book Tag

17 Sep

Posted at 16:56h in fiction
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This is another book from my favourite author Agathe Christie and it was her 130 birth anniversary on 15th September and  I had a special post on my Instagram page. A true Queen of Crime! I haven't read another author with so much calibre for crime thrillers. This book brought tears to my eyes not that it is a bad book, but the reason why the crime was committed. The plot goes as this, there is a cocktail party arranged by the gorgeous actress Marina Gregg when she moves into a new town where Miss Marple stays. In this lavish party almost all the townspeople are invited. One among them, Ms Heather Badcock is overly excited to meet her movie idol and then she goes on and on how she first met her. But the next second we find her lying dead after getting a severe seizure because she drank the poisoned cocktail.  It seems that the cocktail was meant for Marina Gregg but why was she a target. As the police are absolutely clueless, Miss Marple unwinds the cobwebs and the deepest darkest secrets that lie in that house to reveal the true murderer. I haven't much to say other than this is one of my favourite Miss Marple's series. I am more of Hercule Poirot fan! The book is a one time read and not something that you would take to re-read especially if you have a reading slum. I give this book a rating of 3.5 out of 5...

12 Sep

Posted at 09:25h in non fiction
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Do you believe in Arranged or Love marriage, or in marriage itself? I would love to get your feedback on this! Before we dive into the review, let me thank the author for sending me this book via email and saying that my review is honest and unbiased! The author, Meryl Elizabeth Mathew, a master’s graduate in Global Business and a content writer, is also a freelance writer with Times -Kuwait since 2018 and Bazaar Magazine since 2019. To top it all, she also teaches creative writing to kids in Kuwait since 2020. A truly zealous person! Now let’s get into the review of the book. Just as the name suggests, the stories are short and simple. The main highlight of the book is that we get to read true stories! The author did change the names of the people whose stories we read to respect their privacy. The main subject is Arranged Marriage which is quite controversial among the millennials. Arranged or Love Marriage has its advantages and disadvantages. When we read this book we get to know the events that take place when a family decides their son or daughter should go for an arranged marriage. The book has 12 amazing stories that can cheer you up! Some are truly hilarious and some are worth using your grey cells! Living in the 21st century doesn’t mean we have to forget our age-old traditions and sometimes we find true love via matrimonial websites! The book is only 75 pages and it is...

10 Sep

Posted at 11:23h in fiction
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'It is romantic, yes, it is peaceful. The sun shines. The sea is blue. But you forget, Miss Brewster, there is evil everywhere under the sun.'- Hercule Poirot A beautiful beach resort at Leathercombe bay where old and young couples along with Hercule Poirot comes for a vacation. Everyone was happy and was having the best time of their life until a family, Kenneth Marshall his wife, Arlena Stuart & his daughter Linda arrived! The minute Arlena Stuart stepped in with her beautiful bronzed body everyone including Hercule Poirot couldn't take off their eyes from her exquisite beauty! And then the happiness of all the customers at the resort took a bad turn when a body was found on the beach and it was none other than Arlena Stuart! Almost all the customers who were there had a motive to kill Arlena Stuart, yet the true murderer is a cunning devil! The murder was done in broad daylight and no one saw or heard the cries of the poor Arlena. Yet it is Hercule Poirot who solves the case. The little grey cells as he says, we should often use them for our well being. The world is rushing to find a vaccine for the pandemic that we are facing. I sincerely hope we find one soon before this corona murders us all! ...

03 Sep

Posted at 05:58h in non fiction
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Before we delve into the review of the book, we must talk about the author Manu S. Pillai. He is been my favorite author from the time I read this book. He is truly a gem in this era in the field of historical non-fiction novels. There are also many webinars that he takes part in and his knowledge about Indian History is mind-blowing. He has an Instagram account @waatcoconut where he posts most of his recent work and also historical paintings which is a delight for both his fans and followers. This is his first book and his two other marvelous books that is equally spellbinding. Now, let us start with a review of the book. The book is divided into 20 chapters: A Painter Prince The Queen of the Kupakas Three Consorts The Second Favorite Her Highness The Maharajah A Christian Minister Malice Domestique Tea and Troubles The Boudoir Dewan Black Magic In Letters of Gold Mother and Son La Revanche A Real Little Grande Dame A Palace Coup The Ultimate Eclipse The Villain of the Piece Rivers of Blood The Reluctant Princess Once I Had a Kingdom Each chapter is more interesting than the next one! Each page is wound into a wonderful marvel, too exotic to be true! The author has done absolute justice in the retelling of the extraordinary life of the last and forgotten queen of the house of Royal Travancore. The Kings and Queens of the Royal Travancore House is the epitome of class! So different...

02 Sep

Posted at 08:49h in fiction
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'Hercule Poirot delves back into the past and discovers that old sins leave long shadows.' Welcome to yet another review of Hercule Poirot's decoding of crime. As you already know the author of the book is none other than my favorite Agatha Christie. Now without further adieu let's jump directly into the review. As the title suggests let me break the bubble that this book has no elephants in it but an old memory surfaces and just like an elephant, certain memories stay etched in our minds. When Mrs. Oliver( a writer I presume) goes to a luncheon that had invited all the great literary artists of the time, she meets with one Mrs. Burton Cox. This lady approaches Mrs. Oliver with no particular warning and starts bombarding questions about her goddaughter Celia Ravenscroft who is going to marry her son. The talks about her Goddaughter brought her a special warmth but all that vanished when Mrs. Burton Cox asked if Celia's mother killed her father or vice versa! This left Mrs. Oliver completely speechless and said she has no clue about this matter whatsoever. But even after the luncheon, this did not leave her mind and at once she went to visit her dear friend, our Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The events that follow after this is so twisted as it's quite impossible to believe how can true love be a reason for a horrible crime.The book is good but not good enough compared to other Hercule Poirot books. With that said I would like to add that...

02 Sep

Posted at 08:27h in fiction
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'This crime is so complicated that it must be quite simple', declares Hercule Poirot. Ah yes, Hercule Poirot! The author of the book is none other than my personal favorite Agatha Christie. So we all know it a murder mystery and I am a total addict to them. As I have read and have most of her books I will be adding their reviews one by one on my website. It's better late than never right! Before we dive into the review let me assure you that though I am a die-hard fan of Agatha Christie my review of her books is unbiased. With that cleared let's start with the review of 'The Clocks'. We have the narrative of Mr. Colin Lamb who is in the police department. He was an innocent passer-by on the street Wilbraham Crescent when suddenly a girl ramped onto him screaming there is a dead man's body with an old woman walking around him! When he reached the address the girl gave him, he saw a blind old lady Miss Millicent Pebmarsh who owned the house was standing with blood-stained clothes. The girl was right! There was a dead body but the most inquisitive part was the different clocks placed around his body. When Mr. Lamb questioned the girl Sheila Webb of why she was in the house, she said that Miss Pebmarsh had called in their center to send help. But Ms. Pebmarsh denies this statement and says she is completely capable of looking after herself. The police are baffled with the...

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...