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Showing posts from 2015

December 2015 - Book Haul

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From this month on I plan to post pics of the books I get for each month. Its a small way to show love towards my book blog which I have not been updating regularly. So here are the books that I purchased this month.. First one is of the books that I purchased online. There was a big discount on books and I didn't want to miss out the deals. So all these books here cost only INR 811/- The twilight saga was from a used book store and I still have wait for the final volume.These books cost INR 300/-. Considering that these are the imported editions and look good as new, this is surely a good deal.. Kalki - Selected story is the book I picked up from mom's home. I was cleaning out some boxes and found it there.Dad said he got it in some garage sale long back and that it cost almost nothing.So I will count is as a free book :) The other 2 books were sent in for review.. Stats: Total Books - 18 Amount spent - INR 1111/- No. of books read from this months ha

The Bestseller She Wrote

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A signed copy of a novel is sure to brighten the day of a bibliophile, right!That was exactly what happened when BlogAdda sent me a signed copy of Ravi Subramanian's latest novel -The Best Seller She Wrote. I have read his earlier books and reviewed The Bankster and God is a Gamer here. I was eager to start right away but with some personal things cropping up I could pick up the book just last night .After tucking the kids into bed I started reading.My original plan was to read for a while and continue reading the next morning. But guess what! I just could not put down the book and finished it in less than 4 hours flat! Wow!! The book is really unputdownable!![Is there a word like that!!]   Eager to read the plot and my views on this book? Hop over to my review post and as soon as you are done, I am sure you will want to order a copy for yourself :) Happy Reading...

Reading Challenges for 2016

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 I have a room full of books-on the shelves, on the sofa, on the bed and table and a few even on the floor!That's exactly how our guest bed room looks right now, littered with food props and books! My To Be Read [TBR]list is growing faster than my kids and I thought it is time to read them all.Well, I do keep reading but in 2015, I could not post all the reviews on this blog. This year, I wanted to do justice to the books that I got as well as this book space of mine and hence decided to join a few challenges that might be easy for me to read and most importantly document my reviews / reads. I saw this huge list of reading challenges for 2016 and immediately started planning to join a few. I am taking it easy this time by not setting a major challenges and just as much as I can. If I stress out on reading then there is no fun,right!! Here is what I will be doing this year ... 1. Color coded challenge   @ My Readers Block   where the challenge is to read 9 books i

Mirror Image

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Yet another lovely story by my Favorite author!   This is a story about identical twins Victoria and Olivia Henderson. These girls are identical mirror images yet their thoughts and actions are quite the opposite. The story is set in World War 1 period.The book literally took me through that time period and I could see all the images right in front of me! Olivia is a well mannered and well behaved girl but Victoria is just the opposite! She falls for a guy who is already married and gets pregnant. After a fall from a horse ride session, the baby gets aborted and that is when Olivia comes to know about it. Since her reputation is gone, her father gets her married off to Charles Dawson.Olivia is saddened as she had a liking fot Charles but says nothing to keep up the family pride. Charles had lost his wife in the Titanic and has a 10 year old son -Geoffrey.The wedding takes place and Olivia is left to tend her ailing father. She makes up her mind never to marry and b

Daddy

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Today being ‘Father’s Day’,I thought it will apt to post a novel with fits the theme.Daddy- one of the most touching novels written by Danielle Steel. From what I read so far,most of Danielle Steel’s books are women centric. This one is an exception Though the story starts with Sarah looking out of the window into the snow and wondering where life had lead her, this is actually the story of the life of her husband –Oliver. Sarah,who once was the assistant editor with Crimson marries Oliver a graduate from Harvard business school and who works for an ad agency. Life goes on smoothly ,they have 3 kids-Ben,Melissa and Sam, a dog and a lovely housekeeper –Aggie. Sarah ,after 18 years of marriage to Oliver, suddenly feels life is empty and feels the need to do something worthwhile-like getting back to the profession she once loved. She applies to Harvard and gets accepted. Sarah is delighted but the news falls hard on the family. They all beg her to stay but she leaves them

Where to find Free E-books and Deals on Books - Resources

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We all love to buy / collect books and read them at any given chances. At times this awesome habit does pinch the purse!!But that does not mean we have to put an end to our favorite hobby,right! I have been looking up for sites that let's you read / download ebooks for free and I wanted to share them here so that anyone with a habit of buying/ reading books will benefit from it. Also let me know any other sites with similar offers and I will update this post with the links... Here are a few sites that let's us download books on various genres and also offers books on deals... BookBub - All genres Encore Book Club - Free Cook books Goodreads - All genres .. Happy Reading....

Journey

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I am a huge fan of Danielle Steel's Novels. And this year when I drew up a list of books to read for the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge , I made sure to include 4 books from my favorite author. Here is the first in the list... This is yet another women centered book,meaning its about Madeleine Hunter and her journey through her life,the hurdles she faces and how she overcomes it all. The story goes like this.... Madeleine is rescued from an abusive husband by Jack Hunter and he transforms her into an award winning anchor woman for his his network.Madeleine or Maddy as she is fondly known, marries Jack Hunter and their life becomes an envy for everyone! Maddy's life revolves around Jack, the network, expensive gifts, elaborate parties, exotic tours etc.But deep within she feel deprived of kids.Jack had expressed his wish to never had kids and Maddy gladly accepted it back then. Meanwhile,Jack's ego hurts Maddy both mentally and physically.She realizes that when

From Where I See

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I have posted this review on my other blog. Reposting it here for the REading challenge... From Where I See ,a novel by Ajay Yadav is quite a different one from those that I have been reading these days. It is basically a murder mystery story which is narrated through the voice of Dr. Ajay, the author's namesake.The book starts with Dr. Ajay being questioned at the police station,in typical police style, with regard to the death of Sruthi a.k.a. Nagma. What follows this and up to almost the end of the book is a sort of flashback! And the last four chapters spell out the climax. So at the beginning when Dr. Ajay is being interrogated,it looks like he is a suspect in the murder case. Then he is asked to wait in the station till Inspector Om Prakash returns to the station after attending to another case. That is when he recollects his childhood times in the village along with his best buddies - Sruthi and Kaniyah. Sruthi is a sort of a bold girl who is  happy an

The Mug of Melancholy

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The Mug of Melancholy is one of the books that was sent across for reviewing. What intrigued me was the mail from the publishers which said that the author has been writing since age 8 and the story line attached with the mail sounded something like Harry Potter novels.  The story line... Everything seems fine for Bhuvan until his 15th birthday! He has lost his mother when he was very young and it was his father who has brought him up. Things change on his 15th birthday when he overhears his dad and his neighbor -Aunt Neera talking about Bhuvan getting a proper training. Further Neera also cautions Anil,Bhuvan's father, that without proper training he is bound to end up killing himself!Bhuvan wants to know about the secret yet does not want to ask his dad about it. He gets a strange dream that night and wakes up a bit shaken.Things do not go well the next day at the library as well.He is killed yet he wakes up alive!Bhuvan finds it hard to understand if it

Gulabi - Book Review

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Books can be humorous, fictional, romantic,thriller and so on.But the one that I read today is created a different type of emotion in me.It left a thug in my mind. I am still revolving with the characters! I got this book - Gulabi by Pankaj Suneja for review... Before going on to the story here is what the author shares... The book is about experience of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is challenging disorder often characterized by abnormal social behavior and a significantly altered perception of reality. Its treatment largely depends on medications and psychosocial interventions but no single approach is widely considered effective for all patients. Through this book he offers the readers a glimpse into the multifaceted world of schizophrenia in the form of fictitious storyline revolving around two characters.. So  now you know what the story is all about. Yes, it revolves around two people - Monty and Virginia.And there is also this special character- Gulabi! This

Ramayana- The Game of Life - Shattered Dreams

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While I was reading the book - Ramayana - The game of Life - Rise of the sun prince , there was a small sneak peek into the next book -Ramayana- The Game of Life - Shattered Dreams. Just a few pages were enough to kindle my appetite for this book.I was overjoyed when the author sent me this  book for review. Shattered Dreams is the sequel to the Rise of the Sun Prince in the spiritual and motivational series Ramayana- The Game of Life. This book talks of the happenings after the wedding of Rama and Sita. The story is set after 12 years since the Royal Wedding. As the title suggests, it portrays the episodes that take place after Dasaratha decides to Crown Rama as the King.What were the circumstances that led Dasaratha to crown Rama in haste, what happens when the decision is made, the reaction it causes in various strata of the society including inside the palace walls, Rama's banishment and how everyone handles this is the gist of this part of the series.

The Aryavarta Chronicles Book 3: KURUKSHETRA

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Earlier this month I had signed up for 52 books in 52 weeks reading challenge . In the introductory post, I mentioned that I will be posting reviews categorically. The category that I have chosen for January is Mythology.... I have a soft spot for Mythology. It is interesting and fascinating at the same time! So when The Aryavarta Chronicles Book 3: Kurukshetra came along for review @ Blogadda, I signed up for it without hesitation. This book is the third in the series - The Aryavarta Chronicles by author - Krishna Udaysankar.    I must admit that I have not read the previous books in this series but I was sure it wouldn't matter that much.It is the well known story - Mahabaratha and the author did not leave the reader in mid air. The Dynasties of the Aryavarta and the cast of characters is clearly mentioned in first few pages. The Author's note starts with  a gathering of scholars in circa second millenium BCE where this story / epic was narrated to the g

52 Books in 52 Weeks- Reading Challenge 2015

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The New Year is here and once again I am signing up for the 52 Books in 52 Weeks- Reading Challenge 2015.More details here. This challenge has many mini challenges as well . Unlike last year, this year I am  diving in with a plan!I seem to be more efficient when there is a clear plan on what I need to do or what has to be done.So I have decided to do a theme a month.[Please note that this is the theme that I intent to follow and not the rule for the reading challenge]. Updated: I have the names of the books written beside the theme for which the reviews are posted in this blog. To read the reviews click on the genres in the header.... Classics Indian writers  - The Mug of Melancholy, Gulabi,From Where I See Collection of short stories Historical fiction Foodie read - Books with a culinary touch , not cook books Books that were turned into a movie Mega Books[More than 500 pages in length] Philosophy / Religion / Mythology - Kurukshetra , Ramayana Humor Robin Cook&#