Variety is the spice of life

This book is probably the better of all his previous efforts is the statement with which the review begins and possibly the biggest by number of pages as well. Chetan Bhagat is probably the most vilified author in the country, whose critics have already ensured he is the most read English novelist in the country, with over a million copies in circulation. The nation is divided on whether he is a good author or not, but numbers don’t lie. Many of his novels have been scripted into biggest blockbusters hindi cinema has ever seen, notable of the lot being “3 idiots”. His works may not set the literary Thames on fire, but sure are unrivalled time pass reads. Right from the title, he has a template which he repeats to successful effect in most of his novels. The title will always carry some numeral, whether it is forced or even remotely related to the story. There will be a “fatso” guy so fond of eating and Punjabi parents. South Indians will mostly be negative or prudes at best and somehow...

The two acronyms that govern almost every modern relationship. Fear of Losing out and Fear of missing out. I was introduced to these as the millennial lingo by our CHRO just to point out how she is tune with times and how much we weren’t. Showing off apart, it made me realize how true these words, depict the present day scenario of relationships. When communication tools were luxury, letters did the deed, where people have to actually take effort in pouring their heart out, but well within the confines of the stickable area. Those confident enough of their content, used post cards. But neither were easy on the hand and depended a lot on various parameters, handwriting being the least of them. With landline phones, it got extended a bit and with mobile phones, the virtual presence got as assured as the signal strength offered by the provider. With more and more tools and means that encouraged closer and continuous communicable means, the more are the fear of missing out. People have bec...

For a short while, didn’t had much of book recommendations or shares happening and began to re-read some of the old ones. Dan Brown is one author, I often go back to in case of boredom. I may have strong opinion on his content, especially the way he leads people on wild goose chase, full of thrilling reveals, only to end it as a damp squib, but one thrill of a ride nevertheless. When I first read Inferno, I felt so bored that it didn’t feel like typical Dan Brown book at all. After hop-skip-jumping across pages during the first try, it felt ghost written at best. When you are awake at 3 AM in the morning, with limited choice of reading material, Inferno didn’t feel half as bad.  As mentioned on the review before, the book definitely competes with Travel advisor – Venice, Florence. It details about galleries and locations across those two cities like never before and in detail that wouldn’t even be found on history books. Brown must have spent quite a lot of time across these two ci...

Finally the series comes to an end which started with “7 deadly wonders”. Like Chetan Baghat novels, which always have a numeral in its name, the Jack West Jr series of Reilley make it easier for the readers with the chronological arrangement by their naming conventions. I actually started with “Six sacred stones” the second book of the series and has been following this series since last 10 plus years. On the way to Mumbai from Chennai had stumbled upon this book on a HigginBothams and the 2.5 hour flight went faster than usual with its company. I was given the “Five great warriors” as a birthday gift by G3 (I guess), a blog mate who is no longer in the blogspace. The entire series can actually split into 2 quests with 7th, 6th and 5th of the series dedicated to saving the earth from Dark sun, while from 4th onwards till the last one, it is about saving the entire universe from an Omega event, by activating a machine, spread across several cities and the entire world. Almost 90% of ea...

I’ve typed several versions of this post and had deleted every single one of them without posting. At times, pouring out the thought on a note and deleting them after re-reading them, gives a cathartic effect. It feels like shouting into the wind that no one else can hear. But this space being my virtual residence for almost 17 years now(!!!) has tracked many of my of my pheelings and mokkais in its unfurnished naked form of truth. Unknowingly I’ve created a repository of what I underwent enough to worth a mention as a blog post in the past to have a measure of how I am today. Sadly I couldn’t find much of a change in my thought process, but at least I’ve the data points to crib and maybe improve as well. I am still scared of the unknowns and the more scarier the scenario the more angrier I get, often lashing out at unassuming coparticipants in my life, who used to have no clue on my mood, but off late have got accustomed to the patterns.  I still struggle in accepting the fact, th...