A Quiver Full Of Arrows

Author: Jeffrey Archer;
Genre: Fiction;
Pages: 270;
Rating: 4.5/5;
Challenges: Orbis Terrarum 2009; Country: UK/London

I usually dont read mainstream fiction and this is probably the second book of Jeffrey Archer I've read so far. As the name aptly suggests, the book is a collection of 12 impressive short stories (arrows) put together in a book (quiver). Each one of them is quite unique and leaves an impact on the reader. I feel it's always difficult to convey the right meaning and invoke the right kind of emotions through a short story as compared to a full blown novel 'coz there is no luxury to build up the plot and the characters in detail...but Archer seems to have a great talent for creating characters! The stories are intriguing & entertaining...though they somewhat seem to have a similar setting and flow they are unique with the unexpected endings and a few of them do captivate your heart....

I especially loved the "One night stand" and "The Luncheon". They are hilarious and bring out the different aspects of human nature and above all, they end with a pun which makes you laugh out loud!

Keeping it short, I'd say that it's a great collection of short stories and definitely worth your time!

To Sir With Love

Author: E.R. Braithwaite;
Pages: 185;
Genre: Autobiography;
Rating: 4.5/5;
Challenges: Orbis Terrarum 2009; Country -South America (British Guiana)

I am back to reading again, after a long break! Work and vacation didn't leave me any time for reading and I really missed it. I have a lot to finish before the year ends, especially for the Orbis Terrarum Challenge...hope to get it done!

This book by E.R.Braithwaite had been lying in my shelf for many months and I am glad I picked it up this time. To Sir With Love is a true story of a dedicated teacher Rick Braithwaite, a Negro who is often subjected to racial discrimination and prejudice, in the post-war cosmopolitan London city. He begins his first teaching job in a tough school where he faces similar discrimination and reactions. Slowly and painfully he wrestles to break the barriers down and turns hate into love, rebelliousness into self-respect and contempt into consideration.

The book is very inspiring and extremely heart warming. The language is very neat and simple and the characters are very detailed and well etched. I liked the way in which the explosive topic of racism is handled with finesse. Towards the end of the book, Braithwaite realizes that it was not his skin color which was holding him back but his attitude. The book presents a very fresh perspective on equal rights, co-existence and mutual respect....and I absolutely loved reading it!

The book was also made into a movie with the same title, a pretty old one, in the year 1967. Something that am going to watch pretty soon!

A book that I would definitely recommend to all...

Brida

Author: Paulo Coelho;
Genre: Modern Fiction;
Publisher: Harper Collins;
Pages: 266;
My Rating: 4/5;

Challenges: Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009; Country: Brazil



This is the 7th book for my Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009...and I have 3 more to go to complete the challenge, yet again!

I picked up this book only because the brief synopsis that I read for a few minutes caught my attention, in addition to the cover page (sometimes an interesting cover is the only reason why I buy certain books!). Reading Brida was a totally different experience. It was almost like reading a fantasy novel. The book is all about witchcraft, magic, tarot, rebirth, incarnations, spiritualism , philosophy, etc. So if you are not interested in *any* of these, then this novel is definitely not for you. I love exploring these subjects, so I found the book to be quite interesting!

Synposis:
Brida is the story of a young Irish girl who embarks on a spiritual journey and her quest for knowledge. Here search leads her to a magician who dwells in a forest, who teaches her to overcome her fears and a woman who teaches her how to dance to the music of the world, along with the Tradition of the Moon. As Brida continues through her journey, she slowly learns to tap into her hidden gifts...struggling to balance her relationships and her desire to become a witch, find her soulmate and transform herself.


I have never been a big fan of Paulo Coelho. The only book I've read so far is The Alchemist and that too, many years back! So I hardly remember anything from it. In terms of writing, Brida didn't captivate me much but I was truly amazed by the author's philosophical brilliance and spiritual ideas! I liked the way he has portrayed Brida's search of her soulmate with a lot of metaphors and references. Though there is quite a bit of vivid descriptions and nudity involved, it doesn't seem out of place or sleazy. The story is fast paced yet the characters are etched perfectly well to fit into the flow; you never feel that you are missing out on any details...

Typical to Paulo Coelho's works, even this book has a lot of interesting quotes scattered all over -



“Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.”


“I learned that the search for God is a Dark Night, that Faith is a Dark Night. And that’s hardly a surprise really, because for us each day is a dark night. None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, and yet still we go forwards. Because we trust. Because we have Faith. That every moment in life is an act of faith.”

“The path of the life is and always will be path of Mystery. Learning something means coming into contact with a world of which you know nothing. In order to learn, you must be humble.”

The Monk who sold his Ferrari

Author: Robin Sharma
Pages: 200
Genre: Self-Help/Inspiration
Rating: 2.5 stars (on a scale of 5)

Challenges: Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009 ; Country - Canada (Author's Origin)

I've been wanting to read this book for more than 3 years. I remember it had generated so much hype when it was released and I was quite intrigued by the title as well. As per the statistics, more than a million copies of it are sold; wanted to figure out why?!

Even when I picked up the book I had absolutely no idea that it was a self-help!! I thought it was more philosophical. Anyways, since I am open to reading all kind of genres, I started this with an open mind...

As you can see my rating, I've given it only 2.5 stars. To me that means it's quite an average read and I wouldn't probably recommend it to anyone. The book actually starts off quite well. I was quite inspired reading the first few chapters! I was hoping that it would continue throughout, but half way through, it proved to be quite pedantic. Though the author has a valid point to make, he drags on and on about the same concept which is a real put off. Rather than emphasizing the importance of those principles, it actually bored me to death. I agree, emphasizing the facts repeatedly with various instances and examples is a good way to create a lasting impression on the reader's mind but it shouldn't look artificial or forced. Though Robin Sharma has used a dialogue approach between Julian (the Monk) and John to explain the 7 key concepts, it just fails to look natural. Every question that John asks seems like a rehearsed script in a reality show!! It just doesn't fit in....Probably a different style of writing would have helped here, is my opinion!

Even the 7 concepts discussed seem to be very cliched and I have read many books explaining the same concepts in a better way, holding the reader's interest. The book really disappointed me. I would not recommend this unless you are in desperate need of self-help.

However, I still liked a few quotes in the book which I made a note of, while reading.

"Every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson.I have realized that failure whether of the personal, professional or even spiritual kind is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and whole host of psychic rewards.Never regret your past. Rather, embrace it as the teacher that it is".

"Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you"

"It's only when you have mastered the art of loving yourself that you can truly love others. It's only when you have opened your own heart that you can touch the heart of others. When you feel centered and alive, you are in a much better position to be a better person"

"By controlling the thoughts that you think and the way you respond to the events of you life, you begin to control your destiny"

Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009 Update

It's 6 months since the challenge started and I am done reading 5/10 books. I think that's a decent progress :) I am enjoying this more than I did last year! I have a tendency of getting stuck reading specific genres, so am glad that becoz of this OT challenge I consciously expand my reading to books from various countries...


1. FLIGHT OF PIGEONS by Ruskin Bond (India)
2. ANGELS AND DEMONS by Dan Brown (USA)
3. SIDDHARTHA by Herman Hesse (Germany) - book is based in India
4. THE REMAINS OF THE DAY by Kazuo Ishiguro (Japan)
5. BUDDHA MIND, BUDDHA BODY by Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnam)


Currently Reading: THE MONK WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI by Robin Sharma (Canada)


I am yet to decide on the next 4 books that I need to pick up! So suggestions are welcome :)

The Remains of the Day

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro;

Genre: Fiction (Contemporary British Fiction);

Pages: 245;

Publisher: Vintage International;

My Rating: 4/5;

Challenges: Orbis Terrarum Challenge-2009, Country: Japan (Author's origin)

Since the time I've picked up reading all over again, I've had this thing to read all the Booker Prize Winners! Also wanted to read some of the works by a Japanese author as part of the Orbis Terrarum Challenge this year, hence picked up this book. About a year ago I had tried reading "Never let me go" by the same author but I couldn't progress beyond 10 pages...but this time I was determined to finish this to figure out why the author is appreciated so much...

'Remains of the Day' is supposed to be one of Ishiguro's best books that won him a Booker Prize and was adapted into an award winning movie (with the same title) as well. The novel with its plot based in post world war-II England is about an English butler Mr.Stevens who lives only to do his duty, to serve his master and humanity in the hope of preserving justice thru out the world. He embarks on a journey to Western Europe, on being insisted by his master and this actually becomes a journey of his past where he slowly learns that the world is a lot different than what he viewed it to be. Through Steven's story Ishiguro also explores the true meaning of professionalism & dignity and how much should someone sacrifice to remain true to one's personal ethics..

It's a very quiet novel which is very gentle yet powerful. I loved the plot but this was my first encounter with Ishiguro's writing and it didn't appeal to me at all. I found the pace to be extremely slow and boring at certain parts. It took me almost a month to finish the book; I could never read more than 15 pages at a stretch..I'm guessing that the booker prize was mainly for the story which was thoughtful and touching. But I've read loads of reviews on the web where people have loved every word of his writing, so I realize it's just not to my taste!

I am keen on watching the movie now. Probably it will help me appreciate the book better?! Have you read the book or seen the movie? Would love to know your views!

Buddha Mind, Buddha Body

Author: Thich Nhat Hanh
Pages: 150
Genre: Spiritualism/Philosophy
Publisher: Parallax Press
Rating: 5/5

Challenge: Orbis Terrarum Challenge, Country: Vietnam

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, poet, teacher, author and peace activist. I was just casually browsing through some articles on the web and found a reference to one of his books and his quotes. I was way too inspired by his quote and that's how I ended up buying this book...

I had never read anything about Buddhism or its philosophy and as I read this book I was completely impressed by it. In this book, Thich Nhat Hanh reveals the richness of "mindfulness"..an art of being totally aware of the present, in anything that you do - be it brushing your teeth, eating food, drinking tea or just sitting down. It's a way of keeping your mind focussed on your breathing, on the 'present' without any thoughts on past or future. Might sound very simple, but for the kind of lives we lead and how busy our mind is occupied with thoughts and worries, this is difficult to achieve without conscious practice. But just a few mins of practicing "mindfulness" helps clear your thoughts and calm your mind to a great extent!

He also has references to walking meditation throughout the book, something very different from the usual meditation techniques that I had read about. All of us take long, casual walks to relax and de-stress ourselves but through this technique he describes how this walking can be done more mindfully, to achieve that calmness and stability of mind. Totally worth trying it out...

There are a lot of other references on how to train our minds to create the best conditions for happiness. I loved these lines the best -

"How can we help our hearts to grow every day, to be able to embrace everything? The Buddha gave a very beautiful example. Suppose you have a bowl of water and someone put a handful of salt in the bowl of water; it would be too salty for you to drink. But suppose someone threw a handful of salt into a clear mountain river. The river is deep and wide enough that you can still drink the water without tasting the salt. When your heart is small, you suffer a lot. But when your heart becomes bigger, very big, then the same thing does not make you suffer anymore. So the secret is how to help your heart to grow. If your heart is small, you can't accept that person, you can't tolerate him or her with his or her shortcomings. But when your heart is big, you have a lot of understanding and compassion, and then there is no problem, you don't suffer, and you embrace him or her because your heart is so big.
"We suffer because our heart is small. And we demand that the other person should change in order to be accepted by us. But when our heart is large, we don't put forth any conditions, we accept them as they are, and they have a chance to transform. The secret is how to grow our hearts. The practice of understanding helps the energy of compassion to arise. When compassion is there, we don't suffer anymore......."

If your interest lies in this genre then I strongly recommend this book to you...

Angels and Demons

Author: Dan Brown

Pages: 610

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Fiction

Rating: 4.0/5

Challenges: Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009, Country: USA

I am not very keen on reading books in the Mystery/Thriller categories but after reading The DaVinci Code, I was very keen on picking up another book by Dan Brown. A lot of people recommended 'Angels and Demons' and so I picked this up as part of the OT 2009 challenge. The movie based on this book is releasing sometime soon in the month of May, starring Tom Hanks and I am eagerly waiting to watch this one!

I was a bit let down by this book as compared to The Da Vinci Code coz it seemed more like watching a highly dramatic bollywood movie. But hey! it's supposed to be a Thriller, so I can discount this fact and say that I thoroughly enjoyed the book which always kept me on the edge of my seat with its share of surprises and a never expected nail biting finish. I dont mind suspending my disbelief if the story is well written and it can keep me hooked till the last line of the last page!

I truly admire the way Dan Brown creates his plot...there's always something more beyond what the reader is expecting! Mystery is definitely his territory! Not to forget the attention to details and the vast amount of research that goes behind writing his book. The factual details make the story all the more interesting, coz you know you are not reading something completely fictional. The monuments, paintings, places etc described in the book and the history behind it are all hard facts...I was truly fascinated by the secrets of the Vatican and the Illuminati and the parts played by Galileo and Bernini. It takes guts to write a novel that combines the ancient secret brotherhood, a plot against the Vatican, it's deep secrets, the Pope, the papal conclave and the particles of antimatter...Kudos to Dan Brown for doing a great job with the plot!

Plot Summary: (from the web)

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the Illuminati--dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism--is alive, well, and murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out, and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared--only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon and Vittoria, Vetra's daughter and colleague, embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the lair of the Illuminati, to prevent the incineration of civilization.

Siddhartha

Author: Hermann Hesse

Pages: 167

Publisher: Indialog Publications

Genre: Fiction/ Allegorical Novel

My Rating: 4.5/5

Challenge: Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009, Country: Germany (Author's Origin)

I had this book on my wishlist for almost 4 years now and finally picked it up this month as part of the Orbis Terrarum challenge!

Siddhartha is an allegorical novel written originally in German by author Hermann Hesse who hails from Germany. Later it was translated to English and many other languages. This book was written by Hesse when he visited India briefly in the 1910s and was first published in 1922.

As Buddha was originally known as Siddhartha, people generally mistake this book to be about Gautama Buddha. The novel actually deals with the spiritual journey of a simple boy in ancient India, known as Siddhartha, during the time of Buddha. Siddharttha, the son of a Brahmin, leaves home along with his friend Govinda, in quest of enlightment and search of knowledge. He meets Gautama Buddha on his way, refuses to become his follower, though he respects his teachings and just wanders alone in pursuit of his quest. He goes through a series of changes during his journey and finally reaches his goal..

Hesse, through this book, shows that experience is the best way to understand reality and attain englightenment, not through imparting teachings from any learned one or scholastic methods nor immersing onself in the carnal pleasures either. It is a balance of everything....it's the totality of all these that helps us gain the understanding of the self or reality or Nirvana. According to the author, the path to enlightenment cannot be conferred by any teacher or by listening to the words of words of an enlightened one, because the words just describe the Truth, but it is not the Truth itself. I liked the way he has used River as a metaphor and symbol of life...it is its own beginning, middle and end...the source of life. All of Siddhartha's learnings are through the River...His path to enlightenment is by experiencing the emotions of humanity (Sansara) through the river, flowing from its source and gravitating back to it.

The book deals with extremely profound concepts and powerful themes of life and I absolutely loved it. It's a very unique novel and definitely not for all. You can enjoy it and derive something out of it, only if you are able to appreciate this kind of thought and if you lean towards the spiritual side of life. It's well worth a read.

A Flight of Pigeons

Author: Ruskin Bond
Pages: 135
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Books
Rating: 2.5/5
Challenge: Orbis Terrarum 2009: Country - India

I decided to kick off my Orbis Terrarum Challenge with this book. I dont know why I bought this book, but for some reason it was in my book shelf and I just decided to give it a shot. The book is by Ruskin Bond, an Indian author of British origin. So I decided to tag this with "India" for the challenge.

A brief summary of the book:

Based on true events, A Flight of Pigeons is set in Shahjahanpur, a small town 250 miles east of Delhi in India, during the revolt of 1857 (Sepoy Mutiny) against the British. The story is narrated by Ruth Labadoor, a young British girl, whose father gets killed as the revolt spreads to Shahjahanpur. She and her mother Mariam with a few other surviving members of her family get forcibly abducted by Javed Khan, a fiery pathan who brings them to his house where he expresses his desire to marry Ruth. Mariam manages to persuade Javed Khan to wait for the outcome of the revolt to be decided before marrying Ruth. What happens to Ruth, is what follows.

Ruskin Bond is a very well known author with a lot of books to his credit. This is the first book which I read of his and if you see my rating at the top (2.5 stars) you'll realize that I was pretty disappointed with this book. It just did not appeal to me. I never got involved in the book, it was more like reading a short story in the newspaper and keeping note of all the facts and events. It neither created any emotions in me nor could I empathize with the characters. The length of the book also played a factor. It was just 140 pages and even before I could get into the story, it was almost over! Ruskin Bond's style of storing telling is very plain and simple...sometimes it good to be that way but then it is very important to have the characters etched out well and enagage the readers into the story.

Ruskin Bond might be a very well acclaimed author, I dont deny that at all and I cant judge based on just one book that I read, but this book just failed to strike a chord with me and I'd probably not recommend it highly.

This book is supposed to have been made into a Hindi movie(Junoon) which was quite good, starring Shashi Kapoor, Nafisa Ali and a few others. Probably in this case, the movie would help me appreciate the book?! Need to watch it sometime...

If you have read this and you have a totally different view, drop in a line. I'd love to discuss and know what I missed out here!

Black Friday - The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts

Author: Hussain.S. Zaidi
Pages: 290
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Challenges: Orbis Terrarum Challenge; Country - Pakistan (Author's Origin)
(Adding this to the OT challenge, though I read it a month earlier)


The whole world had witnessed the most brutal serial bomb blasts that shook Bombay (now Mumbai) on 12th March 1993. There have been probably many more such unfortunate events in the city and the rest of the country but this one is supposed to be one such incident, which even today, after more than a decade, can shake the readers as much as it shook the entire nation then.

This book was a revelation to me! I was just around 11yrs old when the blasts happened, quite unaffected, living hundreds of Kms away from Bombay and I hardly remembered any details. I’ve always wanted to know more and delve deeper to understand the cause and effects of this incident. So I was very happy to find this book which details the true story.

The book starts and ends with the scene on the day of the blasts, near the affected sites, with a detailed account of the state of innocent victims – like the Chaat or Samosa vendor near BSE, or someone who was just walking out to grab lunch or get a photocopy and was unfortunate enough to succumb to the blast. The details are extremely painful; it pricks your heart and churns your stomach just by reading. This is one such book which has actually made my head spin and almost throw up! I can’t imagine, even in the wildest of my dreams, what the people witnessing this would have gone through. Makes you question, what rights do people have to take away other human lives and cause so much pain and destruction?!

There is a detailed description of the planning that went behind these blasts and the people involved – the underworld, bollywood, politicians, custom officials and the police force. The author was a crime reporter and all the facts presented in the book are through trusted sources, police files & investigation reports. The event that triggered the blasts was the communal riots between the Hindus and Muslims that followed the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Lots of Muslims were massacred and they struck back with vengeance causing further damage to innocent lives. I felt shivers down my spine when I learnt that more than 2000kgs of RDX was smuggled into the city without any hassles! The masterminds behind this meticulous planning were people who were beyond the reach of Indian Government. They used unsuspecting people like puppets to perform this ruthless act and managed to get away even after committing such a hideous crime. So is there a bigger problem out there and are we living in denial because we don’t see a solution to it?

The book leaves you in a very emotional and pensive state, raising a lot of questions. Whatever happened after the blasts, we need to ask ourselves if we are well equipped and adequately prepared to prevent another such disaster? The harsh reality is, NO!