Book Recommendations: Mini Book Reviews - 1

Here are a few books which I have read at some point of my life – may be a few months back or a few years back. I do not remember the specifics, so I would not be in a position to write full reviews. But these books have stayed in my memory because when I read them, I loved them and I often think about them.

1.

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Title: Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance Bars

Publisher: Penguin India
Author: Sonia Faleiro

Genre: Non Fiction / Biography /Anthropology

This ‘narrative non fiction’ is a result of author’s pursuit of life of bar dancers through the years. This book is about Leela, a bar dancer the author meets while researching for her story on dance bars. Read author’s interview here and a review of the book here. What stood out for me is the stark contrast in the world these girls live in from ours, their hopes, their dreams and their usually bleak future! It is a remarkable book and very well written.  


2.
Title: Death in Mumbai
Publisher: Random House India

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Author: Meenal Baghel
Genre: Non Fiction / Crime

Who hasn't heard about the Neeraj Grover Murder case that involved a TV producer, an aspiring actress and her fiance, a Naval officer! It was a case straight out of a movie or a potboiler. What sent chills down our spines was the gruesome murder of Neeraj Grover, in what looked like a case that involved passion and envy.
There is a dearth of good literature on crime in India. This book is not a simple retelling of the probable turn of events. Meenal Baghel, through her interactions with friends and families of the three people involved in the case, attempts to dig deeper into their personalities. Along with trying to understand what went inside them, she also explores the outside factors like the changing urban culture, driven by high aspirations of small town youngsters, low tolerance, aggression, etc.
Here's a review of the book.


3.
Title: Second Turn

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Publisher: Macmillan
Author: M.T.Vasudevan Nair (Translated by P.K. Ravindranath)
Genre: Fiction / Mythology

I am particularly fond of various interpretations of Mahabharata and I have several versions already. It was Yajnaseni that sparked my interest in this ancient epic. Mahabharata is quite addictive. Even if you read different versions of the same story, you never get bored. There is always a revelation!
Bhim's character has not got its dues in any of the popular versions, therefore I was curious to get my hands on this one. 'Second Turn' is Mahabharata retold through Bhim's perspective. Draupadi was married to all the five Pandavas and as per their mutually agreed rule, she would stay as a wife of each brother for one year. Since Bhim was the second brother, therefore the name 'Second Turn'. 
Bhim is generally known for great physical might and his love for food. MT Vasudevan Nair's portrayal of Bhim opens our eyes to a sensitive character who is completely dedicated to his mother, brothers and wife. He never really got his dues.
This book is quite a gem but very difficult to get your hands on. It is 'out-of-stock' at most of the online sites. You will be able to get it only if you are lucky.
Here's a review from the Outlook magazine.

4.

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Title: The Invisibles: A Tale of The Eunuchs of India
Publisher: Random House
Author: Zia Jaffrey
Genre: Non Fiction / Anthropology / Culture / Gender Studies

It is an outstanding work of non fiction that focuses on the class of people, which have been rightly called 'the invisibles'. The eunuchs, the hijras, the cross-dressers, call what-you-may, are found everywhere - in trains, on roads, visiting homes at the birth of babies, during marriages, etc; and yet they are an 'invisible' lot. The society does not talk about them or their plight. It was a revelation to learn about their hierachies, how these people depend on each other (with their families turning back on them), how society perceives them, how they are forced to earn their living by begging, how some of them have been kidnapped and castrated, and many such pieces of information.
Here's a review of the book. I cannot recommend it enough but it is yet another difficult book to get your hands on. It is out-of-stock on most places.


5. 
Title: May You Be The Mother of Hundred Sons: A Journey Among the Women of India

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Publisher: Penguin India
Author: Elisabeth Bumiller
Genre: Non Fiction / Travel

I read this book really long time back, may be 7 years. But I do remember that this was the first book among many that I read, which showed India from an outsider's perspective, and that is what appeals to me about such books. Many times, several things which happen close to us, start appearing ordinary or mundane, unless an outsider points those out to us. 
Here is a review, and here's another one.

6.

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Title: Holy Cow
Publisher: Bantam
Author: Sarah Macdonald
Genre: Non Fiction / Travel

I read this book shortly after 'May you be....' and loved it. In this case also, I don't remember the nitty-gritties. Sarah Macdonald, like several Western tourists before and after her, was enamoured with India, and chronicles her experiences. And like everyone who writes about India, impact of religion on everyday living, widespread poverty and misbehaviour with western women form chunk of her writings. But I loved the book and I would like to read it again now!

I don't have this book because I had taken the book from a library at that time but guess, I will order one for myself. Read a bunch of really good reviews on GoodReads. 

*Update*: I have re-read and reviewed it here.
 
7.

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Title: Eleven Hours
Publisher: Harper Collins
Author: Paullina Simons
Genre: Fiction / Thriller

I  have read many thrillers but I have not been able to forget the feeling of reading this fast-paced edge-of-the-seat thriller. It was so good. 
Here's a review to add to my case. 

Book List Oct-Dec 2011

I wanted to put up the list of books which I recently acquired in last 3 months. I have been caught up in the new responsibilities of taking care of a baby but that did not deter me from attending the Book Sale by Goa-Based Broadway Book Centre and the Landmark Book Sale, while also buying several books from Flipkart and Indiaplaza.

Here is the list:

From the Broadway Book Sale: Each one bought for Rs 50. The price was a major deciding factor. I would not have bought even single one of these, if it had been for anything more. I felt this Book Sale was more suited for the college crowd. There was nothing from Indian Publishers and nothing in Non Fiction.

1. Nanny Returns by Nicole Karus and Emma Mclaughlin: I had earlier bought ‘The Nanny Diaries’ from a similar Sale at Rs 50 (the hardbound edition), so when I saw this one, I got it. I am not too fond of such books but they are fine for general time pass reading, you know, immediately after you have read some heavy-duty stuff.  

I have read ‘Inconceivable’ by Ben Elton and it was quite funny, so I bought both the books listed below:

2. Dead Famous by Ben Elton

3. Past Mortem by Ben Elton

4. From Here to Maternity by Sinead Moriarty: Bought this one for the obvious reasons. I remember reading another book called ‘I don’t know how she does it’ and it was hilarious. Hope this one is on similar lines. Yet another general time pass stuff.

5. Monster by Allan Hall: I am sometimes drawn to real life crime stories. I have read ‘In Cold Blood’ by Truman Capote and look forward to reading more on true crime.

6. The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam: I have heard a lot about “Maps for Lost Lovers” and have it too. I have not read it yet. This one is also from the same author.

From Landmark Book Sale: The discounts at Book stores are not really great. Great discounts would only be on a handful books but that’s about it. So I looked for getting something on the “3 for 2” offer. And this offer also works for you only if all the books are of similar price. I usually end up buying several magazines on my visits, I prefer buying books online. Nevertheless, after a lot of research, I got the following books. First three are on the offer, rest as indicated.

I read these 2 books long back, and I wanted them for my collection:

7. India Unbound by Gurucharan Das

8. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

9. The Pregnant King by Devdutt Pattnaik: It is related to Mahabharata and I had been thinking of getting this for quite sometime now.

10. Don’t go Away, We’ll be right back by Indu Balachandran (on a special price of Rs 99)

11. Byline by M.J.Akbar (at 10% discount on the cover price)

I was heartbroken to see ‘First Day First Show’ for Rs 99. I recently bought it for Rs 374! But that is something which you cannot plan.

I bought the following from Flipkart and Indiaplaza:

12. Dr Spocks Baby And Child Care by Robert Needlman, Benjamin Spock: Smita told me it is a good reference book on Child Care. So how could I not have it J

13. Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Arni, Moyna Chitrakar: After collecting several perspectives on Mahabharata, I have started expanding my ‘Ramayana’ collection. It also happens to be my first Graphic Novel.

14. The Best Of Quest by Laeeq Futehally, Achal Prabhala, Arshia Sattar: I first read about the book in Pune Mirror. I have bought books on Eunice De Souza’s recommendation earlier also, like ‘the Locust and the Bird’. Later on, I read a lot about 'the Best of Quest' in many articles and magazines.

15. Lucknow Boy by Vinod Mehta: Since I follow Outlook and the book is a memoir of its editor, I kept finding more and more about the book through his column on the last page. I found it fascinating enough. Memoirs are interesting only when they are honest and provide new revelations. There’s nothing exciting about sugar candy talk and reading something which is already a public knowledge. This issue of Outlook even featured excerpts from the book. The book sounds salacious!

Following 2 had been recommended by a friend who has studied psychology. I was discussing about reading on child psychology.

16. Developmental Psychology by Elizabeth Hurlock

17. Child Development 6ed by Elizabeth Hurlock

18. Half The Sky - How To Change The World by Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl Wudunn: I had my eyes on this one for a long time but only imported editions were available which were quite expensive. I recently bought it for a good price.

Some more additions for my ‘Ramayana’ collection. These have interesting perspectives on Sita and Ram, which reminds me of a superb animation film 'Sita Sings the Blues'.

19. In Search of Sita: Revisiting Mythology by NamitaGokhale, Malashri Lal

20. Lost Loves by Arshia Sattar

Following are supposed to be from Ravana’s perspective.

21. Ravanayan (Issue 1) by Vijayendra Mohanty, Vivek Goel

22. Ravanayan (Issue 2) by Vijayendra Mohanty, Vivek Goel

23. Ravanayan (Issue 3) by Vijayendra Mohanty, Vivek Goel

24. We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver: I discovered this book while reading an article on parenting. I found this highly recommended for all parents:

The above listed books have been bought only between October and December, and December is not over yet! One of these days, I would like to put up the list of my entire collection. I recently categorized and re-organized them.


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Some more books on my shelf (actually beyond shelf now)

People! Get jealous. I have just acquired a host of great books. In fact, even finished reading 1 of them and in the middle of the second one.



Here’s the enviable list:


A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
Finally! and quite a fat book it is. Friends at work felt that it was too late for me to read “a suitable boy”; while my husband rummaged through the packing to confirm that it actually was 1 book and not a couple of books! The only thing he had to say was, “forget about reading, I don’t understand how anybody can write so much in the first place!”


In the Name of Honour by Mukhtar Mai
Quite a famous book by now, I had first seen this book in Crossword, on the ‘new releases’ shelf. At that time only the hardcover was available and it was too expensive, so I gave it a miss. Got this for just Rs 252 in paperback. Reading it right now.


Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji
My current favourite is Iran and last couple of books have been in and around it. I came across this book, while hunting for some good books based in Tehran / Iran. I have already finished it and posted a review as well. Quite a good book really.


The Invisibles: A Tale of the Eunuchs of India by Zia Jaffrey
I have already read this book 4 years back while I was in Mumbai. It is a well-written and well-researched book. It really opens your eyes to the world where these “invisibles” belong. A lot of things are horrifying and eye opener. I definitely wanted it in my collection and I will surely re-read it.


Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America And American in Iran by Azadeh Moaveni
Another recommendation on Iran. In fact, I have got a long list of recommendations on good books on Tehran which was published on the back pages of ‘Rooftops of Tehran’. I’m all for it!



Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi
Yet another one. Read about the author here. Still awaiting the delivery of the book.


Dreams Die Young by C.V.Raman
I came across this book in The Hindu Book Reviews long time back, but it was ‘out of stock’ on almost all the websites as well as bookstores. I was lucky to re-discover it recently on a1books.co.in

Back with Loads of New Books!

I can’t believe it that the last time I wrote something here was October 2009! But this Blog is very much active.

I am back with a whole lot of Books that are now proudly displayed on my shelf (I must confess, my books are now outgrowing my bookcase. I desperately need a bigger space!)

Here’s the list of my proud acquisitions:

1. Urvashi by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar (Hindi) – an award winning epic-poetry which won him Jnanpith Award. I had heard so much about this when we were kids from our hindi teacher. He used to say that though a masterpiece, we were not of the right age then to appreciate the masterpiece that it was. While I had chanced upon some Hindi works on Mahabharata recently, I suddenly remembered about ‘Urvashi’ and got it!
2. Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer – We have heard so much about Kashmir and the various issues around it, but atleast I have always been drawn to knowing about the people of such disturbed places. While searching for some good books, I chanced upon this review on Curfewed Night and got it.
3. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin – Yet another fruit of my online research for good books. Read the review here.
4. Indian Summer by Alex Von Tunzelmann – Quite a difficult book to locate. I searched several online bookshopping sites, but eventually got it in ‘BOOK WORLD’ on F.C.Road in Pune. So I did not even think twice on the discounts (anyways they were giving 10% discount on all books). This book is a “secret history of the end of an empire”. Read the review here.
5. Broken Verses by Kamila Shamsie – Well, this book happened to me. I went to Big Bazaar and they were running 60% discount on books! Probably, clearing their whatever book stock is left at their Book corner “DEPOT”. I had heard about Kamila Shamsie and when I read a first few lines and the back cover, the book sounded interesting. Here’s the review.
6. A Princess Remembers: The Memoirs of the Maharani of Jaipur – An autobiography of Maharani Gayatri Devi, I tried hunting for this book also at quite a lot of places, and again found it at BOOK WORLD, in Sagar Arcade, Pune. I bought this with “Indian Summer”. I had read bits and pieces about Maharani Gayatri Devi’s life and was quite intrigued about her life.
7. Size 12 is not Fat by Meg Cabot – Yup, a chicklit! I wanted to buy a chicklit for one of those times when I read very serious stuff and want to read something really light.
8. Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat – Hunting for some books on foreign countries, I chanced upon this one. What hooked me on to this one was “One Woman’s Story of Survival Inside a Torture Jail”. Read the review here.
9. The Great Indian Middle Class by Pavan K. Verma – Picked up at Big Bazaar DEPOT’S 60% off sale. It is quite a popular book and well, I do want to read this one
10. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali – This international bestseller was on my wishlist for sometime now. Everywhere only the International titles were available which were extremely expensive. But lucky me, I found the Indian edition on Indiaplaza recently and bought it immediately. Read about the book here.
11. The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen – I have heard a lot about this Award-winning book. Another one from BOOK WORLD!
12. Native Son by Richard Wright – I first read about this book when a critic compared Aravinda Adiga’s The White Tiger with this one. I went on to read the review but yet again all the bookshopping sites had very expensive international title to the tune of 600-700 rupees. And guess what? I bought it for Rs 50. There’s this perpetual book sale where a lot of books are for Rs 50 and Rs 100, most are useless but sometimes you could just get lucky. Last time I had picked up a hardbound edition of “Nanny Diaries” for Rs 50!
13. Mira and the Mahatma by Sudhir Kakar – I picked up this book from City Palace, Udaipur. We were touring the grand and fascinating City Palace at Udaipur, and I wanted to capture those moments. So, I went to the small bookshop in the City Palace to pick up story of that palace. I did buy the book on Udaipur, and also bought this one. I am always on the quest to read something beyond what is common knowledge. I did not even know about “Mira” so much, so I was curious to read this. Sudhir Kakar is a well—know psychoanalyst and has written several books. I have another book by him called “The Indians”.
14. Mixed Doubles by Jill Mansell – Picked it at Landmark sale. Read about the book here.
15. Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks - The book is about "the hidden world of Islamic Women". Need I say more? It has got good reviews too.

Books on Mahabharata - all are great literary works

1. Mahabharata by Kamala Subramaniam - Picked it from a popular bookstore here called POPULAR BOOK STORE
2. The book of Yudhishthir by Buddhadeva Bose (Translation from Bengali) – Really wanted to read Yudhisthir’s story because he never came across as a strong personality. I could never understand how he claimed to be the king!
3. The women of the Mahabharata by Badrinath Chaturvedi
4. Mrityunjaya by Shivaji Sawant (Hindi) – (Translation from Marathi): This book is on Karna. I am having a little trouble reading my first hindi book after school and comics of those years! It is a fat and lengthy book, so my pace is much slower than otherwise.
5. Parva by SL Bhyrappa – (Translation from Kannada): Got hold of this out-of-print book recently through a1books. It is quite a fat book
6. Yayati by V.S. Khandekar – Yayati was an ancestor of Kuru clan. So far, I know this much only. But you may read about the book here.
7. Yugandhar by Shivaji Sawant (Hindi) – (Translation from Marathi)
8. Second Turn by MT Vasudevan Nair – (Translation from Malyalam): This is Bheem’s perspective of the Mahabharata. I had been hunting for this across the country. Finally found it on a1books.co.in. I must say I have got quite a lot of rare books there. And the service is good too.
   
   Phew! I totally got berserk with book shopping. No wonder I don’t save any money. Look at the quantum of books I have bought in last 4 months. My books have crept their way into my dressing table also. But I totally, absolutely and really love my collection. May it increase many times over !