Crime Thriller - The Tech by Mark Ravine

After romance, the second most loved genre would be a detective/crime thriller. In the last 6-7 weeks of lockdown, I have devoured a couple of such books. I was out of said genre book when a friend from the publishing industry sent me the blurb of "the Tech by Mark Ravine". I instantly got a liking for the book. I accepted the book in exchange for an honest review. I am glad that I accepted it, because it landed on my list of this year's favorite.

The story goes something like this. An FBI officer Alexandra, our protagonist, recently shifted to her new office with a recently transferred team. Her first impression when she checked her subordinates' files was that her teammates were either looser or victims. Being a workaholic she joined the office the moment she landed in the city. She solved the first case within 24 hours even before she went to report her boss about her joining office. Surprisingly, various cases kept coming in front of her team. And each case connected with the previous one. Her team kept solving these cases, though Alexandra found their success clouted, as in each case there was some kind of hidden help to them from unknown tips or mishaps. There are more than 7-8 cases to keep the reader engaged. I don't want to reveal much to avoid giving away spoilers.

The book is lengthy, more than 450 pages. Well it is bound to be a lengthy one, because it covers so many cases and linking between these cases. Having said that, you will not find a single page with tempo going down. The author has maintained a speedy pace while maintaining interest quotient. If you want you may read one case per reading, that is how I have taken the book. While reading the book, I was visualizing that a series was playing in front of my eyes. The language used is simple, written for an audience of 14+. The characters who got the maximum stage were Alexandra, Mike, Gabriella, Nancy, AD Khan, Hollywood. Other side characters have also served their purpose. 

The technologies shown around Mike & Aisha were far fetched but gave the feeling of sci-fi along with crime thriller. Another complaint was cover and title. I feel the book can have better cover and title to match its content. 

Talking about ratings

1. Cover - 3.5/5

2. Concept - 4.5/5

3. Content - 4.5/5

4. Characters - 4/5

5. Overall - 4.5/5

Book Links - Goodreads and Amazon

Book Review - Done with Love by Shuchi Singh

Exactly 6 weeks back we posted our last text review. The book that I am going to discuss today is "Done with Love" by Shuchi Singh Kalra. I admit that I have received this book before quarantine but I postponed review. Because we are busy with our YouTube work if you'd like to see our YouTube videos you may visit the below link.

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"Done with Love" this is my first read from Shuchi. I haven't read her previous books, so I was not aware of her writing style. Before we discuss the other aspects of the book let's discuss the plot in brief. The protagonist of our story is Kairavi, throughout the story referred to as Kay. She was in a relationship with Vivian, an orthopedic surgeon. Her life was going great when she decided to go to the Maldives to surprise her boyfriend on his birthday. When she reached there she found that her boyfriend's ex was also present there attending the same seminar that her boyfriend was attending. Things became a little bit confusing with the couple and then they fought. The later part of the story covers how they came together.

Now coming to the writing style, the story is written in medium to fast pace. I finished it in a single day in two sittings. Throughout the story, The mental state (or I would say a mental verbal) of Kay will keep you entertained and engaged. Why I am saying this because when you read it will find that how throughout the story she enters into a mental dilemma and she debates with herself. Personally, I find a character like Kay troublesome & confused not just for themselves but for whole humanity who comes in connect with them. I am saying this because when you read will come to know that no matter how many times Vivian tried to explain his points, she was adamant. She could not go away on what she has seen. 

And when I thought the climax will be as per title "Done with Love", the author has given a twist. I am not used to such type of emotional stories. I found the book an average read. Still, the book gave me a company for a day.

I will give 3/5 to the book.

Book Link - GoodReads & Amazon

Book Review - 7 Sutras of Innovation by Nikhil Inamdar

When it comes to inspirational or motivational books I think no one can beat Jaico Publishers. And I am talking about it from my personal experience because, in the last two years, I have read many motivational books and Jaico's collection was far better. When I saw the title "7 sutras of Innovation - Stories of scale-ups that are transforming India" I decided that I have to read it. One more reason for selecting this book was author Nikhil Inamdar's previous book "Rokada - How Baniyas do Business" was in my wishlist so I couldn't ignore this one.

I am glad that I have taken this book and I am fortunate that I was able to read it in the peaceful time of quarantine. When I got this book in my hand, I was fascinated to find out the first two pages of the book is full of the praise by many business giants, professors, and, heads of various organization. That made me confident about my decision.

Talking about the content of this book as the title suggests the author has provided 7 sutras that can help an organization to get a clear vision and strategy for its business operations. The first few pages have discussed what these sutras are in a brief one or two paragraphs. You might think why such a short description when the whole book is on the sutras, then we have 8 real-life examples of various organizations that have used these principles knowingly or unknowingly in their business to achieve greater goals. With these 8 examples, Nikhil has extensively explained how these concepts fit their business problems and how the organization has tackled it. Again not each of these organizations has used all seven sutras but they have used a combination of the sutras to achieve their business goals. At the end of each chapter, Nikhil has given the summary.

I am completely impressed by the way Nikhil has explained these business cases. The language used is so simple and smooth that any business inspirant with little knowledge of English can take this book easily. I suggest, do take a notepad and pen or a marker while reading this book. Keep notes of important points. If you want only a summary of the book then you may point down the first few pages of where sutras were introduced. I think they are good enough to remind you where your business lies and how you can think about the solution. 

I would like to give 4.5 out of 5 to this book

Book links – Goodreads and Amazon

An Inspiration Book Read - Be Your Own Sunshine by James Allen - Book Review

"Be Your Own Sunshine - Towards a Better Tomorrow" is another book I have been gifted by one of my friends in the publishing industry. It became my companion for almost one and a half-day during the lockdown. The book is written by James Allen one of the Pioneers in the field of motivation.

Talking about the content, the book is an amalgamation of four booklets. You may read these sections independently or in a sequence of your own. These four segments are: 

• As a man thinketh 
• From passion to peace
• Man: King of mind, body, and circumstance
• Foundation stones to happiness and success

Each of the segments starts with a nice pair of lines that you can ponder upon followed by the foreword of that segment. Then comes 5 to 8 chapters of each of the segments. Topics covered in these segments are passion, happiness, power of thinking & visualization, mental stability, habits, spiritual quest. 

If you are looking for a dose of positivity or some inspirational read supported by a proper field expert than this is the book for you. 160 pages of this book are more than enough for a reader to give a good company. If you are reading for self-improvement then I suggest take a notepad & a pen and start noting down the important points given in the book. I am sure that will help you greatly. The language used in the book is simple, even a beginner can read it without any problem. You will find a proper mix of examples and theory (or I would say philosophy) in the book which can entertain you or keep your interest quotient till the last page

I'll give 3.5 out of 5 to this wonderful book.

Book Links - GoodReads & Amazon

Book Review - World's Most Popular Short Stories by Maupassant, Anton Chekhov, Saki, O.Henry

Just before the lockdown, I have been gifted this wonderful book by one of my friends in the publishing industry. I am considering this as a gift because I have not been subscribed to it. And it turned out to be a wonderful present in these trying times of quarantine. "World's Most Popular Short Stories" by Srishti publishers is a collection of classic short stories that have accompanied me for two days in the quarantine period

The book covers short stories by four classical authors, each of these stories captures different human emotions. From each of these classic authors, 5-7 different stories have been selected and a total of 25 stories have been delivered to readers. The stories are as short as 5 to 20 pages long. Authors have been assigned a proper segment in the book, which starts with their short introduction followed by stories written by them.

My favorite stories are

1. From Maupassant The diamond necklace
2. From Anton Chekhov the beggar
3. From O Henry the last leaf
4. From Saki the saint and the goblin a bread and butter miss

Good points about the book

• It captures human nature and its complexity with the simplest of word usage. I think that is why they are considered classics
• The best part about the short stories are you me always keeps you if you don't like it
• The best companion for your travel for vacation for me it was for a quarantine

My only complaint is a simple cover. It could have been better.

I will give 3.5 out of 5 to this book.

Book Links - Goodreads & Amazon

Book Series Review - Karmic City Trilogy by Hema Myer Sood

If you ask me the count of books for which I have misjudged genre based on cover the count would be in double digits. May be for an occasional reader that might not happen frequently, because they select books after a lot of thinking/researching. But for bookworms like us for whom reading is more like a daily routine, such incidents happen more frequently. I am not going to lie but when I ordered the trilogy of Karmic City, I thought it was an action & thriller packed series. My original plan was to finish the series in the first half of February. But I was dumbstruck when I read the first few chapters of part one, "the city of the Lord Brahma". It was clear that the book is not to devour but to digest. I dropped the plan of reading books in haste, instead, I decided to take the whole series slowly and come up with a combined review. To know the reasons check the full review.

First of all, those who think this trilogy is a mythology or mythology-action thriller then it is a big no. The books are from completely different realms. These books belong to the spiritual fiction genre. 

There are five central characters. The first one is the Soul (he preferred himself to be called one) a spiritual learned person. For his next book, he wanted to go to a serene place, so he chose to stay at a friend's flat. He met Aditi, Virat, Vaidehi & Karthik in that society, who are our remaining four characters. The author, Hema, has wonderfully designed each of these for characters such that if a reader looks around, he will find a combination of these characters' personalities surrounding him. Aditi was portrayed as a person who was looking for a mentor for her spiritual uplifting. Vaidehi, on the other hand, was shown as depressed (& oppressed) but over devotional woman, she was looking for answers about why her life was miserable. Virat was shown as all those normal people who can think but accept social norms generally. Such personality usually does wonders when forced to work according to their own thoughts process. The last category is for kinds of Karthik's, financially stable and successful who think their worldly possessions are indicators of personal growth. 

Now as we are aware of central characters, let me give you a brief of the context of each volume of the trilogy. The first part is "The City of Lord Brahma", it covers the journey of Soul. Here Soul explains the wonderful concept of internal dialogues and ego. Through Soul Hema has explained how these internal dialogues affect our life. It shows that one doesn't need the scripture knowledge but an attitude to obtain real knowledge. The concept is simple but mind-boggling. But it helps us to cultivate positive thoughts, which in-turn help us in a healthy spiritual life.

The second book in the series is "The City of Lord Vishnu". As the name suggests this part takes the support of the Lord Vishnu, his avatars and Bhagavad Gita. It contains concepts: food qualities, the human aura, chakras, kundalini, karmic bank balance and many more. Each of these concepts is calmly explained by Soul.

The last book in the series is "The City of Lord Shiva". In the first two books, Soul readied disciples and asked them to attain spiritual guidance from divine power. He made them re-learn ideas behind Shiva, and how by eradicating our ego we can proceed towards higher realms of spirituality.

What you will find these books?

• The simplicity of explanation.
• Wonderful poems.
• Good quotes and lines.

Book is written for

• Those who seek spiritual guidance
• Those who seek work-life balance and tranquility
• Those feel low in life and blame outer circumstances for their grief
• It is a serious read. So a casual reader may need to give extra efforts to read and digest the content.

Ratings

• The City of Lord Brahma - 4/5
• The City of Lord Vishnu - 4.25/5
• The City of Lord Shiva - 3.75/5
• Karmic City Trilogy - 4/4

Book Links - 

• The City of Lord Brahma - Goodreads & Amazon
• The City of Lord Vishnu - Goodreads & Amazon
• The City of Lord Shiva - Goodreads & Amazon

Book Review - Predators and Prey by Abhinav Agarwal

I saw the cover of "Predators and Prey" on the social post shared by Vineet Bajpai. The cover intrigued me and I decided to explore more. I saw the blurb and whatever few reviews that I can find on the net. The blurb and reviews were fascinating enough for me to go for this book. I didn't waste time when I received the copy. Good news for those who have Kindle unlimited account, the book is available on Kindle Unlimited. They should try (or I would say they must try) this book.

"Predators and prey" covers a multi-genre story. The main characters of the stories were Riya, Venkat, and Deva. Venkat was an NSA guy who you took out some data from NSA and fled to India. He knew what are the severities of his misdeeds, so he contacted his old college friend Riya who was working with a media giant company held by Neeraj. Now from there, started multiple twists. In the USA, NSA guys came to know about Venkat's data theft they wanted to take him out at any cost. The data that Venkat had contained the information that can bring the whole Indian subcontinent down. Neeraj wanted this data badly and so was Pakistan and China. Rathore the national security advisor got wind of this information and sent the Deva for the mission to secure data, Venkat and Riya. And from there starts a powerful mix of action, thriller, and suspense. Read the book to know more.

I am glad that I selected this book. This is the first time I have read such a wonderful woven and thoroughly thought of book by any Indian author. In the current digital age, what are the different ways through which government agencies or terrorist can gather information about different people different countries or different geographies is shown in the book? It is very difficult to run away from the system when mobiles, cameras, CCTVs, audio systems or even smart TVs are present at every nook and corner of the country. Read the book to know how they have survived. I would like to appreciate the efforts of the author to conceptualize this story. I may be exaggerating but such cases might be happening in and around the world about which we are not aware of.

I would like to give 5 out of 5 to this book. And say this is a must-read of this year.

Book Links - Goodreads & Amazon