Nevermoor – The trials of Morrigan Crow

Author: Jessica Townsend

Year Published: 2017

Pages: 461

Genre: Fantasy 

About the book.

Morrigan crow is considered a cursed child. Any misfortunes or accidents that happen in the city where she lives is blamed upon her. Whether it be an accident, a medical ailment or a plant that doesn’t grow – the people in the city blame it on Morrigan. Her father, who is a chancellor of the city, compensates anyone who claims to be affected by his daughter’s curse. Morrigan herself has to write letter of apologies to people who blame her for their misfortunes.

The way for children to get educated in the city is through a bidding system. The city has a bid-day where businessmen and educators bid on a child and they take the responsiblity to educate the one they have bid on. Morrigan has no hopes of getting a bid. Firstly, because everyone considers her cursed. Secondly, because she is supposed to die on Eventide – the day of her eleventh birthday. But she receives a bid and a contract in an envelope from a man named Jupiter North to be a part of the Wunderous society. 

On the day of Morrigan’s eleventh birthday, her favorite dinner is served and her family is prepared (in fact, looking forward) for her death. All of a sudden, Jupiter North arrives with a contract that Morigan signed (and later burnt in fire) and takes Morrigan to a city called Nevermoor in a spider-shaped vehicle. All the while they are being chased by a strange looking creature who looks like a swarm of bats. Before leaving, Jupiter throws a curtain from a third-floor window and Morrigan’s family believes that the curtain was her and now thinks she is dead.

At Nevermoore, she has to participate in a set of trials upon the completion of which she will be a member the Wunderous Society. The Wunderous Society consists of some of the greatest minds and will be her lifetime guide and support. The first trial is a written exam where she needs to be honest, and an interview where she is told to take her time to answer. The second trial is a chase trial which requires strategy to win where she rides on a gangster cat. The third one is a fright trial where she needs to prove her courage, and the final one is a show trial where she needs to show her knack. The only problem – Morrigan doesn’t know what her knack is. And, the answer to that is what the book is all about..

Likes

It is a very captivating story. I normally don’t read middle grade but I couldn’t put this one down. I wanted to find out what Morrigan’s knack was and why Jupiter had chosen her as a candidate. There are many funny characters, dialogues and circumstances. I love funny animal characters and the Magnificat during the chase trial was hilarious. The way Jupiter answers or dodges questions is comical. I also laughed at Morrigan’s curt responses (not the ones she speaks or writes but the ones she thinks in her head).

Dislikes

There were a few chapters which did not add anything to the story. I’m sure some people would enjoy reading the interaction between two kids who act like frenemies but I’m not in the age group that enjoys it. The chase trial felt kind of silly to me. It mentioned that she needs to use her strategy but never once did I see the use of strategy to win the race. I read the entire book to know what Morrigan’s knack is and I still don’t know the exact answer. I understand that the book is a part of a trilogy and it makes sense for the question to go unanswered. Yet, a scene where she uses her gift in some way would have been great.

Rating

3.5/5.0

 

The invisible life of Addie Larue

Author: V.E. Schwab

Year Published: 2020

Pages: 444

Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy

About the book.

Adeline (Addie) La Rue is born in the late 1600s in a small village in France. Seven freckles line across her cheeks – her distinguishing feature throughout the story. She is curious and stubborn. Unlike the other girls in her village, she doesn’t want to be limited to the confines of the village for the rest of her life. When her father who is a wood maker goes to the market, she insists to go with him when she is just a little girl and is fascinated by all that she sees. But like all other girls in that century, she is expected to get married and bear children. So, when she is 23 and her parents want her to marry a man with a child, she wants to run away. She doesn’t want her life to end in the little village in child-rearing and marriage. So she prays. She prays for God to do something to prevent this marriage. Even though she is told not to pray to the Gods after dark, she begins to pray and the darkness answers. Addie sells her soul to the darkness for freedom. She wants to belong to no one and she wants to live to see the world. How long? As long as she doesn’t surrender or ask the darkness to take her life. The darkness accepts the deal and now Addie is 23 forever and free. However, her freedom comes at a cost because no one remembers her. Her parents don’t, her neighbors and friends don’t. As soon as she goes out of sight or a door is closed, the people who just met or spoke with her forget her. She has no place called home and no one to call her own. She belongs to no one just like she wanted. She is like a ghost – invisible to the memories of the people she meets.

This book is a story of Addie’s journey over the course of 300 years. The chapters in the book alternate between the 18th century and the year 2014. It tells us how Addie left the village and survived in a world where no one remembers her. We learn and understand how a lonely soul invisible to the world survives through it all and refuses to surrender her soul. It is the life story of Addie and it’s also a love story – a love story with the boy who remembers. We don’t get to read every detail of Addie’s life but brief snippets of the important events in her life – the first time she is disappointed in love, the times she has inspired art, the bad times she faces, and her encounters with darkness in different stages of her life.

Likes

I really like the story and the concept of the book. It is a concept we can all relate to – the want for freedom and also the need to be loved. Do we really live if no one remembers us? Are ideas more powerful than memories? It is a beautifully-written book. I also loved the character, Addie. She is imperfect and her strength and determination shine through in a very subtle manner. Even the darkness itself is a pretty interesting character – from being atrocious to rescuing Addie when she needs him the most. The book also has the element of suspense and surprise. Addie finally meets someone who remembers her. How can he? When will Luc visit Addie again? Addie hasn’t met the devil ‘Luc’ for over 30 years. Why and what happened? And how will Addie’s story end? The story flows so smoothly that after one chapter ends, I keep reading more.

Dislikes

None really but I do wish the book was longer where we get to know more about Addie’s experiences at various stages of her life and also have more details about how she met her love interests or those artists for whom she became a muse.

My Rating

5.0/5.0. This is one of the best books I have read to date.

Swiss Army Man

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Paul Dano, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Release Year: 2016

Run time: 97 mins

About the movie.

Swiss Army Man is a story about a man, Hank, who makes it out of a stranded island with the help of a dead man, Manny. Hank is stranded alone in an island in the Pacific after he ran away from home and just as he is about to end his life, he sees a body washed along the shore. The person in the body is dead but he keeps farting continously. Later Hank makes his way out of the island by jet skiing on top of the body using Manny’s fart as a fuel. Manny also seems to have an unlimited supply of water inside his body that keeps coming out of his mouth whenever he is punched. Manny’s erection (every time he sees the picture of a pretty lady) is their compass that directs them towards human settlement. Hank carries Manny’s body around and Manny is like a multi-purpose Swiss Army knife that helps Hank escape dangers and death. Along the journey, these two men become friends, make up their own imaginary world, and Manny even comes back to life.

Likes.
The performance of both the actors in the movie is praiseworthy. I also really enjoyed the songs and music that plays as they travel. Manny keeps asking questions to Hank about everything and begins to innocently contemplate upon the answers. I liked how deep and wise contemplations about human fears and societal expectations are embedded within simple conversations throughout the movie.

Dislikes.
At the end of the movie, I was expecting to see a sad man transformed into a happy one because of the company of a strange dead man along the journey. I must say that I was  very disappointed. The movie also had a lot of unanswered questions. I had no clue about how Hank ended up in the island or who Manny was. It required a lot of patience to make it through the movie because the scenes are too slow and dragging. And the ending seemed so incomplete. There I was watching the movie wondering what will happen next and all of a sudden the screen plays ‘The End’.

Overall rating.
I didn’t love or like the movie. I wouldn’t say I hated it either. I would definitely not recommend the movie to anybody unless they are movie buffs who are out there to watch every kind of movie they can find. I would give the movie 2 out of 5 stars.

Get Out

Image Source: http://www.imdb.com

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener

Release Year: 2017

Run time: 104 mins

About the Movie.

In the first scene of the movie, a black man is attacked while he’s walking on the road. Then the focus of the movies shifts to Chris, an African American guy, and his white girlfriend, Rose. Rose wants to take Chris to meet her parents in their family estate in the woods. But Chris is skeptical about the visit because he’s black and he’s afraid her parents may not like him. Rose’s parents – both doctors – treat Chris pleasantly during his stay but their groundskeeper and maid, both of whom are black, are very strange and they behave very awkwardly with Chris.

Rose’s family is also having their annual get-together during Chris’s visit. A lot of people arrive in the estate and while everyone tries to treat Chris respectfully they cannot help to avoid what seems like racial slurs. Chris is thus, finally pleased to meet another black man but this man dresses and speaks very strangely. Later he realizes that he is a Jazz musician who’s been missing for the past six months (the same guy attacked in the beginning of the movie). Chris tries to get out of that place because he feels something fishy is going on and as he tries to get out or run out of that place, he discovers the horrid truth as his own life is hanging in danger.

Likes.

The movie is brilliantly made and I loved the movie. In fact, it’s one of the best thrillers I’ve watched in a long time. The mystery and strangeness of the estate and the characters lurks like a shadow throughout the movie keeping the audience wondering about what’s going on. The ending of the movie is shocking and mind-blowing. I definitely couldn’t predict what was coming. When the mystery is revealed, we begin to connect the dots. I was like, “Oh! That’s why he said that or they did that!” until the very next day. There were many scenes we could laugh at – thanks to Chris’s friend from the TSA! – and the entire audience in the theater clapped in the last scene.

Watch the movie.

If you’re someone who likes good thriller, then you should definitely watch the movie!

Life Lessons from 100-year olds

I found this beautiful short documentary in Youtube that interviews three centenarian living in the UK. It basically made me think about three things:

1. Love – The love we share and the love we get. The love of a spouse and family in particular.
2. Time – The time we have is valuable and limited and it’s passing rapidly. I should not waste my time and use it more productively so that I will have good memories and a good life.
3. Regrets – What is it that I must do now so that I will have no regrets when I turn 100?

Most important, watching these centenarian helped witness the undying spirits of people who have been through two world wars and yet look at life through a positive lens.

 

What the Fish

Image Source: http://www.glamsham.com

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Language: Hindi

Cast: Dimple Kapadia (Sudha), Manu Rishi, Sumit Suri

Release Year: 2013

Run time: 93 mins

About the movie.

Sudha, a middle-aged woman living in Delhi, goes away for a month to Papa New Guinea to visit her son. She hands over the keys of her house to her niece and instructs her to feed the fish and water the money plant daily. When she gets back home, she finds everything inside the house in its proper place including the fish (although she suspects her fish to have gained weight). But when she opens the door of her bathroom, a girl in white dress and long unkempt hair runs outside the house. Sudha suspects this girl to be a witch but who is this girl really? The movie is about what really happened in the house when Sudha was away.

Likes.

The movie is entertaining and fast-paced. I also liked the reverse chronology in the movie. The girl in the white dress helped connect the sequence of the story together and add subtle humor to the whiny Sudha’s character. Even though the characters in the movie come and go in short intervals, each has done justice to their role. The plot of the movie is properly tied up together. Be wary of the details while watching the movie because the ending explains these details. The title of the movie ‘What the Fish’ is also appropriate because the fish is definitely a central point in the story.

It’s not a movie that will make people go laughing in the floor but it’s a sensible situational comedy. It also doesn’t have unnecessary item songs unlike most Bollywood movies. It’s great for a one time watch.

Recommend it?

Yes. I’d recommend this movie to people who has an appreciation for sensible unconventional movies.

Back to the Future Trilogy

 

Image Source: Fanart.tv

Genre: Sci-fi, Comedy, Fantasy

Cast: Micheal J. Fox (Marty), Christopher Lloyd (Dr. Brown), Lea Thompson (Lorraine), Crispin Glover (George), Thomas F. Wilson (Biff)

Release Year: I – 1985, II – 1989, III – 1990

Run time:  I – 116 mins, II – 108 mins, III – 118 mins

About the movie.

‘Back to the Future’ is a story about a 17-year-old boy, Marty McFly, working for a scientist – Dr. Emmett Brown – who time travels to the past and the future. In Part-I of the trilogy, Marty accidentally travels 30 years back in time. He needs to find the scientist to get back in the present while making sure he doesn’t change anything in the past that will alter or delete his present existence. In Part-II of the trilogy, Marty first travels 30 years forward in the future to 2015 in order to prevent the wrong turn of events in his kids’ life. From 2015, he travels back to 1985 where he finds an alternative world waiting for him because someone has changed the course of events through time travel. In order to change that one single act that resulted in the alternative turn of events, Marty travels back further to 1955 to prevent that act from happening. In Part-III of the trilogy, Marty goes back 100 years to 1885 to save his friend, Dr. Brown, from being killed. Finally, at the end of the trilogy, Marty makes it back to present day of 1985 and the time machine is destroyed.

In each trilogy, the time machine receives a new form. In Part-I, the time machine is a car fueled by plutonium, in part-II a hovering or flying device fueled by waste materials and in part-III a train fueled by coal and water. While the first two part of the trilogy is focused on the life of Marty, the last one is more about Dr. Emmett Brown.

Likes.

This is one of the best movies I’ve watched about time travel and part I is my favorite among three. All three movies in the trilogy are thoroughly interesting and I couldn’t help but watch all three movies in one day. The story-telling is brilliant and the trilogy wraps up without any cliff hangers. The transition from one movie to the next is perfect where the former movie sets the stage for the next one and each movie has a different story to tell. Also the details of the movie are so carefully thought of as each detail is relevant and adds to the flow and progress of the movie. The costumes and the surroundings change according to the era the characters are in. While the costume for 2015 portrayed in the movie is ridiculous, there are few items like hover board and flat screen televisions that are quite close to present-day reality. The director (or whoever thought of it) must be congratulated for such an accurate foresight.

Dislikes.

There are a few loose ends and questions that hasn’t been answered. For example: In part I, what happens to the second Marty who travels back in time? In Part II, after the reality is altered what happens to Biff in future time?

Rating.

4.5/5.0

Afterthoughts.

If I ever get a chance for time travel, I’d travel back to the seventies – the time when my parents were young – because that’s an era I’ve never seen but heard a lot about.

Shoe Dog

Author: Phil Knight

Year Published: 2016

Pages: 386

Genre: Biography, Business

About the book.

‘Shoe Dog’ is a memoir by Phil Knight – the creator of Nike. In this book, Phil chronicles his journey from the time he first conceived the idea of building a shoe company to the time his private company Nike went public. As much as this book is a story about Phil Knight, this book is also an account of the evolution of Nike.

The book starts at ‘Dawn’ when Phil goes for an early morning run and contemplates on his crazy idea of importing Japanese shoes. The book then moves chronologically through 1962 to 1980. 1962 is the year when Phil is 24 and he decides to go for a tour around the world. On his way, he makes a detour to Japan and meets the manufacturers of the Japanese shoe company – Tiger. Phil instantly makes up a company name ‘Blue Ribbon’ and places order for the first pair of shoes with a money order of $50 from his father. Over the years, the business started in the basement of Phil’s home grows manifolds. It encounters growth, competition and legal and financial troubles. More people are employed, factories are built, important decisions are made and the company continues to expand and change. Along these years, we also get a glimpse of Phil’s personal life – his heartbreak, his marriage and kids and his transition in careers. As we read along, we can feel his victories, defeats and the stress of running a business. The book ends as Phil wraps up the story in a chapter titled ‘Night’. The conclusion encompasses the growth of Nike after it went public, the journey of the people who made Nike possible, and an account of Phil’s personal and professional regrets and accomplishments.

Likes.

I loved the book! From the very first page, the book is very engaging and unputdownable. It is written beautifully and the suspense of what happens next continues to build throughout the book. I think that this is a book every entrepreneur or would-be entrepreneur should read. I learnt not just about the technicalities of running a business but also about the struggles and complexities involved in the process. I understood the role a loyal team plays in the success of a business. Even though Nike started with a single man’s idea to build a shoe business, it succeeded because there were people who went out of their way to ensure its operation and success. Most importantly, this book helped me perceive Nike in a different light. Rather than just a brand, Nike is now a story, a statement for me.

Dislikes.

The book speaks a lot about the philosophy of the company Nike and it carefully details the milestones of Nike. However, the origin story of the slogan ‘Just Do It’, which is such an important part of Nike, wasn’t discussed in the book.

Best quote.

“The cowards never started, the weak died along the way — that leaves us.”

My rating.

4.8/5.0

Brain Dead

Genre: Drama, Comedy, Sci-fi

Total episodes: 13

Run time: 42 mins

Main Characters: Laurel Healy, Luke Healy, Gareth Ritter, Red Wheatus, Rochelle Daudier, Gustav Triplett

About the series.

Braindead is a comedic-satire of the American political system. The story starts when a meteor strikes earth. The meteor brings bugs (some look like bees, most look like ants but share characteristics of a screw worm) with it that starts entering the brains of political officials and people in the White House and Washington DC. These bugs enter through the ear and eat out half the brain of infected ones. While some people die with head explosion, other infected people show symptoms of aggression, extremism and lack of hearing in one ear. They also start running, become teetotalers, lose interest in sex and begin listening to a song from the eighties – ‘You Might Think’ by The Cars.

Laurel Healy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is a documentary film-maker who is currently working for her brother Luke Healy (Danny Pino), a Democratic Senator, in the White House. It is up to her along with her two friends – Rochelle and Gustav – to figure out what is going on and how to stop this bug problem.

Likes.

I found all the episodes of the series very entertaining and engaging. Watching every episode made me want to watch the next one – which is an important quality in a tv series. The series makes more sense if you’ve been following the current presidential race and are familiar with the political campaign of the Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

I particularly enjoyed how the relationship between Laurel and Gareth (Aaron Tveit) developed throughout the series. I also liked the way the series ends. While there is a subtle connecting thread for the next season, there are no lose ends or cliffhangers at the end of the season. This makes the anticipation of the next season easier. If a second season comes, it’s wonderful. But even if does not, the first season has concluded well.

Deep Work

Author: Cal Newport

Year Published: 2016

Pages: 263

About the book.

‘Deep Work’ is another thought-provoking and behavior-altering book by the author of ‘So Good They Can’t Ignore You’. In this book, Cal Newport asserts the importance of deep work in producing meaningful work and attaining career success. At an age of internet and social media we are constantly bombarded by the inflow of information that serves to distract us and takes a toll on our focus and attention. This results in us being busier but producing lesser. Newport explains the reasons deep work should become a priority and offers us rules and strategies for applying deep work in our own lives. He draws examples from his own life and from the lives of people like Carl Jung and Bill Gates to further prove his point. This is a very useful and practical book that anyone can draw inspiration from in order to live a more focused and deep life.

Likes.

The central theme or message of this book is very useful and relevant for my own life. I used to be so distracted by the social media and the stream of information that the internet produced that attention and concentration had become extremely difficult. As a result, the efficiency and quality of my work suffered. After reading the book, I’ve disengaged from the social media and have been more productive in my work.

I liked the fact that author Newport presents us different alternatives of engaging in deep work. Not every person can contribute the same amount and pattern of depth and focus. While someone can spend a big part of their time in deep monastic life, others have more pressing responsibilities and can contribute only some hours of their day or certain chunks of time to deep work. I also liked the fact that Newport acknowledges how this method of deep work isn’t relevant to all kinds of work. While knowledge workers require more deep work, people in managerial positions or ones doing administrative tasks will spend most part of their time doing shallow work.

This book is a valuable follow-up to Newport’s previous book.

Dislikes.

Unlike in his previous book, the chapters in this book are quite long. The chapters in the book has been properly divided into ‘The Idea’, ‘The Rules’ and ‘Conclusion’ but each chapter contains a lot of ideas which could have stood out more had the chapters been shorter and the summary been provided at the end of each chapter. (Just like in ‘So Good They Can’t Ignore You‘)

My rating.

4.5/5.0