I watched the movie Bookclub a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. The movie follows the lives of four women who have been meeting for forty years as book club members, bonding over the books they read and becoming friends. When they read Fifty Shades of Grey, they begin to view their lives from different perspectives. Well, this is not a review of the movie but about my foray into the world of book clubs. A friend recently started a book club but has slightly tweaked its format. I was quite reluctant to join at first because I don’t consider myself a serious reader, and I'm trying to read more. I declined the invitation but, on second thought decided to dive in, and I wasn’t disappointed. The tweaked version of the book club saw us not reading and discussing a single chosen book but instead following a topic or theme. This time, each member told a tale from Aesop’s Fables together with the moral, after which a short discussion on the moral ens...

As a  child, I didn't' really have any dreams and aspirations about what I wanted to be when I grew up. Childhood consisted mainly making full vasool of playtime and devoting some time to lessons and text books after being hollered at by the parents. I was hopeless at both Science and Mathematics. There was no way that I would grow up to be a doctor or engineer or have a career related to any of those subjects. My parents were both voracious readers and instilled in me a love for books.    A Basketful of Surprises by Enid Blyton gifted to me by dad, is a book I can clearly remember reading. There was no turning back as I turned into a voracious reader, reading various genres  from detective to romance, skipping horror and science fiction.   Somewhere along the way, in my late teens I began dreaming of becoming a journalist. Somehow I saw it as a very glamorous and exciting job. The long hours that I would have to...

Something that I miss dreadfully from my spinsterhood days is curling up with a good book. Recently a classmate from the school WhatsApp group suggested that the group talk books. Out tumbled the names of books, authors, 'have - read', 'must - read' and presently reading. Many have continued to be voracious readers like while others like yours truly were rediscovering the joys of reading. My first tangible memory of this very pleasurable hobby was the book 'A basketful of surprises by Enid Blyton that dad brought home for me. There was no turning back.I was hooked. My parents both book lovers supported my passion for reading.  As a child, Enid Blyton was a hot favourite. I gradually moved on to the adventures of the Hardy boys and Nancy Drew.Richmal Crompton's William saw me chuckling away to glory  There was this book shack that dad dropped me off where for many years I kept alive my passion for reading. Together with Enid Blyton and Nancy Drew, the lives and...