The Story of A Suicide by Sriram Ayer: Book Review

"Adida avala, vetra avala...." (Translation: Beat her, kill her) is a popular Tamil movie number starring Dhanush. Recently, I heard a 5-year old boy singing this song to his play mates at our children's park against a little girl because she wouldn't give way for them to play in the sand.

Imagine these little children growing up imbibing such attitudes from films and observing other male relations in their families. 'When a woman doesn't comply to his wish, hurt her' is what is seeded in their minds which becomes the reason behind several acid attacks, rape, murder cases and stalking. 

And this is in fact happened in the Swathi murder case recently in Chennai!

The Tantric Curse by Anupama Garg: Book Review

This review is also published at my Personal Blog, Pages from Serendipity.

I could not have written this review on a better day for it's Gurupurnima tonight!

As the cover image and book title reveals, the tantric curse is about tantra, one of the spiritual  practices originating from India. The word 'Tantra' is most often associated with the fear of an unknown realm of mysticism. Another common mis-association with tantric rituals is sex. 

Author Anupama, a tantric herself, writes with deliberate sincerity the reality behind the concept, practices and rituals of tantra, in her debut fiction, the tantric curse. At the end of the book, one can certainly attain a clarity on the subject, not by enforcement or judgement but by acceptance of the truthfulness in the author's words.

Irrespective of whether a reader has an inclination towards tantra or not, this book can offer profound knowledge about the basics of spirituality. 

‘After the Floods’ – An Anthology of Short Stories by The Chennai Bloggers Club available @Chennai Book Fair (7th – 13th June)

Image Credit: Crazy Studios

The much-awaited anthology of short stories by the Chennai Bloggers Club (details below) will be available at the Chennai Book Fair from the 7th – 13th June, 2016.

Please visit stall by Sixth Sense Publications (Nos. 350, 351, 442, 443) to buy your copy.

Contact: Mr. V. Pandian - 7200050073/ Mr. R. Murugan - 7200073076

Venue: Island Grounds, Chennai

300 Days by Bragadeesh Prasanna

300 Days is a simple love story of Jai and Sravani. While Sravani is struggling within a confined relationship with Sai, Jai hopes to win Sravani's love. In contrary to the usual, complicated triangular love stories, 300 days sets off  with a smooth sail between the two main characters. Following cycles of love and separation, whether Jai finally wins her love is the rest of the story. 

The book stands out in realistically depicting the emotions beneath seven gradual stages of love as enumerated in Arabic literature, namely,

Hub - Attraction

Uns - Infatuation

Ishq - Love

Aqeedat - Reverence

Ibaadat - Worship

Junoon - Obsession

Maut - Death

(Though the course of the novel is subtitled according to the seven stages, one cannot find a brief explanation about the same in the book. However, the author, in his blog, shares his inspiration behind adapting the concept). 

300 Days is author Bragadeesh Prasanna's first book. As a debut author, he has proved his stand as a writer and as an earnest narrator. 

A Tribute to my Memorable Classical Authors on World Book Day

I must have been eleven years old when I read a full-length novel, for the first time. I remember it was on of those Secret Seven series by Enid Blyton. Though others of my age had a craze on Famous Five, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, I regarded Secret Seven closer to my heart. In the years that followed, Agatha Christie's were my second memorable collection of fiction. 

I wonder how rich my dad should have been to have taken me to Nungambakam Landmark and Mount Road Higginbothams every weekend in the 1980s! Ages eleven to seventeen were when I have skipped food, remained awake through nights and talked insanely about the crush I had for a few of the characters. However, until recently, I didn't know Enid Blyton and Agatha Christie were women. Yes, I assumed them to be male authors all along. 

For all the memorable moments of imagination, such authors have blessed me in my formative years, I dedicate this post on World Book Day, by bringing up their faces for readers like me who often overlooked the person who held the pen behind our childhood reads.

Releasing on 1st May, 2016: The Wedding Photographer By Sakshama Puri Dhariwal

Do you love Bollywood? 

Do you love romantic comedies? 

Do you love books? 

Then this one's for you! 

Presenting Sakshama Puri Dhariwal's debut novel

'The Wedding Photographer', releasing this May.

A delicious, Breezy novel full of Fun, Sass, Heart and Wit

Penguin Books India presents

THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

By

Sakshama Puri Dhariwal

  

A fantastic debut with wedding, love, photography, scandal and cricket – a perfect summer read!

Songs of the Mist: Volume 1 (The Monk Key Series) by Shashi

How often do we hear people fret about stressful life situations! So were the characters of the Songs of the Mist, to begin with. However, how often do we hear such people making a journey towards the Himalayas, the abode of self-realization? That's where our characters make a difference.

If you are in the process of finding  a book written with practical wisdom to aid your spiritual quests, be sure you've already reached the first step in your quest. Songs of the mist shall clear the initial mental anxieties that a seeker faces, shall make one feel consoled that after all, there are several others who are struggling with similar uncertainties of life. 

Songs of the Mist: Volume I is the first of the three-part Monk Key series. 

Just You, Me and a Secret by Ganga Bharani Vasudevan: Book Review

Just You, Me and a Secret marks a history in my book reading experience for two reasons: This is the first complete book I've read in the digital format through Amazon Kindle Unlimited. And the first book I've read without taking a break because I just couldn't. 

Just You, Me and a Secret is a psychological romantic thriller in which the protagonist, after losing her memory in an accident, tries to regain her lost identity. Shuttling in between whether to trust or not the stories told by people around her, she finally arrives at a point where she understands what has been done to her while she remained unconscious. 

Author Ganga Bharani, as a debutante, has proved to the literary world, "Man, I have a great plot and I can write in flawless English. That was all it required to write a fantastic book."

Ramayana: The Game of Life - Book 3 - Stolen Hope by Shubha Vilas: Book Review

As the reading continues, the deer on the footnote on the page continues to move as well, walking, running, leaping and finally gets attacked by an arrow on the last page. Sometimes, I could relate the state of the deer to the intensity of my absorption into the book. And on the last page, I felt disappointed, like the wounded deer, that the book and mostly, my learning had to come to an end. 

Re-telling Ramayana was a part of the author's intention. Yes, only a part! And the rest was imparting wisdom to the readers about significant nuances of our everyday lives. As a spiritual seeker, it has come naturally to Author Shubha Vilas.

Ramayana: The Game of Life - Stolen Hope is the third of the six Ramayana series by the author. 

KLASS by Prita Yadav: Book Review

KLASS is a sports school in Pune where our protagonist, Jolene Jordan, is forced to join, by her father. Jo is determined to behave as bad as she could at her new school, hoping she will be soon expelled by the school authorities. However, the events that follow bring unexpected turns in her life and the book temporarily ends at the end of the first year of her schooling, making the readers curious for the next in the KLASS series. 

Halfway through the book, without the reader’s realization, she/he would be watching a vivid movie about KLASS. The narration is so full of life that the reading experience surpasses beyond words to render an in-depth visualization of the scenes. Friendship, rivalry, hatred, love, passion – human emotions have been well-placed throughout the plot. 

Most part of the book is in the form of conversation between the n number of characters of students and teachers at KLASS. Yet, each character is marked as a unique personality. And that’s where author Prita stands out as an extraordinary debut author. 

Nandhini's Book Reviews: 2015

Nandhini's Book Reviews completes 2 years. Amidst running behind a toddler, I am surprised that could review 25 books this year. When I look back, I don't even remember a day when I sat for more than an hour at one place with a book :) 

My heart-felt thanks to all the authors and publishers who reached out to me for reviewing this year. Every time I receive a book for review, I admire the perseverance and efforts that the authors must have poured in for their work to get published. As always, I cherished receiving free books and connecting with authors about their writing experiences. And as always, it was fascinating to realize how modest many were in re-telling their mighty tales. 

Here's a quick look into Nandhini's Book Reviews in 2015:

Book Genres of 2015

Mythological fiction has been creating a revolution among book genres in India, in the last few years. Though it demands time, I love getting deeply involved in a different period of time. I reviewed three from this genre in 2015:

The Curse of Brahma by Jagmohan Bhanver

The Rigveda Code by Rashmi Chendvankar

The Guardians of the Halahala by Shatrujeet Nath

I am grateful to these authors because many of us could get enlightened about a rich and fascinating past. The Curse of Brahma was a well-written and captivating fiction about the happenings before Lord Krishna's birth. The Rigveda Code was a fast-paced and interesting read about what happens years after Lord Krishna's demise. The Guardians of the Halahala surpassed all of the books I've read in this genre. 

Apart from Santosh Avvanavar books, other reviewed books that were based on societal themes and social causes were: 

The Bride of Amman by Fadi Zaghmout, translated from Arabic by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp

The Silent Scream by Siddhartha Garg

Both were touchingly written and true eye openers. The Bride of Amman was a realistic fiction of how women and homosexuals are treated in the orthodox society of Jordan. The Silent Scream had my heart sink with a child sex abuse tale that keeps happening all around us but hardly gets a rescue. 

The women-centric books reviewed in 2015 were:

There's Something About You by Yashodhara LalThe Other End of the Corridor by Sujata RajpalUnravelling Anjali by Nim Gholkar

Finding Ecstasy by Rebecca Pillsbury

There's Something About You is not exactly women-centric but of a bold girls's story. The Other End of the Corridor is a story of an ordinary housewife who faces domestic abuse by her husband but finally manages to prove her self-worth. Unravelling Anjali is an interesting fiction of a new NRI bride, of she adapts to an unloving married life in Australia. Finding Ecstasy is discussed below under Memoirs.

A new genre I tried in 2015 was poetry collection. I wasn't a great fan of poetry earlier but Night Sky Between The Stars by Usha Kishore impressed me enough to become one. It speaks of Indian womanhood and how masculine supremacy has written the fate of Indian society.  

The Inscrutable Mulla Nasrudin Episodes by Jyothirllata Girija was another I reviewed in the same genre. It was a nice and witty poetry collection.

Another sort of new genre was text collection. I was in awe for Our Heritage Revisited by Anju Saha for her brief compilation of huge volumes of ancient Hindu texts.

Memoirs was yet another new genre in 2015. Finding Ecstasy by Rebecca Pillsbury  was about a woman who grows up with guilt and fear of sexuality and gradually wins her negativity and emotions. Grey & White Day Scholar by Raj Sekar was a good memoir of a middle-age man who goes back to his school to reconnect with his childhood friends.

The Prism of Life by Ansh Das was the only self-help/Spirituality book I reviewed in 2015. It was worth spending time in this short and quick read.

Favourite Book and Author of 2015

My favourite book of 2015 was Blame it on Destiny by Soorina Desai and of course, author Soorina Desai becomes my favourite author as well, not only for her stunning narrating style but also for her personal touch in connecting with a reviewer of her book. Blame it on Destiny was a breath-taking fiction with an intricately-woven plot. It shall forever stand out apart in my book shelf!

Most-reviewed Author of 2015

I need to make a special mention of author Santosh Avvanavar for I reviewed 8 of his books in 2015:

Title is Untitled by Santosh Avvannavar, Kundan Srivastava & Raghunath Babu Are

SHE: Ekla Cholo Re by Dr. Shayan Haq & Santosh Avvannavar

Second Heart by Dr. Sandeep Huilgol & Santosh Avvannavar

Umbilical Cord by Meena R Chandawarkar and Santosh Avvannavar

God's Table by Santosh Avvannavar, Jyothi Byahati & Dr. Sandeep Huilgol

The Departing Point by Santosh Avvannavar, Jyothi Byahati & Raghunath Babu Are

Surrogate Author by santosh Avvannavar and Shilpa Patil

Black, Grey & White by Santosh Avvannavar and Santosh I.Birdar

Most were simple short stories that addressed a social problem in the country. Though light and quick reads, I respect the meaning and depth of the subjects in all his books.

What was unique about book reviewing in 2015?

I am not much of a book tour participant. For the first time, I signed up with b00k r3vi3w Tours and Indi Book Reviews in 2015. 

I am glad that my review of Night Sky Between The Stars by Usha Kishore could make to the December 2015 edition of Tajmahal Book Review Journal.

And book editing opportunities from two publishers were memorable of 2015!

Autobiography of a Yogi by Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda: A Tribute

We keep hearing about spirituality, yoga, meditation, kundalini awakening and salvation. For those of you who are vaguely knowledged about such terms but seeking a reliable source of sensible and practical information, Autobiography of a Yogi is a great choice. If you expect a yogi's autobiography to be a boring account of how he found God, this shall be a different kind of an autobiography for you. 

To clear any prejudice you might be having towards picking up this book:

• You need not be a follower of Paramahansa Yogananda 
• You don't have to have an opinion about how good a spiritual master he is. 
• You really don't have to know a word on spirituality.
• The book is not about Hinduism. In fact, more Biblical references than Hindu scriptures can be found throughout the book.

The book doesn't teach you to become a yogi. Rather, Paramahansa Yogananda discusses his spiritual affiliation since childhood, scientific and logical explanations about meditation, breathing techniques, past lives, reincarnation, astrology and his experiences of meeting other revered masters of India and elsewhere.

I don't wear sunscreen by Kavipriya Moorthy: Book Review

Two girls being friends since childhood is a unique relationship. They would hold hands while walking on the road; they would feel jealous when the other gets closer to a new acquaintance and they can't blurt their hearts out better to anybody else.

There hasn't been a formal proposal yet between the boy and the girl. But their relationship is apparently heading a romantic way. They know that it's only a matter of time before the ice gets broken and they are relishing the best phase of their love story. 

All of a sudden, after a train journey, the would-be boyfriend becomes a question mark, the job that she's been dedicated to, slips away and eventually, the best friend walks away from her life. To add to her misery, she is confused without the missing links which she suspects to be connecting the circumstances. And she ends up in a neurotic state. 

I don't wear Sunscreen is a fast-paced tale of Lakshya which carries, till its last page, emotions and suspense of  a myriad of things that could happen to a young Indian girl.