OTT- Over the Top
Apart from the books that eat up your entire soul by its enriching storyline and charismatic characters, there are some books that eat up your brain due to a not-so-promising storyline and equally dull characters. I understand that writing a novel, figuring out the plot and carefully selecting the characters to fit the circumstances without making it over-dramatic and absolutely genuine is NOT easy (No offence, writers). So, I, like many others have stumbled upon some books that we didn’t quite really erm enjoy? I have been a part of such a sad situation before and trust me when I say this; it is definitely not an experience worth looking forward to. I mean, come on, nothing is perfect. We mess things up and so do the writers (AHEM). These books failed to make an impression as far as I’m concerned and my reviews, although brief, are solely based on my experience as a reader. (I might sound a little too blunt but then it’s the disappointment talking).
- 3 MISTAKES OF MY LIFE: The greatest mistake of my life, probably. If you’re a Chetan Bhagat fan and you’re reading this then please go hide your face somewhere and do not come back. If a movie has to be described in words then it’s a Chetan Bhagat novel. The movie ‘Kai Po Che’ was quite a success at the box office and Chetan Bhagat’s script writing skill was brought to light. He should just stick to writing movie scripts and that is it. Equally nerve-wracking was his apparently national bestseller ‘One Night at the Call Center’ and ‘Five Point Someone’. He saved himself with his book ‘Two States’ which was without a doubt a Bollywood flick but not as horrendous as his earlier works. ‘What Young India Wants’ is a book I haven’t read and neither am I planning on reading it. In other news, I’ve heard he is FINALLY writing scripts for Bollywood directors. WAY TO GO BHAGAT!
- THE ZAHIR: Quite carried away by Paulo Coelho’s ingenuity as a writer and his philosophical knowledge that was boldly displayed in his international bestseller ‘Alchemist’, I decided on reading this novel. Little did I know, I was going to be left puzzled and not very sure of where I was heading with the story or if at all I understood the story? This made me reach a conclusion that there was NO storyline. I couldn’t figure out what the whole book was about. Was the protagonist searching for his wife? ERR. Oh and I haven’t finished reading ‘Veronica Decides to Die’ yet. No more Paulo for the time being.
- THE ACCOMPLICE: I have no idea how and when I got hold of the book. I also have no idea what Eirrean Corrigan was thinking when she wrote the book. The plot was something that has been written and enacted in movies since time immemorial. Nothing new there. I guess it was more suited to the age group 16-17 since the story and the psyche of the characters was custom made to fall under the teenage years.
- Oops I fell in love: Before you judge me, I got this book cause’ I really wanted to read a light-hearted story You know the kind of books you prefer reading when you’re taking a break and you want to just lie down and relax on your couch. Well, things never go as planned. It was just another failed Bollywood script. The author, Harsh Snehanshu, didn’t quite nail it. The other day I read a review on his book that said it was a cute love story and that the writing was fresh and humorous. Sorry to burst your bubble, it was anything but cute or humorous or even fresh.
(That’s it for today. I can’t recall any other novel falling under this category as of now)
“The worst memories stick with us, while the nice ones always seem to slip through our fingers”
On a brighter side, I’ll be posting a review on ‘The Fountainhead’ shortly which is one of the greatest books written in the history of writing books. Stay tuned!
Have you had any bad experience as a reader? Feel free to share and comment!
Books & Teaa 
2 responses to “BOOKS THAT WENT OTT”
I am glad someone mentioned and highlighted the evident inefficiency of certain writers who have become “best sellers” but have no sense of story line and the facts relevant to it (according to me) at all. Undoubtedly chetan bhagat has certain skill to write, but like you said it is best suited if he stuck to writing bollywood scripts! Moreover the so called “budding writers” who are people, either unemployed or engineers bored with their life, get down to writing love stories like it were their birth right! Mumbai -Dilli love story, accidentally in love, are you the one for me?, forever in these pages, just like in the movies,few things left unsaid, just friends, the off-site tamasha, I could go on, but the list of unsucessful, blockhead, non-sense love story writers whose work sells in no more than 100 bucks(and does not deserve even that), would never end!
True that. I would, however, like to point out that I am not against these “budding writers” writing books of this genre. I guess love stories according to them make a stronger impact. They should just try and focus on other genres more and not serve us with crappy love stories that, let’s be practical, do not exist. (Oh, and I know what you mean by 100 bucks. Haha)