MORE LISTS! Consider yourselves warned.

Since I spent my last entry listing out those books which so horribly failed to deliver what they promised I thought this time I'd talk about those books that were well worth the money spent.

BOOKS THAT WERE NOT A WASTE OF PAPER AND OTHER PUBLISHING RESOURCES:

1) Gone With the Wind- Margaret Mitchell
Gone with the wind is a hard book to like.In fact, its a hard book to read.Its well over 800 pages long with many of those pages devoted to a detailed analysis of the The American Civil War and its impact on the Confederacy . Apart from that there are millions of names and relations the reader is expected to keep track of. I can hardly sort out the tangled web that is my family,let alone recall the fictional familial bonds in this book.
But when you get past all that (and it took me awhile) you realize why people love this book. And why people can stand to sit through a 4 hour film adaptation. One reason, I think, is because throughout the duration of the book all the characters remain true to their personalities. Scarlett is as stubborn and willful on page 799 as she is in the first chapter. And while Rhett Butler may earn the respect of his peers towards the end he is still as self-serving and dishonorable as he ever was. And everyone of the characters (and believe me,only JRR Tolkien has managed to fit more into one book) is believable. Even Melanie, a character so righteous and good only Margaret Mitchell can make it possible to read about her without rolling our eyes. Enid Blyton could learn a few things from Mitchell.
Long story short, it may have taken me a while and, sure,my power has probably gone up having strained to read all that fine print but in the end I'm glad I did.

2) Good Omens- Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman
Those of you who enjoy reading fantasy novels will know that Pratchett and Gaiman are two of the best in the business.Terry Prachett is as they say "the exalted Father of Discworld" and Neil Gaiman's books are regularly made into disturbing movies .Most fantasy and science-fiction books take themselves way too seriously and Neil and Terry are doing their bit to remedy this. And Good Omens is about making fun of that most serious of subjects-THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT! When the Bible was written I'm sure they didn't find anything amusing about the Antichrist or the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse,but having read Good Omens I find it all nothing short of hilarious. When the Apocalypse finally does come and the great kingdoms and empires of the world are engulfed in hellfire I'll be the one off to the side giggling madly.

3) To Kill A Mockingbird-Harper Lee
Most award winning books are beyond my comprehension but this critically acclaimed, Pulitzer prize winning book does not require a degree in English Literature to be appreciated. Simply and effectively narrrated by 7 year old Scout Finch it is a penetrating account of the prejudices of some men and the everyday nobility and decency of others. Set in a small town,populated by people who have known each other for their whole lives, not only is it about a polarizing court case but also about the education of young Scout. Anyone who has ever been a child, and especially those of us who have had trouble growing up into respectable young ladies, will sympathesize with Scout's emotions. After reading this I guarantee you'll miss the days of your childhood and the magic of those long,lazy summer days.

4) The Lovely Bones-Alice Sebold
This book starts out with the brutal and bloody murder of 14 year old Susie Salmon at the hands of her quiet,disturbed neighbour Mr.Harvey. These are not massive spoilers but facts that Susie herself matter of factly recounts within the first chapter. This book is not about the crime or who commited it but about those left behind to pick up the pieces-the Salmon family. Its easy enough to get murdered and float off to heaven but its another thing all together to have to stay back and watch your family fall apart. A mother who wants her own life, a father who can't quite move on and a sister who wishes people would stop seeing Susie when they look at her. In fact the most sane member of the Salmon family would have to be the alcoholic grandmother.
I have to admit that the ending is a bit far fetched but by then you're too engrossed to care. I must warn you that it is, for the most part,an incredibly sad book. But what starts out in the most brutal way ends quietly and happily as Susie finally sees how her death coloured the world in which she lived and the lovely bones she left behind.

WARNING: There be lists ahead!

Tomorrow I have a test. This is nothing new of course. My life has been more or less just a series of tests for the last 5 years or so. Unit tests, model tests, big tests, little tests-you name it, I've spent an hour in a stifling classroom writing it. When I look back at this time in my life 20 years from now (assuming Al Gore's got it all wrong and we don't all drown because of rising sea levels), I think I will remember it as a big blur of question papers, underlining, and gel pens.

At the very least, I will remember with great fondness the guy who sat next to me in the front row cheating with his cell phone. The nerve, you've got admire it.

Forging ahead, I have been reading some very "important" books as of late. Books that people tell you "must" read, books that all glossy magazines trumpet...books that typically make little impact on me.

So here for your perusal, I present Sowmya's list of:

Overly Hyped Up Books That I Had To Struggle To Finish:
(catchy title,right?)
1. The Alchemist:
I have been told, fervently, by many people that Paulo Coelho's life-changing novel is the most poetic and astounding book they've ever come across. So armed with this knowledge I decided I'd give it a go. After all it had a title that few fantasy-addicts can resist. And as I turned the pages getting steadily more frustrated, I still held on to the hope that maybe the big "astounding" bit lay ahead. A hope that died when I turned the last, final page and thought "That's it?".
I suppose my senses have been dulled by Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Maybe I've got to the point where a book is only entertaining if big, loud, exciting things happen. Maybe the subtle, quiet magic of The Alchemist escaped me. Admittedly, I am not the most perceptive of people.
So I'm going to be diplomatic and say that it wasn't the book, it was just me. But I still believe that it wouldn't have hurt to throw a few hobbits into the mix.
And for the record, Nicholas Flamel is the ONLY Alchemist.

2. Five Point Someone:
Chetan Bhagat, they said, was the coolest,freshest author to ever come out of this country. He was hip and in tune with the sensibilities of young,urban India I was told. And since I'd just been through the whole stressful process of filling out forms in triplicate and writing exams to get into a good college, I figured I could relate to the book. All I can say is that Five Point Someone is just one big demonstration about how misleading false advertising and misrepresentation can be. Because Mr.Bhagat? Neither cool nor fresh. Just disappointing.

3. Wuthering Heights:
I'd enjoyed reading Gone with the Wind. Scarlett was the most spoiled heroine I'd ever read, Rhett was most evil romantic lead the world has ever seen but it was a good( if lengthy) book. So I thought that Wuthering Heights,what with it being all about bratty girls, rough guys and estate-ownership struggles, would be fun too. So I read it. And as God as my Witness I never will again!
Without going too much in detail, I'd just like to point out that romance novels have little going for them if the girl croaks in the first half of the book.

There's more where that came from. Looking at how aggressively even the most unworthy of books get marketed these days, I'm sure I'm in store for more disappointment of the literary sort in the future. And whenever that happens I'll just get out one of my Harry Potters and be content in the knowledge that sometimes they do get it right.