Review of Not Totally Unbelievable

Name of the Book – Not Totally Unbelievable

Author – Vibhuti Bhandarkar

Publisher – Frog Books

Price – Rs. 95

The last 2 months have just passed me by; with my son on vacation , I hardly had any time to read and write. I missed that, but in the process made so many new memories with him that I can’t complain. Motherhood is the best thing to have happened to me  and I am sure Vibhuti would agree  since she has two kids of her own!!

The author of “Not Totally Unbelieveable” and I connected through Facebook. As time went by we exchanged numbers and connected through Whatsapp too….This is Vibhuti’s first published collection of stories for young adults and I must say it is an interesting read…One of the few books that I finished in one sitting…Below is the detailed review.

Blurb -

Lin delves into her knowledge of the magical powers of the Tisane to solve the problem that her elder sister Liu is facing at The Lingnan Tea House. Dereck has accidentally slipped into a seemingly unending black hole while trekking in the Black Forests of Germany. His whole life flashes before his eyes as he travels down the dark tunnel. Once out in broad daylight, he is surprised to be alive and shocked to find himself in India. One evening a teenager looks up from the book she is reading and finds a phantom staring her in the face, floating between her mother's white roses, just a few steps away from her. On another day Daddy's bike journey once again very mysteriously comes to a similar end like always, almost like a decree from God. From Meera, a young teenager, life seems to have always turned a deaf ear towards her. One day she finally decides to step off into oblivion. She goes unheard. 'Not Totally Unbelievable' is a collection of 10 short stories narrating the extra-ordinary experiences in the lives of the seemingly most ordinary people from the Occident, Orient and India. These pieces of fiction are essentially true stories that will compel one to believe in the mysterious, magical powers and forces around us, within us. 

What I feel -

This book was a welcome break for me; it was actually like a breath of fresh air on a hot summer day. Reading the novel  Aarushi was making me very emotional, every line was tugging at my heart strings and there I see Vibhuti’s book in my mailbox and jump at the chance of reading something that will divert my mind.

When I began the book I just stared at the words and marveled at the use of language - Simple and appropriate, the book had my attention! All  the 10 stories in the book appealed to me, but I especially liked - At the Lingnan Tea House, Trekking through time, A little thing called love, Ninny and The Wordsmith.

At the Lingnan Tea House - I liked the author’s use of narration, description and dialoges. The way she has described the love between the two sisters – Lin and Liu and the way they  look out for each other is done very subtly, but is so strong that you can feel it in the narrative. I actually felt I was sitting there at the Lingnam Tea House sipping tea!

Trekking through time - This story shocked me. I never expected the ending to be like that! Here I am making up my own story about Dereck and all of a sudden it all goes up in flames….Interesting ending. You have to read it to know what I am talking about.

A little thing called love - This story just pulled at my heart strings and a few tears escaped my eyes It may be a simple story that has been told many times before, but the way the author has handled he subject is nice….the little details showing disappointment, heartache, concern and love are well written.

Ninny - I love the jab at the Educational system. Being a teacher, I know how harmful words can be and how they can discourage and demotivate a child. Ninny’s feelings, his belief in himself, the support from his family, his inquisitive mind and the way he rises above it all is well described in this story. If you are looking for a story with a message…this is one!

The Wordsmith -  Suma has dreams and I like the way she works towards making them come true. I like her sense of observation, the way she deals with the devil in her head and yes, I loved the ending. I just wasn’t expecting something like that!

The author, Vibhuti Bhandarkar does have a unique style of writing, along with a good understanding of the English language.4 years have passed since she wrote this book and I am sure that she has now honed her skills further and is ready to share her new book with the world. Keep on writing Vibhuti…You are blessed with the wonderful gift of weaving interesting and heart touching stories!

Links -

Blog: http://klishmaklaver.blogspot.in/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vibhuti.bhandarkar

Twitter: https://twitter.com/klishmaklaver

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/Vibhutibhandarkar

"First Job and Ten Mistakes" by Uttam Kumar

Name of the Book - First Job and Ten Mistakes

Author - Uttam Kumar

Publisher - Become Shakespeare

Price - Rs. 95

Genre - Self-Help

Mr. Uttam Kumar and I got in touch through Twitter. He often retweeted and favorited my tweets and encouraged me as a writer. Little did I know that he himself was one! I came to know about his book at the beginning of this year and that is when I volunteered to review his book for him.  

About the Book

Made up of 43 pages, "First Job and Ten Mistakes" is a self-help book that talks about the common mistakes that people make in their first job. In this book Mr. Kumar has spoken about SpEaR Theory, Equity market, Credit cards, Loans, Career Planning and Goal Setting in such simple language that a layman will be able to understand as well as apply the knowledge gained with ease. To make things clearer he has even used real-life examples, which makes the reader realize that these problems are real and can be tackled with proper financial planning! In his book, Mr. Kumar has also provided pages on which the reader can set his/her  own Short Term and Long term Career and Financial goals. This is great as he/she will be able to write down his/her goals while reading the book and refer to them later to see if they have been met!

Personally, I feel that this book is a must for everyone who has just got their first job and wants to plan for the future. Since Mr. Kumar has helped many people tackle this issue he is well-versed with the problems that young people face!

With financial freedom comes great responsibility and it is important that a person understands all this before he/she falls into the vicious cycle of loans which never ends!

Links -

http://www.amazon.com/First-Job-Mistakes-Uttam-Kumar/dp/9383952288

Twitter - @AuthorKumar

If you would like me to review your book, mail me at myriadhues14@gmail.com

Alternatively you can also follow me on Twitter - @GuptaRach

Surrogate Author by Santosh Avvannavar and Shilpa Patil

Name of the Book - "Surrogate Author" - Authdas Journey of Nine-month Book Delivery!

Authors - Santosh Avvannavar and Shilpa Patil

Price - Rs.70

Blurb

A journey of an aspiring author having a penchant for writings through various Bollywood characters to inspire other authors through this inspiring filmy story based on Devdas. It also consists of writing tool to practice. Get-set-to read a filmy remake of writing! Come fall in love with writings!

How I came across the book and what I feel about it -

One morning I opened my mail box to find a mail from the author, Santosh Avvannavar. He had read some of the other reviews I had written on my blog and asked me to review his books. In the beginning I was skeptical as his work seemed to be “different” and I wondered if I would be able to do justice to him and his skills. After reading about him and going through the reviews of his book I decided to take on the challenge. I hope I am able to use the appropriate words to describe his style of writing and the creative ideas that he tastefully uses in his work! 

The book Surrogate Author talks about the anguish and the challenges that every author faces….the questions that come up in our minds! Creatively written in dialogue format, the book includes characters from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s – Devdas and the 9 months involved in child birth to explore the entire process of writing. Kudos to the writers for using this method to encourage aspiring authors! I especially liked the way that the authors have described Ideas, keywords and other processes involved in a manuscript. A budding writer will certainly benefit from such details.

What I feel did not work -

As an Editor and English language teacher who is forever looking for grammatical and punctuation errors, the little editing lapses in the book did stop the flow. Of course, since this is the first edition, I am sure that the second edition will be without flaws!

About the Authors - 

Santosh Avvannavar: 

Santosh started his career as a consultant and Soft Skills Trainer. After his college education from NITK, Surathkal, he worked as a researcher at University of Eindhoven, University of Twente, and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He was also the Placement President while working at IISC, Bangalore. He has over twenty-five publications of mostly research documents in national and international journals. He has also authored sixteen conference papers and regularly writes articles for a national and worldwide daily paper. He also works as an advisor for different organisations. He also dabbles in fiction writing and is the author of Adhuri Prem Kahaniya; Dear Wife, Your Husband is not a Superhero, Second Heart and Get a Job WITHOUT an Interview; Be A B.A.; Surrogate Author; Title is Untitled; Black, Grey and White. He likes to devote his personal time in writing for a website, namely the Amrita Foundation for HRD (www.amritafoundation.wordpress.com). He has conducted seminars and training sessions for more than 40,000 people in India and abroad over the last seven years.

He can be reached at www.facebook.com/santosh.store 

Shilpa S. Patil:

Shilpa is a faculty at KSWU Bijapur. She holds a Master’s Degree in commerce from Karnataka State Women’s University, Bijapur and a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from A.S.Paril College of commerce, Bijapur.

She likes to devote her personal time writing a blog. You can read her work at www.shilpagoldy.wordpress.com

If you would like me to review you book, you can reach me at – myriadhues14@gmail.com

You can also visit my website to get a glimpse of my work – www.rachnagupta.in

Twitter - @Gupta_Rach

Review - The Nidhi Kapoor Story

Name of Book - The Nidhi Kapoor Story

Price - 175

Publishers – Grapevine India - http://www.grapevineindia.com/

Blurb -

Just when Nidhi Kapoor, a leading Bollywood actress, was to start shooting for her much anticipated film, unwarranted incidents start to happen around her. Her pets are found maimed in her very home. An anonymous letter threatening her and her family is discovered in her study.

The high-profile case forces ACP Prakash Mohile to lead the investigation himself. Rujuta Singh, a photojournalist shadowing Prakash for a project, gets embroiled in the case.

Despite intervention by the police, attacks continue to mount on Nidhi and the unknown assailant gets bolder and more vicious with each attack. The assailant is adamant on taking away from Nidhi everything that she holds dear – her career, her home, her reputation, her family and her life.

In absence of any clues or motives, Prakash and Rujuta are forced to dig deeper in the past of the Kapoors and they uncover a violent tale of lies, betrayal, treachery, infidelity and murder. A tale that the Kapoors want to guard at any cost.

Who is the unknown attacker? Why is Nidhi Kapoor a target? What are the Kapoors hiding from the world?

And, can Prakash and Rujuta save Nidhi?

What I liked about the Book-

The story is nice and very tightly woven. It has all the ingredients of a good novel - Suspense, mystery, love, hatred, thrill, revenge, pain and strong and real characters. As the story unfolds, the book draws you into its pages and you begin the roller-coaster ride with the characters. The emotions the characters, Nishant, Nidhi, Payal, Rujuta and Prakash display makes you identify with them in many ways. The language is simple to understand and the little details that talk about Mumbai; the food there, the culture and the life in Bollywood makes the book interesting even to people who have never visited the city. The way the author has included some bold scenes and woven them well into the novel makes you realize that he is good at his work!

What I did not like - 

Well! As you can see I liked most of the things about the book; of course there are a few things that did not work for me. One thing is that the first chapter dragged on as there were too many details involved. Another thing that caught me unawares was the first murder, yes, the detailing was good, but for a sensitive person like me, it was way too much. The scene where one of the characters was so brutally treated and no one came to her aid was something that was hard for me to believe!

All in all, The Nidhi Kapoor Story is a good read. As a reviewer, I would say that Saurabh Garg is here to stay and create a name for himself in the writing world. As a fellow writer, I wish him all the best for his future endeavors!

You can connect with Saurabh Garg through - 

Twitter - @Saurabh
Facebook Page -https://www.facebook.com/TheNidhiKapoorStory

Website - http://tnks.in/

Amazon - http://www.amazon.in/Nidhi-Kapoor-Story-Saurabh-Garg/dp/9381841748

  

If you would like me to review your book, mail me at - myriadhues14@gmail.com

You can also follow me on twitter - @GuptaRach