Book Review: Two Winters and 365 Days by Anuradha Prasad

Name: Two Winters and 365 days by Anuradha Prasad
Genre: Fiction
Language: English
Pages: 254
Published: 2013

Excerpt from the book:

When Ananya’s life fell apart and crumpled at a young age she was helpless with the sole intention of supporting her family… she takes up editing an equally crumbling lifestyle magazine AFTER-TEA not knowing what lay ahead thus Ananya’s journey into the mad mad world of the media begins. Though her journey as a professional is replete with adventure, thrill and risks she starts enjoying it …as fate could not steal away her innate talent and an eye for perfection… But as they say in the beautiful Bollywood city of Mumbai anything is possible!

A die hard professional and a ‘construction magnate’ Vicky Arora falls hopelessly in love with simple Ananya…

Though Vicky feels most happy and himself with her does she feel the same? Was she ready to look at love again in the eye? Or was life playing a double game with her? Will she fall this time never to get up? TWO WINTERS AND 365 DAYS is a thrilling story of a journey replete with adventure, hope, romance, and of self discovery…

—————————————————————————————————————————————————–

My Review:

Two Winters and 365 Days, is a very different kind of a book.

Firstly, I’d like to applaud Anuradha for an awesome debut in the field of writing.

Second, I’d love to appreciate the way she has portrayed her characters.

The women in the book, be it the lead character Ananya or her friend in need Amanda.

The characters are well in control of their emotions and strong where required.

I also love the way Ananya rebuilds her life through the book.

Rating:

Plot: 4/5

Characters: 4/5

Writing: 3/5

Overall: 3.5/5

In one line: Go get it!! Worth a read!! Very refreshing indeed!!

About the Author:

Anuradha Prasad has a doctorate in English Literature from Mumbai University.

She is an artist, a feature writer, and a journalist. She writes on invitation regularly.

She loves blogging, counseling, observing nature, traveling, music, movies, Bollywood, and spending time with her family and friends. She lives in Mumbai with her Family.

Her Official Site :http://www.anuradha-prasad.com

Baramulla Bomber by Clark Prasad

  

BOOK DETAILS
Publisher	Niyogi Books
Publication Year	2013
ISBN-13	9789381523971
ISBN-10	9381523975
Language	English
Binding	Paperback
Number of Pages	316 Pages
Book Type	Fiction Book

More than a billion people are praying for India’s new fast pace bowler Mansur Haider from Kashmir to succeed. One politician is making sure the Indian subcontinent is at peace while another is trying to get forgiveness from his nation. One Swedish intelligence officer is trying to decode a puzzle by a fanatic who is making one last ditch attempt to bring chaos to the world. And all of them are connected to Mansur Haider and Kashmir. As a result a secret will be revealed.

With a plot that revolves around Kashmir, Pakistan, China, cricket, ancient secret societies, and espionage? Baramulla Bomber is one heady cocktail that will make for page turning reading and introspection.

Baramulla Bomber is book eka (one) of Svastik Trilogy, a trilogy which looks into the origins of universe, Vedas and the destiny of human race.

Blurb Of The Book:
An Ancient Weapon from the Vedas & Bible
Once Hunted by the Nazis
Powered by the Sound of the Universe

Reborn with the Help of Quantum Physics
Going to be Unleashed onto the World
And Kashmir Holds its Secret

The only way
Multiple intelligence agencies are tracking Mansur Haider, a god-fearing aspiring cricketer from Kashmir. His girlfriend, Aahana Yajurvedi, is trying to locate her missing mountaineering team, which vanished after a mysterious earthquake struck Shaksgam Valley. Investigating Mansur and the Shaksgam Valley incident is Swedish intelligence officer, Adolf Silfverskiold, whose only relationship to God consists of escorting his girlfriend to Church.

To save the world
A dual China-Pakistan battlefront scenario facing the Indian Home Minister, Agastya Rathore, whose ancestors carry a prehistoric secret linked to the stars. He is faced with the challenge of finding a lasting solution to the Kashmir crisis.

Is to challenge one’s faith
Which biblical weapon was tested in Shaksgam valley? Why is Mansur Haider important? Is there a solution to the Kashmir crisis? Can destiny be controlled? Does a cosmic religion exist?

About Clark Prasad: 
Clark Prasad, alter ego of Suraj Prasad, could be called a mixed citizen. Born in a leap year (year of Rocky, All the President’s Men, Omen, Hera Pheri and Kalicharan) in Lagos, Nigeria he lived most of his life in New Delhi and had his education in Lagos, Delhi, Mangalore and Kozhikode. His family background is from the town where George Orwell, author of 1984 (a dystopian fiction) was born, and where Mahatma Gandhi had re-ignited India’s freedom movement – Motihari.

A pharmacist with a management degree who believes in conspiracy theories, Baramulla Bomber is his first book. His first education o he mysteries of the universe came via Carl Sagans Cosmos, and since then he never looked back on reading, watching and discussing about the universe. He grew up during the cold war days with BBC radio was one of his mysterious companions as a kid, when his father played the news regularly every day. World War II news and documentaries on CIA-KGB tussle kept him engaged that time.

As a kid he wanted to be an archaeologist or an astronaut, but fate had its own road and he got involved with Mr. Carbon akaChemistry. Currently he is a healthcare management consultant, based out of Bengaluru, Planet Earth

Watch the prologue on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wqrRUPJqae8 

Review:

This is the first Espionage thriller I read. I found the characters and the mode of writing really good. 

However, the one thing that I expected the book to be and didn’t find happening was the pace! or may be it was just me!

It got heavy halfway through the read and by the time i finished it, I felt it was loaded with information which was a bit avoidable. The editors could have had a bit better job.

In short, Baramulla Bomber is a good read. It gives you the adrenal rush at few places.. There are moments you’d wait with a bated breath onto what happens next……..

A good read for anyone who likes spy novels and thriller stories.

 

Rating = 2.5*

This review is a part of the biggest Book Reviews Program. for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books! 

Love is Vodka, a shot ain’t enough ! by Amit Shankar

 

Paperback, 201 pages

Published 2013

ISBN13   9788192535449

edition language  English

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

If love is all about freedom and honest expression then how can one associate it with loyalty?

Being a love child; Moon, the protagonist is anything but a conventional teen. With a leading TV news anchor as her mother, an aspiring entrepreneur as her boy friend, the word LOVE baffles her. The whole idea of having one partner and love being eternal is beyond her comprehension.

Life turns upside down when she falls for the CEO, who happens to be her mother’s boyfriend too. Destiny further complicates things by blessing her with a big time modelling assignment and she becomes famous and popular overnight.

A war starts waging between her head & heart on a lot of issues exposing her to various forms of love online & offline.

Will she decipher the true meaning of love? Embark on an exhilarating rendezvous with Moon and discover love like never before.

Review:

Well, to start with, I was a little skeptical about this book at the start.
I received the book by blogadda just before I was setting out on a vacation to Rajasthan. I carried the book along and read it during the travel.

However, this book turned out to be a great surprise! I loved reading it 🙂

The one thing that I really appreciate in the book is the characterization of its female leads. Weather it is the lead protagonist, Moon or her mother Payal Malik, they are showcased as the current age, strong females with a head of their own. While Moon is on a constant lookout for true love and its meaning during the course of the book, Payal has been a single mother who has built a strong career and a place in society.

The book connects with you at several levels emotionally. A grown up teen, her perspective of the society, the relationship with the parent, fatherly love, ……..and more……. it all strikes a chord! I almost cried when the story reaches its peak with Moon having the first taste of success and her father passing away in a plane crash on his way to meet her for the first time…

The other aspect that the story touched is how today’s world is constantly connected via the social media and how it impacts them. I believe we all saw ourselves in Moon whenever she felt the happiness and the excitement  with the comments and likes on her posts and pictures.

The only section where the book becomes a bit slow for me is towards the end.. The anti-corruption rally and how it turned into a political stunt was so quite resembling the Anna movement…

But, overall, the book is a fabulous read !

My Rating : 3/5

 

This review is a part of the biggest Book Reviews Program. for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Book Review – Land of The Seven Rivers by Sanjeev Sanyal

Land of The Seven Rivers: A brief history of India’s Geography by Sanjeev Sanyal.. As the name suggests, provides an illustrative account of the evolution of our motherland, India.

In one word, this book is INTERESTING !!

As school kids, most of us despise history and geography owing to the various events, dates and tedious data that these subjects encapsulate. I, on the other hand, always had a special inclination towards these subjects. While history always presented interesting set of stories, geography catered to my growing interest in travel. Even till date, travel to different places is always on the top list of my hobbies. I love to study different places and their cultures and learn about their history.

So this book was more than welcome 🙂

I loved every bit of it. Each chapter comes with an element of surprise. It is an awesome compilation of India’s history.

It is a must read for anyone who wants to know the land called India….something I’d also want my kids to read one day. The book will be treasured forever!

Rating: 4/5

Posted from WordPress for Windows Phone

Book Review: Romi & Gang by Tushar Raheja

BOOK DETAILS
Publisher	Pirates
Publication Year	2013
ISBN-13	9788192681009
ISBN-10	8192681009
Language	English
Binding	Paperback
Number of Pages	237 Pages

Book Excerpt:

Unruly and reckless, thirteen-year-old Romi is the hero of his universe. His great affinity for adventure and the unknown is shared by his gang – the rascal Sukhi, the deadpan Sunny, the naïve Golu and his blood brother, Kim.

When legendary Kim disappears from Mauji, it is left to the four to conquer the maidan with cricket and the world with their wits. Of course, they must prepare for responsibility in between and, one day, go after Kim.

About the Author:

Tushar’s first book was the popular comedy, Anything for you, Ma’am. At the moment, he is a doctoral
candidate at IIT Delhi in the field of Applied Probability. He can be contacted at tushar@raheja.org 

Review:

Romi & Gang is a ‘very different book’!
First, it is pocket size and not the regular size.. It definitely ought to grab your attention that way.

Second, the cover itself ensures that it you realize it is of a different genre and not the regular ones!

Tushar, is an acclaimed author. His first book, Anything for you ma’am being a bestseller.

Romi & Gang is a story of four school boys, Romi, Sukhi, Golu and Sunny. The story revolves around their school days adventures and their shared love for cricket. The four of them struggle to make their place in the school cricket team since they are juniors.

The characters have been well portrayed and they build a connect with the audience.

The book is a must read for those cricket fanatics who want to relive their childhood days. 

In one sentence – it is a wave of freshness 🙂

Rating: 4/5

Identity & Purpose

Mondays are not the most cheerful part of the week usually.. And when you have meetings on Monday mornings, well one can understand the after effects..

However, this Monday morning started with a real insightful session on realization of your identity and purpose in your organization and your team.

Two concepts that really hit a chord with me, and which I would like to share are, are:

TWIN CITIZENSHIP

“Federalism is an age-old device for keeping the proper balance between the big and small. Big in some things, small in others. It is never easy, because it means allowing the small to be independent while still being part of the larger whole, to be different but part of the same. Twin citizenship makes it possible. If there is a sense of belonging to something bigger as well as to our own smaller unit, we can see the sense in accepting some restrictions on our local independence, if it helps the larger whole. Sovereignty is not ceded but shared. The larger unit is not ‘them´ but also ‘us’.”

….Charles Handy

THE DOUGHNUT PRINCIPLE

“The heart of the doughnut, the core, contains all the things which have to be done in that job or role if you are not to fail. In any formal job, these things will be listed and will be called your duties. Even when they are not listed, these duties are often well understood. The core, however, is not the whole of the doughnut. If it were, life would be all chores. There is, thankfully, the space beyond. The space is our opportunity to make a difference, to go beyond the bounds of duty, to live up to our full potential. That remains our ultimate responsibility in life, a responsibility which is always larger than our duty, just as the doughnut is larger than its core.”

….Charles Handy

The essence of these two principles lies in “Finding a balance between what we have to do and what we could do“. 

An interesting concept to understand and work forward with…

Next I need to jot down how I realize my identity and purpose in this organization and in my life… the twin citizenship and the doughnut principle being kept in accordance..

…..This is gonna be an interesting exercise! Once I have jotted down this one I’ll share it here too(in my handwriting, as the instructor insists 🙂 )

Till then, c ya soon!

Meanwhile, if you are able to realize your identity & purpose in life, pls do share 🙂

Book Review: Tantra by Adi

Name: TANTRA

Author: ADI

PRICE: 195/-

Paperback, 344 pages

Excerpt:

Anu is a leather wearing, no-nonsense professional guardian with a reputation for killing the most dangerous vampires in New York City. But when her enemies murder the one person she truly cared about, all she wants is vengeance. The only clue points to New Delhi, so Anu puts in for a job transfer.
In India, she finds more than she expected. For one thing, her fellow operatives have made a truce with the vampires. For another, it’s way too hot to wear leather.
At first, it seems Anu’s biggest challenge will be evading the nice boys her aunt wants her to marry. But when children start disappearing, she discovers forces older and darker than anything she’s faced before. All of Delhi is in danger, especially the sexy stranger who sets Anu’s pulse racing.
To prepare for the coming battle, Anu must overcome her personal demons and put aside years of training. This time, her most powerful weapon will come from her mind, not her weapons belt.

Review:

Well, Vampires have always been the mystery box for me. There is something attractive about vampires that draws me to them. Tantra, in my opinion is quite a fascinating story de-tangling the webs of relations between vampires, humans, satvik forces, tantric forces, spirituality and what more…….. A web, yes, its a web! For once, I am glad an Indian writer provided a strong headed female lead protagonist. The story too unfolds well and keeps you hooked till the end.

The portrayal of Delhi and its people is great too. You can actually visualize so many of the scenes.

Few things that kind of disappointed me were –

1. The American English – I have never known a Delhite speaking that way!

2. However strong headed Anu, the lead protagonist in the story is shown, somewhere she gets weak in her knees having a dude around. I find that not so convincing, specially when the real motive of her flying down to the capital city was to look for Brian’s murderer, who she was so close to….

3. The End – yes it left me really disappointed. I can understand the writer wants to give way for the sequel, but like this? With nothing answered? I don’t quite like it… Frankly it felt that the last few pages of the book were torn…

What happened to Chandra? What about Brian’s killer? Why suddenly Anu wants to learn Tantra? What happened to Amit & Karim?……..and so on………..

And, for now, I am eagerly waiting for the sequel to have my questions answered.

I wish the next one concludes a bit better.

Rating: 3/5

This review is a part of the biggest Book Reviews Program. for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!