Monday, July 22, 2024

No Ordinary Tuesday

  ~ I received no compensation and opinions are 100% my own or my family. ~

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Book Summary:  

Lena Sharma is a successful San Francisco restaurateur. An immigrant, she’s cultivated an image of conservatism and tradition in her close-knit Indian community. But when Lena's carefully constructed world begins to crumble, her ties to her daughter, Maya, and son, Sameer—raised in thoroughly modern California—slip further away.

Maya, divorced once, becomes engaged to a man twelve years her junior: Veer Kapoor, the son of Lena’s longtime friend. Immediately, Maya feels her mother's disgrace and the judgment of an insular society she was born into but never chose, while Lena’s cherished friendship frays. Meanwhile, Maya's younger brother, Sameer, struggles with an addiction that reaches a devastating and very public turning point, upending his already tenuous future.

As the mother, daughter, and son are compromised by tragedy, secrets, and misconceptions, they each must determine what it will take to rebuild their bonds and salvage what’s left of their family.


Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Print length: 335 pages


Purchase a copy of No Ordinary Thursday on

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/No-Ordinary-Thursday-Anoop-Judge/dp/1542037751/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-ordinary-thursday-anoop-judge/1140485124.

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/no-ordinary-thursday-anoop-judge/17746161


You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61214404-no-ordinary-thursday


One (or more) Sentence Summary: I really enjoyed No Ordinary Tuesday. I really enjoyed the plot - not your ordinary plot. Starting out with a tragic accident and a surprised engagement set the tone of the story. The "scandalous" relationship between Maya and Veer was one that survived against all odds.  Without giving too much away.....it is a good read! Many plots with the story that made me want to continue turning the pages!

I loved learning about the culture of India. I loved the wedding traditions.  I found it so interesting the hierarchy of families. Loved the Aunties and their very strong bond, even during the struggling times.  In the end love and friendship win!


MY FIRST MEMORIES
 “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out,” was the mantra by which my Indian mother raised us. 

 Mornings in Delhi would begin with crows cawing outside the window. Loud, insistent, competing with the clanging of alarm clocks all over the house. An occasional “Please Mummy. Five more minutes to sleep” would merge with threats of buckets of cold water being emptied on a sleepyhead if he (one of my brothers) didn’t get out of bed, fatta-faat, this very moment. The damp smell of yawns would give way to the sharp scent of toothpaste. Then would come the thudding noise of fists on the bathroom door: “Hurry up. You’re not the only one living here. Your sister needs to go potty urgently. If you don’t come out now, I’ll break down this door, I swear to God.” 

 My mom was a force to be reckoned with when she was angry with my brothers and me, a frequently occurring event in our household. We often got into trouble . . . ‘just wait till we get home’ was an oft-repeated threat of hers. 

 It happened right in the neighborhood supermarket called Super Big Bazaar. My older brother and I got into a scrape over a bag of Cadbury’s chocolate eclairs. I pushed him, he pushed me back . . . smack-dab into a display of Haldiram cans. I went sprawling and so did the can of rasgullas, tumbling everywhere like the walls of an old haveli attacked by a bulldozer. I regained my upright position and disappeared into the shelves of food just as Mom’s eyes went wide with horror, her lips thin with anger. “Just you wait, Missy,” she shouted at me, cuffing the back of my brother’s head who was not so quick to escape.

 When she got heated about things, my mom didn’t mince words. Her most colorful phrases were reserved for the country that took all three of her children away from her—” Churail (witch) America” she would hiss, shaking her head in disdain. Her thinning plait, colored with henna and, softened with alma swung on her shoulders in sympathy. I would return to my mom’s home over and over again, but it would never be the same. As a visitor and a tourist, I would return with stories to show my Mom the stamps on my passport from the different places I had traveled with my newly minted husband, but she would not be impressed. 

 The only time I can remember my opinionated mom praising her kids’ adopted country was on a visit to the United States. Referring to the Sikh belief in reincarnation, I remember her telling Dimple Aunty, “I’ve committed many sins in my lifetime, so I don’t know if I will get the human life form again. But, I pray that if I’m to be reborn as a dog, then I want to be reborn a dog in America.” She cackled, laughter sprinkling like salt upon her tea and bhujiya.

 But before the currents of life would pull me away from my land of birth, I was a member of a large and affectionate family, born to a mother whose love saved me. My mom gave me the biggest gift of my teen years when she taught me how to fight back. I must have been twelve or thirteen. My brother, eleven years old, was younger than me in age, but taller, stocky, and able to pack a few punches. After a particularly aggressive fight involving bruises, scrapes, and fisticuffs, I went crying to my mom for help. She took me squarely by my shoulders and turned me around to face my brother who was cooling his heels in triumphant glee. 

 “Go hit him back, “ she said, her eyes narrowed to slits. “You’re going to live in a world of men. You need to know how to deal with them.” 

 I don’t recall how many blows my brother endured from me that day, but I do know that with a small gesture, and a big message my mom set me on a journey where no man was going to be able to mess with me again. 

 Not all heroes wear capes. 

 *My mom passed away on April 18, 2019. It was sudden, untimely, and left me with a gaping wound. One way I am honoring her memory is by writing about the life we shared and taking continuing joy in the reminiscences from the past. 

 The greatest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude - Thornton Wilder * 


Born and raised in New Delhi, Anoop is the author of four novels, The Rummy Club which won the

2015 Beverly Hills Book Award, The Awakening of Meena Rawat, an excerpt of which was nominated for the 2019 Pushcart Prize, No Ordinary Thursday, and Mercy and Grace.

Her essays and short stories have appeared in Green Hills Literary Lantern, Rigorous Journal, Lumiere Review, DoubleBack Review, and the Ornament anthology, among others. 

 Anoop calls herself a “recovering litigator”—she worked in state and federal courts for many years before she replaced legal briefs with fictional tales. She holds an MFA from St. Mary’s College of California and was the recipient of the 2021 Advisory Board Award and the 2023 Alumni Scholarship. 

She lives in Pleasanton, California, with her husband, and is the mother of two admirable young adults.


You can follow the Anoop at:

Website: https://anoopjudge.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judgeanoop/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anoop-ahuja-judge-94396743/


Blog Tour Calendar - Check out what others have to say about No Ordinary Tuesday.


June 17th @ The Muffin

Join us as we celebrate the launch of Anoop Judge's book No Ordinary Thursday. Read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of her book.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com


June 19th @ Writer Advice

Novelist Anoop Judge stops by with a guest post about Ways To Begin a Story.

https://www.writeradvice.com


June 21st @ A Wonderful World of Words

Let's have some fun with a book giveaway and a guest post from Anoop Judge tracing her journey through four novels.

https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com/


June 22nd @ A Storybook World

Make an addition to your TBR pile with this spotlight on No Ordinary Thursday.

https://www.astorybookworld.com/


June 24th @ My Beauty My Books

Author Anoop Judge visits with advice to her twenty year old self and a chance to win a copy of her novel No Ordinary Thursday.

mybeautymybooks.com


June 25th @ Words by Webb

Read a review of No Ordinary Thursday at Words by Webb/

https://www.jodiwebbwriter.com/blog


June 28th @ What Is this Book About

Stop by for a spotlight on a new book for a new month: No Ordinary Thursday by Anoop 

Judge.

www.whatisthatbookabout.com


June 30th @ Choices

Anoop Judges gives readers a peek at her writing life with today's guest post.

http://madelinesharples.com


July 2nd @ Boys' Mom Reads

Karen shares her review of No Ordinary Thursday, a novel of love, friendship and family.

karensiddall.wordpress.com

 

July 3rd @ The Faerie Review

Want to enjoy the July 4th holiday with a great book? The Faerie Review is spotlighting No Ordinary Thursday by Anoop Judge.

https://www.thefaeriereview.com/


July 5th @ StoreyBook Reviews

Anoop Judge shares her thoughts on Crafting Dialogue: How Can You Best Give Voice to Your Characters?

https://www.storeybookreviews.com


July 9th @ Word Magic

Fiona welcomes novelist Anoop Judge sharing a few things you didn't know about her.

https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com/


July 11th @ Knotty Needle

Read a review of No Ordinary Thursday, a novel about family and friendship.

http://knottyneedle.blogspot.com/


July 12th @  Author Anthony Avina

Pop by the blog of Author Anthony Avina for a guest post about what inspires Anoop Judge.

https://authoranthonyavinablog.com/


July 17th @ Chapter Break

Ready to head for the hammock (or your favorite reading spot) with an engrossing summer read? Learn more about No Ordinary Thursday and author Anoop Judge.

https://chapterbreak.net/


July 20th @ Seaside Book Nook

Jilleen shares her thoughts on No Ordinary Thursday and a guest post on first memories from the author Anoop Judge.

http://www.seasidebooknook.com/


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