I was planning to write something over the weekend, but then we had a short trip planned to Ootty from our hospital, which took a toll on me, although the trip was a beautiful one in many regards. I was too tired when I reached back, with my muscles aching from the few rides I took at the park by the lake (I doubt if the conspiracy behind the rides was scientific enough). I had a small presentation on Friday and another one due in two days. Yet, amidst all this chaos, I happened to read a book and I cannot be more proud of myself. A friend mentioned about the latency of my blog posts and that was what granted the much needed impetus for me to settle down today to write today.
I am not writing much new through this post, as I have decided to compile a few uncoventional book reviews that I had written elsewhere over the past one month and present here. I happened to read two good books recently, which brings my count of books read in 2016 to 37, which is 13 books short of my Goodreads reading challenge. I had aimed for 50 books, and I have now promised myself to try my best to complete atleast 40 books out of that. Following are the book reviews I mentioned about and I hope you are inspired to try these books out as you finish reading the reviews.
1. SHADOW IN THE MIRROR – By Deepti Menon
I have to confess that I fell in love with the book right from the cover page. The lady with the mysterious look would succeed in inviting anyone to the chambers of secrets that lie strewn inside the pages of the book. Past the cover page, one should expect nothing short of a stupendous and thrilling ride, not to mention the fact that the narration had emotional undercurrents running through it deeply. A thriller flavoured with heart warming snippets would, undoubtedly, be one of the best genres to explore, don’t you agree? Undeniably, ‘Shadow in the Mirror‘ has succeeded in doing just that.
The characters are painstakingly detailed – be it the vibrancy of Vinny, the sensitiveness of Nita or the multi-hued personality of Kavita. The lines are peppered with enlightening nuggets and evocative words – one would be in awe of the appropriateness and sheer depth of the author’s lexicon. The book is a thriller, and so it inevitably has to come packed with suspense and that was another department where the book satiated me wholly and thoroughly. The astuteness of the editing process that went behind the book too impressed me, as I found it an effortless task to sail from one sentence to another sans typographical hiccoughs.
I wouldn’t be lying when I say that I happened to absorb large proportions of notes mentally as I finished reading the book and for that, I have Deepti Menon and her terrific novel to thank.
2. HEARTS AND HOTS – By Ruchi Singh
I bought ‘Hearts and Hots’, a collection of short stories recently released by Ruchi Singh, with much apprehension, as I was never an ardent admirer of love stories. The short sample on Amazon left me intrigued and I decided to go ahead and grab a copy. I have to say my intuition had me guarded as the book turned out to be a page-turner in itself. The stories are well written and I spent a whole two hours reading the book without halt and happened to enjoy it thoroughly too. What makes the book stand out from the voluminous mass of junk being churned out today in the name of romance is, undoubtedly, the skilful writing of the author. The lines are churned out beautifully and they are gracious and able enough to let a reader devour it in entirety, sans any distress or hiccoughs. The apt choice of words and crisp presentation need to be lauded. What amazed me further is the variety of the story lines, as one would have the tendency to approach a collection of romantic short stories with a preconceived notion that the stories would in most probability over lap in their nature and course. Such was never the condition with this book and the writer and the resultant critic in me was satiated in this regard as well.
If you are a fan of love stories, or better yet, if you are a lover of short stories, then this book is sure to lend you company, good enough to not let you regret your choice in the end.
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So, have you read anything recently? Do share.
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Cool, was running out of books to read and now I have two more. Definitely keen on the shadow in the mirror. Sounds intriguing and thrilling.
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You should read them, Ami 🙂
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Thanks for the reviews. And hey, 37 books is a pretty good count for a year 🙂
Try ‘Everyday’ by David Levithan. A very unique story that had me thinking for awhile after I finished.
Godyears.net
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I will check that book out for sure. And thank you 🙂 Yes, when I stood back and evaluated myself, 37 seemed like a good number 🙂
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That’s quite a good number you’ve gone through. I don’t read at all ( 😐 ) but Saru is exactly the opposite!
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I could see that in her instagram pictures 🙂 Thank you for the support 🙂
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Thanks for the review Maliny. I’ve been reading a little this and that irregularly, from next year on I’m planning to keep a number for reading challenge. 37 sure is a great number, 🙂
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Joining a reading challenge sure rekindles the fire to read. Do join next year. You will love it 🙂
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You read all of them .. I keep thinking of myself very unlucky now as I dont get time to read anymore , wish i can
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Maybe, you can find time?
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I loved reading your review… your style of describing the details of characters or the narration style, is in itself a pleasant read. Will add these to my next year’s list and hope I cover at least one of them.
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Thank you so much for the good words, Rajlakshmi. Do read them if you can 🙂
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Haven’t read both these book Maliny. I did read Yashodhara Lals latest.. shall pick up one of these for sure
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How is YasodharaLal’s book, Ramya? Would you recommend it?
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No Maliny, just put up the review on my blog… Do have a look!!!
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Coming over 🙂
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Just finished reading “Cabbing All The Way” by Jatin Kuberkar. The review is coming up tomorrow.
I’m adding the first one of your list in my list. Definitely read it… 🙂
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Shadow in the Mirror sounds intriguing and thrilling and I would love to pick it up too. I have read Ruchi’s earlier work and her style of story telling impresses me, so Hearts and Hots goes in my TBR list. Good luck with your reading challenge.
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