the movie. I agree with most of it except I would not recommend either reading or watching Twilight after the disastrous films. Sadly I cannot comment on the list having not read many of these books, but I do believe that when in doubt always read the book before the movie.
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Should you read Game of Thrones before you start discovering it on HBO?
Reshma Says: Absolutely, even though the HBO adaptation is in fact quite good. The casting has been fantastic and apart from portraying Cersei with a bit too much humanity, the HBO adaptation brings you the sex, intrigue and the sheet ruthlessness of Westeros with startling graphic. For instance they don't shy away from killing of children. However I am curious to know how future books will be adapted. The Feast of crows for instance is a slow read that focuses primarily on politicking with little warfare. And Martin has decided to create parallel timelines that would give HBO episode issues. Also what about scripting minor characters like Davos and Anita. Here is another article on the adaptation of Game of Thrones and True Blood to TV from the Atlantic. Enjoy!
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RecommendedReads | Rainy Day Reads

Can you hear that? It's the wind and it's whistling like a banshee on helium. Reshma expects a coconut tree to come through her french windows soon. So we don't suppose there's much for you to do except curl up in your blanket, hot tea close at hand, for some comfort reading. Unless of course, you much prefer the images of Gandhians and hurricanes flashing across your television screen....

AFSHA SELECTS
Calvin and Hobbes It's a Magical World 
"1..2...3... SNOW!" The thing I love about Calvin is that he'd give anything for snow. And most of the time it isn't only because of the possibility of a day off from school. I sort of know how he feels, especially when summer's about to end and I start praying for rain every day. This year, I even offered the rain gods a coconut! And then the rains arrived. This pleased people immensely until they forgot about the sweltering heat and humid sheets. Calvin, on the other hand, is never seen dissing the snow, no matter how cold it gets which is why I've decided that this year, I won't dis the rain no matter how wet it gets. So grab a copy of It's A Magical World and loose yourself in the life and mind of a seemingly cynical little boy on a quest to find joy in everything around him, whether he likes it or not.  

RESHMA SELECTS

PD James : The Lighthouse

She is undoubtedly the reigning queen of British crime fiction and what better way to toast to perfect English weather. A working peer, 85 year old James never betrays her age as her tone and diction seem as contemporary as a thirty year old crime writer. Besides her Inspector Adam Dalgliesh, the stoic poet that makes your heart flutter, has been made for every age. This is the perfect rainy day novel. As the wind howls outside your window, you will be transported to a spooky island off Cornwall in England, where a private estate taken over by a charitable trust is in the throes of, MURDER. A world renowned writer is found hanging from the top most railings of a lighthouse and so begins a convoluted hunt for the killer. As always, James is never predictable or disrespectful of death. The island takes the atmosphere of a snowed in house. As the Inspector and his team are holed up in this little fictional island, painstakingly drawn characters- an editor, a subjugated daughter and other eccentrics , plot around them. You know know you are not about to get off this ride until the last page. For those of you who are P D James devotees, this is the one where the Inspector struggles with love and his philosophies and finds himself lost for answers. For first timers, it is the beginning of your love affair with the queen of british crime. If you have an IPAD or a Kindle, download it now and settle in with a hot cuppa tea. The blistering rain is only getting started.

  

RecommendedReads | Of Google + Machines

Thought I'd start today's RR with a song I quintessentially associate with all the days starting Friday 5pm to noon on Sunday. Don't ask. Just listen. Also, since Florence + The Machine are all set to come out with a new album on November 7 (see video of their first single below) so it's quite timely to be revisiting an old favourite.


Headline: How Google Dominates Us

Publication: The New York Review of Books
Afsha says: Yes, I'm obsessed with the effects of "Google" on the human mind as you might have gathered from the blog's first ever RR two weeks ago. I'm not against change. Nor am I complaining about the Google people who just want to make my life easier. I just don't believe in blindly accepting this change without understanding where the world will stand after it progresses into being a chip in my brain, feeding me information on the go. Hmm... feeling the waves of inspiration that led to my vegan phase...
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Headline: Florence and the Machine – What the Water Gave Me

Publication: Guardian.co.uk
Reshma Says: Warning... This song is moorish! Of all the new music out there, Florence and the Machine are my favorite. She reminds me of Patti Smith and I am sick to death of dance music that is ruling the charts this past year. Lungs, their debut album, reeks of literary references and this single from their sophomore album is no different. What the water gave me, talks about both the eccentric brilliant artist Frieda Khalo as well as the suicidal Virginia Woolf. The Woolf reference is easy to spot - Lay me down/ Let the only sound/Be the overflow/ Pockets full of stones. She walked into the river filling her pocket with large stones that took her to the bottom. A beautiful cinematic moment for Nicole Kidman in the movie, The Hours. Literature has influenced so much popular music. Remember Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush? Florence Welch is Kate Bush re-incarnated I think. Sting loved throwing literary references into his music, he was, after all, an English teacher. My other favorite literature in music moments are all the Tolkien references which can be seen in Led Zeppelin's music -Battle of Evermore and The stairway to heaven. (They say its not there but I can see it, I can! )

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Headline: 10 ways not to be a travel writer
Publication: Lonely Planet
Afsha says: If I had a penny for every time a newbie drooled on about how they aspired to be a travel writer because of such-and-such a lifestyle... Well, you get the drift. Equipped with jealously (can you blame me?) and a a keen awareness of the chances of "living a dream", there's not much I can contribute except cynicism. "Travel writing is not easy to break into..."; "You have to make the initial investments yourself before you're established enough to be sent travelling..."; "Me too. But I've descended from LaLa Land, you see?" Not anymore. Want to write and travel or travel and write? Here are some tips on how you shouldn't be going about with it.
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RecommendedReads | For slugs and parents alike

"Run, Run, As fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread man."

Good Morning, We hope you had a fantastic weekend! Ours was filled with fashion week and George R R Martin's A Dance with Dragons. Flipkart was nice enough to deliver The Divine Comedy along with Blood, Bones and Butter which will keep me thoroughly entertained that I will find no time to work! Oh well...

Headline: Final Larsson Novel 70% complete
Publication: The Guardian
Reshma says: So most of us have read the Millennium series and the rest of us left it half way as George R R Martin took over. As good as Larsson is, he cannot compete with nerds who have waited five years for Martin's books and have to start reading all four of them again in order to get ready for the fifth. But these books have spawned a great deal of interest in the Nordic detective novel. My first was The Savage Alter by Asa Larrson and then of course the incredible Snowman by Jo Nesbo, every bit as good as the Millennium series. Back to the article in question, diehard fans would be well aware of the controversy surrounding Larrson's estate and consequently this novel. Most posthumously published books are disastrous, Robert Jordan's work being a good example. Until that is published, Larrson lovers can secure sustenance by reading Stieg Larrson, my friend by Kurdo Baksi For all those lovers of Nordic crime we will do a wrap up soon. But until then, tuck into the two above.
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Headline: Smithsonian's 2010 Notable books for children
Publication: Smithsonian Magazine
Reshma says: Ever since a little boy came into my life, I hunt for children's books. I hunt in small book stores when I travel, I hunt in art galleries and I hunt in second hand book shops that pave the roads in cities I travel. They are a thrill to buy. I,more than not, always read them before I give them to the delightful child and marvel at the colour of the illustrations and rhyme of the lyrical poetry. Some of the best feedback came from the Gruffalo series that I wished I had had as a child. My favorites growing up were the Gingerbread Man and Noddy. Strange how I now hate ginger:)
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RecommendedReads | Happy Apostrophe Day!

Photo/moreintelligentlife.com

Well it was yesterday, and so was Navroze! So it was a an exciting day for Parsi's, lovers of salli ghost and apostrophe's alike. We come bearing articles on publishing, an iconic journalist and a cartoon from Oatmeal to celebrate yesterday's key global holiday.

Headline: Come One, Come All
Publication: Open Magazine
Afsha says: I've always wondered how publishers go about selecting what to publish. Over the years I've taken a few hints based on the covers I've seen in the Mumbai local but this article puts a few of my theories to play in addition to lending some factual perspective. It doesn't matter if you're an aspiring author, voracious reader or a highly bored person looking for temporary escape. This essay is an interesting read for everyone.
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Headline: Notes on a Voice - Joan Didion
Publication: The Intelligent Life, The Economist
Reshma says: Didion's 'The Year of Magical Thinking' was the first non-fiction book I ever read. A memoir, built upon the year after her writer, collaborator and life partner died, did things to my insides. I remember sitting at Flavours, a well known Italian eatery in Delhi, and holding back the tears so as to not draw the undue attention of Arjun Rampal (seriously), who was sitting nonchalantly right in front of me enjoying a solitary Sunday lunch. She is an iconic journalist and this article is a lovely insight into her explosive prose. It talks of a trick that I learnt from her, which is to give some mundane detail right before a gut wrenching moment. Also check out An excerpt from her NY times article, Why I write.
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Headline: International Apostrophe Day
Publication: The Oatmeal
Reshma says: Yesterday was International Apostrophe Day. To celebrate the special occasion, my favorite Oatmeal has gifted us a poster on how to use apostrophe's. While, for some this may come naturally, I am the first to admit to scratching my head sometimes on whether its a pianist's heaven or a pianists' heaven. Oh well! Hope this helps!
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RecommendedReads | Homage to the book

Suffice to say my co-blogger and I conveniently slacked off during the long weekend for which we apologise. We're back in full swing now - books, clubs, posts and all - so stay tuned because we've got some exciting stuff coming up this week. Ciao for now.

Headline: Long Live the Book
Publication: Abe Books
Reshma says: Admit it. Every-time somebody says they hate reading books you want to shake them. These days it's often followed by, "I only read Magazines". I know it is wrong to judge. But most of us do and in the least. we feel sorry for them. Sorry that they are missing out on hanging out with a Mumbai dancebar girl or chasing after a golden snitch or even just sitting back and watching a detective catch his hundredth criminal while he puts a glass of cognac to bed. Abe Books has created the most lovely homage to the Book.
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Headline: Overrated
Publication: Slate.com
Afsha says: When I finish a book, I walk over to my bookshelf almost instantly to see what's still on offer. And if you're a hoarder like me, chances are there will be a lot to pick from. "I ought to have read Three Men in a Boat, after all these years..." "Maybe I'll get cracking on Poe short stories that aren't The Tell-Tale Heart..." "Someday, I will read The Iliad... in Greek!" Maybe it's time we stop trying to be seem impressive to our fellow readers and just stick to books, authors and genres we enjoy.

Reshma's two paisa: Found two other people who refused to be bowled over by "Catcher in the Rye". Filled me with glee.
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RecommendedReads | Elementary, my dear Watson

Good morning,

Caterpillar's RR for the day includes a continuation of a much discussed topic, the bastardization of English, hope for slow writers like myself and for those who couldn't care less about the future of English or my future as a faster writer, a most exciting read, a Top Ten list of the best crime novels of all time.

As for what we are reading, I am hammering away at the brick that is George R R Martin's Dance with a Dragon and the caterpillar favorite, The Piano Teacher. Afsha is still reeling from the book and cooling down her soul with some of her mother's to die for nimbu panni or/and beer. Enjoy the reads!

P.s : The above quotation is a misquote and was never uttered by Holmes.

Headline: The family tree of a mongrel language
Source: Economist.com
Reshma says: There has been much back and forth on this of late in the Mumbai Boss and WSJ India. So where does the Caterpillar Stand? We are confused just like the rest of you. Should pre-pone be a legitimate word, hell I have used it myself a few times. Isn't language a means of communication? So when I say pre-pone in a gathering in Mumbai, my audience understands it. I could also say 'bring it forward', but isn't the world all about minimalism these days? We do not however condone the small 'i' as a substitute for the pronoun or 'c' for 'see'. That's just laziness. Yes, it's a fine line. I told you we were confused.
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Headline: Slowpoke: How to be a faster writer
Source: Slate
Reshma says: Do you ever wish you purge out a thousand words an hour when you find yourself looking at ten words on your page after a half hour of staring. And inevitably you are left with '...'. The secret is ...wait for it...practice. Ten thousand hours of writing will get you there.
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Headline: Top Ten Crime Books you have to read before you die
Source: Writing.ie
Reshma says: As a self professed expert of the crime novel, I am ashamed to say I have only read a handful in this list. Then again I disagree with it. The list has been handpicked by one of my favorite authors, John Connolly (Author of the Killing Kind and The White Road). It does not have P D James, the greatest of all crime novelists and that is a blasphemous act. I therefore take this list with a pinch of salt. But anything that gives us a reason to buy books is welcome don't you think? I am off to have a few words with Mr Connolly.
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RecommendedReads | An introduction

Welcome back to our lair. We're proud to announce that that from today, The Caterpillar Cafe will be updated on a daily basis. 
Our RecommendedReads section will appear at 10am every morning and will feature our selection of the coolest articles, websites and books we've read in the last 24 hours. We hope you enjoy this section and in turn, contribute with recommendations of your own.

Photo/justfuckinggoogleit.com

Headline: Is Google making us stupid?

Source: TheAtlantic.com

Afsha says: I don't know if you feel it yet, but I do. Google is making me stupid. It's bad enough that I can't do math, let alone get to the bottom of this long article I recommend everyone should read. But I will. Today. I hope. Unless I Instapaper it! Regardless, it is a long, but well researched story. So do have a go and let us know what you think.

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Headline: Jo Bell’s Poetry Workshop

Source: Guardian.co.uk

Reshma says: I look around what I treasure and find a note book that I doubt will survive and a mug with a head of a daschund as its handle. A thousand years from now, someone will look at it and say, "This person loved dogs" and assume that I had one. Goes to show how much we assume in Archaeology.

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Headline: The heady thrill of having nothing to do

Source: WSJ.com

Afsha's says: Can boredom make you more creative? Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, concurs with the “experts” proposing this theory, and credits his creativity to the “soul-crushing boredom of (his) childhood”. I loved it. Reading this piece in the Wall Street Journal is definitely going to be one of the high points of your day.

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