It's All About Books!!!: August 2015

Saturday, 29 August 2015

The Eight FBian hearts by Harsha Shastry (Book Review-2.5*/5) !!!

I rarely read e-books because I hate the concept of getting my electronic device battery drained down at the moment when the most exciting scene would be on. Let people say anything about the evolution of e-book and slow death of paperback versions but I'll still prefer the latter. But some time, I do read e-books because one has to flow with time otherwise you would never know when the world changed and you left enough behind to match the steps with the generation again. :-) This time I read the kindle version of "Eight Fbian Hearts" written by the debutante- Harsha Shastry. It's paperback version is also going to be released soon but the author insisted me to go with the e-book so I obliged. You should never break heart of an author because you do not know in which book of his he might kill you in the climax. Haha!

The book is about 8 different individuals- 4 boys and 4 girls of different age and background signing in Facebook for exploring an interesting part of their life. They aren't fully satisfied with their real life hence Facebook gives them the silence and hope they ask for in reality. They end up sending a friend request to someone or accepting an anonymous person which changes their life. Someone get an opportunity in film industry while someone gets an ideal person to marry. But the twist takes place when they decide to meet each other finally. They get to know the real person behind the computer screen and Facebook Profile. They get to know the truths they never expected and thus, decides to apart themselves from each other. What happens after this- If all of the 4 couples do get back together or some of them have to face the blunt truth of life- read the book to know the endings. :-)

Harsha's writing style is simple and it will basically attract the readers between the age group 15-22. This book will serve as an interest for the people who have just got down in the habit of reading as it's written in a language that will make people interested to read more books. Anyone who's an ardent reader won't like this book because of it's simplicity but it's a good pick-up for new readers. Yes, too many characters might lead to complexity in terms of remembering the names but with every page, the way author have dealt with characterization even the book is very short is commendable; and it will make you remember the character and their names easily. This book is kind of novella where the story is written with a message and not in terms of engaging readers for a long time.

Harsha have tried speaking about many issues and reality that we, in India, face through the four different stories. The book is written with good intention. Coming to the drawbacks- I felt that the author made things look too easy and therefore, a reader might not absorb the stories as realities or something which can really bring change. Even few love stories starts so easily that you will laugh at the facts of the simplicity. Even the kind of conversations the characters have between them even in their first calls is unbelievable. Such things take place in a good story after 100 pages but here it starts as soon as the introduction of the characters get over. Author will have to learn to make things look real when he writes next time. This book is basically for the new readers and between the age group: 15 to 22. I rate this book as an average attempt with 2.5 stars out of 5.

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Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Wednesday, 26 August 2015

Chief Minister's Mistress by Joygopal (Book Review- 4*/5) !!!

People might like Penguin or Random House as their favorite publishers but I am undoubtedly in love with FingerPrint. Almost 99% of their books that I have read are wonderful and thought-provoking. Even though they are majorly in fiction but still their editorial team is incredible who make sure that their books are not just story but something more than that. I am just done reading "Chief Minister's Mistress" written by Joygopal. Before starting to review, I would like to tell about this great man- this is his 16th book in last 5 years. Yes, you heard it right. He is vindicated in Limca Book of Records for this achievement of his. I have been following him from last few years and his speed of releasing novels is unstoppable. Though this is the first time I have read any of his books and I am far more than satisfied considering the high expectations I had from him.

Joygopal's writing style is very simple which made it easier for me to read the book as fast as possible because he has definitely written a great page-turner. This book deserves to be finished in one sitting itself. Right from the first page after prologue, the book goes on in the same fast pace and doesn't let you lose the interest from it. The characters are perfectly woven and you can imagine each one of them exactly how they were in the mind of the author. As it's a crime thriller, you wish to predict wrongly who must have killed the victim and that's the greatness of this book. You name almost every character in your mind and when the truth gets revealed in the end, you bang your head to wall for not guessing it. It's the moment where the author gets a little more rating than what he was about to get by the reader.

Joygopal calls this book his most ambitious project and it looks the way he have handled the story. The best part of this crime thriller is that it's around 225 pages when generally on the name of thriller, people do not close it down before 350 pages. The best editing has been performed on this manuscript. In the anti-climax, the way one of the most prominent character dies makes you more excited that the truth is about to be revealed. And the best part why I loved the book in the end is the way things are closed down after the killer is revealed. Not an easy task to keep the interest alive among readers even when the suspense is over but that shows the effort put in by the author in this story. I give this book 4 stars out of 5. GO FOR IT!

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ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Sunday, 23 August 2015

Making India Awesome by Chetan Bhagat (Book Review- 3.5*/5) !!!

Let 1000 better writers than Chetan Bhagat get released and published in India but whenever the book by the Superstar himself releases, the pre-booking breaks all the records. I can never resist buying his book as soon as the pre-order is opened for all the readers. Chetan Bhagat's 8th book overall and categorically, 2nd non-fictional book released 2 days back named "Making India Awesome". Chetan Bhagat never does a big launch and marketing tactics for his non-fictional books. He somewhere believes that people concerned with the growth of nation and having love for the country will definitely purchase a book based upon the idea of how to make it the Superpower. But without any fanfare too, the fans like me get to know about his book release.

"Making India Awesome" is Chetan Bhagat's attempt of sharing essays and columns he have written on nation time to time and explaining the complex issues in the easiest language possible. It is definitely in the lines of his first non-fictional book, "What Young India Wants?" but here, he is not that biased towards parties the way he was in the former. Still, his love for Narendra Modi and BJP was evident in few sentences. The intention of the book can be clearly understood right from the first chapter itself. Chetan wants the nation to improve and therefore, he discusses ideas on many issues about how they can be resolved with whatever more or less knowledge he had regarding the same.

He have divided the book in four different parts- Awesome Governance, Awesome Equality, Awesome Society and Awesome Resources. Accordingly, he have discussed points like politics, economy, societal values, women's right, gay rights, minority rights and the transformation youth can bring to the nation. This 176-pages book is a light-read and you will find an urge of having an opinion on all the issues after you will end up reading the book. You will want to have an angle in your life for the nation too rather than only blaming the government, ministers and the whole system.

But there's a big problem with the ideas and solutions Chetan Bhagat have provided. The most of them are meant for the government and Prime Minister. The book is mainly like an open letter to Narendra Modi than to the youths of India. The book has been projected as if it's written for us on how to bring glory to the nation at personal level but it's more about how government can improve various things. He have discussed points on how even we can bring the change but even those points aren't much effective except few which are literally possible. I wish if Chetan Bhagat could have been little more sensible in putting up the solutions as some of them are really very silly to even think. I would give this pure effort 3.5* out of 5. Go For It!

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ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Monday, 17 August 2015

How to enjoy your life and job by Dale Carnegie (Book review-3*/5) !!!

I had heard a lot about Dale Carnegie's book about winning friends and influencing people some 7-8 years ago when I was undergoing depression. I wanted to read him but never got a chance. Finally, I decided to read his book for getting some help in my new job-oriented life. So I picked up "How To Enjoy Your Life and Job". The new cover page of the book is really appealing and gives a sense of positivism even before you have paid for it and it's all yours. :- ) I had very high expectations from him as every time I have read a foreign author's book on self-help except Paulo Coelho, I have found my lifestyle changing dramatically towards excellence. It took me whole week to complete the book as with a job, the speed of reading books have become drastically slower.

As I am finally done reading it yesterday on a beautiful Sunday morning, I can say that I have read nothing but a mediocre book. Dale Carnegie's writing style is perfect. No problem with it. But I had a big issue of getting noodles in packaging of chocolate. I felt cheated. I had expected tips for a fresher who have just started a job or for a middle-aged man who is finding it hard to give time to his family because of job. I also expected tips on how to keep up with boss and colleagues. But what I ended up reading was the same tips that I had heard were discussed in his most famous book I discussed in the first sentence. It's all about how to impress people with your talks. The stuffs that are discussed in this book are also powerful and a guide to become a likable person in society but that's the issue.. I love eating both chocolate and noodles but when I want chocolate, noodle can't give me the happiness.

The book is perfectly divided into different chapters and author have discussed each point of his with several examples which helps you to understand his discussion better. Few examples are striking and makes you realize how wrong you have been while dealing with people till date. Some mails and letters that the author have shared are the best parts of this book. It clarifies the whole approach when we try to sell something to someone. An aspiring businessman or salesman will definitely benefit out of the ideas given by the author, Dale Carnegie. In all, I will give this book 3 out of 5 and nothing more than that.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Monday, 10 August 2015

The Sire of Humellis by Aditya Prakash (Book Review- 3.5*/5) !!!

This book shall always remain imbibed in my memory as it's the first book I read after getting my first job. Haha! There was always a question if I'll ever be able to read novels and review them after becoming a professional engineer and I am proud to claim that I read a book in my first weekend itself. :-) "The Sire of Humellis" is a 219-pages novel based in fantasy world. The writer, Aditya Prakash, have written this book with enough conviction which can be seen in its every word. But I am surprised by his choice of publisher as I have never heard about Champanzi Publication and their distribution network. Anyways, the book's tag line is "Belief Courage Passion" which is the baseline on which author have scribbled the whole story.

Aditya Prakash's imagination skill is marvelous and it can be clearly seen in the second half of the book. He assures that he takes you on an adventure where you feel you are a protagonist and understand the hurdles that he has to cross to get past the line of survival. His narration is also easily interpretative because of which you grasp the story immediately without getting stuck in difficult names of people and locations that are mentioned in the book. The only issue is author's hold over the English language. There are many silly grammatical mistakes which can annoy a reader. A person trying to learn English might go on a wrong path by referring the sentences the author have formed in the book. Also, I wished his description to be little better in some parts where we really want to know how that fantasy world actually looked like. Considering debut, this last point can be avoided.

The first half of the book is what makes me rate this book above average because it's written very crisply. Every emotion and imagination of the protagonist that the writer wants to convey can be easily understood and that makes the foundation of this very strong. The best part of the book is every description about the struggle of the protagonist in the cave. Just for that part, I will ask everyone to give this book a try. Even when it continued for quite a long time, I didn't get bored of it even once.

Coming to the drawbacks, I didn't want the 2nd part to be a fight among aliens. I wanted it to be little more spiritual and personal. Though it had own dilemmas of the protagonist but it became more Hollywood-ish. Rest, I have spoken about the author's limitation on the language. The climax is nicely ended. I would give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. And I am expecting some great work from the author next time he comes up with a book.

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ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Saturday, 8 August 2015

Pragat Kasana: " I usually tweet anything funny that pops-up in my mind and people eventually like it" (Interview) !!!

Pragat Kasana is one rare personality who had almost 15000 Followers on Twitter even before he started writing his first book. Just imagine what his popularity would be once he writes few more books and promotes himself through his popular accounts. His first book "The Unbreakable Law" has just released and we talked about it with him recently.

1. How does it feel after writing and publishing your first book, Mr. Kasana?

Ans: It’s obviously feels great. This book is very close to my heart and it’s satisfying to finally see it getting published.

2. How difficult was it to get published?

Ans: I contacted many publishers and finally PepperScript accepted the manuscript and then I started to give finishing touch to the book with my editor, and after working for two long years, we finally get the book published.

3. Tell us what inspired you to write “The Unbreakable Law”. What is the book basically about?

Ans: There are a lot of things which inspired me to write TUL but the most significant of them was the concept of destiny. I decided to pen down my thoughts about destiny in the form of an adventurous and entertaining story. The book basically revolves around the concept of destiny and how it controls the lives of the protagonist and of the people he is trying to help.

4. How did you create the characters and thought about the names for them?

Ans.: The story required a unique world of unique people hence I named them differently unlike normal people. The characters were created according to the different characteristics and powers of each of them so I thought about the names accordingly.

5. How has been your association with PepperScript till now? Will you like to get your next book published by them again?

Ans.: Absolutely. They had been very co-operative and enthusiastic throughout the process and the best thing is that they don’t settle for average.

6. Are you planning to write a sequel to this book or writing something new this time?

Ans: Yes, I do have a sequel in mind but it is not a compulsion for me, however I would like to work on it. Moreover, what matters most is how my readers respond to TUL. I have other plans as well; let’s see what happens when.

7. Where do you find yourself as a writer after 5 years from now?

Ans.: As I said, everything depends on how people react to TUL but as a writer, I don’t want to stop writing. Hopefully, next five years are going to be very interesting, and at least I would like to see myself as an author of two to three published books. You know how dreams influence your words. But seriously, I am looking forward to bringing more of my writing to the readers.

8. Because your book is a fantasy, don’t you feel that it would be hard making a film on it even if you get your book sent to some great Bollywood directors?

Ans: I agree with that and I think it’s going to be challenging.

9. How did you manage to get 2000+ Followers on Twitter even without the Author’s tag?

Ans: I usually tweet anything funny that pops-up in my mind and people eventually like it. I hope more people appreciate me with the Author tag as well.

10. Any words for the readers picking up your book and liking/disliking your work?

Ans: I have done my very best and so has the publisher but readers are the best persons to give an opinion and I request them to give it a read.

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