Bramha's bookshelf: all

Bramha's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 22 Aug 2024 06:45:08 -0700 60 Bramha's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Mansfield Park 45035 arrive, and amateur theatricals unleash rivalry and sexual jealousy, Fanny has to fight to retain her independence. This new edition places Mansfield Park in its Regency context and elucidates the theatrical background that pervades the novel.]]> 418 Jane Austen 019280264X Bramha 4 3.83 1814

author: Jane Austen
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1814
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Girl in the Pink Shoes (Lucy Kendall, #1)]]> 63883535
It is every mother’s worst nightmare. Eight-year-old Kailey Richardson skips out of the school gates in her brand-new pink shoes and never makes it home. Between the school and the safety of her shiny red front door, someone has taken her.

Private Investigator Lucy Kendall sees the fliers of a smiling gap-toothed Kailey and knows she won’t be able to sleep until the little girl is found. Having lost her own sister to the darkest evil, she is determined to help find Kailey before it is too late.

As Lucy talks to Kailey’s friends, desperate to find out who has taken the happy little girl, she begins to form a worrying picture of the days before Kailey’s disappearance. The blue car idling in the street outside the school. The friendly man across the road. And Kailey’s mother, Jenna, hollow-eyed and jumpy, clutching Kailey’s teddy bear and not telling Lucy everything.

Lucy has promised Jenna she will do everything to find her daughter. But then she discovers Jenna has a connection to the prime suspect in Kailey’s disappearance�� and one which brings Lucy’s past rushing back to haunt her. Time is running out to find Kailey, but will Lucy be able to save this innocent little girl before her own demons destroy her?

You won’t want to stop turning the pages of this unputdownable crime thriller. Fans of Lisa Regan, Robert Dugoni and Kendra Elliot will be reading The Girl in the Pink Shoes late into the night.

Previously published as All Good Deeds.]]> 355 Stacy Green 1803149280 Bramha 0 currently-reading 4.07 2014 The Girl in the Pink Shoes (Lucy Kendall, #1)

The Girl in the Pink Shoes (Lucy Kendall, #1)

author: Stacy Green
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/02/18
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[പാത്തുമ്മായുടെ ആട�� | Pathummayude Aadu]]> 12516807
നോവലില�� കഥാപാത്രങ്ങൾ അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ കുടുംബത്തിലെ അംഗങ്ങളാണ്. തലയോലപറമ്പില�� അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ വീട്ടിലാണ് കഥ നടക്കുന്നത��. കഥയിലെ ആട��, സഹോദരി പാത്തുമ്മായുടെതാണ്. പെണ്ണുങ്ങളുട�� ബുദ്ധി (സ്ത്രീകളുട�� ജ്ഞാനം) എന്ന ഒര�� ബദ�� ശീർഷകത്തോടെയാണ�� ബഷീ�� നോവൽ ആരംഭിക്കുന്നത്. 1959-�� ആണ�� നോവൽ പ്രസിദ്ധീകരിക്കുന്നത്.]]> 120 Vaikom Muhammad Basheer 8171302092 Bramha 5 4.18 1959 പാത്തുമ്മായുടെ ആട് | Pathummayude Aadu

author: Vaikom Muhammad Basheer
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1959
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/01/25
shelves:
review:

]]> Thin Thighs in 30 Days 7883941 A revised and updated edition of the New York Times- bestselling diet and fitness classic.

Wendy Stehling, a former advertising executive, crafted this astonishingly effective program after polling all the many models and dancers she worked with on a daily basis as to how they achieved and maintained their enviable slender thighs. One of the simplest and smartest diet/fitness thigh-trimming methods known to womankind. The Thin Thighs in 30 Days singular, three-pronged approach consists of:

*The Work-Off: six essential leg exercises to be performed each day for thirty days

*The Walk-Off: a brisk walk to be taken each day for thirty days

*The Weight-Off: a calorie-counting program to be followed each day for 30 days

And the results? They're indisputable! Fully revised and updated according to the latest in diet and fitness research, and with new leg exercises that pack even more fat-busting, muscle-toning punch, this new edition of Thin Thighs in 30 Days is destined to inspire a whole new generation of women to believe that they too can have thin thighs in thirty days.]]> 92 Wendy Stehling 1585427977 Bramha 0 to-read 3.29 1982

author: Wendy Stehling
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.29
book published: 1982
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World]]> 43706466 An intensely powerful new novel from the best-selling author of The Bastard of Istanbul and Honour

'In the first minute following her death, Tequila Leila's consciousness began to ebb, slowly and steadily, like a tide receding from the shore. Her brain cells, having run out of blood, were now completely deprived of oxygen. But they did not shut down. Not right away...'

For Leila, each minute after her death brings a sensuous memory: the taste of spiced goat stew, sacrificed by her father to celebrate the long-awaited birth of a son; the sight of bubbling vats of lemon and sugar which the women use to wax their legs while the men attend mosque; the scent of cardamom coffee that Leila shares with a handsome student in the brothel where she works. Each memory, too, recalls the friends she made at each key moment in her life - friends who are now desperately trying to find her. . .]]> 312 Elif Shafak 0241293863 Bramha 4 When I saw that she made it to the Booker List, I couldn't be more excited. The premise of 10 minutes 30 seconds is that of a dead protagonist whose mind is active for 10 minutes 30 seconds, where the mind reflects the entire life descriptively is original and an enjoyable read, however, lacks the depth of her earlier writings.]]> 4.08 2019 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World

author: Elif Shafak
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/07
date added: 2020/06/06
shelves:
review:
Elif Shafak, raised by a feminist and single mother, is one of my favorite authors. Her metaphor rich writing laced with underlying philosophy has had be hooked since I read her "Forty Rules of Love"
When I saw that she made it to the Booker List, I couldn't be more excited. The premise of 10 minutes 30 seconds is that of a dead protagonist whose mind is active for 10 minutes 30 seconds, where the mind reflects the entire life descriptively is original and an enjoyable read, however, lacks the depth of her earlier writings.
]]> The Complete Essays 30735 The Complete Essays is translated from the French and edited with an introduction and notes by M.A. Screech.

In 1572 Montaigne retired to his estates in order to devote himself to leisure, reading and reflection. There he wrote his constantly expanding 'assays', inspired by the ideas he found in books contained in his library and from his own experience. He discusses subjects as diverse as war-horses and cannibals, poetry and politics, sex and religion, love and friendship, ecstasy and experience. But, above all, Montaigne studied himself as a way of drawing out his own inner nature and that of men and women in general. The Essays are among the most idiosyncratic and personal works in all literature and provide an engaging insight into a wise Renaissance mind, continuing to give pleasure and enlightenment to modern readers.

With its extensive introduction and notes, M.A. Screech's edition of Montaigne is widely regarded as the most distinguished of recent times.

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1586) studied law and spent a number of years working as a counsellor before devoting his life to reading, writing and reflection.

If you enjoyed The Complete Essays, you might like Francois Rabelais's Gargantua and Pantagruel, also available in Penguin Classics.

'Screech's fine version ... must surely serve as the definitive English Montaigne'
A.C. Grayling, Financial Times

'A superb edition'
Nicholas Wollaston, Observer]]> 1344 Michel de Montaigne 0140446044 Bramha 0 4.24 1580 The Complete Essays

author: Michel de Montaigne
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1580
rating: 0
read at: 2020/06/06
date added: 2020/06/06
shelves:
review:

]]> Shantaram 33600
So begins this epic, mesmerizing first novel set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear.

Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay's hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.

As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city's poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power.

Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas—this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart. Based on the life of the author, it is by any measure the debut of an extraordinary voice in literature.]]> 936 Gregory David Roberts 192076920X Bramha 0 4.27 2003 Shantaram

author: Gregory David Roberts
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at: 2020/06/06
date added: 2020/06/06
shelves:
review:

]]> The Charterhouse of Parma 14680
With beautiful illustrations by Robert Andrew Parker.]]> 532 Stendhal 0679783180 Bramha 0 3.87 1839

author: Stendhal
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1839
rating: 0
read at: 2020/06/06
date added: 2020/06/06
shelves:
review:

]]> The Girl You Left Behind 17572903 From the author of Me Before You, Still Me, and The Peacock Emporium, a sweeping bestseller of love and loss, deftly weaving two journeys from World War I France to present day London.

Paris, World War I. Sophie Lefèvre must keep her family safe while her adored husband, Édouard, fights at the front. When their town falls to the Germans, Sophie is forced to serve them every evening at her hotel. From the moment the new Kommandant sets eyes on Sophie’s portrait—painted by her artist husband—a dangerous obsession is born.

Almost a century later in London, Sophie’s portrait hangs in the home of Liv Halston, a wedding gift from her young husband before his sudden death. After a chance encounter reveals the portrait’s true worth, a battle begins over its troubled history and Liv’s world is turned upside all over again.]]> 480 Jojo Moyes 0670026611 Bramha 3 3.92 2012 The Girl You Left Behind

author: Jojo Moyes
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2018/11/27
shelves:
review:
Given my inclination for war stories, I liked the romantic story line set in the background of first world war during the German occupation of France. The stolen painting and the latter part did not appear to be as strong as the war protagonist. Though the story line was good, the writing style did not do it justice. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk or The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt are similar art stories which is more sublimely written with elegant touches and dazzling detail of the period.
]]> <![CDATA[Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine]]> 31434883 No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.

But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation that they had been living. Ultimately, it is Raymond’s big heart that will help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one. If she does, she'll learn that she, too, is capable of finding friendship—and even love—after all.

Smart, warm, uplifting, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes. . .

the only way to survive is to open your heart.]]> 336 Gail Honeyman 0735220689 Bramha 5 4.21 2017 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

author: Gail Honeyman
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/07/14
shelves:
review:
An incredible book. After a long time, I finished a book in one read staying up all night and thoroughly enjoyed every word. Eleanor Oliphant is single, alone in this world and she is completely fine. Thank you, very much. The book carries message about increasing loneliness, judgmental society and that you could still be very happy on your own. Its not a romantic book and I am so glad that the author did not cure her of her single life by having her fall in love. Being happy and achieving self-worth should in my view never be linked to romance. Five stars for the author, who is a new kid on the block.
]]> The Gaze 248734 The Flea Palace, shortlisted for the Independent Prize for Foreign Fiction and chosen for Waterstone’s 2005 Summer Reading promotion.

In her prize-wining novel, The Gaze, Shafak explores the subject of body image and desirability. An overweight woman and her lover, a dwarf, are sick of being stared at wherever they go, and decide to reverse roles. The man goes out wearing make up, and the woman draws a moustache on her face.

The couple deal with the gaze of passers by in different ways. The woman wants to hide away from the world, while the man meets them head on, even compiling his own ‘Dictionary of the Gaze�� to show the powerful effects a simple look can have.

The narrative of The Gaze is intertwined with the dwarf’s dictionary entries and the story of a bizarre freak-show organized in Istanbul in the 1880s as Shafak explores the damage which can be done by our simple desire to look at other people.]]> 252 Elif Shafak 0714531219 Bramha 4 I fell in love with Elif Shafak with 40 Rules of Love and since then I read Honour and The Bastard of Istanbul, both of which I enjoyed immensely. Her quintessential ability to time shift with the story narration, keeping the reader glued with her lovely prose and eastern history blended in. When I finished reading the The Gaze, my love for the author is unsurmountable and I wish I could meet her someday. I remember having the same feeling when I read Elizabeth Gilbert a decade ago.
The Gaze is unlike anything I have read before. It is composed of three stories, set in three different times, all exploring the subject of body image and desirability. The stories deal with different facets of being judged by one’s outward appearance. An overweight woman and her lover, a dwarf, are sick of being stared at wherever they go, and decide to reverse roles. The man goes out wearing make up, and the woman draws a moustache on her face. The couple deal with the gaze of passers by in different ways. The woman wants to hide away from the world, while the man meets them head on, even compiling his own ‘Dictionary of the Gaze�� to show the powerful effects a simple look can have. Shafak’s prose are a painful reminder of the damage done by our gaze at other people. The look we give to others. The look that we receive, all powerful reminders of the deep seated prejudices on outward appearances. It forces the reader to think long and hard about our own prejudices forces the reader to acknowledge that one gaze can be enough to hurt someone beyond belief.
Tip: The beginning of the story is not an easy read and recommend you to read at least 100 pages from wherein you will being to feel the high of her words in your veins.
]]> 3.42 1999 The Gaze

author: Elif Shafak
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.42
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2017/03/16
date added: 2017/03/16
shelves:
review:

I fell in love with Elif Shafak with 40 Rules of Love and since then I read Honour and The Bastard of Istanbul, both of which I enjoyed immensely. Her quintessential ability to time shift with the story narration, keeping the reader glued with her lovely prose and eastern history blended in. When I finished reading the The Gaze, my love for the author is unsurmountable and I wish I could meet her someday. I remember having the same feeling when I read Elizabeth Gilbert a decade ago.
The Gaze is unlike anything I have read before. It is composed of three stories, set in three different times, all exploring the subject of body image and desirability. The stories deal with different facets of being judged by one’s outward appearance. An overweight woman and her lover, a dwarf, are sick of being stared at wherever they go, and decide to reverse roles. The man goes out wearing make up, and the woman draws a moustache on her face. The couple deal with the gaze of passers by in different ways. The woman wants to hide away from the world, while the man meets them head on, even compiling his own ‘Dictionary of the Gaze�� to show the powerful effects a simple look can have. Shafak’s prose are a painful reminder of the damage done by our gaze at other people. The look we give to others. The look that we receive, all powerful reminders of the deep seated prejudices on outward appearances. It forces the reader to think long and hard about our own prejudices forces the reader to acknowledge that one gaze can be enough to hurt someone beyond belief.
Tip: The beginning of the story is not an easy read and recommend you to read at least 100 pages from wherein you will being to feel the high of her words in your veins.

]]> <![CDATA[A Cup of Sake Beneath the Cherry Trees]]> 24874345
Moonlight, sake, spring blossom, idle moments, a woman's hair - these exquisite reflections on life's fleeting pleasures by a thirteenth-century Japanese monk are delicately attuned to nature and the senses.

Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.

Yoshida Kenko (c. 1283-1352).

Kenko's work is included in Penguin Classics in Essays in Idleness and Hojoki.]]> 51 Yoshida Kenkō 0141398256 Bramha 0 to-read 3.73 1340 A Cup of Sake Beneath the Cherry Trees

author: Yoshida Kenkō
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1340
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Garden of Evening Mists 12031532 448 Tan Twan Eng 1905802498 Bramha 0 to-read 4.11 2011

author: Tan Twan Eng
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Cosmos 17883935 Cosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. In clear-eyed prose, Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity and to venture into the vast ocean of space. Featuring a new Introduction by Sagan’s collaborator, Ann Druyan, full color illustrations, and a new Foreword by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science.

Praise for Cosmos
��
“Magnificent . . . With a lyrical literary style, and a range that touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, Cosmos often seems too good to be true.��The Plain Dealer
��
“Sagan is an astronomer with one eye on the stars, another on history, and a third—his mind’s—on the human condition.��Newsday
��
“Brilliant in its scope and provocative in its suggestions . . . shimmers with a sense of wonder.��The Miami Herald
��
“Sagan dazzles the mind with the miracle of our survival, framed by the stately galaxies of space.��Cosmopolitan
��
“Enticing . . . iridescent . . . imaginatively illustrated.��The New York Times Book Review]]> 396 Carl Sagan 0345539435 Bramha 0 to-read 4.58 1980 Cosmos

author: Carl Sagan
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.58
book published: 1980
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/08/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Narcopolis 12384322
Outside, stray dogs lope in packs. Street vendors hustle. Hookers call for custom through the bars of their cages as their pimps slouch in doorways in the half-light. There is an underworld whisper of a new terror: the Pathar Maar, the stone killer, whose victims are the nameless, invisible poor. There are too many of them to count in this broken city.

Narcopolis is a rich, chaotic, hallucinatory dream of a novel that captures the Bombay of the 1970s in all its compelling squalor. With a cast of pimps, pushers, poets, gangsters and eunuchs, it is a journey into a sprawling underworld written in electric and utterly original prose.]]> 292 Jeet Thayil 0571275761 Bramha 5 Narcopolis lacks a story line and is a linear collection of characters!

But Jeet Thayil is an amazing writer (not a story teller) In odd ways his writing reminded me of 100 years of solitude by Gabriel Marcquez! His language and prose are enchanting and this is a book I would definitely read again to savour his prose!

Intoxicating read if you enjoy the writing ! ]]> 3.45 2012 Narcopolis

author: Jeet Thayil
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2014/06/29
date added: 2016/08/22
shelves:
review:
I dont know what the book is doing under the fiction category in the first place. This should be tagged under Philosophy. The Philosophy of opiom/drugs/narcotics. An attempt to glamorize the empathy of heroin addicts. Eunuchs...Prostitutes...Drugs...Sex...More Drugs...More Sex
Narcopolis lacks a story line and is a linear collection of characters!

But Jeet Thayil is an amazing writer (not a story teller) In odd ways his writing reminded me of 100 years of solitude by Gabriel Marcquez! His language and prose are enchanting and this is a book I would definitely read again to savour his prose!

Intoxicating read if you enjoy the writing !
]]> പരിണാമ�� | Parinámam 17251583 480 M.P. Narayana Pillai 8171303226 Bramha 2 4.12 1989 പരിണാമം | Parinámam

author: M.P. Narayana Pillai
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1989
rating: 2
read at: 2016/06/24
date added: 2016/06/23
shelves:
review:
I did enjoy the literary verbatim through the shift in timelines through a canine brain…but somewhere somehow after a few chapters when it reminded me of many other authors and many other works, I lost interest. Maybe a read for some other day.
]]> <![CDATA[നടവഴിയില�� നേരുകൾ | Nadavazhiyile Nerukal]]> 26831366 640 Shemi 8126463872 Bramha 4
]]> 4.12 2015 നടവഴിയിലെ നേരുകൾ | Nadavazhiyile Nerukal

നടവഴിയിലെ നേരുകൾ | Nadavazhiyile Nerukal

author: Shemi
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/02/20
date added: 2016/02/20
shelves:
review:
I havent read a malayalam book in ages...after MT's Randamoozham. Shemi is a brilliant and insightful writer and in many ways I could relate her style to that of Madhavikutty. Set in Kannur muslim background, she has written her autobiographical memoir in a way that it knocks you down completely. She has candidly written on her poverty stricken childhood in simple words and presented conversations kannur language which itself is a joy to read. She is a writer to watch out for..

]]> The Girl on the Train 22557272
An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.]]> 336 Paula Hawkins 1594633665 Bramha 1 3.97 2015

author: Paula Hawkins
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2015
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2016/02/19
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness: From Impostor Poodles to Purple Numbers]]> 31554 208 V.S. Ramachandran 0131872788 Bramha 0 to-read 4.01 2003

A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness: From Impostor Poodles to Purple Numbers

author: V.S. Ramachandran
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human]]> 8574712 384 V.S. Ramachandran 0393077829 Bramha 0 to-read 4.14 2010

The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human

author: V.S. Ramachandran
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind]]> 31555 Phantoms in the Brain, Dr. Ramachandran recounts how his work with patients who have bizarre neurological disorders has shed new light on the deep architecture of the brain, and what these findings tell us about who we are, how we construct our body image, why we laugh or become depressed, why we may believe in God, how we make decisions, deceive ourselves and dream, perhaps even why we're so clever at philosophy, music and art. Some of his most notable cases:

A woman paralyzed on the left side of her body who believes she is lifting a tray of drinks with both hands offers a unique opportunity to test Freud's theory of denial.
A man who insists he is talking with God challenges us to ask: Could we be "wired" for religious experience?
A woman who hallucinates cartoon characters illustrates how, in a sense, we are all hallucinating, all the time.
Dr. Ramachandran's inspired medical detective work pushes the boundaries of medicine's last great frontier -- the human mind -- yielding new and provocative insights into the "big questions" about consciousness and the self.]]> 352 V.S. Ramachandran 0688172172 Bramha 5 As a Hindu born in India, raised in a conservative surrounding, hindu traditions being pushed into my throat ever since I could remember, I read and reread that the concept of the self �� the I ( the atma) within me is aloof from the body, aloof from the universe engaging in a lofty inspection of the world around me with an emphasis on karma- the world itself an illusion called Maya. The search for enlightenment aka liberation consists of lifting of the veil and realizing that you are one with the cosmos. Most of my 2015 consisted of reading western contemporary philosophers like Barret and Russel challenging my birth concept. My mind has been a constant battle field of these philosophies to say the least. That's when i get my hands on to this brilliant book. This book is a treasure to read for those who want to solve the untold mysteries a new way to study consciousness by treating it not as a philosophical, logical or conceptual issue, but rather as an empirical problem.
A brilliant read and an insightful book on brain mapping..why we think what we think?

]]> 4.26 1998 Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind

Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind

author: V.S. Ramachandran
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2016/01/02
date added: 2016/01/14
shelves:
review:
"Why is, "thought" being a secretion of the brain, more wonderful than gravity, a property of matter?"
As a Hindu born in India, raised in a conservative surrounding, hindu traditions being pushed into my throat ever since I could remember, I read and reread that the concept of the self �� the I ( the atma) within me is aloof from the body, aloof from the universe engaging in a lofty inspection of the world around me with an emphasis on karma- the world itself an illusion called Maya. The search for enlightenment aka liberation consists of lifting of the veil and realizing that you are one with the cosmos. Most of my 2015 consisted of reading western contemporary philosophers like Barret and Russel challenging my birth concept. My mind has been a constant battle field of these philosophies to say the least. That's when i get my hands on to this brilliant book. This book is a treasure to read for those who want to solve the untold mysteries a new way to study consciousness by treating it not as a philosophical, logical or conceptual issue, but rather as an empirical problem.
A brilliant read and an insightful book on brain mapping..why we think what we think?

]]> <![CDATA[The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph]]> 18668059 “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.�� Marcus Aurelius

We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it needn’t be this way. There is a formula for success that’s been followed by the icons of history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities. Faced with impossible situations, they found the astounding triumphs we all seek.

These men and women were not exceptionally brilliant, lucky, or gifted. Their success came from timeless philosophical principles laid down by a Roman emperor who struggled to articulate a method for excellence in any and all situations.

This book reveals that formula for the first time—and shows us how we can turn our own adversity into advantage.]]> 201 Ryan Holiday 1591846358 Bramha 4
I try to average three books a month but this books is leading me to so many others that my reading list after putting down this book is much longer.

]]> 4.13 2014 The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

author: Ryan Holiday
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/05
date added: 2015/12/07
shelves:
review:
A great book for those unfamiliar with stoicism. Or rather, Stoicism written more understandably. There is no doubt that Ryan is well read. His writings are full of depth whilst it tries to unlock, unleash or unscrew you.

I try to average three books a month but this books is leading me to so many others that my reading list after putting down this book is much longer.

]]> <![CDATA[The Underlying Religion: An Introduction to the Perennial Philosphy]]> 11673393 368 Martin Lings 1933316799 Bramha 4 3.00 2007

The Underlying Religion: An Introduction to the Perennial Philosphy

author: Martin Lings
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/25
date added: 2015/11/25
shelves:
review:
My first insight into Perennial Philosophy, something which always held my thoughts without the supply of the noun. This book emphasizes the strength and power that constitutes the underlying the common bond of all religions. Not a book for an average reader, given the theological complexity and I had to force myself and repeatedly read to comprehend the in-depth analysis of the author. From Section five onwards, I could not put the book down when the explanation on revision and expansion on perennial philosophy as the true transcendence of all religions. I particularly loved the chapters on spiritual guidance which clearly articulated that it is incumbent upon anyone on a spiritual path to live within a context of beauty for spiritual support vis-á-vis highlighting the inherent the dangers and pitfalls of not having such an integral milieu.
]]> When the Moon is Low 23447506
In Kabul, we meet Fereiba, a schoolteacher who puts her troubled childhood behind her when she finds love in an arranged marriage. But Fereiba's comfortable life implodes when the Taliban rises to power and her family becomes a target of the new fundamentalist regime. Forced to flee with her three children, Fereiba has one hope for survival: to seek refuge with her sister's family in London.

Traveling with forged papers and depending on the kindness of strangers, Fereiba and the children make a dangerous crossing into Iran under cover of darkness, the start of a harrowing journey that reduces her from a respected wife and mother to a desperate refugee.

Eventually they fall into the shadowy underground network of the undocumented who haunt the streets of Europe's cities. And then, in a busy market square in Athens, their fate takes a frightening turn when Fereiba's teenage son, Saleem, becomes separated from the rest of the family. Without his mother, Saleem is forced, abruptly and unforgivingly, to come of age in a world of human trafficking and squalid refugee camps.

Heartbroken, Fereiba has no choice but to continue on with only her daughter and baby. Mother and son cross border after perilous border, risking their lives in the hope of finding a place where they can be reunited.]]> 384 Nadia Hashimi 0062369571 Bramha 3 I lost track of time and have no one to blame but the author for the lack of sleep last night.
]]> 4.09 2015 When the Moon is Low

author: Nadia Hashimi
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2015/10/25
date added: 2015/10/24
shelves:
review:
A touching tale of an Afghan family who are forced to escape the Taliban regime and seek refuge in Turkey, Greece and Europe. Nadia Hashimi has soulfully written about the unfillable void created within a refugee when they escape their home. To seek refuge from a thousand memories until they’d put enough time and distance between them and their misery to wake to a better day. The author describes well the disparity in life which Afghanistan enjoyed prior to the Taliban regime and the claustrophobic restrictions imposed by the Taliban driving most families away. The author described a real story in less painfully coated fiction that leaves you re-examining the existing philosophy, questing the regulations surrounding immigration, asylum that appear to be necessary but no doubt regrettable. The world of the Odyssey is attractive. One sails from island to island and always finds a lovely lady ready to receive one. But nowadays immigration quotas interfere with this sort of life. It was all very well for Odysseus, who was only one, but if a hundred million Chinese had descended upon Calypso's island, life would have become rather difficult.
I lost track of time and have no one to blame but the author for the lack of sleep last night.

]]> The Signature of All Things 17465453 A glorious, sweeping novel of desire, ambition, and the thirst for knowledge, from the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and Committed.

In The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction, inserting her inimitable voice into an enthralling story of love, adventure and discovery. Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker—a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in 1800, Henry's brilliant daughter, Alma (who inherits both her father's money and his mind), ultimately becomes a botanist of considerable gifts herself. As Alma's research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man named Ambrose Pike who makes incomparable paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite direction �� into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a utopian artist �� but what unites this unlikely couple is a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life.

Exquisitely researched and told at a galloping pace, The Signature of All Things soars across the globe—from London to Peru to Philadelphia to Tahiti to Amsterdam, and beyond. Along the way, the story is peopled with unforgettable characters: missionaries, abolitionists, adventurers, astronomers, sea captains, geniuses, and the quite mad. But most memorable of all, it is the story of Alma Whittaker, who �� born in the Age of Enlightenment, but living well into the Industrial Revolution �� bears witness to that extraordinary moment in human history when all the old assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class were exploding into dangerous new ideas. Written in the bold, questing spirit of that singular time, Gilbert's wise, deep, and spellbinding tale is certain to capture the hearts and minds of readers.]]> 512 Elizabeth Gilbert 0670024856 Bramha 4 This book is yet another example of Gilbert’s unique mind, which I always believed was a contemplation between Randism and Buddhism, something which I myself am able to resonate, as I cross the threshold of the 4th decade of my life. Whilst the protagonist thrives in a desire to comprehend and only resting upon conclusions reached with scientific and microscopic analysis, she finds herself drawn to the mystical, spiritual and divine. She snubs but at the same time agrees through the voice of her lover, that there exists the Divinity’s signature on all things found in universal foliage. A mind with force to comprehend does not acquire what the same as that with a mind of a conqueror since desire to conquer is almost forever unrelenting and thus she explains how she lost the love of her husband to another man with her forceful desire to comprehend everything to factual literal precision.
Gilbert renews in us an interest in evolution by taking us through Lamarck, Darwin and Wallace without boring us with the minutiae. The last few chapters where she tries to solve the Prudence Problem is a treat for those who enjoyed the journey. Through this historic fiction, Gilbert conveys that while the evolution of the physical body may be explained with scientific meticulousness, with the Darwin theory or Lamarck there still exists a hole, as much as it exists in the human body �� a lack of convincing evolutionary explanation for human altruism and self-sacrifice.
Rand never believed that altruism can have a place in society nor make anyone happy and she herself spent her last years of life in depression. Gilbert conveys to us each person strives to be significant. Alma Whittaker, dies a virgin, never had a family of her own, a fortune which she gave away, did not have an illustrious career yet considers herself to have a fortunate and fulfilling life because she never felt insignificant. She never felt insignificant because she never sought significance through another medium aka family husband children. She sought knowledge and dies more knowledgeable and fulfilled than she arrived. A glorious read indeed!
]]> 3.84 2013 The Signature of All Things

author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/07/31
date added: 2015/07/31
shelves:
review:
Elizabeth Gilbert has evolved as a writer, by leaps and bounds, since her autobiographical memoir Eat, Pray and Love. This novel depicts the evolution of a botanist, to be more specific a bryologist. Gilbert magically transports us to a completely fascinating time and place, Philadelphia in the mid-19th century where Alma Whittaker is born and raised by her strong persevered Dutch mother who embraced the motto- labor ipse voluptas ( work is its own reward).
This book is yet another example of Gilbert’s unique mind, which I always believed was a contemplation between Randism and Buddhism, something which I myself am able to resonate, as I cross the threshold of the 4th decade of my life. Whilst the protagonist thrives in a desire to comprehend and only resting upon conclusions reached with scientific and microscopic analysis, she finds herself drawn to the mystical, spiritual and divine. She snubs but at the same time agrees through the voice of her lover, that there exists the Divinity’s signature on all things found in universal foliage. A mind with force to comprehend does not acquire what the same as that with a mind of a conqueror since desire to conquer is almost forever unrelenting and thus she explains how she lost the love of her husband to another man with her forceful desire to comprehend everything to factual literal precision.
Gilbert renews in us an interest in evolution by taking us through Lamarck, Darwin and Wallace without boring us with the minutiae. The last few chapters where she tries to solve the Prudence Problem is a treat for those who enjoyed the journey. Through this historic fiction, Gilbert conveys that while the evolution of the physical body may be explained with scientific meticulousness, with the Darwin theory or Lamarck there still exists a hole, as much as it exists in the human body �� a lack of convincing evolutionary explanation for human altruism and self-sacrifice.
Rand never believed that altruism can have a place in society nor make anyone happy and she herself spent her last years of life in depression. Gilbert conveys to us each person strives to be significant. Alma Whittaker, dies a virgin, never had a family of her own, a fortune which she gave away, did not have an illustrious career yet considers herself to have a fortunate and fulfilling life because she never felt insignificant. She never felt insignificant because she never sought significance through another medium aka family husband children. She sought knowledge and dies more knowledgeable and fulfilled than she arrived. A glorious read indeed!

]]> My Name Is Red 2517 My Name Is Red is a transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of sixteenth-century Istanbul, from one of the most prominent contemporary Turkish writers.

The Sultan has commissioned a cadre of the most acclaimed artists in the land to create a great book celebrating the glories of his realm. Their task: to illuminate the work in the European style. But because figurative art can be deemed an affront to Islam, this commission is a dangerous proposition indeed. The ruling elite therefore mustn’t know the full scope or nature of the project, and panic erupts when one of the chosen miniaturists disappears. The only clue to the mystery–or crime? –lies in the half-finished illuminations themselves. Part fantasy and part philosophical puzzle, My Name is Red is a kaleidoscopic journey to the intersection of art, religion, love, sex and power.]]> 417 Orhan Pamuk Bramha 5
The author casts us headlong into a world where the Sultan of the powerful Ottoman Empire spends his fantastical wealth largely on the creation of beautifully illuminated books, the labor of many artists, each contributing his highly specialized talent. The corpse at the bottom of the well had been the Sultan's master gilder. A murder has occurred. Who is the murderer? “Olive�� or “Stork�� or “Butterfly��? Woven throughout this fascinating philosophic and artistic treatise is an engaging mystery story. Another murder occurs; we know the murderer but not his name.

The events of the story are set in the historical context of the Ottoman Empire which was in frequent contact and competition with various European powers, notably Venice. This fraught contact led to the tentative exchange of ideas, in artistic techniques. Thus, we come upon a major conflict in the background of this story: the arrival of European perspectival techniques in painting. Perspective in the visual arts brought with it a deep problematic in a Muslim society at that time, as the Koran sets clear limits on the righteousness of visual representation. The conservative yet unadulterated loving nature of Islam, considering anything different to be heretical, is certainly still alive. Pamuk succinctly states as “Two styles heretofore never brought together…come together to create something new and wondrous…May (Allah) protect us from the will of the pure and unadulterated.�� That is the liberal challenge. “A great painter does not content himself by affecting us with his masterpieces; ultimately, he succeeds in changing the landscape of our minds.��

Reading Pamuk’s mind through My name is Red is a promise and a threat. The author sets us to think if there something about Islam that is fundamentally conservative vis-à-vis Christianity and Western Civilization? While that point is relative or debatable, it is also probably too baldly stated. Both clearly have conservative and liberal elements, but one gains the impression in this book that Pamuk is asserting that the emphasis of the former is more conservative. I found this work fascinating and challenging, raising important issues and questions. Pamuk wrote this novel in an engaging
first person style with each of the fifty-nine chapters narrated by different characters. This this is very much a perspective as much as a story of perspective of art shifting radically ranging from the perspective of a master illuminator, to a dog, to a corpse speaking from beyond the grave. As in real life, none of the perspectives can be considered wholly reliable, no character is faultless each one addressing the reader or the living more or less directly, often with the aim of persuading us.

For the lack of other adjectives, I would like to say, this is a superb book. These hours in my life were well spent. I am fascinated by the insights into Islamic illumination of art, social customs and most of all love. The wedding between existentialism or idealism, real or imagined, East or West, North or South, is never a comfortable one. When two ideals/culture/styles/philosphy come together to create something new ..it could result in something wondrous…or equally damaging. May (Allah) protect us from the will of the pure and unadulterated. That is the liberal challenge which the reader as well the author confronts. When the tree speaks, it speaks darkly of two cultures at odds with each other, and we must bear in mind that it is not an actual tree, but a beautiful illustration in a book. I don't want to be a tree, says the tree, scorning the realism of Western landscape painting. I want to be its meaning. If Pamuk's novel could speak, it might express the very same wish about the lives it tells.

]]> 3.87 1998 My Name Is Red

author: Orhan Pamuk
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2015/05/31
date added: 2015/07/21
shelves:
review:
The book starts with a chapter entitled �� I am a corpse��. When a murdered corpse speaks from the bottom of a well, recounting to us the circumstances of its death, the life-work it has had to forfeit and its passionate hope of vengeance, no further thought is needed to acknowledge that the author is speaking of death as in loss of love rather than life. Reading Orhan Pamuk's novel of art and love, religious conflict and conspiracy concurrently with William Barret’s �� An irrational man�� was unsettling and disconcerting to me, to say the least.

The author casts us headlong into a world where the Sultan of the powerful Ottoman Empire spends his fantastical wealth largely on the creation of beautifully illuminated books, the labor of many artists, each contributing his highly specialized talent. The corpse at the bottom of the well had been the Sultan's master gilder. A murder has occurred. Who is the murderer? “Olive�� or “Stork�� or “Butterfly��? Woven throughout this fascinating philosophic and artistic treatise is an engaging mystery story. Another murder occurs; we know the murderer but not his name.

The events of the story are set in the historical context of the Ottoman Empire which was in frequent contact and competition with various European powers, notably Venice. This fraught contact led to the tentative exchange of ideas, in artistic techniques. Thus, we come upon a major conflict in the background of this story: the arrival of European perspectival techniques in painting. Perspective in the visual arts brought with it a deep problematic in a Muslim society at that time, as the Koran sets clear limits on the righteousness of visual representation. The conservative yet unadulterated loving nature of Islam, considering anything different to be heretical, is certainly still alive. Pamuk succinctly states as “Two styles heretofore never brought together…come together to create something new and wondrous…May (Allah) protect us from the will of the pure and unadulterated.�� That is the liberal challenge. “A great painter does not content himself by affecting us with his masterpieces; ultimately, he succeeds in changing the landscape of our minds.��

Reading Pamuk’s mind through My name is Red is a promise and a threat. The author sets us to think if there something about Islam that is fundamentally conservative vis-à-vis Christianity and Western Civilization? While that point is relative or debatable, it is also probably too baldly stated. Both clearly have conservative and liberal elements, but one gains the impression in this book that Pamuk is asserting that the emphasis of the former is more conservative. I found this work fascinating and challenging, raising important issues and questions. Pamuk wrote this novel in an engaging
first person style with each of the fifty-nine chapters narrated by different characters. This this is very much a perspective as much as a story of perspective of art shifting radically ranging from the perspective of a master illuminator, to a dog, to a corpse speaking from beyond the grave. As in real life, none of the perspectives can be considered wholly reliable, no character is faultless each one addressing the reader or the living more or less directly, often with the aim of persuading us.

For the lack of other adjectives, I would like to say, this is a superb book. These hours in my life were well spent. I am fascinated by the insights into Islamic illumination of art, social customs and most of all love. The wedding between existentialism or idealism, real or imagined, East or West, North or South, is never a comfortable one. When two ideals/culture/styles/philosphy come together to create something new ..it could result in something wondrous…or equally damaging. May (Allah) protect us from the will of the pure and unadulterated. That is the liberal challenge which the reader as well the author confronts. When the tree speaks, it speaks darkly of two cultures at odds with each other, and we must bear in mind that it is not an actual tree, but a beautiful illustration in a book. I don't want to be a tree, says the tree, scorning the realism of Western landscape painting. I want to be its meaning. If Pamuk's novel could speak, it might express the very same wish about the lives it tells.

]]> Life of Pi 170453
The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea.]]> 326 Yann Martel 0156027321 Bramha 2 3.88 2001 Life of Pi

author: Yann Martel
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2001
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2015/06/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy]]> 83321
Irrational Man ��begins by discussing the roots of existentialism in the art and thinking of Augustine, Aquinas, Pascal, Baudelaire, Blake, Dostoevski, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Picasso, Joyce, and Beckett. The heart of the book explains the views of the foremost existentialists—Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre. The result is a marvelously lucid definition of existentialism and a brilliant interpretation of its impact.]]> 314 William Barrett 0385031386 Bramha 5 I must lie down where all ladders start
In the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart."..Yeats
Barret is a brilliant mind with a flowing language. Is a world bereft of religion “homelessness�� for a man and in such world his only ladder to the transcendent in existentialism.
This philosophy attempts to live in the deafening, intolerable silence that follows the theism and atheism matters. Find in yourself the distinction between rational mind and being reasonable. Although existentialism cannot in the end offer a way out of the Silence, this book is invaluable for its humanizing theme and its recognition of facts that our culture is all too eager to sweep under the rug. It is worth the while of any thoughtful person to read it. I heartily recommend it those I heartily recommend it to those who like myself feel as if they are a stranger to the rest of humanity and to themselves��
]]> 4.09 1958 Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy

Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy

author: William Barrett
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1958
rating: 5
read at: 2015/05/30
date added: 2015/05/30
shelves:
review:
Now that my ladder's gone,
I must lie down where all ladders start
In the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart."..Yeats
Barret is a brilliant mind with a flowing language. Is a world bereft of religion “homelessness�� for a man and in such world his only ladder to the transcendent in existentialism.
This philosophy attempts to live in the deafening, intolerable silence that follows the theism and atheism matters. Find in yourself the distinction between rational mind and being reasonable. Although existentialism cannot in the end offer a way out of the Silence, this book is invaluable for its humanizing theme and its recognition of facts that our culture is all too eager to sweep under the rug. It is worth the while of any thoughtful person to read it. I heartily recommend it those I heartily recommend it to those who like myself feel as if they are a stranger to the rest of humanity and to themselves��

]]> Joseph Anton: A Memoir 13532186
So begins the extraordinary story of how a writer was forced underground, moving from house to house, with the constant presence of an armed police protection team. Rushdie was asked to choose an alias that the police could call him by. He thought of writers he loved and various combinations of their names. Then it came to him: Conrad and Chekhov—Joseph Anton.

How do a writer and his family live with the threat of murder for more than nine years? How does he go on working? How does he fall in and out of love? How does despair shape his thoughts and actions, and how does he learn to fight back? In this remarkable memoir, Rushdie tells that story for the first time; the story of the crucial battle for freedom of speech. He shares the sometimes grim, sometimes comic realities of living with armed policemen, and the close bonds he formed with his protectors; of his struggle for support and understanding from governments, intelligence chiefs, publishers, journalists, and fellow writers; and of how he regained his freedom.

Compelling, provocative, and moving, Joseph Anton is a book of exceptional frankness, honesty, and vital importance. Because what happened to Salman Rushdie was the first act of a drama that is still unfolding somewhere in the world every day.]]> 636 Salman Rushdie 0812992784 Bramha 2 It takes a lot of commitment, perseverance and self-imposed isolation to read a Rushdie creation. Understanding Rushdie is another ball game altogether. There should be a certain degree of magical realism and madness running through your veins to love and understand a Rushdie creation. In many ways, I found Joseph Anton disappointing.
I recommend this book to the extent that this deserves to be read to understand to honor the sacrifices Rushdie was forced to endure and to recognize those who stood with him. (More people than Rushdie were affected, not least the Japanese translator of his book, who was murdered; the Italian translator and Norwegian publisher, who were both seriously wounded; and numerous booksellers whose shops were firebombed.)
On a reflection, this book was disappointing because I kept comparing it to Midnights children which delivered a magical imagery, shifting through times and his amazing literary adage and not to say the least the unforgettable characters in Midnights Children. But Joseph Anton is nothing like it. It was like skimming through this diary entries but from a third person perspective. I am still trying to figure out why he wrote an auto biography from a third person. Was it to relieve some of the pain which you encounter when you reminisce a painful situation?
There are too much of mundane details, like the wine he drank, the trips (small and big), mundane facts reading which were a laborious feat for my wine induced brain. His relationships are inconsistent, which I personally took an interest to know the details, and without the privy of the text of conversations, he tells us who he saw and what they eat.
If you ever want to read a Rushdie, Midnights Children is a good choice. Joseph Anton is not a great read, but only if you want an insight of the fatwa battles.

]]> 3.61 2012 Joseph Anton: A Memoir

author: Salman Rushdie
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2015/05/17
date added: 2015/05/18
shelves:
review:
The lessons one learns at school are not always the ones the school thinks it's teaching.
It takes a lot of commitment, perseverance and self-imposed isolation to read a Rushdie creation. Understanding Rushdie is another ball game altogether. There should be a certain degree of magical realism and madness running through your veins to love and understand a Rushdie creation. In many ways, I found Joseph Anton disappointing.
I recommend this book to the extent that this deserves to be read to understand to honor the sacrifices Rushdie was forced to endure and to recognize those who stood with him. (More people than Rushdie were affected, not least the Japanese translator of his book, who was murdered; the Italian translator and Norwegian publisher, who were both seriously wounded; and numerous booksellers whose shops were firebombed.)
On a reflection, this book was disappointing because I kept comparing it to Midnights children which delivered a magical imagery, shifting through times and his amazing literary adage and not to say the least the unforgettable characters in Midnights Children. But Joseph Anton is nothing like it. It was like skimming through this diary entries but from a third person perspective. I am still trying to figure out why he wrote an auto biography from a third person. Was it to relieve some of the pain which you encounter when you reminisce a painful situation?
There are too much of mundane details, like the wine he drank, the trips (small and big), mundane facts reading which were a laborious feat for my wine induced brain. His relationships are inconsistent, which I personally took an interest to know the details, and without the privy of the text of conversations, he tells us who he saw and what they eat.
If you ever want to read a Rushdie, Midnights Children is a good choice. Joseph Anton is not a great read, but only if you want an insight of the fatwa battles.

]]> The Bastard of Istanbul 98920
In her second novel written in English, Elif Shafak confronts her country’s violent past in a vivid and colorful tale set in both Turkey and the United States. At its center is the “bastard�� of the title, Asya, a nineteen-year-old woman who loves Johnny Cash and the French Existentialists, and the four sisters of the Kazanci family who all live together in an extended household in Istanbul: Zehila, the zestful, headstrong youngest sister who runs a tattoo parlor and is Asya’s mother; Banu, who has newly discovered herself as a clairvoyant; Cevriye, a widowed high school teacher; and Feride, a hypochondriac obsessed with impending disaster. Their one estranged brother lives in Arizona with his wife and her Armenian daughter, Armanoush. When Armanoush secretly flies to Istanbul in search of her identity, she finds the Kazanci sisters and becomes fast friends with Asya. A secret is uncovered that links the two families and ties them to the 1915 Armenian deportations and massacres. Full of vigorous, unforgettable female characters, The Bastard of Istanbul is a bold, powerful tale that will confirm Shafak as a rising star of international fiction.]]> 368 Elif Shafak 0670038342 Bramha 3 3.88 2006

author: Elif Shafak
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2015/04/14
date added: 2015/04/14
shelves:
review:
Genocide and the psychosis of the executioners, be it Turkish Armenian, Jewish killing during the holocaust or as recent as the massive killing in Kenya resonates in history. This book is set on the premise of Turkish ambivalence to the Armenian massacres. It also exposes the Armenians stance where they love to stay victimized unlike the Jews. Instead of equating modernization strictly with Westernization, Safak’s novel conceptualizes Istanbul as a city that welcomes both European and Islamic cultures through the Kazancı household, where multiple and even contradictory dress codes and religious beliefs coexist. There are a cauldron of characters explained through Turkish �� Armenian gastronomic delight, which I thoroughly enjoyed, although the characters failed to drive home the political point. Although, I had a dissatisfying end, the book has prompted me to ponder into the history of Turkish- Armenian genocide, the real architects of modern Turkey and the Armenians refusal to evolve. It is obvious, that Elif has picked her style from Gabriel Marquez, Salman Rushdie and therefore offers a delightful prose. I now intend to delve into Turkish history and Literature Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s "Bluebeard�� . Orhan Pamuk, Yashar Kemal here I come.
]]> The Forty Rules of Love 10452283 The Bastard of Istanbul, acclaimed Turkish author Elif Shafak unfolds two tantalizing parallel narratives—one contemporary and the other set in the thirteenth century, when Rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, the whirling dervish known as Shams of Tabriz—that together incarnate the poet's timeless message of love.

Ella Rubenstein is forty years old and unhappily married when she takes a job as a reader for a literary agent. Her first assignment is to read and report on Sweet Blasphemy, a novel written by a man named Aziz Zahara. Ella is mesmerized by his tale of Shams's search for Rumi and the dervish's role in transforming the successful but unhappy cleric into a committed mystic, passionate poet, and advocate of love. She is also taken with Shams's lessons, or rules, that offer insight into an ancient philosophy based on the unity of all people and religions, and the presence of love in each and every one of us. As she reads on, she realizes that Rumi's story mirrors her own and that Zahara—like Shams—has come to set her free.]]> 355 Elif Shafak 0141047186 Bramha 5
When it was first released I was put off by the title and its comparison on the cover page to Coelho. I have an cognitive itch towards Coelho’s writings. I can’t deny that I like the way he writes, simple, philosophical and succinct. Yet his philosophy sometimes sticks out from the story which he weaves like in eleven minutes where Marias philosophy appears to be forced. And it is not really his problem, I don’t like the definitive pattern by which Coelho decides to hurriedly end his story. As though, he has spent a lot of time in the beginning, sometime in the middle and none whatsoever towards the end. Therefore, when The Independent compared Elif to Coelho I thought it to leave Elif Shafak in the bookshelf there.

But as Elif Shafak poignantly states as she embarks on this brave journey of love, the book reaches the reader and not the other way around. On hindsight, the essence of Sufism would have been completely lost on me had I read it at that time. Rumi and Shams are two well-known mystics and are a great source of influence and inspiration since the day of their meeting. It is well known that Rumi’s poems took birth with the disappearance of Shams. Documenting a legendry belief into a story is in itself a great challenge. But Elif has braved it in such a beautiful provocative fashion by drawing a modern parallel story of a woman who is on the brink of 40s. Ella found Aziz as Rumi found Shams. Elif has connected to a love, though the ages, interveaning the essence of love phenomenally well taking the challenge of the contrast of the ages. The characters are intriguing. Seeing Rumi through the eyes of Hamiz the begger and the prostitute was such a sharp contrast that one leaves judgemment behind as you wade through the book. She conjured their stories and weaved them together meticulously. Each came in and out of the picture and the protagonists received a proper background and enough fuel for their events to fit within the narrative and provide full impact.

I wished the book did not have an ending�� a must read.
]]> 4.09 2009 The Forty Rules of Love

author: Elif Shafak
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2015/02/28
date added: 2015/04/04
shelves:
review:
You could reevaluate your values, you could be told that your beliefs are rubbish, you could realise that you have been skewed by your parents who had no intention of doing so, you could realise that you are young vibrant but mature and �� you would understand that there is more to life or none to it�� you could be in a non-cognitive conflict with yourself…realise that living in a dual reality is a normal phenomenon and actually begin to enjoy it�� there are a lot of things which could happen around 40 years of age.. at any age for that matter, but more likely when you are forty.

When it was first released I was put off by the title and its comparison on the cover page to Coelho. I have an cognitive itch towards Coelho’s writings. I can’t deny that I like the way he writes, simple, philosophical and succinct. Yet his philosophy sometimes sticks out from the story which he weaves like in eleven minutes where Marias philosophy appears to be forced. And it is not really his problem, I don’t like the definitive pattern by which Coelho decides to hurriedly end his story. As though, he has spent a lot of time in the beginning, sometime in the middle and none whatsoever towards the end. Therefore, when The Independent compared Elif to Coelho I thought it to leave Elif Shafak in the bookshelf there.

But as Elif Shafak poignantly states as she embarks on this brave journey of love, the book reaches the reader and not the other way around. On hindsight, the essence of Sufism would have been completely lost on me had I read it at that time. Rumi and Shams are two well-known mystics and are a great source of influence and inspiration since the day of their meeting. It is well known that Rumi’s poems took birth with the disappearance of Shams. Documenting a legendry belief into a story is in itself a great challenge. But Elif has braved it in such a beautiful provocative fashion by drawing a modern parallel story of a woman who is on the brink of 40s. Ella found Aziz as Rumi found Shams. Elif has connected to a love, though the ages, interveaning the essence of love phenomenally well taking the challenge of the contrast of the ages. The characters are intriguing. Seeing Rumi through the eyes of Hamiz the begger and the prostitute was such a sharp contrast that one leaves judgemment behind as you wade through the book. She conjured their stories and weaved them together meticulously. Each came in and out of the picture and the protagonists received a proper background and enough fuel for their events to fit within the narrative and provide full impact.

I wished the book did not have an ending�� a must read.

]]> Adultery 20819682 272 Paulo Coelho 1101874082 Bramha 1
Read at your own peril !
]]> 3.10 2012

author: Paulo Coelho
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.10
book published: 2012
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2015/02/08
shelves:
review:
The curiosity to know what drove a woman or anyone to adultery outgrew my resolution not to read another Coelho and I found myself with Adultery. The preview said Linda, a seemingly happy woman with a great career, a loving husband lovely children a beautiful home in the beautiful city of Geneva where life is going perfectly for her is driven towards a relationship outside of marriage. Apart from graphic details of sex and the protagonist fetish for exciting or unconventional sex, Coelho fails to uncover the philosophy of the relationships outside marriage. I can’t help feeling that Coelho intended to drive a deep message similar to the contours of Bertrand Russell. When Linda after her first adultery came back and had tremendous sex with her husband and that in the ensuing days of her adultery, wherein she painted a beautiful family life with the exception of jealousy for her lover’s wife, I wonder if Coelho was trying his best to explain that the psychology of adultery is the pleasure to be falsified by conventional morals. That attraction to one person can coexist with a serious affection for another. If so, then he has seriously lost his plot. Coelho did none of that and attributed it to midlife crisis and a happy conventional ending in the likes of Silsila without dissecting whether the spouse of the adulterer was emotionally victimized or chose to be removed and in either case, how did he deal with it?

Read at your own peril !

]]> <![CDATA[The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge]]> 78250 A Separate Reality and Journey to Ixtlan. Includes the teachings and a structural analysis.]]> 288 Carlos Castaneda 0671227424 Bramha 0 to-read 3.96 1968 The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

author: Carlos Castaneda
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1968
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/12/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Narcissus and Goldmund 5954 Narcissus and Goldmund tells the story of two medieval men whose characters are diametrically opposite: Narcissus, an ascetic monk firm in his religious commitment, and Goldmund, a romantic youth hungry for knowledge and worldly experience. First published in 1930, Hesse's novel remains a moving and pointed exploration of the conflict between the life of the spirit and the life of the flesh. It is a theme that transcends all time.]]> 315 Hermann Hesse 0374506841 Bramha 3
With the exception of the first six chapters and the last three the story focuses more on Goldmunds flings and less on the Narcissus and his contemplation on seeking life’s. The conversation between Naricissus and Goldmund during the first few chapters are enriching leaving the reader asking for more. Similar philosophies occur only during the end when they meet again. While Goldmund discovers the ways of love; he seduces hundreds of women. He feels the horror of death and violence, the beauty of art and labor, and the pain of loss. He begins an unfulfilled tryst with the daughter of a knight and is exiled in the middle of winter. He then takes up with a fellow traveler, whom he later kills to defend himself from robbery. Alone in the world and with murder on his conscience he is rescued by a peasant family and during the night comes to the aid of a woman giving birth. It is then he sees that the look of pain of the face during childbirth and the ecstasy of orgasm are identical. It moves him to realize such a fundamental truth about life. I found the prose bland and entire story line would have benefitted from more or equal focus on Narcissus search on truth.
]]> 4.26 1930 Narcissus and Goldmund

author: Hermann Hesse
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1930
rating: 3
read at: 2014/07/30
date added: 2014/07/30
shelves:
review:
Hermann Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund, is the tale of two best friends, a monk and a wanderer, whose lives come together, diverge, and reunite over the years. Each seeking fulfillment in his own way. Narcissus follows one of asceticism and contemplation. Goldmund, on the other hand, lives a life that is so full of experience, so muddied with the refuse of the world, so corrupted by sin and doubt, that finding his path to fulfillment becomes a cross to bear. This is indeed the way most of us live in society. Like Goldmund, one day we are soaring on life’s joy while things are in bloom around us, the next we are in the depths of despair because life’s offerings are not as sweet as before. Goldmund personifies the kind of dextrous everyman who can be anything he chooses, but who always wants something more. He does not live in the world of the mind, but in the physical world of love and music and art and death. Goldmund leads a vagabond and nomad’s life seeking fulfilment in love and sex but never gratified...whilst Narcissus leads a secured closed life in the cloister seeking fulfillement through spiritual means..each incomplete without the other.

With the exception of the first six chapters and the last three the story focuses more on Goldmunds flings and less on the Narcissus and his contemplation on seeking life’s. The conversation between Naricissus and Goldmund during the first few chapters are enriching leaving the reader asking for more. Similar philosophies occur only during the end when they meet again. While Goldmund discovers the ways of love; he seduces hundreds of women. He feels the horror of death and violence, the beauty of art and labor, and the pain of loss. He begins an unfulfilled tryst with the daughter of a knight and is exiled in the middle of winter. He then takes up with a fellow traveler, whom he later kills to defend himself from robbery. Alone in the world and with murder on his conscience he is rescued by a peasant family and during the night comes to the aid of a woman giving birth. It is then he sees that the look of pain of the face during childbirth and the ecstasy of orgasm are identical. It moves him to realize such a fundamental truth about life. I found the prose bland and entire story line would have benefitted from more or equal focus on Narcissus search on truth.

]]> The War of Art 1319 168 Steven Pressfield 0446691437 Bramha 2 3.95 2002

author: Steven Pressfield
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2002
rating: 2
read at: 2014/06/30
date added: 2014/06/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Phaedrus, #1)]]> 629 Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is an examination of how we live, a meditation on how to live better set around the narration of a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest, undertaken by a father & his young son.]]> 540 Robert M. Pirsig 0060589469 Bramha 3 3.78 1974 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Phaedrus, #1)

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Phaedrus, #1)

author: Robert M. Pirsig
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1974
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/06/30
shelves:
review:

]]> The Art of Thinking Clearly 16248196
Have you ever:
�� Invested time in something that, with hindsight, just wasn't worth it?
�� Overpayed in an Ebay auction?
�� Continued doing something you knew was bad for you?
�� Sold stocks too late, or too early?
�� Taken credit for success, but blamed failure on external circumstances?
�� Backed the wrong horse?

These are examples of cognitive biases, simple errors we all make in our day-to-day thinking. But by knowing what they are and how to spot them, we can avoid them and make better choices-whether dealing with a personal problem or a business negotiation; trying to save money or make money; working out what we do or don't want in life: and how best to get it.

Simple, clear and always surprising, this indispensable book will change the way you think and transform your decision-making-work, at home, every day. It reveals, in 99 short chapters, the most common errors of judgment, and how to avoid them.]]> 384 Rolf Dobelli 0062219685 Bramha 4 3.83 2011 The Art of Thinking Clearly

author: Rolf Dobelli
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2014/03/31
date added: 2014/04/01
shelves:
review:
A concise version of Predictably Irrational and Black Swan. An excellent short guide to random thoughts. But in various places leaves a flair of pessimism.
]]> <![CDATA[The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable]]> 242472
A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was. The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9/11. For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives.

Why do we not acknowledge the phenomenon of black swans until after they occur? Part of the answer, according to Taleb, is that humans are hardwired to learn specifics when they should be focused on generalities. We concentrate on things we already know and time and time again fail to take into consideration what we don’t know. We are, therefore, unable to truly estimate opportunities, too vulnerable to the impulse to simplify, narrate, and categorize, and not open enough to rewarding those who can imagine the “impossible.��

For years, Taleb has studied how we fool ourselves into thinking we know more than we actually do. We restrict our thinking to the irrelevant and inconsequential, while large events continue to surprise us and shape our world. In this revelatory book, Taleb will change the way you look at the world, and this second edition features a new philosophical and empirical essay, “On Robustness and Fragility,�� which offers tools to navigate and exploit a Black Swan world.

Taleb is a vastly entertaining writer, with wit, irreverence, and unusual stories to tell. He has a polymathic command of subjects ranging from cognitive science to business to probability theory. Elegant, startling, and universal in its applications, The Black Swan is a landmark book—itself a black swan.]]> 480 Nassim Nicholas Taleb 1400063515 Bramha 3 3.96 2007 The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2014/03/31
date added: 2014/03/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions]]> 1713426
Why does recalling the Ten Commandments reduce our tendency to lie, even when we couldn't possibly be caught?

Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup?

Why do we go back for second helpings at the unlimited buffet, even when our stomachs are already full?

And how did we ever start spending $4.15 on a cup of coffee when, just a few years ago, we used to pay less than a dollar?

When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're in control. We think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we?

In a series of illuminating, often surprising experiments, MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. Blending everyday experience with groundbreaking research, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities.

Not only do we make astonishingly simple mistakes every day, but we make the same "types" of mistakes, Ariely discovers. We consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. We fail to understand the profound effects of our emotions on what we want, and we overvalue what we already own. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They're systematic and predictable--making us "predictably" irrational.

From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, Ariely explains how to break through these systematic patterns of thought to make better decisions. "Predictably Irrational" will change the way we interact with the world--one small decision at a time.]]> 247 Dan Ariely Bramha 4
For things to exist there are two essential conditions,
that a man should see them and be able to give them a term

Predictably Irrational, written simple and succinct, Dan Ariely excels in not deliberating on the expounded. Prior to reading Black Swan or Predictably Irrational, it never occurred that cognitive behavior could be based on totally irrational factors. I believed that I am a rational and logical individual. This book told me that my belief was absolutely irrational. I also believed that the cognition of those who surround me are based in similar fashion. However, this book gave me the insight that decisions were not simply rational as we tended to believe they we were. This book brings three concepts a) relativity and anchoring b) managing our expectations and c) morality.
Ariely points out that anchoring is an insidious problem, since you are at the mercy of the individual setting the price. Starbucks took advantage of this psychological quirk when it first became ubiquitous. Prior to Starbucks, no one would have dreamed of spending $5 for a cup of coffee. If you have paid $5 for coffee once, it becomes your new anchor for the price of coffee. Everything less than 5 $ appears cheap and affordable.
Generally, humans have the experience that they expect to have. For example, if you have a headache, Ariely shows that you expect an expensive painkiller to do a better job than a cheap one, and because of those expectations, you do feel better after downing the costly pill. Unfortunately, that’s true even if both pills are identical, other than price. Same with food and restaurants. This explains why the words “succulent�� or “drizzled�� on a menu. Maybe that’s why the words sizzlers were coined for food !
When you find yourself making decisions about your life based on fear or anxiety, take a moment to think about just how likely your expectations are. Am I deciding based on the expectation of gaining or fear of losing? More likely it is fear of losing which will inspire our decisions, however irrational the loss may be. If you let your child walk by himself to a friend’s house, is it really likely that something terrible will happen, or is that simply the irrational expectation you have?
Despite a popular belief otherwise, Ariely contends ( with experiments ) human morality can be very much contingent on outside forces. For example, in the cheating experiment, Ariely discovered that any reminder of a moral code �� from the Ten Commandments to the college honor code �� would affect a student’s willingness to cheat, even when there was no way he could be caught.
Similarly, Ariely points out, “Cheating is a lot easier when it’s a step removed from money.�� We have an irrational reverence for cash which we do not have for many things that are non-monetary. This is part of the reason why our society harshly prosecutes purse-snatchers, but allows CEOs of companies that duped their customers to live under house arrest.
In a rather indelicate or slightly race experiment, Ariely proved that while we may believe in fairness, gender equality, and even safe sex while in a normal state, we are much more likely to ignore those beliefs when aroused. I was shocked to find out that morality is flexible and dependent on the circumstances. To a large extent ( not fully though), Ariely advised to counter the indelicate state of morality we need to decide how we will behave before temptation strikes.
The Book makes for a great and interesting read and nearly every chapter from the book can be applied to real life. Our rationals for hunch /intuition are explained in a very lucid and clear way. A recommended read to my friends, for an insightful and a new perspective on people’s behavior and reasons behind why they do certain things even when it doesn’t sound that logical.
]]> 4.12 2008 Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

author: Dan Ariely
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2014/03/15
date added: 2014/03/31
shelves:
review:
Predictably Irrational

For things to exist there are two essential conditions,
that a man should see them and be able to give them a term

Predictably Irrational, written simple and succinct, Dan Ariely excels in not deliberating on the expounded. Prior to reading Black Swan or Predictably Irrational, it never occurred that cognitive behavior could be based on totally irrational factors. I believed that I am a rational and logical individual. This book told me that my belief was absolutely irrational. I also believed that the cognition of those who surround me are based in similar fashion. However, this book gave me the insight that decisions were not simply rational as we tended to believe they we were. This book brings three concepts a) relativity and anchoring b) managing our expectations and c) morality.
Ariely points out that anchoring is an insidious problem, since you are at the mercy of the individual setting the price. Starbucks took advantage of this psychological quirk when it first became ubiquitous. Prior to Starbucks, no one would have dreamed of spending $5 for a cup of coffee. If you have paid $5 for coffee once, it becomes your new anchor for the price of coffee. Everything less than 5 $ appears cheap and affordable.
Generally, humans have the experience that they expect to have. For example, if you have a headache, Ariely shows that you expect an expensive painkiller to do a better job than a cheap one, and because of those expectations, you do feel better after downing the costly pill. Unfortunately, that’s true even if both pills are identical, other than price. Same with food and restaurants. This explains why the words “succulent�� or “drizzled�� on a menu. Maybe that’s why the words sizzlers were coined for food !
When you find yourself making decisions about your life based on fear or anxiety, take a moment to think about just how likely your expectations are. Am I deciding based on the expectation of gaining or fear of losing? More likely it is fear of losing which will inspire our decisions, however irrational the loss may be. If you let your child walk by himself to a friend’s house, is it really likely that something terrible will happen, or is that simply the irrational expectation you have?
Despite a popular belief otherwise, Ariely contends ( with experiments ) human morality can be very much contingent on outside forces. For example, in the cheating experiment, Ariely discovered that any reminder of a moral code �� from the Ten Commandments to the college honor code �� would affect a student’s willingness to cheat, even when there was no way he could be caught.
Similarly, Ariely points out, “Cheating is a lot easier when it’s a step removed from money.�� We have an irrational reverence for cash which we do not have for many things that are non-monetary. This is part of the reason why our society harshly prosecutes purse-snatchers, but allows CEOs of companies that duped their customers to live under house arrest.
In a rather indelicate or slightly race experiment, Ariely proved that while we may believe in fairness, gender equality, and even safe sex while in a normal state, we are much more likely to ignore those beliefs when aroused. I was shocked to find out that morality is flexible and dependent on the circumstances. To a large extent ( not fully though), Ariely advised to counter the indelicate state of morality we need to decide how we will behave before temptation strikes.
The Book makes for a great and interesting read and nearly every chapter from the book can be applied to real life. Our rationals for hunch /intuition are explained in a very lucid and clear way. A recommended read to my friends, for an insightful and a new perspective on people’s behavior and reasons behind why they do certain things even when it doesn’t sound that logical.

]]> Aghora III: The Law of Karma 677453 322 Robert E Svobodha 0914732374 Bramha 3 4.27 1997

author: Robert E Svobodha
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at: 2013/08/29
date added: 2014/02/16
shelves:
review:
I was completely fortified by the first one. However, in the third volume Svoboda had not much to offer than what was explained in Volume one. Volume three is a detailed narration of events. I lost interest after a few chapters. Stephen Knapp has written about Karma and reincarnation more beautifully.
]]> <![CDATA[Ayn Rand and the World She Made]]> 3561809 The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Altogether, more than 12 million copies of the two novels have been sold in the United States. The books have attracted three generations of readers, shaped the foundation of the Libertarian movement, and influenced White House economic policies throughout the Reagan years and beyond. A passionate advocate of laissez-faire capitalism and individual rights, Rand remains a powerful force in the political perceptions of Americans today. Yet twenty-five years after her death, her readers know little about her life.

In this seminal biography, Anne C. Heller traces the controversial author’s life from her childhood in Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution to her years as a screenwriter in Hollywood, the publication of her blockbuster novels, and the rise and fall of the cult that formed around her in the 1950s and 1960s. Throughout, Heller reveals previously unknown facts about Rand’s history and looks at Rand with new research and a fresh perspective.

Based on original research in Russia, dozens of interviews with Rand’s acquaintances and former acolytes, and previously unexamined archives of tapes and letters, AYN RAND AND THE WORLD SHE MADE is a comprehensive and eye-opening portrait of one of the most significant and improbable figures of the twentieth century.]]> 568 Anne C. Heller 0385513992 Bramha 3 My opinions have changed since the age of 17 But as much I find her objectivism a living concept and the need for philosophy fundamental, I don’t agree with her cut throat non -altruistic attitude. Ayn Rand, for me, still remains a great philosopher who taught that the highest virtue is thinking, Who openly slanded that a man without purpose is the most depraved man.

I picked Heller to reinvigorate my interest in Rand and I was largely dissappointed. Had nothing new to offer, than what Rand herself hadnt disclosed. The presentation and the style of writing was more fit for a tabloid.

]]> 3.85 2009 Ayn Rand and the World She Made

author: Anne C. Heller
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2014/01/26
date added: 2014/01/27
shelves:
review:
I read Ayn Rand for the first time when I was 17. Reading Fountainhead for the first time was the most thrilling and emotionally powerful reading experience of my life. Since then I have read it probably ten times or maybe more. I went through an Ayn Rand phase, but thankfully it didn't lead to a lifelong obsession. Although bitter and sometimes non-emotive, I still find Rand's writing brilliant, and the ideas she presents can be quite interesting and valid even for the current times.
My opinions have changed since the age of 17 But as much I find her objectivism a living concept and the need for philosophy fundamental, I don’t agree with her cut throat non -altruistic attitude. Ayn Rand, for me, still remains a great philosopher who taught that the highest virtue is thinking, Who openly slanded that a man without purpose is the most depraved man.

I picked Heller to reinvigorate my interest in Rand and I was largely dissappointed. Had nothing new to offer, than what Rand herself hadnt disclosed. The presentation and the style of writing was more fit for a tabloid.

]]> The Storyteller 15753740
Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day’s breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother’s death. When Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship. Despite their differences, they see in each other the hidden scars that others can’t, and they become companions.

Everything changes on the day that Josef confesses a long-buried and shameful secret—one that nobody else in town would ever suspect—and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor. If she says yes, she faces not only moral repercussions, but potentially legal ones as well. With her own identity suddenly challenged, and the integrity of the closest friend she’s ever had clouded, Sage begins to question the assumptions and expectations she’s made about her life and her family. When does a moral choice become a moral imperative? And where does one draw the line between punishment and justice, forgiveness and mercy?

In this searingly honest novel, Jodi Picoult gracefully explores the lengths we will go in order to protect our families and to keep the past from dictating the future]]> 461 Jodi Picoult 1439102767 Bramha 3 4.28 2013 The Storyteller

author: Jodi Picoult
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2014/01/15
date added: 2014/01/15
shelves:
review:
If you can put up with the nuances of baking, this books is an absolute delight. Jodi is an artful storyteller and has dealt beautifully with forgiveness.
]]> <![CDATA[Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother]]> 9160695
"This is a story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs. This was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones. But instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how I was humbled by a thirteen-year-old." —Amy Chua

All decent parents want to do what's best for their children. What Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother reveals is that the Chinese just have a totally different idea of how to do that. Western parents try to respect their children's individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions and providing a nurturing environment. The Chinese believe that the best way to protect your children is by preparing them for the future and arming them with skills, strong work habits, and inner confidence. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother chronicles Chua's iron-willed decision to raise her daughters, Sophia and Lulu, her way—the Chinese way—and the remarkable results her choice inspires.

Here are some things Amy Chua would never allow her daughters to do:

- have a playdate
- be in a school play
- complain about not being in a school play
- not be the #1 student in every subject except gym and drama
- play any instrument other than the piano or violin
- not play the piano or violin

The truth is Lulu and Sophia would never have had time for a playdate. They were too busy practicing their instruments (two to three hours a day and double sessions on the weekend) and perfecting their Mandarin.

Of course no one is perfect, including Chua herself. Witness this scene:

"According to Sophia, here are three things I actually said to her at the piano as I supervised her practicing:

- Oh my God, you're just getting worse and worse.
- I'm going to count to three, then I want musicality.
- If the next time's not PERFECT, I'm going to take all your stuffed animals and burn them!"

But Chua demands as much of herself as she does of her daughters. And in her sacrifices—the exacting attention spent studying her daughters' performances, the office hours lost shuttling the girls to lessons—the depth of her love for her children becomes clear. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is an eye-opening exploration of the differences in Eastern and Western parenting—and the lessons parents and children everywhere teach one another.]]> 237 Amy Chua 1594202842 Bramha 4
Ever grateful to the perfectionist who handed me this one. ]]> 3.64 2011 Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

author: Amy Chua
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2013/09/30
date added: 2013/11/04
shelves:
review:
Parents want their best for their children. Children dont come with instructions and even if they did, it would not apply to your own. This book is a must read for every parent who want the best for their children and best for themselves. Amy reminds me of the objectivist queen Ayn Rand in many ways. Mediocre is when you dont deliver your best and when you relate to others, says Ayn. Amy puts in more subtly, Never complain or make excuses. If something seems unfair, just prove yourself by working twice as hard and being twice as good.��

Ever grateful to the perfectionist who handed me this one.
]]> In Search of an Impotent Man 1334233 416 Gaby Hauptmann 1860495540 Bramha 3
It is an amusing story of a beautiful woman who sets out for the impossible- in search of a man who is not ruled by lust. This is a feminist tract in the form of a light, amusing novel. But on a serious note, it begs the question of whether modern women really know what they want from a man.

]]> 3.08 1995 In Search of an Impotent Man

author: Gaby Hauptmann
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.08
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at: 2013/08/29
date added: 2013/08/29
shelves:
review:
Amusing :)

It is an amusing story of a beautiful woman who sets out for the impossible- in search of a man who is not ruled by lust. This is a feminist tract in the form of a light, amusing novel. But on a serious note, it begs the question of whether modern women really know what they want from a man.

]]> Veronika Decides to Die 1431 The Alchemist addresses the fundamental questions asked by millions: What am I doing here today? and Why do I go on living?

Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything she could wish for: youth and beauty, plenty of attractive boyfriends, a fulfilling job, and a loving family. Yet something is lacking in her life. Inside her is a void so deep that nothing could possibly ever fill it. So, on the morning of November 11, 1997, Veronika decides to die. She takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up.

Naturally Veronika is stunned when she does wake up at Villete, a local mental hospital, where the staff informs her that she has, in fact, partially succeeded in achieving her goal. While the overdose didn't kill Veronika immediately, the medication has damaged her heart so severely that she has only days to live.

The story follows Veronika through the intense week of self-discovery that ensues. To her surprise, Veronika finds herself drawn to the confinement of Villete and its patients, who, each in his or her individual way, reflect the heart of human experience. In the heightened state of life's final moments, Veronika discovers things she has never really allowed herself to feel before: hatred, fear, curiosity, love, and sexual awakening. She finds that every second of her existence is a choice between living and dying, and at the eleventh hour emerges more open to life than ever before.

In Veronika Decides to Die, Paulo Coelho takes the reader on a distinctly modern quest to find meaning in a culture overshadowed by angst, soulless routine, and pervasive conformity. Based on events in Coelho's own life, Veronika Decides to Die questions the meaning of madness and celebrates individuals who do not fit into patterns society considers to be normal. Poignant and illuminating, it is a dazzling portrait of a young woman at the crossroads of despair and liberation, and a poetic, exuberant appreciation of each day as a renewed opportunity.

]]> 285 Paulo Coelho Bramha 3 I have contemplated murdering others when I am in in a fairly tortured state of mind but not myself and so I know very little about suicidal tendencies. Therefore, reading about Veronika was an odd experience.
Although Veronika is rushed to hospital and saved, she has caused irreparable heart damage that would kill her within a week. Now she has a week to live in the certain knowledge that she will die. The week is spent at Villette mental hospital where Veronika, of her own volition, starts to undergo a change and starts to affect the lives of the other patients. Interestingly, I learned that the author has spent time as a patient in a mental hospital, and that certainly raises the calibre of book above mere fable.
Coelho examines what insanity actually is, hinting that the real madness is what’s going on in the world outside the walls of Villette, defined as sanity purely by strength of numbers. Here and there, the book diverts from Veronika’s perspective to delve into the past experiences of the other patients. These were insightful journeys. As I was reading, I kept wondering how a book with a title like this was going to end in a way that would be satisfying without indulging in Bollywood melodrama. But Coelho pulls it off and the ending was delightful. Worth the lack of sleep last night.
]]> 3.75 1998 Veronika Decides to Die

author: Paulo Coelho
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 2013/08/28
date added: 2013/08/27
shelves:
review:
My last of Paul Coelho was “winner stands alone�� and I had sworn to myself that I had enough of Coelho. But still against my will, I found myself reading “Veronika decides to die��. Largely motivated by a conversation I had earlier with my friend over “emptiness of life without presence of God�� . Veronika is a young woman who possess all the success that life has to offer, and yet she is empty. And so, one day she chooses to overdose on sleeping pills. What surprised me about this was that Veronika wasn’t depressed; she was just sort of empty.
I have contemplated murdering others when I am in in a fairly tortured state of mind but not myself and so I know very little about suicidal tendencies. Therefore, reading about Veronika was an odd experience.
Although Veronika is rushed to hospital and saved, she has caused irreparable heart damage that would kill her within a week. Now she has a week to live in the certain knowledge that she will die. The week is spent at Villette mental hospital where Veronika, of her own volition, starts to undergo a change and starts to affect the lives of the other patients. Interestingly, I learned that the author has spent time as a patient in a mental hospital, and that certainly raises the calibre of book above mere fable.
Coelho examines what insanity actually is, hinting that the real madness is what’s going on in the world outside the walls of Villette, defined as sanity purely by strength of numbers. Here and there, the book diverts from Veronika’s perspective to delve into the past experiences of the other patients. These were insightful journeys. As I was reading, I kept wondering how a book with a title like this was going to end in a way that would be satisfying without indulging in Bollywood melodrama. But Coelho pulls it off and the ending was delightful. Worth the lack of sleep last night.

]]> And the Mountains Echoed 16115612 404 Khaled Hosseini 159463176X Bramha 2 And the mountains echoed is in all its emotions Intense. The author manages to twist a knife through the readers heart and I will show you a liar if you can show me someone who hasn’t resonated with his emotions at least once through his book. He knows how to whisk moral fibre into something exquisite. This is a book about love, nurturing our loved ones and the choices we make for ourselves and our loved ones in the belief and hope that it is done for the best. How the choices we make resonate through generations. Equally, does indecisiveness ruin you.
Almost every character is a powerful and it is difficult to discern the protagonist.
Like all his other books, Khaled Hussaini takes us through Rumi�� whom I have been longing to read now.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first half, but the second half lacked depth. There were too many characters, too many stories to each of them and the author was in a great hurry to run through them. The ending and the last half dint do justice to the author or to the story's beginning.
Still, an enjoyable read. ]]> 4.06 2012 And the Mountains Echoed

author: Khaled Hosseini
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2013/08/25
date added: 2013/08/24
shelves:
review:
Having read the three books he has authored, it would be unfair to comment on the master story teller with one word. Yet, if I had to choose a word to describe his books it would be …Intense.
And the mountains echoed is in all its emotions Intense. The author manages to twist a knife through the readers heart and I will show you a liar if you can show me someone who hasn’t resonated with his emotions at least once through his book. He knows how to whisk moral fibre into something exquisite. This is a book about love, nurturing our loved ones and the choices we make for ourselves and our loved ones in the belief and hope that it is done for the best. How the choices we make resonate through generations. Equally, does indecisiveness ruin you.
Almost every character is a powerful and it is difficult to discern the protagonist.
Like all his other books, Khaled Hussaini takes us through Rumi�� whom I have been longing to read now.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first half, but the second half lacked depth. There were too many characters, too many stories to each of them and the author was in a great hurry to run through them. The ending and the last half dint do justice to the author or to the story's beginning.
Still, an enjoyable read.
]]> <![CDATA[Aghora: At the Left Hand of God (Aghora)]]> 217493 327 Robert E. Svoboda 0914732218 Bramha 5 4.25 1986

Aghora: At the Left Hand of God (Aghora)

author: Robert E. Svoboda
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1986
rating: 5
read at: 2013/08/13
date added: 2013/08/13
shelves:
review:
Five stars for the content. I don't know what made me pick this book at TVM airport. Whatever force it was, reading this book has given me an entire new insight on another dimension of spirituality. It is not for the faint hearted nor for the strict conservative. But if you’re the sort of one-dimensional rationalist who is stuck with an entirely scientific outlook, presuming that ancient Hindu beliefs were just exercises in silliness, challenge you to read this book. This is a book unlike any I’ve read. Cant wait to get my hands on Part II.
]]> Midnight’s Children 14836 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

Saleem Sinai is born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the very moment of India’s independence. Greeted by fireworks displays, cheering crowds, and Prime Minister Nehru himself, Saleem grows up to learn the ominous consequences of this coincidence. His every act is mirrored and magnified in events that sway the course of national affairs; his health and well-being are inextricably bound to those of his nation; his life is inseparable, at times indistinguishable, from the history of his country. Perhaps most remarkable are the telepathic powers linking him with India’s 1,000 other “midnight’s children,�� all born in that initial hour and endowed with magical gifts.

This novel is at once a fascinating family saga and an astonishing evocation of a vast land and its people–a brilliant incarnation of the universal human comedy. Twenty-five years after its publication, Midnight�� s Children stands apart as both an epochal work of fiction and a brilliant performance by one of the great literary voices of our time.]]> 647 Salman Rushdie 0099578514 Bramha 4 joy-of-re-reading
Saleem Sinai tells us the story as he turns 30 years old ie in 1975. Saleem begins the story with his grandfather Aadam Aziz falling in love with his grandmother Naseem. The portrayal of his grandfather falling in love with his grandmother Nasim, through a perforated sheet which is linked to the hole in his forehead that was created when he refused to do Namz following a nose bleed, captivated me completely. Rushdie shines bright from the first chapter as he starts the journey with Aadam’s hole in his forehead, rather the vacuum in Adams life due to his renunciation of faith, which was filled in by Nasim’s entry. At times Saleem interrupts the story to abstract us of his philosophy. “Most of what happens in our lives takes place in our absence��. As I read this line, I wondered: “Could he get more profound than this?��, I think. And we were still in the first chapter.

Throughout Midnight’s Children, Indian and global politics resonate in the lives of the characters, often to an improbable degree. Aadam a doctor, falls in love with Naseem when examining her through a perforated sheet. He never sees her face for a long time, only her body parts which needs to be treated, those as and when determined by Naseem. The first occasion in this book in which a great event in world history corresponds to a personal event in the lives of Saleem’s family: World War I ends on the same day that Aadam finally sees Naseem’s face. When Rushdie linked these two events, I could identify in my own insignificant life where I could rely on my tragic feeling to make sense of huge historical attack. Sometimes, public history and private history are so entwined that we cannot but relate to them in parallel or superficially unconnected ways. You and me, we fall in love like Aadam and Naseem, Adam and Eve, through perforated sheets of life, a series of isolated glimpses creating affection in a piecemeal fashion that we fail to recognize people as whole.

The circumstances of Saleem’s birth are critical and in many ways it is a reflection of the newborn India that is explored in the story. When Saleem was subject to silent solitary confinement as a punishment by his mother, he discovers his inner powers an an ability to read minds and communicate telepathically. In another way, he tells that to discover our own potential by realizing our inner powers.
In all honesty, at times I found it irritating when he shifted from past to present especially when he was interrupted by Padma. For a narrator, who is in a hurry to tell us this story, because his body is falling into pieces, the book is exceedingly lengthy. It is an investment of your time and took me almost two months to finish. In my opinion, this investment does serve a legitimate function. You will fall in love with his style of narration, his use of prose and its philosophical content which is emanated even through his arrogant expectation of unconditional love from Padma.
]]> 3.98 1981 Midnight’s Children

author: Salman Rushdie
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1981
rating: 4
read at: 2013/08/11
date added: 2013/08/10
shelves: joy-of-re-reading
review:
I finished reading this almost a month back but couldn’t bring myself to write a review, the feat I dared not attempt. These words of mine, in all its absurdity, are only intended to mark my revelations and experiences whilst living this book.

Saleem Sinai tells us the story as he turns 30 years old ie in 1975. Saleem begins the story with his grandfather Aadam Aziz falling in love with his grandmother Naseem. The portrayal of his grandfather falling in love with his grandmother Nasim, through a perforated sheet which is linked to the hole in his forehead that was created when he refused to do Namz following a nose bleed, captivated me completely. Rushdie shines bright from the first chapter as he starts the journey with Aadam’s hole in his forehead, rather the vacuum in Adams life due to his renunciation of faith, which was filled in by Nasim’s entry. At times Saleem interrupts the story to abstract us of his philosophy. “Most of what happens in our lives takes place in our absence��. As I read this line, I wondered: “Could he get more profound than this?��, I think. And we were still in the first chapter.

Throughout Midnight’s Children, Indian and global politics resonate in the lives of the characters, often to an improbable degree. Aadam a doctor, falls in love with Naseem when examining her through a perforated sheet. He never sees her face for a long time, only her body parts which needs to be treated, those as and when determined by Naseem. The first occasion in this book in which a great event in world history corresponds to a personal event in the lives of Saleem’s family: World War I ends on the same day that Aadam finally sees Naseem’s face. When Rushdie linked these two events, I could identify in my own insignificant life where I could rely on my tragic feeling to make sense of huge historical attack. Sometimes, public history and private history are so entwined that we cannot but relate to them in parallel or superficially unconnected ways. You and me, we fall in love like Aadam and Naseem, Adam and Eve, through perforated sheets of life, a series of isolated glimpses creating affection in a piecemeal fashion that we fail to recognize people as whole.

The circumstances of Saleem’s birth are critical and in many ways it is a reflection of the newborn India that is explored in the story. When Saleem was subject to silent solitary confinement as a punishment by his mother, he discovers his inner powers an an ability to read minds and communicate telepathically. In another way, he tells that to discover our own potential by realizing our inner powers.
In all honesty, at times I found it irritating when he shifted from past to present especially when he was interrupted by Padma. For a narrator, who is in a hurry to tell us this story, because his body is falling into pieces, the book is exceedingly lengthy. It is an investment of your time and took me almost two months to finish. In my opinion, this investment does serve a legitimate function. You will fall in love with his style of narration, his use of prose and its philosophical content which is emanated even through his arrogant expectation of unconditional love from Padma.

]]> <![CDATA[Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead]]> 16071764 Lean In is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious debate about women and leadership. Ask most women whether they have the right to equality at work and the answer will be a resounding yes, but ask the same women whether they'd feel confident asking for a raise, a promotion, or equal pay, and some reticence creeps in. The statistics, although an improvement on previous decades, are certainly not in women's favour �� of 197 heads of state, only twenty-two are women. Women hold just 20 percent of seats in parliaments globally, and in the world of big business, a meagre eighteen of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg �� Facebook COO and one of Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women in Business �� draws on her own experience of working in some of the world's most successful businesses and looks at what women can do to help themselves, and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale.]]> 217 Sheryl Sandberg 0385349947 Bramha 3
So I was in for a surprise. Although, her writing style is bland ranting much like face book updates there are a few fruitful take- aways from this book. The first three chapters are exceptionally insightful. For one, when she says that the word life-work balance itself conjures up the image that they are diametrically opposite and therefore that it needs balance is a no winner for working women. Why would anyone want work to win over life? I agree that the only way to deal with freedom from inequality at work place is to be free from it. Free from your inner most fears to be exact.

My favorite pick from the book : What would you do if you weren’t afraid ? Think about it and go ahead and do it?

In fact, this book does not revolve only around work place. This is not a book about why women need to work, but what is keeping women from exercising their best choice, however personal and specific those choices are. Our subconscious cognitive prejudices. As a working mother who has leaned into opportunities, with two toddlers, I could identify with most of her thoughts in the book. I couldnt agree more with her that we work our tails off up to the point of giving birth or when she said we should demand job security when we take our maternity leave. I applaud Sandberg for covering a lot of topics that I think are important but remain under-discussed and under evaluated . For instance, the need for a reserved parking for a pregnant woman. It is not about inequality or equality. I can imagine the snigger that would result if an aggressive hardworking woman who wanted to be treated equal as the other gender asked for a reserved parking when she was nine months pregnant. Well she asked for equality, dint she? I can’t have equal pay and a reserved parking when I am pregnant, can I?

We women are guilty of minimizing our gender accomplishments and I have heard many women attributing their clan's career success to luck and mentoring, factors that impact men just as much but are hardly ever mentioned when male success is profiled. Even as I write this review, I debate whether I should use success alongside my career. I am not completely free of guilt.

But I couldn’t help concluding that Sandberg has given into a feminist prejudice on motherhood. She does fail to give recognition to the great job a women does - motherhood. I am a professional who has worked on the career ladder, but I also embraced the most important part of my life, which is being a mother. Almost at the end of the book, she cheers on the idea of the stay-at-home dad. I have come across men who refuse to provide and men to choose to be stay at home fathers. While the former is insolence shouldn’t be tolerated, the latter I think is a personal choice. But at the same time, I think there are some inherent, biological reasons why men want to be the provider and why women want to be the caregiver of the home. In other words, the gender differences are not entirely due to culture, and I wonder if Sandberg considered human DNA qualitative analysis. While Sandberg has a lot of respect for men who chose to be stay at home fathers, I personally would have a problem with that. According to Sandberg, it’s a brilliant idea to dress your kids in school clothes at night to save 15 minutes, well, Really? I almost puked. I would rather overrate my sleep or my partners sleep.

Push yourselves women to do better. Don't take yourself off the ladder (or jungle gym) until you actually give birth, not before. There is no reason to. And find your own mentors without asking. Put yourselves out there. We definitely need more women like Sandberg in this world who lean in and urge us to lean in. This would leave the world a better place for our daughters. However, I truly believe that the job of motherhood is way more important than Sandberg is willing to credit to, and you can and should treat motherhood as important as your quest for power and recognition. Parts of what she says, especially in the first half of the book, really resonated with me. Specifically, I related to her discussion of female guilt (I loved the quote she cited-- Show me a woman with no guilt and I'll show you a man!) and also the self-debasing way that women perceive and project themselves.

I recommend this book for every woman, not just for those wanting to focus on their career. During some parts, I wished I had some of this advice a decade ago! Although some things have changed regarding women in the workplace, there are still plenty of inhibitions, created by our own folk. Sandberg uses her experiences to give advice on how to face them directly. ]]> 3.94 2013 Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

author: Sheryl Sandberg
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2013/07/29
date added: 2013/07/31
shelves:
review:
I have to admit that I was prejudiced when I picked this book. This might as well be one of those self-righteous white woman, who had it all easy for her and dint have to battle an patriarchal orthodox religious family and the rest of the things which an ordinary girl born in an Indian middle class family would have to be faced with. I thought I would disagree with Sandberg and expected she would preach that women need to "work like men".

So I was in for a surprise. Although, her writing style is bland ranting much like face book updates there are a few fruitful take- aways from this book. The first three chapters are exceptionally insightful. For one, when she says that the word life-work balance itself conjures up the image that they are diametrically opposite and therefore that it needs balance is a no winner for working women. Why would anyone want work to win over life? I agree that the only way to deal with freedom from inequality at work place is to be free from it. Free from your inner most fears to be exact.

My favorite pick from the book : What would you do if you weren’t afraid ? Think about it and go ahead and do it?

In fact, this book does not revolve only around work place. This is not a book about why women need to work, but what is keeping women from exercising their best choice, however personal and specific those choices are. Our subconscious cognitive prejudices. As a working mother who has leaned into opportunities, with two toddlers, I could identify with most of her thoughts in the book. I couldnt agree more with her that we work our tails off up to the point of giving birth or when she said we should demand job security when we take our maternity leave. I applaud Sandberg for covering a lot of topics that I think are important but remain under-discussed and under evaluated . For instance, the need for a reserved parking for a pregnant woman. It is not about inequality or equality. I can imagine the snigger that would result if an aggressive hardworking woman who wanted to be treated equal as the other gender asked for a reserved parking when she was nine months pregnant. Well she asked for equality, dint she? I can’t have equal pay and a reserved parking when I am pregnant, can I?

We women are guilty of minimizing our gender accomplishments and I have heard many women attributing their clan's career success to luck and mentoring, factors that impact men just as much but are hardly ever mentioned when male success is profiled. Even as I write this review, I debate whether I should use success alongside my career. I am not completely free of guilt.

But I couldn’t help concluding that Sandberg has given into a feminist prejudice on motherhood. She does fail to give recognition to the great job a women does - motherhood. I am a professional who has worked on the career ladder, but I also embraced the most important part of my life, which is being a mother. Almost at the end of the book, she cheers on the idea of the stay-at-home dad. I have come across men who refuse to provide and men to choose to be stay at home fathers. While the former is insolence shouldn’t be tolerated, the latter I think is a personal choice. But at the same time, I think there are some inherent, biological reasons why men want to be the provider and why women want to be the caregiver of the home. In other words, the gender differences are not entirely due to culture, and I wonder if Sandberg considered human DNA qualitative analysis. While Sandberg has a lot of respect for men who chose to be stay at home fathers, I personally would have a problem with that. According to Sandberg, it’s a brilliant idea to dress your kids in school clothes at night to save 15 minutes, well, Really? I almost puked. I would rather overrate my sleep or my partners sleep.

Push yourselves women to do better. Don't take yourself off the ladder (or jungle gym) until you actually give birth, not before. There is no reason to. And find your own mentors without asking. Put yourselves out there. We definitely need more women like Sandberg in this world who lean in and urge us to lean in. This would leave the world a better place for our daughters. However, I truly believe that the job of motherhood is way more important than Sandberg is willing to credit to, and you can and should treat motherhood as important as your quest for power and recognition. Parts of what she says, especially in the first half of the book, really resonated with me. Specifically, I related to her discussion of female guilt (I loved the quote she cited-- Show me a woman with no guilt and I'll show you a man!) and also the self-debasing way that women perceive and project themselves.

I recommend this book for every woman, not just for those wanting to focus on their career. During some parts, I wished I had some of this advice a decade ago! Although some things have changed regarding women in the workplace, there are still plenty of inhibitions, created by our own folk. Sandberg uses her experiences to give advice on how to face them directly.
]]> <![CDATA[Truth, love & a little malice: An autobiography]]> 981113 423 Khushwant Singh 0670049166 Bramha 3 3.71 2002

Truth, love & a little malice: An autobiography

author: Khushwant Singh
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/07/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Catch-22 168668
Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy—it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.

This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller’s masterpiece with a new introduction by Christopher Buckley; a wealth of critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos from Joseph Heller’s personal archive; and much more. Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature.]]> 453 Joseph Heller 0684833395 Bramha 3 It not an easy task to write a review on a book which lacks a linear story line, narrated by an annoying third party satirical narrator, wherein the major parts of the story is confusing, disoriented and disjointed as hell.
John Yossarian , the protagonist, is an air force captain and bombaridian stationed in Pianosa. He doesn’t want to fly any more missions because everyone is out to kill him. It makes no difference to him if they are out to kill everybody and not him personally. But he's told he can't get grounded, because the only people who get grounded are the crazy ones. But the crazy ones don't want to get grounded, so they fly more missions. Yossarian is clearly not crazy, because he doesn't want to die. Got that? That's Catch-22.
The novels first mention of the paradoxical law “catch 22�� is in Chapter 5. �� There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions.�� Over the course of novel, Catch 22 is described in a number of different ways that can be applied to a number of different aspects of wartime life. But later Yossarian figures out the absurdity of this abstract theory. He believes it does not exist. It is a trap made up of words, and words are faulty things, often misrepresenting reality. Even when you are allowed to go home after 47 missions, Catch 22 makes you do 55 mission because of your superior. Hence Yossarian believes it is not reality. It is a situation which is misrepresenting reality. Real people are sent to real peril based on unreal and unreliable words and that in essence is Catch 22.
It is definitely not a book for everyone. You may either love it or hate it. But I assure you some parts will keep you grinning or laughing to yourself at the most innocuous moments. Plenty of times I found myself genuinely laughing but with an underlying feeling that it is not really funny, but sadly true, (the parts on rape) . However in the major parts the comic absurdity outweighs the sad reality.
I did enjoy reading Catch 22. Having said that, I am left with the impression that this classic is a trifle overrated. After 6 chapters I got bored. War is bad. Military personnel are evil and stupid. They are so evil that they are stupid. By the way, it is so funny that they are stupid. I found it amusing for the first 6 chapters or so after which I got bored and wanted to get on with it. I prefer books with a philosophy genre and during the first few chapters I hoped that there may be more to it than meets the eye. Maybe there is and I missed the point. But when I reached the snowden I was left with the impression that Catch 22 is a one-trick pony.
]]> 3.99 1961 Catch-22

author: Joseph Heller
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1961
rating: 3
read at: 2013/05/27
date added: 2013/05/27
shelves:
review:
It took me nothing less than meditative discipline of a yogi not to abandon this book halfway.
It not an easy task to write a review on a book which lacks a linear story line, narrated by an annoying third party satirical narrator, wherein the major parts of the story is confusing, disoriented and disjointed as hell.
John Yossarian , the protagonist, is an air force captain and bombaridian stationed in Pianosa. He doesn’t want to fly any more missions because everyone is out to kill him. It makes no difference to him if they are out to kill everybody and not him personally. But he's told he can't get grounded, because the only people who get grounded are the crazy ones. But the crazy ones don't want to get grounded, so they fly more missions. Yossarian is clearly not crazy, because he doesn't want to die. Got that? That's Catch-22.
The novels first mention of the paradoxical law “catch 22�� is in Chapter 5. �� There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions.�� Over the course of novel, Catch 22 is described in a number of different ways that can be applied to a number of different aspects of wartime life. But later Yossarian figures out the absurdity of this abstract theory. He believes it does not exist. It is a trap made up of words, and words are faulty things, often misrepresenting reality. Even when you are allowed to go home after 47 missions, Catch 22 makes you do 55 mission because of your superior. Hence Yossarian believes it is not reality. It is a situation which is misrepresenting reality. Real people are sent to real peril based on unreal and unreliable words and that in essence is Catch 22.
It is definitely not a book for everyone. You may either love it or hate it. But I assure you some parts will keep you grinning or laughing to yourself at the most innocuous moments. Plenty of times I found myself genuinely laughing but with an underlying feeling that it is not really funny, but sadly true, (the parts on rape) . However in the major parts the comic absurdity outweighs the sad reality.
I did enjoy reading Catch 22. Having said that, I am left with the impression that this classic is a trifle overrated. After 6 chapters I got bored. War is bad. Military personnel are evil and stupid. They are so evil that they are stupid. By the way, it is so funny that they are stupid. I found it amusing for the first 6 chapters or so after which I got bored and wanted to get on with it. I prefer books with a philosophy genre and during the first few chapters I hoped that there may be more to it than meets the eye. Maybe there is and I missed the point. But when I reached the snowden I was left with the impression that Catch 22 is a one-trick pony.

]]> One Hundred Years of Solitude 7556492 422 Gabriel García Márquez Bramha 4
Lesson learnt: I will not hereafter follow a recommendation from someone who has an IQ of 150 plus.

I read the first chapter about five months ago and finished it this weekend. I made up my mind that I wanted to get on with my life which included this unfinished book. You know the feeling, when a book keeps staring at you challenging you smugly that you are not done with it.

This by no means an entertaining read and you need much more than an attention span of a gold fish to be glued on to this book. The 20 odd main characters have common names and I could feel my brain being taxed , new wrinkles on my grey matter every time I tried to figure out which Ursula, Aureliane or which beudeia the author was referring. Well, The Buendía family appear to be quite warped. And there are certain things, no matter the extent of Magical realism, will always make me sick..like a grown man having sex with a 9 year old. Maybe I am not yet ready for Magical realism. Most of the time I hated this book. But not all the time. Marques is an unique writer. His writing challenges and confuses you but leaves you wanting more. If you are looking for an entertaining relaxing read, then get set to draft a hate mail to Marques. But if you are looking to tax your brain nothing could be more worthwhile. I have a feeling that I will come back to it when I am mature enough for Tequila but for now I am happy with Red wine.

Few Favorite Lines from this book:

- Petra Cotes, for her part, loved him more and more as she felt his love increasing, and that was how in the ripeness of autumn she began to believe once more in the youthful superstition that poverty was the servitude of love.
- She had the rare virtue of never existing completely except at the opportune moment.
- He soon acquired the forlorn look that one sees in vegetarians. ( haha loved this one)
- Children inherit their parents' madness. (Disconcerting but true!)
- He really had been through death, but he had returned because he could not bear the solitude.
- More than mother and son, they were accomplices in solitude.
- Thus they went on living in a reality that was slipping away, momentarily captured by words, but which would escape irremediably when they forgot the values of the written letters.
- Lost in the solitude of his immense power, he began to lose direction
- “What does he say?' he asked.
'He’s very sad,�� Úrsula answered, ‘because he thinks that you’re going to die.'
'Tell him,' the colonel said, smiling, 'that a person doesn’t die when he should but when he can.��
- The secret of a good old age is simply an honorable pact with solitude.
- The startling thing about her simplifying instinct was that the more she did away with fashion in search for comfort and the more she passed over conventions as she obeyed spontaneity, the more disturbing her incredible beauty became and the more provocative she become to men.

And many many many more. In short, I hated this book because I loved every bit of it.]]> 4.10 1967 One Hundred Years of Solitude

author: Gabriel García Márquez
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1967
rating: 4
read at: 2013/04/08
date added: 2013/04/06
shelves:
review:
I was recommended to read this book to expand my literary horizons.

Lesson learnt: I will not hereafter follow a recommendation from someone who has an IQ of 150 plus.

I read the first chapter about five months ago and finished it this weekend. I made up my mind that I wanted to get on with my life which included this unfinished book. You know the feeling, when a book keeps staring at you challenging you smugly that you are not done with it.

This by no means an entertaining read and you need much more than an attention span of a gold fish to be glued on to this book. The 20 odd main characters have common names and I could feel my brain being taxed , new wrinkles on my grey matter every time I tried to figure out which Ursula, Aureliane or which beudeia the author was referring. Well, The Buendía family appear to be quite warped. And there are certain things, no matter the extent of Magical realism, will always make me sick..like a grown man having sex with a 9 year old. Maybe I am not yet ready for Magical realism. Most of the time I hated this book. But not all the time. Marques is an unique writer. His writing challenges and confuses you but leaves you wanting more. If you are looking for an entertaining relaxing read, then get set to draft a hate mail to Marques. But if you are looking to tax your brain nothing could be more worthwhile. I have a feeling that I will come back to it when I am mature enough for Tequila but for now I am happy with Red wine.

Few Favorite Lines from this book:

- Petra Cotes, for her part, loved him more and more as she felt his love increasing, and that was how in the ripeness of autumn she began to believe once more in the youthful superstition that poverty was the servitude of love.
- She had the rare virtue of never existing completely except at the opportune moment.
- He soon acquired the forlorn look that one sees in vegetarians. ( haha loved this one)
- Children inherit their parents' madness. (Disconcerting but true!)
- He really had been through death, but he had returned because he could not bear the solitude.
- More than mother and son, they were accomplices in solitude.
- Thus they went on living in a reality that was slipping away, momentarily captured by words, but which would escape irremediably when they forgot the values of the written letters.
- Lost in the solitude of his immense power, he began to lose direction
- “What does he say?' he asked.
'He’s very sad,�� Úrsula answered, ‘because he thinks that you’re going to die.'
'Tell him,' the colonel said, smiling, 'that a person doesn’t die when he should but when he can.��
- The secret of a good old age is simply an honorable pact with solitude.
- The startling thing about her simplifying instinct was that the more she did away with fashion in search for comfort and the more she passed over conventions as she obeyed spontaneity, the more disturbing her incredible beauty became and the more provocative she become to men.

And many many many more. In short, I hated this book because I loved every bit of it.
]]> A Thousand Splendid Suns 128029
With the passing of time comes Taliban rule over Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul loud with the sound of gunfire and bombs, life a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear, the women's endurance tested beyond their worst imaginings. Yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways, lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism. In the end it is love that triumphs over death and destruction.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a portrait of a wounded country and a story of family and friendship, of an unforgiving time, an unlikely bond, and an indestructible love.]]> 372 Khaled Hosseini 1594489505 Bramha 3 4.44 2007

author: Khaled Hosseini
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2013/03/16
date added: 2013/04/03
shelves:
review:
Similiar to Kite Runner this too is set in the background of AFghan Civil war. Did I like it? Yes I found it better than kite runner maybe because the narration through a more neutral third party style was more convincing. But the fundamental issue I had with uthis book was that the protagonist lost strength and character which was only revived towards the end.
]]> <![CDATA[Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage]]> 6728738 At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who'd been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. (Both were survivors of previous bad divorces. Enough said.) But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government, which-after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing-gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving into this topic completely, trying with all her might to discover through historical research, interviews, and much personal reflection what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is. Told with Gilbert's trademark wit, intelligence and compassion, Committed attempts to "turn on all the lights" when it comes to matrimony, frankly examining questions of compatibility, infatuation, fidelity, family tradition, social expectations, divorce risks and humbling responsibilities. Gilbert's memoir is ultimately a clear-eyed celebration of love with all the complexity and consequence that real love, in the real world, actually entails.]]> 285 Elizabeth Gilbert 0670021652 Bramha 4 Recommended read for those who are indecisive on Marriage, debating divorce or have issues to remain committed in a relationship.]]> 3.44 2009 Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage

author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2013/04/04
date added: 2013/04/03
shelves:
review:
It seems so long ago when I read Eat Pray and Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert but in reality it is been only a year ago. EG has style of writing which I then felt was very easy flowing. Her memoir is honest, intimate and reflective. Although I enjoyed the contents of Committed, I felt her writing was mediocre almost an essay style. This has got nothing to do with the author and is solely because during the course of last year I read many other authors too. I love EG’s sense of humor and her intimate style of writing. Many times I felt I was reading my thoughts aloud. Committed is her honest reflections on Marriage. She does not make peace with Marriage, she understands that it is constantly evolving and cannot be based on the single emotion �� Love. She concludes realistically a marriage based solely on Love is most likely to fail. If at all, love cannot be resonated with passion or romance. She has done a good amount of research on evolution on American civil marriages and some of the examples are insightful. This is an enjoyable memoir that covers history, love and travel and more importantly the inherent turmoil in women.
Recommended read for those who are indecisive on Marriage, debating divorce or have issues to remain committed in a relationship.
]]> <![CDATA[The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism]]> 665 Ayn Rand here sets forth the moral principles of Objectivism, the philosophy that holds human life--the life proper to a rational being--as the standard of moral values and regards altruism as incompatible with man's nature, with the creative requirements of his survival, and with a free society.]]> 173 Ayn Rand 0451163931 Bramha 5 joy-of-re-reading 3.52 1961 The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism

The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism

author: Ayn Rand
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.52
book published: 1961
rating: 5
read at: 2013/02/02
date added: 2013/04/02
shelves: joy-of-re-reading
review:

]]> Marriage and Morals 51789 208 Bertrand Russell 0415079179 Bramha 0 to-read 4.06 1929

author: Bertrand Russell
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1929
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/04/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Pilgrims and Other Stories 23201 288 Elizabeth Gilbert 0330351745 Bramha 0 to-read 3.17 1997

author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.17
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/03/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Immortals of Meluha (Shiva Trilogy, #1)]]> 7913305 The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an ancient legend: When evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge.

Is the rough-hewn Tibetan immigrant Shiva, really that hero? And does he want to be that hero at all? Drawn suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love, will Shiva lead the Suryavanshi vengeance and destroy evil?

]]> 436 Amish Tripathi Bramha 2 4.11 2010 The Immortals of Meluha (Shiva Trilogy, #1)

author: Amish Tripathi
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at: 2013/03/20
date added: 2013/03/20
shelves:
review:
That there resides God in us or God is the manifestation of oneself is universal law. This not so novel theory of karma has been depicted in a more original surrounding. Whilst throughout the book I marvelled at the authors capability to conjoin his version with the mythological version, his narration leaves a lot to be desired.
]]> Siddhartha 52036 152 Hermann Hesse Bramha 0 4.07 1922

author: Hermann Hesse
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1922
rating: 0
read at: 2013/03/16
date added: 2013/03/16
shelves:
review:

]]> The Kite Runner 77203 371 Khaled Hosseini 159463193X Bramha 2 4.34 2003

author: Khaled Hosseini
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2003
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2013/03/04
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Suitable Boy (A Bridge of Leaves, #1)]]> 50365 A Suitable Boy takes us into the richly imagined world of four large extended families and spins a compulsively readable tale of their lives and loves. A sweeping panoramic portrait of a complex, multiethnic society in flux, A Suitable Boy remains the story of ordinary people caught up in a web of love and ambition, humor and sadness, prejudice and reconciliation, the most delicate social etiquette and the most appalling violence.]]> 1474 Vikram Seth 0060786523 Bramha 5
'Buy me before good sense insists,
You’ll strain your purse and sprain your wrists.'

take the plunge. Its worth your time.
]]> 4.11 1993 A Suitable Boy (A Bridge of Leaves, #1)

author: Vikram Seth
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at: 2013/02/28
date added: 2013/03/04
shelves:
review:
I admit without a semblance of ignominy that my convent bred education never allowed me to enjoy my own clan- Indian authors. But recently, as my brother would say, I have developed a taste for it. When this book was released and made such a mayhem in the readers world, the size of the book and the language put me off. It has been sitting on my shelf and quietly staring at me until I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I finally read it and now at 37 years old and 13 years plus married life, I thoroughly empathize with the protagonist, Lata. Lata’s decision was no surprise. I saw it coming. Still I was angry and badly upset. Maybe because I could resonate with her reasoning. Maybe because I am reminded of the coward in me? Maybe because she speaks for the large mass of girls who would rather their lives be a smooth ride of mediocrity than the brilliance of quicksilver. Choosing to be mediocrely happy. Choosing the safer path, choosing the content life, choosing the stagnation. Lata disturbed me and I know it’s going to take some time to get back to my mediocrely safe choices. But all in all it was a brilliant read and Vikrem Seth is a graceful writer. Almost like a Jane Austen. He is too elaborative at times and hopefully forgive me for skipping a few pages on parliamentary politics. So when Vikram Seth challenges you in his opening lines..

'Buy me before good sense insists,
You’ll strain your purse and sprain your wrists.'

take the plunge. Its worth your time.

]]> The Time Traveler's Wife 881710 546 Audrey Niffenegger 022407394X Bramha 4
Intense love which will haunt me for a long time ! ]]> 4.02 2003

author: Audrey Niffenegger
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/02/02
shelves:
review:
One word - Haunting.

Intense love which will haunt me for a long time !
]]> <![CDATA[Scared (On the Edge of the World #1)]]> 6335104
Stuart is given a one last chance to redeem his career: A make-or-break assignment covering the AIDS crisis in a small African country. It is here that Stuart meets Adanna, a young orphan fighting for survival in a community ravaged by tragedy and disease. But in the face of overwhelming odds, Adanna finds hope in a special dream, where she is visited by an illuminated man and given a precious gift.

Now, in a dark place that's a world away from home, Stuart will once again confront the harsh reality of a suffering people in a forgotten land. And as a chance encounter becomes divine providence, two very different people will find their lives forever changed.]]> 304 1589191021 Bramha 4
I couldnt complete reading the book without stoppping to cry during various parts. It was like watching life and I could reach out to it. The author has dealt with issues that would break God's heart.
]]> 4.33 2009 Scared (On the Edge of the World #1)

author: Tom Davis
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2013/01/12
date added: 2013/01/13
shelves:
review:
One word - Phenomenal.

I couldnt complete reading the book without stoppping to cry during various parts. It was like watching life and I could reach out to it. The author has dealt with issues that would break God's heart.

]]> <![CDATA[The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine]]> 24711 The Secret Life of Bees.

I was amazed to find that I had no idea how to unfold my spiritual life in a feminine way. I was surprised and, in fact, a little terrified when I found myself in the middle of a feminist spiritual reawakening.

Sue Monk was a "conventionally religious, churchgoing woman, a traditional wife and mother" with a thriving career as a Christian writer until she began to question her role as a woman in her culture, her family, and her church. From a jarring encounter with sexism in a suburban drugstore to monastery retreats and rituals in the caves of Crete, Kidd takes readers through the fear, anger, healing, and transformation of her awakening. Retaining a meaningful connection "with the deep song of Christianity," she opens the door for traditional Christian women to discover a spirituality that speaks directly to them and provides inspiring wisdom for all who struggle to embrace their full humanity.]]> 238 Sue Monk Kidd 006064589X Bramha 0 to-read 3.97 1996 The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine

The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine

author: Sue Monk Kidd
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith]]> 12535 From the New York Times bestselling author of Hallelujah Anyway and Help, Thanks, Wow, a spiritual antidote to anxiety and despair in increasingly fraught times.

As Anne Lamott knows, the world is a dangerous place. Terrorism and war have become the new normal. Environmental devastation looms even closer. And there are personal demands on her faith as well: getting older; her mother's Alzheimer's; her son's adolescence; and the passing of friends and time.

Fortunately for those of us who are anxious about the state of the world, whose parents are also aging and dying, whose children are growing harder to recognize as they become teenagers, Plan B offers hope that we’re not alone in the midst of despair. It shares with us Lamott's ability to comfort and to make us laugh despite the grim realities.

Anne Lamott is one of our most beloved writers, and Plan B is a book more necessary now than ever. It is further evidence that, as The New Yorker has written, "Anne Lamott is a cause for celebration."]]> 320 Anne Lamott 1594481571 Bramha 0 to-read 4.04 2004 Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith

author: Anne Lamott
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Forgotten Country 12189193
On the night Janie waits for her sister, Hannah, to be born, her grandmother tells her a story: Since the Japanese occupation of Korea, their family has lost a daughter in every generation, so Janie is charged with keeping Hannah safe. As time passes, Janie hears more stories, while facts remain unspoken. Her father tells tales about numbers, and in his stories everything works out. In her mother's stories, deer explode in fields, frogs bury their loved ones in the ocean, and girls jump from cliffs and fall like flowers into the sea. Within all these stories are warnings.

Years later, when Hannah inexplicably cuts all ties and disappears, Janie embarks on a mission to find her sister and finally uncover the truth beneath her family's silence. To do so, she must confront their history, the reason for her parents' sudden move to America twenty years earlier, and ultimately her conflicted feelings toward her sister and her own role in the betrayal behind their estrangement.

Weaving Korean folklore within a modern narrative of immigration and identity, Forgotten Country is a fierce exploration of the inevitability of loss, the conflict between obligation and freedom, and a family struggling to find its way out of silence and back to one another.]]> 296 Catherine Chung 1594488088 Bramha 0 to-read 3.49 2012 Forgotten Country

author: Catherine Chung
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Not Without My Daughter 43255 528 Betty Mahmoody 0552152161 Bramha 2 4.13 1987

author: Betty Mahmoody
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1987
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2012/12/30
shelves:
review:

]]> The God of Small Things 9777
Armed only with the invincible innocence of children, they fashion a childhood for themselves in the shade of the wreck that is their family—their lonely, lovely mother, Ammu (who loves by night the man her children love by day), their blind grandmother, Mammachi (who plays Handel on her violin), their beloved uncle Chacko (Rhodes scholar, pickle baron, radical Marxist, bottom-pincher), their enemy, Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grandaunt), and the ghost of an imperial entomologist's moth (with unusually dense dorsal tufts).

When their English cousin, Sophie Mol, and her mother, Margaret Kochamma, arrive on a Christmas visit, Esthappen and Rahel learn that Things Can Change in a Day. That lives can twist into new, ugly shapes, even cease forever, beside their river "graygreen." With fish in it. With the sky and trees in it. And at night, the broken yellow moon in it.

The brilliantly plotted story uncoils with an agonizing sense of foreboding and inevitability. Yet nothing prepares you for what lies at the heart of it.

The God of Small Things takes on the Big Themes—Love. Madness. Hope. Infinite Joy. Here is a writer who dares to break the rules. To dislocate received rhythms and create the language she requires, a language that is at once classical and unprecedented. Arundhati Roy has given us a book that is anchored to anguish, but fueled by wit and magic.]]> 321 Arundhati Roy 0679457313 Bramha 2 3.97 1997 The God of Small Things

author: Arundhati Roy
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1997
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2012/12/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond]]> 141499
Gene Kranz was present at the creation of America’s manned space program and was a key player in it for three decades. As a flight director in NASA’s Mission Control, Kranz witnessed firsthand the making of history. He participated in the space program from the early days of the Mercury program to the last Apollo mission, and beyond. He endured the disastrous first years when rockets blew up and the United States seemed to fall further behind the Soviet Union in the space race. He helped to launch Alan Shepard and John Glenn, then assumed the flight director’s role in the Gemini program, which he guided to fruition. With his teammates, he accepted the challenge to carry out President John F. Kennedy’s commitment to land a man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s.

Kranz recounts these thrilling historic events and offers new information about the famous flights. What appeared as nearly flawless missions to the Moon were, in fact, a series of hair-raising near misses. When the space technology failed, as it sometimes did, the controllers�� only recourse was to rely on their skills and those of their teammates. He reveals behind-the-scenes details to demonstrate the leadership, discipline, trust, and teamwork that made the space program a success.

A fascinating firsthand account by a veteran mission controller of one of America’s greatest achievements, Failure is Not an Option reflects on what has happened to the space program and offers his own bold suggestions about what we ought to be doing in space now.]]> 416 Gene Kranz 0425179877 Bramha 4 Gene Kranz is not a polished writer either. Also guilty of skipping through some pages.
However i have to admit Genes accurate readable narration ofthe mission control makes it one amongst my best books read. ]]> 4.28 2000 Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond

Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond

author: Gene Kranz
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/26
shelves:
review:
I am a lawyer and often had to google up some of the technical terms and jargons.
Gene Kranz is not a polished writer either. Also guilty of skipping through some pages.
However i have to admit Genes accurate readable narration ofthe mission control makes it one amongst my best books read.
]]> A Room of One’s Own 18521 A Room of One's Own is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf. First published on the 24th of October, 1929, the essay was based on a series of lectures she delivered at Newnham College and Girton College, two women's colleges at Cambridge University in October 1928. While this extended essay in fact employs a fictional narrator and narrative to explore women both as writers and characters in fiction, the manuscript for the delivery of the series of lectures, titled Women and Fiction, and hence the essay, are considered nonfiction. The essay is seen as a feminist text, and is noted in its argument for both a literal and figural space for women writers within a literary tradition dominated by patriarchy.]]> 112 Virginia Woolf Bramha 0 to-read 4.22 1929 A Room of One’s Own

author: Virginia Woolf
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1929
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Second Sex 457264 746 Simone de Beauvoir 0679724516 Bramha 5 4.16 1949

author: Simone de Beauvoir
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1949
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/12/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Art of Living Consciously: The Power of Awareness to Transform Everyday Life]]> 646187 288 Nathaniel Branden 0684810840 Bramha 0 to-read 4.17 1997

The Art of Living Consciously: The Power of Awareness to Transform Everyday Life

author: Nathaniel Branden
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Psychology of Romantic Love]]> 646182 The Psychology of Romantic Love explores what love is, why love is born, why it sometimes grows, and why it sometimes dies. Nathaniel Branden, licensed psychotherapist, lecturer, corporate consultant, and the bestselling author of twenty books including The Psychology of Self-Esteem; The Six Pillars of Self Esteem; and The Art of Living Consciously, explores the nature of romantic love on many levels the philosophical, the historical, the sociological, and the psychological. In The Psychology of Romantic Love, Dr. Branden explores why so many people believe that romantic love is just not possible in today's world. Drawing on his experience with thousands of couples, Dr. Branden finds that romantic love is still possible for anyone who understands its nature and is willing to accept its challenges. Love, according to Dr. Branden, is a pathway not only to extraordinary joy but also to profound self-discovery.]]> 240 Nathaniel Branden 0553275550 Bramha 0 to-read 4.12 2000 The Psychology of Romantic Love

author: Nathaniel Branden
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Psychology of Self-Esteem 646183 262 Nathaniel Branden 0553271881 Bramha 0 to-read 3.94 1969

author: Nathaniel Branden
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1969
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Vedic Prophecies: A New Look into the Future]]> 1557994 240 Stephen Knapp 096174104X Bramha 3 3.85 1998

The Vedic Prophecies: A New Look into the Future

author: Stephen Knapp
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Power of the Dharma: An Introduction to Hinduism and Vedic Culture]]> 2675151 170 Stephen Knapp 0595393527 Bramha 4 3.94 2006

The Power of the Dharma: An Introduction to Hinduism and Vedic Culture

author: Stephen Knapp
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Vision of Ayn Rand: The Basic Principles of Objectivism]]> 7744307 587 Nathaniel Branden 098195362X Bramha 4 4.44 2014

The Vision of Ayn Rand: The Basic Principles of Objectivism

author: Nathaniel Branden
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z (Ayn Rand Library)]]> 1980 560 Ayn Rand 0452010519 Bramha 5 4.09 1986

The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z (Ayn Rand Library)

author: Ayn Rand
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1986
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> Who Is Ayn Rand? 2034526 191 Nathaniel Branden Bramha 4 3.18

author: Nathaniel Branden
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.18
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> Night of January 16th 150736
On one level, Night of January 16th is a totally gripping drama about the rise and destruction of a brilliant and ruthless man. On a deeper level, it is a superb dramatic objectification of��Ayn Rand's vision of human strength and weakness. Since its original Broadway success, it has achieved vast worldwide popularity and acclaim.

To the world, he was a startlingly successful international tycoon, head of a vast financial empire. To his beautiful secretary-mistress, he was a god-like hero to be served with her mind, soul and body. To his aristocratic young wife, he was an elemental force of nature to be tamed. To his millionaire father-in-law, he was a giant whose single error could be used to destroy him.
What kind of man was Bjorn Faulkner? Only you, the reader, can decide.]]> 122 Ayn Rand 0452264863 Bramha 0 to-read 3.60 1936 Night of January 16th

author: Ayn Rand
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1936
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Philosophy: Who Needs It 843433 Ayn Rand before her death in 1982. In it, she summarizes her view of philosophy and deals with a broad spectrum of topics. According to Ayn Rand, the choice we make is not whether to have a philosophy, but which one to have: rational, conscious, and therefore practical; or contradictory, unidentified, and ultimately lethal. Written with all the clarity and eloquence that have placed Ayn Rand's Objectivist philosophy in the mainstream of American thought, these essays range over such basic issues as education, morality, censorship, and inflation to prove that philosophy is the fundamental force in all our lives.]]> 228 Ayn Rand 0451138937 Bramha 5 3.89 1982 Philosophy: Who Needs It

author: Ayn Rand
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1982
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> My Years with Ayn Rand 1979 Head First and The Healing Heart

Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is one of the most influential books of the twentieth century-its popular impact ranked second only to the Bible in a major poll. Millions know Rand as one of this century's great thinkers, writers, and philosophers, yet much about the private Ayn Rand remains shrouded in mystery.

Who was Ayn Rand?

My Years with Ayn Rand charts the course of the clandestine, tempestuous relationship between the enigmatic author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead and Nathaniel Branden-her young disciple and future pioneer of the self-esteem movement. In this book, discover the real Ayn Rand through the eyes of the man who became her soul mate and shared her passions and philosophical ideals.

Their tragic and tumultuous love story began with a letter written by Branden as an admiring teenage fan and Anded, more than twenty years later, with accusations of betrayal and bitter recriminations. My Years with Ayn Rand paints an unforgettable portrait of Ayn Rand-whose ideas, even today, can generate a maelstrom of controversy.

]]> 432 Nathaniel Branden 0787945137 Bramha 5 3.80 1989 My Years with Ayn Rand

author: Nathaniel Branden
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand]]> 663 224 Ayn Rand 0451163087 Bramha 4 3.69 1961

For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand

author: Ayn Rand
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1961
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> Letters of Ayn Rand 731031 720 Ayn Rand 0525939466 Bramha 4 3.95 1995

author: Ayn Rand
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> The Passion of Ayn Rand 40065 464 Barbara Branden 038524388X Bramha 4 3.76 1986

author: Barbara Branden
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.76
book published: 1986
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> Anthem 667 Anthem is Ayn Rand's classic tale of a dystopian future of the great "We"—a world that deprives individuals of a name or independence—that anticipates her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.

They existed only to serve the state. They were conceived in controlled Palaces of Mating. They died in the Home of the Useless. From cradle to grave, the crowd was one—the great WE.

In all that was left of humanity, there was only one man who dared to think, seek, and love. He lived in the dark ages of the future. In a loveless world, he dared to love the woman of his choice. In an age that had lost all trace of science and civilization, he had the courage to seek and find knowledge. But these were not the crimes for which he would be hunted. He was marked for death because he had committed the unpardonable sin: He had stood forth from the mindless human herd. He was a man alone. He had rediscovered the lost and holy word—I.

"I worship individuals for their highest possibilities as individuals, and I loathe humanity, for its failure to live up to these possibilities."
—Ayn Rand]]> 105 Ayn Rand 0452281253 Bramha 4 3.59 1938 Anthem

author: Ayn Rand
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.59
book published: 1938
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> Life of Pi 4214 460 Yann Martel 0770430074 Bramha 3 3.94 2001

author: Yann Martel
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon]]> 50396 Also including Austen's other short fictions, Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon, this valuable new edition shows her to be as innovative at the start of her career as at its close.]]> 379 Jane Austen 0192840827 Bramha 4 3.97 1818 Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon

Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon

author: Jane Austen
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1818
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/18
shelves:
review:

]]> 7 Day Focusing Plan 13515972
Within this book you learn how to make positive things happen within your life. By applying the techniques in this 7 Day Focusing Plan you can get anything you want. Every desire can be fulfilled.

FROM THE AUTHOR
Resistance moves you into harmony. What you do not resist means you do not fear it. Let go of your expectations and all fear will be gone. By continually holding on to your expectation and letting it become stressful creates fear that whatever it is you desire may not happen. Just let go of the need to care about whether it happens or not, then you are free from fear and can then concentrate on focusing.]]> 37 Stephen Richards Bramha 0 to-read 3.80 2011 7 Day Focusing Plan

author: Stephen Richards
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/12/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Memoirs of a Geisha 930
In "Memoirs of a Geisha," we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction - at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful - and completely unforgettable.]]> 434 Arthur Golden 0739326228 Bramha 4 4.07 1997 Memoirs of a Geisha

author: Arthur Golden
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Scarlett 73062 884 Alexandra Ripley 0446363251 Bramha 2 3.64 1991

author: Alexandra Ripley
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1991
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2012/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Gone with the Wind 18405 1037 Margaret Mitchell 0446365386 Bramha 5 4.30 1936

author: Margaret Mitchell
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1936
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Emma 6969 The newest edition is here. Another alternate cover can be found here.

Emma Woodhouse is one of Austen's most captivating and vivid characters. Beautiful, spoilt, vain and irrepressibly witty, Emma organizes the lives of the inhabitants of her sleepy little village and plays matchmaker with devastating effect.]]> 474 Jane Austen 0141439580 Bramha 2 4.05 1815 Emma

author: Jane Austen
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1815
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2012/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]> War and Peace 656
War and Peace broadly focuses on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the most well-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men.

As Napoleon’s army invades, Tolstoy brilliantly follows characters from diverse backgrounds—peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiers—as they struggle with the problems unique to their era, their history, and their culture. And as the novel progresses, these characters transcend their specificity, becoming some of the most moving—and human—figures in world literature.

Tolstoy gave his personal approval to this translation, published here in a new single volume edition, which includes an introduction by Henry Gifford, and Tolstoy's important essay `Some Words about War and Peace'.]]> 1392 Leo Tolstoy 0192833987 Bramha 3 4.14 1869

author: Leo Tolstoy
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1869
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Sense and Sensibility 14935 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780141439662

'The more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!'

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

This edition includes explanatory notes, textual variants between the first and second editions, and Tony Tanner's introduction to the original Penguin Classic edition.]]> 409 Jane Austen 0141439661 Bramha 2 4.10 1811 Sense and Sensibility

author: Jane Austen
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1811
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2012/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Twilight (The Twilight Saga, #1)]]> 41865
First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him - and I didn't know how dominant that part might be - that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Deeply seductive and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight is a love story with bite.]]> 498 Stephenie Meyer 0316015849 Bramha 1 3.66 2005 Twilight (The Twilight Saga, #1)

author: Stephenie Meyer
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2005
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2012/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]> To Kill a Mockingbird 2657 "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.

"To Kill A Mockingbird" became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film.]]> 323 Harper Lee 0060935464 Bramha 5 4.25 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird

author: Harper Lee
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1960
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]> The Count of Monte Cristo 7126 The epic tale of wrongful imprisonment, adventure and revenge, in its definitive translation

Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantès is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to use the treasure to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas�� epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s.

Translated with an Introduction by Robin Buss

An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here]]> 1276 Alexandre Dumas 0140449264 Bramha 3 4.29 1846 The Count of Monte Cristo

author: Alexandre Dumas
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1846
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Jane Eyre 10210 Alternate editions can be found here and here.

A gothic masterpiece of tempestuous passions and dark secrets, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is edited with an introduction and notes by Stevie Davis in Penguin Classics.

Charlotte Brontë tells the story of orphaned Jane Eyre, who grows up in the home of her heartless aunt, enduring loneliness and cruelty. This troubled childhood strengthens Jane's natural independence and spirit - which prove necessary when she finds employment as a governess to the young ward of Byronic, brooding Mr Rochester. As her feelings for Rochester develop, Jane gradually uncovers Thornfield Hall's terrible secret, forcing her to make a choice. Should she stay with Rochester and live with the consequences, or follow her convictions - even if it means leaving the man she loves? A novel of intense power and intrigue, Jane Eyre dazzled readers with its passionate depiction of a woman's search for equality and freedom.]]> 532 Charlotte Brontë 0142437204 Bramha 4 4.14 1847

author: Charlotte Brontë
name: Bramha
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1847
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]> The Casual Vacancy 13497818 A BIG NOVEL ABOUT A SMALL TOWN��

When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford appears to be an English idyll—with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey—but behind its charming façade lies a town at war. The rich clash with the poor, teenagers battle their parents, wives contend with their husbands, and teachers struggle with their pupils. Pagford is far from what it seems.

The empty seat Barry leaves on the town council becomes the catalyst for the fiercest conflict the town has ever seen. The election to fill his seat is fraught with passion, duplicity, and unexpected revelations. Who will triumph in this battle of wills?

Blackly comic, thought-provoking, and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.]]> 503 J.K. Rowling 0316228532 Bramha 1 3.28 2012

author: J.K. Rowling
name: Bramha
average rating: 3.28
book published: 2012
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2012/12/15
shelves:
review:

]]>