What I did while I was gone!

As some of the regular readers of the blog may have noticed, I have been conspicuous by my absence. The blog remained abandoned for longer than is usual, and it was an unplanned hiatus.
I was dealing with so much in life, I never realized how time passed by.

Today, as I write this post, I have no words to describe how liberating and cathartic it is to publish a post finally after so long.

Here's what I was doing in these couple months that I was away, because, dear readers, i owe it to you:

1. Starting a venture of my own:

Yes! I am still in college and I began with a venture of my own. I started the first Indian and International chapter of Spoon University. Do check out the awesome content my team is creating there. It has been a helluva roller-coaster.

2. College society:
I was busy doing all sorts of stuff at college where I head the Women's Development Cell & am a part of the union. We had an action-packed month with a plethora of events. The space here is too short for listing 'em all.

3. Studying
of course, whenever I could, I managed some time from all this for studying the hitherto neglected notes- I liked reading them too, but alas, I had mismanaged priorities. I may have flunked one of my mid-semester exams.

4. Feeling sad
Yes, I have felt sad more times than I can count, and for more reasons than can ever justify all this. Battled several emotional ups-and-downs (read: non-clinical depression), and physical injuries (still am), which was intermittently overridden by my guilt at neglecting this blog.

But now, I have recuperated, and I promise to make this place more happening than ever!

Cheers

Book Review: Chestnuts by Gilbert Ohanian

About the book:

s there a bully in your life that you don't know how to deal with? I had one too. It prompted me to write 'Chestnuts: A True Story About Being Bullied, ' a book outlining practical strategies for defending against bullies and resolving the conflict and aggression that often plagues victims of bullying. Inside these pages, I will take you through my own harrowing journey with bullies - from boarding school beat-ups, to violent attacks from crazed skinheads on the streets of London, to bullies in public school in America. In each chapter a reflection of my personal story will show you what I did wrong, and how you can actually defend yourself in this modern day and age. Find out: * How bullying is perceived by bullies, victims, parents and teachers * What goes on in the mind of a bully, and what you can do about it * How authority figures often make bullying even worse * The steps you can take to defend yourself, find help and heal from the trauma In 'Chestnuts: A True Story About Being Bullied, ' you will find out how to deal with psychological, emotional and physical bullying - and even what to do when one of your teachers is being a bully. Get this book now, and empower yourself to stand against the tyranny that oppresses you!

Paperback, 156 pages

Published August 2nd 2014 by CreateSpace

About the author:

Gilbert Ohanian was born in Iran and educated in England.  He loved nearly everything about England, but his experience as a school boy there was marred by persistent bullying.  He was born with a hearing impairment, and as a polite, book-loving child he was seen as an easy mark by bullies.

My Review:

The author, through the act of recounting his own experiences as a child, bring all aspects of bullying to the forefront. He extensively talks about the evil of bullying and the irreparable damage it has the potential to cause. 

Well, first and foremost, I think that this kind of awareness and knowledge is very crucial for the kinds of environments that we are living in, given the increasingly aggressive behaviour of ids these days and their reluctance to comply with rules.

Cyber-bullying, verbal abuse have become so pervasive with the changing situations, and it has never been more difficult to penetrate a child's mind. This in turn makes this evil hard to conquer and counter. That said, we have other prevalent forms of bullying, say, at workplace.

This is one issue that has a gigantic bearing on one's emotional well-being, and yet remains ignored over other things. 

It is the responsibility of each one of us to curb this menace: we all either have been, or are, or might be in the future: a bully, his entourage the victim or a spectator to bullying. The onus of its elimination lies on each one of us: and who can be better to start this awareness but a victim himself?

The author recounts his own traumatic experiences, and one can say that even if the kind of bullying we witnessed wasn't this harsh, it certainly had all its ill-effects even in the milder manifestations.

Now, this book's take on the issue is quite comprehensive, with a peek into the minds of both the bully and the survivor, as well as the spectators. And, personally, I opine, that reading this book is anyday better than reading some  gossip magazine. 

Since, the book covers all stages, possibilities, parties and scenarios of bullying, it might get repetitive, but then for a non-fiction book with a lesson, I don't think it can get any better.

Chestnuts has a symbolic meaning, and Gilbert Ohanian has traced his experiences to suit the chapters.

The points raised are very crucial: Do the penal provisions set down by authorities prove worth the pain or do these just increase the excitement of the work if the bully escapes unscathed? How does one find out the intensity of bullying in a situation? We see, even the authority figures are in a fix. And this is bad news, because these bullies becomes serious offenders when they grow up(sadists, barbaric law-offenders)

The best part of the book is that it attempts to provide directors and guidelines for instance for the parents to gauge the symptoms in their ward, or for the victim to handle the situation to nip it in the bud. There are so many more facets of it: more often than not, it starts off as something harmless. 

However, this story is a work-in-progress, and I think this endeavour is best effective when we have follow-up discussions on the same.

Judgement:

The world is not as safe as it used to be. And, this has come in just at the right time. Everyone must read this for the larger good.

I thank the author for sending me a review copy in exchange of an honest review.

Links:

>

Book Review: Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography

This book and this man need no introduction, so I'll just get straight to the review.

My Review:

I have always been a fan of Choose-your-own books, because the idea is very liberating- it combines all the goods of an entertaining read, while eliminates all the frustrations of when the protagonist doesn't listen to us.

But to craft a memoir around this format was to be an arduous task. It was supposed to take so much effort that the author should have drained himself of his energy reserves. But Neil Patrick Harris- the true and sincere performer that he is- outperforms all writers of this format, he outshines, and not just because of who he is, but because of what he does- or rather lets the reader do.

He does the best thing for his readers: gives them the freedom to choose- from the culinary desires to life choices- and never once does he fail to entertain!

I read the book in snippets and parts, which may have been responsible for making me a little lost on the plot front, but this book still goes highly recommended from me.

Author Spotlight and Interview: Virendra Desai

Read our review of the book here.

Interview:

Ques: What inspired you to pen down such a different book: that of the courageous stories of ordinary women?

Ans: Well, I was out on a expensive shopping trip with my girlfriend (which I had gifted her). While she and her friends were in the trial room (which, usually takes around eternity!), I had nothing else to do rather than guessing the bill. There I saw a lady, old, may be 50, wrinkles on her face guarding the ladies changing room, she was the lady security guard there, for keeping an eye on number of clothes women take inside. I had a very strong urge to go up to her and talk! I spoke to her for five minutes, and my life took a different turn. She was 51, wearing a pant, shirt and a cap, working as a security guard. Her husband was disabled, her two boys were studying engineering, and she alone earned and provided food, shelter to the family,and education to her kids. I was taken aback by the lady's determination! I asked her, how much did she earn? The reply baffled me! Her one month's salary was my one month's petrol bill. In those five minutes she poured her heart out. I walked away with heavy heart and decided that no matter what, I would write a book, which would contain this lady's and many other inspirational stories of struggle and optimism. This way the idea emerged. I went and interviewed 7 different women, ranging from Manager of a multinational bank, to a lady security guard outside the ladies changing room in a shopping mall.

Ques: How did you choose the title of the book, considering I have been curious over how someone came up with such a simple, yet symbolic title?

Ans: The title is very symbolic Kritika. Whether she is my mother, your mother or anybody's mother; you yourself, or in that case any lady in the entire world- I truly believe that, every woman's life on this planet earth is like a poetry. Hence the title! Just like the concept, it popped up in my head one fateful day.

Ques:  How was the experience of writing a book, and seeing it get published?

Ans: I self published the book. The writing experience was life altering. The passion I felt was like never before. All the women in the book took me to the flashback in their lives, and believe me Kritika, I was awe-inspired. I was a layman in the publishing industry, hence in order to get published I had to do a lot of research. I tried pitching the book to some big publishers, but nothing fruitful happened. So, for a concept of this magnitude, I had to take the chance and self publish. I created checkpoints- like obtaining ISBN numbers for my company, designing a cover and the bookmarks, finding the cheapest printing option - almost at par with the rate at which big publishers print; and many more tasks involved with bringing the book to reality. Finally on 25th August 2014, the book saw the light of the day for the first time.

Ques: 4. What can we expect next?

Ans: Currently I am working on part-2 of the book "The Poetry Of A Common Indian Female: Real Indian Women, Real Stories of Hope and Optimism!". The second part will contain '11' real inspirational stories of common Indian women. Who knows, I might write a book about women with no nationality barrier! I would love to do that. Because I truly believe that every woman on this planet earth is special, and worthy of being an Inspiration to billions!

Thank you for the questions Kritika. It was wonderful answering them.

Find the book/author here:

Official website

Book Review: 32 Seconds by Johanna K. Pitcairn

About the book

To the average onlooker, the city of Los Angeles represents glitz, glamour, and the celebrity lifestyle. But to seventeen-year-old Julie Jones, the city is a vast host of problems she’s longing to get away from. The latest? An unfortunate disagreement with her ex-boyfriend Mark—one that could land her in some serious hot water.

So rather than face the troubles that torment her, Julie decides to run away from her old life and start fresh somewhere new. But her parents aren’t on board with the plan, and she soon finds her bank accounts frozen and her wallet empty.

With just seventy-five dollars and a full tank of gas, the troubled teen is far too stubborn to turn around and head home. So what’s a girl to do?

What Julie doesn’t know is that her travels are about to take her somewhere unexpected—a place where she’ll be forced to come face to face with the ghosts of her past in order to secure her future.

A tale of redemption, hope, and freedom lost and found, 32 Seconds is a thought-provoking exploration into the human spirit and the nature of forgiveness.

About the author:

Johanna K. Pitcairn has dreamed of becoming a writer since childhood--authoring her first novel at the age of nine, and countless poems, stories, and screenplays by the age of seventeen. Later, rather than pursuing a career as a director and screenwriter, she decided to go to law school, driven by her father's opinion that "writing does not pay the bills."

Ten years later, she moved to New York City, which inspired her to go back to the excitement, wonder, and constant change of being a writer. Pitcairn is a huge fan of psychological-thriller novels and movies, and delves into her hopes, fears, friends, enemies, and everything in between in her own writing.

Contact the Author:

Website I Blog I Facebook I Twitter I Goodreads I The Independent Author Network 

Tour Schedule

My review:

When the story began, I figured it must be a category of YA novels tracing the life of a crass, rich, spoilt girl. I couldn't have been more wrong, for soon enough (read: two chapters later), the story was on a track entirely contrasting and different from what I had initially anticipated. And the contrast was a good one. With symbolic meanings and a parallelism throughout, the author has brought out a refreshing narration and story form. here's a cue: Julie is in her own brain. And she tries to figure out and make sense of, when she became the insensitive, indifferent and merciless moron that she had become.

I especially like how the author has described the problems of youth, teenage, the mess and confusion that life becomes. All the thoughts that cross a teenager's mind are there in black and white, in their bare and unaltered form.
"I didn't like people staring at me, especially when they thought they knew who I was." 

Silently but powerfully, memories play an indispensable role in the whole story. They overwhelm us, they empower us, they weaken us, they abandon us, we wipe them off, we try to stick to them, it is as if all paradoxes are associated with them, all at once.
I opine that if a book is able to surprise you and bring in a suspense to keep you hooked, then a lot of thought has gone into its writing. This one scored brownie points just because of that!
Also, unlike other books I have been reading of late, this one is embellished with literary pleasures, and ultimately the pleasures of reading. It has a lot of dialogues, thoughts and monologues expressed in a way that enables us to extract more to contemplate than just the plot. Which is what I like the most in any book. Consider this, "My guts twisted in knots a well-seasoned sailor couldn't disentangle"

My Judgement:

I definitely recommend this book to readers who'd love to read to keep a memory of having read it1

Book links:

This book review is a part of b00k r3vi3w Tours.

Book Review: Love, Latte and Mutants by Sandra Cox

About the book:

Finding love is hard, even when you are a mutant.
Like most seventeen-year-olds, Piper Dunn wants to blend in with the crowd. Having a blowhole is a definite handicap. A product of a lab-engineered mother with dolphin DNA, Piper spends her school days hiding her brilliant ocean-colored eyes and sea siren voice behind baggy clothing and ugly glasses. When Tyler, the new boy in school, zeroes in on her, ignoring every other girl vying for his attention, no one, including Piper, understands why...

Then Piper is captured on one of her secret missions rescuing endangered sea creatures and ends up in the same test center where her mother was engineered. There she discovers she isn€™t the only one of her kind. Joel is someone she doesn€t have to hide from, and she finds herself drawn to the dolph-boy who shares her secrets. Talking to him is almost as easy as escaping from the lab. Deciding which boy has captured her heart is another story...


Author website: http://sandracox1.com/


My Review:

The story is meant to make you fall in love with it. Tyler is the ultimate male protagonist every fangirl will obsess about. These are the kind of YA book series we all wish to read every day. So, here's the deal. The female protagonist of our story is Piper, a dolph girl. And at school, she tries to keep a low profile to keep her secret a secret. But as luck would have it, keeping company with Holly and Tyler, the popular twins, defeats her purpose. And she lets go, because, well, Tyler is someone you'd do that for. Her character is the one that drives the whole plot, and that is delightful for YA readers. She has a family history, she has a secret, she is the one Tyler is chasing, she is the one who will decide how this story twists. Her attempts at keeping a low profile, like wearing oversized clothes and donning nerdy glasses, multiplied how adorable and endearing she was to us.

At one juncture, the story takes a turn and frankly, had it not turned bak to where this all had started, i would have been heart-broken.
There is an element of hilarity as well. Although why anyone with a name like Edgar should be arrogant is beyond me. Even this Edgar guy, the character is so well-etched, underneath his social facade of arrogance is meanness and cruelty, and that goes on to point how shitty High school can get.
The story never got boring, and I liked it the way I like reading Jenny Han.
I am definitely looking forward to the next in the series, and hoping it has more of latte.

This book was received from Net Galley for review.

Author Spotlight and Interview: Shikha Kumar

The author joins us for an interview. Here we go!
To check our review of her debut book, read this.
Interview:

1. Congratulations on getting published. When did you decide that you'd pen down a book?

SK: Well, honestly I decided to write because I believed I had stories to tell. Writing for some reason came natural to me despite of having any formal training or education in Literature. But then not just me, there many such aberrations in publishing world. So one fine day, dream shaped up into determination and rest what followed was course of action.


2. How did you manage to get time out from your professional demands to engage in the solitary pursuit of writing?

SK: We all have an alter-ego which we at times even keep away from the world with fear of being mocked up. But I decided to embark an journey in unknown terrain with just one funda “I have nothing to lose”. Time management was certainly a challenge, but when the self-drive is so insanely lethal I think even odds starts working in your favor.

3. The novel is an easy read, yet with twists and turns, ending predictably as all love stories go. Was writing this genre your desire?

SK: Well, happy ending could be predictable but how they reached there is the USP of the story. Easy read was intentional as I wanted my story to reach all age-groups. I didn’t write to flaunt my vocabulary, I get enough opportunity at work. Yes, writing Romance was my absolute choice because unfortunately despite being most crowded Indian genre it has nothing new to offer. I feel very satisfied when I’m congratulated for my strong story and true-to-life characters.

4. Is any character inspired from real life, Kunal and Shreya are so real, we cannot help but believe that they have indeed been an alteration of some real persons!

SK: Let me put it this way, they are absolutely fictitious but they have a traits familiar to each one of us. The anguish, stubbornness, co-exists in us with unshakable belief in love and unceasing desire to work towards happy-ending.

5. You have been immensely involved in the promotion of your book on social media platforms too. What do think defines a book's success today?

SK: I very strongly believe that marketing plays a very crucial role in not only success of the books but also in author's identity amongst readers and inside publishing world. I patiently waited a month to hear early reviews; it was when I heard encouraging response of my book I thought my horse is a safe-bet. Then it was no looking back and I’m leaving no stone unturned to reach readers. Rest every book does take it due time. I can only do my best, which I will better than best of capabilities.

Author website:

Book links:

Book Review: He fixed the match, she fixed him by Shikha

About the book

Shreya – I'm a highly qualified Delhi girl earning an enviable salary. My parents are having a tough time finding a suitable groom for me. However, recently they have a proposal from this very interesting guy from Mumbai. I almost get mesmerized when he starts talking to me. I think I like him very much. Kunal – I'm owner of a textile company in Mumbai. My Mom wants me to get married. Again. She has recently suggested a suitable girl from Delhi. What my Mom doesn't know is that I've met Shreya before once in my life and I've been looking for her ever since. I have a vendetta to settle. The author takes you along on a journey via roads of revenge, agony, remorse, attraction, titillation, tantalization and romance. Do Shreya and Kunal make it, or do they fall prey to their past?
Paperback: 292 pages
Publisher: Vitasta Publishing Pvt.Ltd; 1St Edition edition (1 November 2014)
Language: English

About the author:

Shikha Kumar has a B-Tech degree in Computer Science from Bharati Vidyapeeth, Delhi. Professionally she’s as a Manager with Tata Consultancy Services. She has travelled to, and worked in different countries. She enjoys travelling, reading, writing and watching movies. This is her first attempt to present her writing abilities to the world.

 Home Town - Delhi, India

Official author website: 

My review:

I will begin with the best thing about this book: despite being a complete love story, this is a fresh plot, unlike the stale, overused plots of hatred-turns-into-love sequence of events. While this may come as a surprise considering the plot lays down this story only, the difference lies in the fact that here both the protagonists had a legitimate reason for hating each other to death. The author uses the element of surprise very well. Until the plot twisted into the love-hate story that it is, I couldn't even imagine that the simple plot will metamorphose into something so wicked, crooked and full of revenge. I liked the characters too! They were throughout just as they had been described initially.

I had feared that the vendetta settlement might get ugly, thankfully it didn't. The author has kept it a light-read, and Here i would mention how the Indian scene would benefit from such god quality chic-lit.
Having read the whole boo, I now find humour in the opening line: It's advisable to be careful about what you wish for; a cold breeze could be tornado approaching.
The cover and the title are so full of flavor and mischief, I adore these.
More on the characters: etched very carefully, they are diverse personalities with a past. the story proceeds over how their pasts intersected and landed them to the present. Both of them are broken, possessed by revenge in varying degrees, and professionally sound. Marriage seems to be the only thing offering them some solace, to mend their broken souls. Real life, as it turns out is different. the marriage that was supposed to be a panacea becomes the latest challenge in their lives. I especially loved those scenes and sequences where the families and parents were involved. For a refreshing change, the parents were not intrusive in a way that hampers or negates the love, rather propelled it.
Obviously, it had a cliched ending, but then, don't all love stories do?

Only one thing I found awkward was the forceful mention of one of the brands, time and again. While I am all for sponsorship and marketing, I am still to rethink on my idea of promoting brands for the sake of promoting them in a book! While this was done seamlessly in two cases, one of them was very misplaced.

My Judgement:

A fun, light-read, with all the idiosyncrasies of the Indian society, and love at its best, this is worth a read.

Author website:

Book links:

All images and information sourced from goodreads and/or author website

Book Review: The Poetry of a common Indian Female By Virendra Narayan Desai

About the book

Whether a manager of a multinational bank or a lady security guard outside the ladies changing room in any shopping mall- A common Indian woman (in that case, any nationality!) fights all the circumstances with head on attitude! They can go to any limit for looking after their children and family. Fate only gives them one option- FIGHT! They fought, fought hard and finally conquered the destiny. Why? - Well, some of them, just to feed their children, and some of them to defy the barriers that were put upon them. As they say - Winners have scars! All the ladies in this book are winners and they do have scars! Want to know, how did they get it? and still came out victorious with a bright and a dazzling smile? Welcome to 'The Poetry of a Common Indian Female'. Come along and witness these truly spectacular, motivational stories of Common Indian Females, which would warm your heart. Witness these women as they fight; and re-live their stories! 

About the Author:

Virendra Narayan Desai is an Indian author. Born in Mumbai, India, Virendra obtained his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science & Engineering from the Shivaji University, Kolhapur. He is equally interested in, both from the smallest of atoms to the biggest of stars. This is his first book and plans to write many more (in short, always!)

He is currently based in Mumbai and is working on his second novel.

Author Website- www.virendradesai.com 

My review:

The book is a very different approach to narration of stories. While we read the success stories of famous people, we feel a trickle of inspiration. But this book is a one of its kind, for it tells the stories which inspire to the core. They are common women like the readers, and what has set them apart from others is the fact that they have been warriors.

No wonder three cheers go for the intention and motivation behind the writing of this book.

However, the book is not a package. Somehow it lacks the expression to elicit the kind of response and empathy and praise that such a work should. The narration does appreciate the struggles of the women mentioned in each chapter, but it doesn't appeal at once. Somewhere the usage of words and expression phrases go awry. Some stories looked more awe-inspiring than others, which should not have been the case. 

I especially liked how the narrator built a rapport with some ladies in the book. But there was still scope for improvement as far as reading pleasure and bibliophilic utility was concerned.

My Judgement:

Not the best literary piece, but certainly the best humanitarian piece out there. A one time read.

Book Links:

All images and information sourced from goodreads.