Thursday, December 16, 2010

My 'Go-To' Books

I had the most wonderful day today, even though I spent it all by myself.

It's a long weekend. I woke up at 10 in the morning, dawdled over tea, had breakfast and went back to sleep at noon. Woke up at 2, showered, had lunch, went to Barista with my 'Adrian Mole', had a lovely hazelnut mocha and blueberry muffin, ran a couple of errands and am back home doing nothing.
Why can't we have more such days? :(

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I have a few "go-to" books and movies. These are books/movies that I turn to when I'm feeling low or have been having rough days.

My "go-to" books include the Bridget Jones Diaries (both) & Confessions of a Shopaholic.

Bridget Jones because...come on...it's Bridget Jones! Here's this girl who's constantly fretting about her weight, very much like me. She keeps landing herself in the most embarassing situations but she also has the courage to laugh at herself. She is being courted by two sex-on-toast men - one the biggest gentelman and the other possibly the biggest jerk in town - and she keeps falling for the jerk just because he is glib enough to talk his way into her heart. Now that's a situation many of us (women) are familiar with, aren't we? But in the end she goes with the nice guy. What's not to like?

Of course, the diary format also works for me. The book is fast-paced and not unnecessarily wordy. And I don't need to read it from start to finish at one go. I can read a few pages when I'm sad, put it down, pick it back up after some time and continue reading from where I left!

I also love Confessions of a Shopaholic. Becky Bloomwood is hilarious! She comes up with ingenious excuses to buy things she doesn't need. She also writes the funniest letters to her bank manager asking him to waive off her credit card bill and increase her credit limit! We could call her stupid and hate her for not having the mental strength to put an end to her shopaholism, but we don't because we know there's a little bit of Becky Bloomwood in all of us.


I've discovered two other books that could become my "go-to" books soon. One is 'Dork' by Sidin Vadukut. The book has workplace humor and it's outrageously funny. If you haven't read it yet, I'd say you MUST. You'll be rolling on your sides laughing.

The other book that I'm currently reading and finding absolutely adorable is 'The Secret Diaries of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 Years'. Here's this adoloscent obsessed with the spots on his face, which he's convinced is a result of the poor diet his mom feeds him, and the size of his "thing". He's a drama-queen, a chauvinist (he expects his mom to worship the ground he walks on & he'll let his girlfriend work at a cake shop or some place like that but not to have a career), but he also cares for old people & animals and looks out for his father who's having a rough time. The humor is subtle but it's definitely there.

Then there's 'Love Actually', the movie. It's my favorite movie EVER. I think I've watched the movie more than 20 times and it makes me happy every single time. It's got so much love floating around - love between a brother & sister, between a father & his step-son, even between a musician & his manager (!). Love that transcends boundaries of social strata and race. And it's got this Christmas theme running all the way through. And we LOOOOOOOOVE Christmas over here.
Which reminds me, Christmas is right 'round the corner and I haven't bought my decorations yet! I have a little tree from last year but I need to buy the ornaments & mistletoe & streamers. And plum cake! Oh, Christmas is going to be so much fun!! :)

6 comments:

Bluestocking said...

Interesting phrase -"go-to" books :-)
My "go-to" book would be Pride & Prejudice, Kane & Abel and movies are many - One Fine Day, HAHK, DDLJ, DTPH, While You Were Sleeping. And yes, Christmas is around the corner - it's my favourite time of year in Cal. If I cannot have a white Christmas, I'd rather have a Christmas in Cal :-)

Kalyan Karmakar said...

I read Adrian Mole when I was about to enter my teens. Grew up with him. Feel rather pessimistic after the last one, "Prostate Years"

Moonshine said...

Doing things on your own - initially i used to be hestitant till I experienced it myself!!! Its fun.. especially when the sun is shining.

My go-to books you already know - PGW, Faraway trees, Archies, HP and Adrian Mole.. I have also added Dork to the list!!!!

Movies - Love actually, Padosan, One fine day, Chupke Chupke, Choti si baat.. there are many actually..

Christmas is round the corner and I havent bought anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moonshine said...

@Knife I just picked up Prostrate years.. havent started yet .. Dont say it doesnt live up to the other Adrian Mole books!!! :(

Scarlett said...

@Bluestocking - HAHK, DTPH!!!!! You must be kidding!!!!!!!

@Knife - I'm about to finish the first one. They get over so fast :( So I've decided I'll space them apart.

@Moonshine - Many people are hesitant to do things on their own. I guess I had an easier time adjusting to the idea 'coz I've been living on my own for a long time & changing cities frequently. So you may not always have friends to hang out with all the time. But once you get used to the idea, it's fun.

With re: to Prostrate Years, I'm sure Knife meant 'stage of life' :P

Kalyan Karmakar said...

@Scarlett: yes, I did mean stage of life