Month: December 2019

ARC Review: Peerless Minds: An Arc of Achievement by Pritish Nandy And Tapan Chaki

Categories Non-Fiction, Pritish NandyLeave a Comment on ARC Review: Peerless Minds: An Arc of Achievement by Pritish Nandy And Tapan Chaki

Author: Pritish Nandy & Tapan Chaki
Release Date: 21 January 2021
Genre: Non-Fiction, Motivational, Self-Help
Series: 
Edition: Hardback
Pages: 500
Publisher: Harper India
Blurb:
‘Peerless Minds brings together the finest minds that sustain India as a riveting and relentless idea. The exceptional life stories featured in this book reaffirm the truth that the luckiest of nations are the ones that continue to be rebuilt and reimagined by peerless minds.’ S. PRASANNARAJAN, Editor, Open magazine Three Nobel Prize winners. Two Bharat Ratnas. Three Knights of the British Empire. A Pulitzer Prize winner. A two-time Best of the Bookers winner. An Abel Prize winner. A Pritzker Prize winner. A Fields Medallist. Two Fukuoka Prize winners. A Turner Prize winner. Two Praemium Imperiale recipients. A double Academy Award winner. Many Padma Vibhushans and Padma Bhushans. But that is not why these people are really here. They are here because they, as Indians and people of Indian origin, have had extraordinary achievements and have inspired, each in their own way, a generation of Indians. Here you will find, among others, economist Amartya Sen; authors V.S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie; mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik; philanthropist Azim Premji; mathematician Manjul Bhargava; from the world of music, Annapurna Devi, Lata Mangeshkar and Zubin Mehta; industrialist Ratan Tata; sculptor Anish Kapoor; architect Balkrishna Doshi; spymaster A.S. Dulat; historian Irfan Habib; Michelin-starred chef Vikas Khanna; poet Javed Akhtar; and stand-up comic Hasan Minhaj. In conversation with them are authors and journalists such as James Astill, Prannoy Roy, Vir Sanghvi, Aatish Taseer, Shereen Bhan, Karan Mahajan, Rajdeep Sardesai, Khalid Mohamed, Priya Khanchandani, Indu Bhan and Anil Dharker. A fascinating collection of long-form interviews with some of the greatest minds and biggest achievers of our time, Peerless Minds is a book to be cherished and preserved.

REVIEW

★★★★

Peerless Minds by Pritish Nandy is a motivational non-fiction book that is a brilliant and inspiring book especially when one needs a little ‘pick-me-up.’ This book is full of interviews with various brightest minds of India and is full of their individual journeys, struggles, dilemmas, etc throughout their lives and careers.

A must-read for everyone.

You can also read this review on Goodreads

Book Review: The Fog Ladies by Susan McCormick

Categories Cosy, Mystery, Susan McCormickLeave a Comment on Book Review: The Fog Ladies by Susan McCormick

Author: Susan McCormick
Release Date: 9th June 2019
Genre: Cosy Mystery
Series: A San Francisco Cozy Murder Mystery (Book #1)
Edition: E-bok
Pages: 332
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Blurb:
Young, overworked, overtired, overstressed medical intern Sarah James has no time for sleuthing. Her elderly neighbors, the spunky Fog Ladies, have nothing but time. When, one by one, old ladies die in their elegant apartment building in San Francisco, Sarah assumes it is the natural consequence of growing old. The Fog Ladies assume murder.

Mrs. Bridge falls off a stool cleaning bugs out of her kitchen light. Mrs. Talwin hits her head in the bathtub and drowns. Suddenly, the Pacific Heights building is turning over tenants faster than the fog rolls in on a cool San Francisco evening.

Sarah resists the Fog Ladies’ perseverations. But when one of them falls down the stairs and tells Sarah she was pushed, even Sarah believes evil lurks in their building. Can they find the killer before they fall victim themselves?

REVIEW

★★★★

The Fog Ladies by Susan McCormick is a delightful cosy mystery that turned out to be a really pleasant read. This is my first book by the author, so obviously I had no idea what to expect from the book, though the blurb totally compelled me to pick this one up. So I dove in this book unknowing and, to be honest, it felt good for a change. Thankfully, the story turned out to be an absolute delight and I enjoyed it every bit.

The delightful bickering of the old ladies, the delicious references to some favourite foods and an unsuspecting and likeable protagonist made for a really enjoyable read. The plot was engaging and managed to hook me from the beginning till the end. And the end, well, it was perfect in its own right, albeit a bit predictable.

Overall I joyed this book more than I was expecting and would highly recommend it to cosy mystery readers.

You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon

Book Review: Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey

Categories Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Tessa BaileyLeave a Comment on Book Review: Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey

Author: Tessa Bailey
Release Date: 11th June 2019
Genre: Contemporary Romance Fiction
Series: Hot & Hammered (Book #1)
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 400
Publisher: Harper Collins India
Blurb:
A brand new romantic comedy from New York Times bestseller Tessa Bailey!
Georgette Castle’s family runs the best home renovation business in town, but she picked balloons instead of blueprints and they haven’t taken her seriously since. Frankly, she’s over it. Georgie loves planning children’s birthday parties and making people laugh, just not at her own expense. She’s determined to fix herself up into a Woman of the World… whatever that means.
Phase one: new framework for her business (a website from this decade, perhaps?)
Phase two: a gut-reno on her wardrobe (fyi, leggings are pants.)
Phase three: updates to her exterior (do people still wax?)
Phase four: put herself on the market (and stop crushing on Travis Ford!)
Living her best life means facing the truth: Georgie hasn’t been on a date since, well, ever. Nobody’s asking the town clown out for a night of hot sex, that’s for sure. Maybe if people think she’s having a steamy love affair, they’ll acknowledge she’s not just the “little sister” who paints faces for a living. And who better to help demolish that image than the resident sports star and tabloid favorite?
Travis Ford was major league baseball’s hottest rookie when an injury ended his career. Now he’s flipping houses to keep busy and trying to forget his glory days. But he can’t even cross the street without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there’s Georgie, his best friend’s sister, who is not a kid anymore. When she proposes a wild scheme—that they pretend to date, to shock her family and help him land a new job—he agrees. What’s the harm? It’s not like it’s real. But the girl Travis used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman and there’s nothing fake about how much he wants her…

REVIEW

★★★+1/2

Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey is a quirky and fun read that was a rather quick read and also pretty enjoyable. Even though the story was full of over-used romance tropes and cliche moments, the characterisation felt vibrant and fresh which totally made up for both these flaws.

The writing was good and it was one of the things I liked the most about the book. The pacing was great as the things moved quickly and made this book a quick 1-2 day read which seems reasonable to me.

I’d recommend this book to all the romance genre lovers and to those who are looking for a light, fun read to take a break from their normal reading lists.

This review is also available on Goodreads and Amazon

Book Review: Those Days In Delhi by Yashodhara Lal

Categories Contemporary Fiction, Yashodhara LalLeave a Comment on Book Review: Those Days In Delhi by Yashodhara Lal

Author: Yashodhara Lal
Release Date: 10th August 2019
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Series:
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 304
Publisher: Harper Collins India
Blurb:
Delhi in the Nineties. And this time, it’s going to be Gudia’s summer. So what if she’s the quintessential awkward middle child? So what if it seems like everything – from the hair sprouting on her legs to teachers making her life miserable – is conspiring against her? She’s taking matters into her own hands, and there’s no way that she’s going to fail. After all, there are three things Gudia is obsessed with – Basketball, the Boy with the American accent…and Winning. But in her desire to win this campaign of middle-school one-upmanship and conceal her plummeting grades, Gudia might just lose all that’s important to her – including herself. Best-selling author Yashodhara Lal is back with this funny, bittersweet and entirely relatable story about growing up; of that summer of innocence, when the world was simpler, and even our problems seemed sweeter.

REVIEW

★★★★

To sum it up in a single sentence, Those Days In Delhi by Yashodhara Lal is a feel-good contemporary read with an interesting story and an equally interesting cast of characters. It was a pretty quick read, mostly because of the well-written prose and also due to the fact that the book was so darn engaging. A really good book that shouldn’t be missed by anyone, especially those who belong to the legendary era of the ’80s and ’90s.

You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon

Book Review: Sidney Sheldon’s The Phoenix by Tilly Bragshawe

Categories Speculative-Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Tilly BragshaweLeave a Comment on Book Review: Sidney Sheldon’s The Phoenix by Tilly Bragshawe

Author: Tilly Bagshawe
Release Date: 13th June 2019
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Speculative Fiction, Mystery
Series:
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 432
Publisher: Harper Collins India
Blurb:
Thrilling and nail-biting, The Phoenix has all the trademark glamour, suspense and unexpected twists of a classic Sidney Sheldon novel.
A deadly enemy will rise again….
Ella Praeger has always felt like an outsider. So when she is called to join the ranks of The Group, a force for good operating in the shadows, her world shifts. She is gifted a purpose – and a dangerous legacy.
Years ago, The Group rid the world of one of its most powerful criminal masterminds. Yet when a child washes up on a beach in Greece, a mysterious symbol tattooed on its heel, it is a clear warning: impossibly, Athena Petridis has returned to reclaim her empire.
Ella’s connection to Athena is deeply personal. Thrown into an underworld of treachery and corruption, and haunted by the tragedies of her own past, Ella is reborn as an agent, chasing a villain risen from the ashes. But only one of them can fulfil their destiny….

REVIEW

★★

Sidney Sheldon’s The Phoenix by Tilly Bragshawe is the latest int he long line of books that have been written by Bragshwae in the vein of Sidney Sheldon’s novels. I’ve always enjoyed reading these novels as Sidney Sheldon is one of my all-time favourite authors but this time sadly it wasn’t the case.

I tried to really enjoy this book but a lot of elements prevented me from doing so – under-developed characterisation, weak plot-line, bad pacing, the overall predictability of the plot and the bad ending. There was too much going on and the protagonist felt too weak to be able to drive the plot by herself.

Overall, this book was a miss for me and therefore I won’t be able to recommend it to anyone. Hopefully, the author’s next book would be better than this one.

You can also read this review on Goodreads

Book Review: Come Home, Daddy: An Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Memoir by April Enciso

Categories April Enciso, memoirLeave a Comment on Book Review: Come Home, Daddy: An Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Memoir by April Enciso

Author: April Enciso
Release Date: 7th September 2018
Genre: Memoir
Series:
Edition: E-book
Pages: 103
Publisher: 
Blurb: This is a story about my father’s struggle with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s. We were living the American dream. My father ran his own business; we went on annual family vacations; I had a happy childhood. Then, one day in his late fifties, my father started having episodes of repeated conversations and forgetfulness. In a true story reminiscent of Lisa Genova’s novel Still Alice, we shockingly came to find out my father had Early-Onset Alzheimer’s. As he traversed down the rabbit hole into a downward spiral, we learned to cope with the bad times and embraced and appreciated the good times. This book is for the caregivers and loved ones of those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It is my hope that my story will encourage you and buoy you forward.

REVIEW

★★★★★

Come Home Daddy by April Enciso is a beautiful tribute by the author to her father. This book is about the real-life journey of the author and her family through a tragedy. I will be keeping this review very short as reading this book wasn’t easy for me because of my emotional baggage. This book is a heartfelt pouring of a daughter and it will definitely move you in many ways.

I’d recommend this book to all readers of non-fiction and memoir. A beautiful read.

You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon