The Duke and I (Bridgerton #1) - Julia Quinn (Book).

 

Book: 17/52.

The Duke and I (Bridgerton #1) - Julia Quinn.

My Rating: 5/5.

I have told my favourite nephew to put a gun to my head and force me to watch a movie or a TV series that he likes and wants me to watch at the earliest. This was one of those episodes where I end up finding a gem of a series (at least to start with), followed by a much-loved (I believe) TV series, which, as of now, I am not liking very much (two episodes done now). But the book is a breeze to read, especially the Duke and his love interest, the eldest Bridgerton sister. Hilarious is the entire family of Bridgertons, starting with the eldest kid with alphabet A leading till H, so we know who is who from the family and never forget the hierarchy in the first place. I am finding it comical yet very entertaining to keep track of the entire family when it comes to their names and mentions. The purpose of Violet Bridgerton's (the mother) life is to get her Sons and Daughters married at the earliest to the right partners (especially the girls, whatever age they may be). First book is a love story but with a twist and a big secret of the duke as why he can’t marry or father any chidlren to take his line forward. If you are a big-time Bridgerton fan, let me tell you that I was introduced to Queen Charlotte first by my nephew through the terrific TV series of the same name, and then I was allowed to read the books on the Bridgerton family. Now that I am hooked to the series at least in the bookish way, I need to get the remaining seven from the same series and read them at the earliest, as the Fourth adaptation of the book into a TV series is right around the corner. The only thing that surprised me while reading and watching the series is the Duke; there is no mention of him being black in the book, while his picture on the book cover is of the same guy playing in the TV series, and he is black for some reason. 

Do let me know if you have read The Duke and I or any other series from Ms Quinn, as I believe she has written almost 30+ books so far, more or less all of them are regency novels. 

Becoming - Michelle Obama (Book)

Book: 16/52.

Becoming - Michelle Obama

My Rating: 5/5.

Another book that was donated to my office library by a colleague as we were building a good collection. And I must say that it turns out to be a surprisingly amazing book. I didn't have many expectations for it anyway, as written by the First Lady of the US (former President Barack Hussein Obama’s wife), but I was keen on knowing more about the first black president of America, hence I picked it up as soon as the opportunity struck. Impeccable writing and terrific flow of their life story, this entire book is written in the first-person account from Michelle Obama (a Princeton and Harvard graduate) and narrates in its entirety the making of a President from a non-immigrant to the US of A. I never imagined that their story could be this heart-touching, especially Michelle’s life back in Chicago from her toddler days to going to Harvard and meeting Obama in her law firm to their falling in love, marriage, becoming first lady, kids, and so much more. I loved the way she incorporated all the events of five decades in her story and still made it up like a proper thriller (not exaggerating), I simply couldn’t put the book down as it was indeed that good to read. But now that I have finished and loved it, I am looking forward to reading the first one written by Barack himself during his initial days, which wasn’t a great success till he became the most powerful man in the world and that too twice in a row. It also gives quite an insight into the White House (an eye opener), other former presidents, as well as the one who succeeded him, but also adds a chapter on Queen Elizabeth, her outlook and her Buckingham Palace (that was hilarious to read). Seriously, I didn’t expect that she would capture so much in this mere 400-page book and was totally surprised by the plethora of information that I was able to grasp from it. This could be called an authentic biography of Mr Obama in the first place. 

Do let me know if you have read this one or any of her other books. I would love to give them a try, as I loved this one big time. 

 

Elon Musk - Walter Isaacson (Book).

Book: 15/52.

Elon Musk - Walter Isaacson. 

My Rating: 5/5.

Another book that I bought for my office library, which I'm finishing now that I'm on notice and my last working day is just around the corner (I have two more good books to go before I call it quits). This is my fourth biography by Walter Isaacson, and I can now confidently certify that he is my favourite biography writer. He keeps them pretty simple to read and engaging at all times. I am on the verge of finalising my next car or SUV, and as I was considering an electric vehicle too from the segment, I thought why not read about the man himself who started it all in the first place. It simply turned out to be a Wow story, thrilling, engaging, super informative on what is going on around the world when it comes to technology, and so much more about the character called Elon Musk, who refuses to get off the limelight. The richest and craziest man from our planet, who plans to reach Mars before his retirement, even shows his son (named X) the planet Mars by a telescope to tell him that the day isn’t very far when they will go, at the earliest and that too at any cost. He rather claims that humanity has no option but to make a move to Mars as our planet is dying, can you believe that? He has even designed the clothes we will wear, the houses that we will live in and the greenhouse that he plans to transfer from here. Let's not even talk about Tesla or his contribution to destroying Twitter as a freedom of speech platform. Walter leaves no stone unturned in telling us the truth behind it all and calls a spade a spade, much to Musk’s disliking or knowledge (since he claims he hasn’t read this one), I believe, in his biography. His relationships and number of kids are something which shocked me big time, but was hilarious to read how he handles his family and personal time. All Elon’s ventures are covered in great detail in this 600+ page book. His histrionics with Russia, NASA, a few Presidents of the USA and whatnot. And it was great to read about so many Indians involved in his personal as well as professional life, too. Every chapter starts with a picture, and all the chapters are like max 5-6 pages, with the longest being 10 pages at times. No doubt, this will go down as the best biography I have read so far from or on anyone that I know of. 

Have you read Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, or if you have a favourite Isaacson? Do let me know, and I would love to read that too. 

 

Icebreaker - Hannah Grace (Book).

Book: 14/52

Icrebreaker - Hannah Grace 

My Rating: 1/5.

This was the second book of the three that I got from my bestie while she travelled from JFK (US of A) to India last month. Not sure what made her buy this one, as it turns out to be a teenager’s Fifty Shades of Grey in the worst possible, grossest way possible. I mean I have read erotic novels but this one takes it to next level (may be we can call it proper porn) by making the sex scene at times like 4-5 pages long. WHOA! On the other hand, it's a very simple Rich guy meets poor girl while ice skating, as one of the two rinks where they practice is vandalised by some other teenager, and they fall for each other immediately. Before that, the same girl is going around with her Figure Skating partner and one more dude as well. Books like these are some kind of guilty pleasure for my kinda people who read a lot of classics which take a lot of toll on my fragile heart and mind (wait for the upcoming post on War & Peace). And writers like Hannah keep it simple for themselves by making all their characters rich so there is technically no struggle for anyone barring broken down family and too rich to care about family kind of guys and all that crap. So if you haven’t read this one or anyone from this trilogy (I swore to keep away from), you aren't missing anything in life. The only thing that kept me going in this book was the mention of Skating by the female lead as she vows to compete in the Olympics figure skating (go figure), as I was a District-level skater back in the day (quads). 

If you have read this by any chance, do let me know your thoughts, but if you are a fan of the book or writer, please forgive me, as it wasn't my cup of tea.