Three Times Loser by AKASH VERMA !!!

            

            On the 7th day of New Year-2012, I finished my 4th book of the year- “Three Times Loser” by Akash Verma. :-) Reading this book has been an exciting journey for me. I completed it in 2 slots. First, 12.30 AM to 4 AM and then 11 AM to 4 AM. The book is of 264 pages and you love it right from beginning once the initial characters are introduced. This is the first book by Shrishti Publishers where I can see a book surpassing 250 pages. Lets talk about Akash Verma first and then go towards the quality of the book. Akash Verma is a management graduate and the co-founder of an Advertising Venture that he started a year before. In his sixteen year old professional career, he has worked across the leading companies in the FMCG and Media sector. His work has taken him across the country and he finds this experience very relevant while giving shape to his stories. Akash took up to writing fiction in 2007; and he attributes this sudden urge towards writing to his compelling passion in understanding human relationship and behavior. He has deep interest in music, history and travel. This is his second novel after his last work 'It happened that Night; which was a National Bestseller.


              Coming to the story of THREE TIMES LOSER, A boy- Alok sends letter to three different person- Megha-a home-maker, Mandira-a top MNC executive in New Delhi and Shonali-a Corporate Slut in Mumbai. He asks all of them to meet him on the same day, on the same place and on the same time. Initially, the letter to Megha is discussed in the story and then Alok’s beautiful journey with Megha is narrated in a very beautiful manner. Then, letter of Mandira and Alok’s journey with her and in the end the same  with Shonali. Three different love stories based in 1988, 1989 and 1996 shows three different perspective of the same protagonist. The augmentation in age brings different shades to all the three love stories. But, protagonist loses his girl every time. But, the book keeps you intriguing because you want to know that why has he called all the three ladies of his life together at the same time and at the same place. To know this, go and get this book and read a very interesting story which is far different than all the other books published by Indian publishers these days on the name of Fiction. 

               Coming to the REVIEW, Akash Verma has used very nice words in the book which will help you learn lots of words which you can use in your writings and conversations daily. The language of the book is mature and you will love it. Akash Verma has written a book with a message which he opens in the last pages of the book which makes you fall in love with the author. The author has written the same- LOVE STORY but in a very different manner which makes it something better than a simple love story attempted by all the Indian writers these days. Akash Verma has taken a good risk but he succeeds in making you laugh out loud, weep as a baby and learn like a good student. :-)


               


              The book makes you know many aspects of the journey of a boy from 1988 when he is in 12th std to 1996-97 when he turns a professional. How 3 different ladies comes in his life at 3 different times and act as a catalyst in his life. How he sees his love in his life. How he treats his friends in his life. How he manipulates his parents when needed. How he helps his colleagues when they are stuck. How he loses all the 3 ladies but never leave them behind. He does good to each of them without letting them know. They come to know about it once Alok has lived all his life according to his terms and conditions. The book- THREE TIMES LOSER has many moments of laughter, sorrowfulness and depression. But in the end, you will smile because you get to read a story which not only narrates a very beautiful journey of a boy but also teaches you something with an example which remains with you for a long time. After completing the book, you will keep it on the most favorite part of your shelf so that you can always see its beautiful cover page and remember the beautiful hours when you were lost in the story of Alok. :-)


                  Coming to the Drawback- Initially, the book is full of humour and you get a sense that after 264 pages, you will laugh for a long time because of several incidents which takes place in the story and funny statements used by Akash Verma. But, the humour ends once the story of Megha is off. The humour quotient of the book disappears. The suspense and a very beautiful story lies after that too but you still remember the first 82 pages as it had something which you remember as the beautiful part of the book. Second, the last story of Shonali could have been written with more enthusiasm. It becomes boring as lots of professionalism is seen. But, the story demanded it. :( Else, I didn’t find any drawback in the book. 


         I rate this book 4.5 out of 5. YES. This is the 2nd book which I am reviewing so high. THE BACHELORS THEOREM was the first. And THREE TIMES LOSER succeeds in being the second. Well done, Akash sir. :-) I am expecting a Bollywood movie based on this book. :-) 


        Thanks.


ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

For What You Are... by SNEHA GUPTA !!!

       

            So, finally I have completed a long story of 278 pages in a day. The name of the book is "For What You Are" authored by Sneha Gupta. The sub-title of the book is "Friendship never fades, love is unconditional". Initially, I didn't got it but not, after completing the book, I can relate to the title and the message Sneha Gupta has tried to spread among us. Frankly speaking, when I picked up this book for reading, I wasn't sure about its quality but now, I can proudly say that, I have read this book. I am gradually getting interested in the books published by Pustak Mahal or Cedar Books. First, The Bachelors Theorem, then Truly, Madly, Deeply and now For What You Are- They are just standing firmly on my trust and judgment. :-) Let's talk about Sneha Gupta first. 

         Sneha Gupta works with State Bank Of India. She is a graduate from the B. R. A. Bihar University, Centre For Distance Education. Starting her career at the early age of eighteen, twenty-one years old Sneha hails from a very small town Lalganj, in the district Vaishali of the state Bihar. Sneha has a passion for writing and she writes in every genre including poems, short stories, irony, ghazals etc. Apart from writing, Sneha has a craze for fine arts and is very much interested in photography and the melody of music especially instrumental. Although very zindadil by nature, Sneha keeps a distance from everybody and is acquainted to herself only. She loves to spend her leisures alone with her pen and notebook. When Sneha Gupta started writing this book, she started it with all the negative quotient which took place in her life. But when one of her friend read it and called it a Tragic Story, she turned the whole story into a positive one and published it in a new way. And Yes, I am proud of her modus operandi. The way she has narrated the whole story is commendable. I have no words for her efforts.


           Coming to the Story, it is about four great friends- Snigdha, Rishabh, Anjali and Shekhar. Snigdha's mom is engaged in impressing Atul's family so that her daughter gets married to him and she can take a sigh of relief. Snigdha is nervous about it. At last, the engagement gets confirmed. As the date of engagement comes closer, she falls in love with Avi who works in her office. Now, she is confused what to do. Being a daughter in a North Indian small-minded family, she can't revolt the marriage neither can she reveal her love for Avi. At last, she takes a firm decision. She goes into depression for a moment but comes out after some medications. Now, she lives her life according to her terms. She helps her friends to come out of the blocked situation in which they were trapped in their life. She helps them to get what they wanted in their life. She helps them to show the right path in their life. In the end, with a positive attitude, she gets the best she deserved. :-) 



            Coming to the REVIEW, Sneha Gupta has a very unique writing style which will touch your heart. You will love to read the sentences crafted in an articulate manner. The sense of humour of the writer will compel you to finish the book as soon as possible. Sneha Gupta has indeed worked a lot on the plot and the story as it is unique and effective. You will find the reality in her story. The North Indian's mindset and thoughts are perfectly described in the story in the form of several incidents. She has passed a powerful message without letting you feel that you are reading a story with a serious subject. This book cannot be said as a Love Story. It has many things in it with some incidents based on Developing Love between characters. :-) 


           First chapter of the book gives you an idea that you are about to complete a very good and powerful book. :-) Snigdha's mother is funny throughout. Rishi's story of how he turned orphan will make you cry like hell. Snigdha's marriage incidents are funny initially but as the story moves forward, you get serious with it. Her love and attraction towards Avinash after getting engaged is a shock. Snigdha's confusion of getting married to Atul or disclosing her love for Avinash to her parents makes you accelerate the speed of reading. :-) The bus incident where several oldies express their views about girls is the BEST PART of the book for me. But, the climax is shocking. It is very different than what you expect. Story is not predictable at all. As the story moves after 200th page, you can sense that you are about to get a surprise in every next page of the book. :-) 


           The only Drawback of the book is that- The story could have been shortened. At least, 1/3rd part of the story could have been deducted to make it more positive for a lazy reader to pick it from the bookstores. :-) 


           In the end, I would rate this book of SNEHA GUPTA- 4 out of 5. Yes. I am Recommending this to you. Go, get it. :-)


            Thanks.


ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

Autumn In My Heart by Saptarshi Basu !!!

          I have finally completed an another book- AUTUMN IN MY HEART by Saptarshi Basu. It is a very short story which gets completed in just 162 pages. :-) So, it gives a positive feeling to you when you start the book. This is the second attempt by Saptarshi Basu after his first book- Love, Logic and The God's Algorithm. I haven't read the first book still but I went for reading the second one. Let's talk about the author first- A Gold Medallist in Mechanical Engineering, Saptarshi Basu has worked with the top 3 IT MNCs in India. He had subsequently lived in London, Toronto, Dubai and San Francisco before moving back to his native place, Kolkata. A prolific blogger and an avid traveller, he has been into writing for long having published his poems and stories in different magazines of his earlier organizations.





         Coming to the story, AUTUMN IN MY HEART is a story of Deb and Ayantika who falls in love after adding each other on Social Networking site- Orkut. Their love saga continues over late night SMS chatting. Ayantika's mother has almost arranged her marriage with Sujoy. How, Ayantika deals with both the parties- Parents and Deb is an interesting tale. Vinod, the boss of Saurabh is ready to make him the victim of his homo approach. :-) At last, Vinod is caught by Deb when he was about to penetrate Saurabh. :-) Deb also gets into flirt relationship with Sagarika even when he is committed to Ayantika. On the other end, Sujoy and Sagarika are ready to fall in love with each other. The story of this book revolves around all these characters and their confusing stories which is attached to each other. 

            Coming to the REVIEW, AUTUMN IN MY HEART is another fiction written by an Indian author in easy language. You can finish the book in a go because it ends in just 162 pages without any great vocabularies. Initially, the story moves with a sweet note as it talks about Ayantika's mother forcing her for getting married but as the book moves forward, you realize that there are many stories which are talked about. Some incidents in the book are commendable. The way Vinod's sexual approach towards Saurabh is described makes you understand the whole scenario quite nicely. You even get to know about why people like Vinod turns homo. :-) Ayantika's mother is characterized nicely. You fall in love with her desperation of getting her daughter married. Deb remains your favorite character till the end. The chapter where the learning of Guru is described makes you intrigued in the chapter and you want that specific part of the book to keep continuing till the end. :-) Saptarshi Basu has won my heart in all these sequences.


           Coming to the drawback, as soon as you start getting deeper into a part of the book, the scene changes and you find yourself in the story of another character. This keeps pissing you throughout the book. No character is defined nicely as Deb's character. So, till the end, you only watch out for Deb's character taking other characters for granted. The story moves very fast as the author has been given limit of pages to write the story in. The story could have been written quite nicely with nice description of each character and incident. This book is a lit read. I will rate this book- 2.5 out of 5. 


            Thanks.


ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

truly, madly, deeply by Faraaz Kazi !!!

            This time, it took a long time to complete a book. 1 hour ago, I completed Faraaz Kazi's "Truly, Madly, Deepy - Memoirs of a Heart's First Love!". Let me talk about the author first- Faraaz Kazi is currently pursuing his post-graduate studies in management in Mumbai. He is a certified soft-skills trainer and runs his own academy in the same field. He completed his creative writing from XIC and possesses a diploma in freelance journalism from the British Institutes. He is fondly referred to as ‘The Young Marketer’ and operates a revolutionary blog with the same name and writes for major media houses on the same subject. With thousands of books under his priceless collection, he is more than an avid reader. He has sung nine songs for a major studio and represents a local club in their cricket team. He is a fellow member of the esteemed ‘Film Writers Association of India’. This book is Faraaz Kazi's first book which released in 2010. As a first time writer, he is worth commending. 


            Coming to the story of the book, Rahul Kapoor shifts to USA because of a reason. After coming to USA, he is lost in his thoughts and his classmates find him weird and he gets Sahil as a very good companion. He talks less but still Sahil remains with him. This is what Rahul needed after leaving his beautiful and equally hurtful past behind. But, as he creeps into loneliness in this new place, he remembers all what happened between him and Seema(whom he loved with passion) right from the first meeting to the last. And this is how, a teenage love story is unfolded in front of us(the readers). It is an interesting tale of how people take wrong decisions when they fall in love for the first time. How the misunderstandings overcome the passionate love between the lovers. Everyone who has achieved their first love will connect nicely with the story. So, get the book, it is definitely a One-time read. 

             Coming to the review, Faraaz Kazi has used a very unique writing style to launch himself as a writer. His attempt of showing all his writing talents in his first book is easily visible. He has written with all his efforts. He has used a language which some may find difficult as there are too many vocabularies which may limit his readers but still, I don't think that those words are going to cease anyone from understanding the story. It is not a blockage to the story. 


            The story is a pure teenage love which begins from school. You will relate yourself with each and every sequence of love described by the writer. There are many sequences in the book which makes you eager to know what happened next. This book is a perfect page-turner as the story has many elements in it. In the first half, "A five star day on mars" is an awesome chapter. The first kiss is described sweetly and sensuously- both at the same time and it is one of the few attempts of showing a kissing scene in a book which I'll remember for a long time. :-) Yes, these things are meant to keep in mind for your next attempt with your partner. :-) When the House contest begin in the school, you get too many elements to enjoy in the book. First, the quiz contest, then the most exciting cricket match where everything is stated so clearly and excitingly and then comes the debate competition where you will love the way Rahul shouts and states his point and make the rivalry team shiver. :-) In all, the story of this book is amazing and you will love to keep this book in your shelf at the top.


           Now, coming to the drawbacks of the book, it has too many poetry and songs between the story which has just caused an addition to the pages of the book rather than emotion in the heart of a reader. It is a blockage in the story. When you are reading a story in a go, you want to move ahead sooner rather than reading the poetry and songs. Second, the book has no unwanted sequence but still the length of the story could have been shortened. This is one reason why a reader will ignore picking it up when other love stories are embedded in 230 pages or less. Faraaz should have tried to shorten some descriptions but its fine if a reader has the talent of completing a book in 3 to 5 hours. :-) Cover page is perfectly designed according to the state of the protagonist's mind. Book is again heavily priced when compared with others. Other Indian love stories are available in 100 rs while this one is available for 175. Publisher should be blamed for this. But I hope that you may get it for less on Infibeam and Flipkart website. Else, I am rating this book- 4 out of 5. All the marks is for the description and making everything look so real and still filmy. You can give this book to your partner as a gift on this Valentine's Day. :-) 


           Thanks. 


 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

Live From London by Parinda Joshi !!!

            Finished an another novel "Live From London" by Parinda Joshi. Let's talk about Parinda first. I liked the name of the author very much. It defines the will of a person to break all the barriers and fly as high as possible. :-) Parinda Joshi works in the field of Analytics in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. She is a freelance columnist and a professional photographer.  Traveling tops her wish list and her favourite pastime is people watching. One night she saw a dream that she is reading a book which is been written by her. She suddenly woke up and she decided that she will write one. She started writing and in 5 months, she had the finished product in her hand. Finally, the book got released on 11th July, 2011. 


           Live From London is a book about a girl Nishi who has completed her degree from a renowned college of London. Her father wants her to take professional life seriously while she wants to cross the barrier by taking up her passion for music and singing. She ends up being humiliated in the audition of Britain's Got Talent. After that, she starts working as an intern in a record-label company. After few days of her job, she is introduced to a rockstar- Nick. As obvious, both of them falls for each other and she gets a chance to debut in an album of Nick. But fate has something else for her and she has to return to India because of some reasons. Now, she is in Mumbai- the city which provides opportunity to many. Whether she gets what she wants from life in this city of India, get the book, read it and know it yourself. :-)

          Coming to the review, its a chick-lit which is interesting at some places and boring at some. Book has nothing special in it except the cover-page, author's name :-), author's image on the back cover :-), theme of the story and language of the book. The topic selected for the book is wonderful and Parinda could have tried to explore many hidden and shocking facts of music industry. But she kept it quite easy and simple. None of the character is described properly so that you can attach yourself with it. Book seems to be written in a hurry as to meet a deadline or something. Author has the knack of writing but as its her first experience in this world of books, she failed to create the magic which Rupa Publication's other books has managed to. This book will get into bestseller list for sure because of its wonderful cover page, title and theme. I am not impressed with the story but I am impressed with the author. Book is filled with innocent humors. There is not even a single sentence where vulgarity has been shown. There are so many "What-the-fuck" moments in the book but still author has managed to keep this 3 words out of the book. She has written it with decency and an approach. Even if the climax would have been better, I would have rated it as a recommendation but even that is done in a hurry. You can read this book while traveling as its just 204 pages and an easy read. It can be read once. I would rate this book an average- 2.5 out of 5. And I am expecting something incredible from Parinda in her 2nd book as there are many writers who have failed in impressing the readers in their debut work but later on, they have managed to catch on the nerves of readers. Parinda mam, I am waiting for your 2nd one.

           Thanks.


  ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

Why Did I Fall In Love by Vinod Pardhi !!!

             
              So, I completed this 160 pages novel "Why Did I fall In Love" by Vinod Pardhi in 3 hours. Seriously speaking, I didn't had confidence in the novel when I picked it up because I read somewhere that there are many grammar issues in the novel but while reading it, I didn't find any such odd in it. There were some minute errors in grammar but not something which should be highlighted when talked about this book. I don't know why Vinod Pardhi is so conscious about his Grammar in his debut novel but buddy let me tell you, that your novel has no grammar issues. Let me share the bio of the author: Working in IT Company (Choices not left after so many tries). Love to read, write, watching movies, listening songs etc. Completed study required for job, just because he need money to feed myself and family. This is his debut novel and it is doing very well in market. It has almost gone Out of Stock on websites for 2-3 times. Living in a non-metro city, he choose his novel to be based in a non-metro city itself. It's a very good attempt by Vinod Pardhi and I appreciate it. 


            Coming to the story, Vinod is living happily with his parents and sister. Suddenly, he sees a girl Shweta who is a guest at his sister's friend's house. He starts liking her. Suddenly, they turn into friends. After some days, they start coming closer to each other and finally, they are in love. They didn't shared this with their parents as they were in school when they started loving each other. :-) As they grew, they thought of telling their parents about it. Vinod's parents are ready with any kind of decision he takes for marriage but Shweta's father is stringent about the marriage. He wants Shweta to marry a person who is only of their caste as he himself keeps sponsoring his caste among his people. Now, whether Vinod and Shweta gets together in the last or not, read the book and know it yourself. :-)


            Come to the review now: Vinod has written the book in a very cool language. Anyone can understand it quite easily. The book is of that class where you can gift it to a child too. It has no content which can be called vulgar or indecent. Book is written very innocently with a pure heart and this can be seen with the words and sentences used in the book. I liked Vinod's attempt. I never knew that he can write something of this kind with such an approach. Hats off buddy. 


            Story is very cute. The cuteness of the characters grips you. Love at the schooling age is described appropriately. Vinod has divided the chapter nicely. He hasn't stretched the story and kept it up to the point. It has no paragraph which can be said as unwanted or unnecessary in the story. The moment where the boy has to meet girl's father for asking whether he is ready for their marriage is awesome. I liked that part. After few circumstances, when the boy starts ignoring girl, you can feel the pain of the character. 130th page is very soulful. I liked it. It was too unpredictable that the boy will speak that in the end of the conversation. :-) In all, story has many twists and tales in it and it is definitely a page-turner. 


            Coming to some drawbacks, even after the boy and girl behaves as a couple, a scene where the boy proposes the girl is shown as a fresh element. I didn't understood this concept. They were almost a couple till then. While describing the conversation parts, Vinod has used many expressions to show the contemporary scenario and condition. He could have shortened that. Else, I don't think there is any such drawback in the book. And the few spelling mistake is the fault of Publisher which should work upon it in future novels. Coming to the rating, 3.5 out of 5. Yes, its a good book. Go for it. :-)


            Thanks.


  ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

Love Was Never Mine by Kunal Bhardwaj !!!

         
       

               So, I complete a book in 3 hours. The name is "Love Was Never Mine" by Kunal Bhardwaj. Let me discuss about the author first:- Kunal is a strategic research and consulting professional currently working with Genpact Analytics as Assistant Manager. In the last 4 years, he has been associated with firms such as Evalueserve and MarketsandMarkets within research and sales functions. Unlike other authors he started writing quite late when he felt an urgency to give words to his unexpressed emotions through stories. He aims to be an entrepreneur in future, and he was one of the finalists for this year’s “Economic Times Power of Ideas” contest. He loves singing, long drives, and regular hanging around with friends. So, this is the first attempt by Kunal and he wasn't a writer before. He didn't even tried his hand in it. He just started writing because he found that the story had emotions in it and it will touch everyone who had loved someone once. And hence, "Love Was Never Mine" got its birth. 


            Coming to the story of it, Rahul loves Shreya like anything. He wants her at any cost and he does everything to show his love and care to Shreya. Shreya has some other perspective towards choosing the person as a partner. She focuses on looks before the person while Rahul gives priority to the soul of the person rather than the looks. Rahul shares about his love for Shreya with his friends- Hari and Riya. They start helping him and keep an eye on his activities. Rahul gets his heart broken many a times by Shreya but still he keeps loving her. He can't imagine her in any kind of pain and stress. He believes in Universe and his love for her that one day he will win her. But, the universe decides something else for him. To read it, go and get the book. :-)


             Coming to the Review: Kunal has used a very good quality of narration in his first attempt. His English is good and the way of communicating with the readers is commendable. I cannot imagine a writer writing such kind of a book when he is attempting it for the first time. I liked his style of using Italic font whenever the protagonist thinks something. I liked the way he showed the faith of protagonist in Universe. He has won in one perspective that he has managed to express emotions quite nicely. One more thing which I liked about the book is: the importance given to each and every character. With Rahul and Shreya being the lead of the story got their special moments in the book, Riya and Hari also got the equal attention. This is what I want writers to do. Give equal attention to each character. The corporate life of these people is shown in a light manner which makes you read the book without going into the details of how the corporate life is. The focus remains on the character rather than the environment of the corporate life they are working in. The theme of the girl's character is same as Chetan Bhagat's Revolution 2020's Arti. Even Shreya confuses the boy rather than directly ignoring him and making him know that she has no feeling for him. Cover page is fine and the title is exactly according to the story.


             Now the drawbacks: First, the title of the book "Love Was Never Mine" almost makes you predict the story. Then, the Prologue of the book makes all the doubt clear about the end of the story. There was no need of the tragedy in the end. It could have been a happy one. Still, Kunal has succeeded in making you smile after reading the last page of the book. :-) The biggest drawback of the book is its predictability and the same old story. Boy loves the girl but girl doesn't love him. He keeps on proposing and she keeps on hurting him. In the end, something happens which makes the girl realize that how much he loved her but it is quite late. A story should have some provoking twists in between but this had only one and even that becomes normal in the second half. 


           Fine. But still, I would say that Kunal has that skill of writing. And I am expecting a lot from him in his 2nd book. I know he is getting a good response from the starters who have just started reading books and this will already create a fan base for him, so, with his next, I want him to show his creativity with the story. Thanks. 


         ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU