Tag Archives: book reviews

Jasmine Builds On Shifting Sands by Sanjay Desai – a book review

Book Reviews, Books Reading / Read, Spirituality, , , , ,
Jasmine Builds On Shifting Sands

Welcome Back, and a welcome break actually from me. Its been long since I have reviewed a book and this was an opportune moment for me to get back to doing what I wanted to do.

I did have a couple of books read the last week or so, and this one is the first on the review.

Jasmine Builds On Shifting Sands, is a motivational and has a spiritual account of a girl named Jasmine Arya, on how she lives her life and makes choices before a chance encounter with spirituality in a different sense. The Author Sanjay Desai has tried a very easy-to assimilate version of spirituality which I am sure will help a lot of readers get into the spiritual mode easily.

I think the author has got it right with normal characterizations which can talk spiritual topics and that’s a nice idea in itself, simply because we have this notion that spiritual is all that saffron-robed, bearded sages, and et al.

As regards the story, it’s a very relatable story but I think it could have gone a bit deep at some places. Ideally to introduce spirituality in this aspect and perspective is a big work and this is very easily done in this book.

The narrative is lucid, you can follow Jasmine Arya and her world be it academics or the glamourous world of fashion. Its very tough to get people to mentor you at such an age and that way the character has been lucky. Be it the first instance and then going ahead in the career in spite of her temperament that has her failing at some great opportunities.

Quite often we also get into this whirlwind of selfishness and self-centered approach to our success and blame others for our mistakes. Being spiritual is not being away from this practical world and that is very clearly articulated in this story. The conversations are quite engaging on that front and that makes it a nice primer for those interested to delve deeper into what they want of their life.

I would have loved a better typography for this book, it would have served much better reading on the eyes.

The exercises also lend to making this an engaging book with the readers. Overall a nice attempt to demystify spirituality and make it a common thread for everyone to read.

Thanks Blogadda for this opportunity. This is a part of BlogAdda Book review Program.

You can pick your copy from Amazon here.

Senthilkumar

Once Upon an IAS Exam – by Dr. Vijayakarthikeyan, a book review

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Once upon an IAS exam, by Dr. K Vijayakarthikeyan
There are two disclaimers here. The author is Commissioner,  Coimbatore Corporation, and is a well known motivational speaker. I wanted to review this personally as I thought this will be a different one coming from the author / speaker I know and have had the opportunity to listen to. The story is a very simple one of a IAS aspirant and the way to his success amidst the whole drama of his personal life, the change of syllabi and how he handles them with elan. Vishy is he aspirant and he doesnt make his cut the first time, and then what does he do? Simple propose to his girlfriend for marriage… It might look very cinematic but Vishy is a different character who makes the cut understanding the context. The narration gets top marks because this could have been a 400 page story. But the author nails it in such a straight forward narration and gets us closer to the characters with ease. The usual tribulations of boy in love and the parental pressure apart, the positives makes this story a very easy read. The anecdotes on Dhoni perhaps is the best in terms of trying to bring home the point of equanimity. That picture that has Dhoni not being on high even after winning the World cup is a big motivation for everyone to take life as it comes. The other side of the story is the idea of time management especially during the exams is worth emulating. The Never Never Give up idea is very well presented here and this applies to any of the situation that we are in not necessarily in the context of preparing for the civil services exams. The love story part is very cinematic in a way, but thats ok given the way the story moves and yes you could expect people in Delhi too without any hint of whats in store. I loved the characterization of Vishy’s father and mother, and the way Vishy responds to the medical emergency two times when he has to take the exam the next day morning. I think there is a message for the parent folks out there on how to respond or rather react to the kids exam results or how to take decision for the career. I am sure Dr. Vijayakarthikeyan has more up his sleeves and wish him all the very best for his future works. Looking forward to having his next work at the earliest. So here you go click on the links to pick up your copy Amazon | Flipkart Senthilkumar

The Peshwa – War of the deceivers by Ram Sivasankaran – a book review

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    Ram Sivasankaran’s The Peshwa – war of deceivers
    • Language: English
    • Binding: Paperback
    • Publisher: Westland
    • ISBN: 9789387578654, 9387578658
    • Edition: 2018
    • Pages: 496

    A terrific tale of war strategy that was a hall mark of the Marathas during their period and the story is a classic thriller which ever way you look at it. A page turner with a historical approach makes it easy to be with all the characters. The author Siva Sankaran has done a wonderful research on this subject to churn out this book.

    Intrigue and backstabbing and the ruthlessness of the warfare tactics and the infiltration among the sides make it very fragile. The pace at which the story goes is pretty fast and makes it a compelling read. Everything is fair in love and war was the phrase but you get to see it in real in this book. The details of gruesome warfare tactics, the manipulation at every turn and the twists and turns make this an unputdownable book.

    Just as you keep wondering what is the Peshwa Baji Rao Bhat thinking or if he is being outsmarted, you are led to a black hole in the real sense. The author has a knack of pointing your thoughts in a different direction and leading you through the maze.

    The intricate detailing of the mercenaries and their ways of destruction and also the way the Scorpions deal deathly blow to the Marathas are worth the research and the author has taken pains to take s through the age and also make us revel in the time frame that he narrates the story.

    The story is also very personal in a way the relationship between the characters are concerned. There is this father’s love, a daughters love, and on the other side we have doting lovers in Peshwa and his wife.

    I think the build up and the suspense has been absolutely taken care by the author and he leaves no stones turned to keep us riveted to the story through out. The narration of going back and forth also has been very well handled. The author packs a full fledged historical thriller into a book of almost 500 pages and sure has the sign of being made into a movie.

    Pick up this book and you will enjoy a bit of war time history, some real history, and if you love twists and plots…

    Pick your copies here : Amazon | Flipkart

    What Kitty Did by Trisha Bora – a Book Review

    Book Reviews, Books Reading / Read, , , , ,

    what kitty did

    Book: What Kitty Did
    Author: Trisha Bora
    ISBN-13: 9789352644476
    Product Code EBK0398371
    Binding: Paper Back
    Publishing Date: 2017-06
    Publisher: Harpercollins
    Number of Pages: 288
    Language: English

    For once, the don’t judge the book by its cover doesn’t work for me personally because the cover is designed very purposefully and as you read the book you will know the fitment that has come to fruition in terms of the prose and the design team which did the cover. Well that’s the designer in me before I get to review the book.

    The central character of this book nick named Kitty (Ketaki Roy) has a roller coaster of a life as a journalist. You get a peek into her life during the course of her covering an incident about a death of a movie star. That forms the part of the story because what Kitty thinks it to be a small assignment that will have an impact on her promotion and money part later seems to be different than she thought. In between you have flings, romances and everything peppered in.

    The author has a style of her own and the best part she does is get funny with her own antics and making us laugh in the process. Its Delhi all the way and if you have been in Delhi you would know how to empathise with what she says about Dilli.

    I would probably look at it as a view of a Delhi girl’s perspective in a way and in short a profiling of how young girls there get to live their life. A millennials perspective as the cover says.

    The English is straight forward and conversational and ofcourse I don’t know if its because of her background in literature that she loathes so much, nevertheless. I think the book should have got atleast some pages less say may be 20 odd pages. As for the pace the book manages to keep you going. I took three sessions to finish this book.

    This is a part of Flipkart Sponsored Book Review Program. To buy your copy click here : Flipkart | Amazon

    The Demon Hunter of Chottanikkara – S V Sujatha a Book Review

    Book Reviews, Books Reading / Read, Spirituality, , , ,

     

    the-demon-hunter-of-chottanikkara-original-imaeun2gpk5uwqv8

    • Language: English
    • Binding: Hardcover
    • Publisher: Aleph Book Company
    • Genre: Fiction
    • ISBN: 9789386021090, 9386021099
    • Edition: 1, 2017
    • Pages: 200

    The story of the demon hunter of Chottanikkara is a super natural  thriller in a unique way. Probably if you know the place and the temple you would more than easily understand the background and appreciate the story telling. That was one of the reasons that actually got me to read this book.

    This is a very interesting read because it bares the human limitations and weakness to a level that it is really scary what people can do in some instances.

    The portrayal of Devi is a classic case of the super natural among the human and it is very vivid and down to earth and makes her a hero of the masses with an earthen attitude. The all powerful and the rustic portrayal and especially the food habits etc make it a part of the folklore and how the temple manifestation is a pointer in a way. I loved the fearlessness that is so easy going with the character which makes the people worship her. The background and the minute details especially of the rituals and the way the demon is hunted makes for a great reading. I think the story of Kannappa – a thief turned father here adds to the emotional drama.

    The characters are so well sketched to make you sit up and though I would say the plot could have been a bit intense towards the end, the story at some point midway almost give away the secret.

    I liked the interlude of Parasurama, for me the mythological aspect of him being a Chiranjeevi and his relationship with Kerala are quite folklore and so loved the aspect of his characterisation.

    The author has written a beautiful prose and the story telling is fast paced but could have led to the climax and plot in a more intense way and it would have been a better presentation. As for the pace I took three sessions to finish this book.

    I was also wondering the date of this story. Absolutely vivid story telling, and simple narrative prose for reading, this book gives you a different perspective on exorcism and rituals.

    This is a part of Flipkart Sponsored Book Review Program. Thank You Flipkart for your copy!

    Best Stories From Around the World by Deepa Agarwal – Book Review

    Book Reviews, Books Reading / Read, Stories/storification, , , , , , ,

     

    book cover

    • Reading level: 8 – 12 years
    • Paperback: 200 pages
    • Publisher: Rupa Publications India (2 June 2017)
    • Language: English
    • ISBN-10: 8129147386
    • ISBN-13: 978-8129147387
    • Product Dimensions: 13 x 1.2 x 19.8 cm

    Absolutely a delightful read, each of the stories took me back to the childhood. Timelessness is not easy but then the authors in this collection are not ordinary human beings for that matter. So when you get to put some of the best names in a collection the result obviously is going to be something extra ordinary and to that effect I am very thankful to the Editor Deepa Agarwal here.

    She has chosen some of the best works from around the world literally. Who can ever forget the Gift of the Magi, or Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, I liked some of those stories that will remain etched in life for the sheer magic that they create and make you spell bound when they close.

    The story Open Window  by Saki is a classic example of narration and holding you by the wits with the childish innocence that can transform things in a great way! The little girl simply knows what she was doing or does she?

    I relished the Freedom the story which actually looks at the present set of police and how the Freedom fighter thinks he can be the same as against the British.

    You cant miss the Red Room by HG Wells or the story Dare for its narrative excellence and how it gives you a twist.

    One of the relatively longer stories is Saritha Kamakshi makes a mistake by Jerry Pinto makes for a wonderful reading and just gives us glimpses of lives of people around us.

    The Accursed House makes for a wonderful reading especially how it makes fun of the character and how things go for a slide, very well articulated and the story stands out for its sheer black humour.

    All in all a great set of stories with varied background and delivered by masters story tellers. One thing about the Short story collection is you don’t have to go page by page, you could start reading a new story at will and so I did not read it in sequence as a matter of fact but got to read all the stories. Some were known and had that affinity to re read it at a fast pace.

    The editor  Deepa Agarwal has taken pains to present the same without any changes in the way it was told.

    Thanks a lot Rupa / Red Turtle for the copy and I am sure this will brighten the days of many who read and those around too!

    Pick your copy here: Amazon

    Think With Me by Saharasri Subroto Roy Sahara #BookReview

    Book Reviews, Books Reading / Read, Politics, , , , ,

    think withme

     

    • Paperback: 128 pages
    • Publisher: Rupa Publications India; Latest edition (10 November 2016)
    • Language: English
    • ISBN-10: 8129142252
    • ISBN-13: 978-8129142252

    This is a nice attempt at creating a discussion on making an ideal country. To that extent, Think with me makes a valiant effort to look back or sometimes look within the system and try to get some answers.

    Here the author takes five important topics, if Indian decides on these it might lead to a new transition of sorts and would make the country an ideal nation. The topics are

    1. Electoral system & Leadership
    2. Population
    3. Education System
    4. Media
    5. Religion

    Here there is a concerted effort to take the discussion seriously but then we need to see if they can be effective, and it needs so much of real work on the ground and needs some constitutional amendment and that is not easy.

    The best part if you ask me is the topics which has been chosen and they very largely contribute to what you see in the country whether good or bad.

    The Electoral system still can be autonomous and I remember when TN Seshan then Chief Election Commissioner brought about the changes with implementation. Till then no one knew that EC had such powers and it can be the master when it comes to conducting elections. Since then there has been an ideal way of looking at elections and the accounts are scrutinised to a great extent but Indians being Indians we have a jugaad for everything you see.

    I am happy that the author took the issue of population, which is very very sensitive subject since it also involves religion for some people. Its a fact that whatever development happens in the country gets offset with the population making it ineffective. Somewhere we need to make this heard and let people know that having more kids leads to productivity is an idea whose time has gone.

    Think With Me

    Education System is long due for overhaul. I still don’t know if we can get back to rehaul the system in the way we want. The suggestions seems unreal in part though. Anyways a good try if we can inculcate moral values and ethical issues in education with the past being taught the way it was.

    Media the so called fourth pillar has become the den of corruption and the role which it was supposed to envisage has now become defunct and its time for a change that will see a lot of uprising and breakdowns in structure.

    Religion was good as long as it was one mans personal space. But its a sensitive topic today unfortunately so much so that Supreme court has decided that you cant use religion for election, whatever that means…

    As for the solutions offered we can take it with a pinch of salt, given the authors proximity to politicians and we would not judge them unless if it was tried and tested.

    A good effort ideally, but lacks the punch when it comes to implementation at the ground zero. Probably if it was possible for common man to achieve things then it would have been different.

    Senthilkumar

    SkyFire by Aroon Raman a book review…

    Book Reviews, Books Reading / Read, Politics, , , , ,

    skyfire-original-imaem8v2rnvajfbf

    • Language: English
    • Binding: Paperback
    • Publisher: Pan Macmillan India
    • ISBN: 9789382616610, 9382616616
    • Edition: 2016
    • Pages: 256

    This is a sequel and I must admit that I am reading the author for the first time. As a series I am sure it helps the reader with continuity and the characters make it easy for readers to relate. But ofcourse this is also stand alone issue that this story concerns with.

    The issue of weather calibration to cause damage is core of the plot and on the sidelines we do also have child trafficking embedded into the story. The one on weather and its devasting effects it can unleash is equivalent to a biological weapon.

    Chandrasekar and his friend Hassan, along with Meenakshi form the characters and unravel an ugly truth of child trafficking since they work with kids from the slum.

    The characters stick to the plot and sometimes you could sense a bit of bollywood or cinematic attempts of narattion esp when the villain gives a walk through of the facility.

    The fact remains that child trafficking and the laws that govern are highly ridiculous to the extent that you need to be a relative to complain of a lost child!

    The book is well written except that it gives away the plot too easily and it triggers the faultlines in the early pages only. And the strands of plot are not interlinked to details but the author seems to suggest well you know this is how things are.

    The plot on weather caliberation or the children trafficked both have not been given the real due, and somewhere those break like Sherlock doesn’t hold much and its a bit amatuerish. I know the characters can be amatuers but the work needs to be professional. Somewhere getting introduced to the NGO I got a feeling that they were behind this.

    There’s a pace with the book but it could have been more detailed in some aspects of the plots.

    It’s a good read and you will finish this in a single sitting max two. The language is simple and narrative is fast paced.

    Three Stars from my side. To pick up the book go here: Flipkart

    This is a part of Flipkart Sponsored Review Program. Thanks Flipkart for the review copy.

    Senthilkumar

    Ganesh by Subhadra Sen Gupta #bookreview

    Book Reviews, Books Reading / Read, Mythology, Personal, Spirituality, , , , ,

    Ganesh

    Welcome to the land of stories, the land which presented the Mahabharata the longest epic ever written. It has so many stories that we know of and so many stories that we don’t know of. Quite incidentally the book that we now are reviewing is of Ganesh.

    Ganesh the son of Shiva and Parvathy is the celebrated God in Indian mythology and has expressions in being the remover of all obstacles and we know how grand is the celebration of Ganesh in Maharashtra which has come to symbolise the way Ganesh is celebrated.

    The best facet of our Indian storytelling is you could have many an interpretation and many a twist and take in the way the story is presented. That’s the reason we have so many interpretations of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

    In this book the story of how Ganesh lost his head is an endearing one. In south it was believed that Shiva was not allowed entry to see Parvathy by Ganesh since he was keeping a watch firmly doing what his mother told him to do. Never let anyone inside till I am done with my bath. Ganesh took this seriously and Shiva has no inkling that the child was Parvathy’s making and he when obstructed to see his own wife, cuts the lad’s head off in anger, only to be told by Parvathy that it her kid and he has done total injustice to the boy.

    Now the elephant with its head towards the north was the alternative that we have as common. In this narrative we do have a big ceremony to celebrate and then there is the Shani coming and looking at Ganesh and he gets the head burnt. Therein lies the interpretation of Shani being a part of the story.

    A classical story for night read for the kids and the way its has been illustrated makes for interesting read aloud stuff for the kids.

    A new story and a new interpretation is always welcome. The kids I am sure will relish this illustrations and storytelling through the pictures.

    Each of the four stories are embedded with nice instances that are easily assimilated by the young audience. The illustrations deserve a great appreciation that has the comic effect and also a story telling way.

    The story of Mahabharata is also a nice one wherein Ganesh decides to pull off his tusk to keep writing on the palm leaves.

    The illustration by Tapas Gupta add a very nice touch to the already fascinating story of Ganesh.

    I enjoyed this book for kids and i tried keeping this book around kids and saw they were pretty involved because of the format.

    The author and the illustrator deserve every praise for the work that they have done and it sure will be a great way to introduce them to Ganesh with stories that make for fun reading.

    In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri #bookreview

    Book Reviews, Books Reading / Read, Motivation, , , , ,

    In_other_words

     

    BOOK DETAILS
    Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
    ISBN-10 0670088897
    Imprint Hamish Hamilton
    Number of Pages 224 Pages
    Publication Year 2016
    Language English
    ISBN-13 9780670088898
    Binding Hardcover

    A translation by Ann Goldstein of the original Italian work by Jhumpa Lahiri.

    One of the most personal relationship books I have ever come across, simply the best since it outlines the way the relationship is taken forward, quite a few times it looks as if this is the way love works, may be courtship too.

    It’s the growing of the bonds between the seeker and the one which is sought perhaps, here its the language which is being learnt by the author, the language is Italian!

    It is quite a revelation at a very personal level for the author the way Italian language grasps her attention and how she wants to live the language like no other. It becomes all the more interesting that Italian has never been a part of her upbringing in a way as to experience this kind of approach to language.

    Over the years she feels an intimate connection as if this was the call the soul has been waiting for. The way she takes it up learning and the travails and travels in literary world is an nice journey that she takes the readers with.

    And when you know this is a translated masterpiece, it makes it all the more alluring and when you read the explanation I think she has put the right perspective. And when we complete the book we know what she meant and she meant every word of it. Probably that is the relationship that she has been nurturing with the language.

    There is an air of romance in the way the language is treated as a person, trying to know him or her, the fulfilment of having achieved the goal of possessing the other person or seeing yourself in the other.

    Kudos to the translator, we can feel that the justice has been done the way the book progresses in short but sure steps, sometimes looking back to stories that will augment the theory that she holds forth, and sometimes stop to listen to the inner rumblings and sometimes to the practical difficulty in getting to know the perfect grammar and the translator has the pulse and does an excellent job of giving us the feel.

    Its a nice book and well its a non fiction and that makes it a must read title. If you are interested in literature this will surely give you an idea of how language can be looked at as an extension of you.

    Pick it up in case you see it at the book store or click here.

    This was a part of Flipkart Book Review Program! Thanks Flipkart for the book.

    Senthilkumar R