It's All About Books!!!

Friday, 8 January 2016

My Gita by Devdutt Pattanaik (Book Review-3.75*/5) !!!

I had read a lot about Devdutt Pattanaik but finally read his first work which is also his latest release- "My Gita", published by Rupa Publication. First of all, I must say that the cover page is very excellent which makes you curious to know what exactly is written in the book and you will not want to keep it aside until you are done with all the 18 chapters. I took almost 3 weeks to complete this book as I wanted to remember most of the events and understanding of the Hindu mythology. I must say that the reading experience has been great as the way Devdutt has made the concept easier for the novice readers isn't an easy task. The effort gone into research, translation and conversion can be easily deciphered.

The book starts with the introduction of Gita where the author tells about the numbers of Gita that are available around us and which one is the most popular among them. He also tells us about the connection between each one of them and during which era some of them originated to let us know their reliability. Also, the arrangement of chapters in Gita is also discussed along with what motive it serves. And then Devdutt continues telling us how he has written his version of Gita and what exactly is his purpose to write the same. The good thing about Devdutt's Gita is that he didn't focus only on Hinduism but also discussed other cultures too. He also tried explaining why cultures differ with each other.

In the book, Devdutt have not only given references of Mahabharat but also Ramayana and the period between both the major events. He have also made us understand how Krishna, Hanuman etc are related with both the epics. The verses and their explanation with diagrammatic representations make the experience of reading interesting, joyous and exploring. Devdutt have managed to not compare two cultures and prove which one of them is better but leaves it upon reader to find his own ideology among the two and go with any one of them. Talking about the drawbacks, I would say that the book is not even that good the way it is been over-rated on social media. It is just a fine attempt and not something I would recommend people every time someone asks me a good book on Hinduism. I would give this book 3.75* out of 5.

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ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Monday, 4 January 2016

It's Not Right.. but It's Okay by Anuj Tiwari (Book Review-3*/5) !!!

I spent first Sunday of 2016 in completing the 2nd book of my year to start the year well in terms of my reading journey. This time I picked up Anuj Tiwari's "It's Not Right... but It's Okay" which has been released on 1st january, 2016 itself. As this is Anuj's 3rd book in 3 years of his writing experience, I had big expectations this time and I had decided to be harsh in case I see no improvements in his writing style. It's time to be little tough on the Indian fiction authors who write under romance genre. They are just writing the same kind of story each time with little twist and claiming it to be a true story. It becomes hard for readers to judge it considering that it's a true story and they start sympathizing with the protagonists without giving consideration to the quality of writing.

Well, getting back at the review, Anuj's writing has definitely improved twice than his last book. I witnessed a growth of 200% right from the first sentence to the last. With a flavor of romance, author have tried to tell a mature story with several characters having different background and personalities. The story sounds realistic hence you believe every scene that is been told in several small chapters and start imagining the characters around you. Anuj does justice to the locations he have chosen this time and the characters relate to the places they belong to. The story keeps moving in a flow with some sweet incidents, descriptions of tragic past, cute conversations, romantic Whatsapp chats etc until the last 25% of the book when a twist takes place and the characters start introspecting and believing and disbelieving and crying and resolving their cases to finally getting what they want from life with few exceptions.

The transitions that takes place in the story is well handled and you do not feel that the author was doubtful about any part that he was writing. Whenever the locations or the chemistry between the characters gets changed, you do not find a drastic change in terms of writing style or flow of story which makes this book one of the better light reads that you would love to carry with you while traveling or for a single-sitting read. I completed this book within 3.5 hours and it isn't boring at all like previous books of Anuj Tiwari which becomes monotonous after a point of time. This one surely stands out from his last two babies. I give this book a good 3 stars this time and I am sure Anuj is going to get better with each book that he's going to write. The only drawback about this book has been the distraction from the twist even when in the pre-climax part which begins to irritate a reader. Anuj should have handled it properly. Rest, it's a fine attempt.

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ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Family Life by Akhil Sharma (Book Review-2.5*/5) !!!

I had heard about Akhil Sharma's "Family Life" a lot when it was released more than an year ago and since then I wanted to read it. But no one had told me that its a tragic story. As I am done reading this novel which is not quite lengthy, I have a totally different kind of emotional turmoil in my head. I am unable to understand if I liked the book or not. It is kind of a memoir and autobiographical narration where a small boy starts telling his story in terms of how each of his family members are. He tells about the relationship each one of them share with each other. As the book progresses, the story keeps taking leap and it finally reaches to making the protagonist earn his graduation degree in the climax.

The story mainly focuses on many emotions that the protagonist goes through in his life and how his thoughts keep getting changed with age. The book moves very slowly which might make people leave it in between as even I found it hard to continue with it after some 35-40 pages. No conversation is described in the book but only the thought process of the boy who is telling his story. It is all fine until he is in school but the quality of narration and language remains the same even when he turns into an adult. It is quite disappointing then as you want author to change the lane of the language in which the book is written and the fact that author have taken almost a decade to complete this book, expectations were quite higher.

Some issues are nicely depicted in the book regarding how racism gets introduced for a middle-class Indian when he gets migrated to a foreign land initially. Also how Indians are always looked down because of their standard of living is also well-stated. The emotions regarding other Indians in a foreign land is also discussed and that's the most cutest segments in the book. Haha! The protagonist is uncomfortable when it comes to girl and therefore reading even those scenarios were also enjoyable. Whenever author starts discussing the condition of his ill brother and alcoholic father, the book takes a tragic turn and it becomes hard to digest those chapters. Dysfunctional family life is what this book is all about and may be this genre wasn't for me hence I do not have much say whether you should go with it or not. I give it 2.5 stars from my side.

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ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Sunday, 20 December 2015

You're Trending In My Dreams by Sudeep Nagarkar (Book Review-1*/5) !!!

Sudeep Nagarkar is now 6 books old in his writing career of 4 years with his latest release "You're trending in my dreams" which has already hit the Bestseller chart and has become his one of the best openings in terms of pre-order and initial sales. Penguin Random House had added many romantic writers in their list of annual releases some 3 years back and since then, each author co mes out with a novel every year. It has become more about marketing propaganda than quality for which these big publication houses are known for. Sudeep Nagarkar had improved with time as a writer and he had finally started writing mature stories based on youth but I think the target given by publishing house to complete the book by a particular deadline are making these authors write a story in a go without giving much research and time to overthink and make it better. YTIMD is the big example of the same. It stands no where even if compared to Sudeep's first book as a writer where he has scribbled his own story without much creative inputs.

The ratings that I have given to Sudeep Nagarkar in order of his releases are as follows: 3, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, 3.25 which shows that he had almost become stably good in his performance with each book but I am very scared to even talk about his new release as I never believed it could be so plain with no great story, no memorable characters, no great twists and turns and no great climax which can either make you emotional or shocked or glad. It is very childish and written similarly as a junior college student writes his personal diary with few poems, few philosophical sentences which are cliche and known to everyone, talks on how girls are treated like an object etc. I have always liked an ability about Sudeep of picking up a location and doing pure justice with it and also describing the youth as similar as possible as they really actually are. This time he picked up Navi Mumbai and didn't discuss it quite well and also, the characters aren't built keeping the location in mind. It looks as if it's about the crowd from Lower Parel or Churchgate and not from Navi Mumbai where boys and girls still aren't that modern to share a room together.

Initially, the book picks well and the way it starts, it seems as if Sudeep is going to deliver another great story but the way it becomes quite obvious after a point of time, it starts irritating a fan in you. Finally, the main twist arrives and the book does get better but again, how easily the whole issue is handled becomes the drowning point of this story. I didn't feel as if Sudeep have written this story. Seriously! As I have discussed above, I feel publishers should give time to these writers who are actually making Indian youth read month after month rather than giving them targets like releasing a book every 8th month or so. Give the author plenty of time to research, prepare, write, edit, write, edit and finally review his work, share it with his close friends, get their reviews, again edit the story and build the final manuscript. I give this book just 1 star and I wish Sudeep bounces back with his next book as a fan in me is largely disappointed this time. I am waiting for one of my favorite authors to write better than his best work till date.

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ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Sunday, 13 December 2015

The Bestseller She Wrote by Ravi Subramanian (Book Review: 4*/5) !!!

There can be nothing better than spending your weekend with a book. But when it's a book by one of your favorite authors, it becomes more special. I read Ravi Subramanian's latest book "The Bestseller She Wrote". This is his 4th book that I have read though he has 8 books under his name. I was really excited for this release as it was related with the literary world of India which I have been following very closely from last 6 years. And when it's written by Ravi Subramanian, you know that he is going to talk about some realities under the name of fiction which will make you feel connected with the characters and the story. And it happened ditto. The cover of the book is very unique and beautiful and it is great to know that the book is also under the process adapting it into a movie.

TBSW is a story about how a girl who aspires to be a writer meets India's most famous author. They meeting becomes a regularity and the married author starts falling for this young girl. But she is more concerned about her book to get published and turned into a bestseller with the help of this author who has himself written 4 bestsellers back to back each breaking record of the previous one. This is the basic plot which leads to many scenarios and leads to several twists and turns and finally in the climax, like every book of Ravi Subramanian, you are left alone for shocks and surprises.

Ravi Subramanian is an amazing thriller writer and his books start doing magic right from the first page itself. Talking about this particular book, I felt as if Ravi chose an easy way to tell his story with an intention of making it a light read for another mass of audience which do not read the genre he writes. For the whole first half, it felt as if someone else is writing it for Ravi S. Though in between of some chapters, author have kept dropping hints of something being wrong with the doings of few characters but it still does not give you any thrill until the second half begins when his marriage starts getting affected because of his extra-marital exploration.

Ravi Subramanian have integrated his story very well with many real-life incidents of famous Indian authors which keeps you interested if you have been in touch with the literary world lately. You start relating with the characters very soon and see your own favorite author in the lead character and you even start imagining other not-so-famous authors in the character of Shreya. The whole process of how a person writes a manuscript till how the book launches in a big event, everything is perfectly described by Ravi. And the way story unfolds in the end, it makes you happy that you have finally witnessed the excellence of Ravi Subramanian once again. The most unexpected person turns out to be the ill-wisher of everyone.

Talking about the drawbacks- I would again say that the first half is particularly very slow and not been written in the same language in which Ravi writes. There is not much happening in first half except one character continuously compelling the other person to publish her book and it becomes repetitive and boring after a point of time. Also the book isn't one of the best thrillers over all except what happens in the climax. And this is exactly half good of what Ravi Subramanian have himself written before. If this book would have been by a debutante, I would have easily given it 4.5 stars but because it's written by someone who have only gotten better with each book of his, I am giving it 4 stars. It is a great book which surely deserves 4 stars just that it doesn't look like one written by THE GREAT RAVI SUBRAMANIAN himself. He has set very high standards for himself to achieve. :-)

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I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

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ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Tuesday, 10 November 2015

You are the Best Wife by Ajay K Pandey (Book Review-3*/5) !!!

It seemed as if an era had passed since I read a book by Srishti which was based on a true love story until I picked up Ajay K Pandey’s debut book- “You are the best wife”. Author claims that it’s his and his wife, Bhavna’s true love story about their love and marriage. The back cover of the book also claims that all the proceeds from this book will be donated through Bhavna Charitable Trust (an initiative by author’s wife’s parents). Well, coming back to the book, it’s written with pure emotions and love. In every sentence whenever author described love for his wife shows his innocence and devotion. This book is from the genre which Srishti used to publish some 3-4 years ago consisting of a love story with little involvement of friends in it. Fortunately, this book doesn’t involve unwanted sex and intimate scenes. Author have kept the content as decent as possible from his end.

Coming to Ajay’s writing style, it’s very impressive that his command on English language is fine even when he never aspired to be a writer. As this is his debut work, in few sentences, the struggle for sentence formation is visible but still his command is better than few bestseller writers. He has used simple words which makes this book a good companion while traveling. This book is more about how two lovers who have fallen in love are in struggle to get their parents’ approval for their marriage. Through the story, author have tried to show the problems couples deal during inter-caste marriages. This book can be called poor man’s “2 States”.

The first half of the book tells about how the protagonist’s college life begins with ragging and new friendships. Suddenly it switches to how the protagonist finds a girl attractive and woos her with his style. Afterwards, the book moves towards another dimension when parents get involved and from here, the struggle that both the lead characters go through is discussed. I wished if author could have entered some humour, the book would have become more interesting to read. It’s not that he haven’t tried but its ineffective most of the times. Author have concentrated more towards keeping this book as real as possible but he should have fictionalized little more to add masala and made it a dramatic story.

Anyways, the second half deals with what happens in their life after marriage. Author describes how the same girl starts stating her point of view which interjects with his lifestyle and the small clashes start taking place. Later on, book moves towards serious note and I recalled another book by Srishti and Ravinder Singh- “I too had a love story”. Author have described how the protagonist’s life suddenly changes and the difficulty he faces. Overall, the book is a light read which you can finish in a single sitting of 3-4 hours. It’s an average stuff- neither very good nor bad. You can surely gift this one to your partner this Valentine Day. I give this attempt 3 stars out of 5. It’s for romantic folks out there.

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ABHILASH RUHELA – VEERU!!!

Sunday, 8 November 2015

1000 Kilograms of Goa by Rohan Govenkar (Book Review-4*/5) !!!

It was almost after 15 days that I picked a book to read as finally I realized that the countdown has begun for the year to finish and I am still left with 6 books of my target 60. And I picked up debutante, Rohan Govenkar's "1000 Kilograms of Goa". I found the title quite weird and unusual and therefore thought of giving it a read. Also the name of a debut author always catches my attention. I love reading work of a person with whom I have no attachment as a reader and thus getting surprised. Well, occasionally! Sometimes I end up getting shocked. And I can proudly claim that my last phase of reading journey of this year got a good start with this book which is such a great thrilling experience that it doesn't allow you blink even once for 230 pages of only fun, amazement, suspense, twist and turns, romance and everything done in a greatly balanced way.

Rohan has a very authentic skill of writing which makes him arrange words in his own way and serves a new reading experience for the readers interested in reading Indian authors. The characterization of each one in this book is perfectly done as it was very essential otherwise it would have become half-baked failed dish. I also loved how the author kept the romance as just another angle to the book rather than romanticizing the basic plot of this story. The magic starts right from the first conversation between the friends when a piece of history is shared in the best written form. After that, it becomes more exciting when you realize that the mission gets accomplished almost half way in the book. But what happens after that makes this book not an ordinary thriller but more than that and something which becomes recommendable.

The story is beautifully crafted and it allows you to think even when it becomes fast pacy sometimes. The locations are nicely described as it allows your imagination to build the same in your thoughts which makes it more easy for you to follow the story weaved into it. The breaking into the mansion scene and the way it is handled by the friends is nicely written. I wish to read that part once again. The second half is what does justice to the first half of the book as it takes the story to another level. And the anti-climax is beautifully done. As drawback, I only felt that the last part is little overdone by the author to prove the book morally and politically correct but it wasn't needed and he should have closed the story little early rather than giving a whole chapter to what the main protagonist did. Rest, it's all fine. Go and get this book. I give the effort 4 stars out of 5 and I strongly recommend the same.

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ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!