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.