The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Author - Mary Ann Shaffer and Angie Barrows

Genre - Fiction, World War II

Source - Print

Rating - 4

January 2015

May all books have a soul like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.
I have become choosy and selective in my appraisal. Maybe even a bit snooty. That's the only reason I can think of why I would not rate this a 5. But I didn't. 
But read. Do read. 

তুঙ্গভদ্রার তীরে (Tungabhadra'r Teerey)

Author - Saradindu Bandyopadhyay

Genre - Historical Fiction, Thriller

Source - Print

Rating - 4 

May 2014

First: About Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. He is a fantastic writer of bestsellers that are NOT devoid of literary merit. If one has to make the parallel to an English writer, it has to be with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and Sharadindu's Byomkesh is almost the equal of Doyle's Sherlock).
Second: About the time and place. You'd say the novel has not dated very well. You'd say that some of the sentiments some characters display are rather out of our times (reg: religion, sex). But hey, this is historical fiction, and that too medieval history, how do you expect it to be in with the times?
Third: Sharadindu creates such amazing plots. And has such a strong, clean writing style. Two hundred odd pages finished off in one go. This is good stuff! 
Fourth: I am lucky that I can read Sharadindu in original Bengali. This is one of the first few non-Byomkesh novels of his that I read, and I am itching to read more.Fifth: Nice to read about the history of Karnataka. This is about the Vijayanagar Empire.

Dune

Author - Frank Herbert

Genre - Science-Fiction, Fantasy, fiction

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

July 2013

The fault is probably in my expectation that I didn't go absolutely crazy about this book. But this is immaculate, a work of high art. Frank Herbert has created the world of Arrakis and Caladan to perfection -- they are there somewhere, or will be. And are there greater creations in all of science fiction than the Fremen? The audiobook performance is brilliant. Paul Atreides is a little unreal, and the sequence of events are a tad predictable. But this is a high 4. I'd love to read the following parts.

Anita

Author - Keith Roberts

Genre - Fantasy, Magic, Fiction

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

May 2013

Fine, fun short stories. Sixties witch, a bit of a wild child, is this Anita. But good. Breezy read. 

The Shadow Lines

Author - Amitav Ghosh
Genre - Fiction,
Source - Print
Rating - 5
Jan 2013

This is a fragile, delicate, beautiful thing, this book. Turn the pages with care. Be gentle. And re-read, dear reader. Like I would.

The Racketeer

Author - John Grisham
Genre - Fiction, Thriller
Source - Audiobook
Rating - 2
Jan 2013

Somewhat average by Grisham standards. Sometimes does not remain a pageturner.

The Casual Vacancy

Author - JK Rowling
Genre - Fiction

Source - Audiobook
Rating - 5

Jan 2013

Stark, poignant, bleak and not unfunny. Loved it. 

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Author - Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
Genre - YA, fiction, romance,

Source - Online
Rating - 4 (almost 5)

Oct 2012

The Quiet American

Author - Graham Greene
Genre - Classic, War, Fiction, Thriller

Source - Audiobook
Rating - 5

July 2012