Stupid Guy Goes to India - Yukichi Yamamatsu

I recently finished this book after getting it from Just Books. I didn’t realize it was a manga book (an adult version of a cartoon, mainly from Japan) until I got it, but I read it nonetheless.

The author is a Japanese man who speaks neither English nor Hindi. He decides to come to New Delhi India and try to sell manga, which pretty much doesn’t exist, and all the hilarity that ensues. He actually lives in Delhi and goes about getting a book published and struggles to get the idea to catch on.

This is a great book for those who understand how things work in India. I found myself laughing because it reminded me so much of when we landed up in India to live. The difference was being married to an Indian who speaks Hindi, having common sense, and understanding the culture. You can almost predict how much trouble and nonsense this guy is going to get into just because of how innocent he is. India is just not a place for the naive.

You have to give this guy credit for taking a huge leap of faith. In the end, he doesn’t achieve his goals, but still ends up with some pretty huge bragging rights. Hats off Yukichi Yamamatsu.

Verdict: Read it.

The Hunger Games – An Update

So I have finally finished the Hunger Games series. I don’t have much to add to the first installment of this book. The second two weren’t really all that surprising, but they also weren’t as suspenseful as the first. They devolved into a mainly action based plot, leaving all of the contemplation for the first book. As I said, read it if you can’t bear to leave a series undone (as was the case with me), but don’t expect anything out of this world.

Becky

Malgudi Days - R.K. Narayan

I have circled back around to R.K. Narayan - again at the advice of my husband. Again, Mr. Narayan didn't disappoint.

Malgudi is based on a fictional (or so they say) village somewhere in South India. Tamil Nadu if I remember correctly. This book wanders around some of the adventures that Narayan has written about this famous place, including some essays written by and sometimes about himself.

I loved it. As one who grew up in the US in a mid size town, village like continues to fascinate me. I really enjoyed learning more about Narayan through his essays and getting a broader view of his writing style.

The book did drag in certain places, but for some reason, I felt compelled to just plow through those parts and see what was next.

Verdict: Read it

I have been wasting vast amounts of time reading romance novels also, but I'm not going to waste anyone's time listing them, because I haven't come across any home runs yet.