2nd July to 8th July 2018
After reading two spy novels back-to-back, I wanted a change. Lady Helena Investigates caught my attention. I like to read stories set in the late 19th century or the early 20th century. Be it the location the story is set, or the characters, or the plot, I really find them interesting. It is usually a slow story – a sleepy town where gossip is the main entertainment, and then comes someone who tries to change the ways of the society or has a dark past, which again becomes the main topic of the gossip mongers. Then something strange happens – usually a murder or a kidnapping. And then, the one who was alienated by the society solves the mystery.
Based on a similar plot, was the novel – Lady Helena Investigates. I must admit that I did get a bit carried away in the middle. Then I realized that I was taking it personally – the societal restrictions on a widow. Having realized that, I decided not to let it affect my reading. The story was concocted beautifully. Although I felt that Lady Helena was a bit too kind, finally her kindness paid off.
When you read a lot of crime and mystery stories, you tend to ‘solve the mystery’ halfway through the story. Then, as you reach the end, you realize that the author turned out to be a better detective than you. 😉
Since there were two mysteries in Lady Helena Investigates, the book had two endings. One mystery was solved halfway through, and the other later on. The first ending was unexpected, for various reasons. Lust for power and money can really change a human being. And it is even more shocking when a mere child of 12 decides to kill for pleasure.
I always like to balance the fiction that I read with non-fiction. I find books of the genre – mind, body, and soul interesting. I finished reading the book – Awakened relating by Lynn Marie Lumiere. It is a beautiful book on how awakening can improve your life and relationships for better.
As kids, we learned to please our caregivers. We understood that by doing as they say, we could receive their support – emotional or otherwise. As we grew up, the patterns remained engrained in our minds. Somewhere down the line, we start to feel dejected, lost and hopeless as to “Why me?”. When things do not go as expected – especially relationships, we tend to reflect as to what went wrong. From the very beginning, the only thing that we have always followed was “Seeking Love.”
It is okay to expect emotional stability in a relationship but the book explains it so well that, irrespective of whatever direction the relationship is going, we must learn to be stable emotionally. How do you do that? Listen to your inner voice. The Love that you have been seeking has always been within you. Once you realize that no matter who leaves you or stays with you, your inner love will never give up on you.
Apart from the above-mentioned points, the book also contains loads of information about how to make any kind of relationship work – be it the one with your spouse, parents, friends or colleagues. The book also has interviews between Lynn Marie and various people who are living on the concept of Awakened Relating. In short, it was a very interesting read.
Currently, I am reading Healing Happens by Avital Miller. It is about how diet can change your life for good. The book has stories of how people, who were given just days or months to live changed the doctor’s diagnosis by following a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. As I read the first few chapters, I understood how certain fruit-and-vegetable diet can change the working of major organs in the body. This is one of the best books that I have ever come across – a mixture of healing physically and mentally, and that too, only by changing your diet!
Apart from Healing Happens, I am also reading Lestrade and the Giant Rat of Sumatra by M.J.Trow. The writing style is one of a kind! Weird and quirky humor and some good ol’ police work, the characters in this book reminded me of the Detective Martin Beck series by Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading!
Featured Image Credits: Photo by Clarisse Meyer on Unsplash
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