Read and Play

A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME by Stephen Hawking! It is the textbook of physics! Hawking has explained from Aristotle principle to recent developments like string theory. Stephen Hawking was an English theoretical physicist, known for Hawking radiation, gravitational singularity theorems in collaboration with Roger Penrose. This theorem predicted that black holes emit radiations. This book contains the topics that I started learning from first grade and topics that I am learning now for my bachelors degree. Hawking tickles the reader's funny bone with his scientific humour. Hawking explains the complex concepts in a simple Leman terms with scientifically accurate figures. The knowledge that is bestowed upon the readers will change the perception of space, time i.e, universe. When I was in high school, I had made a list of people I wanted meet and gain knowledge. It comprised of three people. APJ Abdul Kalam Stephen Hawking John Nash Unfortunately, I could not meet a...

Abhedhya is a kannada detective thriller written by P V Pradeepkumar.  The author as well as the book is massively underrated. This is one of the best detective novel in kannada in recent times. This is not like a classic storyline where the killer is revealed in the end. Instead it is how murder was committed. In this novel, the antagonist Suhas challenges the protagonist Vinod (police inspector) to arrest him with proof for murder which he committed two years ago and gives him one year to collect the proofs. The problem is the person who has been murdered is Suhas's own wife and she died in front of everyone due to heart attack. The problems faced by the protagonist amplifies in each and every chapter. The way the story unfolds is unpredictable. The way the protagonist investigates and proves that the death was not due to natural causes forms the crux of the story.  The writer has the unique style of writing which amplifies the reader's enthusiasm by each and e...

Thanks to one of my friend's suggestion, I read this amazing thriller! Those who have the hobby of reading books, Sidney Sheldon does not need an introduction. Sidney Sheldon was an amazing author whose first novel was acclaimed by the New York Times as ' the best first mystery novel of the year'. He is also one of the few novelists to have won a Tony Award and an Academy Award. This book is kind of edge seat thriller. The story follows the life of the protagonist Elizabeth Roffe (a young, beautiful and sole heir to a billion dollar fortune) after the death of her father in a mountain climbing accident. She becomes overnight, the richest girl in the world. The story follows her coming to terms with her father's death, someone sabotaging her company Roffe and Sons, someone trying to murder her. The way she deals with those problems and the mystery killer forms the crux of the story. The part that impressed me the most was the way the protagonist innovativel...

"With great power comes great amnesia" The above line is just one of the many one liner jokes in this book. This book is written by famous Indian comedian Sorabh Pant (not to be confused with Rishabh Pant) I knew Sorabh Pant was a good comedian, but didn't knew that he is this good a novelist. This book is funny, also moving. More or so the sarcastic tone makes you go LOL! This book is about Arjun Singh, a reluctant superhero vanara called Pawan. He fights with top terrorists, Chinese dragon, etc. This book falls into the special category of dark comedy (style of Sorabh Pant's comedy). The book has many characteristics of Sorabh Pant's comedy like ranting, dark, sarcastic and vivid imagination. Open minded people will enjoy the reading experience.

Mookajjiya Kansugalu is one of the prestigious Kannada literary work. Dr. K Shivarama Karanth won prestigious Jnanapeetha award, highest literary award in India for this literary work. K Shivarama Karanth is the third Kannada writer to be conferred this award.  There is no protagonist in this work, declared by the writer himself. This book is all about some of the practices followed by the people. The writer also touches the historical impact on people by so called spiritual leaders, its pros and cons. Through a character Mookajji, the writer questions and debunks a lot of traditions followed by people. The character Mookajji is itself very interesting. The character has a special ability of seeing things, which normal people cannot see. One can also call it as vibing (according to The Flash). The book takes us on a journey of profound and logical thinking. The writer has given the description of Malnad beautifully. One can imagine the place by reading the book it...

War and Peace is a mammoth novel of 1200 pages, written by Count Leo Tolstoy. This is a special kind of novel. It is an historical novel blended with fictional elements. It is a rare mixture of history and fiction. Count Leo Tolstoy, born in 1828 was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. When I first held this book in hand to read, my hand started to be in pain as this book is so heavy. I never thought that I could finish reading this novel when I saw the number of pages. This novel has so many characters and moments, it has got 33 pages of notes, adjoining the novel. The novel has been split into 15 parts and two epilogues. The characters present in the novel can be applied to our own lives. I was able to draw parallels between some of the characters and the people I know. It also explains the conflict between war and peace and its effects on people. This is written in the backdrop of Napoleonic wars and its impact on Russia. The nove...

I am a well in this great land Looking at its millions of boys and girls To draw from me The inexhaustible divinity  And spread His grace everywhere  As does the water drawn from a well. - Above is an excerpt from Wings of Fire WINGS OF FIRE is an autobiography of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, one of the greatest sons of India.  Dr. Kalam is the most inspiring figure in the Indian history. He was born in 1931 in a town of Tamil Nadu called Rameshwaram. He has been awarded Bharat Ratna (highest civilian award in India) in 1997. He served as eleventh president of India from 2002 to 2007. He is popularised in India as People's President and as Missile Man. He served in ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) as Project Director of SLV. He also served as Director of DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation). Under him India became independent in missile technology. This book deals with inspiring journey of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. In each and e...

The Fountainhead written by Ayn Rand. A 700 page novel! I started reading this in 2013! Now, it is 2018! 5 years! My architect brother lent me a copy of this novel in 2013. I read about 10 pages and did not understand anything. He took the copy away from me seeing me uninterested. After 5 years, I get a copy of this novel and finish reading it in 20 days! How crazy! I understand now, why I did not understand 5 years back, I was just a 13 year old boy. Reading it now, has changed my thinking about looking at things in the world. According to me, this is a philosophical novel. It focuses on objectivism. This is the clash between individualism and collectivism. Tere must be a disclaimer for this - NOT FOR THE WEAK MINDS! Synopsis: This novel is divided into four parts, namely - Peter Keating, Ellsworth M Toohey, Gail Wynand and Howard Roark. The protagonist of this novel is Howard Roark, an individualistic architect. This is about his struggle and rise of him to become...

Murder! Spies! Police! Hatred! Love! Journalist! Police!  Ufff!! This has everything. This book has 70 chapters! Do not worry! Each chapter is just a couple of pages. The writer, Kulpreet Yadav is very intelligent. He knows people get bored while reading a large novel. So, he has divided it into 70 chapters. Many people (like me) keep a target of chapters to be completed in available time. It helps for those kind of people. The story starts with a murder of an Israeli woman. A freelance journalist, Vicks Menon arrive at the scene of crime and gets an important evidence. Using those evidence, he investigates the case. He has several run-ins with the murderer and police. The ending of this story is very intriguing. This book has action, mystery in each and every page. Also has some unexpected turns. Sometimes, it gets predictable. The overall reading experience is good. People who love mysteries, deduction, then this is a must read book for you.

The Alchemist! No words to explain the depth, enlightenment and enjoyment one feels while reading this amazing novel. Paulo Coelho is one of the few people who can explain the big concets in less than 170 pages. The story starts very lightly, but as one goes on reading it, suddenly feels enlightened. It changes the light story to a story which has a lot of depth. It makes the book very interesting. The story has many things like magic, treasures, gypsies, dreams, etc. But, that's not all. This book mainly focuses on our dreams, luck, hardship, hope, destiny, love. This book also gives important messages to readers. Like - "Follow your heart" "When you face lot of hardships, then you are very near to achieving your goal" "Never lose hope" "Work hard to achieve your goals or destiny" "Never forget the values that you have learnt" This novel even touches philosophy as the protagonist learns these things from many ...

The Mother I Never Knew is a book written by a celebrated Indian writer Sudha Murty. Sudha Murty's writing style is very heart touching. Sudha Murty is a prominent writer, who writes in two languages, English and Kannada.  This book consists of two novellas. Both these novellas are based on family, sacrificing nature of mother, humanity, true colours of some people exposed due to money, heartless nature of humans for money. At some point, it touches the emotional point. It makes us feel, go to our respective mother and spend some quality time with her. It makes all the people who have their mother alive, make them feel lucky to have that wonderful person in their lives. Personally, I also feel lucky.  The first novel is about Venkatesh, a bank manager, meeting his lookalike. This probes him to discover his father's hidden past and tries to make amends for that. The second novel about Mukesh, who goes on a search for his biological mother after he finds out th...

An amazing, inspiring yet devastating book. Some instances in this book melted my heart. Khaled Hosseini has written about all the problems of Afghanistan has faced all these years. A life changing incident takes place in 1975, which changes the life of 12 year old Amir and his loyal friend Hassan.

I have no words to describe this book. This book has triggered all kind of emotions in me. Amish has made this final book if this series very emotional. This book is so interesting that it keeps the reader glued to it. I cannot write much about this book. But, only can recommend to all.

This book is the continuity of The Immortals of Meluha. This book focuses on the journey of Shiva, a tribal man from Tibet who becomes Neelkanth. This book mainly focuses on his journey after the war between Suryanvanshis and Chandravanshis. It also focuses on his family life. This book yet again proves that Amish is Indian Tolkien. This book moves on in an interesting way from page to page. Ending of this book is a cliffhanger because there is another book.

I am at loss of words! Breathtaking fantasy novel! What a story line! I didn't believe the quote from Business Standard before reading this novel. Amish is really India's Tolkien. Amish has the knack of writing smoothly, effectively, interestingly and without making the reader to fall into boredom. It is about a man called Shiva, who becomes Neelkanth and saviour of Meluhans aka Suryavanshis, and the challenges Shiva faces after that. The battle parts of this novel was amazing. I really recommend this book to every fantasy fan.

My mother gifts me books as a present on my birthday. A week prior to my birthday, we were in a book shop and this following book caught my attention. I bought this book after two months, though. But this book was so interesting, I forgot about everything including lunch at read it in one go. The author of this book is Deepika Murthy, who goes by the pen name Pika Nani. This work is completely inspired by Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Yet, this book is is refreshing and feels like completely original and not inspired, that has been the powerful writing style of Pika Nani. This is the best spoof stories of Sherlock Holmes. This book is all about Shrilok, Mumbai (Indian) version of Sherlock Holmes. In Sherlock Holmes stories we know of Doctor John Watson. But in these stories, it is Rohan Doctor, who is not a doctor. Doctor is the surname. People who have read Sherlock Holmes stories will feel their funny bone tickled. The following are th...