Book Review - Sahi & Sudheer - a love story by author Yogita Warde

Feature book Review- Saahi & Sudheer by @author.yogitawarde

I picked up a romantic novel after a long time as I was mostly engrossed with sci-fi and historical fictions : ) .
When I read this book, it  brought a smile on my face due to its sweetness and simplicity. I loved how Saahi and Sudheer got connected since school days and gradually helped each other to bring out the best in each other’s lives. After all, isn’t love supposed to do exactly this.

Sometimes we realise the love only when we separate from the one whom we love immensely. The book highlights this so well.

The book also brings up the concept of soul mates. Call it karma or destiny, life always finds a way to bring soul mates together. 

This is a book with nuances of human emotions spread across the story line, which every person can relate to.

The story writing is simple, lucid and yet remarkably put across to bring in those moments of tears and joy. 

This is the author's debut book. She has already penned several books and more to come in future. The book is originally in Hindi and translated to English. The book is available on Amazon.

I wish all the best to Yogita and request her to keep sharing such stories.

Lucky - A speculative fiction by a young writer

Featured book - Lucky by Roli Mohanka.

An amazing #speculative short fiction by a very young author, who is still in her schooling and studying.

I was amazed by the concept and imagination of Roli who wrote such a wonderful story through the eyes of a 'Man eating Lizard'. 

The story has a good mix of #sciencefiction and #fantasy and the author justifies the #speculative nature of the story.

The book is available on #Amazon @

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07ZY4F52P/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_glt_YGQDYY0G1H44KJ4YX3PE

Go ahead ... grab ur book. 

#sciencefictionbooks #authorsambit #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #instareaders

The Chronicler of the Hooghly & Other Stories - A Review

I love historical fantasies... and one may call it synchronicity that I had this wonderful opportunity to connect with Shri Shakti Ghosal, author of the book 'The Chronicler of the Hooghly', which is a historical fantasy. 

Shakti is an engineer, an IIM Bangalore graduate,  a coach and calls himself a maverick. He provides leadership and performance incubation through online training, webinars, and coaching. He is a visiting professor at IIMs. 

His multiple talents doesn't end here. He is a published author which reflects in his debut book 'The Chronicler of the Hooghly & Other Stories'.

Shakti has also provided a testimonial for my book 'The Last War & Other Stories' that you can find in the 2nd edition of my book.

When I read his debut book, I was fascinated to see how beautifully he has narrated such wonderful tales. I would call it as one of the finest historical fantasy with a pure advantage of getting a chance to experience the historic city of Kolkata during the British times. The portrayal of complexities in human relationships in the backdrop of the British Raj is impeccable. Each of the characters are well thought of, along with a good amount of research done on history. 

The portrayal of Shanti, the differently abled child in the story Ashtami is heart touching. The subtle change in the chanting syllables of Goddess from Shakti (power) to Shanti (peace) at the end is thought provoking and leaves the readers to draw their own references.

The complexities in the human relationships, the evolving social fabric and the affluence in India over the past 100 years and a critical comparison of the pandemic in the 1920's and 2020's makes the story Pandemic commendable.

The story Fault Lines, subtly juggles between the technical fault lines in the building construction and the fault lines that we often see in the human nature and fallacy.

Coming to the main story, The Chronicler of the Hooghly. It is in itself a masterpiece that weaves the history of Kolkata through the centuries, interwoven beautifully through the strings of the pearl necklace. Along with a historical ride, the story carries with it a sense of eeriness. Earlier, I had read the stories and works of Swami Vivekananda, about the temple of Maa Dakshinwshwari Kali and the appointment of Gadadhar as the temple priest who later came to be known as the beloved master, Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. But this story references this from such a different and beautiful angle, that I had never imagined.

The story reminds me of the story 'Monihaar' written by Thakur Rabindranath Tagore and later made into a movie by Shri Satyajit Ray.

Overall, the multiple stories remind me of Shri Satyajit Ray's short stories and movies, while the beautiful narration in the backdrop of Indian history reminds me of E.M. Foster's 'A passage to India'.

The language, the diction, the knowledge and the references shared through the stories reflect on the in-depth knowledge of the author, and how well read and experienced he is.

I wish Shakti all the best for his future books and strongly recommend everyone not to miss this amazing book.

The book is available on Amazon @ https://www.amazon.in/Chronicler-Hooghly-Shakti-Ghosal/dp/B08X7M93DL

Be a Duck - Book review

The concept of improving our human behavior and trait by comparing with a duck is what intrigued me to pick up this book. This book is on motivation and how we can practically follow certain habits, actions that can help us lead a better life. The way the author @wendy_jarvis_author compares it with a duck is very interesting. I mean, I have seen numerous examples taken by many motivational speakers and writers, but this book stands out as the author has taken lot of pain, time, effort to observe certain traits in ducks that can help us lead a better life. The book is only around 48 pages, so it is to the point, with clear and simple comparisons. The writing is very simple, lucid and avoids all jargon. Here are a few lessons I felt were very apt for all of us to learn from the ducks.

Let it #slide- Yes that's right. Just like how ducks have the ability to let go of the rain water from its oily feathers, we too should develop a habit to let go of many negative things people say about us, and move forward in life. Here again the author shows discretion in not allowing anyone to cross the line.

#Adaptability - I loved this point, where the author explains how ducks across the world adapt in different habitats. Similarly it's important for humans to adapt to their environment, life changing events, relationships, jobs, you name it. And humans have a choice. They adapt to survive or thrive...

#Balance- I appreciate the way the author explains this point in simple terms. The way a duck can Balance in both upstream or downstream flow of water, should we not balance our life with the right food, sleep, work and so on? The author summarizes this aspect very well by saying 'We could live a balanced life in this balanced world.'

Other interesting and valuable lessons are on correcting ourselves, communicating, staying together, and simple and yet profound philosophy on contentment.

Thank you @wendy_jarvis_author for sharing your knowledge, wisdom, experience through life changing examples of ducks.

I would recommend anyone who is looking for a simple and no-nonsense learning to buy the book. Go ahead. Be a #duck...

#bookstagram #bookreview #studiozmagic

Book review of "A Myna Flies" - by Sidharth Kanattil

A book that starts with suspense, and then takes you through adventure, drama, greed, lust, personal ambitions, and action that hooks you till the end. A wonderfully knitted fiction that molds along with a very accurately etched out historical background. Sidharth has done a commendable job in his research of historical facts that dates back to the 1850's and presents it in a form of a beautifully woven fiction that is a definite page turner.

Writing a fiction with historical background with so many characters, multi layering, plots and sub plots is not easy at all. The author glues you into the book right from the first page till the end. I could visualize the scenes that took me back to the Victorian era through the eyes of the heart broken Radha, the revengeful Murad Ali, the ambitious Henry Haines or be it the ever adjusting Sharda Bai to ensure she makes a living for herself and her son. The journey of a determined Ratan who is literally slapped when he gets over-ambitious right from Shahjanabad to Calcutta, through the oceans to the land of plantations and suddenly he finds life making full circle. The description of the sea travel is just amazing. Sidharth beautifully connects all these through the magic of his writing.
Sidharth has done justice to each character's emotions and yet maintained the historical perspective. At the end, the author is really successful in forcing us to question many things. Does it in any way, connect us with our present times? Do we still need to learn many things that history has to teach us? Are there lessons still waiting to be learnt?

And my God, does it really end? We are all desperately waiting for the sequel Sidharth. Make it sooner please....

To sum up, hats off to you Sidharth for writing such a beautiful story and sharing it with the world.

Chariots of War - Decimation . An interesting sscifi book read.

Chariots of War - Decimation written by #author Paul Liversage is an amazing #sciencefiction book.

I had read this book sometimes in 2019. It is available on Amazon Kindle. 

The story revolves around futuristic time and deals with #spacetravel , #war and #hitec weapons and technology. The author does an amazing job in writing about a futuristic war in space with an intriguing plot, realistic characters and an element of suspense. 

I would recommend all science fiction lovers to definitely check this out in Amazon Kindle.

#scifiatmospheres #scififantasy #bookreview #authorsambit #sambitdaspatnaik #studiozmagic