Archive | March, 2011

The Current Trend Features Books With Strong Female Protagonists
Spoiler Alert!Han Allister and Dancer from the Clan confront three underage wizards setting fire to the mountain which results in Hans gaining possession of a powerful amulet. Han spends time each year with the Clan as well as in the city Fellsmarch. In Fellsmarch Han is known on the street as Cuffs, because of the mysterious silver bracelets he’s worn since birth, and as being the leader of the Raggers, a street gang. Han has decided to reform himself and has…

Do Pop Cultural References Cheapen a Book? Jamie O’Neill has gone through a battle with cancer which resulted in the loss of his arm. Because of this tragedy in his life he has chosen to no longer speak. His mother, Anna, as a single mother is at the end of her rope both financially and emotionally. Unexpectantly they receive a letter from a law firm in Ireland that they are the last of royal line and are to inherit a small island and lighthouse.
Both Jamie and Anna hope that…

What Role Does Violence Play In Children’s Books?
Jason is a normal teen worried about girls and his pitching speed in baseball. He loves his job at the zoo and it is there, much to his surprise, that he enters another world, Lyrian. When trying to find a way home Jason discovers a book that starts his quest to find a secret magical word that will destroy the sorcerer who wields absolute power in Lyrian. Jason finds Rachel, who also mysteriously appeared about the same time he arrived in this…

First and foremost, three cheers for APK Publishers for publishing a book of short stories. Almost everybody in the publishing industry (from publishers to agents to writers) assure me that short stories do not sell unless from a celebrity pen and are therefore unpublishable.  It is heartening to see that Prashant Karhade of APK does not subscribe to this philosophy.
Now coming to Vikram Karve, a familiar name to those who have been following his blogs on Sulekha.com, this is his first collection of short stories. He writes about today’s…

 Review also published on LindyLouMac’s Book Reviews

Paperback: 172 pages
Genre : Victorian Classic Fiction
Publisher: Original Edition 1869 – This edition published  by Diamond Books 1993
Source: My bookshelves
Introduction Quote : Having seen a performance of a classic work of literature on television, children are often disappointed and frustrated when they find they are unable to read and understand the original. With this in mind this has been translated by Doris Dickens, great granddaughter of Charles Dickens. This is not Lorna Doone retold but…

>Title: The Finkler Question Author: Howard Jacobson Publisher: Bloomsbury The Man Booker Prize 2010 made me want to read the though up until now i was completely ignorant of Howard Jacobson’s writing. The protagonist, a confused gentile, a self-pitying Londoner finds his calling when he meets his two closest friends who have recently lost their wives. He (Treslove) finds his heart wailing for their loss, possibly in a misery greater than the ones having suffered the loss first hand. On his way back, he falls prey to a mugging incident,…

Title : HeartstoneAuthor : C.J. SansomPublisher : Viking AdultGenre : Historical fiction/ mysteryPages : 626 (Hardcover)Published : Jan 24, 2011Rating : 4.5/5
Heartstone is the 5th book in C.J.Sansom’s Matthew Shardlake series. In it, Sansom’s hunchbacked lawyer hero takes on another intriguing case. The time is of Catherine Parr’s reign on the throne as Consort of Henry VIII. Five other wives having being done away with (marriages either annulled and/or wives beheaded) Queen Catherine is a just but careful woman. Ever loyal to her servants, the Queen has one of…

Ruskin Bond steals into our thoughts and captures our hearts with his effortlessly charming stories. Having read a few of his books, I now know Bond’s stories of rural India will stay with me forever. His is the quiet voice that leads to calm, restful communities and characters we feel we all know. I first heard of Ruskin Bond after a friend recommended him to me… when I was a schoolgirl – and I am eternally grateful.

Ruskin Bond – the name conjures up misty hills, lush green valleys, gurgling…

They came for the trade. And found something better. When the dust settled, an empire had changed hands. The architects of the change, who bore witness to the rise and fall of the mighty empire, imprinted their impression upon their adopted homeland. The land, in turn, left an indelible mark on the newcomers.

Richard Holmes, himself a soldier and a leading military historian, looks beyond the empire carved from the remains of another civilisation, steering past the colonial designs of the company and later the crown. He seizes upon the…

ACCORDING to conventional wisdom, books (even as you write them) have a tendency to take on a life of their own. A shape of their own; an agenda of their own. Anthologies are no different. To start with, a brilliant, albeit somewhat obvious, idea takes root. Contributions are invited, perused, slaughtered, rejected before the chosen few make their way into the final selection. A selection that may eventually have no obvious connection to its original raison d’etre. India: A Traveller’s Literary Companion, edited by novelist and literary critic Chandrahas Choudhury,…