Book Review: Pick of the Week - 'Mockingjay'

Books can be your best companion, offering you an opportunity to escape your reality and get to indulge in them. Being a book junkie, I read a lot of books every week. Following the popularity of Hunger Games written by Suzanne Collins, I thought of giving the series a shot and since then have been hooked to it.

The first two novels were amazing and I don’t need to go in their details, since you can readily watch the movies that have done an amazing job in depicting the story line. Recently, I finished the third installment in the series called Mockingjay; the book completely blew my mind and is perhaps the best novel among the three novels.

Very few people would know that the story of Hunger Games franchise is inspired by the classical account of Theseus and the Minotaur present in Greek mythology. The third novel continues with the story of Katniss Everdeen, who not only agrees to join the rebellion of   District 13, but also agrees to be the poster child for it.

The book follows the same tone as the previous ones but has an added flavor of deceit attached to it. Collins has done a marvelous job by portraying the weaknesses in Katniss herself, which evolve from her over-trusting nature. I was glad that, unlike other mainstream novels, the author does not want to infer that the main character is without any flaws and can never do something wrong.

I think many people would be able to relate the book, since it essentially tells a story of a person getting used for the selfish motives of others, and then trying to rectify their mistakes.

It is an epic end to the trilogy that shows a dark future that everyone hopes we are not heading to. There are talks of also bringing Mockingjay to the silver-screen in two further sequels. This will do justice to the final novel, according to the producer, and will also increase his fortune.

If you are an avid reader, it would not take you more than a day or two to get done with the novel. I would advise you to read the first two novels. If you don’t have that much time, at least do watch the movies before starting to read this marvelous masterpiece by Suzanne Collins.

Were you satisfied with the ending of Hunger Games trilogy? Do share your thought about Mockingjay.  

10 Must Read Books of 2013 (Literature)

As we approach the end of this marvelous year, I thought of informing my readers about the top ten literature works of 2013. This year did not disappointed me (in terms of good novels at least) and saw works of many renowned authors make it to the top ten list.

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout:

On number 10 we have a family drama novel The Burgess Boys by American author Elzabeth Strout published in March 26, 2013. The novel follows the story of Burgess Brothers who return to their native town of Shirley Falls, after running away since their father’s death. The story explores the relationship between siblings and how it transforms in unexpected ways.

A Delicate Truth by John le Carré

David John Moore Cornwel (pen name John le Carré) once again works his magic with a new spy novel called A Delicate Truth. The author is able to capitalize on his former work experience of MI5 and MI6 (British spy agencies) to cook up a spy novel which is as close to reality as possible. The novel tells the story about Paul Anderson, a civil servant under the service of British Intelligence, who is recruited to take part in Operation Wildfire to capture a high-value jihadist.

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King:

Multi-talented Stephen King returns to the chart on 8^th position with his new masterpiece Doctor Sleep. It is a sequel of his 1977 novel The Shining. Author thought about the sequel as early as 2009 and even released a prologue in 2012.

And the Mountains Echoed by Khalid Hussaini:

Afghan born American author Khaled Hosseini is making a name for this literary work around the world. This time he deviates from his style of writing with the release of And the Mountains Echoed. He did a marvelous job in demonstrating a relationship between 10 year old Abdullah and his 3 year old sister Pari, who is sold by her father to a couple in Kabul.

The 5^th Wave by Rick Yancy:

This action/mystery novel depicts a post-apocalyptic world where the humanity is on the brink of extinction and is threatened by beings that look like humans and kills anyone they encounter. The story is a survival story of Cassie, who has to take help of mysterious guy named Evan Walker, who might be the key of saving her brother along with herself.

The Interestings By Meg Wolitzer:

The Interestings is considered to be the best work of Meg Wolitzer to date, telling a tale of 6 teenagers in the era of 1970s. The novel depicts the storyline spanning four decades telling how these self-centered individuals fall from grace and how their life is transformed with every phase in life.

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson:

Kate Atkinson’s book Life after Life lands at third place in our top ten list. The novel tells the tale of Ursula Todd who lives multiple lives and holds the fate of our civilization.

Joyland by Stephen King:

Another book of Stephen King lands on our list on the 2^nd spot. He is one of my favorite authors and for pretty decent reasons; firstly, he is able to write on multiple topics, ranging from thriller to sci-fi and horror, moreover his writing style is easily understandable and keeps the readers engaged. Joyland is described as a thriller novel set in North Carolina amusement park in 1973 resolving around a carnival being confronted with a vicious murder and a dying child.

Inferno: Dan Brown.

Dan Brown once again takes the number one spot for his mystery novel Inferno. The storyline revolves around Robert Langdon, a renowned Harvard symbolist, and history’s most mysterious literary masterpieces.

How many of these have you read? Comment and let me know!

The library of Alexandria; Scent of lost time

Through centuries and more, Egypt has played a very central role in mysticism, may it be Eastern or Western. Even, currently, is it just a coincidence that so many of these conspiracy theories are dated back to Ancient Egypt?

This is the country where Remises commanded an empire that was at the prime of its wisdom, finding out new things which are so vital, to date.  This is where Moses found himself, this is where the energy centers were covered with massive bricks called the pyramids, which still are an anomaly to many. These things prove that Egyptians had a lot of practically applicative knowledge and stories to be told. This knowledge is so vital that crusades were launched in search of them.

However, if you read history one of the most curious cases you find is the great ancient library of Alexandria which was home to books that had teaching of astronomy, architecture, philosophy and so much more from around the world. In the time of the great Julius Caesar civil war, Caesar was besieged at Alexandria and where the greatest works of his empire were stored was burned. Who burned it? is where one of the conspiracy lays. The answer of this is still unanswered some say that the Caesar himself burned down his own library so that no one else would ever get hands on it. 

What was in this library that needed to be burned down is what intrigues me. But the reality of it might not come across my eyes in my time of living.

The remainder of the knowledge has then again more conspiracy attached to it. This is called knowledge from the ‘Book of Life’. Subjects in this book are made only for the ruling class. It has teaching of magic, development, art and so much more.

A country’s free thinkers work for the entire world, researching and learning new knowledge which could be used for progress and much more. Rulers take credit for this knowledge and use it as a trophy. Because of these quarrels this knowledge is now dust.

 One thing to be learned here is that no empire lasts forever, sooner or later man has to die and empires have to fade away. History books are the only place where we can hear about lost civilizations. The Library of Alexandria’s burning shows how we need to preserve our books and literature or fear losing great chunks of our past.