Happy New Year - 2015

The clock strikes twelve with smiles

A New Year born full of dreams 

A new start in the journey of miles 

Is welcome with cakes and screams. 

Wishes and shouts of 'Happy New Year' 

Sounds of fireworks lighting the skies 

I sit in my terrace with no one near 

Enjoying the night with sleepy eyes. 

Staring at the road ahead  that lay 

Full of adventures,full of hopes 

Promises to keep and debts to pay 

Yes, a New year is born!

Ebook vs Paperback

          Ever since technology took over our everyday life, as mentioned in this article, debates have been raging over the conservatives and the modernists. Some say, "Old habits die hard" while others say "Make way for new ideas". This article will explore one such debate - the traditional hardbound physical books and the modern, more-sophisticated and easy to carry Ebooks.

1. The Feel

          This is a no-brainer! The feel you get when you hold a paperback or a hardbound book in your hand is simply unmatchable. Reading, as mentioned here, is a delightful experience. The sweet smell of the old and worn-out book, the words printed onto the paper, the rustle when you turn a page - all these play an important role in teleporting the reader to the fiction world.
          On the other hand, ebooks are devoid of any physical components and reading them gives you a feeling of reading any other text message on your phone - only this message is longer and more interesting. So Team Paperback scores here!


2. Eco-friendly
          While paperbacks have a nice feel attached to them, they certainly are not eco-friendly. a research says that 1 ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees! Just imagine the sheer volume of books we print! How many books, how many editions, how many reprints! Phew! The numbers are staggering. Ebooks do save a lot of trees as all they to get published is a set of 1's and 0's. So, the environmentslists will surely advise you to go for ebooks and considering the dire situation of our environment in the recent days, ebooks are the right choice.


3.Ease of use
          Ebooks certainly win in this category. You can literally store and carry  thousands and thousands of books in your mobile phone that can be fit in your pocket. Products like Amazon Kindle and Nook are one-stop place for all reading stuff and help you to save racks and racks of space in your reading room. All the books are just a click away and easily portable. When you bored waiting for your flight, just pull out your mobile phone and get lost in the world of dragons! Just imagine - Harry Potter, The Tale of Two Cities, Gone With The Wind, The FountainHead - all in your pocket! Mind-boggling, isn't it?

4. Gift items

         "It's my birthday. Hurrah! My grandpa has gifted me a Harry Potter box set!" Wow! No words to express the joy of that kid. However easy to use Ebooks might be, there is no substitute for the sheer delight a hardbound book wrapped in gift cover can bring you. Kids unwrapping gift covers on special days and finding their favorite books inside is always a sight to behold. This joy can never be obtained through the modern and more-sophisticated Ebooks.

5. Collectors craze

          Showing off is what people love to do. Don't we all love to show off? And what better way to show off than piling up racks and racks of all-classics? The list goes on - Tale of Two Cities, Ulysses, Hamlet etc. The collectors edition for almost all books are printed solely for this purpose. In this case, showing off a collection of hardbound classics definitely has a greater thrill to it than showing a folder containing 100 pdf files.

         In short, however easy-to-use Ebooks might be, there is still an inexplicable craze for paperback and hardbound books and most probably will remain this way for years to come!
       
       

Poverty - a Disease worse than Death!

As I went out walking 

On a cool and breezy evening 

There lay a man with dirt 

Neither in his mind nor in his heart 

But in his long and unkempt hair

A man who was once fair 

Now his face,a face of desperation 

His body,a lean mass of flesh, 

Clinging to the bones for dear life 

His eyes,his tiny little eyes 

Chill and icy,filled with hunger 

His soul,defeated and tortured,

By the harsh realities of life 

As he lay there begging, I walked on thinking, 

Poverty-a disease worse than death!

School Life..(No more..!)

Walk into your school,
Hear your voice echoing around the classrooms,
See yourself enjoying with your friends,
Feel the air filled with innocence,
That biggest worry to finish your homework,
That biggest burden of your exams next week,
That biggest goal of reaching school on time,
Those laughs, those joys,
Those smiles, those tears
But suddenly one day everything is over
No more benches to sit and chat
No more friends to celebrate your joys
No more close buddies to share your sorrows
No more classrooms to learn your lessons
No more laughs, no more joys,
No more smiles, no more tears
No more..No more..
Echoes fade and happiness dies,
Only memories to live with..!

Those Days...

Memories of those days came with a pain,

A pain that brought tears like a rain.

Those days when mom's laps were the best pillows.

Those days when dad was our only super-hero.

Those days when our studies were our only burden.

Those days when our innocence was our only weapon.

Those days when ghosts haunted our rooms at nights.

Those days when our tears were meant for candies.

Those days when our laughs were meant for mischiefs.

Those days when our world was too small,

And yet too lovely...

That phase that was called childhood,

The only phase when we really 'lived'..!

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) - Suzanne Collins

Sparks are igniting.
Flames are spreading.
And the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel in the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before...and surprising readers at every turn. 

What I thought about the book?

Suzanne Collins

      Definitely, a fitting sequel to  'The Hunger Games'. After the terrific success of the first book. most authors tend to relax a little in the second book and then catch up in the third one. But in this case, the second book is even better than the first one and manages to keep the readers glued to their seats in anticipation of what is to come. In my personal experience, this is the first trilogy where I felt the second book had outdone the first one!

      The first book ends with Katniss and Peeta winning the Hunger Games against the Capitol's rule that only one person can win. The second book narrates the aftermath of Katniss's bold move against the Capitol. Without her own knowledge, Katniss has started something that becomes far out of control for even her. She desperately tries to put an end to the uprising, but only manages to add fuel to the already fast-spreading fire.

      The evolution of Katniss - the girl to Katniss - the woman is brought out beautifully in the initial chapters.  Her inner turmoil on sensing that her family and closed ones are at danger due to her actions make her confused. She has two options: either to run from the Capitol or fight against the Capitol. The initial scenes at her village are a treat to read as Katniss slowly understands the magnitude of her actions and lets the revelations sink in. The love triange between Katniss, Gale and Peeta might get frustrating at times with Katniss acting unsure with both, but more exciting events tend to overshadow the temporary slump.

      The Quarter Quell is a twist no one would have expected and I can clearly understand the sheer terror Katniss must have felt on learning that she had to go back to the arena - the place of all her haunting nightmares. How Katniss fares at the Quarter Quell with the other tributes forms the second half of the book. That's not it! The turn of events during the final pages swept me off my feet and I was crying in joy!

The cliffhanger at the end will leave you more than hanging! You'll desperately want the third book as soon as possible.

      Overall, a grandslam of a sequel for an epic trilogy. You just can't wait to get hold of the third book once you finish this one! For information about the first book in the trilogy - 'The Hunger Games', click here .

Rating: 4.2/5

Buy 'The Catching Fire' from Amazon

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins - Goodreads

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - The Movie

For information about the first book in the trilogy - 'The Hunger Games', click here .

About the author:

      Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been busy writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the critically acclaimed Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days.

      While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children’s author James Proimos, who talked her into giving children’s books a try.

      Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you’re much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you’re not going to find a tea party. What you might find...? Well, that’s the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part series, The Underland Chronicles. Suzanne also has a rhyming picture book illustrated by Mike Lester entitled When Charlie McButton Lost Power.

      She currently lives in Connecticut with her family and a pair of feral kittens they adopted from their backyard.

      The books she is most successful for in teenage eyes are The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. These books have won several awards, including the GA Peach Award.

Mother

A few lines about the purest relationship in the world - Mother!

Making her life bitter

To make my life better

Shedding her own tears

To stop my own tears

Forgetting her cute laughs

To see my cute laugh

Giving up her desires

To fulfill my desires

MOM...

God is always near me

When you are here for me

What can I do

In return for what you do

I know i can't pay

But one day you'll say

With your heart filled with pride

With your mind filled with joy

With tears in your eyes

With a smile in your lips

"He's my son and I love him!"

Under the Moonlit Sky

Last night I woke up with a scream

To find that I had a horrible dream

When I tried to close my eyes again

Memories of the dream came with a pain

And I then knew I can't sleep

For the dream made me leap

I sat in the black darkness alone

With mind full of hopes forlorn

I stared out at the world that lay

Entirely different from what I saw at day

The night was beautiful with all its charms

I felt the night's warmth in my palms

I stood up and glanced at the sky

To find the stars smiling at me with shy

I love the moon and called her aloud

She blushed and hid behind a cloud

I knew I did not feel lonely anymore

As I relished the night's beauty to the core!