Books You Want To Read This Fall/Autumn

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Oh boy! Where do I start? Atleast till my early 30s. I was the bookworm. I read a lot, mostly fiction with the off biography and I also read a lot about some history and things. As a youngster I loved comics and could spends hours with a bunch of them. As I turned 14-15 I turned to novels and read a lot each months. I liked to read as much as I could. People found it easy to give me gifts; they just needed to get me some books.

The last book I have read was in 2017 and I enjoyed that book a lot. Before that it was probably in 2010. Since then only 1 full novel in 12 years. Oh man! That would be unthinkable when I was younger. I had 3 libraries that I went to a couple of times a month just to go and get some books to read. Sometimes Archies or Tintin or Asterix comics or even Nancy Drew/Famous Five & Hardy Boys until my late teens and then most novels with the odd Archies throw in until my mid 20s.

Then onwards I only read novels and Stephen King, Michael Chrichton, Anne Rice, Sydney Sheldon and others being among my favourites. Not having read any novels in a long, long time I think I would like to start slow and get atleast one book in during the next 2-3 months. Hehehe, that is a big change from the years gone by but let’s try small for now. So I have just placed an order for this novel, Elevation by Stephen King, which I haven’t read yet. So I look forward to getting it this Saturday and perhaps reading it during the weekend.

Prompt from 30 SEPTEMBER BLOG POST IDEAS at 

The Suicide Squad

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The Suicide Squad is a 2021 American superhero film based on the DC Comics team Suicide Squad. Produced by DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, and The Safran Company, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a standalone sequel to Suicide Squad (2016) and the 10th film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). It was written and directed by James Gunn and stars an ensemble cast including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, and Pete Davidson. In the film, several convicts join a task force known as the “Suicide Squad” in exchange for lighter sentences. They are sent to the South American island nation of Corto Maltese to destroy all traces of the giant alien starfish Starro the Conqueror before it falls into the local government’s control.

The Suicide Squad premiered theatrically in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2021. It was released in the United States on August 5, simultaneously in theaters and on the streaming service HBO Max. The film received positive reviews from critics who praised Gunn’s script, direction, and visual style. Many found the film to be a significant improvement over its predecessor, and it became the most-streamed DCEU film on HBO Max. It was a box office disappointment and grossed just $168 million worldwide against a production budget of $185 million, which was attributed to factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the film’s availability on HBO Max, and its relationship to the first Suicide Squad. Peacemaker, a spin-off television series starring Cena, debuted on HBO Max in January 2022. Two other spin-off series are in development for HBO Max.

5 Strange & Weird Customs In Madagascar

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Taking up your spoon only after your elder : In Malagasy society, respecting one’s elders is a traditional custom that is still rigidly practised mainly in rural areas. Once a meal is served, no one is allowed to pick up their cutlery before the elder does. This person may be a father, a grandmother or a grandfather. Once they have lifted their spoon and started to eat, the rest of the family can start to eat as well.

Cutting a baby’s hair after three-months : Upon their third month in this world, a Malagasy baby will undergo what is called “ala-volo”, or the hair cutting ceremony. A person in the family with beautiful hair (a “tso-bolo”) is invited to cut the baby’s hair and put it on a large plate or bowl. The cut hair is then mixed with honey and tuberous roots such as sweet potatoes. At this point, the family members eat this mixture. This is a kind of rite of passage that allows the baby to fully integrate into society.

All houses should face west :When a Malagasy person builds a house, there are rituals and rules to be respected. One of these is about which direction one’s house faces. Malagasy belief states that the best sunshine is in the afternoon as the sun starts to set, so all houses should open up facing west. In the traditional building process, the east façade is closed off with no windows or doors. Windows are usually only located in the north, and doors in the west.

Never have a funeral on a Thursday : Each day is favourable for a particular purpose according to the Malagasy belief. Thursday is the first day in the Malagasy calendar and so it’s the best day to start anything you would like to last, especially house building for example. In the same way, it is not recommended to have a funeral on a Thursday, since it may become the starting point of continuing deaths in the family. Generally speaking, Malagasy people never organise any burial on this day.

Wrapping ancestors every seven or nine years : You may have heard about the Malagasy custom known as “famadihana”, which literally means “to return a deceased person’s body”. It’s a big family gathering, the biggest one after a wedding and funeral ceremony. Members of the deceased’s family come together and organise the big event where the deceased is exhumed and then re-wrapped. It’s a celebration of life and parenthood.