Meant to be Together - Faraaz Kazi (Book)

Meant to be Together - Faraaz Kazi.

The best thing ever to happen to a book lover is to get a book in gift :) and I've been pretty lucky on that front. Starting from my daughter to family to friends to our book club members and even some lesser known acquaintances have all gifted me amazing books at one point or another. But the best-est thing to happen to me is to get a book straight from the Author :) like this time too, it was simply fantastic when Faraaz himself messaged me and offered to send his book. I grabbed it with both hands and on top of that I must mention quick that it turns out to be a totally fantastic story. If you have read my earlier posts, you already know that I am big huge Nicholas Sparks fan and a die hard romantic from heart - co-incidentally Faraaz is slated to be India's Nicholas Sparks :) you see, I was destined to get this book and love it too. Book is about 200+ pages but the story, characters, situations and handling is so amazing (read thrilling) that I raced to the ending in two sittings, how I spent a day in office with book waiting to be finished besides me is a story I will keep for some other day. On top of that I just read that he has written a few more books earlier to this one and the first of those is already getting adapted into a Movie. How awesome it is, I've gotta get his earlier books now and read them back to back.

Going by the title it simply sounds like a love story, which it is but other than that it has so much more in it. I guess as an ode to Nicholas Sparks, Priti's story starts with a flashback, keeps coming back and forth to the present. Her story of troubled childhood, struggle, family situation, Work, Love and Loss and so much more. His characters are so believable and totally life like that I was able to connect with them so well and understand their pain, happiness and even the language :) as the Author uses so many Hindi words and terms generously throughout the story, which works beautifully. Unfortunately the story is written in such a way that if I disclose anything, it will kill the fun for those who would like to read it. Priti's amazing story of childhood trouble, struggles, survival in a big city like Mumbai with no support or friends. Just when we realize that she has got a great companion the story takes a shocking turn, she still fights hard and how it all ends and what is she destined to get is what you should read this book for. I loved the way he has handled his Mumbai characters, so aptly with the attitude of Work hard and party harder. Especially the way they chill and talk and do things is so real that it sounds like a chapter taken out of my own life and friend circle :), it sent me back to Mumbai and made me miss those friends I have left back.

I must say I have read quite a few books with strong female central character but this one takes the cake as initially how Priti is carved out and how she grows into an amazing woman and leaves no stone upturned in writing her own destiny is totally amazing. As I said that I loved the story and everything else about it but Faraaz has saved the best for the last :) the Epilogue :) which put a huge huge smile on my face. Take a bow Faraaz as that was simply brilliant and now you have a huge fan of your writing in me. Looking forward to his earlier and upcoming books big time.

Edit: The correct book cover :). Earlier I downloaded from Internet and it had a Typo on it.

Milkman - Anna Burns (Book).

Milkman - Anna Burns.

Ok!! First things first :) I am on the lookout for that person who gifted me t his book :D, raise your hands please if that was you and lets talk. I do love challenging books as you may recall I finished "Ulysses" recently that gave me a book reader's block and I just couldn't read a book for a few months and after that I picked up the mammoth(s) Gone with the Wind and A Suitable Boy. But what has those books got to do with this one? I am triply sure that Anna Burns is a huge James Joyce fan and she has written this one totally in awe of Mr. Joyce for sure. Not an easy read from any standards and I guess that may be why it was selected for the Man Booker's last year. No idea if it end up winning that or not (I pray not). The book is not at all kind on the reader, as it never discloses its timeline, neither the city (even country) where it is all happening, all I could make out was that it wasn't India, USA or Russia for sure ;) but where it is happening, I got it by the time it reaches the ending but I will not spoil it for anyone who is looking forward to read it. Having said all that, I must also add that there are so many little respites in it as the story enfolds that it did put quite a few smiles on my face. Other than Joyce, she is hugely inspired by Murakami too as there are cats in the story and there is this another fantastic thing that Murakami did in his initial few books - you've got to read the book to know what :).

On one front it is a very simple story of a teenage girl who is sick and tired and equally in awe too of the "Milkman" who is admired by her own mother since her husband passed away. I loved the girl who loves to run :) and is always reading while walking. Her maybe-boyfriend has a grudge against her that she is always reading while walking and her mother has issues with her not getting married soon before she gets too old and hits her twenties. Of-course what is happening in the background in the city / country is something of a totally different story altogether. There are three sides other than the characters of the story, renouncers of the state, the defenders of the state and the state itself. How each and every characters gets involved with the scenario one way or the other makes it very interesting to read but I found it too much political to my own taste hence the fallout. And on top of that I wont mind adding that the book getting shortlisted for the Booker's adds further weight-age to my expectations or lack of it I should say. I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would as it landed in my hands. Still the protagonist "maybe-girlfriend" was simply a superb character with almost a dozen of siblings who she needs to take care at times when her mammy was out taking care of the Milkman. Her good for nothing maybe-boyfriend the sort of mechanic was my another favorite character, but such a heart-break for me...by the ending. The girl who reads like crazy, a big fan of Ivanhoe (I gotta give it a read again soon), I just couldn't help but fall in love with her. Also, she blabbers like anything (in the form of the book) typical James Joyce style. Refuses to name her characters yet the reader has a superb connect with almost all of them.

After a hard hitting book which I am totally sure that I didn't get a quarter of it :) I need to read a lighter one to refresh myself :) and I have picked up one from a German Author this time. Do let me know if you have read and liked this one or any other Booker from 2018.

Maaya - Minal Arora (Book)

Maaya - Minal Arora.

A time comes in everyone's life with we think of the futility of everything we do, where we suddenly think of stopping for a while and take stock of things around us as where we were, where we have reached, is there an achievement in all that we have done so far or we keep doing time and again. I have gone through that episode in my life a few years ago and right then a book dropped into my collection on its own I guess (or was it my Dad who sent it to me), it was a series of terrific books by a German Author Neale Donald Walsch called "Conversations with God". My parents unknowingly keep pushing me towards faith knowing pretty well that I am an Atheist :) but that book series was just magical, yeah! it didn't send me joining my hands in front of a temple or to our own collection of statues back at home, but it did made me understand a lot of things which were happening with me back then. A lot of questions were answered by them and I was charged for a few more years. Right round the corner this time, when I stopped for a while and was again analyzing my life (I am not at all good at that) I got this book in mail from the Author herself. Can you believe that? I hardly interacted with her online, she had no clue of-course what I was going through and I can't thank her enough now for the gem of a book that she wrote with an amazing story of love, loss, sacrifice with a travel to show one the glimpses of their past lives and how it all affects one's present. Mind-blowing was the journey with the protagonist and the clarity that she gets, again my limited vocabulary will do no justice to this gem that everyone has to read (at the earliest). One thing that immediately after I finished this book was to pack it and send it to my Dad, who is doing his own kind of research on his past life and looking for answers to so many of his questions. Guess my parents are going to dig Minal down big time and may have an audience with her in very near future.

Now that I have read the book and loved it big time, I must say that it is very aptly titled "Maaya" :) the protagonist whose life-story it is. A very simple story where Maaya is committed, have a relationship of few years, about to get married to the man she loves, in between she takes a break for a few days to attend a close friends wedding, there she meets a guy with who she develops an instant repo. As they part their own ways and the guy too realizes that she is in a committed relationship and soon to be married, he backs out and let's her take her own decision. Would she break the relation, come back to him? or would she go ahead with her already fixed marriage and have a regret for life? You've got to read the book to know that. The twist is, whatever decision she takes, life throws the other guy in front of her yet again after a few years, with a totally new situation and that's where the past life regression comes in place. Now she is into a broken relationship with a cute kid, caring and supporting parent, friends to die for, a well paying satisfying job, but something is missing from her life. Would she ever get what she deserves? or is it her destiny to be the way she is? who is responsible for it? can there be a past life connection? By chance she runs into someone who takes her to the next level, how and what is why you need to read the book. Initially I had my own reservations about the theory but the way it develops and the way Maaya gets her own answers, it actually enlightens the reader too. I guess that is exactly what Author wanted to do with this story and book. And I must say how successfully she does it, I am totally bowled over by it all.

Imagine a situation where you can go back in your own past (lives) and see for yourself that who all were there from your present life and how they were related to you. Is that your Karma which is coming back to haunt you in this life or is that the reward that you are getting in one form for something that you really did good in one of your past life. Why we have so many loving souls around us who will not leave any stone upturned in helping us and why there are so many who make us wish that killing a few shouldn't have been a crime :). The entire book was a breeze to read, especially for the non-believer in me, the story was quite captivating, I actually wanted to go ahead in time and see what her future holds for her but the way it is done and how it pans out in the end was simply superb. As a habit I have started NOT reading the back cover, Foreword and Introduction to the book these days as so much is already disclosed in them that it totally spoils the fun of reading the book in the first place. It was indeed amazing to read those things after I finished the book as that tells us a lot about Author - Minal Arora and what she does in real life. Fortunately I have interacted with her on social media with her and I might have her cell number too with me :). And I am big time looking forward to my vacation up north and will certainly look forward to have a 20 minutes session up close and personal with her in very near future. I know for sure that my parents are going to beat me up on that and I hope they get all their answers through their sessions with her if at all she has time for us lesser mortals.

Have you read Maaya or a similar book like that? Do you believe our past lives effect us in anyways making it Good, Bad or Worse in the present? And can there be a solution?

Twice Born - Sahar Gharachorlou (Book)

Twice Born - Sahar Gharachorlou. How many times it has happened with you that once you finish a book which works for you incredibly well, rather a book which shows you a kind of mirror, makes you review your own life so far and if you have lived well as per the books standards and beliefs you pat yourself on the back and eagerly want to meet the Author to discuss further more. This is the second time in a row that I have read a "Non Fiction" a BEAUTIFUL beautiful book inspired by Sahar's own life experiences, her personal philosophy and life's teachings that she has faced in last few decades of her own experience as a life coach, therapist and her past life regression sessions of her hundreds of clients. I have had exactly same experience after I finished Minal Arora's "Maaya and Infinity", based on almost similar subjects and equally beautiful books. Unfortunately I am yet to meet Minal and now I have added Sahar's name in the list of people that I am looking forward to meet in real life (if I am lucky enough). First of all let tell one thing very clearly that I am Atheist, I do not believe in any kind of God, always have tough time joining my hands in prayer when I am forced to for the sake of my family especially my teenage kid to who I am supposed to pass on our so called sanskars and all that. I am a tuff nut when it comes to teaching, you see one can't teach new tricks to an old monkey can one? And fortunately Sahar's terrific book is far far ahead and away from those preachy self help book types, that is one most important thing that I loved about her book. But I always believe (just like Author) that there is some super power which is making this world move, and undoubtedly I feel indebted to that super power for the beautiful life that we all are living, we have health, ample wealth, love and happiness, incredible set of family and friends to look forward to, practically I have no reason to be sad or worrisome at any stage of my life (saying this after spending four and a half decade on this planet). And that exactly what he book affirmed for me in big bold letters and with her own experiences. I have mentioned this few times earlier too that when it comes to books, I am sort of a lucky chap and this time too, the book that I was destined to read practically walked to me and I am super glad and indebted that Sahar chose me to be her reader. Now she will have to pay the price to respond to the questions cropping up in my mind at the speed of a hundred to the power of ninety nine since I finished her book. Although no way a book like hers is an easy read but the beauty of it is such that she has wrapped her personal experience in the most easiest form and it all makes so much sense when you see that she isn't teaching or preaching, rather sharing her own personal experience and thoughts with her audience. Why it worked wonderfully for me is that I guess she and I are made of the same metal :) when it comes to her experiences with her parents, her siblings, her husband or her fighting times when she moved from her country (Iran) to India, worked on a visa here, faced challenges for almost a decade before her Indian Citizenship was granted. The entire period plus a few of her past life episodes make up for a super amazing read especially for us lesser mortals who keep blaming others for our own shortcomings. Although I may not believe in past life or future births and I may not be too keen on knowing about how life was if there actually is a re-birth working theory but there is no harm in learning the lesson what life teaches us in the current birth. Also, "Twice Born" is a terrific myth breaker especially for those who follow someone blindly thinking that they will be walking towards their salvation with so called Gurus who are still stuck here with us to take us with them. It was part hilarious part thought provoking that why I never wondered on how she opens up on the current world situation. If you read this book, you will love the way she defys the man made rules and the ease with which I got convinced to follow my own heart and if you are doing that already, it is going to put a huge smile on your face and a relief to know that you already are on the right track. I wish she had written this book any earlier as it cleared so many of my own doubts and made me assure myself yet again (after Minal's books) that I am on the right path (fortunately) knowingly or unknowingly. I am very fortunate to come across incredible coaches like Sahar and Minal, whereas I met my first life coach in the form of a yoga teacher back in Mumbai almost a decade ago. Who with his simple teaching changed my life, he asked me only one question that "Who is stopping you from doing something you want to do in your life?" and answer was "Me Only", I did work closely with him for 22 weeks, only a few hours a weekend and I realized life has never been better. Exactly same experience I had with this book, although as I mentioned earlier, it isn't an easy read and I am totally sure that I am taking only a quarter of what she has shared in her book in one reading. An incredible book like this needs to be read again and again on yearly basis so our mind and heart follows what they actually need in the real life and not what they been programmed to do by man made rules. Now that I have read and loved this one, it will definitely show up in my top 10 Non-Fictions especially when I will talk about non-preachy books on the subject. Do let me know if you read this, how it worked for you and if not, I suggest you do lay your hands on this at the earliest and give it a read. PS: My imperfect vocabulary does no justice to the book which deserves so much more praise.

Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K Jerome (Book)

Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K Jerome. Sometimes I really wonder why am I so late in exploring some amazing Authors like Jerome K Jerome but then it is wonderful to find one of their gems in my own collection gathering dust for so many years. I picked up this little gem from Blossoms (Bangalore) two years back for a mere 50/- with a Tea cup mark on its laminated cover. Look at the irony, the first own was a book lover who cherished the book and got on to the length of laminating it with a thick transparent plastic cover and its second own bloody used it like a coaster and left a tea cup mark on it before he dumped it in a sale. I guess I am the third owner and removed that tea mark from it immediately which I believe it is still faintly visible. I must say it is one hell of a book which gave me some seriously laugh out loud moments. Last time I laughed like crazy reading a PGW book in the dead of the night after an scary experience of reading "The Shining" by my favorite Stephen King, I was so scared to sleep that night that I had decided to read a lighter book and then the way I was laughing, my mom threatened me to throw me out of house thinking I had gone mad reading a book. Later she read it herself and gave me some benefit of doubt that it wasn't my fault after all. Now, I am told that Jerome K Jerome was one of those few writers which even PG Wodehouse enjoyed reading :). This time, my daughter filed a complaint against me to my wife that I was disturbing her studies everyday in the evening for last few days :) can you beat that. Jerome K Jerome's humor is simply out of this world, unbelievably hilarious especially the straight forward way he has captured the charming 10 days from the life of his three amazing characters on a boating vacation with their dog. The simplicity and Jerome's sense of humor is such that it took me back in my own time when in college we used to go on adventure trips just like Jerome, Harris, George and their cute dog Montmorency :). In our second year of college one fine day we fantastic seven decided to visit the nearby forest, spend a day, prepare our own lunch in wood-fire and do some dancing around just like our "Three Men on a Boat". The problem started when the live chicken that we had went on a run, we all had to run helter skelter to catch our lunch running away from us, while catching the chicken, we lost the sense of direction as where we had come from and where we were going. And then it all started that who will kill the chicken, who will clean and cook it and the bigger question how? It all ended in a few of us throwing up, surviving the day on biscuits and water from a nearby stream, remaining half of the day we end up looking for direction and our entry point where we had parked our vehicles, only to finally find the highway miles away from where we started :) but it all ended on a hilarious note and a crazy memory for a life time right like the way these three musketeers make for themselves, their dog, the boat, lost and found in the course of the river as where they are going, which is the right way and how it all ends, a tale of super awesome fun. Right from the word go, this book is totally roller coaster ride as I couldn't find anything wrong with three men going on a boat ride on Thames but something as simple as packing for the journey to camping on the side of the river, they are such cute men with their own set of thinking and how they keep up with each other was totally out of this world matter. More than just the comedy of errors it tells so much about the life and times some 100 year ago in and around good old London. I totally love British sense of humor in comparison to their American or other world counterparts, they actually are the master of this art which just keeps getting better by the book I read from their part and the Author that I explore. I loved the way Author discloses his characters professions like in case of George who goes to sleep in bank from 10 am everyday to 5 pm and he is usually thrown out of the bank at 2 pm on Saturdays :). And the narrator himself (Jerome) who gets a sort of dictionary of diseases and realizes that he is almost suffering from everything from an A to Z in the book barring one disease and that is "Housemaid's Knee" for which he visits a Doctor and what his friendly Doctor prescribes him, you've got to read the book for a thing like that and laugh it out loud :). I am going gift this book to one of the most lazy friend of mine as it is full of such sarcasm on someone's laziness that our own narrator hits his own high at times. This book will make so much more amazing sense to someone who's been to London and have gone Thames boating :) as geographically how the story moves forward, I could actually only visualize the beautiful surroundings and wish that I could actually be there and do the same tour :). And the historical importance of the places they visit and pass is another superb add on to the already terrific book. And as I was assuming the age of the characters, the superb illustrations not only made me laugh but gave me a fairly good idea of their ages :). Have you read "Three Men on a Boat"? If you haven't, do not miss it any longer and get it ASAP. For me, I am going to get its sequel now "Three Men on Wheels" where they go to Germany on a cycling trip :) and I have to pick up so much more from Jerome J Jerome. Do let me know if you have a favorite from him, I might as well pick that up in the next lot.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie (Book)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie. Another day, another terrific (read iconic), another gift by another amazing friend :) and what amazing 3 days I had while I raced to the most unexpected ending at a break neck pace. After reading an Anthony Horowitz (The Word is Murder) which was a sort of dedication from him to his favorite masters of mysteries - Doyle and Christie. I had to pick up one of them at the earliest and since this came a few weeks back from a lovely Secret Santa :) I had to oblige. Although Anthony almost gave me the ending of this one in his story still I tried my level best to keep doubting half a dozen people to be the actual murder but the way she ended this one, it indeed put a huge smile on my face (of failure yet again) because I couldn't catch the culprit up-till the very last page. Time and again I am sure I have read almost all her works, some even multiple times but I was surprised that still at this day and age I wasn't able to guess the killer. I really need to think hard if I ever was able to predict the right person, were you any successful in any of her books? Do let me know if you were. A typical Agatha Christie story, simple, sweet and straight forward happening in a very small village where life is so much slower and more entertaining. A woman commits suicide (or was it really?) who in the first place was being doubted to have killed her own husband. Within days of her death, a man is killed again in very mysterious circumstances who happens to be in love with the women who died earlier and may would have married her too. The inquiry of the murder goes to a local Doctor who is a family friend of the man in question and he has an extra-ordinary talent as a detective to help the village police. As if all that is already not fantastic, the cherry on cake is that some guy called Hercule Poirot is found spending his retired life in the village while all that was happening and (I am breathless) he is the jolly good new neighbor of our detective Doctor :). Can it get any better for the reader. Just like any other Agatha Christie book, there actually are a handful of characters that I fell in love with at the drop of a hat or shall I say at the drop of the first dead person :). Especially Doctor's sister who herself is a super awesome detective of her own kinds with her own amazing network through which she gathers her information and at times a few steps ahead of her brother. As the story progresses and Poirot takes Doctor as his right hand man as he too misses Hastings (his actually right hand man who again was a Doctor), the cat and mouse chase game begins. With half a dozen people in the circle of doubt who have so much to gain with the murder, a few strangers in town and the background stories as why someone would kill the man, it just keeps getting better by the chapter till the finale. I really tried very hard to guess the killer and up-to the half way mark I was actually taking notes on the back of my head, still I failed big time. Have you read "Murder of Roger Ackroyd"? were you able to guess the murderer? I've got to check if they made a movie on this, I wish and pray Alfred Hitchcock made one on this :).

Delivering Happiness - Tony Hsieh (Book)

Delivering Happiness - Tony Hsieh.

One of my colleague has a huge fetish for shoes :). As soon as you click on his system's internet browser it opens a site called DrMartens.com as the default page. Since we became friends, I have got a pair of ankle length shoes for myself, my wife got a pair of awesome sandal to go with traditional wear, she bought another pair of superb high heeled boots and I thanked my stars that the sites that he usually surfs don't have much of my daughter's taste or else I would have gone bankrupt by now. He is one heck of a shopper especially when it comes to Shoes and we made him our official shopper for all occasions :). And he is the one who introduced me to Zappos.com and the book by the company's CEO, which eventually merged with Amazon a decade back in a historic billion dollar merger. Unfortunately, till the moment that I started reading this book, I had no idea of Zappos existence :). Of-course not so internet savvy in 21st century helped me being so ignorant about this amazing company, its kool founders and how they go on to grow the sales to a billion dollar in gross revenues a month, till they get merged with Amazon. I have read a lot of non-fiction and self-help books in the past but this one was totally different and more interesting as it is written by the founder of Zappos - Tony Hsieh who clears the air about his grammar and English in the very first chapter itself :). I don't even what it means to end a sentence with a preposition but mention of that as a mistake by him tells a lot about the humbleness of the man who went from strength to strength in creating a empire of its own sort and never gave up even when he was on the verge of going bankrupt once. On top of that, I was even able to note down so many pointers that our own company needs to work on to make it a better place for our future talents and the current employee strength. It was one amazing experience to read a non-fiction after a while which actually had some real good ideas that can be very easily implemented and will certainly bear good results in the due course of time.

Although this one is a non-fiction and a story from Tony's real life, but it all can be summed up in one sentence that it is all about Tony (a Harvard graduate) and about the two companies that he co-founded, first of which he sold to Microsoft after 2 years of its inception in $265 million and the second he later merged (not sold) with Amazon upwards of a $1 Billion :). 250+ pages of sheer fun as he is no professional writer and he ended up writing this one in flat two and a half weeks :) as he claims a lot of coffee and alcohol helped him do that in that short period. His sense of humor is so amazing that he was totally able to keep me hooked with his theories of how to start, run and grow a company into an empire with a handful of core members who go on to any extent in achieving his dream and vision. Story of an earthworm farmer at an age of 9 years to a billion dollar sales man. It was incredible to know how easily he opens up professionally in the book but at the same time it was totally heart-breaking to know that he doesn't talk about his personal life, not even one bit in the whole book. There are stories about his parents in it but nothing that he talks about his own family, assuming he must be a married man and have a few kids of his own from the same period that his book talks about and that was a bit of a turn off for me. On top of that even Wiki has nothing to tell about his personal life :). But otherwise its a perfect read for those venturing out to be entrepreneurs in coming times. I was glad to know that unknowingly we are actually following quite a few of his philosophies in the company that I work for. Being a part of the core team who were the very first few employees of the firm that I work for, I am super glad that some of the ideas that he so brilliantly executed in his book, I am looking forward to try in real life. The moment I finished the book, I logged on to his website Zappos.com just to make sure that they have a customer care number right on the homepage which is answered by a human :) making it so much easier for its customers. On top of that having the head office in a city like Vegas helps a lot in keeping the employees motivated :) on that note, I gotta talk to my CEO to open a branch soon in Goa I guess.

Have you read "Delivering Happiness", do let me know how you like it if you have and if you haven't and are on the lookout for a super interesting read which may help you grow in professional life, this will certainly give you some good food for your thoughts. 

Theek Tumhare Peeche - Manav Kaul (Book)

Theek Tumhare Peeche - Manav Kaul.

In my spree of reading Hindi books, I gladly picked up this one as it was priced very nicely (read under 100/-) and I must say it was way worth so much :). Last year a close friend of mine had introduced me to Author Manav Kaul, before that I knew him as an acclaimed actor only and had even seen a few of the movies that he worked in, undoubtedly he is a good actor. I had no idea his prowess with a pen would be this beautiful. After liking his previous book "Prem Kabootar", I picked up this one without a thought and that was a great decision. I can bet my life that none of his contemporaries write the way he writes - straight from the heart. I totally loved the way how he interacts in his own words with the reader too :), there are a few instances in his short stories in this book itself where he claims that he has left his stories midways to develop on their own and if we the reader do not trust him, we can abandon the story or the book and in the next page he says "Since you are still here, let's take the story forward". Now how kool is that? isn't it? I have no memory that I ever read a book where the Author talks like that barring of-course "Sarat Chandra" whose books I recently read and he did exactly the same with his readers. It is quite possible that Manav too must have read his book and picked up the idea from there but it is brilliantly incorporated in his stories.

What I loved most about his short stories is that they are mostly taken from his own life and times he spent in the smaller towns during the course of his younger days. Even the beautiful book cover is nothing but a picture of his own home's window back in Kashmir. It is so heart touching where it is mentioned that when he visited the place last time briefly, he had such amazing memories of the place, he never forgot the little hole in the wall where he used to hide the chocolates :) can one ever get over memories like that? That sent me back in time to my granny places in Bhopal, where being a very young kid I lost one of my favorite whistle somewhere between the kitchen and the living room, the house back then was so huge that I never found it, yet every-time I visited her place even after years my eyes for one moment will look for that lost whistle that I never found. His stories have exactly that same old rusted feeling which unwanted gets invoked in our hearts when we visit our own places where we were born and brought up. The little stories made me smile, close my eyes and made me go back to my own childhood and when I look at them from where I am right now, they sound exactly like his own stories. Even his love stories are amazing, where he is not sure if his mother going to endorse them or his separation from his first wife and his mother's unease in knowing that her kid (a guy in mid 30's may be) must be uncomfortable living alone and all that.

My favorite one story if I have to pick from this collection is the one about "Mumtaz Bhai Patang Wale", incredible story of a young kid whose only wish and dream is to fly a kite and impress the legendary Mumtaz Bhai who makes patang :). What all struggles the little kid goes through to first get the kite and the thread and the subsequent action is totally heart touching, as the kid grows up and moves out of the small town on his return just like I used to search for the whistle he tries to find the Kite-man, you have to read the book to know how it all ends and what he does in the past, the reason behind it and the regrets. I was actually so touched to read the story that I tried getting in touch with the Author (and failed) as I wanted answers to a few questions I had related to his main character from the story and about something that he does which made me have a few sleepless nights. I hope that I get my answers sometime soon :). I must say there are a very writers whose words are that magical that we the readers actually start comparing them with our own lives and in turn at times feel as if someone is actually telling our own stories to us again, been there done that feeling I mean. This collection has a story called "Maa" which is my second favorite and it was such an amazing story of a mother and son relationship that I finished the book, packed it and mailed it to my mom. I am sure she is going to love the book and the stories and once she reads the story of this mother, she will get my message without me saying a word. Usually we do not talk that much but I hope after she reads that story, she will pick up the phone and call me :) and that is how powerful that story is with such an amazing message. As soon as I finished this, I already got his third book and read somewhere that his fourth is right round the corner getting published as I post this.

If you like reading Hindi books, I will very highly recommend Manav Kaul's books to you. No contemporary writer comes any close to him when it comes to straight from the heart stories which are real life like. You must read one of his books without fail.

Frenchman's Creek - Daphne du Maurier (Book)

Frenchman's  Creek - Daphne du Maurier.
6th Book of the year 2020 and first classic for a year which I wanted to be a year of Classics for myself :). All thanks to a very  dear friend (please raise your hand) who sent this my way. Last year I read my first Daphne du Maurier "Rebecca" and was totally not sure who I was in love with, was it the immortal Rebecca herself who was in full command of her house, husband and life which goes on in Manderley. Or was it the new Mrs. DeWinters or was it the amazing Manderley or on top of all that, was it actually the Author I was madly in love and in awe of. This second from her answered that, that I am actually in love with the Author. Exceptionally beautiful book from all standards, especially the unbelievably amazing characters. This is an incredible example of a story where the reader actually ends up loving a negative character more than the positive one, of-course the pirate that she made me love big time I would never consider a villain. Also, although this is my second DDM book but I must say that her women are incredible and superb strong women at that. Dona, whose story Frenchman's Creek, is one amazing wife, mother, an incredible host and an unforgettable lover whose adventure this story is. A married women with a typical good for nothing husband, two amazing kids and a few houses to take care in London and countryside, how she lands up in the adventure called the Frenchman's Creek is the story. This book reminded me so much of so many of PG Wodehouse books especially her man servant Williams, who again is the star of the story made me laugh like crazy. I didn't know DDM had such fantastic sense of humor and she could actually have a character like that in any of her books. And look at that beautiful cover, so many people actually took it just to have a closer look from me while I roamed around the town with the book in my hand.

Incredible story of a housewife Dona, whose life changes the day she decides to visit their country home where she comes across a mysterious French character, who happens to be a pirate at lose being chased by the elite of the area. The cat and mouse games begins when her man servant Williams put the fuel in fire and as Dona meets the Frenchman and her life changes upside down. DDM is so convincing and she has written this so beautifully that not for one moment I felt that Dona is actually having an extra-marital affair that too with a pirate, now that when I have finished the book and I think of the story, it strikes me like that :). But then we all loved Robin-hood, didn't we? The real character of Dona comes in full bloom for us reader as she meets the mysterious man and starts taking command of her own life, the way they go through with each other, fall in love, how she had to keep it all under the cover, but with a loads of people looking to catch and kill the pirate, it actually turns out to be a superb thriller too. And this one will show up undoubtedly on the top of my most loved love stories. DDM is not at all easy on her readers (just like Rebecca) wherein she refuses to not only give out the timeline or even the lead characters name. I had to keep my reading glasses on all the time while reading the book to know the real name of the Frenchman and keep an eye on the time it was all happening :). Even the town's name made me go back in time and think of one of my all time favorite classic action movie from similar titled fictional town. But trust me, as I said already a few times, the story is so beautiful that it actually doesn't matter. The story also reminded me of one of my all time favorite movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" and for some reason that Frenchman, I was visualizing as ever so loving Johnny Depp :) with that triangular hat on his head but DDM's pirate is so much more subtle and suave that his Caribbean counterpart. But his vessel "La Mouette", his team and his right hand man was totally incredible. Tried my level best to predict the ending but I just couldn't do it, such is the magic of DDM.

Have you read "Frenchman's Creek"? do let me know how you loved it, there is no question that anyone can not love this one. And if you haven't read it yet, trust me, you have no idea what you are a missing, pick it up today and give it a quick read. 250 pages of sheer fun.

I just came to know that there is a movie adaptation too made in the year 1944 which as per critics is very faithful to the book. Looking forward to it big time now. 

The Word is Murder - Anthony Horowitz (Book)

The Word is Murder - Anthony Horowitz. Raise your hand if you are that dear friend who gifted me this book :) being my secret Santa this year :). My second Anthony Horowitz in last few months and I must say it was quite entertaining. Also, its been a while that I read a Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie which are always super fun to read. No comparisons, he isn't a quarter as classy as the masters but from what I have read of the current generation of detective story writers, Tony definitely stands out in giving a book which was almost 80% fun, he went overboard in the ending, over-stretch in my opinion and definitely shot down an additional star in rating for his own book. What I loved about the book is its first person narrative where the author decides or rather forced (in a very charming and convincing way) to write a book on a jobless detective who happens to be an ex cop from Metropolitan Police in London. It was a breeze to read (with 400 pages) and his love and respect for Doyle and Christie was totally evident by the way he gushes over their works and proudly states that Doyle's estate has actually approached him to write a few Sherlock Holmes stories. I will be looking forward to Tony's story once I am done with a collection of Doyle very shortly. Also, it was super fun to read his ramblings on some of the terrific movie makers who adapted some of the fantastic works from the acclaimed literary works and end up making some amazing movies of our times. Imagine Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson making a guest appearance in the story :) it doubles up the already going fun. Anthony Horowitz is totally in awe of Shakespeare and the entire story revolves around his books and stories. I sincerely wished I had read some of them before reading this, it would have made so much more fun. Daniel Hawthorne is a recluse, out of job private detective, an ex cop who has solved a number of crime cases in the past and have helped the police department on and off. He has his own style of dealing with the crime scenes as well his counterparts from the departments and criminals too (once he solves the investigation). He makes an offer to write a book on one of his on going cases to Anthony Horowitz, who he refers to as Tony in his own sweet way. Anthony's dislike towards Hawthorne from the very start works like a charm right from the very start and as they develop a little of much awaited repo in their own sweet time is the best part of the book. Why Tony is forced to write the book and how the plot develops and heads for the (derailed) finale, although the ending didn't impressed me much after a superb start of the story of a woman who plans her own funeral and unfortunately gets killed the same day, exactly 6 hours after she finalizes her own funeral plan. She has a background too where she is involved in an accident some 10 year ago where she had hit a set of kids, where one dies and the other is crippled for life. Separated from her own husband, her son is a film star in Hollywood who has his own agenda. Other than Hawthorne's character and Author's, it was Damien the son shines in the story big time. The character is written in such an amazing way that I actually had to Google to find out if it was based on a real person. The doubt falls on so many people who may have killed her, from her husband to the bereaved parents to the surviving kid who is now an adult yet dependent on a full time maid. On top of all that Hawthorne is chasing the criminal in his own way while Tony has to shadow him to keep collecting the data for his book which he totally doesn't like the way he gets no help from the sleuth in the first place. The way author does his own research on the mad-man, reason why he does that plus how his agent and wife are responding to his current situation, it all keeps getting better by the chapter. Characters keep making an entry at a superb pace and the list keeps growing for the reader on who we have the doubt to be the killer and the reason behind. A big positive for me for this or Tony's previous book which I loved and his future ones that I now look forward would be his ramblings and non-stop commentary. I totally loved the way he not only convinces himself that he is doing the things right way but also keeps the reader hooked and convinced (by having our assurance in his own way) that he actually made me like the final outcome of Hawthorne's character. This is one of those very few books which did not work for me in totality but it did gave me an amazing character(s) to look forward to in his future works. Have you read "The Word is Murder"? Do let me know how you like it if you have and if you haven't, do tell me which is your favorite Anthony Horowitz book, I would love to give it a read.