Vaibhav Anand's Blog, page 2
January 24, 2019
Deals on all books
The following of my books are on deal on Amazon.
‘The Great War of Hind’ at Rs. 29 https://amzn.to/2QZthcM
‘If God Went to B-School’ at Rs. 29 https://amzn.to/2S0pJLK
‘A Year in Faking News’ available for free https://amzn.to/2RZ31Ul
‘The Great War of Hind’ at Rs. 29 https://amzn.to/2QZthcM
‘If God Went to B-School’ at Rs. 29 https://amzn.to/2S0pJLK
‘A Year in Faking News’ available for free https://amzn.to/2RZ31Ul
January 9, 2019
Book Review: The Ellimist Chronicles by K. A. Applegate
Between my adolescence and adulthood, I lost track of possibly my most favorite book series ever - the Animorphs. Growing up, Applegate just wasn't releasing the books fast enough for me to read them - and it so happened that somewhere around Book #28, my academic studies overwhelmed my ability to keep up.
I chanced back on to Animorphs a month back, expecting to be completely hate or at least, dislike the books a bit. After all, despite the nostalgia, the books were meant for kids. Or so I thought.
[image error] 'The Ellimist Chronicles' is a cracker of a science fiction book. Forget the "Young Adult", "For kids", etc. tags: the book is good enough to be read standalone by someone who has no clue about the Animorphs series. I have never read an author trying to take a crack at the creation of life itself, and Applegate does it spectacularly with this book.
The only reason I found it a little disconcerting is because I had no clue who the Ellimist was narrating his story to. I later learnt that this is the penultimate book in the series and hence, quite a lot had transpired in the Yeerk/ Andalite/ Human war. And thus, the confusion was warranted. Without that small issue, 'The Ellimist Chronicles' is a splendid timeless science fiction masterpiece for all ages.
I chanced back on to Animorphs a month back, expecting to be completely hate or at least, dislike the books a bit. After all, despite the nostalgia, the books were meant for kids. Or so I thought.
[image error] 'The Ellimist Chronicles' is a cracker of a science fiction book. Forget the "Young Adult", "For kids", etc. tags: the book is good enough to be read standalone by someone who has no clue about the Animorphs series. I have never read an author trying to take a crack at the creation of life itself, and Applegate does it spectacularly with this book.
The only reason I found it a little disconcerting is because I had no clue who the Ellimist was narrating his story to. I later learnt that this is the penultimate book in the series and hence, quite a lot had transpired in the Yeerk/ Andalite/ Human war. And thus, the confusion was warranted. Without that small issue, 'The Ellimist Chronicles' is a splendid timeless science fiction masterpiece for all ages.
January 7, 2019
Book Review: The Operators by Michael Hastings
I was directed to 'The Operators' from 'War Machine' - the Brad Pitt starred on Netflix which I had really liked (War Machine is based on this book). Mostly, I wanted to understand US' operations in Afghanistan a decade after the 'War on Terror' had been announced.
[image error] The book was disappointing. Hastings goes back and forth between two timelines, and tends to use present tense for things that happened in the past far too often for my comfort. Even so, the source material is interesting enough: feuds between Obama, McChrystal and the bureaucracy, the whole elaborate pretense that the war was worthwhile or even, being won, was fascinating.
In case you are looking to catch up on 'The Operators', I would recommend watching the fantastic Brad Pitt in 'War Machine' instead. The writing style was not for me, even though the story Hastings was attempting to narrate was quite intriguing.
Book Review: Visser (Animorphs) by K. A. Applegate
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I used to love Animorphs as a kid. The series was so much richer than the other "young adult" fiction that was peddled to us - more poignant, more 'science' in the fiction. However, as an adult I struggled to finish one of Applegate's books. The plot was just too thin for my grown-up sensibilities.
The reason I bought this special edition is because Applegate's special editions tended to have thicker, more complex plots (or so I recalled from my adolescence). In terms of plot, 'Visser' provides the complete backstory of Visser One (or Marco's mom) set as a trial where she is pitted against the formidable Visser Three. The parts of the book where the two Vissers butt heads are awesome; however, the battle scenes/ parts left something to be desired. A couple of plot devices seemed to provide too easy an out for the story, as well. Again, grown-up sensibilities.
Recommended for series aficionados, but not much anyone else.
The reason I bought this special edition is because Applegate's special editions tended to have thicker, more complex plots (or so I recalled from my adolescence). In terms of plot, 'Visser' provides the complete backstory of Visser One (or Marco's mom) set as a trial where she is pitted against the formidable Visser Three. The parts of the book where the two Vissers butt heads are awesome; however, the battle scenes/ parts left something to be desired. A couple of plot devices seemed to provide too easy an out for the story, as well. Again, grown-up sensibilities.
Recommended for series aficionados, but not much anyone else.
January 6, 2019
Book Review: Never Give Up
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I would have never read this book, if it wasn't free with Prime Reading. It reads like something hurriedly compiled off Wikipedia/ the internet. Far too many grammatical and spelling errors to be a tolerable book. The only reason I managed to finish it is because I found the source material of some of the stories interesting.
Avoidable.
Avoidable.
December 16, 2018
Book Review: One Indian Girl by Chetan Bhagat
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A large number of Chetan Bhagat's books are free with Amazon Prime Reading. It is for this reason and this reason alone that I read "One Indian Girl". Also because "All the money in the world" was proving to be a little long winded after starting briskly. (I kept losing track of the Getty offspring in "All the money...").
With One Indian Girl, Chetan writes from a girl's point of view for the first time. I was happy to note Chetan's grammar, ability to spell, punctuate is so much better vs 2 states, which I read for free again. (Please note the trend here - clearly, I believe subliminally that the intrinsic value of a CB book is Rs. 0.) The plot as with every CB book is wafer thin - the story of a random girl's relationships. But CB is trying to deliver a message here, I think. CB wants to be seen as a feminist. CB wants to be a politician eventually, or maybe just taken seriously.
Even so, though CB is CB, his plots are thinner than hair, and his plots are mostly purloined from his working life/ vacations, he does manage to keep you engrossed in the girl's tale: like a bad TV serial you started watching years ago and can't give up, just because you must know what happens in the end. For that and for CB learning better grammar and punctuation, I am willing to give this book 2 out of 5.
A large number of Chetan Bhagat's books are free with Amazon Prime Reading. It is for this reason and this reason alone that I read "One Indian Girl". Also because "All the money in the world" was proving to be a little long winded after starting briskly. (I kept losing track of the Getty offspring in "All the money...").
With One Indian Girl, Chetan writes from a girl's point of view for the first time. I was happy to note Chetan's grammar, ability to spell, punctuate is so much better vs 2 states, which I read for free again. (Please note the trend here - clearly, I believe subliminally that the intrinsic value of a CB book is Rs. 0.) The plot as with every CB book is wafer thin - the story of a random girl's relationships. But CB is trying to deliver a message here, I think. CB wants to be seen as a feminist. CB wants to be a politician eventually, or maybe just taken seriously.
Even so, though CB is CB, his plots are thinner than hair, and his plots are mostly purloined from his working life/ vacations, he does manage to keep you engrossed in the girl's tale: like a bad TV serial you started watching years ago and can't give up, just because you must know what happens in the end. For that and for CB learning better grammar and punctuation, I am willing to give this book 2 out of 5.
November 21, 2018
The Great War of Hind - free Audiobook
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Free Audiobook
The Great War of Hind (Legend of Ramm #1) is now part of Audible trial. Simply sign up for a free 1 month Audible trial and you can listen to the audiobook version for absolutely free !
Click here to listen for free now: https://amzn.to/2DzXCvj
The Great War of Hind (Legend of Ramm #1) is now part of Audible trial. Simply sign up for a free 1 month Audible trial and you can listen to the audiobook version for absolutely free !
Click here to listen for free now: https://amzn.to/2DzXCvj
September 25, 2018
Free for Amazon Prime Members
The Great War of Hind (Legend of Ramm #1) is now part of Prime Reading. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can read the ebook for free
Read for free now: https://amzn.to/2zrc2LG
Read for free now: https://amzn.to/2zrc2LG
The Great War of Hind - now free with Amazon Prime
[image error]
The Great War of Hind (Legend of Ramm #1) is now part of Prime Reading. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can read the ebook for absolutely free !
Click here to read for free now: https://amzn.to/2zrc2LG
The Great War of Hind (Legend of Ramm #1) is now part of Prime Reading. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can read the ebook for absolutely free !
Click here to read for free now: https://amzn.to/2zrc2LG
July 31, 2018
Book Review: Molly's Game by Molly Bloom
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I caught Molly's Game on a 14 hour long flight in which I also watched a lot of other good movies I had been saving up for the flight. Of American Made, Get Out, Game Night, Shubh Mangal Savdhan (borderline good) and The Titan (absolute dud Netflix original), Molly's Game stood out as probably the best movie I saw on the flight.
I usually do not buy books I have seen movies of (reverse is almost always true - I will almost always watch the movie rendition of books I have read). I believe mostly in the fact that an author with mere words and ink can not possibly compare with the magic a skilled movie-maker can conjure (Notable exceptions: Munich - based on Vengeance, Anna Karenina). I bought this book largely because it names Tobey Maguire and Ben Affleck, and because I wanted something to read (on the return leg of the long flight).
The book standalone is good enough; however, the movie is rather splendid. Characters like Houston Curtis, bad Brad and the Doug who speaks in riddles are just so much more fleshed out and colorful on screen than they were in the book. A notable exception is Tobey - who the book does more justice to than the movie did.
A decent read just for the incremental scoop on Tobey - but by and large, if you have seen the movie and the splendid Jessica Chastain as Molly on screen, no need to buy the book.
I caught Molly's Game on a 14 hour long flight in which I also watched a lot of other good movies I had been saving up for the flight. Of American Made, Get Out, Game Night, Shubh Mangal Savdhan (borderline good) and The Titan (absolute dud Netflix original), Molly's Game stood out as probably the best movie I saw on the flight.
I usually do not buy books I have seen movies of (reverse is almost always true - I will almost always watch the movie rendition of books I have read). I believe mostly in the fact that an author with mere words and ink can not possibly compare with the magic a skilled movie-maker can conjure (Notable exceptions: Munich - based on Vengeance, Anna Karenina). I bought this book largely because it names Tobey Maguire and Ben Affleck, and because I wanted something to read (on the return leg of the long flight).
The book standalone is good enough; however, the movie is rather splendid. Characters like Houston Curtis, bad Brad and the Doug who speaks in riddles are just so much more fleshed out and colorful on screen than they were in the book. A notable exception is Tobey - who the book does more justice to than the movie did.
A decent read just for the incremental scoop on Tobey - but by and large, if you have seen the movie and the splendid Jessica Chastain as Molly on screen, no need to buy the book.
