Rakhi Jayashankar's Blog, page 15

Love, Pain And Loss - It Ends With A Dream By Medha Nagur

It has been a trend to give acronyms to couples. Be it celebrity couples or characters, we always find a cute relatable acronym for their tale of love. It ends with a dream by Medha Nagur presents a new couple for the readers - Yashidnya.

Arduous childhood:The plot gains the life with Yadnya and Yashika'd childhood, though it begins with the friction between the couple. While the author has elicited the curiosity of the readers with the first chapter, the interest if generated once we proceed further.
The disapproval of Yashika toward Yadnya undoubtedly creates the question of why and how, mystery of Yadnya's childhood is what holds the attention.
Characters that grow together:It ends with a dream is a book that is led by the characters. Their idiosyncrasies, emotions, and past guides the plot development. The protagonists are depicted in a visually palpable fashion and the characters in the subplot are passively leading the plot.
Yadnya's professional backgrounds are prevalent in substantiating his character craft. However, the foray into Yashika's profession happens towards the climax. Somehow the plot is primarily led by Yadnya.
No puppy romance:The highlight of the book is that the author has not unduly squeezed in lovemaking sequences and filmy surprises. The relation between Yadnya and Yashika is realistic and hence gains my brownie points. 

The author proves that we don't need sleazy sequences to illustrate the depth of a relationship. 

Impeccable narration:The style of narration of the author is commendable. It feels good to see an Indian author writing and simultaneously respecting English literature. Unlike the recent trend of belittling the quality of readers with low-grade English, the author has proven that lucid narration does not need poor English.

The book reminded me Nicholas Sparks, the reason for which I am not revealing to avoid spoilers.

Overall the book comes out to me as a breeze amidst the so called divine puppy romances.

That's True I Love Her By Priyanka M.A. Singh

To have feelings is a human trait and more often than not humans fail to keep a hold on their feelings. This realization has been the root of the surging awareness about the LGBQ community. Books and movies based on this subject have been made in an attempt to change society through art. One such attempt is the book That's true I love her by Priyanka MA Singh.

Manoeuvring the plot:When Ammara sets out to Thailand to escape the travail of a failed relationship she did not expect a profound pronouncement of her orientation. The relationship with Raghav has never been normal. His demeanour has always been dominant, contemptuous and unjustifiable. Tired of being taken for granted, she finally decided to move on and start on a fresh note. The complexities of the relationship with Raghav have been depicted with conviction. The style of narration is commendable, taking the fact that the author is a debutant into consideration. On reaching Thailand she meets Bam, who is a tour guide. With increasing familiarity, she gets attracted to Bam and learns the most shocking fact about Bam. Nonetheless, she cannot forget Bam despite reaching back home.

Spread across three novels and 2 different countries, that’s true, I love her tells the story of love, LGBT constraints in India, and how a strong love is all you need to fight against the all odds.

At home, more and more surprises await her which changes her life irreversibly and unpredictably.Beyond the pink and blue:

The author's intention of bringing light to homophobia is commendable. The relationship of her friend Shankar with his boyfriend is depicted with normalcy. The inhibition of families to accept a homosexual relationship is addressed and simultaneously the depth of their relationship is treated with respect.
Nonetheless, the scenario of Ammara'd revelation of her sexual orientation seems forced and affects the overall flow of the book.
The characters of Ammara's parents are friendly and the type that every child would wish for. But letting their adult daughter go for a night walk with a stranger seemed far fetched. A deep developmental edit towards the last quarter of the book could take it a notch higher.
Overall the book is an entertainer for beginners and a book that could be read and enjoyed over a cup of coffee.
About the author:
Priyanka M.A. Singh was born & raised in small town of Central India, Dhar. She completed her graduation in Engineering. After successfully completing her graduation, she pursued her career in Law from Indore. Now in Indore, lives with her two pet dogs (Aura & Kuku). Before she had started writing, she had practiced in district court but her favorite job is now writing YA Romance. Engineer by graduation, Lawyer by profession and Writer by heart, you can reach Priyanka at cantwaitlife@yahoo.com.

Brand New Start by Mainak Dhar - High Entertainment Quotient And Reliability Par Excellence

The term brand brings to mind the picture of expensive dresses, bags, shoes, and accessories. But seldom do we fathom the fact that we can be a brand too. Mainak Dhar has enticed the readers with his thrillers but this time he steals the heart with his non-fiction Brand New Start derived from his personal experience. The book talks about personal branding.

Target readers of Brand New Start:
The book primarily targets three readers groups.FreshersExperienced candidates looking for a new jobThose who need an appraisal in the current jobIn all scenarios, the common factor that the author reinforced is that we should do personal branding. In other words, we should present ourselves as a brand. And hence the name brand new start.

ADDA technique:The ADDA technique mentioned in the book is awe-inspiring. The author has transposed his experiences in the corporate world amalgamated with his impeccable narrative to give unputdownable non-fiction, a self-help one at that. 
The book stands out from the monotonous textbook materials disguised as self-help, which are non-pragmatic. Right from the introduction, the author attempts to create a connection with readers and succeeded at the feat too. Having the readers hooked is the toughest challenge of a self-help book. The genre has been saturated and cliched to the brim that the authors attempt at bringing a fresh seasoning of new ideas and friendly narration is commendable.
For a wider audience:Even though the book targets a niche class of readers, the author with his forte style and vernacular narration connect with a wider audience irrespective of their stream of action. In short, the book can be read just for the entertainment quotient and reliability par excellence. 

Fast-Paced, Cliffhanger - Daylight by David Baldacci

For a David Baldacci lover, Atlee Pine's journey to find the truth about her sister is a thrilling and nail-biting unputdownable wait. For any reader, it is the same. The review of the book can be wrapped up in these two lines. Daylight is the reading experience that any thriller lover would love to indulge in.

Daylight -The mystery of Mercy

Atlee Pine sets out in search of her twin sister, Mercy, to know whether she is alive. Ito Vicenzo, when he pulled her sister away and pushed her to a near-death experience. The experience has scarred her so much that despite becoming a detective herself she found it impossible to track down the killer, primarily because he is old, untraceable, and followed by his two generations of unscrupulous men. Her foray into the truth lands her amidst conspiracies and mysterious circumstances stacked to cover up the truth and crosses paths with John Puller who is investigating the Vicenzo family. Daylight, with the classic David Baldacci style of narration, keeps the readers at the edge of the seat with a 400-page unputdownable book.

Edge of the seat cliffhangers:

David Baldacci has never failed his readers when it comes to his cliffhangers. Each chapter of Daylight sees twists but deftly the author makes sure the readers are not overwhelmed with too many scenarios. Like with any thriller there is a cascade of characters that inadvertently contributes to the plot. While the author gave enough space for the protagonists and the prime supporting characters to develop, the ones in the subplot don't fail to claim their space.

Disappointing Climax:

The one prominent con of Daylight is that the author failed to sweep the readers, like he did in the previous books, in the climax. The climax is disappointingly an overworked cliche. The plot takes its own pace to take off as it is a sequel and initial chapters are dedicated to the first-time readers to wrap their heads around the prequels. Nonetheless, it did not affect the overall reading experience.

Verdict:

The book is recommended to all thriller lovers who need a fast-paced, plot with numerous twists in the David Baldacci style but its uncharacteristically cliched climax spoils the overall reading experience.

Cover Reveal -The Ventilator Project by Srikant Sastri and Amitabha Bandopadhyay

 A raging pandemic, a dearth of life-saving equipment, and ninety days to manufacture a world-class ventilator.

The Ventilator Project - Cover Reveal

On 24 March 2020, a nationwide lockdown was imposed in India in the face of a formidable adversary, the Covid-19 pandemic. With the number of cases increasing exponentially, hospitals were faced with a dangerous shortage of life-saving equipment and personnel.

In response to the imminent crisis, Amitabha Bandyopadhyay and Srikant Sastri formed the IIT Kanpur Ventilator Consortium as a task force to assist a young startup, Nocca Robotics, in building affordable high-quality ventilators for India’s cash-strapped hospitals. Under the mentorship of reputed industry leaders, the task force and the Nocca team worked tirelessly against unprecedented odds – trammeled by a ban on imports and telecommuting through Zoom and Whatsapp in the face of stringent lockdown restrictions – to manufacture the Noccarc V310 in record time. This is the incredible story of its conception, creation, and success, in the words of the task force co-leaders themselves.

Inspiring and riveting, The Ventilator Project also offers an unmatched blueprint for business in the post-Covid era through first-hand lessons gleaned during the task force’s phenomenal ninety-day run. It proves that India, with its deep recesses of talent and ingenuity, has the potential to be a world leader in both business and social impact.

Pre-order link: https://amzn.to/3aOQBpq

Blood curling, Thrilling, Entertaining - The most notorious jailbreakers by Abeer Kapoor

 There have been innumerable movies based on the jailbreaks of notorious criminals. Some of them were inspired by real stories like " Catch Me if You Can'. Nonetheless, a book that features the most dangerous, notorious, and unbelievable jailbreaks in real life is the first of its kind or so I think. The most notorious jailbreakers is one such wonder.

Chilling crimes and thrilling escapes:The reference to Catch Me if You Can is relevant that the real-life person of the movie is depicted in the book. Read the book for the thrilling tale of the criminal mastermind. There is Sher Singh Rana, who killed Phulen Devi, he walked out of prison dressed up as a police officer. How he deftly bribed and blackmailed police officers into being a party to his escape is stranger than any fictional stories. There are 16 such real-life incidents that are unbelievably strange and uncharacteristically real. 
Heroism or felony:The acts of the 16 criminals are roguish and wretched yet seemingly heroic. The narrative contributes largely to the projection of their acts as intrepidity. The fact that despite the lack of technology those days, these criminals managed to create a burlesque show of the police and the judiciary. The anecdotes narrated in the book should be comprehended in a non-partisan psyche and read as a mere history lesson. A disclaimer pertaining to the same is imperative and could have been added.
Material for web series:The instances of each convict, with the background story of their lives calls for a thrilling web series and we could expect to see the same anytime soon. The real stories have the matter to keep the viewers/readers at the edge of the seat. At the same time, it is daunting to think that prisonbreak has been done in a jiffy, and had these felons indulged in larger-scale destructions, the whole country could have remained as debris.
Verdict:The book targets a group of readers who love thrillers, as well as real-life tales but need to be read with an open mind and not been influenced by the same.


To read more reviews follow Outset Books

Music Of Words - Poetry Garden by Trinankur Bera

Poetry is the music of literature. Like the different genres of music poetry to have various versions that could entice different sections of readers. Poetry Garden by Trinankur Bera is like melodious music.
Melodious poetry - Poetry Garden
When words scream and create music, that's what Trinankur's poetry sounds like. Be it the suspense-filled yet caressing tale of a mother, or the tale of a man who flaunts his watch, the author has a unique narrative style that could stand out and create a niche that some years down the line, could be counted as Trinakur style. The author has achieved this feat at such a young age that it is bound to inspire another set of aspiring writers.

Evoking the memories:The author has used the words emphatically such that the memories of the readers are evoked and emotions effervescent. Relatable scenarios are used with exemplary elegance in narration.
Despite the young age, the author has proven his mettle in exploiting deep emotions and comprehending complex life situations like any other adult would do.
Lack of wrapping :Some of the poems are left at loose ends. The poems would leave the reader wish if the author had wrapped the ends, to sum up, the reading experience with fitness.
Verdict:The author has a commendable piece of literature put together. Minor cons are dispensable in comparison to the overall experience provides by the author.

Jasmine By Sanjay Desai - The fictional self help book

Self-help books are a rage these days. More so after the pandemic loom is all over. The boom of self-help books has been a steep curve but often the books fail to connect to practical life. The detachment from reality makes them good to read but tough to apply. Jasmine by Sanjay Desai is one book that amalgamated self-help with practical reality.

It is the story of Jasmine, a talented bright, strong-headed girl who is sucked into the peripheral lives of fashion, where there is no depth in any relations - personal or professional. The ecstasy that this industry would give blinds her soul. The plot, though tries to bring to light the realities of the world of fashion, depicts the realities in all fields. The author, being talented in his craft, could have selected an unconventional stream to bring to light this reality as the hollowness of the fashion industry has been poached a lot.

The characters, though not much are molded to go with the plot. Devastated with the happenings in her life, Jasmine, sets out in search of eternal peace. The foray into spirituality beings her to Bala Further unfolds the spiritual journey of the protagonist and readers alike. If you are someone who likes to read spiritual discussions, you would love the books as the author has several practical facts to back up his teachings or Bala's teachings for that matter. 

The author has portrayed his personal experience or knowledge of spirituality to the readers so that they could perceive how to apply it in their lives. The book cover is simple yet attractive the author has proven that we need not have flamboyant book covers and incomprehensible passages to make a book of good quality.

Further how Jasmine's life changes are depicted in a dramatic style which wavers the theme of connecting the book with pragmatism. If you like the fictional adaptation of self-help, this book is for you.

Outset Book Marathon 2021- The ultimate reading challenge

It has been 6 years since I started Outset. Two years into book review blogging we started the book review program where we connected bloggers with authors. Since then, every year on our anniversary, I announce a new program in Outset. One year it was announcing the best reviewer, other year it was the little reader program. Last year saw the beginning of Outset Book Marathon.

Outset Book MarathonOutset book marathon is a program to urge bloggers to read more and help each other. Bloggers have to share a book review on alternative days and comment on each other's posts. It was exhilarating, tiring, and exciting. While we started off with many, after a month, only 8 remained. 8 passionate bloggers.Samata Dey
Suzan Amin Khoja
Kaustav Das
Anasua Basu
Savitha Anand
Shruthi Abhinaya
Varsha Dubey
Soumi Sen
Sejuti Majumdar
It started off as an out and out professional venture and ended as a family. We had fun, we fought, made up, got frustrated but stuck to our deadlines.To engage on 10 blog posts on alternative days was not easy. Some days would be bad days for they had to work on the next day's draft as well. I am proud of my 9 precious stones and always grateful to them for being cooperative and disciplined.
Want to be a part of our family? 
Stay tuned for Outset Book Marathon 2021
Certificates and badges have been distributed. Once again thanks, everyone.

How To Overcome Writers Block?

Reading is a therapy- at least for me. Primarily because it lets me see people, be to places, and deal with endless scenarios. Relatable tales, fictional paradises, rush of adrenalin - I had everything that I could ask for. Secondarily, reading lets me write better, probably by keeping my brain active. To traverse the realm of thoughts we need a warm and fast brain, don't we?
Me and my writer's block:
So, I have been going through terrible writer's block, despite reading back to back books. It was frustrating because words stuck in my brain, screaming to pop out of the containment. Looking back at my articles and posts, I cringed. What have I become? I realized it was time to put my foot forward and reconnect with the 'Me' I was in love with. Because self-love is not possible without the one factor that you love yourself the most about - Passion


Overcoming writer's block:To overcome writer's block is easier said than done. The virtual world is stuffed with ideas to overcome it. Are they practical and effective? Well, it is relative to the person and circumstances. Some ideas might work for you and some for me. Today let me share how I overcame writer's block.  
1. Take a breakHowsoever you like being in the universe of words, the array of thoughts would deviate from the path when you have a writer's block. Result? Unable to write, dissatisfied with your work and related stress. In such situations, I take a break from writing and reading. Try to find your passion that is submerged and unreaped. For me, it was cooking. Till I ventured into trying new recipes, I didn't know that I had it in me. Now, if not for reading I have my cooking spree for the rescue and in refreshing myself.
2. Exercise/ YogaYoga is a healer for every misery of mine. It relieves me of any stress that makes me think that the glass is half full. If not yoga, a couple of strengthening exercises, dance, Zumba, or any exercise for that matter. Make it a custom to exercise for 5 minutes per day. Result? You will be rejuvenated intellectually and physically. My mind became relaxed once exercise became a part of my life. 
3. Write a journalWriting journal need not be mere daily snippets. You can write anything that comes to your mind. Looking back it might seem like trash but writing a journal is a warm-up for your mind and relaxing to your intellect.
4. Resume with word limitOnce you try to get back to your reading and writing routine, don't go all the way with large passages. Keep a word limit and don't more than the fixed number of words per day. Slowly increase the number of words. Slowly you can see how you are naturally falling into the groove.
5. MeditateThe prime point to keep in your mind while you meditate is that you should not do it for a particular purpose. While meditating, your mind should be calm. The hullabaloo of thoughts makes  this exercise a waste of time. Hence meditate with a free mind.
6. Take part in challengesThere a lot of reading and writing challenges in social media. Take part in those challenges. You might not be able to perform the best of you but it could be the nudge you always wanted. I'm participating in the #TBRChallenge by Blogchatter'.This helps you crush your TBR, read more, talk about those books more and share the love of reading with a large group of like-minded people who are as passionate about books as you are! 
Now, I am in the resuming stage. As you can see, I am not writing great but I know that I am slowly getting back on track. Meet you all with a refreshed and revamped mind with more reviews and engaging posts.