Paulo Coelho - The Spy

After reading Origin, depressed with a long, boring and pretty predictable story, I wanted a soothing reading experience. Then I found The Spy. The known comfortable Paulo Coelho universe - so that is my break from the never ending monotonous Origin. Was it? not entirely.

Spy is an easy read. Emotionally connected (?) at places. But except reading Mata Hari's diary ( and a few associates of her ), I didn't find what I was looking for - Paulo Coelho ! He was missing. There was not even a single page that I cannot find him... If not stated on the cover, it would have been impossible to tell it was written by him! Though Adultery was not real Coelho, there was his touch in every page. There was some philosophy I would like to read. This was missing in The Spy.

The only thing the book did was to burst my belief that Mata Hari was one of the most smart and one of a kind spy. Well, as the book was through her eyes and she constantly denying what she was accused of, it could only be natural. But was it convincing ? - No. Was the narration interesting - not a page turner nor unlike the other Paulo Coelho books this won't make you think either. But the story telling was never bore. It was crisp editing and the book is too thin to lag.

Well, I got nothing much to tell about this book. This is not a total waste, but not one that you cannot miss. May be if you watch it without any expectations you might even like it. I am leaving it on you....

Debbie Macomber - The Inn At Rose Harbor

After reading two 'thriller' books back to back ( The Cuckoos Calling and A Wanted Man ) I wanted to read something light. That's how I picked this one, The Inn At Rose Harbor by Debbie Macomber. The reviewers ( I prefer user reviews than critic's ) gave it high ratings. And when I started the book, I really liked it. It was upto my expectation.

The story is about a war widow, who leaving a high paying city job to move to a lesser busy town buying a bed and breakfast. How the move helped her ease the pain and the story of her first two guests forms the book. The troubled guests find solace during the stay ( not because of the

Aroon Raman - The Shadow Throne

The first thing that caught my attention when I opened the packet was the claim on the bookmark that came with the book - India's answer to Dan Brown ! I read books from cover to cover ( mostly start with back cover ) and anything that came as frills with the book. The reason why I was curious about the claim was that, a book I have read recently, The Rozabal Line by Ashwin Sanghi, also claimed the same ! Which was mostly due to the theme of Jesus and his possible chance of survival, the theory of his daughter etc... Though the author was well researched / read, the story hardly had grip, and failed to thrill like his earlier book The Chanakya Chant. The Shadow Throne, I believe, was compared to Dan Brown because a death points to a world disaster and ancient societies and extremists. And here, Aroon Raman succeeded in delivering a thriller, in style...

Amish - The Oath Of The Vayuputras (Shiva Trilogy, #3)

The grand finale of a grand series... May be it’s true about the grand size of the book ;) Like most of the thick books ( from Harry Potter to very Indian Alchemy Of Desire ), here too the focus and pace are on stake at times. It may not be intentional. The author has so much to tell and this is the last chance for him. So he tried to put everything at once. May be he badly wanted to use the extra effort he put down for the research, or a point or two which crossed his mind, or just want to ensure the reader and he on the same, by giving a little brief explanation about few points... 

A P J Abdul Kalam - Wings of Fire

My scientist friend Jomy Joseph told me about this book first. For him, it was the most inspirational book ever read and he keeps a copy with him always, even on his travel abroad,  along with his bible! I heard similar stories from others too. That's how I read it this book for the first time, it was a few years back. Now when I picked it again, I found the content and meaning of this book in a new level, new light... And the book still at it best in inspiration...