There is nothing more satisfying than reading a book while sipping a hot cup of tea.
While I love reading mystery novels, the short-story in the same genre doesn't excite me that much. However, I did like this Watermill Classic which has five stories in which either a burglary or murder is investigated by a detective (and his faithful side-kick).In Arthur Conan Doyle' s The Boscombe Valley Mystery, Sherlock Holmes and … Continue reading Short Notes: Great Detective Stories
A fortnight ago, I had no idea about Robert Barnard. Then Patti @ Pattinase dedicated one Friday to his books and I got to know that he was a British writer of mysteries who had passed away but recently. Sergio's review of his book A Fatal Attachment was so compelling that I wanted to read … Continue reading Short Notes: A Little Local Murder by Robert Barnard
The Iliad is the first extant book of European Literature. Part of an oral tradition of poetry, it is supposed to have been composed by a blind,wandering minstrel named Homer who is also considered to be the writer of that other great Greek Epic, the Odyssey. Over the years both these books have influenced writers … Continue reading Short Notes: Two Books on Greek Literature
There was once a blind pir-fakir in Dera Ghazi Khan (prior to 1947 a province of India but now in Pakistan) who could discern what ailed a person just by feeling the latter's pulse. Extremely orthodox Muslim ladies, who would not allow the touch of any man barring their husband, would tie a thread round … Continue reading The House of Healing: Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay’s Arogyaniketan
What happens when reviews pile up, the year is drawing to an end, and time is limited? Well, you resort to short reviews especially if you haven't enjoyed the books.I had heard a lot about Donna Tartt's The Secret History. The story revolving around a group of students studying Greek classics seemed unusual, so when … Continue reading Short Notes: The Secret History, The Sisters Brothers, Drinking Midnight Wine
In Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the eponymous hero calls Death as ''the undiscovered country." Certainly, Death remains the greatest mystery ever. What really happens when one ceases to breathe? Is it the end of everything or is there something beyond? Is there something that is called the Soul which is immortal?These are questions that philosophers over … Continue reading Two Books and The Undiscovered Country.
History can never give us exact knowledge of what will happen in the future: rather, it shows us that our ability to prepare ourselves for change is limited. (375)A couple of years ago, Stieg Larson and Scandanavian crime fiction were the flavour of the season. Everybody, but everybody, was talking about them. Finally, I too … Continue reading Trail of Blood: Henning Mankell’s The Man from Beijing
The Partition of India in 1947 was one of the darkest hours in the history of the sub-continent. As communal forces gained strength and boundaries were re-drawn according to religion, tens of thousands of people found themselves on the wrong side of the borders. People had to leave behind their homes, families, friends, means of … Continue reading Being Sindhis in India: Rita Kothari’s The Burden of Refuge
Are there books that make you feel like: Duhhh...what was that all about? I have just finished Robert Crais' much lauded The Monkey's Raincoat and really do not know what it was all about. Since it is a much appreciated book, am I missing something?Elvis Cole who runs a detective agency with his friend, the … Continue reading What was it all about? Robert Crais’ The Monkey’s Raincoat
Things were a little tough, a couple of years ago. Seeing me down in the dumps, a young cousin (who is majorly into Indian YA literature) gave me this book in order to cheer me up. Looking at his bright hopeful face, I did not have the heart to tell him that YA was simply … Continue reading Indian YA: Bombay Rains Bombay Girls
a hot cup of pleasure 