It's a double whammy!
Because of upcoming exams, we've decided to announce books of November and December at once, so you guys can read through these books when you get the time, and don't have to worry about picking a new book for December, when all you really want to do is eat chocolate and memorize those enzyme names :P
November: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
I chose this book for November because it is an extremely easy and fun read, which makes it a great distraction from all the school work that will no doubt pile up for you guys around this time. The book is well written and if you haven't already seen/read any of Kaling's work, this is a great introduction!
About the book:
Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”
Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!
December: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
This is a book we've heard a lot about this year as the film adaptation was released just recently, so when one of our group members submitted this as a nomination, I was delighted at the opportunity to read this novel. I've watched the movie and it was great, so I'm looking forward to digging into this book over Chrismas break!
About the book:
A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified “dinery server” on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation—the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.
In his captivating third novel, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of language, genre and time to offer a meditation on humanity’s dangerous will to power, and where it may lead us.
I hope you guys enjoy these books. Our next meeting will be December after exams, and we will be discussing the Kaling book. Cloud Atlas will be discussed in our January meeting.
Good luck!
-Aditi.
