Book Review: Someday by Alison McGhee & Peter H Reynolds

A mother’s love will never end, it is there from the beginning to the end.

Someday written by Alison McGhee & illustrated by Peter H. is a children’s book but in my opinion it is not just that, it is rather meant for adults. Someday is a beautiful book illustrating the journey of a human life from birth to death through a mother’s perspective. It is a story of a mother telling her daughter about what she hopes that she will someday see her do or that her daughter will someday do. Written in few simple words, seriously, this book is full of feelings and emotions. It will surely bring tears to the eyes of the reader. A heart touching story of a mother and her daughter that one must, must read. Not just to mothers and daughters, I highly recommend this to all.
A must read!!
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Someday, a long time from now, your own hair will glow silver in the sun. And when that day comes, love, you will remember me.”

Book Review: The Crow by her Window by A. K. Raj

An absolute eye opener for today’s world. It is a short and gripping read. Writing style is amazing and suspense building is great. The crow by her window deals with the concept of lack of proper relationship between parents and their children in our modern society. It will make you realize the importance of a family, the love, the care a child needs that one should never ignore. This book also makes you realize that in spite of showing our fake relationships on social media platforms we need to make them valuable, make them worth in real life. It showcases the mentality and behavior of a teenager perfectly and also the nature of working parents. The author brilliantly depicts a picture of the current situation where the parents are getting so busy in their work lives that they are ignoring their children, rather unintentionally, but yes they are, which can lead to some unexpected tragic turn in their lives. The author gives a suspenseful plot to carry out a strong message. “Somewhere amidst all the chores and chaos, we are lost, and knowingly or unknowingly, we are all guilty. Eventually, we end up blaming the circumstances at work, parenting, education and other systems around us instead of trying to find a balance. If only each one of us understood the importance of this balance, perhaps we could have been there for each other more.”
Rating: 4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book Review: The Ramayana Secret by Anurag Chandra.

“When darkness swept away the light, along came the saviour who put up a fight.”
Ramayana, is a story which needs no introduction, most of us are familiar with the plot. It is an epic tale of Rama, the Ideal son & the ideal king, Sita, the ideal wife, Lakshman & Bharat the ideal brothers, Hanuman, the ideal devotee and even Ravana the ideal demonic villain. This book is a retelling of The Ramayana. Author has given a new aspect to the original story and has divided the Earth in to an outer earth (Prithvi) & an inner Earth (Paatala) which is a kingdom named Agartha. Starting with the story of Ram’s ancestors the book continues in a swift pace and tells you some interesting secrets of the Ramayana, which you might have never heard before. The writing style is simple and easy. The chapters are short so you don’t feel bored or distracted, but the thing that lead me to not liking this book is that it lacks the grip. There is no character development. The secrets are revealed flatly & it seems like all of the characters are just doing whatever they want to do, as a result, the reader starts to lose the interest in the narration. For me this book can be a good start for a beginner to mythology but if you have read Amish’s work earlier you might not like it.
Rating: 2/5 ⭐️⭐️

Book Review: Petit à Petit by Ambica Uppal

Don’t go searching outside for the magic that you so preciously hold. Just look within yourself and scratch to dig into that pot of gold.”
In tough times we need positive thoughts, which can inspire us to believe, hope and most importantly motivate us to live. Poetry can be subtly uplifting, and this book aptly justifies that.
The book Petit à Petit by Ambica Uppal is a collection of poems with beautiful illustrations done by Anika Sagar, Ashween Kaur Lamba and some of them are by the author herself.
Ambica from her life experiences, how she feels and what she learned, here, have moulded her thoughts into beautiful poems that are short, inspiring, and easy to read.
Divided into five parts, Petit à Petit is an excellent compilation of life changing and inspiring poems that motivate the readers to believe in themselves. This book encourages the readers on how to change not just their future but the present also. No beating around the bush, just the truth that will positively change how you look at your reality. I recommend this book to any reader who likes a little inspiration and joy in their life.
The most fascinating part is that each poem has been summarised in a single statement, acting as a verbal sunshine.
 Rating 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book Review: The Girl Who Disappeared by Vikrant Khanna

Where is Nisha?

The author of the bestselling book ‘The Girl Who Knew Too Much’, Vikrant Khanna, on this valentine’s day came up with his new release ‘The Girl Who Disappeared’. The story in the beginning is very interesting, really a page turner. The main characters Nisha and Rishi, a couple, are heading to the Writer’s hill, a tourist place in Himachal Pradesh for some peace and safety because of some events that occurred in the past few days and Nisha knew something terrible was going to happen. In the Writer’s Hill they got to meet Monica & Roy (another couple), Meena (a blind girl) and her parents Babu & Moni (The Caretakers) and Anand (a writer). One night in an unusual way and under a supernatural circumstance Nisha disappears. All of the characters have their own secrets and stories, which unfolds as the story progresses.

The writing style is simple and easy going, the pace of the story in the beginning is great, full on intriguing, the supernatural elements makes the story more interesting to read but as the story progresses the supernatural part which seemed to be exciting in the beginning, later on becomes just a drag. I thought the little girl Meena, who claims she can see things, will get to play a major role but it goes in vain, if she would have done something by seeing things it could have given the story a new dimension. Towards the end it seemed as the writer is in some hurry because many parts remain hanging in the middle without any proper closure. Also, one of the characters Avni, is shown to be violent and weird but why was she like that has never been cleared.So many questions but no answers.
In my view the first half of the book is very well done and super engaging but the plot in the second half looses connect with the reader, could have been better than this.
Read it : If you want some light mystery read, but I warn you not to expect much.

Miss it: If you are expecting much, with an amazing plot twist.

Rating: 2/5 ⭐️⭐️

Book Review: Jaipur Journals by Namita Gokhale

Jaipur Journals, as the writer says “A Love Letter to the Greatest Literary Show on Earth…” is set in the background of the Jaipur literature festival. Namita Gokhale’s Jaipur Journals tells you the tales of her colourful cast of characters whose lives collide in a series of events during the festival. 

Gokhale takes you to a ride of a delightful and a moving journey of readers, aspiring writers, sketch artist, bookworms, a poet and a thief. Each one of these attendees is the protagonist of their own story, an American writer looking for the vanished India of her youth, a burglar with a passion of poetry, a talented child determined to make it to the top, an intelligent graphic artist, the lonely writer in her seventies who carries her “UNSUBMITTED” novel in a canvas bag. This novel shows you the excitement and spirit of such literary festivals. It represents the audience that is desperate to catch a glimpse of and get answers from their favourite authors. Also, writers are anxious to get their points clear across the panels.It highlights the power of literature that can enlighten us in every life situation. Told from multiple perspectives, filled with various deep and eye-opening quotes, this fast paced complex and intriguing life stories of our protagonists makes you stick to the pages, is totally unputdownable. However, this book is not meant for the first time reader, but still if you want to read it make sure your dictionary is out with you. 

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book Review: The New Dress by Virginia Woolf.

“It was absurd to pretend it even—fashion meant cut, meant style, meant thirty guineas at least—but why not be original? Why not be herself, anyhow?”
How much a perfect dress means to you?
In this materialistic society there are many who want to look good by wearing costly and fashionable dresses just to impress others, they wear it not for themselves, but for showing off to gain attention and at least become one of those whom they think have high standards. New dress by Virginia Woolf is a short story, about Mabel Waring (the main character) having inferiority complex, feeling insecure, nervous of wearing a new, although an old fashioned dress in an upper class party hosted by Mrs. Dalloway. She is feeling awkward while standing between all those who are dressed up perfectly whereas on the other hand she, after checking herself up in the mirror “confirmed the suspicion that it was not right, not quite right”. Soon she starts to feel that everyone is staring and mocking her just because of her not so perfect dress. While having such uncomfortable thoughts, Mabel recalls growing up in her unremarkable family. She then thinks about her reality, including her marriage to a man with a “safe, permanent underling’s job.” She thinks back to special, isolated moments in her life, which she characterizes as “delicious” and “divine.” Later on, she decides that she wants to find a way to be happy. She decides to pursue self-improvement and transformation. Dealing with the issue of feeling mediocre and having a pressure to look perfect among others this short story by Virginia Woolf is a decent read.
Rating: 3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book Review: Motivation 101: Ten Ways to Increase Your Daily Motivation (Paul G. Brodie)

What better time to read a book on motivation and being positive in life.
During this period when almost the whole world is under lockdown and day by day its becoming frustrating and depressing, most of us need some motivation that keeps us going. So here I am recommending Motivation 101 by Paul G. Brodie. Paul, through his life experiences explains each and every motivational point in a very simple way that can be easily applied in your daily routine. I really liked the concept of asking questions from readers in each chapter as it makes the book more interactive. The author gives a very practical approach to find your motivation in life and ask you to Dream, which, in his words stands for Do, Relevant, Enjoy, Aspire, and Meaning.
This book will encourage and motivate you to live your life authentically and with purpose every day.
A Good read.
Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book Review: Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

When men and women are able to respect and accept their differences, then love has a chance to blossom.❤️
-John Gray
Almost everyone would agree that men and women are different, how different is still undefined for most people. Not only do men and women communicate differently but they think, feel, perceive, respond, love and appreciate differently. We mistakenly assume that if our partners love us they will react and behave in certain ways, the ways we react and behave when we love someone.
Tom and Mary, have a relationship in which they are tired of dealing with the same issues over and over again and these tensions in their relationship is making it worse. They often get frustrated with each other. Like Tom and Mary, many couples fall into such patterns that turn a loving relationship into a failed one.
This book helps you to make you understand that once you change your perception and know that your partner is as different from you as someone from another planet, it will improve your relationship and resolve many of your struggles. Thereby you can just relax and cooperate with the differences instead of trying changing them. This book helps you in improving your relationship, addresses some common problems that most of the couples experience and enlightens you by highlighting some of the key differences between men and women. It is a good guide, however it is not completely applicable on all the individuals as everyone is not the same.
Rating: 3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘रावण आर्यावर्त का शत्रु’-इतिहास के सबसे बड़े खलनायक की कहानी, जिसका नाम रावण है

‘

“मैं रावण हूँ।
मैं यह सब कुछ चाहता हूँ।
मुझे ख्याति चाहिए।मुझे शक्ति चाहिए।मुझे संपत्ति चाहिए।
मुझे पूर्ण विजय चाहिए।
भले ही मेरा यश मेरे दुःख के साथ-साथ चले।”

‘रावण आर्यावर्त का शत्रु’, रामचंद्र श्रृंखला की तीसरी किताब है।इससे पूर्व लेखक अमीश ने हमारे सामने राम और सीता के जीवन को एक नए रूप से पेश किया जो हमारी धार्मिक अवधारणा से थोड़ा अलग था, अमीश की लिखी पुस्तकें हमें सोचने पर मजबूर करती हैं और कहीं हद तक समझाने का प्रयास करती हैं हमारी पौराणिक कथाओं को,परन्तु थोड़े अलग नजरिये से।
यह किताब रावण के बाल्यावस्था से उसके एक क्रूर शासक बनने तक की कहानी बताती है, इस कहानी में आपको पता चलता है की रावण के बचपन की परिस्तिथियाँ उसके अनरूप नहीं थीं जिसकी वजह से उसमे उसी वक्त से गुस्सा भरता चला जाता है, पर यहाँ अमीश हमें यही बताते हैं की एक व्यक्ति जो अच्छा होता है उसके जीवन में चाहे कैसी भी परिस्तिथि आये वह हमेशा सच और धर्म के ही मार्ग पर चलता है, उदाहरण के लिए राम के साथ भी नियति ने बहुत अच्छा व्यवहार नहीं किया परन्तु उन्होंने अपने धर्म के मार्ग पर चलने का फैसला नहीं बदला पर रावण ऐसा नहीं कर पाया। एक व्यक्ति अपनी सोच और जीवन में लिए गए अपने फैसलों से ही जाना जाता है और यही अंतर है जिससे राम, राम बने और रावण,रावण बना।
रावण के जीवन पर प्रकाश डालती यह किताब बहुत ही रोचक है, अनसुनी कहानियां पाठक की दिलचस्पी और बढ़ाती है, रावण के क्रूर व्यक्तित्व के साथ साथ उसके अपने भाई कुम्भकरण के प्रति लगाव को बहुत ही अच्छे से दर्शाया गया है, कुम्भकरण के साथ हंसी ठिठोली पाठक को मनोरंजन की पूरी खुराक देती है। रावण के अधूरे और एकलौते सच्चे प्रेम सम्बन्ध का मार्मिक चित्रण अमीश ने बखूबी किया है,यह कहानी को एक नया आयाम देती है. कहानी के अंत तक आपको बहुत सारे राज़ पता चलते हैं जो पाठक को आगे की किताब पढ़ने के लिए उत्सुक करते हैं।
यह किताब आपको एक मूल अर्थ समझाती है की हमारे आज के लिए हुए फैसले ही हमारे आने वाले भविष्य का निर्माण करते हैं, रावण के अपने जीवन में समय समय पर लिए गए फैसलों के कारण ही आज दुनिया उसे एक बुरे इंसान के रूप में जानती है, यह पुस्तक आपको मजबूर करती यह सोचने के लिए की क्या होता अगर उस समय रावण ने वो राह न चुनी होती?, क्या होता अगर उसने कुछ गलत फैसले न लिए होते? क्या होता यदी वह एक क्रूर शासक, एक शत्रु बनकर नहीं उभरता? परन्तु उसने विपरीत राह खुद चुनी थी, यह उसने खुद चुना की वह दुनिया का ऐसा शासक बनेगा जिसे लोग एक क्रूर,हिंसक, दयाहीन और इतिहास के सबसे बड़े खलनायक के रूप में जानेंगे जिसका नाम रावण है।

Rating 5/5  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️