Read With Me!
Well, it is surely a sad time, as my literary writer has passed away. I received the news the night it had happened. Eric Jerome Dickey was the only author I would read throughout my twenties. I looked forward to pre-ordering his spring-release books every year.
He will surely be missed by readers around the world.
Rest in Peace
Which Book & Which Author I am Currently Reading!
I have recently found my literary role model and inspiration. You may have heard of her, or read one of her books over the past decade. Her first novel, debuted in 2010, Secret Daughter. Followed by The Golden Son in 2015. And Thankfully, we did not have to wait too long for her most recent novel, The Shape of Family. Shilpi Somaya Gowda was raised in my hometown of Toronto (another reason to love her!). Her first two novels became international bestsellers, selling over 2 million copies worldwide. She is educated, creative, and a family person. (Even more reason for her to be of great inspiration).
The Shape of Family, is one of those books, that instantly pulls you in - from the story development, to the characters, and from the chapter set-ups. The book opens with a passage from Khalil Gibran's "The Farewell". I would recommend coming back to this first page, as you continue to read the book. The book is organized by date, opening on May 19th 2015, (5:59 am to be exact) as the character is standing in his kitchen, witnessing a woman dressed in white, walk towards the pacific ocean. In our first section, Home, we are transported back to 2007. Each chapter is narrated through the view of each character. Our next section, Away, takes us to the year 2013 and Sanctuary takes us to 2015. The final section, Found, brings up back to May 19th (but a little later on in the afternoon).
(ALSO Literary GENIUS! - PS I'm also only in the second chapter, so I had to skim those pages very quickly to preview the section titles!)
There are many reasons why I am loving this book, but mostly within the first few pages, I have found many ways to relate to the writing. In Karina's first chapter, we see an older sister protecting her younger brother from the school bully. Poor Prem was being bullied for his vegetable curry lunch. Karina gets in trouble, goes to the principal's office, as her mother is driving her home, Karina tries to explain how hard it is to be one of the only two different people in school (her and her brother are the only two non-white people). Her mother goes on to explain that Karina should tell people how proud she is to be of Indian Heritage by listing the many accomplishments of Indians! We then learn how Karina hates her unique name, hates that she has to always repeat it and spell it out for others.. (hits way too close to home!) Later we read about how Karina loves her best friend's dog, Dominick - a charcoal cockapoo - possibly more than humans. (Who doesn't love cockapoos!!)
What I love so far - the book explores concepts of culture, diversity, self-identity, fitting in, acceptance, the role children and parents play in first generation homes, sibling expectations, hurt, trauma, coping mechanisms, crisis, counselling, and grief. I am sure there are many more, but I am only on page 102, I will update this page once I have completed the book.
Please, I do recommend you to read this book! It is clear that much research has been done, and I am looking forward in seeing where our Character's Grief takes us.
Update! It is an amazing story and journey! Now onto the Golden Son, also by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
In the meantime, please click on the song above, to listen to the prayer that Jaya sings with her Mother, on page 52.
Lord, you are our creator So be our deeds May we walk the path of righteousness and refrain from evil So that we may depart fulfilled and smiling Lord, you are our creator
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Frail is the human being With a million shortcomings But you are forgiving The world exists due to your benevolence Since you have given us birth You will also bear our burdens May we walk the path of righteousness and refrain from evil So that we may depart fulfilled and smiling Lord, you are our creator
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The world is engulfed in darkness Your human is fearful He is uninformed and blind The light of peace and happiness is diminishing Such is the strength in your aura That even a moonless night glows bright May we walk the path of righteousness and refrain from evil So that we may depart fulfilled and smiling Lord, you are our creator
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When we are faced with atrocities O Lord, hold us firm We reply with kindness for their evil May there be no desire for revenge May every step ahead be for love May every thought of enmity be banished May we walk the path of righteousness and refrain from evil So that we may depart fulfilled and smiling Lord, you are our creator
aye maalik tere bande hum aysein hon hamaare karam naykee par chalein aur badhee se talein taaki hastein huye nikale dum aye maalik tere bande hum
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badaa kamzor hai aadmi abhi laakhon hain isme kameen par tu joh khadaa hai dayalu badaa teri kirpaa se dharti thamee diya toone hamein jab janam tuhee jhelega hum sab ke gum naykee par chalein aur badhee se talein taaki hastein huye nikale dum aye maalik tere bande hum
.
ye andhera ghanaa cha raha tera insaan ghabara raha ho raha bekhabar kuch na aata nazar sukh ka sooraj chupaa ja raha hai teri raushani mein joh dum tu amaavas ko kar de poonam naykee par chalein aur badhee se talein taaki hastein huye nikale dum aye maalik tere bande hum
.
jab zulmon ka ho saamanaa tab tuhee hamein thamanaa woh burayee karein hum bhalayee bharein nahi badle ki ho kamanaa badh uthe pyaar ka har kadamaur mitein baeyr ka ye bharam naykee par chalein aur badhee se talein taaki hastein huye nikale dum aye maalik tere bande hum
If there is anything that I love to do.. it is Reading!
Growing up, my parents always made sure that my sister and I were reading. If they saw us watching television for too long they would always make us go read a book. We usually stayed up late reading.
My mom would always give me money to purchase books from the Scholastic book fair, and I would regularly visit the public library to check out books. Unfortunately, I never read books like The Hunger Games, or Harry Potter... those may have been before my time!
As I got into my early twenties, I stumbled across an American author, and fell in love with all of his books. His name is Eric Jerome Dickey. What I loved about his books were the versatility in his writing. Each year, usually around the spring/summer months, we would release a new book. He had the ability to write from a male and female first-person narration. He would make references to world and current events into his story lines. And he maintained and developed various characters with each new book he wrote. His stories were edgy, and not for the faint of heart! They often included tragedy, violence, romance, and corruption. I do recommend reading at Drive Me Crazy. That was the first book that I read by him, back in my early twenties.
I spent a few years not reading as much. Mainly because I had not seen anything that I really wanted to read. Once I became more involved in my spiritual, my quest to answer my many questions grew significantly. I began sourcing as many Hindu Religious texts as possible. It started with Linda Egene and Kumuda Reddy's modern day retelling of Lord Ram's journey. From there, it grew to buying every book that Vanamalli wrote. Her easy to read, story-like retelling of the Hindu God's captivated and answered many questions that I had. Some of her books include the stories of Hanumanji, Lord Krishna, and Lord Shiva.
From there, the collection grew to include various authors on the Bhagavad-Gita, the Mahabharata, the Puranas, the Srimad Bhagavatam, Buddhism, Sanatana Dharma, and Vedantism.
One afternoon, I happened to be in Shopper's Drug Mart, checking out what books they had on their shelves. They had the typical Jennifer Weiner and other typical romance-type novels. Until I happened to across a colourful yellow covered book, with a paisley Indian design and a woman wearing a pink Indian outfit. I'll be the first to admit - I do judge a book by it's cover! I picked up the only copy on the shelf, read the first two lines, and took it to the self-checkout. I read the book in two days! It was great, and it sent me on a path to find some more books to read!
Over a few visits, I was able to comb the shelves of my local Chapters, and I came across a few books that piqued my interest. I generally try to find authors or stories that I can relate to, some that are written in first person narratives, and some that can take me to a different period of time.
Amongst the books I picked up, the first one that I read was called The Henna Artist, by Alka Joshi. Written in first person narration, The Henna Artists tells the story of a young Indian Girl, set during the Independence years, working hard by providing Henna designs for the socially elites. I highly recommend this book, as it was captivating, and the character development made me feel as if I was right there in the story.
A few other books that I picked up:
- Sonali Dev's, A Change of Heart, The Bollywood Bride, A Bollywood Affair, and a Distant Heart.
- Anita Kushwaha's Secret Lives of Mothers and Daughters.
- Shani Motoo's Valmiki's Daughter and Polar Vortex
- Sabrina Ramnanan's Nothing Like Love
- M.G. Vassanji's A Delhi Obsession
- Saumya Dave's Well-Behaved Indian Women
- Nisha Sharma's My So-Called Bollywood Life
- Soniah Kamal's Unmarriageable and
- Trisha Sakhlecha's Your Truth or Mine
Please let me know if you read any of these books! I would love to chat about them with you!!