Peek-a-Boo(k)

Life is what you make it

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Author: Preeti Shenoy
Publisher: Shrishti Publication
Genre: Fiction
My Rating: 5/5

Well, I am no one to critique and review someone's book which has been written with so much effort and with the heart and soul poured into it. But I was so inspired with this simple yet an amazing novel by Preeti Shenoy that I HAD to post this review on my blog and recommend it to all the readers out there!

Being in a profession that deals with the human mind (well, yes, I changed my profession to being a Hypnotherapist! ) I understand exactly what someone goes through physically, mentally and emotionally when suffering from a mental disorder. Preeti's second novel which is based on a story of a girl named Ankita suffering from "bipolar disorder", caught my attention mainly because it deals with a mental ailment that is very prevelant and yet least understood! I absolutely loved the way Preeti has narrated the story.. it was truly heart warming and touched the chords of emotions so well that I could feel myself going through the pain, pleasure, fears, frustration, happiness,confusion, tension and every other feeling that Ankita (the lead character in the novel) experienced. Now, if this doesn't qualify as a good novel, what else will?! Am sure the best compliment an author can get is that he/she was able to make the characters come alive in the minds of the readers and I must say that Preeti has done this effortlessly! I was just unable to keep the book down till I finished reading the last page. An unusual and a sensitive topic has been written in a very interesting and an inspiring way.

I would surely recommend this book to my clients as a source of inspiration coz Ankita's story tells us that life can change at any moment and life is all about what we make out of it.. we are the masters of our destiny and we are what we think we are!!

It is a very intense book and touches you deeply and inspires you to the core. I highly recommend it!

Last but not the least, I am also proud to say that I know Preeti personally for the past 2 years (I met her at the launch of her first book in Bangalore). She is not only a fine author and a talented artist but an awesome human being! To know more about Preeti visit her blog http://justamotheroftwo.blogspot.com/

Act like a Lady, Think like a Man

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 06:32:00 +0000

Author: Steve Harvey
Pages: 232
Genre: Non-Fiction
My Rating: 2/5

Steve Harvey is a well known comedian who also is a host of the popular show in the West - 'Steve Harvey Morning Show'. This book authored by him lets women into the mindset of a man and sheds light on various concepts and questions. Well, to cut it short, it is just like another 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus' kinda book. The book is completely tailored to the Western culture and I simply couldn't relate to it nor enjoy it. Some segments were quite hilarious, funny and direct but overall the book was a bore and I had to skip a few pages in between to reach the end... I would surely not recommend reading this book!

Book Blogger Hop: Oct 8-11

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 06:12:00 +0000

I came across this weekly event hosted on Crazy-For-Books.com which is a great way to find new book blogs every week, exchange ideas and make new friends!

Here's what the event is about -

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read!

And this week's question -

What's your favorite beverage while reading or blogging, if any? Is it tea, coffee, water, a glass of wine, or something else?

My Answer: -- I love sipping green tea with lemon and honey, anytime! Whether I am reading a book or browsing through the blogs, that is always my favorite beverage :)

Girls of Riyadh (Banat al-Riyadh)

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 17:20:00 +0000

Author: Rajaa Alsanea
Pages: 304
Genre: Memoir/Contemporary/Novel based on a true story
Publisher: Penguin Press
My Rating: 4/5 (Worth a read; gives a good insight into the Saudi culture)

Raaja Alsanea boldy chose to expose the hidden world of Saudi women through her book Banat al Riyadh (in Arabic) which is actually a collection of emails. The book caused a sensation in Saudi Arabia and it was immediately banned there but the English translations of the same book was made available from Jan 2008...

Girls of Riyadh is a story about 4 young women who are the best of friends and are from upper-class Saudi families. They study in universities and medical schools in Riyadh/San Fransisco/Chicago but eventually return back to Riyadh. Even though they are exposed to the modern outlook, they still cannot escape the deep-rooted oppresive traditions of the religiously-dominated-and-conservative Saudi society. Yet they fall in love, have affairs, lost opportunities and broken hearts just like any other girl in other parts of the world..

The book is very fast paced, engaging and quite similar to the 'Sex and the City' type drama, So I won't get into the details of the plot; am sure you already have got an idea of it :) Some of the reviews say that the life of the Saudi girls represented in the book is way too far from the reality. Nevertheless, it does give a big picture of the life out there and it is un-imaginable! Every time I read a book about middle east, I always thank my stars that I was born here in India and I am so glad that I live my life on my own terms and I have my freedom of speech, thought and expression!

Though the novel cannot be regarded as a good literary piece, the small peek into the fascinating culture of the Arab world is definitely worth a read!

Message In a Bottle

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 06:02:00 +0000

Author: Nicholas Sparks
Genre: Romance
Pages:410
My Rating: 4.5/5

I am usually very skeptical about trying new authors. I dont pick up a book by a new author without reading a lot of reviews initially. But when I found this book in the library and I ready the summary I immediately grabbed it. There was something that made me feel I would like it and I wasn't wrong.....I absolutely loved it!! Infact it had been ages since a book had got me in tears (I think the last was Kite Runner) and I cried reading this one....

'Message in a Bottle' is a very sweet, sentimental and a heart-wrenching story. It is about Theresa Osborne, a columnist by profession and a divorcee, who accidentally finds a bottle with a letter inside while jogging at the beach. That love letter written by Garret to Catherine touches her so deeply that she gets very keen on finding out who Garret is. A play of destiny and her constant curiosity leads her to Willmington where she finally meets Garret and falls in love with him....

The story climax is quite tragic & unexpected and it leaves you wanting for more. The book keeps your attention all the while and the story sucks you in. I doubt if anyone would finish the book and not cry :) It wont fail to have an impact on you, especially if you enjoy reading romantic fiction! There is also a movie based on this book starring Kevin Costner and I am waiting to get my hands on it...

The book is very well written and the plot is very well built. I would definitely recommend this to everyone who likes romance and especially the fans of Nicholas Sparks!

Have you read this one?? I am curious to know your views!

The Devil Wears Prada

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:05:00 +0000

I am back after a long hibernation! Tons of things kept me busy with absolutely no time to read. Hope to keep this space updated more often now :)

While I was extremely busy in the last 3 months, I did manage to read this one book. I laid my hands on it by chance while travelling, due to lack of options. It had never been on my TBR list at all. However I did enjoy reading it a lot!

If you have read the book am sure you will agree with me that it is very cliched. It was no different than Bridget Jones' Diary and the like. Yet these chick-lit novels are quite entertaining and light. They are good to read when you don't want to work your brain much and want to have a relaxed time.....

About the book:
Set against the backdrop of the fashion world in New York city, Andrea Sachs a just out of college graduate, lands into a job with Runway magazine, which seems like a dream job to her. However, the editor of the magazine, Miranda Priestly who is also a major fashion icon, is a living hell to work with. As much as she hates Miranda, Andrea still continues to do her job continuing to hope that it will one day land her an entry into The New York Times...

Andrea as a character is quite interesting as you see her struggling to fit into a world which is completely strange to her as well as maintain her sanity while working with a highly demanding and eccentric boss. However, the plot gets very stale early on as you see that there is nothing new happening in every page that you read. Everyday of Andrea is quite the same as her previous one...the only thing that might hold you on is your interest to know what she might do at the end of it all...

One thing which was strikingly annoying in the book was the fact that Miranda Priestly's character was portrayed in a very uni-dimensional way. As an overbearing boss, she was shown to be absurd to the extreme which didn't seem real. And of course, not to forget the gossip part of the fashion world which seems to get a little overboard.

Waiting to watch the movie now!

Nine on Nine

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:44:00 +0000

Author: Nandita C Puri;
Genre: Indian Fiction (Short Stories);
Pages: 212;
My Rating: 4/5;

I wanted to give Indian Fiction a break, but I had to redeem the loyalty points on my Citibank Account and this was the only book I could order! When I read the reviews online it seemed quite ok and also it was a short story collection, so I thought - why not?! The fact that the author is the wife of Om Puri (the famous bollywood actor) and not an established writer, had made me more skeptical....I mean books written by these not so famous spouses of famous actors you know..

It's a small book, a collection of 9 short stories and a fast paced one...something that I finished in just one sitting in a few hours. All stories are women centric and most of them set in the backdrops of Bengal (reminds me of Jhumpa Lahiri, I had an overdose of it in her stories!). But thankfully these characters here are not extraordinarily rich & educated women from high society families, like in Lahiri's stories. But I could find a similarity in the writing style of these 2 authors. Puri, like Lahiri, has a style of ending her stories without a definite, happy or a logical climax. That brings the stories few steps closer to reality. Usually all the endings leave you with a lot of thoughts and questions and it is left to the reader's imagination. I love that aspect! Also they all have a dash of suspense in them to deliver the punch of the story, which keeps you engrossed till the end.

The first story "Arranged Marriage", which is set in a Marathi household is the best of the nine. Amazing plot and very well written, with a lot of vernacular lines which bring in realism. I also liked "At Jenny's" and "Flashback" which had very unique & intricately woven plots and a complicated ending... Other stories are enjoyable too, but these 3 stood out for me.

Overall, it's a good read!

The Bridges of Madison County

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:32:00 +0000

Author: Robert James Waller;
Pages: 170;
Genre: Fiction/Romance/Literature;
Rating: 4.5/5;

Ah! I am back here after a long break of 3 months...It's never been so long since I went without reading a book.. So that itself explains how busy and occupied I was! Hope to read a lot more and finish the pile of books lying in my shelf..

The Bridges of Madison County is a film made in 1995, which is based on this book and recommended by a friend. I had heard a lot of good things about it and as usual I wanted to read the book first before watching the movie...so picked this up

This isn't a kind of book I would normally read. It's a sad love story and a very short one but packed with full of emotions & extremely touching...I absolutely loved reading it. It is supposed to be a true love story between Francesca and Robert Kincaid, set in the state of Iowa. Robert is a small town photographer who visits Madison county to photograph the covered bridges. He meets Francesca, a farm wife there whose husband/children are away from the town. They instantaneously fall in love and the story unfolds based on the brief affair between them during those 4 days. Though the love between Francesca and Robert seems very idealistic and flowery, it still is very compelling and doesnt fail to impress you. It may not be the best written book - but it is quite a good read! I am waiting to get my hands on the movie...

My Friend Sancho

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 05:03:00 +0000

Author: Amit Varma;
Genre: Indian Fiction;
Pages: 220;
Publisher: Hachette India
Rating: 4.5/5;

I've been long following Amit Varma's widely read popular blog - India Uncut and I absolutely love his writings. A journalist turned novelist and blogger, Amit Varma published his debut novel 'My Friend Sancho' in May 2009. There was no way I was going to miss reading this one. Sancho which was long listed for the Man Booker Asian Prize, was definitely an engaging read..

I find Amit Varma's writing style to be extremely bold, candid, breezy, unique and entertaining. The book doesnt aspire to be a work of serious literature, but it's significantly above the ones like "One Night at the Call Center" (Chetan Bhagat) or "Keep off the Grass"(Karan Bajaj). In fact I wouldn't put these 3 books in the same category, though they are intended to be mass market fiction. The best part about Sancho is that it's not made of the usual cliches, stale humor or predictable silliness. It's different...It's unique...I have probably never come across any book which has so many swear words and dark sarcasm and yet didn't seem to be out of place. However, there are a few instances in the book where Abir (the protoganist inthe book) refers to Amit's blog (India Uncut) which did come across as narcissism and as if those references were deliberately included there to market his blog. Other than that, I didn't find any flaws...

Synopsis: The book deals with a lot of sensitive topics like the ethics of journalism, cross-religious relationships, communalism, corruption and police encounters. Abir Ganguly (the protagonist in the book) is a crime reporter who is called by the police one night to cover an arrest. The last thing he expects is a shootout and a dead man. Did the cops screw up? He has no idea. Abir's boss wants him to write a story of the victim, for which Abir meets the victim's daughther Muneeza to gather more facts and details. Over the next few days, an unlikely friendship develops between the two and an interesting story unfolds...

The book is no Rushdie or Amitav Ghosh but its definitely worth a read! It's interesting, offers good insights & the humor makes you roll on the floor with laughter....Above all, it resonates with you and makes you keep turning the pages till the end!

2009 - The year that was..

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:54:00 +0000

When I made a list today of all the books I managed to read last year, I was damn thrilled! I started 2009 with a resolution to read at least 2 books a month and am glad to see that I've managed much more than that! I love reading and my passion has grown much stronger over the last 2 years and I hope to continue and read a lot more this year...

Thanks to all the publishers/authors for sending across a lot of review copies/ARC's all the way across the world and all my wonderful book blog community friends for leaving comments and suggesting great books to read :) Because of time constraints I couldn't post the reviews for the books I committed for December...will ensure they are up in the next 1 week..

Here's the complete list-
(Click on the titles to go to the book reviews)

1. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
2. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
3. Black Friday: The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts by Hussain.S.Zaidi
4. Almost Single by Advaita Kala
5. Keys to Living Joyfully by Sheri Kaye Hoff
6. A Flight of Pigeons by Ruskin Bond
7. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
8. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
9. Keep off the Grass by Karan Bajaj
10. Stay Hungry Stay Foolish by Rashmi Bansal
11. Dont Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight by Rujuta Diwekar
12. Buddha Mind, Buddha Body by Thich Nhat Hanh
13. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
14. Princess by Jean Sasson
15. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
16. Everybody Wins by Gary Chapman
17. Dancing With Ana by Nicole Barker
18. The Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma
19. Brida by Paulo Coehlo
20. But then again I could be wrong by Jim Rising
21. Freakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
22. To Sir with Love by E.R.Braithwaite
23. Two States by Chetan Bhagat
24. A Quiver Full of Arrows by Jeffery Archer
25. The Energy of Prayer by Thich Nhat Hanh (not reviewed)
26. 24x7 Marriage by Vijay Nagaswami (not reviewed)
27. Symbols of the Soul by Gina Lake (not reviewed)
28. 34 Bubblegums and Candies by Preeti Shenoy (not reviewed)

A Quiver Full Of Arrows

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:21:00 +0000

Author: Jeffrey Archer;
Genre: Fiction;
Pages: 270;
Rating: 4.5/5;
Challenges: Orbis Terrarum 2009; Country: UK/London

I usually dont read mainstream fiction and this is probably the second book of Jeffrey Archer I've read so far. As the name aptly suggests, the book is a collection of 12 impressive short stories (arrows) put together in a book (quiver). Each one of them is quite unique and leaves an impact on the reader. I feel it's always difficult to convey the right meaning and invoke the right kind of emotions through a short story as compared to a full blown novel 'coz there is no luxury to build up the plot and the characters in detail...but Archer seems to have a great talent for creating characters! The stories are intriguing & entertaining...though they somewhat seem to have a similar setting and flow they are unique with the unexpected endings and a few of them do captivate your heart....

I especially loved the "One night stand" and "The Luncheon". They are hilarious and bring out the different aspects of human nature and above all, they end with a pun which makes you laugh out loud!

Keeping it short, I'd say that it's a great collection of short stories and definitely worth your time!

Two States

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Author: Chetan Bhagat;
Pages: 270;
Genre: Indian Fiction;
Rating: 3.5/5; (only for the drama & entertainment)

I remember when I read Five Point Someone years back I had enjoyed it a lot and I was eagerly waiting to read Chetan Bhagat's second book; but unfortunately One Night at the Call Center was a huge disappointment. I had decided never to read his book again and I didn't pick up 3 mistakes of my life. To me, his writing looks very commercial and soap-opera-like. Every book of his is being made into a Bollywood movie (which is again commercialized) and it seems like the books are written more like a script for Bollywood than a work of literature. I am not a writer to critique but having read books by a lot of authors across the world I feel his language & writing skills are very ordinary and something which I cannot appreciate. Well, for we all know he himself has never claimed to be literary. I have read much better Indian "writers" and I'm quite surprised to see New York Times calling him "..the best selling English-Novelist in Indian history..." Anyway, the books are priced so low (Rs.95) that no one would probably even think twice before buying the book, so am sure by the sales figures, his books are definitely the best-selling ones...

Not wanting to sound too critical, I did enjoy reading his latest book Two States a lot. Mainly because it's the story of his own marriage and it's very close to reality (he says the readers should still consider it as a work of fiction). It's always nice to read a true story...though it was full of drama and very filmy & spiced up, it was still entertaining and quite engrossing and managed to hold my interest till the last page. But I still stick to my point that the writing style was extremely ordinary and definitely not for literary fans.

The plot is quite predictable. The story is about a couple at IIMA, Krish (a Punjabi boy) and Ananya (a Tam Bram) who fall in love and struggle to get married. The catch is that they dont want to elope and want both the family's approval for the wedding. So they take turns to win each other's families and it doesn't end there 'coz in Indian you dont just marry the guy/girl, you marry the family! So they try hard to get the 2 families to like each other, which in reality, is a HUGE thing to accomplish!

What I liked is that the book draws your attention to the huge cultural differences and racism that still exist in India across various states. People still face the dilemma to marry someone outside their clan. Couples themselves wonder if it is worth it to marry by making the entire family unhappy?

Irrespective of the cliches, the book is worth a read once, to know what couples from different communities (esp north/south india) go through because of the society and family norms...

If you are looking for something to make you laugh or to lighten your mood between serious books, then this is a perfect choice!

To Sir With Love

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:29:00 +0000

Author: E.R. Braithwaite;
Pages: 185;
Genre: Autobiography;
Rating: 4.5/5;
Challenges: Orbis Terrarum 2009; Country -South America (British Guiana)

I am back to reading again, after a long break! Work and vacation didn't leave me any time for reading and I really missed it. I have a lot to finish before the year ends, especially for the Orbis Terrarum Challenge...hope to get it done!

This book by E.R.Braithwaite had been lying in my shelf for many months and I am glad I picked it up this time. To Sir With Love is a true story of a dedicated teacher Rick Braithwaite, a Negro who is often subjected to racial discrimination and prejudice, in the post-war cosmopolitan London city. He begins his first teaching job in a tough school where he faces similar discrimination and reactions. Slowly and painfully he wrestles to break the barriers down and turns hate into love, rebelliousness into self-respect and contempt into consideration.

The book is very inspiring and extremely heart warming. The language is very neat and simple and the characters are very detailed and well etched. I liked the way in which the explosive topic of racism is handled with finesse. Towards the end of the book, Braithwaite realizes that it was not his skin color which was holding him back but his attitude. The book presents a very fresh perspective on equal rights, co-existence and mutual respect....and I absolutely loved reading it!

The book was also made into a movie with the same title, a pretty old one, in the year 1967. Something that am going to watch pretty soon!

A book that I would definitely recommend to all...

Monday Reads..

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:22:00 +0000

I finally get the time to make a post...My reading has drastically come down in the last 2 months and I just don't feel good about it...work has been the main culprit, in addition to a busy personal & social life! But I hope to finish the 5 books I have on my list before the end of this year.. hmm..that's quite an ambitious target!

Books read in the last 2 weeks

1. Freakonomics by Steven Levitt - one of the best non-fiction books I've read this year...

2. But then again I could be wrong by Jim Rising - my first book in the humour/comedy genre..a very light read... can be a good break between 2 intense books

Currently reading:

1. To Sir With Love by E.R Braithwaite - this is part of the Orbis Terrarum Challenge'09

2. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami - I badly want to finish this. It's been 3 months since I started this one! :(

In the pipeline:
1. Life after 187 by Wade Halverson

2. Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda

Head over to J.Kaye's blog to see what other bloggers are reading this week...

Freakonomics

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Author: Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 210
Rating: 5/5

Synopsis: Freakonomics is a collection of economic articles by Levitt & co-author Dubner wherein they unravel the mysteries behind the events and issues we encounter in our everyday life, based on their 'unconventional' economic theories. The authors state that there is no unifying theme in the book, though the aim is to explore the 'hidden side of things'

I've been wanting to read this book for ages now and am glad I did it finally. It's one of the best non-fiction books I've read this year. One word that comes to my mind when I think of this book is - Unconventional. The book is not based on the typical economic theories and numbers. It gives a completely different view of the world. Some of the conclusions drawn by Levitt are just unbelievable and close to earth-shattering!

Levitt has a great knack of staying away from convention. He unravels the assumptions & myths layer by layer to present the 'real causes' behind the trends. The book is pretty much like a set of case studies where Levitt takes a few significant historical events (a mundane set of open-ended questions) and analyzes the trends to finally arrive at that one particular moment which actually caused the event.

The book encourages us to think laterally, out of the box, to keep our eyes open and minds alert and break out of the conventional ways of thinking and see through the trends with a fresh eye. In short, it makes economics seem like fun!

Highly recommeded ....A must read!!

But then again I could be wrong

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:28:00 +0000

Author: Jim Rising
Genre: Humour/Comedy
Pages: 228
Publisher: Tribute Books
My Rating: 3.0/5

I received this book last month as a review copy from Tribute Books (http://www.tribute-books.com/ ). Thanks to Nicole for sending across this copy to me!

Jim Rising, the author, is the program director of 102.3 The Mountain WDMT and hosts a weekly show called "Rising at Ten". This book is a collection of some of these shows from the past few years.

As the title suggests, this book is nothing but full of rants. It's not really stand-up comedy, so don't expect to have a hearty laugh. But it's quite funny and a good source of entertainment. It's a collection of Jim's personal experiences and mundane activities and other random life situations which are presented in a humorous way..The nice part of the book is that Jim talks about those small things in life which we usually think about...He has a very unique take on life and it makes you wonder if he is reading into your thoughts!

Each of the rants is just about 2 pages long and that makes it an easy read. Some of them are extremely hilarious while a few others have some inspiring & thoughtful messages. However, I did find a few of them quite boring and bland which I just skipped through. Jim's style is quite different, so it takes a bit of getting used to, in order to understand his sense of humor. 10-20 snippets down the line, I got a hang of it and enjoyed reading it...

I feel that an audio version of this book would be a better choice, something that you can listen to while driving or doing some mindless tasks ...for those times when you don't want to stretch your mind a lot...

Brida

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Author: Paulo Coelho;
Genre: Modern Fiction;
Publisher: Harper Collins;
Pages: 266;
My Rating: 4/5;

Challenges: Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009; Country: Brazil

This is the 7th book for my Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009...and I have 3 more to go to complete the challenge, yet again!

I picked up this book only because the brief synopsis that I read for a few minutes caught my attention, in addition to the cover page (sometimes an interesting cover is the only reason why I buy certain books!). Reading Brida was a totally different experience. It was almost like reading a fantasy novel. The book is all about witchcraft, magic, tarot, rebirth, incarnations, spiritualism , philosophy, etc. So if you are not interested in *any* of these, then this novel is definitely not for you. I love exploring these subjects, so I found the book to be quite interesting!

Synposis:
Brida is the story of a young Irish girl who embarks on a spiritual journey and her quest for knowledge. Here search leads her to a magician who dwells in a forest, who teaches her to overcome her fears and a woman who teaches her how to dance to the music of the world, along with the Tradition of the Moon. As Brida continues through her journey, she slowly learns to tap into her hidden gifts...struggling to balance her relationships and her desire to become a witch, find her soulmate and transform herself.

I have never been a big fan of Paulo Coelho. The only book I've read so far is The Alchemist and that too, many years back! So I hardly remember anything from it. In terms of writing, Brida didn't captivate me much but I was truly amazed by the author's philosophical brilliance and spiritual ideas! I liked the way he has portrayed Brida's search of her soulmate with a lot of metaphors and references. Though there is quite a bit of vivid descriptions and nudity involved, it doesn't seem out of place or sleazy. The story is fast paced yet the characters are etched perfectly well to fit into the flow; you never feel that you are missing out on any details...

Typical to Paulo Coelho's works, even this book has a lot of interesting quotes scattered all over -

“Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.”

“I learned that the search for God is a Dark Night, that Faith is a Dark Night. And that’s hardly a surprise really, because for us each day is a dark night. None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, and yet still we go forwards. Because we trust. Because we have Faith. That every moment in life is an act of faith.”

“The path of the life is and always will be path of Mystery. Learning something means coming into contact with a world of which you know nothing. In order to learn, you must be humble.”

Booking Through Thursday: Would you lie?

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:14:00 +0000

This week's BTT question:

Two-thirds of Brits have lied about reading books they haven't.

Have you? Why? What books?

No! Never! I dont understand why would anyone want to lie about reading something which they havent actually read. I have my own taste for books and I proudly stick to it. I have no issues in accepting the fact that I hardly read any books in many categories like sci-fi, historical fiction or classics. That doesn't make me less smart or my reading insignificant...

There are quite a few books which I have just stopped reading in the middle or just after a few chapters and I would definitely have my opinions about the book to share when someone asks. But I always base my opinion only on the part of the book which I have read...which I feel is fair enough.

But I still wonder why someone would lie about reading a book! Is it peer pressure? Is it just to "fit in" to a discussion, or just to show off their interests or intelligence? Any thoughts?

Head over to MizB's blog to check out what other blogger's feel about this topic...

The Monk who sold his Ferrari

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:35:00 +0000

Author: Robin Sharma
Pages: 200
Genre: Self-Help/Inspiration
Rating: 2.5 stars (on a scale of 5)

Challenges: Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009 ; Country - Canada (Author's Origin)

I've been wanting to read this book for more than 3 years. I remember it had generated so much hype when it was released and I was quite intrigued by the title as well. As per the statistics, more than a million copies of it are sold; wanted to figure out why?!

Even when I picked up the book I had absolutely no idea that it was a self-help!! I thought it was more philosophical. Anyways, since I am open to reading all kind of genres, I started this with an open mind...

As you can see my rating, I've given it only 2.5 stars. To me that means it's quite an average read and I wouldn't probably recommend it to anyone. The book actually starts off quite well. I was quite inspired reading the first few chapters! I was hoping that it would continue throughout, but half way through, it proved to be quite pedantic. Though the author has a valid point to make, he drags on and on about the same concept which is a real put off. Rather than emphasizing the importance of those principles, it actually bored me to death. I agree, emphasizing the facts repeatedly with various instances and examples is a good way to create a lasting impression on the reader's mind but it shouldn't look artificial or forced. Though Robin Sharma has used a dialogue approach between Julian (the Monk) and John to explain the 7 key concepts, it just fails to look natural. Every question that John asks seems like a rehearsed script in a reality show!! It just doesn't fit in....Probably a different style of writing would have helped here, is my opinion!

Even the 7 concepts discussed seem to be very cliched and I have read many books explaining the same concepts in a better way, holding the reader's interest. The book really disappointed me. I would not recommend this unless you are in desperate need of self-help.

However, I still liked a few quotes in the book which I made a note of, while reading.

"Every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson.I have realized that failure whether of the personal, professional or even spiritual kind is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and whole host of psychic rewards.Never regret your past. Rather, embrace it as the teacher that it is".

"Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you"

"It's only when you have mastered the art of loving yourself that you can truly love others. It's only when you have opened your own heart that you can touch the heart of others. When you feel centered and alive, you are in a much better position to be a better person"

"By controlling the thoughts that you think and the way you respond to the events of you life, you begin to control your destiny"

Teaser Tuesdays

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:12:00 +0000

"Every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson. I have realized that failure whether of the personal, professional or even spiritual kind is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and a whole host of psychic rewards. Never regret your past. Rather, embrace it as the teacher that it is"

- Page 16, The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma

"There is no one strategy that will magically transform your life, John, let me be the first to say this. Lasting and profound change comes through the continued application of a number of the methods I have shared with you. But yoga is an extremely effective way to unlock your reserves of vitality. I do my yoga every morning and it is one of the best things that I do for myself. It not only rejuvenates my body, it completely focuses my mind. It has even unblocked my creativity. it is a terrific discipline"
- Page 111, The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!(make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Dancing With Ana : Giveaway Winners

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:03:00 +0000

The 3 lucky winners (randomly picked by my computer) of the book 'Dancing With Ana' by Nicole Barker are :

Veens who blogs @ Giving Reading a Chance
Dina who blogs @ Just Another New Blog
Sarbear who blogs @ My Life is an Effing Fairytale

Congrats to all the winners!! Drop me an email with your complete postal address (if you are in US, P.O Boxes are accepted too) and I shall email the author with the details.

**You are eligible for claiming the book only if you are a follower of this blog (if you are not, you can follow by clicking on the button on the right sidebar)

Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009 Update

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:48:00 +0000

It's 6 months since the challenge started and I am done reading 5/10 books. I think that's a decent progress :) I am enjoying this more than I did last year! I have a tendency of getting stuck reading specific genres, so am glad that becoz of this OT challenge I consciously expand my reading to books from various countries...

1. FLIGHT OF PIGEONS by Ruskin Bond (India)
2. ANGELS AND DEMONS by Dan Brown (USA)
3. SIDDHARTHA by Herman Hesse (Germany) - book is based in India
4. THE REMAINS OF THE DAY by Kazuo Ishiguro (Japan)
5. BUDDHA MIND, BUDDHA BODY by Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnam)

Currently Reading: THE MONK WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI by Robin Sharma (Canada)

I am yet to decide on the next 4 books that I need to pick up! So suggestions are welcome :)

It's Monday.. What are you reading?

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:28:00 +0000

Mondays are full of blues...but books always make me smile :) So time for the weekly meme hosted by J.Kaye on her blog

Books read last week:

1. DANCING WITH ANA by Nicole Barker - A very warm Young Adult romance novel which just cannot be put down till you read the last page!

2. 24x7 MARRIAGE by Vijay Nagaswami - A very short and crisp book written by a well known psychotherapist about smart strategies for good beginnings in a marriage, in an Indian context. I picked up this book just to explore new domains and categories in my reading and it was quite good!

3. SYMBOLS OF THE SOUL by Gina Lake - My very first experiment with a book on astro science which is about understanding your life purpose and karma! It was an amazing experience reading this book... god knows how much of it is true, but it was definitely hair raising and scintillating!! I'm definitely going to read more in this genre soon...

Books for next week:

1. KAFKA ON THE SHORE by Haruki Murakami (This reading is getting interrupted since a month!)
2. THE MONK WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI by Robin Sharma (For the Orbist Terrarum Challenge 2009)

Read any of the books above? What have you thought about them? Share your comments! I would love to hear your views...

Book Giveaway: DANCING WITH ANA

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 17:22:00 +0000

GIVEAWAY!

Nicole Barker will be giving away 3 signed copies of her novel "Dancing with Ana" which is a light hearted Young Adult Fiction. I have an extra copy with me, so even if you are not a US/Canada resident, you can still participate in this giveaway and I'll ship the book to the winner.

Synopsis: (from the book cover)

Beth is a lucky girl. She comes from a loving family. She has 3 best friends. She loves to surf and lives 5 minutes from the beach. She also recently discovered that the boy she has grown up with has the most amazing green eyes.. Beth has every reason to smile. Every reason to be happy. Every reason to feel blessed. Then why is she sticking her fingers down her throat?

Review:
This being my first YA novel, I've given it 4 stars!! It's a very heart warming book, fun and light to read and definitely not to be missed if you are a YA fan! Click here to read my review of the book

Rules:
1. This giveaway is open till September 10th 2009 and 3 winners will be drawn on 11th September.

2.The winners will be notified by email, so don't forget to leave your email ID in the comment section. I will email the winners to get their postal address.

3. You can enter by leaving a comment in the comment section of this post. Only one comment.

4. US/Canada residents - PO Boxes are accepted. International residents, I'll ship you a copy after getting your postal address through email.

How to get Multiple Entries for this Giveaway

1. If you are a follower of this blog then you get 2 entries (If you are not a follower, you can become a follower by clicking on the "Follow" button in the right panel)

2. If you are a subscriber to this blog through any RSS readers then mention the same for 1 additional entry. (If you are not a subscriber, you can do so by using the Subscribe option in the top right panel)

3. Get an additional 3 entries for posting about this giveaway on your blog.

4. Get 1 entry for posting the link to author's website http://www.dancingwithana.com/ on Twitter, Facebook or your own website/blog (Make sure to mention the URL where you have posted)

5. Get an additional 2 entries for signing up on the message boards on the author's website http://www.dancingwithana.com/

6. Get an additional 1 entry for posting about this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, Orkut, Ning (book blog community) or any other community.

You just cannot miss reading this book! So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and leave your entries below!

Dancing with Ana

noreply@blogger.com (Pratima Nagaraj (Pratima Jayaram)) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:19:00 +0000

Thanks to Nicole Barker for shipping me this free review copy all the way across the world at such a short notice!

Book Info:
Author: Nicole Barker,
Pages: 170,
Genre: Young Adult fiction,
Publisher: The Golden Road Press,
My Rating: 4.0/5

Official Website : http://dancingwithana.com/

I had never experimented with YA genre so far coz I felt it's just not my type and wouldn't hold my interest for long enough to finish reading the entire book. But when Nicole Barker mailed me asking if I would be interested in reviewing this one, I just jumped at it and agreed! The short synopsis and the cover page were enough to draw my attention to this one and I was surprised that I absolutely loved the book and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

The book is about 16 year old Beth, who is a smart girl and lucky enough to have a pretty much 'perfect life'. She has 3 great friends Rachel, Melanie and Jenny and her childhood buddy Jeremy. At the surface it seems like she leads a perfectly normal life with surfing, running, hanging out with friends, partying, school etc. But her inside world is completely in contrast with this about which hardly anyone knows. She is quite unhappy within and is in a constant struggle to come to terms with her parents' divorce which is probably why she is striving to behave different assuming that would help her accept this change and deal with it..

I absolutely loved the way each character is carved so well in the story, especially Beth and Jeremy. The innocent love that develops between Beth and Jeremey was extremely heart warming. It was very well developed and realistic, something each one of us can identify with and wish we could have someone offer such pure, selfless, unconditional love...It really touched me and I loved reading this part. I am way past that age but I could still relate to the strong feelings and emtions which Beth went through..

The book has a very fast pace which worked well for me. I would probably have lost interest if it was too long drawn. Though short, the story was well detailed and does create a depth of emotions in the reader. The short and sweet part of it kept me hooked on and when I finished, it left me craving for a bit more! If you are a regular YA reader, you might not be too happy with the timespan and how fast the things progress.....

I was quite curious to know about the title "Dancing with Ana" becoz Ana was not one of the characters in the book. I did a lot of google search and found in one of the reviews which had an explanation to this and it really intrigued me! "Ana is the short name of Anorexia Nervosa, the very disorder that Beth falls prey to. As of the dancing, there is both a figurative side to it (the way Beth 'toyed' with her unhealthy diet taking 2 steps forward and very rarely, one step back), but there is also a literal dance - in the way she danced her heart out at the end of the book. Dancing away her pain, sadness, anger, frustration and disappointement. The way she released her demons to the sky"

Recommended to teenage girls or people who still want to relive their teen years :)