Author: Keerthana

01 Sep

Posted at 12:55h in fiction
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Before we go into the review of the book, I would like to explain a bit about who is Hanuman. Hanuman is a revered Hindu God(usually known as the Monkey-God). He is one of the central characters in the epic Ramayana. He is the Divine companion of Rama. Rama is the main character in the epic Ramayana. Not only this, but he is also the son of the Wind God, Vayu. He is believed to be the ideal combination of strength and compassion. He is also believed to be an eternal celibate. Now since we have a little knowledge about who Hanuman is let's get into the review of this book. This is the first book that I am reading of the author Shubha Vilas and I may get his best selling series soon- Ramayana: the game of life. The author is a motivational speaker, lifestyle coach, and a storyteller. His leadership seminars are popular among top-level management corporate houses. The book has four main chapters or let's call them units which are VEDIC TALES HANUMAN FOLKTALES HANUMAN TEMPLES HANUMAN PRAYERS As the name suggests, each unit has wonderful stories of Hanuman's childhood to his journey with Rama. The stories behind the majestic Hanuman temples in India are also quite interesting! The famous tale of Hanuman as a child where he swallowed the sun mistaking it to be a fruit and how the entire universe became a dark entity is the star story in the book! There are many stories similar to this one and a few of my favorite are...

29 Aug

Posted at 04:59h in non fiction
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It’s been quite a while since I published any reviews and I realized my last review was in May 2020. Well, that was the peak time of lockdown in my country and also when my life was changing tremendously. I started this book only this month when I was hospitalized for the pandemic that we all are facing now. Luckily, I did not have any symptoms mild or severe and the nurses took care of me. They are the true heroes during this pandemic. I am back home all negative, safe, and sound. I completed Shoe Dog and I must say I’m motivated to start a new business after reading this one. So, let’s get to the review of this amazing autobiography of the Nike owner; Phil Knight. In one word I can tell that this book is simple and candid. There are no big complicated words or any twists or turns in the autobiography. The main storyline is from 1962 to 1980. The book begins from chapter Dawn and ends with chapter Night. Quite clever I must say! The Dawn is in the year 1962 and the Night is in the year 2007. When we read the journey of Knight to most of the eastern world before reaching his true destination Japan, we too feel that we are traveling with him at that time. His writings are so simple and unique that you will want to keep on reading and find out what he did next! His idea of starting a business in running shoes and his rival against...

17 May

Posted at 08:05h in fiction
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Review in one word, AWESOME! I am a sucker for crime and psychology thrillers but this book just won my heart overnight. Truth to be told I just took this book to read only a day back and I have completed it. The book is truly in every sense a perfect thriller and I am glad that I brought this book. The author, Alex Michaelides is also a screenwriter and it quite unbelievable that it's his first novel. Let's go into the plot of the story. We have two main characters in this book: Alicia Berenson who has committed an unimaginable murder. Theo Faber who is a psychotherapist who assumes that he can make a difference in her life. Alicia who loves her husband Gabriel blindly. But one fine day she decided to murder him cold blood, shot him! Being a passionate artist, she paints her final picture and name it Alcestis. Alcestis is a Princess in Greek mythology who is known for her love for her husband. The tragedy is how she dies and saves his life.When Alicia doesn't speak in front of the court, everyone thinks she is in trauma. She remained silent not just for days but years together. Theo believed he could make her speak and save her.He comes to her rescue at the Groove where she is placed in high sedative condition as she is suicidal. But the question arises if Theo is really ready to hear her and listen to what happened that night? Now the review, I'm crazy about the book...

14 May

Posted at 07:13h in fiction
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This is the second book in the series of the Pataala Prophecy. Well without further introductions lets get directly involved in the review of the book. So the synopsis is the same as the previous one, whether Maya and Arjun can save the world from the wrath of the Sage Shukracharya. Will the end of Kalyug prove the end of the world? I have mentioned in the earlier post today that the plot seems to have a similarity with Harry potter. I could say its not done on purpose but once we are Harry Potter fans we tend to co-relate all the other fantasies with this. Few of them are as follows: starting with the main characters Arjun and Maya is the Hermoine and Harry. We have Kanakpratap who is the uncle of Arjun who is like Sirius Black. Then we have the Guru Satyavachana who trains Maya who is like a cute version of Dumbledore. We have the Agastya who is like Ron. The Gurukul is like Hogwarts, Shukracharya who is like Voldemort but the ultimate one is the Prophecy of how the one will end the villain of the plot! Just because there are a few similarities you shouldn't abandon the book. Though its a fictional creation there are many such incidents in the book that makes you think if these are true or not. Most of the mantras as a Hindu born I have recited in my childhood days with my mother and grandmother. The weight and the...

14 May

Posted at 06:23h in fiction
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Before we get into the review of the book, I would want you to know who is Bhrigu and who is his son! So first and foremost, the whole series is based on Hindu Mythology. Sage Bhrigu is one of the Saptarishis or the seven sages created by Lord Brahma to facilitate creation. Bhrigu was the Manasa Putra( son born out of mind) of Lord Brahma. It is believed that he was the compiler of predictive astrology and it is called Bhrigu Samhita. Shukracharya is one of his sons. Shukra was not only a great sage but also the Guru of the Asuras(demons). He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and has been blessed with the famous Sanjeevani Vidhya which brings the dead back to life. Now let us get into the review of the book; starting with its plot. The book begins with an event that involves Napolean Bonaparte and his general Louis Alexander Berthier in Giza, September 1799. Then the book jumps to the present day where we meet two best friends who are just fifteen years old, Arjun and Maya. Their families are equally close to each other. Arjun’s uncle Virendra Singh and Maya’s father Naresh Upadhyay are thick friends. Their history teacher Dhananjay Trivedi dies in a most extraordinary circumstance and this event changes their life forever. When Superintendent of Police Raman Kapoor gets the case to solve, he is equally shocked at the weirdness of murder, he discovers that the last people that the history teacher...

06 Apr

Posted at 08:03h in non fiction
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Before I talk about the book. let me give you a small idea about Patanjali. No, I am not talking about the Ayurveda company but the real Patanjali. He is the father of modern yoga and he is one of the 18 classical Tamil siddhars (sages and intellectuals). He distilled the essence of yoga into Yoga sutras. And we could rightly say that though he lived a thousand years ago his sutras were thousands of years ahead. Keeping this in mind though let’s move into the book review of LIVING THE SUTRAS -A GUIDE TO YOGA WISDOM BEYOND THE MAT compiled and written by KELLY DINARDO AND AMY PEARCE-HAYDEN The book offers an outlook to the yoga training for the mind and spirit by introducing a sutra or group of sutras on a related theme. If you think this book will explain in detail all the sutras of Patanjali then this is not for you. The book is divided into three parts; Samadhi Pada, Sadhana pada and Vibhuti Pada. The first part or Samadhi pada the authors introduce us to the awareness of self. Whether we truly understand what is our real need; materialistic or spiritual. The speciality of each chapter is that there is a section for reflection where we have to journal our thoughts on certain questions that the authors have asked us. To be frank it's not at all tedious because it is not necessary that we have to journal anything the first time. We could start once we...

24 Mar

Posted at 08:04h in fiction
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This book is part of my own collection and I got this one maybe a month back.  So, the story behind how I brought this book goes like this; I was looking at all the books on the fiction side of the Manorama Bookstores at Mall of Travancore, my favorite place to buy most of my books. I got a few (yes you read it right) and decided this was enough for my February purchase. But when I gave them to get billed, the sales person came up to me and I quote ‘Madam! You will like this book’! He gave me ‘Recursion’. I looked at its cover and let me be frank I did not like it even a bit. When I turned the book to read its synopsis, I was still not impressed but it was the first time the sales person in the bookstore actually came up to me and recommended a book. I thought to myself, its just a book and I will eventually read it. But the shocking part was I took this book first to read before any other that I had brought with this. Now let’s start with the author of this book. The man of the hour is Blake Crouch. He is a novelist and a screenwriter. He has a best seller in his bag ‘The Dark Matter’ and bestselling trilogy Wayward Pines that was converted into a television series for FOX entertainment. He has a website too and you could check that out if you...

24 Mar

Posted at 08:00h in fiction
1 Like

This book was all over Instagram for past couple of months for all the good reasons. An international best seller! This is my first book of Elif Shafak. I had no idea that an author of this magnitude existed and I am so glad that we live in the 21st century where we can read, write and share all over the world! A few details about the author, maybe you already know her and her works, or like me have no clue. She has nine novels under her kitty and she is also an acclaimed writer in Turkey (sounds so exotic right! Even her books are) She has a website of her own www.elifshafak.com So now let’s dive into the best part, the review of the book: ‘What you are Seeking is seeking you’- Rumi Who is Rumi? What are his works and where did he come from? A great Persian poet , scholar who lived in the 13th century(30th September 1207 – 17th December 1273). His poems are widely translated into many other languages and his legacy still lingers in the hearts of those who truly love the art of poetry and sufism. His life is a true testimony that people can live in harmony no matter what their religion or social status is! Why am I going in detail about a poet? Is there any significance in this book.? Yes there is.! The book is about a 40 year old housewife with a dentist husband and three children. Her name is Ella Rubinstein. She...

20 Mar

Posted at 05:38h in fiction
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An unforeseen death of a young Lord brings immense wealth to his younger brother Maxim Trevelyan. His life is something that people dream of! No responsibilities, good looks that makes him so appealing to any girl he wants to sleep with and also money. But with sudden responsibility, his family's title and estates, he feels he is burdened and curses his brother for the accident. To top it all he meets Alexia Demachi, an alluring mysterious woman who is equally beautiful as she is gifted in music. His need for her is beyond words and what we read in the book is a breathless ride of desire! Being EL James, the book does have many erotic moments that tingle your own desire but it is indeed a well written book! I am not a fan of romantic novels and this one I wouldnt have picked up of I knew the background. Actually not because its a romantic one but it a book that gives you a non existent love story. Can we have love stories nowdays where a man can fall head over heels in love with a woman and vice versa! A few generations back I would have believed the story. If you liked Fifty Shaded of Grey then definetly go ahead for this one! ....

20 Mar

Posted at 05:31h in fiction
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“Books are a link between us, capable of bringing people together,” Mindy Schoeneman The book I am going to review today is by this debutant fictional author who is truly a gifted person. The synopsis: When twenty-year-old Adrienne Adams pictured her life after high school, she didn’t anticipate her grandmother’s strange revelation that she comes from a long line of people with supernatural abilities. She is a mind reader! The aftermath is that she gets sucked into a perilous game of cat-and-mouse. Trying her best to control and learn her abilities she is faced with a sudden death of a dear one. Will Adrianne be able to face the darkest of secrets that was made to bury in an even darker mind! The review: This is part one of the duology and I must say the author has ended the last chapter so well that there is no way you are not going to get your copy of the second book once it releases! The story is set in Missouri and the main character is Adrianne Adams who is twenty years old with a boring job and equally boring boyfriend Calvin, her best friends Megan and Parker, her parents Tom and Theodora , her brother Toby and her grandmother Euphemia aka Effie. The story is well written and the chapters are narrated by the main characters. Adrianne’s life is not elaborate in the book maybe in the secondo one I’m hoping there will more mention. There is a small part where Effie tells...