'Criti....que not Criti....cize'

Trust: A New Beginning by Cristiane Serruya My rating: 4 of 5 stars Trust: A New Beginning by Cristiane Serruya 'If' is a word that life doesn't consider. And that's exactly why we should be asking 'why not' instead of 'what if'. The first of the Trust Trilogy, this is more than just a story. It's a journey worth embarking upon with Sophia, the central character of the story. It's the story of a woman with an indomitable spirit, a woman of substance. What else can one call a lady who inspite of losing her husband at a young age, tends to her little daughter Gabriela ( the 'cuteness' element of the story)without breaking down to the pressures of the world.She is young, beautiful,intelligent and has the world at her feet. And yet there is a dark side. She is an awesome driver but she has taken lessons in driving away to safety incase of an emergency. The reasons are untold and makes the reader wonder what could possibly b...

Look Stunning At Any Size by Parimita Chakravorty My rating: 4 of 5 stars Look Stunning at any size ( By Parimita Chakravorty) Publishers: V&S PUBLISHERS( www.vspublishers.com ) Cost: ₹495/- Pages: 172 For all those who think that this is just another self-help book that would not help more than gathering dust in a corner of your bookshelf, then think again! This is one style guide which every woman should have in her wardrobe along with the many other make-up kits she wishes to buy and stock up on. True to what the author says, it has something for every woman. Instead of preaching, it helps you to find out for yourself, the best things that would suit you according to your bone structure, face type and skin tone. The illustrations help to make things simpler and clearer. Instead of wasting big money on a dress that you would never wear but are purchasing just because it looked good on the mannequin - this will stop from now! After reading it, one can b...

Poetic Expressions Vol. V by Carl McKever My rating: 3 of 5 stars Poetic Expressions Vol. V By: Carl McKever It’s a new season, it’s a new day! With the opening lines of the book (in the preface itself) you get a happy feeling. Sit with a cup of coffee, if not, you surely would desire one somewhere in-between the reading session that you would embark upon. Fourteen short stories and three poems await the reader. But before that, it’s the hard-bound cover that attracts you towards it. The feel of holding an amazing book.. Not too heavy, nor too light… Just perfect to carry and even read it on your way to somewhere, it’s worth a read! ‘Vague’, ‘The Masses’, ‘Living in the Moment’, ‘Ambition’ remain my personal favourites. I really feel that ‘Magnolias’ should have been stretched a little more. It felt a little bit incomplete- the beautiful city, a talented woman, an appreciating young teen, an irked mom of a teenager- a perfect combination for an interesting story w...

The Business Parables by Venugopal Gupta My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Business Parables by Venugopal Gupta It is a perfect handbook for any individual or team venturing into the field of business of any kind. It not just provides you with the 'Why' of something being better than the other but also the 'How' of it and that too with interesting stories which make the concepts more easier to grasp and makes it stay in the mind of the reader for a long time. With five sections namely- The Failed Class A Dream Come True The Third Capital The Opportunity Lost The Forgotten Crime each section is a deep analysis of how certain things work in a business, certain things don't. Capitalism works, free markets are good for the growth of a country like India, creating value is sometimes more important than gaining profits and 'proper' ethics should become the backbone when one is venturing out there into the world of Business. A very w...

Shades of Shadows by Pushpam Singh My rating: 3 of 5 stars Shades of Shadow by Pushpam Singh When the author states on the cover itself that it is a 'Poetic Journey' it might not really reveal what awaits you. Turn a few pages and you are already on that journey.. The language transports you altogether to a different world which is usually known as non-existing but then the author does make you feel safe there, amidst a world where the squirrels and all other animals are in peace, the tree blooms, the lake is so clear that one's reflection can be surreal! The poems inside that take the story forward need an applause! The flowery descriptions might sometimes deviate one from the main plot. It might not interest the ones who aren't deeply into poetry. All in all.. it has content worth treasuring. -Divya Nambiar View all my reviews

The Bow Wow Club by Nicola May My rating: 3 of 5 stars THE BOW WOW CLUB by Nicola May “Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” ― Kahlil Gibran True to every word, this book emphasizes on the fact that when cupid strikes, it does blindly. But then it's upon us who we consider to be 'the one'. Of course destiny plays a great role in bringing two people together, making them walk on a single path.. and sometimes it's the same destiny that takes you apart from the one we thought to be our chosen one! The Bow Wow Club- it makes you smile, it makes you cry, it makes you laugh hard and it makes you think! It's the perfect book to sit with and soak into on that day when all you want to do is to have the time of your life.. by going on a journey with Ruby :) Be it Michael, Ruby, Fi, James, Simon, Jimmy, Barnes.. each character deserves a place in your heart.. in fact you do allot a little corner of your heart to th...

It's that time of the year again when Ganeshotsav is being celebrated all over India, especially in the state of Maharashtra with Mumbai being one of the hotspots to witness Ganesh a Pandals in every nook and corner. What surprised me was that there was hardly a two foot wide space and there sat two Ganesha idols, one in-front of the other - as majestically as it could! But then one would ask how can one come to know that there is an idol kept there. There you go! It was not the not-so-humble decoration that made me notice it but the speaker kept outside that was blaring out Bollywood music. The song? Lungi Dance ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kWLyInyjOE )  For all those who would now ask-'Why Bollywood songs instead of devotional songs?'- there are no real answers, just more things to know! Amused and then back to my own web of thoughts, I walked ahead further, only to witness many more such pandals with blaring music. The cherry on the cake was when I hea...

Big Little Book of Whispers by Robert S. Cosmar My rating: 3 of 5 stars Big Little Book of Whispers by Robert S.Cosmar 'The strange thing about beliefs is, they limit in some way who you think you are. Beliefs put you in a box and label you. They cause you to doubt that you are anything more than what you believe. The heart limits nothing and,in time, it helps you realize, through awareness, that you deserve everything, because you ARE everything. Your beliefs and doubts only stood in the way of that realization.' These are just a few lines from a treasure-trove of beautiful lines that makes one stop and introspect. When one is ready to look into his/ her self, that's when the universe conspires to let us know, by all means, about what we need to know. And during such a mission, I was lucky enough to have got an opportunity to read this book. The author states that there is no particular way to read this book. You can turn through the pages...

The Modern Man: A philosophical divagation about the evil banality of daily acts by Cristiane Serruya My rating: 5 of 5 stars It was good that time when 'he' had time. The man was the 'Wise' without knowing who he was. The above two lines just won't leave me. ' The Modern Man' by Cristiane Serruya speaks so much in just 19 pages! What seems like a breeze at first, slowly becomes the silence before the storm and then- lo and behold! It shatters the very stable foundation of the belief that a man possesses- of the power, strength and capability he thinks he has. In a mind-numbing revelation, Cristiane brings forth the ultimate miseries of 'The Modern Man' or The Modern 'Lost' Man. It's an eye-opener of sorts. It finally makes one believe about the eventual uselessness of trying to conquer the entire world without giving a moment of thought to one's instincts. "Instincts"- It is something that one oft...