Best Books of 2017

Here are my ‘Super Seven’ reads of the year:

Best Suspense/Thriller

The Fire Child- S.K. Tremayne

Best Gothic Fiction

Ever This Day- Helen Moorhouse

Best Crime Fiction

A High Mortality of Doves- Kate Ellis

Best Feel-Good Book

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine- Gail Honeyman

Best Reincarnation Fiction

Dreadful Sorry- Kathryn Reiss

Best Historical Fiction

Harappa: Curse of the Blood River- Vineet Bajpai

Best Non-Fiction

Walking Towards Ourselves- Catriona Mitchell

Lost in a Book

Girl Reading (1889), by Fritz von Uhde

Oil paint on canvas

Image Source: Wikipedia

Favorite Five (Book to Movie Adaptations)

It is always a pleasure to see a world come alive with characters jumping out of a book onto a screen. So, I thought sharing my favorite five book-to-movie adaptations would make a perfect post for this month. Without further ado, here they are:

1. Pride and Prejudice (BBC)

Jane Austen's well-loved novel about the prejudice that sprouts between the main characters and the pride they have to overcome to be together.

Stars: Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle, Susannah Harker and more

2. Sense and Sensibility

Another impressive adaptation of  Jane Austen's novel about the lives of two sisters, unalike in every way, and their journey to finding true love.

Stars: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, James Fleet and more

3. Harry Potter

Hard to believe the boy-wizard is 20 this year! A coming-of-age story wonderfully told, Harry Potter and his friends at  Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry can provide endless hours of entertainment to everyone.

Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Richard Harris and more

4. Dangerous Liaisons

Based on an epistolary novel of the same name, this movie centers around an older woman who along with her wicked ex-lover schemes to corrupt a young woman.

Stars: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer and more

5. It

Last but not the least comes the tale of seven friends who band together to fight an ancient evil. Puts one off clowns forever! I think 'It' is the scariest of all Stephen King's books. 

Stars: Richard Thomas, Tim Reid, Annette O'Toole  and more

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

Wise Words

I love reading epistolary fiction. Because I read so much of it, I thought it was high time I shared favorite quotes from my best-loved epistolary novels.

Amazing Authors- Jean Webster

What Am I Reading Most?

Earlier this year, I had posted my reading wish-list here and here. So, I thought it would be interesting to analyse the books on the list and discover what I would be reading most of, from my favorite genres.

Here is what my reading palette looks like:

Books that Beckon (Contd.)

In my previous post I had listed the most awaited novels for the first quarter of 2017. Here are more books that beckon me, scheduled for release in the second quarter:

No less fascinating is a cover collage created from the covers of these most anticipated delicious releases:

Two novels have yet to publish their jackets and I can't wait to judge them by their cover!

Books that Beckon

Recently, I had posted on my favorite novels of 2016. So, I thought the next best thing would to anticipate what could be the fodder for a similar post to be made at the end of this year. Which brings me to my reading list for 2017.

Since I ended up with quite a few novels that I can't wait to read (no less that 18!) and all due for release in the first half of the year itself, I have decided to split this post into two parts. The first part will list most awaited fiction for the first quarter of the year and the next one will do the same for the second quarter. Also, the books have been listed based on the quarter in which they are scheduled for release.

As always, the novels that called out to me fall into my most-read genres. 

And, here's what a reading mosaic created out of the covers of these novels would look like:

Vivid, vibrant, colorful, and oh so enchanting! Hope the stories turn out to be so as well.

The Song of Souls

Our thoughts pull experiences, people, and even things into our lives. Or so say some. It seems only fitting then to have serendipitously stumbled on ‘The Memory Painter’ which explores my favourite themes of reincarnation, soulmates, and karmic entanglements.

I started this year with reading Gwedonlyn Womack’s stellar debut that spans centuries and continents to tell a tale of lovers who are destined to meet in every life only to separate. Within minutes I was completely engrossed in the story of Linz and Bryan. Linz is a neurogeneticist researching how the brain makes memories and Bryan is an artist with an unusual gift. Bryan’s painting are unique in that he paints memories of his past lives. Linz has been plagued by a nightmare ever since she was a little girl, a terrifying vision in which she sees a young woman being burned alive at the stake. When Linz and Bryan meet, it is a union (or rather a reunion) arranged by fate. They look into each other’s eyes and nothing is the same ever again. 

The novel progress through incidents that throw light on the previous lives of the central characters. A pattern of complex relationships that govern a group of souls emerges, slowly but surely. There is passion, betrayal, deceit, hatred, and murder!  Additionally, a sinister backdrop is provided by a group of scientists who discover a drug than can enable a remembrance of past lives only to die in an explosion before anything is revealed. How are these scientists connected to Bryan and Linz? What happened on the fateful day when they died?

In all their previous incarnations (a tad bit too many in this story) Bryan and Linz have remained true to each other. And in each life they have lost to a malevolent someone who stalks them across lifetimes, unrelenting in his animosity. They have been blessed with loyal supporters but their lives have always ended in tragedy. Will this life be any different? Can they break free from the pattern of the past?

The Memory Painter has an intricate and satisfying plot. It would have been easy to lose the reader in the maze of many lifetimes but Gwendolyn holds the tale together by expertly weaving all the lives into an understandable interconnected bigger whole. As the characters traverse a tumultuous course across lifetimes, their journey leaves us with some interesting realisations to ponder upon.

Just like Bryan, I found myself wondering if we are doomed to forever repeat our mistakes. How do we learn what went wrong? How do we stop?

“I am beginning to see a pattern and I find myself wondering if the laws of karma exist. Are souls destined to love or hate the same souls again and again? Or can we achieve some sort of resolution and enlightenment? If a tragedy is destined to be repeated, we need to figure out how to break the cycle.” 

While I have always felt a yearning to remember who I was in an earlier life, maybe some things are best left alone.

“In hindsight, I’ve realized that our minds shield us from memories that are meant to stay buried.”

And, if karma is truly a law of cause and effect then every person we meet is connected to us in some way though we may not understand the link between our lives.

“We found each other again for a reason. We remembered for a reason. The journey didn’t start with us or even with Michael and Diana. We’re locked in a cycle. We need to see beyond it.”

In lyrical but accessible language, the novel offers a bitter-sweet consolation to those who have ever lost a loved one.

“Our fates are intertwined. I will find you again and again until we build a bridge back to this life. Nothing is ever lost.”

While ‘The Memory Painter’ does invite some deep thoughts, it is not overly philosophical at any time. In fact, for those who like their thrills, there are quite a few unexpected twists and OMG moments to keep you glued to the pages till you arrive at the much awaited conclusion. 

My opinion: go get it! You can't go wrong with this one.

P.S.- On a lighter note, in my previous post I had promised myself I would roam the world through my reading. The Memory Painter took me to no less than 6 continents! 

My Reading Vows

Wordprints on My Heart

I thought I would begin this year by acknowledging the authors (and their novels) who left an indelible impression on my heart with the stories they told. Thanks to these exceptional wordsmiths, my reading journey in 2016 turned out to be exciting, memorable, and happy.

Over the years, I have noticed that most of the novels I read invariably end up getting placed in the following genres:

• Suspense/Thriller
• Gothic Fiction
• Historical Fiction
• Fantasy

Not surprisingly, my favorite novels of 2016 also come from these genres. While I did like many others, I have deliberately chosen only one novel as the pinnacle of that genre. After all, it is a battle of the best. And, the way I look at things that can have only one winner.

So, here's to some wonderful writing!

Should you wish to know more about these fabulous novels, click the links below which take you to my reviews or reviews written by a friend who certainly knows her books or the goodreads page (time-crunch may have led to skipping a review but that does not in any way lessen my liking for these books):

The Ice Twins- S. K. Tremayne
Lost Among the Living- Simone St. James
A Curious Beginning- Deanna Raybourn
The Near Witch- Victoria Schwab

Happy Reading!