The story is a breezy cocktail of dirty secrets, murder, mystery, dark humor, wittiness judging society, fighting women and nice storytelling. If you liked Sex and the City or Big Little Lies, my guess is you will like this too. I am going with three and a half stars for Manpreet Sodhi Someshwar’s Girls and the City. It is a good and a light one time read. I won’t be surprised if a screen adaption takes place soon....more
Nandini Guha has done amazing work on this translation. Going by what I have read I can definitely say she has done total justice with the original work and in some ways elevated it. With this English version, I am sure the book would reach out to a much deserved wider audience.
A Plate of White Marble written by Bani Basu and translated by Nandini Guha is a thought-provoking, soul-stirring, transformational tale of a woman of an era that just witnessed the independence of a nation. The narrative will make you experience a myriad of emotions as you root for the protagonist. I am going with four and a half stars for ‘A Plate of White Marble’, an extra half for the commendable translation. Highly recommended....more
What begins as a simple love story of a Hindu girl, Deepa, falling in love with a son of a Sikh refugee, Prem Kohli, soon takes tumultuous turns post the assassination and the riots. For me, this is not only a story about two central characters but about two families and their fate and how everything changes in an aftermath of an event like Blue Star followed by the assassination of the PM.
The Assassinations – A Novel of 1984 by Vikram Kapur skillfully echoes the pain and sufferings of human lives with great sensitivity. He depicts how ordinary lives bear the brunt of such barbaric events and how these lives are altered forever because of the forces of history. I am going with three and a half stars for Vikram Kapur’s The Assassinations – A Novel of 1984. If you like melancholic stories with a tinge of history, do pick this one up. ...more
This is the true story behind the capture and conviction of Asaram Bapu in a case of rape of a minor. The author Ajay Lamba is the IPS officer who wasThis is the true story behind the capture and conviction of Asaram Bapu in a case of rape of a minor. The author Ajay Lamba is the IPS officer who was the head of the investigation for the same case. He along with Sanjeev Mathur has done a good job with the writing of the book. The style is lucid and it seems like a crime thriller going at a tremendous pace. With only 200 pages it is a fast read. If you like the genre then you should definitely give it a go.
It was always going to be a daunting task when one takes up a classic movie or book to retell. I wish the author would have done more with the subjectIt was always going to be a daunting task when one takes up a classic movie or book to retell. I wish the author would have done more with the subject as the moment the reader knows that this is a parody on Sholay, they are interested in picking up a copy. I am going with two and a half stars for Embers by Deepak Kaul. An extra half for being brave enough to do a parody on Sholay.
How to be a Likeable Bigot by Naomi Datta is a counter- intuitive self-help book on the lines of ‘The Subtle art of not giving a f’. Bigot means ‘a peHow to be a Likeable Bigot by Naomi Datta is a counter- intuitive self-help book on the lines of ‘The Subtle art of not giving a f’. Bigot means ‘a person who is intolerant towards those holding different opinions.’ Now a person who remains intolerant towards others views and never lets the other views to express their stand is mostly an unlikeable person.
What Naomi tries, in her quirky witty satirical way, is for that bigot to become likeable and acceptable by others. She uses this technique to make a person adapt and become comfortable to alien situations and difficult scenarios whether it is about befriending tiger moms or it is about avoid getting pink slips.
Through the book she tells us how to remain under the radar and never come under any spotlight because those are the heads that are chopped off first. To survive is a fine art and she presents various scenarios through this collection of essays how to just manage surviving.
The vocabulary is simple yet smartly used to highlight the paradoxical scenarios. It also helps the book in being a fast read and with under 200 pages you will find yourself finishing it in a couple of sittings. The chapters are not interlinked so even if there is a gap you can always start afresh from any chapter.
The cover page is simplistically done but the usage of font makes it catchy and would surely grab eyeballs at a book stand. The back cover has the blurb with a tag line ‘A fresh and witty take on life today’.
If you are good at sarcasm then you must definitely give this satirical take on life a go, otherwise you might end up missing the hidden message that the book contains and might end up getting more offended than liking and understanding the book. For an average person in life, you might get an impression that the book tries to put you down on more than one occasion and you might go into introspection rather than turning the pages....more
Like in any anthology, not every story would be excellent; similarly in Route – 13 – Highway to Hell, there are some excellent ones, few good ones andLike in any anthology, not every story would be excellent; similarly in Route – 13 – Highway to Hell, there are some excellent ones, few good ones and a couple of average ones. From an Indian Horror anthology perspective it is a refreshing start. I am going with three and a half stars for Route – 13 – Highway to Hell by The Hive. Grab a copy this lockdown season and get ready for some chills’n’thrills.
The Startup ecosystem of India is changing rapidly along with the global business landscape. A lot of startups pop up on the scene almost on a daily basis and they die out about at the same rate. As per a study, around 90% of the Indian startups fails within first five years of their inception. Jason Kothari’s Irrationally Passionate is an autobiographical journey, where he bares all about his life from being a rebel to becoming one of the highest paid executives that the country has ever seen that too in his 30s. Still in doubt, read my book review of this self-made man’s journey before grabbing a copy of Jason’s debut book.
Biographies in general, including autobiographies, are usually bland. Non-fiction especially about a non-controversial figure seldom works or sells. There are very few autobiographies that one can recommend as a perfect weekend relaxing read. Irrationally Passionate tries to change that on every account. I would like to express my gratitude towards Blogadda’s Book Review Program for considering me this book review and giving me an opportunity to review this genre for the first time.
My Review
The cover page of the book is a thick paper cover wrapped on the hardbound base. It has a picture of Jason’s stubbly face with steal eyes. On the back cover there are a lot of convincing testimonials by some of the tallest corporate names. The blurb and about the author is on the inside flap of front and back cover respectively. The title of the book would seem pretty apt once you finish it.
The book is divided into eleven chapters where each chapter gives a peek into a different stage of his life. In every phase he is gathering business acumen from real world scenarios, which he ably uses in redefining destinies of many of the firms he has worked with. The title of the chapters are smartly chosen and they themselves can be treated as ‘mantras’ for business and life.
The book begins with an author’s note and prologue. Don’t evade them. Infact in the prologue itself he discusses his first business negotiation when buys a chessboard from a roadside seller. He gives an insight into his early childhood, his love for Valiant comics and his relationship with his parents, who have been a constant source of strength and support. Jason also writes about those days and years that he isn’t much proud of and doesn’t try to hide them. There came a point in life where he could have lost everything to drugs, booze and his reckless behaviour. It was a conversation between his parents that he overhears and decides to get a hold on his life.
You won’t believe where he learnt the concept that creating a clear strategy is the most important thing before starting a business. It was at a Muay Thai training center in Thailand. (Yeah you read it right). He is popularly known as ‘The Turnaround Guy’ for his journey has always been about turning sure shot dead businesses into successful profit churning ones.
The second half of the book is mostly about his application of the concepts he learnt during his college and martial art days while working as a CEO after CEO after CEO in various organisations. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much this guy has achieved in such a short span of time.
Jason also discusses the toll that it takes on your mind and health when you have to let go of thousands of employees in one go. Many of the people who lost their jobs might not agree with him but in the hindsight the number of companies that he has saved proves that those were right decisions, however difficult.
There was a particular chapter where it took me back my International Business class where my professor taught me that sometimes selling of your business is not that bad a strategy and less loss is also profit. We should also thank that young entrepreneur who persuaded him in coming up with a book about his life’s learnings otherwise Irrationally Passionate would have never seen the light of the day.
Some of the Best Lines
“My inner game rules my outer game.” “Money will only make you more of what you already are.” “If you are only in it for the money, you’ll never make it.” “Smile when you are getting punched and keep fighting.”
Hits
Everything seems to be working wonders for the book. To begin with it is not at all written in a biographical tone. To add to that if the book is about giving business transformation gyan, it can become a little complex and at the same time boring, Irrationally Passionate on the contrary is written in lucid language with thriller pace. With only 223 chapter pages, it is unputdownable and one might complete it in a couple of sittings.
The use of business jargons is very limited and that definitely works in favour of the book. There are hardly any subplots other than Jason explaining his meteoric rise. The author keeps taking humorous pot-shots at himself throughout the book.
Misses
The book hardly leaves any scope to highlight any negative. But being a management grad, I would have loved a little more detailed insight on any of the turnarounds that he had done. There are only a couple of brush strokes in this huge canvas painting about his personal life. Being an autobiography it would have been wonderful to understand how a person this occupied with work, managed to strike any work-life balance, if any.
Verdict
If you have an entrepreneurial itch and are embarking on your journey do not miss out this one. It not only has some of the best lessons for business strategies but overall life – how to remain positive and focussed when the ship is already sinking and turn it around.
Some make decisions from heart, some by mind…Jason makes strategic decisions from his mind but by keeping the heart in the right place. I am going with four out of five for Jason Kothari’s Irrationally Passionate. Entrepreneurial mindset or not – grab a copy of the book right now. A must read.
Strung together by coincidence, fate and destiny, the mission is not a cakewalk. The dangers are life threatening and at times the stakes are even bigStrung together by coincidence, fate and destiny, the mission is not a cakewalk. The dangers are life threatening and at times the stakes are even bigger than matters of life and death. Will they succeed?
With unlimited treasure spots to be hunted and with the right characters, it has all the ingredients to become a franchise. The Treasure Syndicate by Jatin Kuberkar ticks more boxes than not; I am going with three and half stars for this thrilling treasure hunting story. It is a good one time read.
The book has a lot going in favour then otherwise. It is a light-hearted fun-loving roller coaster story of a new small town detective on the scene, Prachand Tripathi. Richa S. Mukherjee’s Kanpur Khoofiya Pvt. Ltd. is a good one time cocktail of humour and mystery.
I am going with three and half stars for this Khoofiya ride. You will not come up out with shock-n-awe but it will definitely bring a smile to your face. ...more
If you are a hardcore lover of crime fiction or suspense thrillers, then you can definitely give a try at this fast-paced mystery. I am going with thrIf you are a hardcore lover of crime fiction or suspense thrillers, then you can definitely give a try at this fast-paced mystery. I am going with three out of five for Kanchana Banerjee’s Nobody’s Child. If you want your character-sketches to stand out, give this one a read.
**spoiler alert** Imagine your whole body is converted into a city where all kinds of people inhabit it and there are market places, houses etc. insid**spoiler alert** Imagine your whole body is converted into a city where all kinds of people inhabit it and there are market places, houses etc. inside it. Imagine all the abstract and intangible parts of inside a body like knowledge, mind, conscience everything has been personified and they all are full of virtues and can actually communicate with each other.
City of nine gates is one such ‘Vedic Fiction’ book which aims at translating or imparting the knowledge contained in the ancient Vedic literature of our country. The literature which has lost its significance over the centuries, in fact ‘Yugas’. The author, Pankaj Rajput has taken this virtual picturized route to present everything from a different perspective and still keeping the essence of core knowledge and values intact. To summarize ‘City of Nine Gates’ is a self-enlightenment spiritual fiction kind of a book – one of a kind.
The story revolves around the main character ‘Gyan’, which is personification of knowledge and how he traverses through an entire body and becomes self-aware and awakens himself to his truth. The writer masterfully converts the entire body into a city, which through the story form looks realistic like a present-day city. The language of the book is simple and but at the same time the content is complex. A person who has never been introduced to such Vedic words like nadis, indriyas, chakras, etc will find it difficult to put everything in perspective.
In the beginning one might find it difficult to follow the book as a lot happens over a lesser time frame with equally confusing ancient words. It would have been great if the writer would have given the meaning of Vedic words on the same page. It is not easy to go to and fro from the current page to the glossary that is compiled at the end of the book. The book would have been blessed if the story too would have been spaced out even further. Once you get hold of the context and understand what part of the body and its virtues are personified as what, then the pace definitely quickens but until then it becomes a task to not to lose focus. Though the story revolves around a central character but a lot of characters come and go which makes a little tricky to keep a track of everything that being said and referred to.
This is a good attempt at converting and bringing the ancient literature back to life in this form. Imagine what it would feel going through the original Vedas when this book itself is complex. All in all, a decent read with a lot of thought provoking instances. I am going with three out of 5 stars for Pankaj Rajput’s City of Nine Gates. There is a sequel planned to it and the goodreads page tell us that it is a trilogy. Keep an eye on it if you are a lover of such literature. ...more
**spoiler alert** As soon as one encounters the word ‘Partition’, memories of massacre, blood, violence and loss swarm our minds. For the past seventy**spoiler alert** As soon as one encounters the word ‘Partition’, memories of massacre, blood, violence and loss swarm our minds. For the past seventy odd years, we have been hearing stories about partition of India, we have seen many documentaries covering the bloodbath, pain and sorrow that followed. It is very rare that in all of that we find stories of people who actually lived in those refugee camps, who were made to let go off everything they possessed with a snap-of-a-finger. Some random outsider just appeared and decided the fate of millions, which had permanently damaging impacts.
Hiraeth is an anthology consisting of twenty-four soul stirring stories. I am sure you would have earlier read many related to the partition but this book will definitely leave your surprised, even with moist eyes with some of the stories. Hireath is apty titled that in Welsh means ‘longing for home.’
The fact that all the stories give a diverse perspective of the feelings and emotions of the people who survived makes it even more interesting. Not everything is sad in this book, which definitely lightens up the book. The biggest positive is that the stories aren’t interconnected so it is easy for you to pick up any story and read. The author, Dr. Shivani Salil has made an additional effort to manage the length of the stories so to not make it monotonous and boring. I would love to see her pick up any story from this and make it into a full-fledged book.
If you are a sucker for old rustic nostalgic charm, this one is a must-read for you. ...more
If you are looking for a simple light breezy read then this is the book for you. It is a good read on a perfectly relaxing day and you will become a pIf you are looking for a simple light breezy read then this is the book for you. It is a good read on a perfectly relaxing day and you will become a part of the story in no time. Sometimes the life lesson books become too heavy to digest, ‘Alumni of the year’ by Tomson Robert is the exact opposite of that. I am going with ‘three and a half’ stars for this nostalgic simple book. An extra ‘half’ for keeping it light.
The book is crisp and unputdownable and the vocabulary helps. The editing is sharp and polished and it definitely reflects. With less than 200 story pThe book is crisp and unputdownable and the vocabulary helps. The editing is sharp and polished and it definitely reflects. With less than 200 story pages it is a fast read and even though the book is a fictional political satire, it goes at a thriller pace and keeps you invested till the very end.
The book is a welcome fodder for all those political analysts. I am going with four stars for ‘Parliamental’ by Meghnad S. – three and a half for the satire and the extra half for the amazingly humorous and creative footnotes. This page-turner is a must-read.
Silver Hair Sins is a good debut effort by Saumick Pal, which stirs up a lot of questions about the existing religions and the extremism attached to tSilver Hair Sins is a good debut effort by Saumick Pal, which stirs up a lot of questions about the existing religions and the extremism attached to them and how in the future technology can be used for mankind in the religious spectrum as well. I am going with three and a half stars for this visual-science-fiction thriller that will definitely make you think.
Its an amazing book. A novella infact. It is a swift read and yet severely impactful. You will come out heartbroken as to how the totalitarian governmIts an amazing book. A novella infact. It is a swift read and yet severely impactful. You will come out heartbroken as to how the totalitarian governments and suppressor oppress you without you realizing for a second. How they take your support and love and then turn it upside down on you only, exploiting every inch of you in a manner where you still continue to live a fantasy created by them.
Special note: Please read 'Animal Farm' before '1984', otherwise you might feel a bit disappointed. Must read....more
In today’s times when everybody is delivering content based on the number of characters at disposal and reading news consisting of 60 characters, InstIn today’s times when everybody is delivering content based on the number of characters at disposal and reading news consisting of 60 characters, Insta Gita is surely a must read for them. In its petite form also it delivers the main messages of Bhagavad Gita. With only 74 pages and tiny poems it is definitely a fast read. Its small and concise yet powerful and impactful.
I am going with three out of five for Nupur Maskara’s Insta Gita. It definitely packs a punch in its small ‘avatar’.
In this fight against mental illness and depression this is just a start and we have a really long way to go. But I would like to congratulate Arjun tIn this fight against mental illness and depression this is just a start and we have a really long way to go. But I would like to congratulate Arjun that it is a promising start and would encourage him to pursue his path. I am going with two and half out of five for this good debut effort from Arjun Gupta for ‘A to Z of Mental health’
Deal of Death, portraying an empowered woman with a gritty character, is a good debut effort by Sonia Chatterjee. Raya Ray certainly has a lot of scopDeal of Death, portraying an empowered woman with a gritty character, is a good debut effort by Sonia Chatterjee. Raya Ray certainly has a lot of scope for future novellas. I am going with three out of five for Deal of Death.
This is a good debut effort with an effortless fluency to the book. You definitely get hooked onto to the narrative after the few initial pages and woThis is a good debut effort with an effortless fluency to the book. You definitely get hooked onto to the narrative after the few initial pages and would reach the end in no time. Kapil masterfully crafts and brings the story to an end in a way that it leaves the reader gasping for the sequel.
The ones who love the mystical arts or are curious about occultism will definitely like it. I am going with 3 out of 5 for ‘Reminiscences of a Seeker: Dark face of a White World’. The uniqueness of the subject makes for a good page-turner that you should not miss. Do watch out for that sequel.
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