Smart Readers' Book Reviews

Late For Tea At The Deer Palace, The Lost Dreams Of My Iraqi Family by Tamara Chalabi

2011-02-02T17:07:00.000+05:30

Late For Tea At The Deer Palace is one of the most captivating books I have ever read. Rather than telling you what kind of a book it is, I 'll let you read part of the prologue Tamara Chalabi herself has written. "......It was 19 April 2003, ten days after the fall of Baghdad to the US led coalition forces, and the city, depleted and derelict, was grappling with a new reality. The heat of

The Last Lecture

2011-01-23T02:00:00.000+05:30

I finally read this wonderful book. You can't imagine how delighted I was when I saw a Sinhalese translation of this masterpiece by Dr.Randy Pausch. . This book is written around the lecture held by Dr. Pausch, a great scholar of computer based virtual realities and an academic of Carnegie Mellon University, after being diagnosed with a fatal cancer, his very last lecture so, as well as

Inventing George Washington Was A Painful Experience

2011-01-09T16:44:00.000+05:30

N.B. I have based this review on an uncorrected proof copy of "Inventing George Washington" by Edward G Lengel, so the contents of the final print may be different in parts that are quoted here. Inventing George Washington by Edward G Lengel was a bad reading experience, I'm afraid. I'll start what little I have to say about this book with this quotation from the preface of the book. ".....

The Dog Who Couldn't Stop Loving

2011-01-04T22:41:00.001+05:30

N.B. This review has been based of an uncorrected proof copy of the title the and content of the final publication may differ from the way mentioned in this article. Being a person who love animals, and dogs above all, I found great pleasure in reading through Jeffrey Moussaieff Mason's The Dog Who Couldn't Stop Loving, a scholarly composition putting the man-dog relationship in a new light,

The Book Of Tomorrow

2010-12-17T07:03:00.000+05:30

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An Unbelievable Yet True Story

2010-11-21T07:37:00.000+05:30

I read a good book after a long time . Once I got my hands on a Sinhalese translation of Alive by Piers Paul Read, I got through it without stopping. Alive is a remarkable novel telling the true story of a group of people who got lost among the frozen Andes mountains after the plane carrying them from Uruguay to Chili crashed, and how some of them beat the odds of the harsh conditions of

Good To A Fault By Marina Endicott, How Do Selfishness And Sacrifice Relate To Each Other?

2010-08-30T19:09:00.002+05:30

Good To A Fault, a novel written by Marina Endicott ,was a book I found very enjoyable and inspirational. Although it has a plot that evolves around a woman's decision that is hardly likely to take place in the real world, the author presents it with such a fine manner which makes it really convincing. Here is a peek in to the plot. Clara Purdy is fourty- three, and works as an insurance

Lonely by Emily White, Nothing like I've Ever Read

2010-08-22T21:59:00.002+05:30

Lonely is a book written by Emily White that leads to a possible recognition of chronic loneliness as an altogether different condition. Inspired mostly by the authors own experience of loneliness, this book is in part a biography, a research paper, and a case study. I'll remember this as one my best reading experiences ever. In this remarkable book Emily tells us that she must have born

Island Beneanth The Sea By Isabel Allende

2010-06-16T23:35:00.001+05:30

Ever since I read Eva Luna , I was eagerly looking forward to read the other books by Isabel Allende. When I got my hands on Island Beneath The Sea, I was very exited with anticipation, believing that a wonderful story was awaiting me, and I wasn't disappointed. The novel was yet another example of Allende's remarkable gift of storytelling. The plot starts in 1770, in the French colony

The Barbary Pirates by William Dietrich, a fast- paced novel with adventure, humor, and history

2010-05-03T22:30:00.000+05:30

The Barbary Pirates is novel that is one of a series written by William Dietrich around the fictitious character Ethan Gage. It is written with some relevance to certain true historical incidents and characters as well. to I was a little confused as I just started this book because I had not read any previous books of the series and the language was a bit modern for a book telling a story set

What's In A Word By Webb Garrison

2010-04-14T19:15:00.000+05:30

This is a fascinating book that tells us how some of the most common English words and phrases were originated,the real story behind them. The book covers more than 350 everyday words and phrases, all presented in simple,easy- to- understand language. I'll quote some parts of the author's own introduction of the book below. "Practically every word and phrase we use is an easy to swallow

The Reading Bug And How To Help Your Child To Catch It by Paul Jennings

2010-03-27T16:39:00.000+05:30

As any other good habit, reading is best quired with an early start, right? Paul Jennings' tells all the parents how to help your child fall in love with books. Reading this book, I realized that my mother knew some of the things the author describes in this book by instinct. This book is not only informative, but also very enjoyable with lots of funny illustrates and dialogs, it can make

31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan

2010-03-24T19:11:00.000+05:30

31 Bond Street is a novel inspired by a true incident that happened in New York in 1857. The Starting point of the plot is when Dr. Harvey Burdell, a well known dentist is found brutally murdered in his house,31 Bond Street, fingers are pointed at the house mistress, Emma Cunningham, a widow with two daughters who has leased a floor of the hose. District attorney Abraham Oakey Hall

HUSH by Kate White

2010-03-14T16:33:00.001+05:30

This is a thriller/suspence novel that I found rather dissapointing. It's written around a woman who fleas a scene of homicide. Lake Warren is a marcketing consusltant, currently working for a fertility clinic. Her husband Jack is filing a divorce, and worse, seems to be wanting the full custody of their two kids. So, Lake has been advised by her lawyer to "keep her nose clean", so as not to

Money To Burn by James Gripando, suspence wrapped around cooperate espionage

2010-03-11T01:05:00.001+05:30

Pleas note that this review is of a uncorrected proof copy of the book, so the final publication may be different in some aspects than presented here. I could have read this book from the beginning to the end without stopping, had it not been for my lovely wife and darling little girl, and my day job, of course. For me, it was everything a suspense novel should be. The plot starts with

2010-03-11T00:32:00.000+05:30

God's Debris A Thought Experiment By Scott Adams

2010-02-20T17:28:00.000+05:30

I got to know of this book on a review posted on Mirek's Blog. The review was interesting, so I immediately down loaded the book for free online. I'm glad that I did. I think a few quotes from the author's introduction of the book will serve as a start for my review. Let's see..... "....I call it a 132-page thought experiment wrapped in a fictional story..." "...The target audience for God’s

The Graveyard Reader by Theodore Sturgeon, one of the best short stories that I have ever read.

2009-12-07T12:47:00.000+05:30

I came across a collection of short stories called “Author’s choice 2”, where sixteen writers have chosen their favorite short stories and provided them with reviews. I have read a few of them so far and been awed by one, which is mentioned in the title of this post. The story was selected by John Christopher and his introductory review was as intriguing. The plot starts when the main character,

I thought it was worth sharing this

2009-11-10T11:42:00.000+05:30

I recently read “Thirteen Never Changes” by Budge Wilson. I thought of posting two quotes from it rather than writing a review because I felt in that way I would give a better impression of the book. So, here goes,“……Later on, long after everyone had gone to bed, I could hear Dad down the living room. Crying. In a strangled way, like Hilary, but crying. Me, too. I cried a lot. What a lot of

My Uncle Arch And Other People by Bill Scot, this book is unique

2009-10-26T11:45:00.001+05:30

This book is the only one of its kind that I have ever read. It has two parts, both containing a collection of short stories. The main character of all the stories of first part is Uncle Arch. Ideally, the first part is named my Uncle Arch. These stories bear some resemblance to ‘Manchosen's Travels’. The author tells of uncle Arch going on hilarious adventures. The incidents are so outrageously

Prince Of The City by Robert Dailey, a true story of a cop who became a victim of his own conscience

2009-10-19T11:45:00.000+05:30

The period of time subjected to this book is from 1967-1972. There is this Special investigation unit, or SIU, in the narcotics division of New York police department. It deals with the most prominent of the drug dealers, the big guys. It’s detectives operate in four man teams to catch the big bosses of the illegal drug dealing. These sophisticated detectives who go on arresting major mafia hoods

My Story, Dave Pelzer tells how he overcame the horrors of his childhood traumas

2009-10-12T11:39:00.001+05:30

 This review is of a Sinhala translation of the original book. So I beg your pardon for any possible errors of the names of the characters and places involved. My story is the self written autobiography of Dave Pelzer. This is a true story of boy who had an abused childhood, suffered from the effects of it for a long time, but gradually gained control over his fate and became a successful

The Third Eye by Lobsang Rampa, would you believe it?

2009-10-05T12:14:00.001+05:30

This supposedly self-written auto biography of a Tibetan Lama has been an extremely controversial book. Many people said the Whole thing was a downright lie, a carefully written story, while some, especially those who are from the east, believed in it.In this book, the author says that he was born in Lhasa, Tibet, to a royal family. He had shown the signs of being ‘a living soul’, a

The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins, a true story excavated from it’s grave

2009-09-22T11:54:00.000+05:30

This novel has been inspired by a true incident that took place at the time of Second World War It’s about a team of German paratroopers that comes to England, to kidnap Winston Churchill! This book tells you that not all the German military people of that era were evil, and there had been some great folks among them. Full of action and suspense, this book is one that I enjoyed most.

Let Sleeping Vets Lie, Be Prepared To Roar With Laughter!

2009-08-10T12:54:00.000+05:30

Let sleeping vets lie, is a self written autobiography by James Herriot, a veterinary surgeon who used to practice in Yorkshire Dale. In this book, the author puts his own experience as a vet in to words. The most prominent feature of this book the humor it generates. James Herriot expresses so finely the funny aspects of the behaviors of his animal clients, their masters, and even himself! His