a tiny peek inside

So, I'm in Karachi right now.

Its nice I suppose. I've met my best friends and hung out with them a lot and it feels wonderful to be with them again.

But? I do miss Lahore. 

I do. 

When I lived here, in Karachi- as in, went to school here and actually was LIVING here- I never really missed it when I went to Lahore for the hols. Its weird, I guess. Home is where the heart is and my heart is sorta cut up between friends and family. In that case it probably is in other parts of the world too, but only slivers of it. The only really chunks lie within Lahore and Karachi.

I've missed it though.

Lahore and Karachi- they're totally different. And no, I'm not talking about the freakin' beach debate here.

Lahore is homely, comforting. Its a cup of sweet hot cocoa on a bitter cold day, its a soft and sweet smelling grandmothers hug. Its friends who are as un-pretentious as friends can be. Sometimes its adventure but mostly? Its cozy, mismatched, but with a charm of its own.

Karachi, on the other hand is an intellectual career woman in her posh heels and trendy suit. Its haute couture and sneaking out. Its leaping off buildings and loud laughter and the best deals. Its bright red nail polish and thigh high boots. Its a blazing, bright firework of fun and excitement. 

The two can't be compared because they're just so different.

I've bought so many books here, its not even funny any more- stay tuned for a mega book post- eeeh can't wait! I'll also be holding that giveaway sometime next year- I mean next month.

Its funny how a whole year has passed.

Its sad I have absolutely nothing to show for it.

x

Chicklitgirl

my best friend and I at Port Grand- Karachi

Ps: 5 points for guessing who is who!

Book Haul! (2)

So I went to Sunday Bazaar- and tucked away in a shelf at one of the book stalls I found the most beautiful things a YA Pakistani book blogger dreams of: HARDCOVER. ALMOST PERFECT CONDITION. RECENT YA BOOKS!

I died and went to heaven for a bit then.

I bought all four of these for less than 10$.

I've been dying to read them all!
Click on the covers below to know more about 'em.

Now, I shall leave you with a wonderful song and skedaddle.
Misfits is on in two.



x

CLG

Beauty Queens aka best Girl Power book EVAAA.

Beauty Queens
by Libba Bray

4.3 stars out of 5

A plane full of Miss Teen Dream contestants- beauty queens, to be exact, crashes on a dessert Island.

Soon the girls find out, they are not alone, and, that girl power RAWKKZZZ.

Okay, that's obv not the real blurb, but it sucked, so I made up my own.


First of all, I think the rating says it all.

Few, very few books get higher than a 4 star rating from me, and only one book has ever 
gotten a five! (Harry Potter). Good reads are usually3-3.99 stars, EXCELLENT reads get 4 and above that are books which have it all. BQs, has it all.

The Writing: is wonderful, intelligent, easy to read, makes sense, to 
the point and unhurried.


The Dollop of Romance: is sweet and meaning full and sexy and honest.


The Girls: are, like shiny wrapped Easter eggs. Pretty sweet 
looking. And then the wrappers of each individual gets unwrapped and 
their insides are way better than you could ever imagine.
They have their secrets, they have their strengths and if there ever 
was a positive, feminist book- reader, you have arrived.

I wanted to be best friends with these beauty queens, I admired them and was inspired by them.

The beauty queens in this book are the quintessential, powerful and fantastic amalgamation of girl power and girls everywhere.
We are not a pair of boobs, or secret disappointments since boys are 'obv better' but we are fucking fabulous, so suck it up.BeautyQueens was hilarious and did not take itself too seriously, instead of being ambiguous about its message and giving it to the reader in a complicated, complex and 'open for analysis' way, it spoke to you, fully straight faced and head on: we are girls, we are your equals. 

We see right through the new world order, the horrible mind control. 

We are not oblivious, but tolerant. 

We can kick your ass, always- and forever.

It is the kind of book which is silly and straight-faced, both at the same time.
It mocks itself in ridiculous (hot bodacious pirate romance/ending dance number/etc) ways, but for me at least, instead of feeling annoyed about it, I felt that the silliness added to its awesomeness- it was so much fun!
Its insane with some bits cliched, but totally intellectual. Its an oxymoron, but really empowering.
Its Libba Bray's Beauty Queens.

Some of my fav quotes of the book: [These are just 1%, actually, since the whole book is brilliantly quotable].

1. There was something about the island that made the girls forget who 
they had been. All those rules and shalt nots. They were no longer 
waiting for some arbitrary grade. They were no longer performing. 
Waiting. Hoping.
They were becoming.
They were. 

 2. A little footnote in the book, when 'Bridal Death Match' mentioned:

36 Bridal Death Match , the popular TV show about brides who cage 
fight each other in order to win the wedding of their dreams.

3. It had the word bitches in it, which is perfectly fine to use if 
you’re a rapper or a director making a movie about career women, but 
not if you’re a teen girl talking about her homies.”

Good point, Petra. We know that young ladies of the teen persuasion do 
not use these indelicate words. Nor do they have thoughts about sex, masturbation, violence, being competitive, or farting.”

I did not give this book five whole stars because I wish it had been slightly more... Realistic, things 
were a bit too smooth, and sometimes a bit too silly. I suppose its the charm of the book- but still.


Overall? Awesome book.
Read it.

xx
CLG

Truth in cliches.

She looked at him, smiling at Her. He was enthralled by her grace and lightness. The way she flipped her hair, and looked up shyly through her eyelashes, the way she laughed, a girlish caress to the wind, the way she believed in what he did.
Because the beliefs they both had in common were the most important thing. That was the first thing he looked for now. Never again would he make the mistake of falling for the wrong girl.
He pushed away the ugly thought, tinged with just the right amount of discomfort and a pinch of pain.
It was a new day, a new him. He had chosen his path, he had done what was best for him, and he had convinced himself that what he was doing was okay. It was the right thing to do.
For him, anyway.
He took a sip from his non-alcoholic beverage and concentrated on the conversation.
It was, if he was honest with himself, a bit tiring to be constantly chipper and his jaw had developed a bit of an ache due to all the forced smiles. It wasn't that she was boring, it was just that she wasn't that interesting.

She saw his eyes glaze over for a few seconds and the pain in her heart lessened the tiniest bit.
Why could she not be happy for him? He'd clearly moved on, was visibly happy for her and played the cool card whenever they had a chance to catch up.
He was obviously made of tougher stuff than she. She saw him lean closer and point at Her face.
She felt nauseous. The girl laughingly said something, and he gently brushed her cheek with a tissue.
The black mark that she'd taken for a mole fell away, and as they stared into each others eyes, a tear worked its way into the corner of hers.

She stood up.
She had had enough.
She would not torture herself anymore.
He had led her on, made her feel special, then dumped her as soon as the other girl had made an appearance.
He had used her until the better package had come along- and even though she knew she was being unfair- they had technically agreed on everything- she wanted him, like she had all those years ago.
Was in love with him, and did not know how to cure it.
'Love' had been a sharp slap in her face.
Something that bruised her insides and made her crazy.
She knew it existed somewhere, but clearly not for her.
Would she ever feel this way again about someone?
She was afraid of the answer.
She did not want to be a jealous, selfish, shell of a person.
They say time is the best healer of wounds. They probably never had their heart stamped on until it was in smithereens.
She shook her head, dabbing at her eyes.
She reluctantly acknowledged that she would have let him go completely for a while, if she wanted her thoughts to stop doing a horrible dance around his being.
She had to give time a shot.

As she walked out of the cafeteria, he looked up and caught her eye.
She did not smile.
Neither did he.