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Book Review: Agraharam by Malli Athreya

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Agraharam by Malli Athreya Available in Kindle edition While preparing for her MCAT exams and envisioning a future for herself in California, Ananya becomes a recipient of a traditional ancestral house situated in an Agraharam ( a residential colony/street centred around a temple in South Indian villages). The house comes with a mandatory clause that Ananya has to stay there atleast for a period of one year. Ananya comes to the Agraharam and realises that it's a whole new yet timeless world unto itself. She finds herself the object of everyone's attention, both positive and negative. Before long, she realises that there is only one way to live in peace there - to be seen, in the right way, at the right place amongst the right people. My parents live in an Agraharam and I visit the place every year. So I could very well relate to the scenes narrated in the story. The Agraharam comes to life with its timeless folklore, the gossip, the houses that seemingly have no boundaries and ...
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Book Review - The Smiling Dog Cafe by Neil Plakcy

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The Smiling Dog Cafe by Neil Plakcy This book features two novellas based on different characters. Code of Silence: Jeff's mother would often say that bad news always comes in threes. It turns prophetic when Jeff's girlfriend dumps him, he loses his job and the building where his house used to be, gets damaged and he needs to relocate instantly. Caught in the trauma of his past and the failures of the present, Jeff finds himself being led to a cafe named The Smiling Dog Cafe, by none other than a dog that seems to communicate to him that he needs to visit the cafe as soon as possible. Jeff visits the cafe one fateful day and faces everything that he didn't even know he had been avoiding. A Mother's Heart 'We inherit a lot from our mothers and not everything is good.' - Betty, the owner of The Smiling Dog Cafe. Having seen her mother suffer from a heart ailment which is genetic, Sophia has only managed to accept her own heart condition and learn to live with it. ...
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Book Review: Dear Son by Col JS Maan

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This book is a collection of 21 letters that the Col wrote for his son. Letters because, the Col says (rightly) that it is not always easy for fathers to converse with their sons. Hence he decided to write down everything that he wanted to share with his son. The letters talk about the Col's early days and his struggles and the life lessons he learnt and wishes to impart to his son. As a millennial who has a teenaged son, I could very well relate to each and every letter. The Col's advice is not at all preachy. He has written the way it would appeal to teenagers - sharing life-lessons but giving the choice of direction and path to his son. The letters are simple yet deeply profound in their content. Many a times I came across a sentence that brought a lump to my throat. The Col has written from the PoV of a millennial - born in one generation, raised in another and now living in a totally new world. His fears regarding the world that his son is living in now are the fears that ...
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Book Review: Point Blank by Logan Ryles

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Point Blank by Logan Ryles When a personal tragedy shatters his world, Army Veteran Mason Sharpe heads off to North Carolina to find a release from his suffering. Only, he comes across a body at the sea shore. The fact that he is new to the town and is the one to find the body, directly puts him into the police's list of suspects. But the police ultimately brush off the case as a suicidal drowning. But Mason observes some things that make him question the suicide angle to the case. The police's lax attitude doesn't exactly help matters. The handful of good people that Mason comes across in the town motivate him to solve the case. But things aren't what they seem to be! I have been wanting to expand my reading to different genres. I have been stuck up on the same one since quite a while. Hence I opted for a good old-fashioned Action narrative. The story moves at the perfect pace - neither too fast nor too slow but enough to keep our attention booked on to it. All the ch...
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Book Review: Mysteries, Mountains and Mythology by Supriya Bansal

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Uttarakhand, with its majestic and timeless mountains, beautiful valleys and Himalayan glacial rivers has a rich folklore of legends and stories that are still passed down from one generation to another.  In this book, Supriya has presented a re-telling of the stories in her unique way, adding lots of mysticism and poignancy to the same. Be it the princess unable to refuse the call of the forest, or the queen who gave birth to a mortar and pestle, be it the forest sprites that ask for honoring promises, or protective crows - every story takes the readers back to a time when Uttarakhand's bountiful nature must have inspired the earliest artists, poets and story-tellers.  The narrative is beautiful, bringing the images to life. The characters are unforgettable and leave a lasting impact. Supriya is a wonderful narrator, weaving beautiful trapestries of emotions and images in her stories and leaving the readers spellbound. Magic, romance, mystery, thrill - there is a story for ev...
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Book Review - Thinking of Winter by Shantanu Naidu

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Thinking of Winter by Shantanu Naidu While studying in Ithaca, Shantanu adopted a puppy. He named him Winter. And life was never the same again for the human and the pet. In this book, Shantanu takes us on a beautiful trip down memory lane, showing us glimpses of his early days with Winter. The efforts of the puppy to stuff himself into every little gap he could find in the room, the potty-training days, hiding the puppy's existence (because the complex where Shantanu lived had a no-pets rule), the guilt of leaving the puppy behind while Shantanu left for the university, the happiness of re-uniting with him at the end of the day - Shantanu has woven a beautiful tapestry of memories and images through his nostalgic narrative. Talking about narrative, this book feels like a monologue by Shantanu. A gripping, engaging monologue that holds your attention and doesn't let it waver anywhere. He has been at his candid best here, sharing moments of self-doubts, guilt, despair and sheer ...
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Book Review - Expressions and Impressions by Shashikala Gadepally

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Expressions and Impressions by Shashikala Gadepally This book is a collection of 33 short and beautiful poems based on various concepts such as women empowerment, breaking free from bondage, motivation and many other topics. The poems have been written beautifully and convey their message in a deep and profound way. They strike where it hurts the most. Take for instance these lines - 'What if her presence is ignored? Her due is denied! The legion shall rise again and again to flaunt the cosmic energy that she perpetuates.' There is this poem titled The Mirror that is based on a delightfully misunderstood situation between a mother and a daughter. There is a beautiful poem based on Ram Setu that describes its significance in these poignant lines - 'Its silence, a reminder of the yearning to meet, it's eloquence a gesture to unite, bridging the gap, bringing together not just two human beings but cultures, civilizations, values and relations.' Shashikala is an excelle...
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