A novel after a loong time.

Finished reading a complete book after months. The last I read was Preeti Shenoy's "Life is what you make it". I completed that one in a record time of two days. This time it is Jane Fallon's The Ugly Sister. Best catalogued under chick-lit, fiction, I picked this up on a fancy to read up on my Kindle. The Kindle was languishing without getting its rightful due and I thought it is high time I shrugged off the tardiness and randomly downloaded a couple of novels.

I had never read any of the previous books by this author and to be honest, had not heard of the author's name too. Though, of course, I am not a voracious reader and me not having heard of some author cannot and does not mean anything. All am trying to say is I had no preconceived ideas or expectations from the novel.

The story is about two sisters, Cleo and Abi, who have inherited entirely different set of genes albeit from the same set of parents which makes them stand apart not only in the physical quotient but also emotional. Cleo, is the elder of the two and is the superior one in the looks department, while Abi is the plain Jane but one who is endowed with brains. Life for the two sisters take a major diversion after Cleo, at the age of sixteen, is suddenly discovered by a modelling agent and is frisked away into the glamourous and mysterious world of fashion and beauty. Cleo reaches the pinnacle of success and has all that a person would dream of- a dream career, a lovely house in uptown London, two kids and a loving husband. Abi, on the other hand, has struggled her way through life and is just about making ends meet, dealing with being a single mother to a teenage daughter, Phoebe. Although, the two sisters share a strained relationship, Abi is hopeful of setting things straight if and when the opportunity so presents.The opportunity comes in the form of an unexpected invitation from Cleo asking Abi to spend the summer with her family in London. The story then unfolds about how things go from there on. Will the relation between the sisters improve or will there be more misunderstandings?

The pace of the plot is swift and keeps you engaged up to three-quarters of the book. The characters are well-developed and you can relate to them. But, after all the detailed planning of the characters, the end seems very rushed and abrupt. Somewhere, I felt the plot ran out of steam and the story was suddenly brought to its end. Just as you would have liked a more detailed and logical conclusion, the book ends leaving you feeling cheated.

So, although it makes a good read overall, the end leaves you a little frustrated.

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Why do I read? asks Simran

Thanks Simran, for tagging me. The question probably should be more like, do you read now? And you pretty much listed most of the reasons that I would have given to the Y's of reading.

While I spent some time mulling over this question, I came to realize that my reading habit, for various reasons, has unfortunately taken a downward curve. I used to read quite a lot during my childhood years. So much so that I would have a book in hand while I ate. Even Balbharati English text books were OK. I guess I did read (although I do not come under the "voracious" category) until I started work. Here, apart from the occasional book while travelling to work, the curve started making a downward dip. Other preoccupations took priority until marriage. The graph started to look better with hubby's influence and I read some very good books, both fiction and non-fiction, around this time. The pregnancy months saw me read a lot of spiritual (haha, yes for good influence) and light-veined stuff. Post motherhood, barring a couple of unsuccessful attempts at reading, I didn't do any serious reading. Of course, that is if you discount reading baby center articles and blog articles on the net.

I graduated from reading Tinkles, Champak, Chandamama, Amar Chitra Katha to Enid Blyton to Agatha Christie, Sidney Sheldon to Jeffrey Archer and John Grisham. So, it is no big deal when you see these authors on my reading list to decipher that I am a fiction lover. I read the odd non-fiction if and when prompted by rave reviews from fellow book lovers. I have realized, by now, that the book reviews by certain magazines or the fact that they became bestsellers do not hold any water for me. Some such books, bought in such enthusiasm, are lying gathering dust after tedious reading of the first few chapters.

This is what makes me read a book: Abstract writing does not appeal to me. I like the writing to be breezy and crisp. One that instantaneously imports you to another era, time, space or world. Something that makes you actually live the story till the very end. An engaging plot that makes me forget myself and the mundane. I have sometimes even dreamed of the characters in the book that I would be currently reading. The blogs I read also should contribute to reading. I look for the style of writing and the content in any blog. Both must appeal to me. I like a satirical take on serious issues rather than a heavy-duty full length analysis of the same. A book or any article I read is either a form of escapism into an utopian world or to gather insights about a unknown territory or to have crazy laughs or to delve deep into solving a crime mystery or spend restless days over a thriller.

I started to read The Palace Of Illusions a couple of days ago and re-discovered the old passion when I wouldn't be able to put down a book easily. So much so that I kept away even from blogging.

Anybody reading this is most welcome to take up this tag - as a comment if non-blogger or as a blog-post if a blogger. People reading this blog and who haven't commented so far, here's your chance to de-lurk. In particular, would like to know the reading secrets of Purnima, Radhika, Tan and Namratha.

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