Marvels & Mysteries of the Mahabharata by Abhijit Basu

Blurb (from the jacket):

In this cauldron of great illusion, with the sun as fire, day-night as fuel; using months and seasons as stirrer, Time is cooking all beings that is the message. ~Yudhishthira, in the Mahabharata's Vana-parva 313.118 

The Mahabharatha never ceases to fascinate. By far the longest of the world s epics, it transcends the limitations of genre. History, encyclopaedia, philosophy, scripture, warrior saga, it encapsulates all these in one exalting epic tragedy underscoring the truth in the ancient adage that the whole knowable world is Vyasa s leftover. 

The Great Epic of India encompasses an awesome interplay of human effort and destiny, set against the backdrop of inexorable Time. Marvels and Mysteries, with its lucid and engaging narrative, seeks to unravel some of its enigmas: the characters of Vyasa, Krshna, Yudhishthira, Arjuna, and Draupadi; aspects of the Mahabharatha s historicity; its medley of interpretations; the stupendous text-critical project to sift its perceived accretions; its inter-relationship with the Ramayana and other epics; and its universal relevance brought home through a series of trans-cultural comparisons. 

This is the one book about the Mahabharatha which everyone will love to read and gift.

Potluck by Various

Blurb (from the jacket):

Potluck is a collection of short stories and reflections by a group of writers who came together after attending Creative Writing Courses by Renu Balakrishnan at Xavier's Institute of Communications, Mumbai.

Working mothers, single women, a Catholic priest and a Hindu monk, executives and yes, even newlyweds; it's a diverse group that has brought out this collection. Written during office hours, travelling Mumbai trains, while the baby slept and the spouse snored, Potluck took shape. Over years of writing, re-writing and mutual critiquing.

In Potluck you will find a variety of styles and writing; first person accounts fiction, travel and mystery pieces that make it an experience to savour.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Foreword:

If you are a regular follower of my reviews/blog you would be already aware of my fetish for Dystopian novels.

I have already described for fascination for Dystopian novels by stating, I don't read them out of fear of running out of them. Or something like that. That exactly defines my obsession for them.

Well, that doesn't mean that I love every Dystopian-themed story. For example, consider my Dystopian favourites - Anthem, Fahrenheit 451 and The Road, for now. Though they all are based on some Dystopian future, they all have a hidden meaning and a worthwhile twist at the end.

And then, there are other Dystopias, too. Like Hunger Games - which I haven't read yet, but hate it anyway for its romance and all. I haven't seen the movie yet, so I can't be certain about my ideology, but I could comment by its blurb.

My kind of Dystopias are the movies like The Road, The Colony, Equilibrium, etc...

Other Dystopias you could find here... (regularly updated)

Karma by Jeffrey Armstrong

Blurb (from the jacket):

In this compelling description of the ancient science of karma, award-winning author Jeffrey Armstrong explores reincarnation, the deeper mysteries of the soul, the laws of nature, and the ways in which cause and effect control our lives.

In Western culture, we frequently attribute events to science or to mechanical cause and effect. However, the Enlightened Masters have long taught that such events are actually brought about by the purposeful action of countless devas, or divine beings. These devas surround us in all we do and are constantly deciding upon and delivering to us the results of our actions.

These long-secret laws of karma, excavated from the Vedic wisdom of India, will inform your decisions and broaden your spiritual vision, revealing the profoundly interconnected nature of all that exists.

Domechild by Shiv Ramdas

Blurb (from the jacket):

A suicidal machine. A child with a secret that can change the world. The man trapped between them.

In the City, where machines take care of everything, lives Albert, an ordinary citizen with an extraordinary problem: Hes being blackmailed into becoming the first person in living memory to actually do something.

What begins as a chance encounter with an outlaw child swiftly spirals out of control as Albert is trapped between the authorities and the demands of his unusual blackmailer. Forced to go on the run for his life, he finds himself in a shadow world of cyber-junkies, radicals and rebels, where he discovers the horrifying truth behind the City, a truth that will make him question everything he has ever known.

The Treasure of Kafur by Aroon Raman

Blurb (from the jacket):

‘The fate of an Empire trembles in the balance…’

Hindustan, 1580 AD. The Mughal Emperor Akbar is at the height of his power, seemingly invincible. But twenty years of war have earned him many enemies, and rebellion is brewing, led by Asaf Baig, the tyrannical ruler of Khandesh. Baig has stumbled upon the knowledge that the fabulous lost treasure of Malik Kafur, that will guarantee victory to Akbar’s enemies, is known to an old woman called Ambu.

Baig Kidnaps Ambu to wrest the knowledge of the treasure from her; but her twenty-year-old grandson, Dattatreya, escapes and flees across Hindustan to enlist the help of the one person who has the most reason to stop Baig – the Mughal Emperor himself.

Staying one step ahead of capture and death, Datta is swept up in a world of kings and warrior princesses, of uncommon friendships and an implacable evil; and a desperate race against time to save his grandmother – and the Empire.

Aroon Raman, national bestselling author of The Shadow Throne now brings us a riveting saga of action and adventure set in Mughal India.

The Reluctant Messiah by Hettie Ashwint

Blurb (from the jacket):

What can one man do in the face of mounting evidence? 

James Caldecott is just an ordinary man who has an extraordinary set of circumstances. Born to Joseph and Mary, he lives an unblemished life. Is it such a coincidence he lives on Jerusalem Drive? 

With the media hungry for what's hot and what's not James is catapulted into the spotlight as the Reluctant Messiah. 

It will take more than someone to deny him three times for James to get his life back. 

It will take a miracle.

Prisoner, Jailor, Prime Minister by Tabrik C.

Foreword:

This is the first book received for our blog, for reviewing from BlogAdda.

Blurb (from the jacket):

India has a new Prime Minister but is Siddhartha Tagore the product of his genius or of his dangerous mind? 

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India is on edge, as a subversive internal revolt against the Constitution and the threat of Jehadi terror of an unthinkable level, are looming on the horizon. Ringing Shivas damaru in and out of Parliament, a sudden turn of karma catapults outsider Siddhartha Tagore - a conflicted genius, music maestro and prodigal son, with forceful views on China and Pakistan into national prominence as the head of the Opposition Alliance and finally as the newly elected Prime Minister of a disturbed nation. 

But buried secrets are being resurrected and threaten to expose the past. Twisted within the double helix of menacing politics and hidden lust, Prisoner, Jailor, Prime Minister is a scorching account of Siddhartha Tagore's fascinating journey from Harvard to 7 Race Course Road.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Foreword:

There were two reasons for me to get off of the tbr spree and reading this book,

• Primarily because Srinivas, the other author of the blog, had gifted me this book - and Looking for Alaska - for my birthday, which was somewhere about Sept of 2013.
• And also, because this book has been film and is scheduled - or did it already? - to release this year.

Hence, I started this book...

This book is the winner of GoodReads Choice Awards 2012 for Best Young Adult.

From the very first page of the book, I didn't feel about the book. As usual, I didn't go through the blurb and don't know what to expect of the story. I just wanted to know why he, Srinivas, had gifted me, of all the books, this one. And why so many people love this book. Especially the author and his books.

The Cosmic Clues by Manjiri Prabhu

Foreword:

It has been quite some time since I have received this book for reviewing from Jaico Publishers. With time, it was lost among the various books and I totally forgot about it, until I was updating the TBR list lately, and noticed the picture of this book there.

That is when I started my search for the book until I found it. It was good shape and its head-note declarede proudly: Soon to be a major motion picture! Very unlike the contemporary head-notes of most novel: National Bestseller.

I remember what I thought when I requested this book for reviewing: Soon to be a major picture? I must read it. 

However, till now (the book was first published in 2004 by Dell Publishers) the book is nothing more than a book. And also I had done a little research on this book, not once I stumbled on a article that informed that this book is going to be a filmed.

Intentionally or not, it is a kind of fraud to misguide the readers for whatever the reason maybe. And then, the book is just a work fiction. The head-notes might be, too.

Like various other books sent earlier from Jaico, this book is also sent by Marina.

You can check out various book from Jaico here: BR with Jaico...

Ajaya: Roll of the Dice (Epic of the Kaurava clan, #1) by Anand Neelakantan

Foreword:

Like various other books from Leadstart Corps, this book is also sent by Parag Mayekar.

You can find the other books from Leadstart Corps here: BR with Leadstart...

It was quite a hype when Asura, the other book from the same author, had topped the best selling list of almost all prominent online book-selling portals for several weeks. It had re-written the entire status of the Leadstart Publishers.

Well, it deserved it. Just read the plot and the mere uniqueness of it will tempt to read it. If I hadn't had so long a list of tbr books, I would have definitely given that book a try.

The plot of this book is very similar to the author other book - Asura. I wonder, whether it is me or are the plots so similar. However it is quite innovative to even get the thought of narrating a story from the other side, the losing side, the - oft negatively portrayed - negative side.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Reloaded by Poulomi Mukherjee, Amit Tayal (Illustrator)

Foreword:

I have encountered this book on a blog-post where it is listed as one of the most famous Indian Grpahic Novel.

I have developed this new fascination for Graphic Novels - Indian Graphic Novels, in particular.

My first Indian Graphic Novel is Kari.

For more Graphic Novels, click here...

For more Indian Graphic Novels, click here...

I have always wondered why Graphic Novel? Well, I can't answer. Perhaps, no one can. It is just the feel of it that is most interesting about it.

Unlike the other graphic novels I had read, which were rather sequential arts than graphic novels, this one is more kinda cartoon. Cartoon Strip, perhaps. A comic, maybe. While the other graphic novels I read were more art, this was more like a cartoon. It was like watching a cartoon movie on mute with subtitles.

A Cupful of Aha by Anandaa

Foreword:

One fine day, I was contacted by BecomeShakespeare.com people for reviewing their books.

It was the first time we have heard of these publishers. Actually, it is a self-publishing firm. A self-publishing consultancy.

The first thing I did after receiving their mail is to check their catalog. It was primarily divided in two - fiction and non-fiction. Non-fiction was not type, so I directed checked into fiction shelf. It had 2 to 4 books. So I had little choice. I selected two books and this one is one of them.

When I opened the package in which both the books came, I was surprised to find the whole package weighed as if only one book. Inside, this book was any heavy. This is small in every aspect. In tiny and only 54 pages thick.

Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre

Foreword:

Another book of Srinivas's - the other blogger of the blog - taste.

Though I am the one who reads varied range of books and genre, Srinivas is the one who reads more serious stuff. Our tastes rarely overlap, so that is one reason we don't many books in common that we have read. However, a spade is a spade, so some books unmistakably win both of us - for instance, take Fahrenheit 451.

I didn't start reading this book on his recommendation. He rated this book five-stars and I was not surprised. If the book is famous I could predict he would like it. But on GoodReads, this book seems to be the most read book under Philosophy.

Firstly, let me make it clear that I am no philosophical person. Yeah, I like some well grammared quotes by some philosophers, but that was that. My territory in philosophy is very limited and constrained.

And with this book, I think it would take ages for me to regain courage to try and explore the genre again...

The Prophecy of Trivine by Tnahsin Garg, Srivatsan Sridharan, Pulkit Gupta

Foreword:

One of the authors, Tnahsin, have contacted us to review the book.

This is first time a book by three authors are sent to us for reviewing - and I've ever read. Of course, there were anthologies but dozens of authors. But a single story by a triplet is a first I have come across.

Why am I stressing so much on that aspect of the book - the three authors? Well, it is a feat to write a book with three active brains, which in almost every instance have colliding thoughts and the result would be nothing better than a probably debate.

That is why I think it is quite a feat to write a book and publish it in the first place. And to top it all, it being good.

Actually, there are very few Indian authors who write Sci-Fi. Also, Fantasy and this book turned out to be both. Being the one who is always out on the lookout for new experiences, I was game for this book. I started reading this book pretty hesitantly, not knowing what to expect from it...

Kari by Amruta Patil

Foreword:

I have many times mentioned about my new-found fascination for graphic novels. Especially, Indian graphic novels. They literally give an orgasm to the reader in me.

Why?

I don't know. In fact, there are more reasons to not promote graphic novels against novels. They have illustrations limiting the readers' imagination, which is the key aspect of reading a typical novel.

Yet, I have this strange sense of fascination for graphic novels. How much ever I try to reason my way out, I fail. Miserably, at that.

Of course, the graphic novels are vivider. The characters of a novel take shape, in real dimensions and come alive. There is no wasting time, describing the physicality of the character and her expression, etc.

Well, in simple words, I love graphic novels for their vividness, perhaps.

The Jadoo of Your Love by S. R. Saha

Foreword:

Like various other books received from Srishti Publishers, this book is also sent by Arup Bose.

You can find the other books sent by Srishti Publisher here: BR with Srishti...

Blurb (from the jacket):

In the final year of college, Anurag's life was falling apart - he vowed never to see Aditya, his best friend of many years again. Of course, what Aditya did was unpardonable! 

Not just losing his best friend, Anurag's love Urmi too got married to someone else the day unemployed. Anurag got the job of a flight purser in an airline company. 

But life has its twists and turns and one never knows where it will take him. Anurag too could have never imagined all that happened thereafter. 

In this page-turner of a spellbinding novel, every reader would ride the crests and troughs of myriad emotions, love, hate, anger, depression, excitement and joy that fill life's every moment and savor the essence of true love that is mystic and magical.