Book Review - A Cage of Desire

Title - A Cage of Desire
Author - Shuchi Singh Kalra
Genre - Fiction(Erotic)
Publisher - Penguin
ISBN - 978-0143441625

The story is not for kids but having said that, the story is one of the best I have read in the recent days. I could say with confidence that the story reflects the mindset of a Woman who has been used in the society by the Men for their own lust and desires. The book made me feel that I am not reading it but watching it in real. Yes. The story calls no less than to be made into a bollywood movie. The message is very clear and strong. Women cannot be betrayed and they should not be taken as granted because when they burst, it would be unbearable.

I must say that this book wouldn't have been published at the time when #MeToo is making waves across the globe where many of the celebrity women have come out openly to talk about their secretive private lives as to how they were abused when they were the early entrant into the movie industry. Hats Off to the author who has bravely put up this in the form of a story.

I wouldn't want to talk much about the story as such because by now you would have understood the theme of the book. It was real interesting to read each and every page with utmost care as it brought out untold emotions which was overflowing from the character - the protagonist - Renu.

She had another face. Despite being a mother of two, she was never given the place she always had yearned for in her life by her spouse. What transpires the change in her life to become a revolutionary figure deserves a big applause.

The book is available on Amazon

Memory that would be etched forever

We all love being photographed. Don't we? Gone are the days where one has to here the services of a photographer who would carry so many heavy gadgets to get the pics clicked and that would take ages to get developed into a hard copy and reach us in the album. With the advent of latest technology, we could get immediate prints if we used a Polaroid camera. However, this may not be good or preferred by all.

The introduction of mobile phone changed the entire scenario. They came initially with rear cameras with lesser megapixels. When the technology progressed, we saw the introduction of front camera with relatively low megapixels. Selfie did not caught up as soon as this feature was introduced but when it did, it spread like wildfire. People literally started clicking selfies anywhere and everywhere. Not all could get the quality they wanted due to various reasons and limitations. While some could not afford the phones which were real expensive, some weren't aware of how to use this feature effectively and even if they did, the camera came with various limitations.

Take a look at one of my favorite selfie

This was clicked when I along with my spouse and her cousin had been to Sunny Leone's LIVE Event near my place. This selfie was special for various reasons:

1. My better half's cousin came to our place for the first time after her wedding.

2. We all witnessed Sunny Leone's performance for the very first time which also saw Actress Andreah Jeremiah performing too.

3. Though we were given a V.I.P Pass, we got it upgraded to V.V.I.P Pass for all of us.

4. We had a lovely evening watching the performance for close to 3 hours before heading back to my place.

5. The selfie was clicked in Black & White purposely since we wanted to carry on this memory for decades.

Could the above pic been captured better?

Well. Certainly Yes, if I had Mobiistar mobile phone. 

Why?

The phone comes with an incredible dual Selfie Camera(which we have seen till date only on the rear side) which enables us to capture a 120° wide-angle shot.

When you get to shoot a selfie which covers such a wide angle, the experience what you would get would be unmatched for sure. Wouldn't you agree?

How I wish I had this phone back then which would have made the pic look even more better. Nevertheless, all I could do is to wait until it arrives and when it did, I wouldn't be thinking twice to place the order immediately. You too can grab one for you to capture those evergreen memories by visiting http://mobiistar.in/ and Mobiistar on Flipkart.

Book Review - Globetrotting for Love and Other Stories from Sakhalin Island

Title - Globetrotting for Love and Other Stories from Sakhalin Island
Author - Ajay Kamalakaran
Genre - Fiction
Publisher - TOI Books
ISBN - 978-93-86206-26-8

A brilliant collection of stories is not the right word here but I am forced to use it since I could not find anything superior to praise this book. Writing a novel is comparatively easier than writing a dozen of short stories since you need to show a variation in each and every story which the author has successfully achieved it through this book.

His profession of being an editor in Sakhalin Times in a small place called Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk for around 5 years is clearly visible in his writings. Having said that, I should also appreciate the usage of few Russian words here and there which has made even a novice like me to learn some of them. For instance I now know Khorosho stands for Okay, Gopniks means a petty thief/robber or bandit.

If you ask me to pick the favorite story among this collection, it is difficult but I would still go for the very first story "The Cleaning Lady" where it is all about the self esteem of a lady who would not compromise her character for anything. There were various other stories which talks about ethnic conflicts, love, betrayal, sudden found fortune, etc to name a few.

The place Sakhalin rose to prominence due to the discovery of oil resources which saw the sudden splurge in the economy due to the availability of liquid cash. This made the place to be frequented by Westerners and native Russians who came seeking for better prospects. This was something similar to that of KGF(Kolar Gold Fields) which was buzzing with Gold excavation activities for few years though the geography and economy was completely different.

To sum it up, I would surely recommend this book to be read and it is certainly a class apart as it exhibits the brilliance and real life experience of the author which has been caught vividly through various short stories in this book.

The book is available on Amazon

Book Review - The Coin

Title - The Coin

Author - Sandeep Sharma

Genre - Thriller(Fiction)

Publisher - R9 Books / AnyBook

ISBN - 978-93-87390-26-3

A story which has been written really well from the beginning but would have made it a real good one had it ended well. Yes. Honestly I did not liked the climax. I wouldn't say it would be the same when you finish reading it. Perceptions may differ. You might like the way the story ends.

I wasn't happy about the editing bit. If the edit was done properly, the story would have sounded much much better. I have read few of Sandeep's books and I am sure he would take this as a constructive criticism to come out with stories which would make the readers go gaga about it.

The story begins with a murder and the murderer rather than being cautious, sends a video to the cops direct thereby provoking them to try and find out as to who he is. Ronak Upadhyay, the cop who has handled a case similar to this in his career springs into action and starts digging into it and stumbles upon few evidences. While the previous convict was still behind the bars, the murder continues.

Who does this?

How was he/she being caught?

Read the story to find out more as to how these murders were done and who was behind it and the motive for these gruesome murders. 

The book is available on Amazon

Book Review - Let You Be My Puppet Once

Title - Let You Be My Puppet Once

Author - Preetika Mehra

Genre - Thriller(Fiction)

Publisher - NotionPress

ISBN - 978-1-64249-998-8

A gripping political thriller that would keep you guessing till the end. Preetika has given a perfect political thriller fiction which would be your perfect companion this summer. If you are a student, this would be a great read. If you are not a student, you ma y be able to connect very well with the happenings not only in India but elsewhere.

The story has few characters. Saima, Josh, Vedica and Karan. While Saima hailed from an affluent business family, Josh's father runs a small shop in Kerala. Vedica had a background which no one would have expected. Karan's father served as Commissioner of Income Tax.

Despite being so much powerful and hailing from affluent background, they were on their toes after the sudden death of Saima's sister Meghna. 

What had caused her death?

Author talks in great detail about the politics where kickbacks and commission were the norms. This is where Rana and Pratap comes into picture. While Rana served as Chief Minister of a State, Pratap was in the Central Govt as Natural Resources Minister. 

Rana had two sons - Kapil and Suraj whereas Pratap had a son named Zoravar. What would usually happen when the spoiled brats comes together has been explained very well in the story. They were known to Saima since her father Swaraj had business dealings with these politicians.

When thins goes awry, it ends in few being eliminated making the others to go on hiding. But who was responsible for these deaths and how was the plan executed and how did the murderer managed to escape the eagle eyes despite deploying forces from UAE, Australia and most importantly from USA where even FBI gets deployed.

The book is full of surprises and I am sure you would surely be loving it once you finish reading it. Go for it today.

The book is available on Amazon

Book Review - Demythsifying Myths

Title - 

Author - Amit Bagaria

Genre - History

Publisher - Notion Press

ISBN - 978-1-64249-922-3

We have heard about lot of things about our leaders and their past. We wouldn't be in a position to recollect all of them including the facts and reality. Through this book, the author has busted those myths which we were long made to believe it as TRUE.

A genuine attempt which clearly points out the shortcomings across various system in our country including that of the presence of RajyaSabha, President and lot others. He has touched upon various sensitive issues but has compiled the chapters in such a way that it would make the readers think twice before coming to a conclusion.

There are 18 chapters in total and each discusses about a unique issue which is prevalent in India before and after the Independence. This includes the mysterious deaths of various leaders during the Congress Era, ceding a much bigger landmass to Pakistan for a minuscule population, saying NO to the UNSC Permanent Seat and referring the same to China and lot more.

Though this is very much of a political book, the stories that were covered in the book would make it an interesting read. If you wanted to know about lot of aspects which has always remained a myth to you till date, do give it a read. You will not regret.

The book is available on Amazon and all leading bookstores.