“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.”
― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Haa! J.D.Salinger, I can do this, to Belinda’s book.

The cry of the Kingfisher

Author Belinda Viegas

Publisher Goa 1556

ISBN 978-93-80739-13-7

Being the excellent storyteller that she is, Belinda  carries us through  a journey of thoughts, fears, and insecurities, of three women, from different social milieu of goa. Battling their demons, and slaying their insecurities.

What I really like about the book, is the reflective flow that is the undercurrent, there are no villains, no saviours, but the characters themselves.  Despite the tremendous scope for dramatizing the author has restrained allowing the reader to be a non judgemental observer.

Donna the destiny’s darling, yet craving for acceptance. Succorina the unwanted changeling, Mayola  who emerges from the shadow of a more aggressive extrovert sister. Their parts entwine, they grow, explore and accept themselves through a journey of self discovery.

Belinda has applied her experience as a psychiatrist honestly and courageously without dramatizing excessively. Woven her memories of Nairobi, Germany, and the very adventure driven life she has had.

About the author: A psychiatrist whose alma mater is St,Johns Bangalore, she spent her childhood at Nairobi, after marriage a stint in germany and Australia. Now based in Goa, she juggles, Psychiatry, motherhood, cycling, sailing, trekking and writing. Belinda is also a trained Mountaineer.

Author: Jessica Falerio

Publishers Rupa and co,

The author takes us through the familiar scenario of family gatherings, affectionate teasing. Family gossip which is nothing but oral history of the family. Some Ghostly encounters opening up discussions on paranormal. How everyone or someone who everyone knows has an identical or parallel experience.

Every day simple language, yet elegant.

Rains , coffee, bhajjas, and the book afterlife, you could be in your family gossip session. There are small surprises like a priest and exorcism,  an affair between a priest and a  Portuguese aristocrat resulting  the Fonseca family tree, a menacing shadow presence.

Something that causes a jolt like it happens at all family gatherings.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: the debut of Jessica Falerio, an MA in creative writing from Kingston University UK. She is a nomad and writes on travel between her articles for The Times of India, Crest edition.

A REQUEST TO THE AUTHOR Can we have full romance of Raoul, and Clarinda with Tomas and the Inquisition in the subplot?

Author:   Jugal Mody

Publishers a joint  venture of India Today, and Harper Collins Publishers India.

the book is about Lord Vishnu showing up one morning, when the protagonist ..Nikhil—also known as double battery is stoned. He asks him to rescue the world from being invaded by maggot zombies. On this hero’s journey( sorry Joseph Campbell must be turning in his grave.) he gets to romance his dream girl colleague and even kiss her! Then there are two side kicks, a mentor crow all who are stoned. Two Japanese girls who speak the Delhi, impression of Japanese accented English.

For the first time I actually was reluctant to pick a book after going through the first chapter.

initially it came across as a gay romance.  Of course the entire book I realize is documentation of images viewed in pot induced hallucinations.  Shiva and Vishnu make them selves visible only to people who are stoned. Methinks, our man Mody belongs to the Nagapanth of pot users.

If you survive till page 132 you get to figure out toke  is  connected to the weed/drug/pot or in generally getting stoned. At page 140 a romantic Garuda debuts, in page 160 if I am not mistaken the super villain of the book scott something or the other debut’s  the only interesting statement of the entire book emerges here.

Civilization is defined by its flaw.

Next there is a random, Tarzan, and a Maggot demon king making an entry. A pathetic attempt of pun with Hindu’s finding the cow holy because it is Bo Vine or Boys of Vishnu.

If I did follow the story right there was a computer game involved in all this. But chances are I am wrong.

The USP of the book, is it

• Uses unnecessary foul language
• Is written in a marijuana haze
• It glorifies and justifies use of weeds/grass/pots/drugs.
• Vindicates chetan Bhagat.

This of course is my take. There might be other fringe who would call this an intellectual extravagance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jugal Mody, handled media for Filmfare  and Tehlka, prior to which he worked in gaming. This is his debut novel.

Reblogged from mAnasa-taraMgiNI:

Picking up favourite books is like picking the body that you’d not like to loose.

Groucho Marx says outside of a dog, a book is a man’s friend and inside of a dog it’s too dark to read. The later part I agree, but Groucho, dogs bark and demand attention, books don’t demand they only compel.

Like Lloyd Alexander says we don’t need to have just one favourite. We keep adding favourites. Out favourite book is always the book that speaks most directly to us at particular stage in our lives. And lives change. We have other favourites that give what we most at that particular time. We never lose the favourites. They’re always with us. We just sort of accumulate them.

There are myths that can reveal, and can be broken there are Hero’s who can take us on their journey, letting us choose who we want to be.  Fairy tale? Are more than true, not because they tell us that dragons exist but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.

Think of it, in a good book room you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing wisdom contained in all the books though your skin without opening them.

At the end of the day like Oscar Wilde put it, ïf one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again there is no use in reading it at all.”

Author Amish Tripathi.

Genre Fiction.

The last of the Shiva trilogy, the trilogy based on the story of Tripura dahana, the author has cleverly woven the romance of Shiva and sati, along with the finale of sati discarding her body.

The narration has used the standard shaivate characters like sati, Kali, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Nandi, and Veerabhadra. And the legend of Manasasarovar.

Somewhere not only the legends get distorted, but would miss most people who are unaware of minor details like the characters Taraksha-Kamalaksha –vidyunmali are the sons of the asura Tripura, conveniently Amish omits tripurasura though he has used the legend of the three flying towns.

One interesting adaptation is the rigvedic though where asura’s are not evil but different. The stories from the Zenda Avesta which gives a different perceptive of the Hindu mythology are well used.

A visual of the immolation of Sati, is very vivid and resembles the modern Sati scenario.

However the book looses credibility due to the ambitious mingling of facts he has assassin from Egypt on one end and the creation of Lama’s and Lhasa on the other. The tale of Brihaspati, and Tara the legend of Ganga, and creation of the locks of Shiva though the author has transplanted the event to Saraswati and Yamuna instead of the descending Ganga on the mountain terrain.

Over all a good read if you do not really know Hindu mythology or philosophy. The distortion and timelines otherwise are jarringly misplaced.

By the way Iranians are acknowledged as Yavana’s. so much so the screens used in Indian theatres are called as Yavanika.

About the author. Born in 1974 at Varanasi, the author is the alumnus of IIM Calcutta. An ex-banker is now a full time author, married to Priti Vyas the couple have a son Neel. Has penned the Shiva trilogy with begins with immortals of meluha, followed by the secret of the nagas to the oath of the vayuputras.

The earliest known detective story is hamlet.

An ideal way to create a suspense to create a situation with multiple options.  Focusing on the action without lengthy explanations would be a good idea. The opening sentence should be in the middle of an activity.

We can scare someone only when we know what scares.

Ideal writing material would be what bothers us, or what influences us.

Starting through a misdeed carrying the protagonist through the hero’s cycle would be great. The body of the story would be the investigation proper. The solution with the explanation is a good conclusion.

characters would be the

Victims

Witnesses

Suspects

Red herring – could be situational.

The real criminal

Investigator

Stages of writing would start with the concept sometimes the concept stays for a year or two.  The word count would be 1000 words the issue is introduced and escalates.  Building up to 30,000 words. By this time the major characters are introduced, the second turn has flipped and the hero takes on rescuing the world. 45,000 word brings the major turn around in the hero’s life.60.000 words is the point of no return with 75,000 words we bring th conflict and resolution into the same cauldron. 90,000 words is the climax and resolution.

Check list

• Entertainment
• Craftsmanship
• Esthetics
• What was the point of the book?

Suggested software

Ywriter

Spacejock.com

Either we have forgotten the apt words, or we refuse to grown up, I don’t what. It is definitely not  creative.

The word Bromance! Seems to be a great one, these days, that talks of bonding between men and specifying that it is brotherly and not “sexual” how pathetic. I dread to think of the equivalent for women, sismance? or will we opt for wromance? Maybe there is something more apt.

There is a new frenemy, a friend turned enemy? Or an enemy who pretends to be a friend I do not understand, I am reminded of fraenum’s and frenii!

Brinner when breakfast dishes are eaten for dinner.

Rachel Cohn in her book Dash and Lily’s book of Dares uses frequaintance somewhere between a friend and acquaintance?

This was the latest one that I came across!!

Branjalina, saifeena the names coined by the press.

The dictionary however accepts new words created in colloquial  and conversational language. The criteria however is something I do not know.

For example Locovoria, has emerged as a word from eating locally grown food.

Publishers Rifana Books

ISBN 81-85250-37-5

Author Walter Semkiw MD

The book talks of reincarnation, along the lines of Brian Weiss, Many masters and many lives.

The author has tried to find and justify past lives of various celebrities and authenticates it with approval from Ahthun Re apparently an Egyptian authenticator of spirits. There are claims, and he justifies the claims using photographs of past life and claims they match.

The author claims that some souls live two lives simultaneously like Benezir Bhutto who is supposed to be re-incarnation of Nehru, and Shahrukh Khan being the reincarnation of some by gone actress Sadhona Bose.

the book looks like it is written to cater to the local train  avoid conversation with others reader.

By Angela Ferrao

Published by Goa 1556

For my 5 yr. Old nephew who loves animals and stories.

Angela’s language is simple and enjoyable. A very good pick for early readers.