Quarantine Diaries
It's day 56398050 of quarantine. Yes, I've stopped keeping count. Having said that, it's not that I'm complaining. Not even a bit. I've learnt to be grateful for what I have. After a few initial hiccups at home, the dust has started settling down on the few differences I was facing with mom-dad. I mostly chose to give up fighting with them on not calling the maid for cleaning & mopping. In God, we trust.
Anyway, I'm using this quarantine/house-arrest as an opportunity to learn new things, catch up with old favourite hobbies, spend quality time with my parents and take some time to stay away from alcohol. The last one is rather forced, but no complaints. I had been trying to strike a healthy balance for some time already.
I've been trying to stay disciplined and stick to a schedule daily. So far so good. I've been reading a lot, thanks to Kindle, I still have access to new books! The last 2 books I read turned out to be a treat. Both starkly different from each other, yet both a page-turner. Here's my quick review on both the books:
Becoming by Michelle Obama: I don't think this book needs any introduction. It has made its mark among bibliophiles all over the world already. I was, in fact, quite late to the party. Better late than never though.
I was, at first, a little wary of picking up Becoming. I'm not a huge fan of non-fiction, let alone autobiographies. And this one being Michelle Obama's. I wasn't sure what the takeaway would or could be. After all, as first lady, nobody would expect to relate to the kind of problems or experiences she'd share. However, the book turned out to be quite relatable. Being a woman, I think she touched upon the right chords to make a connect with her female readers. She had a very humble upbringing and always had that nagging doubt "Am I good enough" wherever she went. However, to her credit, she was quick to overcome all the self-doubts and emerge stronger & better. Not a lot of people have the mindset or even resources to overcome the negative self-talks. But her strive to always do something better and to aim for self-growth no matter where she's in life is something everyone can learn from.
As a by-product of all these take-aways, I also ended up developing a huge crush on Barack Obama. They don't make guys like him anymore. Nope.
The bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller: Now I'm not at all a huge fan of love stories. I picked up this book not knowing what I was getting into. But right from the get-go, this book had me hooked. I finished this in no more than 5 or 6 hours. Not in one sitting though. But when I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about Francesca or Robert, the protagonists. Such were the characters. I found myself rueing (Spoiler Alert) the passing of Robert Kincaid without Francesca being able to talk to him or see him once again and not just for one last time! I found myself wishing for a different ending. Each sentence had me standing on the edge, not knowing what will happen next. When they were together, I wished for things to go on the way they were. But that wouldn't have made for a good story,.Would it? The best stories come out of the hurt and the grief that cannot be shared.
I also fell prey to the belief that this was actually a true story. As soon as I finished the story, I rushed to Google how Robert looked like in real life. Only to find out that this was actually a completely fictional story! Which, to be honest, was somewhat a relief. For obvious reasons. Nobody should have to live an existence like that.
Needless to say, I'm gonna buy a hard-copy of both these books and keep them with the other books that have clinched a place among my hall-of-fame library. And obviously, I'm going to force every human being with even a slightest bit of inclination for reading to give these books a chance. Cause these two deserve more than just a chance!
Adios.
Anyway, I'm using this quarantine/house-arrest as an opportunity to learn new things, catch up with old favourite hobbies, spend quality time with my parents and take some time to stay away from alcohol. The last one is rather forced, but no complaints. I had been trying to strike a healthy balance for some time already.
I've been trying to stay disciplined and stick to a schedule daily. So far so good. I've been reading a lot, thanks to Kindle, I still have access to new books! The last 2 books I read turned out to be a treat. Both starkly different from each other, yet both a page-turner. Here's my quick review on both the books:
Becoming by Michelle Obama: I don't think this book needs any introduction. It has made its mark among bibliophiles all over the world already. I was, in fact, quite late to the party. Better late than never though.
I was, at first, a little wary of picking up Becoming. I'm not a huge fan of non-fiction, let alone autobiographies. And this one being Michelle Obama's. I wasn't sure what the takeaway would or could be. After all, as first lady, nobody would expect to relate to the kind of problems or experiences she'd share. However, the book turned out to be quite relatable. Being a woman, I think she touched upon the right chords to make a connect with her female readers. She had a very humble upbringing and always had that nagging doubt "Am I good enough" wherever she went. However, to her credit, she was quick to overcome all the self-doubts and emerge stronger & better. Not a lot of people have the mindset or even resources to overcome the negative self-talks. But her strive to always do something better and to aim for self-growth no matter where she's in life is something everyone can learn from.
As a by-product of all these take-aways, I also ended up developing a huge crush on Barack Obama. They don't make guys like him anymore. Nope.
The bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller: Now I'm not at all a huge fan of love stories. I picked up this book not knowing what I was getting into. But right from the get-go, this book had me hooked. I finished this in no more than 5 or 6 hours. Not in one sitting though. But when I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about Francesca or Robert, the protagonists. Such were the characters. I found myself rueing (Spoiler Alert) the passing of Robert Kincaid without Francesca being able to talk to him or see him once again and not just for one last time! I found myself wishing for a different ending. Each sentence had me standing on the edge, not knowing what will happen next. When they were together, I wished for things to go on the way they were. But that wouldn't have made for a good story,.Would it? The best stories come out of the hurt and the grief that cannot be shared.
I also fell prey to the belief that this was actually a true story. As soon as I finished the story, I rushed to Google how Robert looked like in real life. Only to find out that this was actually a completely fictional story! Which, to be honest, was somewhat a relief. For obvious reasons. Nobody should have to live an existence like that.
Needless to say, I'm gonna buy a hard-copy of both these books and keep them with the other books that have clinched a place among my hall-of-fame library. And obviously, I'm going to force every human being with even a slightest bit of inclination for reading to give these books a chance. Cause these two deserve more than just a chance!
Adios.
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