That Coffee Girl

Everyone has issues, some people more so than others. This is the story of a woman who doesn’t know the unspoken rules. She has this world, inside her head and she has happily existed there for most of her life. Should she change? Why should she change? — Meet Eleanor Oliphant. She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully time-tabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. Then everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living — and it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one. —

Maybe hearts don't ever stop breaking once broken. ― Patrick Ness , Release Seldom in your life will you come across a book that makes you feel something, after the longest time I finally connected and felt. Patrick Ness is a beautiful writer, his words have the power to make you ponder for the longest time. A summary of the book - Inspired by Mrs Dalloway and Judy Blume's Forever, Release is one day in the life of Adam Thorn, 17. It's a big day. Things go wrong. It's intense, and all the while, weirdness approaches... Adam Thorn is having what will turn out to be the most unsettling, difficult day of his life, with relationships fracturing, a harrowing incident at work, and a showdown between this gay teen and his preacher father that changes everything. It's a day of confrontation, running, sex, love, heartbreak, and maybe, just maybe, hope. He won't come out of it unchanged. And all the while, lurking at the edges of the story, something extraor

Sometimes you read a book and your heart soars, other times you leave it mid way because honestly you cannot waste your time anymore. Now I am writing my very personal opinion here, if you disagree or have any thoughts about the book, let me know in the comments below. I loved the title and sometimes I do pick up the book purely on the basis of just that. This one hinted at greatness, but the greatness ended at the cover. The result was a mediocre fiction with an absurd plot. When you talk of religion and try to unrelate it to the world, the final product falls flat on its face. What seemed even funnier to me was the genre - satire. Maybe I am wrong but I failed to spot the satire in the book. The summary for your reference - 2050, New York. In the aftermath of a gruelling spiritual cleansing quest, Ismael, a Pakistani-American student, enters into an alliance with spiritual beings who send him on a perilous journey of self-discovery. A non-believer, Ismael must return to

“We believe the one who has power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history you must ask yourself, Whose story am I missing?, Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story too. From there you get a clearer, yet still imperfect, picture.” These lines strike a chord, don’t they. This is the story penned down by Yaa Gyasi that spans 8 generations, showing different times and places while highlighting the true suffering of people. This is not a pitiful tale on the plight of Africans but a series of short stories highlighting how a few decisions triggered a chain of events that affected millions of lives. Brief  : Two half sisters, Effia and Esi, are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the

"Why do they call you Baaz?  It means falcon, he replies solemnly. Or bird of prey. Because I swoop down on the enemy planes just like a Baaz would. Then he grins. The grey eyes sparkle. It s also short for bastard." There is a reason why every Indian reader is in love with Anuja Chauhan, she makes reading fun! A quirky, sweet love story, set in the 1971 war which explores the two sides of patriotism - the soldier falls for a martyr's sister. A slow, steady build-up with Chauhan's usual desi charm and hilarious side characters that make Baaz a light-hearted read set in an otherwise serious backdrop. I am a huge fan and to quote Mint "The only Indian writer of commercial fiction really worth buying." But cut to Baaz, she went way out of her comfort zone and it resulted in a book that I wouldn't cherish or recommend. Don't get me wrong, I loved the story, it is the way it was told that didn't click. When I buy a book in English, I

On a scale of common cold to tuberculosis, just how sick are you? Let me enlighten you - If you are in love, well, there is no antidote, no medicine and definitely no cure. I mean this sickness is not even on the list. It far surpasses any disease to ever hit mankind. You know how I know it, BECAUSE I NEVER GOT IT. This world, unfortunately, is full of young, vacuous people whose only job in life is to get love sick every few months and then ruin the lives of all those around them by talking of nothing else but the impending doom. Since we are not getting the wedding cards anytime soon or EVER and you are not going to be responsible for increasing the world population further, how about we just put an end to the non-stop whining and whispering and wallowing and just never talk about it. Now, don't get me wrong. If this were my best friend, I would love to and insist upon knowing about each and every single relationship of hers. But if the said BFF fell in and out of

There is something about books without a happy ending that I cannot accept. I refuse to believe that beyond the journey of a thousand pages lies misery and loneliness. You step into the characters shoes, live their lives with them only to have blistering, sore feet at the end. God, no! I reject this ending. Nothing could be worse than this hopelessness, when you know there is life left but no purpose for living. I believe that there is light at the end, people meant to be, will be together one day. At the end of all the struggles, there has to be happiness because if there isn't then what are we fighting for? Give me any ending, but give me an ending. I need that closure from a book. I started "Gone With The Wind" this week and 50 pages in, I was hooked. There was something about Scarlett O'Hara that was so simple yet so dumb and then she grows on to become a fighting force, someone to be feared and admired (in these times), all this time being in love with the

Here I am, sitting with my lappy, sipping on cold coffee and typing away. I would like to think I am just like anybody else but with all that goes around in my life, I have learnt to be prepared for the worst. Murphy's Law is basically me. Yesterday, I had an interview at a University. Like all hardworking students, I left everything for the last day. Scrambling to put my portfolio together, I paid no heed to my clothes. It's not like I had to put a lot of effort into my attire anyway. Interview requires formals and since I have just one pair of formal clothes, the indecision goes right out of the window. To give some context on why a working professional does not own a lot of formals is because my company (one of the kindergarden companies, also known as startups) does not require formals. Our dress code is casual. They are lucky I don't go to office in sweatpants. Now that would be casual! I own one pair of black pants, one shirt and one formal coat. Sorted? Not so

What is the best part about being alone? Umm... I don't know. It could be about anything. Maybe it is about falling in love. With yourself. Everything you liked, everything you thought about, how you pictured your life to be. You can make it anything, you can be anybody. Most of all, you can be you. There is no one to judge you, no one to stop you. Living life to the fullest, that's what you'll do. Read books, watch movies, love life. Fall in love slowly, fall for yourself. Do what you like and like what you do. Try, for once, living without any compromise and see how you like it. Feel yourself rising above and beyond the human constraints. Feel yourself break free. The world is your oyster and you are living in your bubble. Start loving everything. Listen to your music, sing your tune, live life to your rhythm and if anyone tries to break it, leave them behind. Put yourself first. I can't put it into words the importance of being your priority. If you can

The fateful day is finally over and as planned, I got a lot of desserts. There is truly nothing better than friends in the life. You can be anything with them - bitchy, whiny, arrogant, happy, idiotic but most of all, you can be yourself with them. You will get judged but you will also get acceptance. There is a level of comfort that no relationship in your life will ever be able to give you. There is a reason why it's "Bros before hoes" and "Sisters before misters." My Valentine's Day plan was perfectly executed. I knew I was getting something and I wasn't disappointed. Early in the morning I got a huge jar of Banoffee Pie and later in the day I got a Valentine's Day special-box from Dunkin' Donuts  with heart shaped donuts inside. Super cute! This is what friends are for. Who needs a boyfriend when you got a best friend. Why is friendship sacred you ask? It is the only relationship that comes without obligation. You are not forced to be fri

V-day is just around the corner and emotions are running high. Normally, this time of the year I am holed up in my bedroom watching sappy movies but recently I met some like-minded people who believe that being single is no reason for us to miss out on the fun that couples get to have. If everyone in the world is going out on 14th Feb, what's stopping us? Do you remember that scene from Sex and the City where all 4 of them wear black to someone's wedding as a silent protest? Well, that's exactly what me and my BFFs do. Every V-day, we dress up in black, go out and judge other couples. BEST TIME EVER. Last year we saw a guy wearing yellow t-shirt with a red cap. His girlfriend must be lovin' it - she is dating McDonald's! This year since V-day is on a Tuesday and we will be in office all day, we have decided to send each other chocolates and gifts. When all the couples around us are sad for not receiving anything(fingers crossed), we'd be happily munc

In life there's love and loss. Somethings you feel deeply and some things you don't feel at all. The question of Love has tormented me deeply. How can people write sonnets about a feeling that has eluded me completely. When they sing about missing the "One that got away" I don't have that one. All I have is the ice cream I could't eat because I was so full.  I see the music videos and in the backseat of my Uber, I want to stare out the window feeling sorry for myself but I don't. Yeah, sure, the song's sad but I am not. How does another person even have the power to make you feel sorry for yourself? Why would you give someone that power? When people cry over lost love, maybe they were stupid to love in the first place. Blinded by love, hoping for something better, sacrificing, trusting - honey, stop right there. You are just being DELUSIONAL. How does one go from 'madly in love' to 'madly in love with someone else' overnight? I hav

If you are an employee then you probably know how it's pretty much impossible to have a life outside office. You spend most part of your life here and believe it or not, most of your life experiences would be here. My office is cool, or so I think. I joined office with my philosophy very clear - I am going to stay exactly the way I am. I will give a brief summary about myself: I breathe and I offend people. Office is like a zoo. There are various animals from different jungles trying to coexist. There's a power struggle. Everyone wants a bigger portion of food and a bigger cage. Few animals are smart enough to butter the zoo keeper for extra brownie points. My office is hilarious. People here are utter jokers. Why aren't we in a circus, IDK. A few tit-bits of the insanity that happens everyday  : I witnessed an interesting conversation a few days ago where the senior manager and junior manager were having a sort of power struggle. The SM is super strict about timing