Kabira khada bazar me mange sabki khair; Na kahu se dosti na kahu se bair.

Then The Doorbell Rang by Capri Jalota My rating: 3 of 5 stars Death and disease are inseparable part of life. One cannot escape from these. Death, divorce, disease, bomb blasts are the theme of this book. Not a very happy and fun book to read. I thought it to be a mystery thriller kind of book going by the title. It seemed the doorbell rang and some psycho killer enters to slash. Nothing of that kind here. So stay away if you want that. Jane is an only child of an Indian doctor father and European mother. He goes abroad for study and falls in love with her mom. They marry young and then move to Dubai. As happens they fell out of love and her mother leave his father. Jane stays back with him. She marries Uday after only one week romance and then he dies in an accident. How she copes and what all happens is crux of it. The book was a mixed bag for me. It was sad. Told from first person’s POV. Then there is Uday’s diary. He had a girlfriend Radha whom ...

My Watch by Mark Twain My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is funny for the period when it was written. Now a days it’s the time of use and throw. So there are no repair shops of anything. People don’t bother for that. The watch is like our life maybe. The more we try to fix it the worse it becomes. It is a funny story. Nice read. View all my reviews

65 Colours of Rainbow by Smit Kapila My rating: 3 of 5 stars Smit Kapila is an Electronics engineer who works in an MNC. A declaration first: I am also an engineer so I have a soft corner for engineers. However I don’t work in an MNC but most of my friends do. Life in the fast corporate world can be tense and boring most of the time. So it helps to have a sense of humour. The purpose of the book is to find fun in normal workplace situations. This is not a full blown novel or even short stories. These are stories culled from daily office goof ups, banter, pranks and foolish episodes. There are sixty five tales. These are like LAPREK (LAGHU PREM KATHA) of Ravish Kumar. The only difference is that these are not romantic but fun stories. So these can be called LAHAK (Laghu Hasya Katha). The situations are everyday office happenings with which any corporate employee can identify. Like writing abuses (good words ahem) in mail and using reply all. So all gi...

Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee My rating: 3 of 5 stars I read this book on recommendation of Jenny Arora. It was a difficult book which she forewarned. The story started with a college professor who has sexual relations with her student (way younger than her). If it was consensual or forced it is never revealed. He is not apologetic and says he is guilty without proclaiming what it is. He is expelled from college and goes to stays with his daughter. She maybe a Lesbian (almost certain). One fine day she is raped while he is locked in the bathroom. After that she becomes depressed and doesn’t talk to him. The book is in a different country where there are different standards of morality. So I am in no position to judge. Than another difficulty is the Coetzee is a Nobel Laureate (a brief net search told me that he won it in 2003). So I can’t just dismiss it just any frustrated book. The book makes you sick and depressed. The professor is a depraved sex addic...

Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee My rating: 3 of 5 stars I read this book on recommendation of Jenny Arora. It was a difficult book which she forewarned. The story started with a college professor who has sexual relations with her student (way younger than her). If it was consensual or forced it is never revealed. He is not apologetic and says he is guilty without proclaiming what it is. He is expelled from college and goes to stays with his daughter. She maybe a Lesbian (almost certain). One fine day she is raped while he is locked in the bathroom. After that she becomes depressed and doesn’t talk to him. The book is in a different country where there are different standards of morality. So I am in no position to judge. Than another difficulty is the Coetzee is a Nobel Laureate (a brief net search told me that he won it in 2003). So I can’t just dismiss it just any frustrated book. The book makes you sick and depressed. The professor is a depraved sex addic...

The Emerald Circle by L. Rosenman My rating: 3 of 5 stars Imagine the horror if your child is kidnapped and taken to an undisclosed location. It is kind of a fortress where they are trained to be abused. Lynn and Joe daughter is kidnapped and taken to a fortress. She is totally broken and vows to get her back. She goes undercover and enter the fort as a prostitute (yes they do that). She has to take hormones and keep track of her Menstrual cycle. There a person named Jaspeth helps her. Her husband Joe is trying from outside to get them freed. Will they be successful? The premise of book is interesting but it is improbable. It seems like very old but who knows. There might be some secret organisations like that who in name of research does all kind of shady things. This is a onetime read but the editing could have been tighter. 3/5 stars. View all my reviews

Serial Termination: A Chilling Dark Serial Killer Crime Thriller by Arnon Edelstein My rating: 4 of 5 stars Serial killer novels have some unique problems. First and foremost is there is no clear connection between the psychopath and his/ her victims. S/he can strike anywhere on anyone. a body of young woman is found. Detective Dorit and Moti are assigned to the case. First this looks like an isolated case but soon other bodies start piling up. One thing common amongst them is that they recently has abortions. Dorit and Moti falls in love and when Dorit is also abducted, Moti is devastated. Can he stop the killer before it is too late? Arnon Edelstein is a criminologist whose interests focus on the connection between immigration and crime, and how that relationship crosses generations. The book is a fast pacy thriller. The love angle is not soppy and the professionalism is maintained. The book tells that a psychopath lacks emotion and he is not nece...

Leave Me Alone by Orit Yogev My rating: 4 of 5 stars Being obese can be living hell for many. If you don’t feel comfortable in your own skin because the world tell you that it is not acceptable, life can be miserable. Apart from physical problems it has mental and emotional aspects too. Orit Yogev is a Clinical psychologist who has treated hundreds of adults, teenagers, and children who suffer from morbid obesity. I get a peek into the mind and heart of the fat. This may not be a physical thing only. Fat people are fat because there is an emotional void inside them which they try to fill by eating incessantly. The abuse can be sexual or any other which manifest in the form of obesity. Orit stresses on addressing the underlying symptoms and the fat goes away automatically. A very helpful book for all the people who is fighting this demon of obesity. 4/ 5 stars. View all my reviews

Kedesha: A Timeless Tale of a Love Priestess by Ohad Pele Ezrahi My rating: 3 of 5 stars Kedesha is erotic and sometimes links erotica to spirituality. The ancient temples have sex slaves who are elevated to the level of goddesses. She blessed her for becoming a temple,for having become a kedesha, a scared prostitute. Their bodies became a temple. This is somewhat similar to Indian Devdasi system. The story alternates between ancient times and modern one. Story starts with Yehoash having sex with his wife Eglah. She a priest’s daughter and married him just to get an heir. She despise having sex with him and he is sexually frustrated. In modern times we have an American returned lady Tara who needs to face her demons. She meets Yoni a Shamanic sexual healer. He is married (in Shamanic way) to Hagar and has a very open marriage. She gives her Yoni (vagina) massage and then she becomes liberated. The book alternate chapters are ancient and modern times....