The story goes as dragging the name of the book into the pages. It’s the story of a boy and a girl and their families. In fact, its the story of two IIMA grads – a Punjabi boy and a Tamilian Brahmin girl and their families include a psycho mother, (straight from rono-dhona, saas-bahu soaps), completely ‘against the humanity’ father and all those fat colourful and fair aunties and uncles of Punjabi clan who give more preference to food and material wealth while checking out the girl’s side. This was the boy’s side.

Now, the girl’s side had an introvert father who never thought of anything else other than The Hindu newspaper and his ‘Bank of Baroda’ office, a wierdo mother who thinks of becoming a carnatic super singer and a nutecrack brother who was born in the world with the purpose of getting into IITs.

The story starts from IIM Mess where they both meet, fall in love and sex, get placements and joins different companies in the same city Chennai. The hero starts his mission of ‘getting liked by his inlaws’ by helping father-in-law on a presentation, taking tuitions for brother and arranging a music concert for mother-in-law.

Now, the heroine comes to Delhi and gets a command over the boy’s family by fixing a broken marriage.

Work half done.

Now, another mission is ‘family liking the other family’ which goes wrong and all hell break loose even to the extent of hero becoming a mini-devdas.

Again ‘the most whacko character’ – find out in story; comes into play and fixes everything.

The story is theek-thaak; It becomes extremely boring and unreadable at some point and after their IIM days, the story drags into a ‘soap opera’.

The whiskers and one-liners relating the Siuth-Indians are rocking and good relief.

Some situations are too out-of-the-box.

Chetan Bhagat has not let down us with his style of writing and those extra masalas into each situation and character. But the story lacks the strength to catch up with CB as the soap doesn’t go well with those going readers. Congrats CB for making an ordinary story into a book. It’s thru ……

Boy loves Girly & vice versa
Boy’s family loves girl & girl.s family loves boy
Boy’s family loves girl’s family & vice versa
Still if boy loves girl & vice versa, they get married.

Finally as a bollywood flick, all ends well with boy and girl getting married and helps in Uniting India.

SREEJITH

You can choose from a variety of authors. For the fiction lovers there is the-Cornwell series and for the people reading on an intellectual level you have many biographies, Anita Desai, Shashi Tharoor, Gomez etc.
P.S. – Theres  Chetan Bhagat’s new novel (2-states)too..!!!

2009 was the 17^th year of the Babri Masjid riots which tore apart the northern part of our country and Shashi Tharoor’s novel “RIOT” touches upon this topic only.

Intellectually provocative and emotionally charged, Riot is a book about ownership of history, about love, hate , cultural collision , religious fanatism , and the impossibility of knowing the truth. I know many of you guyz are going to be turned off right now only as the subject of the book has all the making of a heavy novel which can go into heavy duty preaching (sometimes) but here lies the beauty of the book

• The narrative moves forward through a collection of Letters written by Priscilla to her friend wherein she pours her heart out . The
  letters leave a strong impact because you know the person doesn’t exist now. Yes Priscilla Hart was one of those people who was killed in the riot.

• Through the Diary entries of Lakshman the DM. Wherein he writes about his feelings towards Priscilla & his pull for duty towards his country & his family.

• Through the interviews taken by the American Journalist Randy Diggs
• Through the diary entries of parents of Priscilla, where we can easily see the loss the parents are going through and to some extent they hold themselves responsible for it.Sometimes this kind of narrative becomes boring as usually it’s in third
  person. But out here it keeps you hooked because the Author very beautifully alternates the heavy narrative with lighter
  one. If there is a chapter of Priscilla pouring out her heart then the next
  would be the interview of the local professor.

  The author has chronicled the Riots Post Independence till Babri Masjid. He does so by interviewing a representative of the affected community. These characters are an integral part of the plot.
  The discussions there are worth more than a thought.

Shashi Tharoor has connected all the chapters so well that it leaves you spell
bounded. Sometimes when we are lectured things don’t get into our mind. But if the same thing is presented in subtle manner it affects you more. You don’t
know what hits you. And that’s the impact of the book.

In my life I always have had strong views about certain things. But this book has really changed my view, because, I tried to think as rationally as the author has written the book.

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The wait is over. “The Lost Symbol,” the follow-up to Dan Brown’s 2003 mega-seller, “The Da Vinci Code,” is here — and you don’t have to be a Freemason to enjoy it (although it wouldn’t hurt cuz there were many portions in the book which can leave you puzzled so as to why is it like that!!!).

Good news to all the “Dan Brown fans” this is a typical Dan Brown book – fast paced, packed with mystery, some numbing (at least for me) puzzles, a bit of romance and loads of maybe-could-be history.

The Lost Symbol takes place in Washington, DC and revolves around Freemason lore – specifically the “Ancient Mysteries”. He mixes in the overbearing CIA and Noetic Science for a nice thiller.
Robert Langdon (The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons) is back again and this time his love interest is the beautiful Noetic Scientiest Katherine Solomon .Both are sent on a wild chase around Washington, DC in an effort to save her brother and Robert’s friend, Peter Solomon, from the hands of a mad man -a seriously messed up lunatic. Dan Brown will keep you turning pages to find out their fate in this one.

If you are expecting a book better than the Da Vinci Code you are going to be disappointed. If you are a fan of Dan Brown like I am you will see that this is a typical Dan Brown book. In simplest terms it is the Da Vinci Code but based on the Freemasons. Nothing new in terms of his style.
Last, there were no “oh my god” moments in this book If you were expecting some of the whoa bits of Da Vinci Code then I am sorry you are going to be disappointed. It’s hard to imagine anyone, after reading “The Lost Symbol,” debating about Freemasonry in Washington, D.C., the way people did Brown’s radical vision of Jesus and Mary Magdalene in “Code.” That book hit a deep cultural nerve for obvious reasons; “The Lost Symbol” is more like the experience on any roller coaster — thrilling, entertaining and then it’s over.
At the end of the day, this is a very good book that I think most people will enjoy. It is no masterpiece but it is enjoyable.

READ ON GUYZ….

There is so much to tell in Twilight that I hardly know where to begin.

Twilight is the story of Edward and Bella’s romance. Forget any vampire romance you have read before, Twilight is so unique it is almost like it’s in its own genre.  The book is marketed at Young Adult readers but it has the ability to cross age barriers and will satisfy both teenagers and adults alike.

The story is told in first person from the view point of Bella, so only we know what she knows, making Edward and his family a mystery that is slowly unravelled through out the book.  Even by the end of the book I was still thirsting for more of the Cullen family back story – hopefully their characters might be developed further in future books.  Bella herself is a well written and realistic character, shy and lacking in confidence, her sarcastic inner voice narrates the story for the reader(I can relate to her easily!!!!).

Twilight is simple and yet beautifully written.  The descriptions of Forks leave you feeling like you can almost smell the damp air and hear the rain falling on the roof.

The romance between Edward and Bella is both touching and compelling.  There is a melancholic feel to their impossible love, yet at the same time they both are unwilling to give up hope that their relationship is not doomed.

I know the book might be too long but don’t let that put you off reading it because each page is to be savoured.  Believe me, this is one book that you won’t want to end.

]]> http://www.vosree.com/twilight-2/feed 4 http://www.vosree.com/book-review-rich-dad-poor-dad http://www.vosree.com/book-review-rich-dad-poor-dad#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:40:58 +0000 sreejithec05 http://www.vosree.com/?p=1266 RICH DAD POOR DAD is financial advice book from Robert T. Kiyosaki. I am pretty much amused by the thought of Mr. Kiyosaki, a renowned speaker, giving advice on making money. The book starts with two kids out on an adventurous sport of making money(though, great to find mere children thinking of making money!!!). The two children, coming from wealthy and poor families respectively, slowly describe the art of making money which they imbibe from the wealthy father. The story in itself is presented in a nice manner where most other books on such subjects are a kinda hurdle to step over. The path by which the story travels and the elements of piece-wise advice in quotes format are enjoyable for ardent financial position seekers. At least these points do not let us doze off while surfing it. Some capsule advices remain with us long after we have turned the last page.

Talking about the cons of the book, I find them everywhere in the entire pages. I could find rubbish the idea of making money on route of Mr. Kiyosaki(OK, certain advices could be taken for certain aspects in building our lives, but, not like copy pasting everything from the book into our life and we become rich; if life was like that, no one would have remained poor- hey… hey…hey…).There are many factual errors besides which there are certain sayings (by Mr. Tarkenton)provided which do not comply with the situation given. The story sometimes do not keep track of itself, where, it shows the college-goers are dumbs(under-we do not learn making money at colleges) and sometimes he recommends for tax evasion. The utter fact of ‘ the art of making money’ arouses a kind of uneasiness(how could that happen ? ) in my stomach when I unravel the pages. In all, I find the book very insane and of course boring with very poor advice on making money. An insane creation from Mr. Kiyosaki. I give 1.5 stars out of 5.

SREEJITH

The book uses etymology to teach new words easily. Etymology is the science of words. I never knew there is a science behind words. (literature students please excuse, I am from a tech background and I really hated literature in my school days. ). Its like mathematics, most English words are combinations of words from Greek and Latin. Learn the root words and you can make out most of the words that are derived from it.

Check these words

• Astronomer
• Astrologer
• Astronaut
• Cosmonaut
• Disaster
• Autonomy

These are words derived from the combination of the following words.

• Astron – star
• Nomos – Arrangement, law or order
• Logos – Science
• Nautes – Sailor
• Auto – Self
• Dis – Against

See the relationship between the words. Many words can be created out of various combinations. This is just a preview. There are many other techniques. Go buy the book. Its costs only Rs 95.

‘Everything You Desire’ is an amateur work by Harshdeep Jolly. It is a semiautobiography. Jolly completed his B.Tec Electrical & Electronics from Delhi College of Engineering. Then he did his M.B.A from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore by topping the CAT. This work isn’t a fiction but a simple narration of what Jolly undergoes at IIMB campus .

The book starts with Jolly , a resident of Delhi, flying down under to Bangalore after getting admission in IIMB. Jolly starts his campus life by making 6 friends and soon gets engrossed in studies. The book unravels the journey of Jolly and his friends lives at IIMB campus for 2 years. The book has been well structured to point out the curriculum & the life style of IIMB, the behavour at IIMs, the campus premises and the outside life kept in store for the IIMites. The book shows all the matters like the assignments, the tests, the summer workshops and the placements in which Jolly and the rest of IIMites are engaged for 2 years.

Jolly has clearly lacked the story telling ability to grab the readers. There are times when we feel that the excitement is gonna rise but it fades as fast as possible. But then the book looks like a normal procedure or routine through which Jolly leads his life without any elements or ingredients to charm the audience.It is simply a cooked dal without any spices, even though, there is something at the end which is thought provoking. This book can be useful to M.B.A aspirants who can look forward to the book as a guideline for the IIM campus life and their curriculum. In case of usage as a preparatory matter(for stay at IIMs) it is a delight, but for a reading delight, it proves to be a disaster. I give 1 out of 5 stars.

SREEJITH

EC-7

The fiction starts with Daniel Arthur Cartwright(Danny) & his girlfriend Eliizabeth Wilson(Beth) meeting up at a bar ‘Dunlop Arms’ on invitation of his girlfriend’s brother & his best chap in life, Bernard Henry Wilson(Bernie). Bernie gets over an heated argument centred on Beth with 4 strangers i.e, a barrister, a popular actor, an aristrocrat & the youngest partner in an established construction company which eventually leads to murder of Bernie. Guess who’s accused as the murderer-Danny in case of the 4 protagonists.

Thus begins Jeffrey Archer’s most powerful novel since ‘Kane & Abel’ with the trial in which Danny is sentenced to 22yrs in Belmarsh prison- the highest security jail in England, b’coz who’s gonna believe the truth lying with Danny & Beth when 4 powerful protagonists stand in the witness box.

Danny while being in prison makes a good company with Sir Nicholas Moncrieff(Nick) & Albert Crann(Big Al) who were his cell mates.Danny learns the ways of life & the importance of studies in life from Nick which remains embedded in him.Following the death of his friend Nick in prison,Danny escapes from the Belmarsh prison from where no inmate had ever escaped . He does so by disguising himself as Nick & by interchanging the relevant information in the record books  of the prison.

Danny being Nick takes on the family fortunes left over by Nick’s late grandfather after a family fued with his(Nick’s) uncle Hugo Moncrieff in the Scottish court. Danny with his business acumen increases the wealth left over to him & also devises a plan to trap the 4 protagonists to avenge the death of his best chap in life,Bernie. But he ultimately gets caught & undergoes a trial for 5 different charges. This is the point where the climax of ‘A Prisoner of Birth’ unfolds with an ending that would shock even the most ardent of Archer’s fans & u guys definitely.

Although, I can’t find a reason how Archer could to stick to a very simple reason which allows Danny to escape from the highest security prison in the land. For me , the reasons stated by Archer does not correctly fill the void.Another thing is how could Danny learn to become a gentleman & a craftsman in business from Nick in prison where he was there for only a short span of time.Another thing is how could Spencer Craig(barristor) become a Queen’s Counsel(QC) in a time of 6yrs(too short a time for the young barristor).I am pretty much amused by the way everything fell in correct places for Daniel Arthur Cartwright during the redemption. Although both the sides in the novel stricked a clear balance until the trial section.Only God & Archer knows what happened durind redemption.

Archer has tried to produce the classic touch by incorporating all ingredients of life like Danny’s determination to seek revenge, Beth’s relentless quest to pursue justice & the forced protagonists to fight for their lives. The climax has been a bit shocking & the game ends clearly on the hero’s side. U guy’s will have an enjoyable stride throughout the novel & it’s cast of characters will remain with u long after u have turned the last page.I give 3.5 of 5 stars.

SREEJITH

EC-7