Murder on the Orient Express - Review

 

Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie

(Amazon, Flipkart)

'The Murder on the Orient Express' is yet another spectacular Agatha Christie book. It was the first Agatha Christie book I’d ever read and from the first chapter, I was hooked. I had initially read it in 4th grade and probably skimmed the entire book, but I still understood enough to be amazed. However, when I re-read it yesterday, I understood for the first time why it’s so popular. Among all of her books, this one has one of the most unique endings and plot twists. While reading a murder mystery, people generally form their own opinions and ideas about who the murderer might be, but in this book, it is next to impossible to guess the identity of the killer. 

Learning to write with my left hand

The title makes it pretty obvious that I learnt how to write with my left hand, aka my non-dominant hand. Yes, this does bring a couple of questions to mind, such as why? Why? and oh yeah, Why? Well, to answer these questions, I need to rewind this story to about a year ago.

On June 18th, 2020, there was a young girl completely bored out of her mind. Online classes had barely started and she already wanted to bang her head against something. REPEATEDLY. In order to relieve the boredom, she did what every single teenager did during online classes - SWITCH TABS. As she was scrolling through YouTube, she spotted a particular video about a girl learning to write with her non-dominant hand. She clicked on that video and the rest was history. That single click started her year-long journey of learning how to write with her left hand.

 

Day 1 - June 11, 2020

The Hardest Challenge - A poem

Freaked out over the final exams

Reading and revising and trying to cram

Panic and pressure were in the air

When something happened that was definitely rare.

A deadly virus was sweeping the world

Everywhere fear was starting to unfurl

Each day brought news of death

The virus was snuffing out countless a breath.

Schools shut down, exams cancelled

People forced inside, jobs abandoned

Restless children, worried many an adult

All of them forced to adjust.

Harry Potter series - review

Harry Potter, by JK Rowling

Amazin IN

‘Harry Potter’, quite literally two of the most famous words in the world of books. 

At my age, most kids have read the books, or at least seen the movies. It's quite unusual to come across someone who doesn’t know about this series. Therefore, considering how famous it is, it might seem strange that I have never mentioned it until now. Well, there is a reason for it. Reviewing a book series like Harry Potter is a huge task. There are so many plots and layers to it that trying to explain it without giving away anything crucial is almost impossible. But, considering the fact that this series is legendary, I am going to try to review it, as it would almost be a crime not to do so. 

(Minor spoilers ahead)

All his life, Harry Potter had known nothing other than being bullied and getting pushed around, courtesy of his aunt, uncle and cousin. With both his parents dead, they were his only family. Then comes his 11th birthday, the day that changed his life forever. He discovers that he is actually a wizard and that all the unexplainable things that seemed to happen around him was magic. The delighted boy gets shipped off to Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry. What happens next can only be described as mayhem. The series follows Harry and his two best friends Ron and Hermione as they navigate life at Hogwarts and face the impossible challenges thrown at them. 

The Thirteen Problems (Miss Marple), by Agatha Christie

The Thirteen Problems (Miss Marple), by Agatha Christie

Amazon, Kindle

Bored, a group of people are thinking of ways to entertain themselves and they somehow manage to land on the intriguing topic of murder. They find the topic of murder fascinating in a morbid sort of way. They come up with a kind of game. Each person is to take turns and tell the others a mystery, and not just any mystery but a murder mystery. It has to be true and only they knew the identity of the murderer. At the end, the others have to guess who the murderer is. That is literally the plot of the entire book, except for a murder that is committed at the end. It wouldn’t be an Agatha Christie novel without a murder. The game is played on two separate occasions with different groups of people, but the concept is the same. 

4.50 From Paddington, by Agatha Christie

4.50 From Paddington: Miss Marple Series Book 8, by Agatha Christie

(Amazon, Kindle)

Two trains running parallel to each other. A one-in-a-million glance out of a window. And… a murder. 

This was all it took to turn the lives of the Crackenthorpe family upside down. Elspeth McGillicuddy was the one who started the chain of events that changed the lives of the Crackenthorpe family forever. It all started one day when she was travelling in a train to meet her relatives. It would have been quite a normal train ride and nothing out of the ordinary had she not looked out of the window. You see, it was one of those rare moments that two trains going in opposite directions slowed down at the same time. This momentary slowing of the trains meant that if the occupants of either train were to glance out of their windows, they would have been able to see into the compartments of the other train. 

This was exactly what happened to Elspeth McGillicuddy. She had innocently glanced out of the window but what she saw, made her blood run cold. In the compartment of the other train, was a man slowly strangling a woman. In a daze, she continued to watch until both trains moved away. 

The Six Spellmakers Of Dorabji Street

The Six Spellmakers Of Dorabji Street, by Shabnam Minwalla

(Amazon)

Okay, I know that I say a lot of books are my favourites and they are the best books I’ve read but the list keeps on changing with time. This book however is one of the few that always remains in my top 10 ten favourite books. 

The story goes something like this…. Nivi, and her family move into Cosy Castle, one of the many buildings on the quiet Dorabji Street. They quickly make friends with the children in the building and they have many fun filled days. Little do the children know about the terrible storm brewing silently in the form of their neighbours. Old Mrs.Kotadia and vindictive Mrs.Braganza hate the daily cricket matches of the boys and the giggling girls in the garden. They are determined to stop the fun and games in any way that they can. 

The children are horrified when they find out that their precious bimbli trees are going to be cut down. They know that they have to act fast before their beloved trees are gone forever. Well, the only way to do this was magic….. Find out how Saritha, Nivi, Vijay, Rehaan, Nikhil and Vijay fight and try to defeat their evil neighbours. Well, you might think what’s so great about this that it’s one of my favourite books. 

The story sounds interesting enough but nothing spectacular so why do I love it so much. The answer is that the author has written it so well that you are entertained throughout the book. Some people my age might find the story uninteresting or boring but to me it’s amazing. I’ve been reading this book since 4th grade and I still love it. The jokes and humour in the book remain fresh and never fail to make me laugh. I also like how the main plot of the story is something that could happen to any kid. I am amazed at how well the author created an amazing story out of a simple idea. 

© 2020, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

The Da Vinci Code: (Robert Langdon Book 2), by Dan Brown

The Da Vinci Code: (Robert Langdon Book 2), by Dan Brown

Amazon IN

WOW!
That was it. I had nothing else to say after I read this book. No words can do this book justice.
Despite saying that I’m still going to try, note the key word here is ‘try’ to describe my experience.

Here goes my try.

The prologue literally yells for your attention. It’s like a Venus flytrap that coaxes you in with its pretty appearance and smell but the moment you’re close it traps you. After reading the prologue you cannot, I repeat CANNOT, leave the book because the prologue is about a murder. And as we know murders in books don’t reveal anything - not even the tiniest clue, but they let you in enough to make you curious.

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

(Amazon)

A month ago I was basically at a stage where I was reading books all the time and did that for about two weeks until I realised that I didn’t have any new books to read. I found this in my bookshelf while searching for something to read.

My sister had actually told me about it but I hadn’t paid much attention to it until then.

Ready Player One is a science-fiction book. It’s set mostly in a virtual world called the OASIS. In a world crumbling and a destroyed economy, the OASIS is the escape of millions. With a pair of gloves and a headset, even the poorest could use the OASIS. To get a better idea, imagine a world, perfect in every aspect and you have the OASIS. With millions of planets and thousands of quests to prove your worth, the OASIS can make even the poorest feel rich, albeit virtually. Well, perhaps that isn’t completely true. There is a chance, one chance to become the richest person alive. The Hunt.

Encyclopedia Brown, by Donald J Sobol

(Amazon)

Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detectiveby Donald J. Sobol

OK fine, I know this series is kind of kiddish for my age. But while I’m stuck at home, I’ve been dying for books to read. And this series was something I hadn’t re-read in a long time so I decided to read it.

There are quite a few books in this series and I have three of them. The Encyclopedia Brown series is about a ten year old boy named Leroy Brown aka Encyclopedia due to his knowledge about the smallest trivia and his knack of noticing things most people would ignore.

Each book has around 10 stories about the various mysteries and cases he solves along with the help of his partner Sally Kimball.

Sounds quite simple and not that complicated. Well, that’s exactly what I love about this series. I mean most of the books I read have complex plots, at least three subplots and a million other complicated mysteries to solve along with a race against time to save the world or something. Don’t get me wrong I love all of those books and they are thrilling to read. But amidst all of these complex and complicated books its kind of refreshing to have a book that’s just so simple and has mysteries about missing cookies. This simplicity is what makes me want to read this book when I’m not in the mood for a long thrilling mystery.

And most of the mysteries are pretty easy to solve if you just pay attention to the details. Most of the answers are just staring at you in the face but you don’t notice it until Encyclopedia points it out and solves the mystery. It might seem kiddish but amidst the races against time and mysterious death threats, this series is quite different.


© 2020, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.