Book review: Girl before a mirror by Lisa Palmer

Title: Girl before a mirror
Author: Lisa Palmer
Publisher:William Morrow/Harpercollins
Price: $14.99
Page:384
ISBN:9780062297242
Genre: Women's fiction/Contemporary/
Source: Library

Buy girl before a mirror from amazon


Before I begin let me share some happy news with all you guys, its is been a while that I have posted her.. The one posted was pretty much in my drafts  for long so to be honest this is my first post in a while .In between I got married (i know i know) moved across the globe (wow) , now that I'm pretty much settled in the new place and  found my groove , I thought I should start again.Plus library is just few blocks away dada... so here at my new home Im building my new Kindle library and books borrowed from library.

This book I picked firstly for its title, opened a random page and read these quote

"It's hard being woman. Especially being everyone's idea of what being a woman should be.What we want it is to be okay to be just you. All of you. And to know that that's not only good enough, but downright heroic."

Some words you see !

But I was sort of a let down when the book opened up to a 40th birthday celebration of the protagonist Anna Wyatt whose  being divorced is emphasized plus the fact that she is not very happy with her career her introduction also paves way to our understanding that these are just beginning of her twisted life and after few pages one being her lonely childhood next her alcoholic brother .

She decides to get control of her life and build a fulfilling career  for which  she  gives her heart and soul in reviving Luminex shower gel with a new client . Starting up she is assigned with a new young , beautiful and talented colleague Sasha. Anna realizes that her young colleague is beautiful and when you almost think that there would more drama author quickly establishes depth into Anna's character which was very stimulating to keep reading. Anna is intelligent, resourceful, supportive of her younger counterpart, funny in her own way with a very positive outlook in general.I also loved how Palmer projects other female character as well with not much drama very satisfying characters who don't go overboard.

Anna is introduced to a self help book- Be the heroine, find your hero.Though not swept way by romantic novel initially unlike Sasha through the course  she starts to consider its claim..The plot where Anna meets her prince charming Anna , Lincoln a British  financial consultant whom she meets at the hotel during her convention sounds like a page from princess diaries, but you don't really complain as Palmer establishes her characters who openly disapprove romantic novel only outside while loving them every bit inside and even dreaming about it. Ending is very predictable still you enjoy it.

Though not a big fan of romantic novel I do like a change here and there.This is the kind of book you wouldn't rave about still enjoy on a relaxing day with too many interesting quotes about life, some of which are

"I want to be happy and not feel guilty about it.I want to be accepted regardless of what I look like, what I do for a living, my marital status, whether I have kids. I want Purpose, Contentment. to matter, freedom..I want to be. Just be."

Losing my virginity by Richard Branson

Price Rs 450 (got it for 250 from homeshop18.com)                                                                                  Autobiography

Its not just a memoir of  Richard Branson the business tycoon  but an inspirational buisiness guide ..Every page tells you to be tough when the going gets tougher..Its all about his personal philosophy that he lived by which took him to heights..Glimpses of his childhood the family's support their unconditional love, the way he was brought up where he was taught to believe in oneself .. I wish the the first chapter about his mad passion  for adventure,his experience about balloon flight that he took was added to the last or in the middle, I felt it to be tad long and it was my sheer patience that kept me reading had I given up, I would have regreted real bad, because  the rest of the memoir is fast paced, cool sprinter than a marathon..Didn't feel I read 573 (few more to index and other notes) pages...Writing is witty and crisp ..A lot of credit to his unorthodox upbringing of his family , especially his mother who was determined to make her children independent..which he aptly puts " Our challenges tended to be more physical than academic" he was sent on a 50 mile cycle ride by himself when he was under twelve..Even his aunt encouraged him with money as price, to learn to swim by a fortnight..The rebellious streak was instilled by his parents..His adventurous spirit is quite predictable as we read his memoir about his parents who were adventurous themselves, but one that stood out in my mind is about his mother Eve who pretended to be a  boy to follow her dreams to be a pilot for in those days girls were not allowed to fly..He is dyslexic and he says he still has problem while remembering  long speeches and how he copes up yet managed to put that aside to become such a brilliant CEO inspiring his team ..

His first attempt in buisiness was a student magazine which couldn't fetch him any great fortune yet it taught him the basics of buisiness letting him explore his own horizon and how to push hard to achieve his goal whatever might it be..Then he moved to record sales , he reinvested his profit from the mail orders to open stores one after another..His first break was the success of Tubular bells by Oldfield which let him built a grand base for further buisiness proposals.. He even got on Janet Jackson to his side..Through every endevour one thing that come across is his marketing skills, he is a marketing wizard and he pens it down beautifully the art  of marketing throughout his personal experiences while setting up various businesslike.. There were many set backs all along but he just stuck to what he believed in and went on to any extremes and hardship to see his dream fullfilled may what come..An example is selling car which was his wedding gift in order to complete a deal..He is a man of his own philosophy living by the rules he has set for himself and he takes decisions guided by instincts and not by theory...

From nothing to fortune worth almost 25 million isn't that itself speak for itself..From Virgin Atlantic Airways , Virgin records, V2, Virgin cola and Virgin Megastores he has extended himself to all arenas making his mark felt.. 

I loved especially this quote from the book "A buisiness has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instinct"..

No better way then he puts it himself "Losing My Virginity:How I've survived, had fun,and made a fortune doing business my way".