Review: I Want 2 be Tendulkar

I Want 2 be Tendulkar by Manish Sharma
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Come what may, I will play."



With such indwelling and unwavering determination, Nitin, the protagonist, comes to the stadium with a bat in his hands and sheer passion.

The stadium is nothing but a battlefield for him, where he has to break the record of cricket legend Jatin Tendulkar, by playing at a very young age, something that has never seen before by his audience.

Nitin, a simple young boy having not much money in his bank balance, a girl who likes him dearly, a rival he has for a lifetime, friends who will support him till the end, family that stands by him, enemies who betray him in the name of being helpful and honest and above all, his inspiration, Jatin Tendulkar, another name of God for Nitin!

For him, he'll go to any extent! Any!

These are the characters around which the story of "I Want 2 be Tendulkar" revolves.

Even being a child prodigy, the series of trouble won't stop to come in Nitin's way.
At a young age, he faced things that wouldn't be imaginable.

To get a bigger prize, he has to be able to manage many things.

The tale will touch every Indian who grew up watching and playing cricket, because one way or other, most of the Indians want to play cricket well, become 'Tendulkar' and young Nitin, does that for them.

It had drama, competition, passion, betrayal and reverence for Jatin Tendulkar.

I only wish that language could have been improved a bit. The edition I read had many grammatical errors on printer's part. In the future editions, they can be removed.

All in all, a tale of sheer determination to reach the apex of goals.

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Review: Yama's Lieutenant

Yama's Lieutenant by Anuja Chandramouli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the end, we only go where our hearts lead us.



Now that's what I call a book.

Being a fan of Indian Mythology, I was bound to love Yama's Lieutenant.

I didn't know the stories about Yama and Yami, so I googled the established mythologies about them, started the book and BOOM!!!

Agni Prakash, the protagonist, is a simple man, wanting to overcome the tragic death of his twin sister Varu, who then is informed that he has been the chosen one - Yama's Lieutenant and will be asked to do all the sacrifices in order to save the world from destruction.

But saving the world from the monsters has never been easy for anyone, has it? specially for heroes who are destined to have a destruction in life of their own.

Between the tragic life of Sanjana, Surya, Yama, Yami and Chhaya, you find yourself strangled in it too.

The story and concept, in it's own way, was distinctive. The consistency and efficiency in writing style in it, is surely to turn heads.
A lot of thinking have been put into the book, in each emotions and sentences, and it is visible in each word I read in Yama's Lieutenant.

Varu's Book in Yama's Lieutenant is more than awesome. I was so much engrossed in her stories, that I re-read all the chapters that were from Varu's book.

Writing style is pedantic and calls for a serious read. The peak quality of language presented by Anuja, is not to be found anywhere else.

What surprised me was even till the end the author has maintained her perfection with the language and had full control over it.

I judge a book from its cover and for me, it worked completely.
'Yama's Lieutenant' has everything that I could have asked for in a book.

I'd say this book is a treasure for the mythology literature.

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Review: Rukhsat The Departure

Rukhsat The Departure by Sujit Banerjee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dark and moving



Will touch you, no "hit" you, unaware.

I am not sure where do I keep this one. Anthropology? Disjointed short stories?

To begin with, these 26 stories are named after 26 characters. Those fabled twenty six letters of the alphabet that you and I know.

How things move and change in their lives, covered in pages less than the fingers in your hand. There was a touch of O. Henry where Sujit crafts the entire story up for up and sets up the table for an ending your mind is configured to.

Well, that is how we are, we start finding patterns in the books we read. And we start expecting, guessing as to what the end might be.

But not with this one.
With the table set, the author overthrows it more than once, with a single closing sentence that turns the story upside downwards.

" The failed, the departed, the separated and the forlorn souls and their stories.

Sometimes connected and sometimes just stand-alones, like the characters themselves. "

The author is a name in the story collection genre for me!

Poignancy at its striking best.



We all have a home that's figurative. It might not be the house you live in.
But the abstract sense of comfort you get when you are there.

No, I can't point that out on the latitude and longitude of the globe.
Told you, it's abstract.

Well, tell you what, some people never reach home.

Verdict : Melancholic and dazzling to the eye.

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Review: Destiny of Shattered Dreams

Destiny of Shattered Dreams by Nilesh Rathod
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

¿Cómo se fue? Numero Uno!



I cover it, like every book in my vast library. Like a child on the night prior to first day of school. And I read it. But before that I smile and thank my stars for our luck. Just for this time not for the Goodreads algorithm that obliging us but the fate itself.

Cometh, the book.

I sit on the roof reading the waves crashing into Atul's boat that is harbored at the port. Sometimes it rocks up and at times falls down. Revealing how you can breath passion day-in and day-out. How you can eat, sleep, achieve, repeat - Just for your dreams.

And how they can all come crashing down like a pack of cards.

Only that it does not happen over one moment like they show us in the drama. It happens brick by brick, getting removed from the monument, that the edifice collapses.

Rightly so, We build our own demons. The embezzlement shown in the book is of high caliber and I can feel the thrill of what happens in the cream echelons of the C-class.

I commend the author's boldness on risking using too many business terms and not letting that become a jargon to others. Instead, it comes as a marriage between the love-hate and corporate genres. The personal life and the battle with the inner self to learn the not-so-glossy tactics of entrepreneurs not shown in the magazines. Describing Aarti as the lover of the married protagonist and still being able to garner respect from the readers for her character portrayal -Something I have not seen in a long time.

The politicians' angle is where this book climbed from a 3.5 stars to 4 stars.
A neck-breaking pace. Well developed stories and perfectly etched out character backstories make this one of the top ones on my shelf.

Jostled and shaken I can understand how guilt can haunt a person. Self-blame is yet to have a remedy. The surreal poetry makes you traverse the entire lives of people involved and not as a characters.

Just when I thought that I have figured it all and extrapolated the genres Nilesh might have used here,

" A little girl walks in and recites a poem about her dad and Atul's senses go numb with loneliness and regret. "

Made me wonder who the real orphan was?

Baksh dena in gunaho ko,
agar hai khuda tu kisi jahan ka,
Jeetli duniya, hogaya fanah,
Kar na saka kaam mere maan ka.

Chodi cheeze samjah ke jinhe pathar,
Pata na tha woh sitare mere aasmano ke.
Lautunga kisi din muskuraate,
Launga hasi apne faasano se.

- I, Archit Ojha became Qazi and the verses flew from my pen despite my efforts.

By the time this book flipped over to the last page, I'd wiped away my man-tears and this book had moved slowly from a 4 star to a 5 star read.

Verdict : Simply Unputdownable.

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Review: The Trip

The Trip by Rohit Bandri
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

With simple words, this book has brought a smile on my face.



The Trip by Rohit Bandri is a story about Ravi who, along with his friends Akash, Prajakata, Gaurav, Pooja and Siddharth plans an adventurous trip to Ratnagiri, Maharashtra and then to Goa.

Ravi is a guy of simple and high quality manners, has friends who will do anything for him and support him throughout his life. But what he doesn't know that these friends are all the time hiding one thing or other from him. Maintaining his decency, he will wait for them to open up to him in their own suitable times.

Since the beginning of the story, the reader is aware about some emotional mysteries carried by all the other members in the group.

The 'look-up-for-meaning-of-simple-words' habit of the protagonist is to make you smile.

It's always good to read about the 'decent' guys once in a while, who won't get the girl of their dreams who have friendzoned them, just because they were too shy and didn't know about their own feelings, who are good at studies but not much when it comes to socializing.

Development of such character in this book, is fascinating to read. It's good to see them gain what they truly looked for!

What differentiates The Trip with other books is that the trip they had, felt way too personal and the simple tragic lives of all the characters are to connect with everyone.

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Review: 5 IN THE GAME OF 4

5 IN THE GAME OF 4 by Viswa Sampreethi Pilla
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 in the game of 4.
5 stars are all I could give.

Received this from the author in lieu of an honest review. Honest it is, like all those times.

Let us begin this within a personal story first.

I'd always been academically exceptional. So, notching up a perfect 100 in the mathematics final terms shouldn't have bothered a 6th grader in me. But it did.

I got the notion that this achievement was less due to my hardwork and more attributed to the pen I wrote from. A classy addgel. I classed it as an objectification of luck.
Consequently, I penned down my next terms with it and the name Architalways topped the ranking charts.

As it happens, life hits you in the head with a brick sometimes. Someone borrowed that piece of luck and forgot where he kept it. It was lost to all. I was lost. Next, I showed a card to my parents reflecting a mere 49 against the column titled Science. Doomed, perhaps I would have thought myself to be.

As brittle and transient childhood thoughts are, I pretermitted and forgot all about it with time.
In the finals I topped the class and moved on with life. Achievements were back in business.

That pen was never remembered.

We all find patterns in things that do not matter. We believe that one thing leads to another and try to replicate it everywhere.

Like Kajal, who goes about choosing her dates, for instance, based upon their birth dates. We all have that person inside us. Human nature.

Only that it does not matter.

The mollifying presence of Chris is what she cherishes. The author has carved out their nexus with a sharp chisel. You'd enjoy the aura that they create with their nudges and sugar-coated profanities.

The Story.

Well, I never reveal stories in my reviews. That's why I never have to use the spoiler html tag.

I won't reveal it this time either. That's for you to dig out!

But I can certainly scribe the adjectives I associate with the story. Soothing and well built.
Articulated is the word I will use! Twists and revelations made me smile a smile that proclaimed my liking of this book. The writing style holds room for enrichment, something that the author could better upon in her future endeavors. Yet, consequential lucidity is where Viswa strikes the point home for a reviewer.

The denouement for me was the star of the show. How the sheet of beliefs, or rather mis-beliefs you hold on to for dear life, are snatched away in a single jerk of hand.

Reveled in the illustrations of,

How friendship is of prime essence.

How running into fears makes them go down the drain.

How people chase wrong things.

How you are nothing but your choices.

And finally, how love knocks on everyone's windowsill and not the doors.

And how fortunate those audacious ones are open those windows ajar.

Bottom Line : Nothing less than 5 stars would do for me.

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Review: Harables: Short Stories 1

Harables: Short Stories 1 by Haidji
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Harables is like a soothing breeze amidst the scorching heat in the world.



If you are reading this review, then I think you should read Haidji's books.
With pure perfection, innocence and quality, her words sing a passionate song in mind and soul.
Her books has all the ability to bring joy in anyone's life.

Her stories has a voice that directly converses with the soul and gives it tranquility and peace.
Harables is a collection of short and sweet "SRUGAR"stories that stays with you all your life, leaving a significant impact.

Reading Haidji's books, is refreshing and a gift to ourselves.

In a world that never stops talking, complaining and crying, her books are a blessing.

Read her books, you will understand why.

Haidji's works, I recommend highly!



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Review: Who Moved My Cheese?

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Change or get run over !



A great many people have recommended this particular one to me; I did not read.
[Self discovering it from your collection I found out why. I simply had to put your name in the Recommendation Box, Pooja.]

We might be the most evolved species on the planet but sometimes we do over-process. Adapting and forecasting change lurking around the corner is mark of sheer greatness.

The best quote perhaps was curbing the wrong interpretations that might be drawn out : that you should try behaving in a new way in the same relationship. Do not change the person but innovate your habits. If you love your partner, let them know about it in a million different ways that change everyday.

Novelty is what keeps things moving.

The story is perfectly written and takes up one hour of your life but may just give you a knowledge of a lifetime. I can see these terms being recited to people in the company I work or the football teams I lead.

And I quote,

"Keep moving whilst riding a bicycle. Else you fall down."

Keep your senses sharp. Sniff the changes and scurry to action.

And of course, Be Worldclass like the very book itself.

Verdict : Spencer Johnson hits the bulls-eye in a 60 minute book.



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Review: Somewhere in the Shallow Sea: A Novel of Suspense

Somewhere in the Shallow Sea: A Novel of Suspense by Dennis Macaraeg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Dennis Macaraeg, you pulled off a nice one!

I will begin with saying that I enjoyed this book. I won it as a Giveaway and this one did not disappoint me. Engaging and making your fingers snap page-after-page.

A scientist is kidnapped somewhere along the seas and thus the name.

The quest is well written and involves the romance of two forlorn-reuniting lovers :)

I love these kinds of stories with happy endings. So no problem with :


A. The Plot

B. Characters

C. Events



For a debut novel, this pretty much does a fair job. Although, I will say that Dennis' best work is not this but yet to arrive at the big stage.

He has shown great plot capturing and had me interested till the last page. I would have liked it better had there been a diversity in episodes with different characters the protagonist went to.

Put this apart, and this is one fab novel. You can place your money on it. To be fair to the author, this was not a mystery book but rather a thriller. So, don't expect the unexpected but live the various ups and downs that make-break a hostage situation!

I started my review by saying that I enjoyed this book, remember.

Well, for the entertaining and eye-catching description of Philippines, this one gets 3.5 +0.5 stars.


Verdict : A free-flowing thriller. You may will like it for sure.

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Review: DNA - Dad's Not Adopted

DNA - Dad's Not Adopted by Shikha Kaul
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just One Question : Give me one good reason as to why has this book not been turned into a movie already?



I mean don't the movie makers have Shikha Kaul's contact number?
Is her phone out of reach?
Does she keep it switched off?
If not, then what's the problem?
Go and Ask her for the rights to turn it into a movie!

These were the notions that kept running on my mind while reading this book.
In the series of these questions, I've another and most important one!
How am I to praise this book?

Shikha Kaul's DNA (Dad's Not Adopted ) has twisting and turning events like nothing I've seen before in all the mystery and thiller novels I've encountered.
But most of all, her diversity with themes, concept and characters has impressed me to the core.
You read first The Hidden Husband, then DNA and you are certain to go to the author and request her to publish a book in every two months!

Just in 250 pages, the author manages to blow your mind completely. You only remember how to turn the pages, in her taking you to the mysteries of the girl looking for her real father, finding him, asking him for the share in his huge property and ending up getting killed. Wwwoooo!!!

Like all the mystery books, I keep this quote in my mind, that the action and crime has been performed somewhere else, a long time ago, and what is written in the pages is just to create illusions before the reader, the same happened in it also. I was shocked knowing what a long time ago, really meant for the villains in it!

For the want of money and position, betrayal, murder, cheating, hiding facts and conspiracy and also romance, everything has been done to the fullest.

It would still need me to think hard on how to praise the writing style on this book which grips the reader to the core, I couldn't prevent myself reading it in only one sitting. May the hunger, thirst and drowsiness come, my eyes didn't move anywhere else except the fantastic creation and story waved by the narrator.

I urge you to stop reading whatever you are reading currently, and force you to read DNA because it had altered all my perspectives about mystery books !!
I'm yet to find out a way to show how really much I enjoyed this book!

Verdict : A must read thriller!

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Review: The Yorkshire Biryani

The Yorkshire Biryani by Vikram Venkataraghavan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brace yourself for this.

Book of the month | September of 2016

I was made available a copy reserved for top reviewers of this work in lieu for an honest review.

Yorkshire Biryani for you!

Ripped apart.

Let's get it rolling.

It is a book I have not read till date. And I have read quite some. The genre is alternative reality.

Imagine a world with Britishers not colonizing India. English wouldn't have been as popular. Things would have been different.

Now for one second, conceptualize a reality where the reverse happened. Can't? The author does that for you.

Although this a work of fiction, he first sets up the reality he's making you believe in. Chalking out facts after facts of a world that you'll start to believe exists. From technologies in place to the culture difference and how India is the powerhouse of the world economy. Hindustani customs rule the roost.

It is a story of a family residing in Britain which is a developing country and everyone aims to make it big in Hindustan. Having a hindustani cool name is the trend that places you higher up the ladder in your peer groups. So Timothy becomes Muthu and Google is known better as Khojsagar. Britishers speak Hindi and there're Spoken Hindi 30 days crash courses.

Well, the last one wasn't in the book. I made that one up and I have only the author to blame for vividness. He gives you a plot and your imaginations burn the house down.

There are many diverse characters. And Vikram has done one heck of a job in painting them with utter perfection. Their back histories to the changes that they undergo are a delight to the reader.

Greg who wants to be a kushti champion but ends up somewhere close.
Harry who is the apple of the academic eye of his dad, but ends up somewhere far, far away.
Their parents, Darphene, Adam, Alistar and their extended families.

Having so many characters and their backgrounds. Not one of them is confusing and that deserves an applause from me.

Line of Plot :

With all these markings done on the playing field, the ball rolls efficiently for the reader. Mind you, the plot has all the makings of a very good movie script. I by very good I mean, get the rights of this mate as quick as possible.

Set in Modern England, we also get to visit the time when British Revolution was at its peak and Hindustanis Go Back was a motto on every rebels lips.

The denouement is serene and closes the book and I bet you will catch yourself smiling.
Endowed with plentiful of anecdotes and analogies to the real world, this biryani is the one to watch out for. This book is so hilarious that I will swear on my pinkie finger that I had to put this book down and laugh my heart put on the mention of

There's a single disco in the town and they play tabla for beats. Oh, and the name is Natraj Mandir.

Verdict : Holds its fort secure for very well being the Debut Book of the Year.

This man Vikram is a freaking rockstar.

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Review: Diary of a Minecraft Alex #2

Diary of a Minecraft Alex #2 by M.C. Steve
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alex is back again with her topsy, tervy and sugary cuteness!

Her friendship with her three pet pigs, Rosy, Posey and Nosey, is sure to tickle you!

Reality is too much pressurizing and boring?
Why don't you put it aside for a while and lost in the talks and personal diary of what goes in Alex's and Steve's life!

In this series of Diary of Minecraft Alex, Alex is trying to help Steve build the church for the church. In the world of snow and flowers, Alex is bringing delight with her jubilant smile!

She is cute, funny and talks her heart that will take you to your own childhood and remind you of your diary writing habits.



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