Rakhi Jayashankar's Blog, page 9

National Reading Day - In Memory of P.N Paniker

 Being a reader you would have been associated with atleast one library. Library was once considered the place of worship for book lovers. Further online book sites, and e book apps took away the glory of libraries. Nonetheless the contribution of libraries in bringing forth and sustaining the reading culture in India is irrefutable. But being an ardent reader, are you aware of the contributions of Late K.N. Paniker in revolutionizing reading? 1996 June 19, the first death anniversary of K.N. Paniker, marked the beginning of observing National Reading Day in India. 

K.N. Paniker - The father of library movement in India

Sri. K.N Paniker was committed to bringing cultural changes in the society y empowering the youth with education. Hence his library movement is not merely an attempt to promote reading but overall growth of the society in the cultural and ethical zone. 

He started the Sanandhana Dharman Library and also is the founder of library association in Travancore named Thiruvithancore Grandhashala Sangham. While he was at it, political interference started popping up and the association was taken our and renamed ad Kerala State Library Council. Disheartened with these political game he started Kerala Association for Nonformal Education. (KANFED)

KANFED is instrumental in improving the literacy rate in Kerala. It became first Indian state with 100% literacy largely due to his hardwork and perseverance.

National Reading WeekK.N. Paniker bid adieu to the world on June 19,1995 and since then, every year National Reading Week has been celebrated on this day. In addition Reading week and Reading month have been celebrated in the days preceding June 19.CBSE board has instructed the schools to celebrate the day to inculcate reading habits in kids.On this National Reading Day, let us commit to responsible reading.

Vodka Vagina Vanity - An Experimental Literature By Vikram Dhawan

 A while back we were discussing abused souls. How an abused behaves. How they look different, how you should not judge them. While mulling over the topic, I thought the review of Vodka Vagina Vanity by Vikram Dhawan would be the perfect fit to follow.

A drift from the genre

The author, after his breathtaking craft Kashmir House is back with a genre that is a far cry from the previous attempt. The book is contemporary fiction with a Millennial narrative merged with literary finesse. 

The basic plot is about a shining star Sherry who goes forward to write her autobiography where she exposes four sharks in four equally influential parts of the society.

These men lose their sleep over the possible implications of the book sees light and hence go forth to prevent the actress by hook or crook. Further, the plot thickens. How the four tycoons try to pull the plug on the deal makes the book all the more interesting to read.

Style of narration

The author has already proven his command of English which is reinforced in the book. This is an answer to the prejudice that Indian English writers are all about vernacular narration. Having said that I would love it if the author had modified the tone of dialogues as the characters portrayed are all from different walks of life and hence the style may vary.

However, this didn't affect the plot in any way. The author's sarcasm and satire have hit the right note. He has laid bare the facade of celebrities, political jargons, and business tycoons.

Author's grip over history

While reading Kashmir House and reading vodka vanity Vagina, a common link I noticed in the author's command of historical fiction and geopolitical dynamics. While reading Irina's life( not mentioning who she is to avoid spoilers) I could feel the power of confident narration in those parts of the book.

Overall the book is an entertaining and engaging read from the author, just like Kashmir House and different from the same. If you love to read experimental literature this is your book.

No Shadow Without Light by Luke Gracias - Dark , Thrilling, Emotional

 The religious secrets have always be hot topics for books and movies. The dark alleys of hidden secrets and the bodies that are buried to keep them as secrets - the trope is always unique despite the number of times it has been repeated. No Shadow Without Light by Luke Gracias is one book that has taken up this trope and created a creative masterpiece.

Unparalleled plot 

Siobhan is trying to unearth the mystery behind her mother's disappearance. As we unveil the layers lies half truths, she finds herself being targetted. A run for her life is the only option let for her and hence she gets to the heels. Little did she know that the one whom is she is running from is unfortunately and unexpectedly her sister.

The devil's prayer in the Devil's bible hold immenspower. This took me to my review of Devils Prayed when I had criticised the author for the climax and had substantiated by saying if there is a sequel, it makes sense. And now everything makes sense.

Character space 

The author has not dedicated too much space to the characters yet successfully established the craft and idiosyncrasies along with their body language. Strong willpower and perseverance characterises each one. The author's style reminds us of a mix of Ken Follet and Dan Brown. 

The thrill to live for

Right from the prologue the author has established and successfully propogated the suspence and hence the mysterious element without making it monotonous. Chapter to chapter, the plot become more and more interesting. Simultaneously the author has brought forward the emotional connect of the characters. 

The graph of the author's growth is impressive. The book is indeed a treat for the dark thriller lovers. I would love to read the book over and over again. The title itself is spiritually and philosophically enlightening.

Outset Top Reviewer Season 2 - Last date extended to June 10th

 We are back. After the first Outset Top Reviewer Awards we received numerous DMs asking for a chance to enter their chance. So here we are.
OUR LAST DATE EXTENDED TO JUNE 10th 

Outset Top Reviewer Season 2Eligibility

You must have a book blog/ social media page dedicated to books.

How to apply 

Go to our home page. Click the side bar or campaign tab and click the Outset Top Reviewer image. Fill the form and you are done.

Disclaimer: The selection would be totally left to the discretion of the judges 

Outset Top Reviewer Season 2

 We are back. After the first Outset Top Reviewer Awards we received numerous DMs asking for a chance to enter their chance. So here we are.

Outset Top Reviewer Season 2Eligibility

You must have a book blog/ social media page dedicated to books.

How to apply 

Go to our home page. Click the side bar or campaign tab and click the Outset Top Reviewer image. Fill the form and you are done.

Disclaimer: The selection would be totally left to the discretion of the judges 

Be A Triangle By Lilly Singh - Exuberant, Thought Provoking

 Being a Holistic Wellness Coach, I have always been mindful of the books and speeches that help us deal with our demons and how to introspect and retrospect for ultimate peace and happiness. There have invariably been numerous new thoughts to take home from each person. But there is one girl who spoke about something that none of these legends have spoken about. Emerging from "tat tvam asi" (thou art that), every philosophy has a basic thought - knowing yourself. But have you ever thought of giving it back? Lilly Singh, in her book, Be a Triangle urges us to give it back to the universe.

Giving it to the universeWhile Lilly has written quite a lot of facts that are thought-provoking and help us in our life. But being a life coach what influenced me the most is her question of we are giving it back to the universe. While we all talk on ends about getting the positivity we seldom talk about giving positivity back to the universe.

Lilly has been that child who was shy, fearful, and low on self-esteem, being judged by those aunties, not accepted by family on coming out, and has been through thick and thin. The book is a reminder to everyone that no matter how successful we are, the insecurities, and feelings of discontent remain. One way or other we are living the same life.

Caslon Book typeThe book is set in Caslon. This typeface was prevalent in the early eighteenth century. This makes it all the more attractive and the reading experience as soothing as the book itself is. The shade of green, my theme color is one of the most shades of color. Yay! Lilly used my theme ... Build your foundationThe book undoubtedly guides you as you how to build a foundation based on your set of beliefs. With some stupendous analogies, she has illustrated a bindaas life that Lilly is known for. My favorite line is "In the World of Bengal Tigers, be a Bangle tiger."
Building the foundation by establishing relationships with ourselves and the world, understanding distractions and implementing design. It has everything that we need.
While the book is a self-help one, the book is written in the classic Lilly style, which makes it an entertaining self-help book that anyone can read and take home something of value.

Being Ritu by Satya Saran - A Touching Biography

 To be born to a celebrity family and to make a mark of one's own is never an easy job. Meet Ritu Nanda, daughter of the legendary actor Raj Kapoor. The apple of the eye of Kapoor family. 

The book is not a biography of Ritu Nanda. It is a reflection of humility, willpower, affection, care and selflessness. 

Ritu, despite being born in an aristocratic family, has always been humble. Her down to earth nature is what her friends and college mates could recollect on the mention of her name. The endearing childhood anecdotes will bring smile to our faces. Though streched tad bit overboard, they reflect the real Ritu.

Further, marriage to the Nanda family, kids, entrepreneurial ventures, being an insurance advisor. The lady has donned all the caps with a golden feather. 

The book is also a reflection of how we could fight death and diseases with sheer will power. Be it auto.immune disease or cancer, she faught it with a smile. While reading about how she has met the deadly disease head on, I genuinely wanted to meet her talk to her. I wanted to know how she has been so optimistic. I wanted to know where she derived her inner strength from. I just wanted too see her for once and hug her.

How to Make a Reading Habit? - Effective Tips to Read More Books

 I have been asked numerous times about how I read so many books despite having three kids and other commitments alongside. I have always been tagged as jobless as those who read books are simply sitting and reading, aren't they? But let me tell you, it is possible for any busy person to read more, provided you have the desire to read and invest efforts to do so... So, how to make a reading habit amongst the busy schedule?

How to make a reading habit?To make reading a habit primarily you should have a desire to read the books, without which howsoever you try you won't be able to develop the time and convenience. Once you decide to start reading more or revive your reading habits, you can try the following steps to keep up with it. 1. Give yourself attainable reading goalsDon't start or revive your reading by suddenly starting to read 100 or 200 pages. This will overwhelm and in turn discourage you. Hence make it a point to read only 10-20 pages per day. Keep your reading goals attainable and realistic. 2. Specify small reading timesAlways have a reading time table. It can be anytime even your toilet time. It could be as short as 15 minutes also. Once you get into the reading groove, you can slowly increase the reading time. This will systematically take you to the reading routine which will not overwhelm you. 

3. Have a reading cornerYou could be living in a mansion or a studio apartment, finding a reading corner is the best way to revive your interest as there would be a positive vibe around that corner. It could even be a specified corner of your bed or toilet seat (shhh.... don't tell anyone but I feel you busy bee)4. Take part in yearly reading challengesThere are reading challenges like the ones conducted by Goodreads. Signing up to GoodReads.com is a good prospect to connect with fellow readers as well. While doing yearly challenges also, make sure your goals are attainable. 5. Always have a book with youWhere ever you go, have a book with you so that when you are waiting somewhere, instead of scrolling through the phone you can read a couple of pages.If you are going for a vacation, take a book along so that while you relax, you can read and cut yourself away from the noise of social media. Even if you are on an official trip or even going with kids, you can carry a book and you will get time to read. It is a guarantee.6. Borrow from your SM timeHave you noticed how much time you spend on social media? If not track it and cut it down slowly. You can invest the time that you saved from social media for more productive work. How about that?7. DNF/SkimDNF is a millennial bookworm lingo which is an acronym of Do Not Finish. If you find that the book is not interesting stop reading it and pick another book. You can take it again at some other time.You can also skim through the book that you find not interesting.8. Read two books at a timeThis trick has helped me during my reading block time. Because reading one book might come across as monotonous for you but if you add one more book to it, it will break the monotony9. Join a book clubBook clubs are the best way to revive a reading habit. You can join OL Book Dragons Club if you wish to..10. Book fairsBuying books during the book fairs is an easy way to get books at discounted prices. You can also have kindle unlimited or even get free books from Amazon and other platforms to start with.
These are a few practical tips to make reading a habit. But the primary prerequisite is to have an interest in reading the book.  So get to your reading routine and enjoy yourself in the world of books.

BirdWatching By Stephen Alter Unveils a Thrilling Experience in the Snowcapped Himalayas Intertwined with History

 Birds are the carriers of happiness. Seeing them fly in the sky and listening to their chirping has been one of my favorite pastimes. It is a soothing experience for everyone but have you ever thought that the same experience would bring you one of the rare experiences of your lifetime - witnessing a murder? Set in the background of the Sino-Indian war of 1962 wherein the snowcapped mountains of the Himalayas unveil the unknown secrets. Birdwatching by Stephen Alter is an unforgettable reading experience for nature lovers who want to read thrillers.

What the blurb says

When American ornithologist Guy Fletcher stumbles upon a dead body near Chanakyapuri, New Delhi’s diplomatic enclave, he does not realize that his life is about to change drastically. Soon, he is recruited into the CIA and sent straight into the heart of a secret war raging in the Himalayas. Alongside him are his two unlikely partners—the enigmatic Captain Imtiaz Afridi of the Indian Military Intelligence, whom he meets on a hunting trip in Kashmir, and the mysterious but alluring Kesang Sherpa, who saunters into his world in Kalimpong. Their missions and emotions are inextricably entwined, the three must learn to trust their own instincts, and one another, to uncover what lies beneath the dazzling Himalayan snow. Set against the backdrop of the Sino–Indian war of 1962, Birdwatching is a gripping tale of high intrigue and mystery.

When corpse tell the tale

Fletcher is on a wanders in the quest of the life of vultures to stumble upon a corpse. Who is the dead man? 

Soon he is sucked into the whirlpool of investigations, suspicion, and unforeseen methods of interrogation. 

Soon Fletcher is hired as an American spy to see the operation on the Indo-China border. 

What started as a mere birdwatching experience unfolds to a surreal thrill and nail-biting mystery. Each chapter begins with the introduction of different forms of birds. The author has also deftly merged the plot with the life 

of the birds. It is interesting to see how he has wrapped the plot in such a way that the bird that was seemingly

 unconnected with the plot is found in the middle of the scenario. 

The caricatures

The caricature of the characters is subtly mixed with the main plot. The author has established the characters without specifically mentioning their idiosyncrasies. This in turn is a witness to their finesse.As the plot develops the characters lead the plot. However, the author failed to establish the Indo-American life of the protagonist and had to deliberately make it obvious to reach the readers. However, this did not hinder the reading experience. 

The twist that leads

Once Fletcher reaches Kalimpong with his new identity carrying the facade of birdwatching, he meets Captain Imtiaz Afridi of the Indian Military Intelligence, whom he meets on a hunting trip in Kashmir, and the mysterious but alluring Kesang Sherpa. Further, the plot takes off and the readers faces the challenge of not being able to put the book down.

About the author Stephen Alter is the author of more than twenty books of fiction and non-fiction. Wild Himalaya: A Natural History of the Greatest Mountain Range on Earth, his most recent work of non-fiction, received the 2020 Banff Mountain Book Award in the Mountain Environment and Natural History category. His memoir, Becoming a Mountain: Himalayan Journeys in Search of the Sacred and the Sublime, received the Kekoo Naoroji Award for Himalayan Literature. In the Jungles of the Night: A Novel about Jim Corbett was shortlisted for the DSC South Asian Literature Award.

What's Within You By Tok Lillig And David Shurna - Tap Your Potential

 Do you know your calibre? Perhaps you do, perhaps you don't but come what may you are always prepared for the experiences life would throw you. Because what's within you is stronger than what lay in your way or what comes to you. With a strong message of self-awareness, self-actualisation, and self-love Tom Lillig and David Shurna brings an unputdownable non fiction experience. 

The book brings to light the lives of a few fighters who changed their destiny with sheer perseverance and never give up attitude. Can a blind person climb Mount Everest? Is it possible for a dead person to play Jazz let alone participate in America has got talent? If we had read this scenario in a fictional work, we would have invariably shrugged it off as over imagination of the author forgetting the fact that we are living in a world If Eric Weihenmeyer, Mandy Harvey, Stephen Hawkings n more. It is the inner power of your subconscious mind that you have to tap to activate the untapped sections of your power. 

Having gone through the toughest times in life, I have been where I failed to see what's within me and concentrated instead on the obstacles and triggers. The book made me realise that I was looking at the wrong direction.

The highlight of the book is how the authors systematically a step by step account of how you can improve your life by breaking down the challenges. The approach of the authors towards the book is what holds the readers. They delve deep into our psyche and tell us where to look for. 

The idea is to identify your calibre and potential and enhance it with passion and perseverance. They connect with the readers and emanate powerful positivity through words and tell you whats within you.