World of Books and Travel

Once a week I'd love to post some quotes from famous writers. I think it will help the writers to get inspired. This week's quotes - All the words I use in my stories can be found in the dictionary -- it's just a matter of arranging them into the right sentences. - Somerset Maugham One hasn't become a writer until one has distilled writing into a habit, and that habit has been forced into an obsession. Writing has to be an obsession. It has to be something as organic, physiological and psychological as speaking or sleeping or eating. - Niyi Osundare The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell, together, as quickly as possible. - Mark Twain There is no satisfactory explanation of style, no infallible guide to good writing, no assurance that a person who thinks clearly will be able to write clearly, no key that u...

My daughter got me the book “Little Women” to read, and I fell in love with it from the very beginning itself. “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott, is the story of four little sisters – Meg (Margaret- 17 yrs), Jo (Josephine – 16 yrs), Beth (Elizabeth – 14 yrs) and Amy (12 yrs), about their life in New England (America) during the Civil War (1860s). They are poor, and have their own dreams, like any other girls of their age. Their father is in the war, and their mother tries very hard to raise them as intelligent and modest little women. The book also tells about the act of kindness and sacrifices done by these poor March sisters. The book explores the relationship between the young girls and their parents. You can find tight family bonding, love, friendship, unity, patience - all in this book. As you read the book you can get into the minds of each sister and know what is going on in their minds, in each stage of their life. There are many characters in th...

I have just announced a giveaway for one of my children's Books - Mini's Little world. The promotion starts from today and ends on 31st May 2012. Please check my other blog where this announcement is made.

Recently I had been to Cubbon Park, one of the best places to take children in Bangalore. Cubbon Park, one of the lungs of Bangalore city, is located right in the middle of the city, spread into about 300 acres. It was originally created by Major General Richard Sankey in 1884 in 100 acres, and it was subsequently expanded to the present 300 acres, with abundance of flora and fauna. Apart from this, the Central Library of the State, Archaeological Museum, High Court of Karnataka and impressive statues of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and Sir Mark Cubbon are also housed in this large Park. The park was originally named as “Meade’s Park” after Sir John Meade, the acting Commissioner of Mysore in 1870, and later renamed as Cubbon Park after the longest serving commissioner of the time, Sir Mark Cubbon. Once you enter inside and walk through the sprawling park under the well laid out trees, breathing clear air, and watching the beautifully manicured garden, you will feel like yo...

I was always a great fan of Ruskin Bond. Recently I read his book "The Blue Umbrella". Though it is categorized as children's book I too enjoyed reading it. It is a beautifully written simple story of little Biniya set in a small village in Himachal Pradesh. A young tourist takes a fancy for her bead necklace with a leopard amulet and exchanges it with a blue umbrella, which soon makes the little girl the center of attraction in the village. The shop keeper of the village named Ram Bharosa eyes on her blue umbrella and plans to steal it from her. "The old man had by now had given up all hope of ever possessing Biniya's umbrella. He wished he had never set eyes on it. Because of the umbrella he had suffered the tortures of greed, the despair of loneliness. Because of the umbrella, people had stopped coming to his shop!" Read the book to find out how the old man and the little girl become friends again. The story is beautifully illustrated wi...