Exploring the Bookish World

'Hell! No Saints in Paradise' by A.K. Asif is an urban fantasy novel, set in the year 2015. The protagonist, Ismael, a Pakistani-American student pursuing his PhD, doing his thesis on Hell and Paradise. He believed and tried to prove that both are nothing more than mere human imagination. One day, a sudden encounter with a girl named Petra at a Cafe in New York changes the course of his life. She advises him to try a hallucinogenic drug called Ayahuasca, and join the Yage Yoga Centre, which will help him to experience and discover an alternate reality unknown to mankind. There, under the influence of hallucinogens, he comes across otherworldly beings and is asked to return back to his hometown, Lahore, and gain the confidence of his estranged father, a prominent extremist in the caliphate. His perilous journey will have life-changing effects not only for him, but also for his homeland as well as the whole world. Will Ismael be able to win back the trust of his fat...

“I can’t go on. I’ll go on.”  ― Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air. An English Literature and Human Biology Graduate, Paul Kalanithi went ahead to practice medicine and become a neurosurgeon to find an answer to the question - "Where did Biology, Mortality, Literature and Philosophy intersect?" 'When Breath Becomes Air' is the heartbreaking memoir of Paul Kalanithi . At the age of thirty-six, at the peak of his career as a neurosurgeon, when he with his wife was looking forward to a beautiful future ahead, Dr. Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV of lung cancer. His story shows us how it feels to see death approaching, and shattering all the plans that one had planned for the future. How the deadly disease cut short the life of such a promising neurosurgeon who could have saved the lives of so many people. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. This book made me contemplate the meaning...

Sonu Bhasin through her book, 'The Inheritors' , brings before the readers a  fascinating behind the scenes look into what goes behind prominent Indian brands like Marico, Dabur, Keventers, Berger Paints, Select Group, Max Group and many others. The book is an extremely interesting read and is informative as well. It mainly focuses on the nature and culture of family businesses in India.  The book is divided into nine chapters and each chapter tells the story of a family-owned, well-known business. The author has covered the stories of Amit Burman of Dabur Group and Lite Bite Foods , Harsh Mariwala of Marico , Kuldip Singh Dhingra and Gurbachan Singh Dhingra behind Berger Paints , the founders of Motilal Oswal Group - Motilal Oswal and Raamdeo Aggarwal , young entrepreneur Agastya Dalmiya - who resurrected the Keventers , Tara Singh Vachani of Max Group , the lawyer couple Rishabh and Saloni Shroff of the law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas , Pooja Jain o...

Sara Naveed's  debut novel, 'Undying Affinity'   is a beautifully written romance novel. It is a rattling good read. The novel is indeed soul-stirring and has filmic vibes in it. 'Undying Affinity' is the story of Zarish Munawwar, a twenty-two-year-old lady, who is beautiful, rich, confident, extravagant and has everything she could ever ask for. She is proud of herself and believes that she can make any man fall for her. Her childhood friend, Haroon, is in love with her and their parents had also decided to get them married. But Zarish doesn't feel the same for Haroon. She likes him only as a friend. She does not reciprocate his feelings.  Zarish's life takes a steep turn soon after she meets Ahmar Muraad. She meets him for the first time at a restaurant, where she was hanging out with her friends, and he his. She was challenged by her friends to go and try to 'make him fall in love' with her. But certain circumstances lead her to trip ...

'Men and Dreams In the Dhauladhar' is Kochery C. Shibu's debut novel. The story revolves around the lives of three people, each with a different background, brought together by a hydel  power project in the Dhauladhar. Nanda is an engineer from Kerala and an expert in Kalari (martial art). He has a dreadful past and is fleeing a feud. He is separated from his loved ones. Nanda evades to the dam construction site in Dhauladhar as an engineer. Khusru is a Kashmiri youth, who is used by the terrorists in their plan to blow up the dam, ends up at the construction site as a labourer. Rekha, a doctor by profession and a Kathak dancer by passion, falls in love with Khusru and arrives at the campsite as his consort . The author has given detailed information about subjects in the plot which shows his profound knowledge and personal experience of the technical content of the novel. This fact makes the plot seem very real. The life of the people living in the mountains ar...

Happy Cover Reveal!! *************** “Vijay stuck his ear on the door and pressed the eye of the cobra as if he pressed a button, he heard a latch unfasten itself. Immediately the two halves of the door started to slide in their respective sides. With a creaking noise, the legendary door slid open.” The story of “The Relic” revolves around the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala – the treasure it holds and the mystery around it. The tale begins with the government trying to find out whether the money had been misappropriated. Vijay, an Intelligence Bureau officer, is sent with orders to open the  secret vaults of the ShriPadmanabhaswamy temple. He finds ways to open the vault and is particularly fascinated by a pot he finds in a metal box, amid heaps of the golden ornaments and precious gems. After completing the formal investigations, he sets out to find out for himself the secret behind the pot. The Relic is a journey of the officer on his quest to unr...

Manthan  By UtkarshPandey Time is a wheel that turns in circular motion. During this circumnavigation, The Earth according to mythology has undergone four Yugas, Satyuga, Tretayuga, Dwaparyuga and Kaliyuga. Hence, at the end of Kailyuga, Time and Earth return to the start of Satyuga. Vishnu, the Preserver of the universe has the responsibility to maintain and sustain the Earth in this journey. He ensures that the world does not fall apart. To do so, his Avatars on Earth, guide humans to a new paradigm to ensure they tread on the path defined as per the laws of nature. It is believed that we are in the fourth leg of time, the Kaliyuga. The Vedas and Gita mention that at the end of Kaliyuga, Vishnu will return to Earth as his tenth and final Avatar, Kalki and free the world from the shackles of Adharma. This is a fictional work, describing the journey of Kalki in the era of Kaliyuga and the challenges he faces in this journey. The characters and ref...

'Glitter and Gloss' by Vibha Batra is an exceptionally well written light-read. It is a romantic tale with a touch of humor in it. The author has brilliantly portrayed each of the characters. The protagonist, Misha, is a sweet young lady who is a make-up artist. She falls head over heels in love with Akshay Aggarwal, who is a superbly handsome and rich. He is the owner of Aggarwal Jewellers. He also falls for Misha. What follows is how they manage to take their relationship further despite all kinds of trouble brewing around. And also how Misha tries to leave no stone unturned to impress Akshay’s Didi and become a perfect ‘Aggarwal Bahu’.  Misha and Akshay truly make a cute couple. The character of Akshay is indeed drool-worthy! The plot has a touch of ‘saas-bahu saga’ in it; nevertheless, the book is interesting. The turn of events in the plot makes it a page turner. The book is also fast-paced. It took me just a couple of hours to complete reading it. The characters ...

'Betrayals And Paybacks' by Sana Shetty is a very interesting thriller. The plot is exceptionally well-constructed and the ending is unpredictable. The story is set in the village Tamara, located on the banks of River Kaveri. Vedant Birajdar, one of the main characters, who lives in Mumbai for the last eight years. He left the village eight years back and the reason itself is a mystery. Vedant grew up in the village with his elder brother, Tarun Birajdar, his best friend Jay Verma and his sister Misha. He returns back to the village after he receives some calls from Jay about danger brewing in the village. When he is back, he finds Jay is dead, his brother Tarun missing and Misha, whom he was in love with, engaged to Raunak, their childhood friend and now the local police officer in charge. He is investigating the case of  Jay's death. The plot is centered around Vedant, who tries to find out the reason behind Jay's death and Tarun's disappearance. The...

'Fragile Strings' by Arushi Vats is a collection of heart-warming poems. There are total 66 short poems in the book and each one is equally moving. The emotional turbulence felt by the author is very well depicted in the poems. The poems reflect how a girl battles her own feelings and sorrow due to heartbreak; and in the process, she discovers herself and emerges stronger. The first few poems begin on an sad note; but as we proceed reading the book, the poems show a gradual shift towards positivity. The author has beautifully portrayed her feeling through her poems. The poems are based on the themes of heart-break, love, dejection and self-realization and self-love. Arushi has also shown realistic approach towards life. The following lines are an excerpt from the book which shows her practical view-point. "This is how life is   you dream about   could have's and should have's   and it slips   from your hand   like grains of sand." Depth ...

Journey Across The Street -Madhusudhan R. "When you travel, you don't fear the unknown. You become a part of it. You don't meet a million people. You meet yourself, in million forms." She had once said. I had fallen for a gypsy heart. We were complete opposites. She was a secret traveller, I was a dreamer.  She was filled with experiences, I was filled with stories. Though we lived across the street, we spoke to each other after 14 long years of awkward silence. Everything had changed. She was a well kept secret. Everything about her was a missing piece of beautiful puzzle she had turned into. But the Universe had other things to offer before I could bring all the pieces together. After all that only one question remained, WHERE IS RHEA? 'Journey Across The Street' by Madhusudhan R.  is a romantic story with a touch of thrill in the plot. The story is beautifully narrated and the turn of events are ...

'Adventures In Farland' by Moshank Relia is a gorgeous fairy-tale. The book with its beautiful illustrations is a perfect for young readers. The story is precisely written and is quite interesting. The story revolves around  Mira Rawat (the protagonist of the story),a pretty little girl, who, with her friends Bira and Vira sets for an adventurous visit to Farland .   Mira  has heard tales of Farland all her life from her mother, who has described the magical place of gnomes, fairies, mermaids and animals, and especially its wondrous festival, the New Moon Party. Bushy, who lives in the bush and is from Farland informs her that has been invited for the New Moon Party by Princess Harmonica. When she reaches there, she finds trouble brewing. The Queen of Witches intends to release the Dragon of Underhill, and destroy Farland. What follows is Mira's journey in Farland, full of adventures and how she deals with the tense situation. The story is full of charac...

Nicola Yoon, a Jamaican-American author, pens a beautiful and deeply moving love story, 'The Sun Is Also A Star'. This is her second book after 'Everything Everything'. The novel is fast paced, has a unique narrative and is a perfect blend of science, philosophy, and emotions. The main theme on focus is the adversities faced by the illegal immigrants in the United States of America. The whole story takes place during a single day in the New York City. 'The Sun Is Also A Star'  is a contemporary novel spun around the lives of the protagonists, Natasha Kingsley and Daniel Jae Ho Bae. Natasha is a 17 year old Jamaican-American girl, who, as we see in the story, has to leave the US. Because of her father's DUI, they only have 12 hours left in the States before being deported to Jamaica. Daniel, on the other hand, is a Korean-American guy who wants to be a poet, but due to parental pressure has to get admission in the Yale and pursue medicine as a car...