If you could go back, who would you want to meet? What would you change if you travel back in time?
In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café. A café that not only serves its customer carefully brewed coffee but gives them a chance to travel back in time.
‘Before the coffee gets cold’ by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is a short read and can be finished in one sitting. Contain four short stories, all linked with the same theme that is time travel. The book, despite having such a fascinating premise it was a failure for me.
At the start, I thought, will surely gonna like it. But the writing ruined my optimistic expectations. I seriously couldn’t relate to any of the characters in the café. The most annoying part was the RULES. Whenever they explained the RULES time and again, it makes the whole book so damn irritating.
Neither any of the stories touched my heart, nor I felt anything for the characters. In fact, at times, I got confused among the characters as they have no significant unique traits. In my opinion, it was plain and super dull. It could have been better and presented more interestingly without adding those nonsensical Rules.
For the sake of reading, I somehow just wanted to finish it. I would not recommend this one to anyone. I am giving this a 2 star, only because I know it needs plenty of hard work to publish a book.
The world is a weird place for residing. At times beautiful, like a wonder. At times dangerous, like thunder. Sometimes seems so small, to master. Sometimes too large, to decipher. -Elysian Bookgraphy-
“A home isn’t always the house we live in. It’s also the people we choose to surround ourselves with.”
The House in the Cerulean Sea’ by TJ Klune is the book I wanted to read for so long. It was on my tbr, since the time I saw it everywhere on my Instafeed with all those positive reviews.
So, what did I feel about it? Liked it or not? Or in love with it? Or didn’t like it at all? Hmmm… read further to find out.
Linus Baker, at forty living a quiet life in a tiny house with his devious cat. He works as a caseworker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. His boring life takes a magical turn when he is summoned by Extremely Upper Management and given a curious task. He has to travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage run by Arthur Parnassus, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist.
He has to figure out whether these children are so dangerous that they are likely, bring about the end of days. The plot is full of magical creatures and also contains some sweet (queer) romance. There’s a lot to like about The House in the Cerulean Sea, whether you count it down as its pretty cover or the humor or the philosophy of life that this book delivers. Still, it is not something I prefer to read. It’s just that I am not that much into fantastical creatures.
There’s no doubt that the story is simple, heart-warming, and uncomplicated. But I guess it is a little bit too sweet for me. Also, in my opinion, it could have been cut short. I liked it, but I am not as much in love with it.
Our very own, the famous detective Hercule Poirot on vacation at St. loo with his friend Hastings. But how is it possible for a person like him, to have a proper stress-free, relaxing vacation to chill out? 🕵️♂️ While staying at the Majestic Hotel at St Loo, they meet a young girl named Nick Buckley, the owner of the End house. In a conversation with Nick, they came to know that she already had three escapes from death. Soon we see Poirot involved in the case to rescue the young girl. 🕵️♂️ Too many attempts to kill Nick.🔪
One murder.🩸
A long list of suspects.📝
A genius detective, can he find the ‘Killer’?🕵️♂️
Read this compelling plot to know whodunnit? And experience a thrilling adventure. 🕵️♂️ It is a classic Hercule Poirot mystery by Agatha Christie with a substantial amount of mysterious ambiance. 🕵️♂️ Christie sets the atmosphere in such a way that it grips the reader in the story throughout. This plot has it all, interesting characters, the drama, the emotions, the suspense, and the Twist. 🕵️♂️ Always enjoy reading Agatha Christie’s books and had a great time reading this one too.
Highly Recommend this to all book lovers. Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I love him so totally, completely, sometimes it threatens to overwhelm me. Sometimes, I think… No. I won’t write about that.”
In a pitch-black house, she was discovered standing near the fireplace. A gun was on the floor. Blood was everywhere. Found there, her husband was bound to a chair with wire wrapped around his wrist and ankles. Shot several times in the face.
Alicia Berenson, a famous painter, was thirty-three when she killed her husband. When placed under arrest, she remained silent. And Alicia never spoke again. Only She knows what happened.
Yes, The Silent Patient, the book that was everywhere on my Instagram feed, most talked about, heard a lot from many. Finally, I picked this up. I do not know, but I feel there’s always a risk reading a book that is hyped so much, as what if I would end up not liking it. While picking this, I had the same thought. But now, after finishing it, I am glad this was worth the hype.
Although the story was a little predictable, still, I liked the way it set forth. Also, I think the use of a diary in the narration was impressive. From the very first page, the book successfully grips the readers to the story.
Where Alicia Berenson’s character fascinates and attracts even remaining silent. On the other hand, there is Theo Faber, the psychotherapist, who is damn confident about making her talk again, also engrosses one throughout.
The Silent Patient is an easy yet thrilling read. Presented in such a manner, keeps its reader on their edge and motivates them to read the next chapter. It is a fast-paced plot, written without making any word wasted.
Although this one is not a brilliant writing work still its intriguing concept makes it all worth it. Exciting suspense with some twists the book turns out to be a successful one.
I would like to recommend this to anyone who loves to read psychological thrillers.
Life is so unpredictable. We desire something, plan something and get something else. “Til Death We Do Part” by Bruno Beaches is a book that tells you a tale of such unpredictability of life in a meaningful way. Throughout the story, the author beautifully and very intelligently spread out an important message that doesn’t ever get too comfortable, so be always prepared for the best or the worst.
It is the story of Pablo, the protagonist, who is devoted to his work. A hardworking police officer, living his life peacefully with his wife Delilah and children. After years of success, he was waiting for his retirement. Although, he had no idea of what destiny had planned for him.
One day, a defamatory and malicious complaint was filed against him that seemed to be entirely fake and spurious. From that point, his perfect life completely changes, becomes miserable, and not just the professional but also the personal one.
The author presents you with a tragic and emotional journey that explores the complications of relationships, the differences, the emotions, simultaneously dealing with sensitive issues like drug addiction. I congratulate Bruno for coming up with such an engaging plot.
Although Pablo is the main character of the story, we also get to know the perspective of his wife, Delilah, and her feelings. It shows that the author has done a great job as he considered both sides. A work of fiction with such deep writing, makes you feel for the characters involved. The characters not only connect with you but also become a part of your life. While reading, you start keeping yourself in the place of characters and start asking yourself if you would have taken the same decisions if you were in their place. The story is also relatable and authentic. Surprisingly, the fiction here has brought out the true colours of life, its complexities, and beauty at the same time. Written with such precision, that a modern human would relate to it and would learn how deeply life revolves around our relationships and selections we make in them. It is not just a simple story but a strong narration of human emotions.
The narration is easy to comprehend. At some parts it felt a little drag and slow-paced, apart from which this book is an amazing read, go for it. I recommend this book to all.
Hi Guys, hope you are doing well. Since the pandemic is not over yet please take extra precautions while going out and follow social distancing. If not necessary, avoid outings. Stay Safe, Stay Home! Today I am here, to share with you all, the link to my latest Interview. Recently, interviewed by Vijai K Sharma on his blog. Do check this out. Hope you will like it. Enjoy!!
It is from Agatha Christie, whose name is enough. Another murder mystery I would rather say, what a murder mystery! Mind-blowing. I heard so much about this book for a very long but never picked up. Now I regret being so late and lazy in picking this masterpiece.
The plot is engaging and gripping. After Hercule Poirot’s entry, it becomes more interesting. As always, my favorite, the very clever and genius, the one and only Mr.Poirot has investigated the case of Roger Ackroyd’s murder brilliantly. You would be amazed and shocked when the murderer is finally revealed in the story to know who is the real culprit.
From the very beginning to the unexpected last, this Agatha Christie book is unputdownable. Great story, outstanding narration, and what an incredible ending.
Hi everyone, it’s a new day, so with this post, I am back with another brand new Author and Book Blogger Interview. In today’s interview, here witness ‘Vijai K Sharma,’ an author of several technical books, who is also a blogger. Read this complete piece to know him better.
•For those who don’t know, can you start off by telling a little bit about yourself and your blog? Basically I am a Mechanical Engineer from B.H.U., Varanasi. Most of my working life has been in a full time, managerial-technical service in a Govt. of India industrial organization. Presently I am living in the Pink city of India viz. Jaipur, Rajasthan, although I have lived in several cities of India. I have widely travelled almost all over the country, trained in West Germany and Egypt on Production Management and visited 17 countries during my six visits abroad to USA, Europe, Bulgaria and Egypt. But I have also contributed in academics (visiting faculty, trainer, examiner & assessor), professional organizations and writing (freelance writer, author, book-reviewer, abstract writer, blogger, interviewer & translator).
My six technical books in English have been jointly written and published, but two other jointly written technical books could not be published. However, my writing activity also includes around 185 articles, book-reviews, abstracts, blogs, interview blogs, case-studies & translations etc. published or posted, in India and/or abroad, besides, 24 radio talks broadcast from 3 stations of All India Radio. All of these writings are on a variety of technical and general topics and in English and/or Hindi. I am one of the recipients of “Writers of the month bonus” for Jan 2007 on http://www.Shvoong.com, besides having posted around 1200 book-reviews & abstracts on this web site (which is now closed).
•What inspired you to start your blog? My first blog was posted on the website http://vijaiksharmaspeaks.blogspot.com/ on June 14, 2012, although I had started writing articles etc. in Hindi and English from my school days. My first article in Hindi was published in the school magazine and I was extremely happy after seeing my name and the article in print. Then this activity continued successfully as a passion, in the form of writing articles, book reviews, abstracts, case studies, radio talks etc. in English and Hindi. Then one fine morning, one of my young relatives exerted pressure on me to start writing blogs also. He said that since I am already writing successfully, I am also likely to be a successful blogger. I accepted his reasoning, took the first step and my first blog was posted as indicated above. Then as I started getting interest and pleasure in it, I continued blog writing. From that day onwards, I have not looked back. While most of the blogs are in English, a few are in Hindi also. I have also started posting “Interview Blogs” in which interviews are arranged with the authors through email and then posted on my website. So far 23 such Interview Blogs have been posted and some more are expected to be posted shortly. I am thankful to my young relative for the pressure exerted on me at that time. I have written blogs on five web sites and the total number posted is around 60. But most of my blogs have been posted on these two websites: http://vijaiksharmaspeaks.blogspot.com/ https://vijaiksharmawrites.wordpress.com/about
•Describe your writing space. I am quite particular of writing, while sitting on a comfortable chair with my back in a vertical position. I use a wooden table approximately 54”x27” size, with one drawer and with only a few relevant papers kept on the table. Besides this I have my laptop, pen etc. In my opinion, this helps me in concentrating on the matter and does not allow the attention to go astray on some other matters. In my young age, for my studies, activities of writing and other works for the home, I had a very small table approx. size 27”x27’’, which served me well till I left for my Engineering Education. Generally I never write while sitting in bed, not even in winter. Ninety percent of the scripts are written directly on the laptop. However in some cases, I make plan, outline or even draft on paper, so that the writing process gets accelerated. The other helpful gadget is my mobile, to talk to people or send quick messages through SMS and/or Whatsapp and to get required responses. But sometimes I have felt that it also distracts my attention from writing work. If we have to focus on our writing, the writing space should be away from outside disturbances, including TV, mobile phone, Landline phone etc. I do not have a separate closed room only for writing work, which in my opinion, will be very helpful.
•How do you manage to juggle life and writing? It is a difficult question. I have been writing from my school days and continued during my full time managerial-technical, Govt. of India service, but at that time, my first priority was service. But after my retirement, the quantum and the variety of writing has increased. I take up writing work whenever I am free. I do not have a fixed time for writing. Further writing is my passion and not a burden on me. I want to write on freelance basis, without tension. Words coming effortlessly leading to accomplishments give me happiness. There is contribution and progress in this field, since I get pleasure in this work. My family also understands and supports my writing including blogging activity. With the blessings of God the Almighty, life and writing have been managed comfortably well so far and I am sure God will guide me further also.
•What’s your own definition of an author? According to me, an author is one who creates a written work , after lot of study, thinking and effort, and which is having some value addition for the society like utility, entertainment, education, training, improvement in some way or the other and is likely to have long lasting impact.
•What books or authors have most influenced your writing? It is very difficult to identify such books and authors at this stage, since their effects in different periods of life have been different.
•What do you like to do when you are not writing? At present, I am not engaged in any service or business and hence most of my available time is taken up for my writing activities. But still some time is needed for looking after the requirements of home, work connected with friends and relatives etc. Earlier I used to play Badminton. Now some time is also taken in yoga, exercises, meditation, walking and social media. •What do you find the most frustrating aspect of blogging? Any activity, for that matter, requires time, effort, concentration, foresight and creativity. Blogging activity too needs the same. After achieving the output of any activity, the person, needs some appreciation, recognition and motivation. A book blogger, reads the book thoroughly, notes its positive and negative points and gives a review of the book, in an unbiased manner, for the author and the readers. A book of 200–400 pages is generally summarized in 600 or 900 or 1200 words, which work requires time, concentration, critical analysis and summarization. People do understand that a person is working, if the person is in 10 AM to 5 PM service or in a 11AM to 9 PM business or something like that. In my opinion, probably people are not aware of blogging, do not understand its importance and do not know the extent of effort involved in preparing a blog. This is reflected in lack or inadequacy of the comments. It has an irritating and demoralizing effect on the blogger.
•Your Favorite book: During different periods of our life, we have several different favourite books. In the initial stages of my life, one of the books I read and liked was “Discovery of India” by Jawaharlal Nehru. During service life my field was Quality Management, Production Management, Marketing Management and General Management. I read several books in these fields. I liked books on Quality by Dr. J M Juran, on Marketing by Philip Kotler and several other books. For Yoga and Meditation, I read and liked books on these topics. Hence it is very difficult to identify such a book now.
•Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about? In addition to my continuing with Interview Blogs and other blogs etc., at present we are working on two books in English. One book is based on general experiences in my life and is meant for young persons while the second book is based on discussions of a group of persons over a long period and is being jointly written.
Fun Part Pick One: Tea or Coffee: My preference is for some cold drink like Nimbu-pani in hot weather and 10% for Coffee and 90 % for Tea (preferably lemon-tea without milk).
Paperback or e-book: Both have their plus and minus points, but my preference is for paper back.
Reading or Writing: For writing, one has also to read a lot. Hence reading is as per the need/availability/usability of free time and therefore more time for writing.
Movie or Book: I would prefer to write or read a book instead of watching a movie, to utilize the time available. But I may have to watch a movie, sometimes, to give company to my better half.
Text message or call: In my opinion, personal contact is always better, if it is possible. If not, then at least contact through voice or video call is desirable. Text messages are recommended, where information is too small or too large or has attachments. So my preference is for Call.
•Few words for our readers and Elysian Bookgraphy For a blogger to do self-publicity is rather difficult; hence readers, other bloggers, authors and organizations/magazines should come forward for this purpose. In management principles, it has been said that any person, worker, manager, farmer, lecturer etc. needs appreciation of his efforts and motivation for his future activities. This applies to a writer as well. It is easy to find faults and criticize but very difficult and time consuming to produce to perfection. Hence it should be constructive criticism, to ultimately improve the matters and also motivate the writers. I convey my thanks to Elysian Bookgraphy for giving this opportunity to me, by inviting me to participate in this interview. Also my thanks to the readers for giving their valuable time for going through this interview blog, which I hope they enjoyed. I wish that the readers should continue to read and write, be happy and also take care of their health at all times. I also convey my best wishes to Elysian Bookgraphy and the readers, for their continued success.
•And lastly, what advice would you like to give to a new writer and blogger, someone who is just starting out? If we have to go to the top of a hill or a multi-storied building, we have to go step by step and we may have to take rest in between and then recommence our journey to the top. Therefore, we have to initiate our efforts and continue to reach higher levels. As a writer or a blogger, we may have to struggle for achieving the expected targets and getting results, but we should not worry about the results. With passage of time, the things will certainly change for the better. We should continue our hard work and must not lose our motivation. After all, Rome was not built in a day. Even failure and unpleasant remarks of some persons should not demoralize us at all. Some persons intentionally follow such policies, so that they can themselves go forward at the cost of others. But with our positive attitude we can cause their failure. We must strengthen our status day by day, ignoring such adverse comments and continue to read and write. Success will definitely be achieved. The writer should not copy someone else’s style or work but have his own original unique style, then recognition and progress will be fast and long-lasting.
Further, learning is a continuous process on every day, till end of life. We should keep our eyes and ears open, be receptive to new ideas and not hesitate to learn from anybody. Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the great Arya Samaj leader, had said that we should not hesitate to learn even from a child of five years of age. Therefore we should read the contents of other successful writers and bloggers, learn new things, get inspiration and motivation from them, but should not copy their work or style.
The new bloggers should study the activities of other active bloggers, carry out individual brain storming, select ideas and topics for implementation, become active on several social sites, obtain feedback from the readers, carry out revisions in content where required, contact and collaborate with other bloggers, carry out promotion of blogs, review periodically and chalk out future plan of actions. If we are getting pleasure in writing and blogging etc., we should go ahead in this field, gather relevant knowledge, have detailed thoughts, prepare well, write blogs every day and also write guest posts. I feel that broad overall guidance and advice of an experienced person is very advantageous for initial planning, field to be adopted, training, approaching people, organizing, making a good presentation, marketing and getting good comments etc. The bloggers should choose a role-model and seek guidance for blogging activities. Before commencing the blog writing activities, a blogger should plan for one single website so that his contributions are not scattered and the readers can see all the activities at one place.
“ईश्वर,अन्धकार में भी जगमाता है, दिये की सार्थकता ईश्वर से है, ईश्वर कि दिये से नहीं। प्रेम का जीवन से ऐसा ही सम्बन्ध है।”
कवितायेँ कम शब्दों में बहुत कुछ कह जाती हैं। कभी कभी लगता है, गर बातें पन्नों पर लिख एक दूसरे को बतलायी जाएँ तो शायद हम उनकी गम्भीरता और भाव को ज्यादा अच्छी तरह समझ पाएंगे। “पिया रे तुलसी मैं हो जाऊं” एक ऐसा ही खूबसूरत कविता संग्रह है। स्पष्ट, सटीक और बिलकुल मुद्दे पर रहते हुए, ‘प्रहेलिका’ द्वारा लिखी गयी यह किताब आज के सामाजिक जीवन, उनके वक्त के साथ बदलते रिश्तों, देश में फैली कुरीतियों पर एक गहरी चोट करती है। कवयित्री अपनी इन्ही आधुनिक कविताओं से पाठकों पर एक गहरी छाप छोड़ती हैं।
इश्क़ तो आजकल सब करते हैं मगर प्रेम करना इतना आसान नहीं होता। प्रेम, असल में प्रेम सिर्फ ढाई अक्षर का शब्द नहीं पूरा जीवन ही इसी एक शब्द में निहित है। यहाँ कवयित्री ने अपनी कविताओं के माध्यम से आधुनिक समय में प्रेम की बदली परिभाषा को अपने शब्दों के ज़रिये व्यक्त किया है। सिर्फ पुरुष या सिर्फ स्त्री से नहीं बल्कि दोनों के सामंजस्य से ही प्रकृति चलती है। ऐसे ही इस जीवन की संरचना हुई है, फिर क्यों हम इस गलतफ़हमी में रहते हैं किसी एक को कम आंकने से हम ऊपर हो सकते हैं।
राष्ट्र, गांव, मिट्टी,शहर की भाग दौड़ ऐसे ही विभिन्न विषयों को प्रहेलिका ने बेहद खुबसुरती और बखूबी से शब्दों में पिरोया है। जैसे, गावों को अक्सर गरीबी से आंकते हैं लोग, की वहां सुख सुविधाओं की कमी होती है। भूल जाते हैं कि उन्ही छोटी झोपड़ियों में आज भी अपनापन मिलता है वहीँ बड़े शहरों की बड़ी इमारतों में रहने वाले लोग सब होकर भी अकेला सा महसूस करते हैं। यह कविता संग्रह पढ़ आप भी सोचने पर मजबूर होंगे की हम अपने जीने के तरीकों, सोच और समाज में क्या कुछ बदलाव ला सकते हैं।
शब्दों का प्रयोग, उनके भाव समझाने में कवयित्री सफलतापूर्वक खरी उतरी हैं। हमें हिंदी साहित्य के ऐसे ही प्रतिभावान लेखकों और उनके द्वारा लिखी गयी पुस्तकों को और प्रोत्साहन देने की आवश्यकता है। अगर आप भी हिंदी भाषी हैं और एक अच्छे कविता संग्रह की खोज में थे तो यह किताब बिलकुल आपके लिए है।
Elysian Bookgraphy 