My love affair with English continues....

Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss

I am at a total loss for words to describe the book so I'll leave you with some promotional statements and media reviews....

"If Lynne Truss were Roman Catholic I'd nominate her for sainthood. " - Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes and Tis

"A wonderful little treatise... Witty and entertaining as well as informative." - Terry Eagleton, Irish Times

"Lovers of good English have thought of ourselves as isolated outposts… Lynne Truss has emerged as our champion." - William Hartston, Daily Express

..And if that did not help you decide to pick this one up, sample some lines

“No matter that you have a PhD and have read all of Henry James twice. If you still persist in writing, ‘Good food at it’s best’, you deserve to be struck by lightning, hacked up on the spot and buried in an unmarked grave.” A little extreme, I feel: boiling in oil would be quite sufficient.

Very, very strongly recommended!!
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Four Incredibly Good Reads. One Conclusion.

The key to a successful short story is definitely NOT the proverbial twist in the tale (most often 'forced') or alluring word play (Thesaurus power). These might contribute in their own way but what surely works is the ability to conjure up situations and characters that we can all identify with. And before we realise whats happened, the fine line between fiction and reality has all but disappeared and we are so hopelessly involved that we find ourselves rushing ahead to find out what happens next.

These 4 stories had precisely the aforementioned effect on me. Delightful works ! Ensoii !!

Of Single Girls and ‘Double Degree’ Prospects! by Deepanjali Pandey

I know I am in deep, cranium-level shit when I find myself agreeing to cook, clean, care, lose weight on the ass, gain it on the breasts, earn a five-figure paycheck, tone down the hair, the laugh, the 'attitude', never abuse (i.e. verbal/ tobacco / alcohol), read management tomes, drape my head on hometown visits (his, naturally), act coy in front of his friends, gratified in front of mine, gush 'intellect' to his corporate colleagues, and homely inanities to his sisters, rear well-read children, love his body hair, balls, bedroom, boardroom, bathroom habits… and to the rest of the world… always appear a genial host, generous lover and genteel wife.

for full story, read here

However by G S Ramasubramanian

To be perfectly honest with you, I don't even remember how and when we met. It's not as unbelievable as it sounds. She was my friend's fiancée's friend, and we had gone out together as part of the same group on a number of occasions before we actually said a word to one another. I guess we recognized each other's existence, and weren't exactly averse to talking, but just didn't feel like expending the energy to start a conversation, just to get acquainted.

for full story, read here

"First Night" nightmares by Lykos Magee

“Sambandhi, I hereby spread my dear daughter's legs to accept the gift of your son's member.”
“And it is my pleasure to herewith introduce my son's erect lingam into the moist welcome afforded by your daughter.” My father then holds my organ at its base and ceremoniously forces me to penetrate my newly wedded wife.

for full story, read here

Seduction by Priya Thiagarajan

The house is dark. Somehow that depresses me. I grope for the light switch. The living room comes to light as I turn the switch on. I automatically walk towards the table where the flower vase is. I take the drooping flowers out of it and replace it with the bunch of fresh flowers I have in my hand. Nice, big, yellow chrysanthemums… trying to shed sunlight into my perpetually dark apartment.

for full story, read here