7
Books in 2009
Posted by Nivi
on
1:41 PM
This is the books post that I have been wanting to do ever since the year dawned. I am finally getting to it now.So a while back I had this post on the books that I wanted to finish this year. Like plans everywhere , I did not stick to it entirely. So here are the list of books that i did manage to gobble up this year.
The Spellman Files - 3 books in all , the 4th is coming out in March:
I was introduced to the world of Spellman's when my friend Shirsh gifted me with the first book in the series. I absolutely loved this series. Its about a dysfunctional family where everyone well almost everyone is a private investigator. it follows the interesting events that happen around the family and is so funny and witty that you do not feel like putting the book down. The characters are well sketched out and Lisa Lutz the author leaves you gasping for more of the Spellman's. I cant wait for the 4th book. If you like fast funny pageturners, this one is for you.
Idle thoughts by Jerome k Jerome:
Jerome K Jerome is an absolute delight to read. I am a huge huge fan of "Three men in a boat". Probably one of the best books ever. So I wanted to read some of his other works. I have heard "Three men in a bummel" is not as funny as TMIAB. So instead I bought "Idle thoughts" which is a collection of essays by JKJ. I was surprised that it was not as funny as I expected it to be. Nevertheless it was a very interesting read. He writes about the various feelings and situations one might get in like "Being in Love", or "Being in the blues" etc and it gives a different perspective.
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
Like all Nicholas Sparks's books, this one was a romance too. And a nice , neat one at that. Nicholas sparks has a way of making your heart go out for the protagonists even if the story is rife with cliche's. Well written, very well presented but the story is pretty much the plot of most tam movies in the 70's.
Ponniyin Selvan:
When I started reading this book I had no idea how much I was going to fall in love with this series. All i wanted was to read the first two parts this year. But I finished the entire series of five books in a month. I was besotted with it and still am. i have never read any book that has so many events happen in them. It was like an event after an event after an event that leaves you mesmerized. It is amazing how Kalki characterized each one so effectively while having to explain the numerous things that was going on in the plot. He did such a fantastic job that you love those characters. The thought of "Vandhiyathevan" riding on his horse while crossing the "VeeraNarayanam" lake or the way "Raja Raja cholan" enters the story, its just mind blowing.
This has got to be the best piece of "series" books I have ever read, followed by Harry Potter and Bartimeus Trilogy. If you havent read it yet, please do.There are English translations available too.
Evening is the Whole Day by Preetha Samarasan
I got intrigued by the comments I found for this book in amazon and ordered it. I like Arundati Roy and found Preetha's writing to be somewhat similar. So in that regard I liked the book. However I thought that she overdid verbosity like most subcontinent authors. The simplest of things were explained in excruciating detail adorned with heavy vocable embellishments. And the plot instead of unravelingin pieces was all of sudden just thrust in your face. I however did like writing style. I probably will get her next book.
The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga
The book prize made me buy this one and I loved it. Written very well, Adiga moves away from the style most sub continent authors follow. Verbosity! i am glad he did. His writing was simple and easy to follow and almost felt like a whiff of fresh air. It was fairly dark though , I had to read a few light books to get over the effect it had on me. A really good read.
The case of the missing servant - A vish puri mystery
Now this was a brilliant find. Thanks to a review in TheBanyanTrees, I ordered this book and it turned out to be fantastic. Vish Puri is a private detective in Delhi and in this book he solves the mystery of a servant maid gone missing and aides in proving the innocence of a famous lawyer. The best thing about this book is how it depicts contemporary India. It is the India that our generation knows about and it is done at the right levels. It is astonishing that this author is not of Indian Origin. I am pre ordering my next book in the series. If you like light breezy mysteries, go grab this one.
Bhimsen - Prem Panicker
A big thanks to Kana for suggesting this one :) I have always wanted to read "Randamoozham" - Mahabarat as described from Bhima's point of view .Since the books is in Malayalam, I ordered the a copy of the translated version from Amazon. As luck would have it though, I got the Malayalam version delivered and I was looking at pages and pages of Malayalam script which made as such sense to me as logic would to Ektha Kapoor. Anyways as i was browsing i found Prem Panicker had done a similar attempt and had written an E-Book called "Bhimsen". It was heavily inspired from "Randamoozham" however not a word by word translation. The book is extremely interesting as it gives you an interpretation version of Mahabarat. There are ofcourse differences from the story we are used to being told from our mothers and grandmothers. Read it with a pinch of salt. There are things that you might not approve of. I liked it thought, i always like reading various interpretations of a single story. it also helps to not take it personally.
The Lost Symbol By Dan Brown
A typical Dan Brown novel this one. It certainly was interesting and was a page turned. I specifically liked the little twist he had towards the end. Not a great read from a literary stand point. I thought his writing style was better in Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code. An interesting read nevertheless and as usual there was just so much information in the book.
Two States by Chetan Bhagat.
This book by the new kid of controversies is certainly an interesting read. Chetan Bhagat taps in to the inherent issues in a love marriage in India where it is more important for the families to like each other than the two people who are in love. This is an interesting and entertaining read but it stops at that. The books has such a low quality in terms of literature. His vocabulary is ordinary, his sentences are not too great and for some reason it feels like reading an amateur blogger's story. The plot is very interesting ,his presentation style certainly isn't. I would not believe that this man is three books old if this was the first book I read. And to think he wants his books to be in the list of books in school curriculum so that kids can learn literature is absurd! But forget that, grab a copy cause like i said, it is entertaining.
Dating Dead Men by Harley Jane Kozak
Yet another book that i bought from amazon reviews that I was not thrilled about. What was promised as a hilarious read turned out to be a decent read. Nowhere close to being hilarious. However it is a good mystery novel and a light read. I am not sure if I will get the sequels.
Curious Case of the dog at the night time
This is one book I am glad i bought. A fantastic perspective on everything from a differently abled kid. A book rife with information, this is a must read for everyone simply for the writing style.
Have a Little Faith.
A Mitch album book. After his "5 people you meet in heaven" I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Its a small but really intersting book on faith. What I loved about the book is how he did not preach though there was so much potential to be preachy. And he still managed to get his point across. I now feel I have to read "Tuesday's with Morrie".
"Nylon Kayiru" - Sujatha's first novel
This murder mystery by sujatha is a fantastic read. I have always been a huge Sujatha fan and this time when I went to India, I bought a couple of his books to savor and I started off with his first novel "Nylon Kayiru" where the legendary Ganesh makes his first appearance. I loved the style of writing. The plot as such was fairly ok but its the way Sujatha handles it that makes it awesome. Must read if you can read Tamil. Grab one immediately.
Karl, Aaj aur Kal by Cyrus Broacha
As tradition goes, i got this book in Madras airport. Cyrus Broacha according to me is a rib tickling funny guy. So when I saw that he had written a book, i could not resist myself and bought the book for a hideous price in Madras airport where a cup of coffee is 100 bucks. The book is certainly interesting and funny in most places. It tracks the frivolous yet successful lives of two friends and with it brings out the various idiosyncrasies present in India today. I was just a tad let down cause i was expecting a couple of LOL and ROTFL moments and those did not quite come my way. Anyways its a light read. Borrow the book from someone and read it :)
Thats it for now. I have a huge set of books to get too soon. Most of them Tamil though. Will post my list at the end of the year.
Seeya!
The Spellman Files - 3 books in all , the 4th is coming out in March:
I was introduced to the world of Spellman's when my friend Shirsh gifted me with the first book in the series. I absolutely loved this series. Its about a dysfunctional family where everyone well almost everyone is a private investigator. it follows the interesting events that happen around the family and is so funny and witty that you do not feel like putting the book down. The characters are well sketched out and Lisa Lutz the author leaves you gasping for more of the Spellman's. I cant wait for the 4th book. If you like fast funny pageturners, this one is for you.
Idle thoughts by Jerome k Jerome:
Jerome K Jerome is an absolute delight to read. I am a huge huge fan of "Three men in a boat". Probably one of the best books ever. So I wanted to read some of his other works. I have heard "Three men in a bummel" is not as funny as TMIAB. So instead I bought "Idle thoughts" which is a collection of essays by JKJ. I was surprised that it was not as funny as I expected it to be. Nevertheless it was a very interesting read. He writes about the various feelings and situations one might get in like "Being in Love", or "Being in the blues" etc and it gives a different perspective.
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
Like all Nicholas Sparks's books, this one was a romance too. And a nice , neat one at that. Nicholas sparks has a way of making your heart go out for the protagonists even if the story is rife with cliche's. Well written, very well presented but the story is pretty much the plot of most tam movies in the 70's.
Ponniyin Selvan:
When I started reading this book I had no idea how much I was going to fall in love with this series. All i wanted was to read the first two parts this year. But I finished the entire series of five books in a month. I was besotted with it and still am. i have never read any book that has so many events happen in them. It was like an event after an event after an event that leaves you mesmerized. It is amazing how Kalki characterized each one so effectively while having to explain the numerous things that was going on in the plot. He did such a fantastic job that you love those characters. The thought of "Vandhiyathevan" riding on his horse while crossing the "VeeraNarayanam" lake or the way "Raja Raja cholan" enters the story, its just mind blowing.
This has got to be the best piece of "series" books I have ever read, followed by Harry Potter and Bartimeus Trilogy. If you havent read it yet, please do.There are English translations available too.
Evening is the Whole Day by Preetha Samarasan
I got intrigued by the comments I found for this book in amazon and ordered it. I like Arundati Roy and found Preetha's writing to be somewhat similar. So in that regard I liked the book. However I thought that she overdid verbosity like most subcontinent authors. The simplest of things were explained in excruciating detail adorned with heavy vocable embellishments. And the plot instead of unravelingin pieces was all of sudden just thrust in your face. I however did like writing style. I probably will get her next book.
The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga
The book prize made me buy this one and I loved it. Written very well, Adiga moves away from the style most sub continent authors follow. Verbosity! i am glad he did. His writing was simple and easy to follow and almost felt like a whiff of fresh air. It was fairly dark though , I had to read a few light books to get over the effect it had on me. A really good read.
The case of the missing servant - A vish puri mystery
Now this was a brilliant find. Thanks to a review in TheBanyanTrees, I ordered this book and it turned out to be fantastic. Vish Puri is a private detective in Delhi and in this book he solves the mystery of a servant maid gone missing and aides in proving the innocence of a famous lawyer. The best thing about this book is how it depicts contemporary India. It is the India that our generation knows about and it is done at the right levels. It is astonishing that this author is not of Indian Origin. I am pre ordering my next book in the series. If you like light breezy mysteries, go grab this one.
Bhimsen - Prem Panicker
A big thanks to Kana for suggesting this one :) I have always wanted to read "Randamoozham" - Mahabarat as described from Bhima's point of view .Since the books is in Malayalam, I ordered the a copy of the translated version from Amazon. As luck would have it though, I got the Malayalam version delivered and I was looking at pages and pages of Malayalam script which made as such sense to me as logic would to Ektha Kapoor. Anyways as i was browsing i found Prem Panicker had done a similar attempt and had written an E-Book called "Bhimsen". It was heavily inspired from "Randamoozham" however not a word by word translation. The book is extremely interesting as it gives you an interpretation version of Mahabarat. There are ofcourse differences from the story we are used to being told from our mothers and grandmothers. Read it with a pinch of salt. There are things that you might not approve of. I liked it thought, i always like reading various interpretations of a single story. it also helps to not take it personally.
The Lost Symbol By Dan Brown
A typical Dan Brown novel this one. It certainly was interesting and was a page turned. I specifically liked the little twist he had towards the end. Not a great read from a literary stand point. I thought his writing style was better in Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code. An interesting read nevertheless and as usual there was just so much information in the book.
Two States by Chetan Bhagat.
This book by the new kid of controversies is certainly an interesting read. Chetan Bhagat taps in to the inherent issues in a love marriage in India where it is more important for the families to like each other than the two people who are in love. This is an interesting and entertaining read but it stops at that. The books has such a low quality in terms of literature. His vocabulary is ordinary, his sentences are not too great and for some reason it feels like reading an amateur blogger's story. The plot is very interesting ,his presentation style certainly isn't. I would not believe that this man is three books old if this was the first book I read. And to think he wants his books to be in the list of books in school curriculum so that kids can learn literature is absurd! But forget that, grab a copy cause like i said, it is entertaining.
Dating Dead Men by Harley Jane Kozak
Yet another book that i bought from amazon reviews that I was not thrilled about. What was promised as a hilarious read turned out to be a decent read. Nowhere close to being hilarious. However it is a good mystery novel and a light read. I am not sure if I will get the sequels.
Curious Case of the dog at the night time
This is one book I am glad i bought. A fantastic perspective on everything from a differently abled kid. A book rife with information, this is a must read for everyone simply for the writing style.
Have a Little Faith.
A Mitch album book. After his "5 people you meet in heaven" I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Its a small but really intersting book on faith. What I loved about the book is how he did not preach though there was so much potential to be preachy. And he still managed to get his point across. I now feel I have to read "Tuesday's with Morrie".
"Nylon Kayiru" - Sujatha's first novel
This murder mystery by sujatha is a fantastic read. I have always been a huge Sujatha fan and this time when I went to India, I bought a couple of his books to savor and I started off with his first novel "Nylon Kayiru" where the legendary Ganesh makes his first appearance. I loved the style of writing. The plot as such was fairly ok but its the way Sujatha handles it that makes it awesome. Must read if you can read Tamil. Grab one immediately.
Karl, Aaj aur Kal by Cyrus Broacha
As tradition goes, i got this book in Madras airport. Cyrus Broacha according to me is a rib tickling funny guy. So when I saw that he had written a book, i could not resist myself and bought the book for a hideous price in Madras airport where a cup of coffee is 100 bucks. The book is certainly interesting and funny in most places. It tracks the frivolous yet successful lives of two friends and with it brings out the various idiosyncrasies present in India today. I was just a tad let down cause i was expecting a couple of LOL and ROTFL moments and those did not quite come my way. Anyways its a light read. Borrow the book from someone and read it :)
Thats it for now. I have a huge set of books to get too soon. Most of them Tamil though. Will post my list at the end of the year.
Seeya!
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