Books... Books... Books...

I have read so many books in the last few and am reviewing them below. Since there are too many, am not putting the pics.. too much trouble:

• Dead until dark, Living dead in Dallas, Club dead and Dead to the world by Charlaine Harris: The obsession with vampires continues... since, Vampire Diaries is on a hiatus till Jan and I have watched True Blood till season 4, it is the books I am racing through. The problem with reading them was that I would confused between the serial and books. Another problem is they are not available in Landmark, Crossword or Om book shop. I end up buying at flipkart.com. I like the books... read them if you are into vampires
• Custody by Manju Kapur: I had read 'Difficult Daughters' by Manju when I was in college. Decided to pick up this book. It is about a wife who cheats on her hubby with his boss and walks out of the marriage. She makes her husband's life hell by turning the kids against him. Her husband manages to keep the girl child but his male kid hates him. Thats how it ends... She has tried to bring out the havoc divorce can bring... but its an ok book.
• The pregnant king by Devdutt Pattanaik: I read this book long time back. It is about Indian mythology... about a king who gives birth. It is a good book. I love reading about mythology... the stories are full of imagination. The sexual escapades cannot be matched by no other.
• Mafia Queens of Mumbai by S. Hussain Zaidi: The book has been written by a journalist who works on the crime beat. This book was on my wish list on flipkart for quite sometime before I purchased it. A strictly ok book.... it talks about some women gangsters of Mumbai. I didn't find the book revealing enough. It lacked depth and research. Please avoid.
• Death in Mumbai by Meenal Baghel: Another book on Maria Jerome and Emile... this book professes to reveal the true story. The missing piece is what actually happened in the flat when Jerome killed Emile. Why did he kill him? Was he provoked? Did Maria plan it? The book does not have answers. For some weird reason, it has many chapters on Ekta Kapoor... maybe to get insight into the tv industry but it does fit into the whole story. Avoid.
• Diary of a wimpy kid Cabin Fever: Another one in the series of Diary of a wimpy kid. I love it... love their books and the movies as well. Please pick it up.
• Lucknow Boy A Memoir by Vinod Mehta: Vinod Mehta is the editor for Outlook... he has had an eventful past... being fired as editor from 2-3 publications. The book is revealing and quite fair. I mean, for someone to admit that they got fired is courageous. He has also written about many other people- Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shashi Tharoor etc. Worth a read.

JS and the Times of my life

I just finished reading this book. Jug Suraiya is a famous journalist. He writes the column Jugular Vein in TOI. I have always like his columns and am familiar with his wife Bunny through them. The book traces his experiences as a journalist... it is witty, humorous, gives an insight into journalism and gossip. Worth a read.

The week in pictures

A pic of the muffins. I experimented with a strawberry sauce filling and nutella topping. Both were tasty. Just need a good recipe for a proper muffin now. I need to try cheese frosting next Sunday.

My library has started stocking Calvin and Hobbes... I am so happy. The comics are really, really expensive and being able to rent them is a dream come true. I ordered one book and was surprised to receive the biggest book I have laid eyes on. It took me a few days to finish it... but I did. Every minute was spent on it... KC called it my Gita since it is so big and I laid it in my lap to read.

I have started reading the book after watching season 1 of 'True Blood'. I had heard a loooootttt about this series, specially from people abroad. Its quite a rage. An acquaintance had read horrible reviews on facebook after watching 1 episode. That got me intrigued. I watched the first few episodes... and was "WOW"... its full of blood, violence and sex... loads of it... dirty sex. Nothing like I have seen on television and I have seen a LOT. After completing 3/4th of the season, I gave up half way since the download speed is too low of the torrents and so is the buffering on tvduck.com. I picked up the book and liked that the series does not follow it strictly. Now I have picked up the 2nd book and am downloading season 2... no matter how much time it takes. Not for everyone. I looked for the book in Om Book Shop in Metropolitan Mall, then at Ambience Mall, then at Reliance Time Out and finally found it in Landmark. Sadly, at every shop the guys helping out were looking for it in the kids section. I would have been mortified if they had stocked it there. I mean, a book about vampires, sex and blood in the kids section? Wow.

Books and Movies

Hiya. It has been a week full of books and movies. I had a stack of books in my drawer and I have devoured them one by one. Travelling in metro helps... it gives me time to read.

I wish this book didn't have Rekha on its cover... the book barely mentions her and she does not represent the "history" of Bollywood.

Anyway, apart from the cover... I loved it. It caught my eye and I ordered from the library. It starts from the beginning... first film made in India and abroad and chronicles the history, rise and fall of actors/actresses, their personal lives etc. It is very revealing. It does not dwell on actors like Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Mithun etc but spends maximum time on the earliest actors... Dilip Kumar... Amitabh Bachan... Raj Kapoor... Prithviraj Kapoor etc. Worth a read. I found it very difficult to put it down and waited to get home from work so I could continue reading.

Another book by Khushwant Singh and a very honest one. He has not hidden the fact that he got a job as editor of HT through Sanjay Gandhi and that he was fired from it by Birla. It takes guts to be this honest. Planning to read the rest of the books also.

I had taken part 2 home to watch it with my bro. But the format didn't work on the DVD player and we didn't get enough time to watch it on the laptop. Part 2 is scarier and yet it is not. It is scarier because the events happening are not as subtle as in part 1. It is less scary because part 1 gave the feeling that this could happen to anyone... in anyone's house but in part 2... the history is established. Which means... I will not have sleepless nights. I am looking forward to part 3... where it all began.

Downloaded and watched this flick yesterday. We were planning to watch "In time" but chucked it. I remember debating about it with my friends in school when I was in 7th std. The friends were Jainee and Monica. Jainee and I were of the view point that such movies should not be made. They set a bad precedent for the audience and gives them weird ideas. Monica was of the opposite view. So, unlike what I think now. I guess, then I didn't know what it was actually about. I still lived in the world of Mills and Boon and Barbara Cartlands.

I loved the movie. Shekhar Kapur is a genius. I wish he had made more Hindi movies. I loved the actors he picked- Seema Biswas, Nirmal Pandey, Raghubir Yadav, Namdeo (don't remember his first name), Manoj Bajpai, Saurabh Shukla etc. Its a wonderful cast... and at a time when they were nobodies. It shows an eye for talent.

The scene with Seema naked was a shocker. I had heard about it earlier... but thought it not be showing her completely nude. After all, which Indian actress will agree to such a scene? If she does, her reputation will be in ruins. It also made sense... if the movie is completely based on facts, why edit things out?

Another thing I loved was that... Seema does not have to mouth long dialogues or the rapes were not glorified to make the audience sympathize with her. The lines said by her; "Why no bullets for me?" when Namdeo (the villain) threatens to kill her partner. It means that her death will be a relief... she always has to suffer much worse... rapes... getting stripped in front of the village.

KC thought Phoolan was stupid to kill innocent villagers instead of the villains she had come after. If Phoolan was smart, she would have stayed with her husband instead of running away. The choice was getting raped by one man all her life or getting raped by many other men... of course, she didn't know then.

Phoolan had protested against this movie. But after its release, she became popular. She even got her autobiography published. She was a low caste icon and that explains the rise of Dalits in UP. They were tired of the oppression by the higher caste.

And if anyone reading this believes that oppression and discrimination does not exist anymore... you are wrong. But thats fodder for another post.

Books...

I like Khushwant Singh's books... whether I agree with them or not, he writes well and has the guts to speak his mind. More Malicious Gossip is a collection of his writing. What is commendable is that since he is very old, the writings range over a large period of time. There are writings about Indira Gandhi. I think he is very pro-Gandhi (not the Mahatma... the family) and his writing about Indira is biased. But, I appreciate anyone who can express his/her views fiercely. I plan to read all his books.

Worth a read.

This is Aravind Adiga's 3rd book... the first one was brilliant, the 2nd one - Between the Assassinations was very forgettable... coming to the 3rd book...it is about development in Mumbai. Basically, people in smaller flats or slums are offered huge amounts for buying off the flats... a new building is constructed in its place and sold off for higher amounts... most of the times, the people are also given free flats in the building. It is a win win proposition for everyone.

'Last Man in Tower' is about one man who refuses to sell off his flat. According to the law, every person must agree to the settlement else it will not be valid. One hand is a lot of money which will fulfill every dream of the residents... on the other hand is one old man with nothing to lose ... for who money is not a motivation. I will not get into details or the end.

The book is strictly ok.... Would I have picked it up if it was not by Adiga? No. The story would never have tempted me to pick it up. Just like a lot of writers, Adiga is a one hit wonder... I don't think he will enjoy the same level of success.. no, thats not the correct word... many will call this book also successful... he will not enjoy the same peak in his writing.

The book is quite long... the story does not have enough twists and turns ... and I read it for a month... its not a pick you can carry on the metro 'coz of its bulk... it cannot be read after a tiring and frustrating day.

I would suggest you avoid. Why pick up a book 'coz of its author?

Sunset Club

I have read a few books by Khushwant Singh and liked them. Yes, the description of the sexual escapades can get a little gory (even for me) but otherwise he is a brilliant writer.

Sunset Club is the story of 3 old men- one a Surd, another a Muslim and 3rd a staunch Hindu. They used to go for walks at Lodhi Garden and become friends. They meet everyday and talk. The book is about their discussions... it does not go into their past or present. Sounds strange... but it was not boring at all.

Worth a read.

The Carrie Diaries

The Carrie Diaries is an effort by Candace Bushnell to write about Carrie's life before the show... before she moved to NYC (in part 1) and before she become the columnist (in part 2). I think I have blogged about the first book.

Anyway, in book 2 Carrie becomes friends with Samantha and Miranda. She has an affair with a much older playwright and spends most of her time wondering if she is talented enough. She does not write much but wants to make it big as a writer in NYC. The whole thing sounds extremely fake and not connected with the show at all.

Samantha is engaged to a multi millionaire for the money. That is so not like Samantha at all... Miranda does not like to have sex and hates men. Its as if Candace has gone bonkers and forgotten what her characters are all about... something like what she did in the 2nd part of the movie. Why can't writers realize that it is ok to end things? J K Rowling is smarter... she knows that the obsession will not end just 'coz the story has. We all crave for a happy ending... why ruin it by half baked attempts?

Friends is the biggest example... at the end of the seasons... the jokes were less funny... the actors less good looking... they ended the show. But it lives one... re runs are played over and over and over again.

Candance needs to drop it and not go further... or backwards. She is ruining it.

The Carrie Diaries

Apparently, this book is about Carrie Bradshaw when she was in high school. Just a marketing gimmick. There is nothing Carrie like in the main character... it could be anybody.

Please avoid.

Book Reviews

This book is by a writer who was an Assistant Director in Bollywood. The main character is also an AD trying to get a foothold in the movie industry. She goes through happiness and pain... affair with the main actor, unwanted pregnancy, success and failure in the career. Very 'Page 3'. I don't think every AD has affairs with the actors but the author needed to spice it up.

Very chicklit and not bad for a time pass read.
This book is by a Pakistani writer- Mohsin Hamid. It is based in Pak and is about a young man who loses himself to drugs. The beginning is good, book is short but loses everything in the end. Its as if the writer could not figure out how to end it and did so abruptly. Avoidable.

Book Reviews

I know I am a little late on the 'Vampire Diaries' craze but I have read Twilight and watched the movie and did not want to indulge in similar stuff.

Vampire Diaries is sort of similar to Twilight except it is darker, the action is more dangerous and thrilling. It is everything that Twilight should have been. I wish I would have read it before twilight. By the end of the book, I was not willing to pick up part 2 but it ended at a exciting turn and now I will have to read the next one. Also, once I am done with 90210 I will start on the series.

2 of my FB friends had praised the book. I could not find it in Landmark and ordered it online at flipkart.com. Amazing website... I received the delivery within 3 days... no hassles... no follow up required and it was at a discounted price. I have started ordering books online every month. They are cheaper and no shipping charges.

Anyway, I do not know who Anthony Bourdain is... I have never watched his shows so don't ask me for his introduction. The book is about a cook, his real life experiences in the kitchen and they are unimaginable. We all think of chefs/cooks as creative, decent, respected people... but thats not how it is... even in 5 star kitchens.

Worth a read. I received the delivery for another book by him from the website.

Isn't It Obvious

Eliyahu Goldratt is one of my fav authors... his books never fail to impress. The only Management books I read are by him. He makes the most complicated theories seem extremely logical and simple... while other management books do the opposite.

This book is about a problem faced in retail- inventory. How to maintain correct inventory- something all retail chains grapple with.

Worth a read.