The Silent Scream by Siddhartha Garg: Book Review

How safe do you think your children are? What is your reaction towards child sex abuse cases that you read in the newspapers? What do you think is the probability of such an incident happening within your close circle? Do you know that boys could also be victims of child abuse?

I’ll tell you what most of you answered.

You think your children are in the safest hands all the time. You feel that what you read in the newspapers happens to one in a thousand children and mainly because of parents’ ignorance. You think that you hail from a decent family and there is no room for such incidents. And you want to ask me, ‘Did you mean B-O-Y-S?!’

The Silent Scream raises an alarm against all your innocent perceptions. There is much more happening to children around us than newspapers tell us. Most importantly, it warns us that child abuse is not confined to class, caste, religion, family background or gender.

So, be safe. First of all, learn to be safe! That’s what this book intends to do.

A must have book for all parents. I am not recommending the book just because I reviewed it. It’s a request to all parents. Don’t think even once. Just order it!

Note: A part of the profit from the sales of this book would be donated to the Arya Orphanage in New Delhi towards the education of the girl children there.

The Prism of Life by Ansh Das: Book Review

The Prism of Life is a self-help book intended to address many of man’s eternal quests. The author claims to have channeled these messages directly from the Akashic Records.

Tap a little of your school Physics.

Remember what happens when white light passes through a prism?

Yes, it disperses into a spectrum of colours. When all these colours, merge together, they form white light again.

The author has introduced a brilliant metaphor with these terms:

Prism = Life

White Light = Spirituality

Constituent Colours = Constituents that make up spirituality

In short, this book throws light on the smaller constituents of spirituality that can help one to decipher his/her purpose of life.

Night Sky Between The Stars by Usha Kishore: Book Review

Night Sky Between The Stars is a collection of 55 poems by Usha Kishore, an Indian born British poet. 

Her poems in this collection express her strong emotion for the Indian womanhood. As a matter of fact, it is not only the poet's emotion, rather, a collective emotion of several Indian woman who have obliged to this country's masculine supremacy since ages.

Several verses in the book shake the core of Indian values, what we proudly call our culture and tradition. 

Written in simple language, the verses are no enigma for a common reader. 

The Other End of the Corridor by Sujata Rajpal

Leela is a bored, frustrated, humiliated and childless housewife. She  did have romantic dreams about her marital life and an ardent aspiration to become a RJ. However, with time, her dreams and aspirations get diluted by the constant pressures of her suffocating marriage. 

At a point when her days move without anything to look forward to, she lets her heart and mind waver in the direction of shallow gratifications until something happens that changes her life forever. 

The dormant warrior in her gets revived and she is no more the woman who worships her husband's feet. 

Surrogate Author by santosh Avvannavar and Shilpa Patil: Book Review

The corner tag of the book says ' To Aspiring Authors'. 

And that says it all! 

If you've been brooding over a plot or a concept to make a book out of it, and you seem to move nowhere, you are sure to delight in 

Surrogate Author.

If bollywood movies like Devdas, Sholay and DDLJ recharge your soul, 

you are sure to have a heart full of laughter with

Surrogate Author.

Yes! It's that rare combo of a serious career put in a LOL way!

The Inscrutable Mulla Nasrudin Episodes by Jyothirllata Girija

 

Mulla Nasrudin was a philosopher of 13th century, born at Eskishehr in Turkey. He is also called as Nasreddin Hodja of Anatolia in Turkey. He became a popular Persian folk character, well-known for his clever wit and humour. Thousands of stories have been written, depicting Nasrudin's wisdom and subtle humour.

Jyothirllata Girija's The Inscrutable Mulla Nasrudin Episodes is a collection of 233 short episodes of Nasrudin's life and events retold in poetry form, in rhyming verses. 

A Light-hearted read!

Black, Grey & White by Santosh Avvannavar and Santosh I.Birdar: Book Review

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Blame it on Destiny by Soorina Desai

 One of the interesting fictions I've read in years!

From the book blurb, one can guess that the book is about five strangers who never happen to meet one other all their lives but unintentionally influence each other's lives in a mysterious way. 

However, only when the reader turns over the last page can he/she get the central theme of the book. How our prejudices about people and situations can prove far too different from the reality or truth in it! Based on a few facts or incidents, we tend to judge the personality of those known and unknown and we, as well, assume how their lives would get directed, in our own imaginative way. If ever, we get to see the truth that gets veiled off behind our assumptions, we would be utterly surprised. 

That's what happens to Sharmila in Blame it on Destiny!

Unravelling Anjali by Nim Gholkar: Book Review

 


Anjali is like any other middle-class Indian girl raised by the traditional values of India. When she was seventeen, she made a decision that she would only ever marry for true love. 

At last at the age of twenty six, marriage knocks her door and she is married. It was an arranged marriage, to Ravi, a Non Resident Indian, settled in Australia and a divorcee. Her family is happy about getting her married to a NRI and she as well is excited about the life abroad and looks forward to a romantic married life as she lands at the Sydney airport, a few months after their wedding. 

Least did she know then, the fate that awaited her in the new place and how the turn of events would change the traditionally rooted Anjali to an entirely new person. 

Book Fair @ Kendriya Vidyalaya School, Pondicherry

The book fair at Kendriya Vidyalaya School, Pondicherry gathered several school children and parents on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of February, 2015. Siruvar Pakkam, an exclusive children's book store organized the fair, showcasing children's books for all ages.

I appreciate the thought of conducting book fairs at schools. It encourages reading habit in children and also introduces children to wide varieties of books available in the present-day market.  

The video at the end of the post gives you a glimpse of the range of books presented in the fair.

Finding Ecstasy by Rebecca Pillsbury: Book Review

Author Rebecca Pillsbury, Prize Winner of "The Christine Kloser's Transformational Author Writing Contest", pens down the most intimate moments of her life in her debut book and a transformational memoir, Finding Ecstasy.

A Candid Memoir!

Conditioned by her family upbringing, religious beliefs and childhood ideologies, Rebecca grows up to an introvert girl carrying unidentifiable shame, guilt and fear about her womanhood and sexuality. Consequently, she faces trouble being in relationship with a partner, both emotionally and physically. The repressed state of her emotions also shows up in her body as disturbed menstruation patterns and poly cystic ovaries. In Finding Ecstasy, author Rebecca discloses her inner-most secrets of how she felt confined within the spaces of her body and mind and how a visit to Buenos Aires and meeting a Brazilian, life-changing books, travels, retreats, opening up with a group of women, blues dancing, yoga and a five-year relationship with her boy friend bring about a transformation not just about her body and sexuality but rather a holistic upliftment, which is truly spiritual in nature.

What Finding Ecstasy is?

From a broader perspective, Finding Ecstasy is not a tale of just one woman. Perhaps, every woman, at some point in time goes through the emotional confinements that the author does in her memoir. By the example of her own life, author Rebecca helps women to identify their emotional and sexual needs and connect with their inner beings with greater depths. It also offers men, a walk through the conflicting inner world of a woman which otherwise remains ever-elusive to their eyes.

New Release & Book Launch: Your Dreams Are Mine Now by Ravinder Singh

After three bestselling novels, author Ravinder Singh released his fourth book, Your Dreams Are Mine Now, published by Penguin Books India in November 2014. Visit the Publisher's page for more details about the book.

Book launch at Chennai will happen on the 9th of January, 2014 at Starmark, Phoenix Market City at 6.30 p.m. Contact 9962777090 for more book launch details. 

Ravinder's Singh's debut novel, I Too Had a Love Story was the depiction of his real-life love story. The death of his girl friend touched him deep which has shaped into a book that touched many hearts as well. His other books are Can Love Happen Twice? and Like It Happened Yesterday. Love Stories That Touched My Heart is an anthology, edited by Ravinder Singh.

Nandhini's Book Review: End of Year 2014 Survey

2014 was my first year in book blogging. Nandhini's Book Review Blog is a spark off from my personal blog Pages from Serendipity. It was Leadstart Publishing who first contacted me for a book review, in fact the people who introduced me to the concept of book blogging. I thank them at this point for what they have done. For most part of the year, my reviews appeared in Pages from Serendipity. In September 2014, I created Nandhini's Book Review Blog dedicated solely for books and only books! 

What I adore the most of this book blogging: 

One of the rich delights of my life - free books! Every time I receive one, I feel I am getting richer.

 Getting connected with authors! To learn their humble stories of reaching this far is so heart-warming.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach: Book Review

This would be the last book in Nandhini's Book Review Blog for 2014. Quite an inspirational book to end the year with a positive note!

I am talking to you about a book that was first published in 1970, around 45 years ago. There is a stunning significance for mentioning about this old book on this blog, at the close of this year. 

Initially, the author had written four parts within the story. However, at the time of sending the manuscript to the publisher, he withheld the last part considering it unimportant for that time. In 2014, having re-discovered the fourth part from an old box of manuscripts (also a consequence of a nearly fatal plane crash in 2012), author Bach sent to the publishers the 45-year old treasure and thus 2014 found the age old book reissued as Jonathan Livingston Seagull: The Complete Edition that includes a 17-page part four of the story.

The Archers Revenge by Destination Infinity: Book Review

Vibrant Story Line

The Archers Revenge is a a dramatic story line which is quite close to that of a few inspirational Indian films. The protagonist, Aryan, has a strong motive to take revenge on one of the leading political leaders of the country. As he prepares ardently for the D-day, he is taken aback to discover a new ally, Divya, who has been training for the same mission as his. The rest of the plot is their inter-mutual efforts to charge their common target at every possible event. The end of the story, however, unlike Indian films, has taken an interesting twist that would leave the readers light and easy. 

Abridged!

The narration is kept precise which is rather unusual, especially for this genre of a crime fiction that usually involves vivid descriptions. It seemed like the nutshell scenes from the lengthy version of the story were extracted to frame this book.

The Carbon Conundrum by Adit Ambani: Book Review

The Plot in Short

Alvin, the twenty-one year old director of the British Museum is worried as the security of the Royal Incan Diamond is at stake after the recent robbery attempt at the museum. The museum was built by his ancestor over two hundred years ago and after his father's death, he inherited the Incan Diamond.

The  plot begins with Alvin's uncle trying to protect the Diamond from the thieves. He hides the Diamond at a safe spot and sends a conundrum to Alvin, decoding which would unveil the Diamond's place. He gets killed soon after. The rest of the book is about Alvin's thrilling experiences while solving his uncle's puzzle during which he also discovers important ancestral secrets connected with the Diamond. 

Mistress of the Throne by Ruchir Gupta: Book Review

The Mughal Empire comes alive again!

I am astonished why throughout my school history texts, the name Jahanara didn’t get a mention at all. Unless you are too good at Indian history, you wouldn’t have heard this name either. The daughter of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal and the elder sister of Aurangazeb – Jahanara – had played a significant role both within her family and in the country matters. Ironically, her name had remained silent for the most part. Author Ruchir Gupta has rightly brought her out of her veil through his debut book.

Yen Uruvaagirathu Putrunoi? (Tamil Book on Cancer) by Padmahari: Book Review

None in my family had cancer before. So I am safe.

I am too young to even know about cancer. Cancer usually affects people of ages above 50.

I don’t smoke or drink. I live in a hygienic environment. I don’t see any reason to develop cancer.

Beware! Several people who lived with such hopes have succumbed their lives to this deadly disease sooner or later.

If You Were Me and Lived in … Peru by Carole P. Roman: Book Review

If You Were Me and Lived in … Peru  is one among the children's book series by author Carole.  This series intends to educate children about cultures of several countries. The collection is ideal for children of ages four to eight.

At least in the part of the world I live in, very little is known about this South American country Peru (Say Pir-roo). Not sure if my general knowledge was so bad all these years, but I have not heard the name of this city Lima (Say Lee-ma) before. However, the generation of my children would learn early about several countries and cultures around the world. Thanks to author Carole's children's book series! 

If You Were Me and Lived in … Greece by Carole P. Roman: Book Review

If You Were Me and Lived in … Greece  is one among the children's book series by author Carole.  This series intends to educate children about cultures of several countries. The collection is ideal for children of ages four to eight.

Fairy tales, bedtime stories, moral stories - well, your children must have heard enough of all these tales year after year. Why not introduce your little champs to something different and something interesting?! How about telling them how people in the other part of the globe live? Imagine how exciting it would be!