Review: The Midnight Library

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hooter: A library you land up at between life and death filled with infinite books each with a path your life could have taken.

The book 2020 deserves I feel. Matt Haig checks the boxes on a number of fronts to make this a good read and a commercial success - relatable characters, imaginable real life regrets, wishful dreams of how life could have been , life long learning/advice all of this wrapped up as a present using the ribbon of metaphorical fantasy in simple written style.

“Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices… Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?”

The protagonist Nora has yet another terrible day - one too many for having the will to live [Trigger warning: suicidal tendencies] landing in this library with infinite books and her school librarian Mrs. Elm to help her make sense of it all. Borrowing a bit from quantum physics as she soon starts to make sense of this library and the infinite possibilities which make for a whirlwind of stories ( reminds me of many masters, many lives by Dr. Brian Weiss ) as she bumps into familiar characters from another life. Since she is dropped into the alternate world, she literally needs to wing it to come up to speed with this new life and the people around and that peeling of fact after fact and the realisation that follows adds to the momentum of you thirsting to know of the what ifs.

The ending whilst predictable (I will not put out spoilers) is something you look forward to wrapping the book up with. The smattering of life lessons that Nora learns through her journey hit hard on the reality we find ourselves in.

I'd give this a 4.5 because you don't want to hold too many high expectations from this book and be disappointed. It's a great way to wind up 2020 for sure.

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Review: Open

Open by Andre Agassi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: The few ups and a lot of downs of his career through his eyes - a relatively honest and realistic take that doesn't try to airbrush himself into perfection.

If Andre Agassi's life was an iceberg, his successes were just the tip of the iceberg and failures didn't meet the eye. That realistic take was a refreshing read as he jumped from frying pan to frying pan , he called them the same and tried to persevere through them. The fact that he hates tennis and was living everyone else's dream makes for a hard hitting insight and how that plays out through his life. It also helps explain the rebel streak he was known for early on in his career and how he was not media's darling. He opens up on all his relationships - dad, brother, best friend, ex-wife and so on keeping everyone in positive light. It's interesting how he adds colour to all the brand names we know in tennis and sharing his interactions with them on and off the court especially in the locker room before a game and right after.

The writing style takes you to the moment sitting in the court at each of the grand slams seeing Agassi lose out more often than not, often driven by his mental thought process than any skill or technical prowess shown by the opposition. He clearly didn't make the most of his talent we know but this book opens up to his background and thought process and explains a lot about why he never really claimed his full potential except for the last streak which is often considered as the final hoorah a flame goes through before getting extinguished. A lot he does is driven by the importance he lays to family and friends like family.

A refreshing take on a celebrity's life with an honest acknowledgement of the failures with the fleeting highs of successes and a peak into the facade that the rich and famous tend to put out because they are expected to. His ghostwriter has done a wonderful job and this is one of the best sports biographies I have read.

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Review: Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth

Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth by Apostolos Doxiadis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Graphic novel following the history of the quest of pure unadulterated logic through the eyes of Bertrand Russell.

A very nicely done light take on a heavy academic topic as we navigate the various schools of thought on logic and its flirtations with mathematics and all the power players around it specifically through a fictionalized representation of Bertrand Russel's thought process. The book captures history, philosophy and biography and tackling the struggle of the thin line between genius and madness ( similar to the Netflix show Queen's Gambit)

Another variation is the narrative style as the authors and illustrators grapple with how to present the story and intersperse the main story track with their discussions and "logic" of going down a path.

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Review: Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient And The Past Life Therapy That Changed Both of Their Lives

Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient And The Past Life Therapy That Changed Both of Their Lives by Brian L. Weiss
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: A true story of a counseling session of hypnosis opening up the portal to the spiritual realm of reincarnations.

A bit confused on how to put down the review here. There is the concept of hypnosis and counseling that opened up the realm of reincarnation for an erudite professional which helped heal a patient. Totally blown away with that as a concept and the touch points with masters and spiritual gateways. Recommended by a good friend to check it out part of a conversation on the topic, the idealist me has always believed in this concept because it can be romanticized by those with creative leanings. The eye opener was the potential scars of today lasting from previous lifetimes and the conscious being since DNA can't survive through. Makes for a great fantasy but if he is trying to sell it from the scientific lens, he doesn't even try hard from that aspect. Most of the book focuses on Dr. Weiss and his thoughts even if it could have been about Caroline's mental state.

Dr. Brian Weiss might be a great psychiatrist but not a good writer as per this book. As a piece of fantasy / fiction, Caroline jumping from lifetime to lifetime makes for exciting premises and how she tries to relate to people across lifetimes make for interesting reading. After a while, It becomes all about Brian Weiss and the routine like Q&A he has with his leading questions and gets too monotonous a framework. I would have loved the book more if I could hear out Caroline's experience of this entire journey and more scientific approach to give it the credibility it was looking for. Else as a fictional piece, the concept was a sure shot best seller.

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Review: Tharoorosaurus

Tharoorosaurus by Shashi Tharoor
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Hooter: Collection of 53 obscure and not so obscure words curated by Shashi Tharoor

This is Shashi Tharoor flexing his brand image as a man of big words especially as obscure as they can get. Quite a few aren't so obscure courtesy him having made them trend on Twitter. The selection of words have been done so to keep current trends and relevance to the Indian English market so probably why you'd have seen / read them. This book could have been a listicle would be my feedback.

Not all have interesting origins which I was hoping for hence making it as humdrum an exercise like reading a telephone directory back to back and most examples of negative usage were in-your-face political jibes at a specific political opponent/ideology.

This book probably works well as a fun gift during Secret Santa but I'd say someone get a listicle up and we are sorted here.

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Review: 1Q84

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: In Japan, an Assassin and a writer are coming to terms with their shifted reality in 1984, terming it as 1Q84 as their lives are seemingly parallel lines which are bound to intersect thanks to a super secret religious commune coming into the mix.

This trilogy needs to be read in one shot as it is a continuation and can't be read stand alone. Cat town and 1Q84 comes to a conclusion with this third book. Murakami springs in a new POV with a lot of focus and to be honest, I wouldnt have minded a spin off with him being a detective because he logically does break it down and draw to the same conclusions we the readers were hinted to through out the storyline so would do a brilliant job at deducing probably not in 1Q84 but maybe in 1984 somewhere.

I missed Fuka-eri ! Her randomness was refreshing even for a Murakami book , instead we had a long drawn out waiting game Bollywood style will the hero and heroine meet or will there be a tragic ending a la Murakami style. Without getting into spoilers because the suspense adds a mild flavour to book 3 which was set up so well with books 1 and 2.

There is nothing Orwellian 1984 about it as Book 1 had hinted at nor is there much about the secret religious organization that Book 2 hinted at but gets a lot more philosophical and completely different theme. I know see how a trilogy made sense because what Murakami has served up is a 3 course meal - none of the courses alone would have whetted your appetite but together, they complete each other, though I would have liked a strong round of desserts to end a satisfying meal.

A lot of threads are closed, a lot more left open for more air chrysallis to be made I guess in this imaginary make believe world and the premise that Murakami set up had a lot more to offer than what he did. Hence I give a 3 for this edition of the book just because my expectations had been set much more higher. As Tengo defines reality - when you prick someone and there is blood, there is a lot left to understand the receiver and perceiver. The hint of sexism continues to be sprinkled all over this book too. Overall though, Murakami manages to connect you with Ponytail and Buzzcut ( them being identified by their physical appearances alone) , side characters to the main plot but get their appropriate air time too which I think has been Murakami's strength.

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Review: 1Q84

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: In Japan, an Assassin and a writer are coming to terms with their shifted reality in 1984, terming it as 1Q84 as their lives are seemingly parallel lines which are bound to intersect thanks to a super secret religious commune coming into the mix.

The second book in the trilogy picks up the pace after the character building exercise of the first book. It fast forwards through a lot of open threads of the religious militant commune and it's Great Leader as Aomame meets him on a secret mission to eliminate him thanks to the dowager. The great leader instead helps open up a lot of mysteries for her . In parallel, sitcking to the story progression in parallel chapters, Tengo our math teacher gets up to date with the story line thanks to Fuka Eri. The tension of these two eternal love birds and will they ever meet continues whilst the Little People get more exposure in this book. Their motives still unclear but their existence has been registered.

The first book focussed on building the environment, the second one has the protagonists coming to terms with it but still a lot more to be answered in the third one. As a lot of folks have rightly mentioned, you can't do these books alone and need to read the trilogy as one big book.

Murakami continues to follow a structure of his own with vivid descriptions, mundane details and a non-conforming story structure along with dialogues. He is mixing up fantasy with realism and drawing a very thin line amongst both. This isn't going down 1984 path which seemed to be the case after book 1 but building a whole new giant world of it's own.

What I have never quite understood is how lightly he treats rape especially underage ones even if as a concept in the book, he explains it isn't so. Dress it in whatever finery you want, underlying sexism is out there for all to see. I get from Book 1 the publisher talking about sex being a critical part of a bestseller and that Murakami draws from real life probably.

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Review: 1Q84

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: In Japan, an Assassin and a writer are coming to terms with their shifted reality in 1984, terming it as 1Q84 as they lives are seemingly parallel lines which are bound to intersect.

Murakami has a very non-linear thought process when describing everyday scenes making it a unique take on everyday stories whilst there is an air of mystery and fantasy that interlays with the reality making you wonder there could be an iota of truth to this unexplained phenomenon. You need to get through the trilogy because at the end of Book 1, you are heavily invested into the characters and the storyline but he literally adds an intermission like a movie that leaves you hanging no better than where you started off.

He follows the journey of two protagonists in alternate chapters keeping you refreshed and on your toes. One who seems to be an assassin and another a writer who will surely intersect at some point in the story. Murakami literally bares the soul of each of the protagonists as he shares their mundane lifestyles gingerly allowing us to really connect with them even when I highly doubt you'd ever meet such an individual in your life. Murakami is prone to adding sex and describing it in the weirdest manner across his book. There are a lot of interesting characters he has introduced so far and how he captures daily life in Japan provides an outsider like me a glimpse into the culture. Noticing oddness in the year, the protagonists decide to call the year 1984 as 1Q84 to mark the shift in reality they feel. Also references to George Orwell's 1984 , a religious sect, Little people as an allegory to Big Brother, there seems to an interesting premise building up.

As a stand alone book, you are only introduced to this world and will have to invest in the entire trilogy (or atleast so I hope) to get closure. Moving on to book 2 to piece this entire story together. Also the book is brandishly slow and big, so assume quite a bit of patience would be required to get through but well worth (or so I hope )

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Review: One Arranged Murder

One Arranged Murder by Chetan Bhagat
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: An Agatha Christie whodunnit with ample helpings of desi tadka.

Chetan Bhagat isn't a literary genius but he knows the pulse of the average Indian aspiring to be part of the English literature milieu. His books while sticking to simple English are always filled with relatable Indian places and concepts starting from his Five Point Someone. This makes his book fast and light reads - sort of like watching sitcoms on TV, you don't walk away with anything new but that was never the plan.

This is him trying his hand at whodunnit murder mysteries as a series focusing on Keshav and Saurabh, this time including Saurabh's fiance Prerna in the mix. Without giving much away if you are looking for a quick read on a lazy Saturday afternoon, you can go about sleuthing but like any Agatha Christie book, expect some twists and turns. I figured the culprit somewhere in the middle of the book, but only got the reason partially as CB threw a few more twists and turns to the mix. He does pretty well on this front and being an Agatha Christie fan, I feel he's done well for himself in attempting that genre. He's also made sure there is enough content for a Bollywood director to feel inspired and convert this onto the big screen with a joint family setting where everyone has a shady past and is suspect. Obviously there is a lot of drama added in the setting of locales around Delhi.

What I am completely clueless about though is the emphasis on weight of some of the characters in the book with repeated references. If he was trying to increase the humour quotient, totally backfired with these juvenile and regressive jokes. There are other ways to make the protagonist unlikeable if that was what he was trying to get at.

Overall, if you need a quick breezy mindless read while waiting for your flight at the airport, this is the book for you.





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Review: Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India

Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India by Amish Tripathi
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: A medieval Indian king fights against all odds to repel the invading forces.

First of all this is a group of ghost writers writing this book under Amish's guidance as per the foreword. Not quite clear what is each one's contribution there. But clearly not the magic Amish Tripathi had put in with his debut. I had no clue about Suheldev prior to this book so that was a great eye opener into Indian history which surprisingly never made it to our history textbooks. All through school always naively assumed Mughals were the only rulers in that time period. So identifying such stories is a great way to reclaim complete knowledge of the country's history.

That said, Amish Tripathi sticks to his formulaic writing hence the novelty has rubbed off from his initial series. Also feels like he is angling towards Bollywood script adaptation inspiration type of writing. Token representation from various faiths to symbolise a secular India fighting together against an invader implies a lot of random characters thrown in randomly to keep the story going. There also has to be a love interest. There are also a lot of modern day references like Gandhi's quotes, the current prevalent political climate and a forced LGBT angle to hopefully trend with the current affairs but not helping the storyline at all.

It's a light read with extremely simple English to cater to the wider population from a commercial perspective and it shows as you find similarities to Chetan Bhagat's style of writing. Am sure we will see a masala potboiler from Bollywood on this soon so you can decided whether you want to read this over a day or watch the same in 2 hour format.

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Review: Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies

Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: A deep dive into are we really prepared for when Artificial Intelligence does meet the standards our Hollywood counterparts have been showcasing to us in sci-fi genre

Nick takes extremely academic interest in asking numerous probing questions on are we as humankind really prepared for Superintelligence when it implodes/explodes. Reminds me of far reaching questions Asimov had made for robotics , Nick does a similar take with Artificial Intelligence.

What I loved was with each section, a follow up thought that I had was immediately answered in the next section implying Nick logically threaded the book and seemed logical progression for the end reader.

A lot of this is hypothetical because AI is still figuring out cats and dogs but when it does, just like the unfinished fable of the sparrows , will we be ready for it as a race. Also this topic was covered in an episode of Dr. Who when the robots are programmed to ensure there is happiness on the planet, they soon figure the source of unhappiness are humans and if there are no humans, there won't be any unhappiness. How do you program for such outcomes and what is consciousness and morality and how do you program for that or can you even?

The book doesn't have answers but leaves you with a lot of angles to think and ponder over. Finding solutions in these areas would be worthy of a research paper each and a sub domain / industry of their own in the Tech world as there are frontiers to overcome.

If you want to geek up on the problems of the future, this is a good book to get you into that zone of thinking but be prepared to be left with more questions than answers.

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Review: The Confidence Game: The Psychology of the Con and Why We Fall for It Every Time

The Confidence Game: The Psychology of the Con and Why We Fall for It Every Time by Maria Konnikova
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: An academic look at what traits are common to people who con.

If you ever watched the British TV series "Hustle" and wanted an academic look at that premise, you may like this book. I personally found it too academic for my interest as it reiterated the fact that "yes! we fall for the people who seem the most trustworthy and confident."

Maria deepdives into each scenario / process of conning as it involves building trust and then manipulating you in believing that you are doing everything of your accord and never once does the conner force you to take a decision but leaves you hanging and self doubting till you give in. She breaks it down chapter by chapter but gets confusing after a while with the examples being called back and not too much background on each. As a layman reader, this becomes a challenge to stay connected and hence felt very academic for me as a psychology treatise.

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Review: Gun Island

Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: The rare book dealer from New York tries to figure how a folklore in Sunderbans from 17th century is still playing out in the 21st century as he races across the globe.

A mix of folklore and traditions mixed with modern day issues of climate change and migration creates a hodge podge of topics we come across as each character adds their perspective and flavour. Whilst the historical parallels seemed to be the core of the storyline and kept me intrigued as how the fable of bandook saudagar ties back to Italy and opens up a fascinating chapter in history, I felt the modern day topics were forced fitted into the storyline - the LGBTQ angle, climate change, refugee crisis in Europe and a mix of mysticism and outlandish miracles which left me underwhelmed compared to the lovely depiction of the folklore. Manasadevi also is an angle he started with but left it hanging with a brush of spirituality and miracles.

Tipu makes for a very interesting character but we get to see him in sketches whereas Piya is left unexplored and gets more airtime as Deens love interest versus the colourful story she has had in her life. Cinta obviously adds a connect but her storyline seems like a distraction as I felt it didn't really go anywhere except for bring a supernatural angle to the book.

Amitav beautifully captures the vivid imagery draped in culture and tradition across the globe but tries to add those cheap frills to add modern day relevance that's leaves you a little wanting and underwhelmed.

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Review: The Panama Papers: Breaking the Story of How the Rich and Powerful Hide Their Money

The Panama Papers: Breaking the Story of How the Rich and Powerful Hide Their Money by Bastian Obermayer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: A case study on how the rich game the system illegally to keep their money .

One of the largest exposes in history so far, turning wikileaks pale in comparison are the Panama Papers. Authored by the key protagonists of the journalistic expose, this book fcouses on their thoughts as they went through these terabytes of data and tried to make sense of it all. The challenges of working with a global team of ICIJ reporters across the globe , dealing with so much data that they had to get a super computer setup to do simple searches - would be a lovely engineering problem to discuss and solve.

The book also focuses on the various names that cropped up and their backgrounds and connects to people of power across party lines sailing on the same boat. Though after a while you get bored - this creation of passion is an overkill for the regular reader because it gets into a format :

Rich person / Powerful person of Country X creates shell for money earned from Y and gets away scot free by dealing with these Panama based law firm Mossack and Fonseca and Compliance gives a blind eye.

This is a brilliant project that had worldwide implications along with the collaboration, this book tries to capture the breadth of it all and becomes a factual report with sprinkling of the drama that ensued. I am left with a lot more questions after reading the book than answers I had hoped to get.

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Review: Tintin and Alph-Art

Tintin and Alph-Art by Hergé
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Tintin - the Unfinished Adventure

This is not the book you want to start your Tintin journey with. It's not even complete for starters. But as a Tintinologist, this is a must read as it's the first look at the process through which Herge used to go to make his Tintin drafts. Filled with incomplete sketches, raw squibbles and scribbles that litter the landscape give you a front seat view of the thought process Herge was probably going through. As a collector's edition, this would sit pretty on your coffee table but if you are in here to read a story, I'd recommend 23 other Tintin titles that are worth your attention. The estate has translated the works for English readers to understand the dialogues on the original drafts.

This is that Behind the scenes documentary that never got made.

For me, this title adds closure as a Tintinologist finally finishing the series that has kept me engaged with rapt attention from the first time a 6 year old picked up Red Rackham's treasure from a roadside stall in the bylanes of Vashi, Navi Mumbai.


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Review: The Four Encounters

The Four Encounters by Osamu Tezuka
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: A graphic novel representation of the journey of Buddha with creative license

Heads up! this is 8 volumes so you can imagine the pace in each volume. Osamu is a genius in the graphic novel world of Japan and this retelling of a historical event is way out of his comfort zone. That said he makes it a fun read, like you are reading a comic book ( graphic novelists are seeing red with that term) as he tries to incorporate childish humour and pranks in a story that motivates and inspires people around the world. Siddhartha makes his presence in this volume and a lot of fictional events come into play as he comes face to face with reality his parents have been hiding from him.

This still deals with chronological timeline of Buddha but guess he will play around with philosophies going forward. I think how he gets creative with the storyline is what keeps me going with this series.

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Review: Buddha Volume 1: Kapilavastu

Buddha Volume 1: Kapilavastu by Osamu Tezuka
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: A graphic novel representation of the journey of Buddha

Heads up! this is 8 volumes so you can imagine the pace in each volume. Osamu is a genius in the graphic novel world of Japan and this retelling of a historical event is way out of his comfort zone. That said he makes it a fun read, like you are reading a comic book ( graphic novelists are seeing red with that term) as he tries to incorporate childish humour and pranks in a story that motivates and inspires people around the world. I feel it is too early for me to comment on how he has treated this as the main protagonist doesn't even make an appearance on the planet yet. He touches the prevalence of social evils in the community ( laying the ground for a new school of life) in this volume.

Stand alone, this book doesn't hold much value so I'll reserve my comments once I get through a few more volumes to see how it all pieces together. That said if you enjoy Osamu's illustrations, you will not be disappointed.

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Review: Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World

Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: "Make Good Art!"

A series of short essays with illustrations would make you think this is a children's book at first glance. But the content is applicable to all ages. All Neil Gaiman asks of you is to "make good art". Also keep our libraries alive for our future generations. Just some honest and passionate thoughts of Neil urging artists to not sell out and do what they feel right. He also talks about the importance of agreeing to differ which brings diversity and better learning. The book is filled with quotable quotes:

"The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before."

"Fiction is the lie that tells the truth."

A breezy read and thought provoking down to earth concepts to ponder on.

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Review: Nawabs, Nudes, Noodles

Nawabs, Nudes, Noodles by Ambi Parameswaran
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: A look into the history of Indian Advertising over the past 50 years with stories of what transpired behind the scenes for some of the most iconic ads we remember.

A cocktail conversation with Ambi Parameswaran is what this book is. He shares insights and anecdotes of how advertising has evolved in India leveraging some of the most iconic ads that I remember and a lot more way before my memory. He bunches them together by product type, services to give you a nutshell on how each category, brand grew in comparison and the extrinsic factors as they try to mould public opinion.

A 30 second clip could have a 30 months back story to it as he dabbles with how ads are a mirror of the past, the present and the utopian future society aims to be at especially using examples of the evolution of depiction of Indian women over the years from the default saree clad home maker to an independent women living by her choices and decisions.

Overall a wonderful nostalgia packed light read of the Indian advertising world for the layman.

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Review: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: The Apocalypse is on its way whether you like it or not - a satirical and witty take on all things conventional as the world prepares for D-day.

Pratchett and Gaiman collaborated together long before they become The Pratchett and The Gaiman and whip up a witty dry British humour tossed up for an apocalypse.

"Don't think of it as dying, simply think of it as leaving early to beat the rush."

The Devil and Angel Syndicate are rearing the chosen one - the Anti Christ only to realise 11 years later, they have the wrong kid. In a comedy of errors as they try to wrong the rights or right the wrongs - depending on which side of the fence you are on. Crowley in his Bentley listening to Queen is my favourite character.

The challenge with having two highly witty and intelligent British writers is, some of the humor just goes over your head and you end up sauntering around hoping to catch the drift soon. Those moments felt like a drag. This isn't a laugh riot as it is made to be but polite British chuckle as you sift through the pages.

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Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: The ethereal and mysterious ongoings around the circus that comes and goes without announcement.

If the Illusionist / Prestige was added a few pinches of fantasy and childlike curiosity in an ethereal dream, you'd get the gist of the book. Cloaked in layers of mystery on the origins and the backgrounds, the book is extremely intense especially between the two protagonists who are paired up by factors not in their control. As each understands their challenge better, they also unveal the world of the night circus - a spectacular never seen before show - reminded me of P T Barnum.

The main storyline - the battle between two brilliant magicians was a let down as it paces forward but the world created around it is worth a visit letting your visual imagination wild exploring the world Erin has created through words.

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Review: A Fine Balance

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hooter: Lives of four protagonists who meet by happenstance in pre Emergency India and the hopes and the DESPAIRS they go through.

I had heard of Rohinton but never got to any of his books till a strong reco from a friend to start off with this. It's the truth that is depicted under the guise of fiction as page after page, every glimmer of hope is crushed by despair. Yet you flip the pages that maybe now things will improve. Well structured, beautiful flow and lovely etched characters. You connect with each individual main or secondary as they take on each day with new hope. I'd term it as poetic injustice but as they say ," jeena isi ka naam hai". You simply go with the flow hoping the tides would change. If Gandhijis talisman was a book, this would be it. He captures a lot of social issues making it real for each of the characters.

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Review: Raj

Raj by Gita Mehta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: The chronicles of British Raj and Royal India through the perspectives of a princess from behind the purdah through almost three quarters of a century.

As a chronicle from 1897 to post Independence on a princess who wants status quo in the kingdom of Sirpur in an otherwise fast moving world around her with WWI, WWII, Civil Disobedience and right upto Independence of India, it builds up as a good premise of retelling of these historic moments from an individual's perspective who was a bystander to these global events. I can't say common because Jaya is part of the royal family and obviously enjoys a lot of liberties on one hand but a lot of traditional customs expected of the royal family on the other. The want to be more British to protect their kingdoms comes across through a lot of protagonists as they swing between England and the English society. If you remove the period from this and place it stand alone as a story arc of a girl who wants to make a difference in a patriarchical society, she doesn't do much and the story could be wrapped in half the space it takes but the mix of historical fiction and facts add a unique perspective to this story. 

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Review: The Eternity Code

The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: This 13 year old evil genius (as he'd like to believe himself to be) gets more than what he bargained for taking on a sleazy capitalist businessman and might ruin it all. 

This is the third installment of the Artemis Fowl series and not sure whether it grows on the reader or the writing gets better with each book. The premise though is very light - bad evil guy outsmarts Artemis , can he payback and get things back to status quo or have the fairies at the risk of discovery and hence elimination by us crazy mud people. Holly, Mulch and Artemis bandied together again because of the circumstances, Mulch is now getting a bigger and bigger role as the story progresses. 

The book has a weird mix of naivety and ahaa moments bundled up when things just happen but overall continues to be a fast paced good read without distractions that can slow down the script. 

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Review: The Arctic Incident

The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: 13 year old wiz kid / master villain turns over  good leaf to join forces with the fairies to fight a common enemy in the second book of the series. 

Continuing on the series, Artemis joins forces with fairies to fight a common enemy in a tit for tat partnership. The bigger story this time around is for Captain Holly and Root as they take on a revolution from outside the system turning friends with all those they fought historically to take on a bigger enemy. There is probably more action in this book versus the previous one but also a lot more trust being built amongst the frenemies. As a children's book, I think the progression from black and white to lighter shades of grey has been nicely done. As an adult, this continues to be a nostalgic quick read of simpler times and also a detox if you been grilling your brain with Dark and other mindboggling series. 

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Review: Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: 12 year old evil mastermind / genius who takes on the fairies to get his hand on some gold. 

 I missed the Atlantean shuttle as a tween so decided to catch up on the series. As an adult, it is nostalgic of Richie Rich with evil gene but still a child like innocence of black and white with Artemis preferring black. I can imagine in the target audience, this would have been a great read with science fiction, techology and fantasy mixed up with a crime thriller. Eoin keeps a reasonable simple story arc whilst introducing complicated characters and their tropes sprinkling a lot of magic atleast in this first instace. You have this super rich kid who loves crime. Two factors - his missing dad was one and he wants to regain the family income through his illegitimate plans. This edition includes using his sidekick - conveniently named Butler incase you had doubts where he stands in the hierarchy and his sister helping master Artemis with his ideas as they take on the Lower Elements Police Reconciliation team or LEPRecons and tries to beat them at their own magic. Foaly the centaur is a smart alec with his inventions and wise talk and makes for good banter. Captain Holly - the only female fairy officer in the ranks ( you imagine her to be Nimrat Kaur of the Test Case fame) tries to kick some green dust up in a patriarchal society. Whilst no wonder it was a hit amongst tweens, its a breezy read for an adult who wants to be part nostalgic , part relaxed for a weekend read.

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Review: The Sentence is Death

The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: A whodunnit murder mystery of a divorce lawyer.

Upfront, quintessentially British, Anthony Horowitz casts himself in this murder mystery as Hawthorne (ex police detective) biographer tagging along as he solves mysteries. He brings up his work on iTv's Poirot and Foyles war - both of which I loved! The challenge with reviewing murder mysteries is you can't say much especially if you did enjoy it. A good takeaway was similar to solving crimes and writing novels, Hawthorne talks of defining a shape. I'd say this one is a knot. I imagined it to be based in the 70s till they mention game of thrones three tv series becoming popular. He tries a couple gotchas for the reader which is a very different writing style so was unique for me. Also a very crisp writing style without meandering into too many dead ends to confuse the reader.

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Review: Fighting Skills of the SAS and Special Forces

Fighting Skills of the SAS and Special Forces by Terence White
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: Basic manual on military strategies at a micro level.

The basic technical manual for a soldier in terms of drills on land, water and air. Obviously if you are a soldier, you already know this and if you are civilian, you probably won't be using this unless you going to write a book and need factuals. I am sure techniques have grown leaps and bounds since this book was published but was a good starter kit on terminology. Probably try to figure these out the next time I catch a war movie. Though going through this reminded me of the good old days of reading a textbook.


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Review: The Zoya Factor

The Zoya Factor by Anuja Chauhan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: A chick lit amongst the backdrop of the cricket world cup.

A "Karol bagh" ad executive trying to eke a name, born on the very moment India won the 1983 World Cup and hence being lucky for teams she supports ( though she hates cricket) is pretty much the side dishes amongst the main course of a love story between a celebrity and a regular person and their on- off relationship. To be honest , I focused on the side dishes to keep the story going for me. The cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the superstitions and how cricket truly is a religion in India. If you need super light reading and not walk away with an iota of weight of sense and sensibility, this is the book for you. Almost all of the supporting characters are caricatures sometimes really close to real life cricketers to help you visualise.

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Review: Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Modern day medicine helps delay death, not extend life.

The above statement summarises my take on the book by Dr. Atul Gawande as he looks at geriatric and palliative care in the United States with statistics and stories, underlining how those numbers are people. When mortality hits closer to his home, Dr. Atul Gawande shares his father's story. He also takes a look at how mortality as a subject has changed over centuries and is medicine solving the right problem at hand or more importantly approaching it in the right way. The topic is something no one in my age group ponders upon atleast if they believe themselves to be healthy "physically" or "mentally" and are labelled otherwise if they do. Some eye opening statements on how as a social policy, we have some safety nets for healthy old age but not for the final stages of mortality and also the utopian expectations we have from medical processes whereas the reality could be different and that mismatch extends the misery for the one in question and their family often with the family carrying the weight of life decisions of their loved ones. A rich mix of dry academia and emotional human connect makes this a breezy read even while being weighed down by an existential topic.

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Review: Tales of Mystery and Terror

Tales of Mystery and Terror by Edgar Allan Poe
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: Collection of Poe's macabre and gory short stories that make you Halloween ready

Part of Puffin's collection aimed at young adults, this is a great introduction to the world of Edgar Allan Poe. Reading his back story, you realise with how much ease he could spin this stuff up. His true life story is as macabre as his writings. Having said that, I found the language a mouthful to read and painful at times. Considering this is an abridged version of his writings to make it more palatable, I feel the reverse with the complex writing style being implemented that you lose the impact of the gripping terror that Poe wants to engulf you with. In some essence, the mystery and terror does reach out but doesn't really envelop you.

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Review: Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hooter: a series of comic panels starring a young kid Calvin and his stuffed toy tiger which is alive and kicking as per him.

Bill Watterson reminds me of RK Laxman common man. Leveraging a young brat protagonist to portray share his witty observations and social commentary on the way of life from an unconstrained perspective. He's battling monsters under in his bed one moment and contemplating live after death in the next. A woke adult would not provide the same sharp insights as Calvin and his stuffed toy coming to life Hobbes can.. the book is a collection from a lot of his syndicated work so provides a wide range of 3 -4 panel stories bunched together - kinda like paani puri. You don't know when one tingling sensation starts and love ends and that blows your mind. This is a must read and mood lightener in this current #lockdown environment along with it being on the all time recommendation list.

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Review: Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change

Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change by Marc Benioff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: A look at running the world from Marc Benioff's perspective and passions. Part Biography, part perspectives, part gyaan lot of Salesforce fanfare.

If you are intertwined with the Salesforce world like me, as someone who works there or is a client of their products or a partner, this book will be of more interest to you than any layman. It doesn't focus so much on the step by step journey of how Salesforce became a giant that it is today but focuses on how Marc stayed vocal to his belief system that values are more important to a company than profits. In the long run, those values will bring the talented woke employee and woke customers and keep the profits churning was the baseline. He does set the baseline that by getting a college degree, hes already an outlier amongst Bay Area Tech CEOs. His love for Bay Area and values to give back to community make for strong passionate reading and now becoming a norm across industries as companies try to keep the millenial workforce engaged. The influence of role models - his father, his grandfather, Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs provide a human touch to a business mind.

A collection of those thoughts and perspectives often with examples within the Salesforce organisation are littered through the book as anecdotal evidence adding color to it all. I won't call it the most engaging business book I have read but provides fresh insight into the minds of one of the biggest business legends in today's time.

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#InstantPoem: To Do List

Credits: Unsplash

He stared at the crumpled piece of paper
Wondering how'd he make that list taper.
Astronaut, Movie star or would he be a teacher
TIME magazine or CRICINFO, where would he feature?

He stared at the crumpled piece of paper
Wondering how'd he make that list taper.
Meenakshi in Chemistry or Jaya in English class
Rakshita from dance or Hetal from dandiya raas

He stared at the crumpled piece of paper
Wondering how'd he make that list taper.
Good grades meant he should apply for higher studies
Or get a job and live the good life with his buddies.

He stared at the crumpled piece of paper
Wondering how'd he make that list taper.
He could run the rat race and win it all
Think too much and behind he would fall.

He stared at the crumpled piece of paper
Wondering how'd he make that list taper.
His eyesight and body had started giving up on him
His chances of finishing that list growing dim.

She stared at the crumpled piece of paper
Wondering how'd she make that list taper.
Her father had treasured it all his life
Responsibilities winning over dreams in this life long strife.

Review: The Age Of American Unreason

The Age Of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: Tracing the history of the lack of political astuteness of the voting common man in the American context tending towards anti-intellectual narrative of today.

Highly academic and probably a lot of context which didn't connect with me, the broad strokes are resonating. We are seeing it across the world as the intellectual elite in his/her ivory tower has lost the connect or the aura they once had. Susan feels saddened by that so the book does rail towards the left . Written in a chronological order, captures the phases as various factors lead to the downfall of intelligentsia thinking amongst the masses. Skipping her narrative aside, it gives good color into the history of things like popular culture, politics and movies in America and all her effort into research comes across really well, her bias not so much.


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#InstantPoem: Pandemic Pandemonium

Women her age should not be going out

Courtesy: VectorStock

Sarojini had no clue what the hullabaloo was about.
Someone had to step out and run the house
What could she do if her presence made society arouse!
Frederick was still loitering around at the end of her lane
She replied to his stare with one filled with disdain.
Muttering about the rising costs of essentials in her bag
Doing the single woman walk to avoid trouble - the zig zag.
Frederick was still loitering around at the end of her lane
She replied to his stare with one filled with disdain.
In a split second, she tripped on a loose stone and into the gutter,
She watched as her bag emptied onto the street setting her heart aflutter.
Frederick called Jeetu and the boys, she could hear them crowd.
She could sense danger - clear and loud.
"Why did you step out" and "we told you so."
In desperation, she picked up a twig incase they had a go.
They soon scampered away howling away in excitement
Her confidence in their arrogance probably had put a dent.
The fall had really taken a toll on her frail bones
There was no one to call for help - neither by shouting nor thru cell phones
She could hear those dogs come back to hound
"They wagged their tails and pulled me along to see something they had found."
The neighbourhood grocer pulled her out and took her home.
Frederick was still loitering around at the end of her lane
This time from giving him a big smile and some biscuits she couldn't refrain.
"O Mrs Sarojini, for any needs, you should give me a shout!
Women your age, alone should not be going out." 

#InstantPoem : Catfishing

If there ever had been love, this was it

Courtesy: Getty

Never had Akshay seen a girl so smart and fit.
She was everything he could only dream
Her day seemed jam packed to the brim.
She was checking into fancy hotels around the world
Those muscles popping everytime her biceps curled.
He kept up with her even when time could not
Craving for every bit of attention he had got.
A witty comment on her wall was the spark
As they shared their love for chocolate and humour - equally dark.
Who cared that they were miles apart
Distances are measured not by the foot but by the heart.
A start up idea took shape in those conversations through the night
A bundle load of seed funding would bring it to light.
This rollercoaster seemed real fast but then love is rash
He transferred to her account a whole lot of cash.
That was the last he ever heard from her in years to come
Briefly reminded of her while staring at the end of a bottle of rum.
He had drawn himself into a shell so tight
Even his family couldn't egg him on to continue to fight.
That she was catfishing was a clue right in her name
Jigar knew Bilea Machado had been a legend in this game.
Once the money had been sent, no point for Bilea to hover
He deleted all online traces of her and started all over.

Review: Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom

Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom by Andrew Duff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: The Story of how Sikkim was absorbed into India from a Sikkimese stand point. A non fictional account that is as vivid and colorful as a fictional tale.

I had read how seamlessly Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian union in our history textbooks. One day they just came over and it was all merry and gaiety. Then when I read about Kao and RAW, I read a few lines on how RAW had helped Sikkimese get their rights through a democratic set up by working with the champions of democracy to have their voice heard. Fast forward to this book that is based on articles, books and interviews from a Sikkimese point of view on how they felt Big Brother India absorbed them. Politics is always a grey area but this book paints all the actors in this in varying shades of grey in a very anecdotal manner maintaining the author's neutrality as a journalist to a certain degree. A fairytale Himalayan kingdom, a handsome king, an American Queen - a Hollywood story that the Western world lapped up, the regional political lines and how pan Asian politics impacted a tiny kingdom that aimed to emulate its ideological brother Bhutan but destiny had other plans. The book doesn't end with morals on whether what happened was right or wrong, but the dice had been rolled and everyone whether they liked it or not were pulled into the game.

A lovely account of a small country trying to find its own feet swept away by a tidal wave of a much larger storyline playing out.

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Review: The Courtesan, the Mahatma and the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History

The Courtesan, the Mahatma and the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History by Manu S. Pillai
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: A collection of 61 essays on historical figures of India - some famous, some not so famous and their interesting backgrounds or anecdotes.

If you have been following Shashi Tharoor's former Chief of Staff Manu S. Pillai in MINT or his blog, you aren't going to find anything new here but I haven't, so it was an interesting collection of his essays on lesser known figures of Indian history divided into 3 sections - Before the Raj, During the Raj and Afterwards. Personally, before the Raj was the most interesting for me as I didn't even know a lot of the folks like Abbaka Rani of Ullal who repelled the Portuguese , Roberto De Nobili - the Italian Brahmin of Madurai. He also mixes in a few what if scenarios like if Gandhi had been alive. Being a few pages each, it is just enough to make you curious but not quench your thirst. Ended up on wikipedia to read more about these hidden gems that our NCERT textbooks conveniently ignored (Saved me a few hundred pages of mugging up on the positive side). I'd say a great read for cocktail conversations on Indian history. I'd wish there were lesser essays and more deep dives on each of the topics.

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Review: The Pillars of the Earth

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: A multi generational medieval England set of characters pivoted around the building of a cathedral and all that it entails socially, politically and religiously.

1000+ pages! You need to be Ken Follett to pull this off coming from a background of writing thrillers and to delve into historical fiction saga. A simple task - to build a cathedral but there are so many subplots around it - personal ambitions, rapes, societal pressure, rapes, natural disasters, rapes etc. The character development especially of the main protagonists is done real well as they grow mentally and physically through this journey which has multi generational protagonists going through their lifetimes ambling along at times and rushing through at others. I could nitpick into some oddities in timelines but this is not a history textbook.

There is a rhythmic pattern the book falls into - Cathedral work progresses, some road block, Prior comes up with a rescue plan against all odds, a rape, success and repeat. That format adds an air of familiarity and when you are building out a 1000 pager, such a framework makes it easier on the reader to get through in 3-4 sittings and not lose the flow.

The characters are very clearly good guys/gals or bad guys/gals and you are rooting for them when they do wrong to do good or hating them when they are doing good to do wrong. That's what makes this an easier read as you don't try to get perplexed with multi layer complexities like building a cathedral in cutting edge fashion St Denis. (1000 years ago) .

I don't know if rape was a common place scenario back then as it is today but it does get overemphasized in the book , and it plays a turning point role couple of times.

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