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July 23
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Sajitha
gave
 
to:
Who Moved My Cheese? (Paperback)
by Spencer Johnson
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my rating:
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read in February, 2001
Sajitha said:
"I usually don't read self development books, but a friend insisted that I read it, "It will take less than an hour". She said!
I am glad she forced me into reading it as it is different form the usual self-development books. Here, cheese...more
I usually don't read self development books, but a friend insisted that I read it, "It will take less than an hour". She said!
I am glad she forced me into reading it as it is different form the usual self-development books. Here, cheese is the metaphor for what we want to have in life. Each of us have our own idea of what "cheese" is--- it could be a job, money, a big house, health, anything! We pursue it because we believe it makes us happy or will make us happy if we have it. The “Maze” in the story represents where you spend time looking for what you want.
The most powerful part of the story is that you learn to look around with a newer and positive perspective which in turn helps you run past your fears. In short, running through the maze became less fearful and painful and probably enjoyable.
What I liked about the book is that it did not preach---do this or do that! It is a simple story consisting of four little characters---two mice named “Sniff” and “Scurry” and two little people named “Hem” and “Haw.” It does wonders to you thinking process.
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April 30
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Sajitha
gave
to:
The Pillars of the Earth (Paperback)
by Ken Follett
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my rating:
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read in September, 2005
Sajitha said:
"The Pillars of The Earth is unlike any other book Ken Follett has written. So don’t judge it by the other books you have read. The book has more than 1000 pages (1335 to be exact) and as you start reading you shall understand why! It is an epic tal...more
The Pillars of The Earth is unlike any other book Ken Follett has written. So don’t judge it by the other books you have read. The book has more than 1000 pages (1335 to be exact) and as you start reading you shall understand why! It is an epic tale of love, hatred, friendship, passion, revenge, and human achievement.
There are wonderful characters with outstanding bravery, commitment, and passion. It makes you weep at misfortune and injustice. Sometimes you smile at the happy times and also become nervous of the villains and cheer the victories of the folks you like.
It is a story of a British family that built Cathedrals in England. The story starts with the events that create the political and personal ambitions which lead to the construction of the Cathedrals. It describes the life of Tom who is a builder and his family. As you read this book, you get to know his family and the lives of each member just as you would when you meet a new family. The story deals with all the details (practical as well as the personal), including from where the stone come from, how it is carried, what is medieval mortar etc. So you actually learn history in this story (but unknowingly). You can feel the smell of the woods and towns of olden times. You can feel their feelings, fear their dangers, and respect the heroes.
You also learn about that period of life. Ken Follett has done a lot of research for this novel. A very few authors are able to interlink historical fact in a ripping yarn, romance, mystery or a thriller without loosing the essence and the facts! The book centers on the building of a cathedral and how this mighty achievement rises out of the ambitions of men.
A Word of Caution: It contains details of violent sexual actions. But these blend well into the plot and as a reader you feel that they are integral to the plot. It brings out the brutality of relevant characters. There are a couple of references of animal cruelty which may be disturbing. But when you think of the time the book is set, the scenes described seem to be acceptable. These descriptions (if necessary) can be skimmed without affecting the storyline.
Warning: This is not a book to be picked up for light bedtime reading. You will probably be turning the pages when dawn breaks! You will feel compelled to read the next chapter and the next and the next (at least I did). Thankfully I read it during a lengthy travel (at the airport and during the flight).
According to Ken Follett, it took him three years and three months to complete this book.
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Sajitha
gave
to:
A QUIVER FULL OF ARROWS. (Hardcover)
by Jeffrey. Archer
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my rating:
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read in August, 2005
Sajitha said:
"This book is diffrent from his novels as most of these books revolve around two or more individuals who are highly ambitious and strong-willed. Each of these strong characters is shown to be determined to defeat the another to gain power and fortune....more
This book is diffrent from his novels as most of these books revolve around two or more individuals who are highly ambitious and strong-willed. Each of these strong characters is shown to be determined to defeat the another to gain power and fortune.
As the name rightly suggests, Jeffrey Archer has impressively put together twelve assorted arrows (short stories) into the quiver (book). Each of these arrows is sharp and leaves a meaningful impact on the readers.
All the stories bring out certain element of human nature! The Chinese Statue is the story that features a Sir Alexander, a British Diplomat who has a priceless statue of Emperor Kung. It is towards the end that we understand the statue is not worth any thing, but inspite of that, it is still priceless. How? Read on! One-night stand is hilarious so is The Luncheon. ...less
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Sajitha
gave
to:
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (Paperback)
by Lynne Truss
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my rating:
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read in October, 2005
Sajitha said:
"What fascinated me was the fact that a book on punctuation was at the top of UK bestseller lists. Also, the title and it’s explanation was equally fascinating. Being a technical writer by profession, I thought this book would be interesting, inform...more
What fascinated me was the fact that a book on punctuation was at the top of UK bestseller lists. Also, the title and it’s explanation was equally fascinating. Being a technical writer by profession, I thought this book would be interesting, informative, and educative. I bought it, read it and found it a little interesting, a little informative, and a little educative! Any writer will know that the word punctuation puts you in an alert mode and you try to be careful!
The title "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" refers to a joke about a panda---The panda read an entry in an encyclopedia entry on itself which stated: Panda is a large black and white bear like mammal, native to chine. It eats, shoots, and leaves. So the panda does just that---it goes into a cafe, orders a sandwich, then pulls out a gun, shoots, and leaves. The encyclopedia meant to say that panda is a mammal which eats shoots and leaves. All the problem because of an extra comma.
Lynn Truss’s does not teach the art of punctuation. She just just explains bad punctuation via anecdote, which is probably the reason why the book became so popular. There are no grammar lessons here, just explanations to why they are wrong. Apart from comma, she also talk about the misuse of dots, ellipses (...), semicolon, apostrophe, colon, dash, hyphens, and periods (full stop).
In some places you feel that Truss is trying very hard to be funny. She has been successful in some places and not so successful in the others. On the whole, it is a good read---or rather people who are interested in language might like it. Others may not!...less
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Sajitha
added:
Technical Writing
by Sajitha Jayaprakash
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recommended for: students, technical writers, anybody who wants to write well
read in December, 2007
Sajitha said:
"To begin with, I am the author of this book :)
The other books on this subject written by non-Indian authors are good (that’s why we use them for reference), but they deal mostly with the processes, guidelines, and checklist. In the Western coun...more
To begin with, I am the author of this book :)
The other books on this subject written by non-Indian authors are good (that’s why we use them for reference), but they deal mostly with the processes, guidelines, and checklist. In the Western countries, technical writing is a well known career option, is taught in college level—they also have degree course in technical writing. Hence the books do not cover the basics that a common person might look for. And most importantly, it is not specific to the Indian readers.
This is how this book differes from the others---it is written specifically for the Indian audience. It covers all the basic aspects of technical writing and so, it is a one stop reference point for the new writers and even those who are pursuing a career in this field.
- The concept of technical writing – what is it, why is it useful, why need a technical writer, how is it different from other types of writing, etc.
- The myths and facts connected with technical writing.
- The skills required to become a technical writer. This will help the people wanting to come into this career understand what skills they need to have to become a technical writer and what they should do if they want to become one.
- The scope of the job, different types of employers, and an insight of the hierarchy structure in an organization.
- Differences in British and UK English.
This book acts as a comprehensive reference guide for technical writers, with the objective to teach them the basic concepts (if they are not still aware of it), the various tools used, the use of styles and formats, the language and the sentence structure, and the documentation process that is usually followed. It also provides information about audience analysis, planning, usability, language, indexing, rewriting, editing, style guides, tools, document design, and checklists.
I hope people find this useful :)
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April 29
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Sajitha
gave
to:
The Inscrutable Americans (Paperback)
by Anurag Mathur
bookshelves:
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my rating:
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read in October, 2005
Sajitha said:
"The Inscrutable Americans is a book by Anurag Mathur who lived in US for a while and then returned back to India.
It is a hilarious book that describes an year of the life of an Indian student, Gopal spent in a university campus---his first visit t...more
The Inscrutable Americans is a book by Anurag Mathur who lived in US for a while and then returned back to India.
It is a hilarious book that describes an year of the life of an Indian student, Gopal spent in a university campus---his first visit to the USA for a year’s diploma in Chemical Engineering. Gopal is from a village called Jajau (in Madhya Pradesh) where his family runs a hair oil factory. The hilarious situation is often caused due to the comical English used by him or due to the fact that he misunderstands some things said to him.
The book is very simple in its language and story line, yet it is the simplicity that has made it so popular. Gopal has so many illusions about the Americans and their way of life which puts him through a series of comical situations. The theme of the novel is Gopal’s discovery of America, and his own growth through his diverse adventures in the US---a comic journey indeed!
Just as Gandhiji did when he left for UK, Gopal, promised his mother that he would stay away from three evils that is, wine, women and meat! Gopal is thrust into an alien world where he finds neither vegetarian hamburgers nor Brahmin chefs in McDonalds. Now, he is definitely not Gandhi and hence he has a tug-of-war between his inclination to keep his vow of abstinence from the three evils and his longing to explore them! All these add to his dilemma and the makes the book hilarious.
It is fun book---read it once and forget it! So you can borrow it from your friends or take it from a library. ...less
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Sajitha
gave
to:
Rebecca (Paperback)
by Daphne duMaurier
bookshelves:
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my rating:
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read in August, 2004
Sajitha said:
"Rebecca is one of the best books written by Daphne du Maurier. Daphne uses a narrator to tell her stories--- in the first person. I don’t like reading such books, and actually kept away the book after glancing through it. But my friend insisted tha...more
Rebecca is one of the best books written by Daphne du Maurier. Daphne uses a narrator to tell her stories--- in the first person. I don’t like reading such books, and actually kept away the book after glancing through it. But my friend insisted that I try it out and I trust her opinions and suggestions specially, regarding books and movies. I found that Daphne’s writing gets you hooked. You pick up one of her books to read and you can keep it down only after finishing reading it! Du Maurier weaves a beautiful web of mystery that holds you captive until the very end and that’s the kind of book I prefer to read when I don’t have time in hand!
Rebecca is a beautiful, haunting, gripping tale of love, hate and deceit. As you read it, you will feel the anxiety, apprehension and fear that the narrator describes and you get so involved with the feeling that you move through each chapter with an anxiety that only ends with the end of the novel. Daphne narrates all these feelings in the most simple but the most justified manner. Rebecca begins with the description of Manderly, a beautiful old mansion, with its menacing woods and rising turrets. It is characterized by the long winding drive. Manderly is the scene where the tale unfolds. The narrator is Max De Winter’s young and shy second wife.
The main characters of the story are Max De Winter (master of Manderly), Rebecca (De Winter’s late wife), De Winter’s second wife (who in now Manderly’s new mistress), Mrs. Danvers (the maid). Mrs. Danvers, the maid keeps the memory of Rebecca alive by constantly referring to her in her conversations and making comparisons. She constantly reminds everyone that Rebecca is still the mistress of Manderly and is still the queen of Max’s heart. She preserves Rebecca’s room just as it was the night before her drowning accident.
Rebecca’s shadow looms large over the young bride. Rebecca’s little sailing boat is found with a skeleton lying on the cabin floor. Doubts begin to rise and that raised many question, whos is it? Was someone else with Rebecca when she died? Who was that? Was that a man or a woman? Then the shocking revelation and the truth about Rebecca, her death and what really happened that night, eight months ago comes out into the open.
To reveal more would be destroying the magic and charm of reading this book. So read on and enjoy the magic of Rebecca created by Daphne.
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Sajitha
gave
to:
The Da Vinci Code (Paperback)
by Dan Brown
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my rating:
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read in September, 2004
Sajitha said:
"I found this book to be an exhilaratingly brain-teasing, captivating, exceedingly clever, pulse-pounding, and a well written thriller. It is a wonderful blend of religion,
history, myth, maths, art, and suspense, involving numerous puzzles and codes...more
I found this book to be an exhilaratingly brain-teasing, captivating, exceedingly clever, pulse-pounding, and a well written thriller. It is a wonderful blend of religion,
history, myth, maths, art, and suspense, involving numerous puzzles and codes.
The characters and their actions are not real, but the artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals depicted in this novel exist (for example, Leonardo Da Vinci’s paintings, the Louvre pyramid, the Gnostic Gospels, Hieros Gamos, etc.), which shows the kind of research the author has done before writing this book.
This book shows how a masterpiece can be created using codes, puzzles, anagrams, cryptograms, hidden messages, the well known Da Vinci’s art, and one of the well known religion’s of the world. It also must have been a very difficult task to write the book because of all these exotic ingredients.
It is said that some historians believe that most of the fact is true. We as readers have to read the book, enjoy it as a fiction has to be and then think wisely and choose to belive what we want to. I found the theories pretty convincing though I know that they are not true. Hence it is better to come to our own interpretations towards the end of the book and leave it at that! After all The Da Vinci Code is a novel and a work of fiction. ...less
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Sajitha
gave
to:
Collected Stories Of O. Henry (Illus)
by O. Henry
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my rating:
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Sajitha said:
"I read The Gift of the Magi when I was about eleven years of age. It was probably one of the stories that touched my heart and ever since I have read many stories penned by O. Henry.
What I likee is that he has written about ordinary people and v...more
I read The Gift of the Magi when I was about eleven years of age. It was probably one of the stories that touched my heart and ever since I have read many stories penned by O. Henry.
What I likee is that he has written about ordinary people and very ordinary circumstances, but the twist of plot brings a different end to the stories.
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