Tag: travel

September Book Reviews!

Salivation Of A Saint By Keigo Higashino. 

My 3rd Book from Keigo Higashino, 2nd one of the year and two and half days of another page tuner from Keigo Higashino.

The Writing is so engrossing. Murder has already being committed in the first thirty pages and You might have the hint of who the murderer might me. But How it actually happens remains a mystery…Until Detective Galileo works around the theory with the Police officers and comes to the conclusion. A Book & author you wouldn’t want to miss reading, Who surprises you with a perfect Murder Crime that you wouldn’t in your wildest thought, imagined to take place like the one mentioned in the books and with logical backstory and supporting evidence, This book is all  the more enjoyable where you just want to read  more stories like these from Keigo Higashino one of  my new favourite Crime/Thriller who doesn’t disappoint. Now the next one I want to read is his bestseller “The Devotion of Suspect X”

Seventeen by Hideo Yokoyama 

A Story about a plane Crash that took place in 1985 and How the piece is reported by

Kazumasa Yuuki, a reporter at the North Kanto Times who is responsible for covering the news of the Plane Crash. The Story revolves around the daily battles of the power struggles and office politics in the Print Media and Media as a field .

Itself ,But in 2003 Seventeen years later, Yuuki remembers the adrenaline-fueled, emotionally charged seven days that changed his and his colleagues’ lives. He does making on a promise he made that fateful week—one that holds the key to its last solved mystery and represents Yuuki’s final, unconquered fear.

Though I picked up this book for the story. What I enjoyed the most was the way it was written,The Writing and setting was just like how internal politics & power takes over.

When it comes to reporting & publishing news. If you are looking to read a nice Investigate Journalism book on reporting a disaster. This one you should be reading.

A Story written by a writer who has been in the journalism field for years working with Jōmō Shimbun the largest general circulation daily newspaper based in Gunma prefecture, Japan. The same region where apparently the Aeroplane Crash takes place.

Seventeen, is a slow burn but a very interesting. Battles, arguments over departments who feel they contribute & our more important for publishing business are well written. I guess writing a setting one knows, does truly bring out the authenticity in the writer while writing his story. Hideo is best known for six- four a murder thriller.

After Dark by Murakami 

Yes! This year I have read more than a couple of books from Murakami. Ranging from his Bestseller “Kafka on The Shore”to “After Dark” Though the style remains the same in the writing,The ideas that are shared in the writing by the writer are amusing to immediately get you interested in wanting to read the book. The same thing happened After Dark. After Dark is story that’s written describing the dreams and psychology of a person while in sleep, the thoughts, the nightmares etc. Coincidentally just like After Dark being Murakami’s Eleventh novel. This also happens to be my Eleventh read from his collection.

The Story revolves around a night in Tokyo where two college students bump into each other after a long time.

And Mari one of the protagonist in the story is approached by the manger of a restaurant as Mari is fluent in Chinese and the manager isn’t and request her to act as a translator for her. Soon both open up about their feeling within Mari opens about how she became fluent in the language and her feeling and comparison with Eri who is sister.

Meanwhile, strange things have been happening at the sister Eri’s place. Eri has already gone to bed by the time the events of the novel take place, but as she asleep strange things happens around which the writer narrates in his writing.

The Novel like most of the authors works ends abruptly, without any definitive answers to its many mysteries.

Incase you haven’t read any of the works by the authors and are considering starting of. Please don’t read this book first read a couple of his other works first.

2020 Thoughts!

Ever since 2020 began! 
It’s been setting up new challenges every day. 
Two months into the year and we were all dealing with a pandemic that even more than six months later doesn’t seem to end. 
As the year moved ahead! We lost a legend and one of the best actors in our Hindi Film Industry. Just when we were coming out of these two shocking deaths. We were thrown a mysterious death of another actor. Which was cited as a suicide, but reports were pointing to murder, three months later we still aren’t sure whether it’s a suicide or a murder. 
While there was just a hand full of those who questioned and wanted justice to be served for the late actor as it was strongly pointing towards a murder 
But, Things started to change when we were forced to pick up a side as one of the prime suspects in the investigation was arrested for Drugs and also used PR tactic’s to defend herself exclusively with two Broadcasting channels without first being questioned by The CBI. 
Weeks later, An Actor who began the fight of justice for the late actor, who had also being vocals and her ”Nepotism” Conversation took an ugly turn for. Leaving her with no movies offers. Plans to come to Mumbai and is not only threatened for her remarks a couple of days ago for comparing the city and situation with an enemy territory but just a few hours before her arrival to The City of Dreams! Her Office is tarnished citing reasons, illegal construction work. 
Mind you all these series of events are taking place while India is at its peak on the Coronavirus. 
The economy has hit it’s lowest since we had our independence and our in the middle of a war with another neighbour of ours. 
And what hurts the most is people who are considered role models, people who are looked up by Millions and Billions not just from our country, but from around the world. 
Haven’t spoken about anything at all from the injustice or justice for a late actor whose death remains a mystery, For an actor who’s office has been attacked wrongly. 
Or for the matter of where our country is headed in terms of our economic mess, How one should be tackling the pandemic or for that matter about the tensions amongst the borders, Are they all scared to open their mouths, Are these the people we aspire to be like? 
Where is the Freedom, If our well-known celebrities themselves can’t speak about anything? 
Is this the country we want to live in? Where there isn’t any democracy any more, but just dictatorship from all sides… Where power is also being misused by the powerful and not used the way it should be used. 
Where we speak up in minutes and condemn the West, but can’t really address and speak about the issues that are taking place in your motherland. 

Some Thoughts Running on My Mind.

The Rain drizzling and fading away the view, making it blur for the eyes to see what comes across next.

In the midst of the joy! You look back and remember it was just summer now!

And now here monsoon has arrived.

The honking on the streets have subdued,

The rejection of not finding any public transport is dearly missed.

The argument over, not having any change and deciding who will forge the “change”

Every day was a new day! Yet every day some of the battles were same.

Whether it was what to order today

or whether it was were to begin today?

The frustrations and anxiety to explain the delivery boys the address was the same every day,

Google occasionally on some applications was stubborn to get it accurate.

Some Days – We ate out one meal where we looked at the menu to decide what to eat, unlike the struggle of making a menu every day at home for three meals.

While some filtered and cancelled

the outdoor sound with their earphones, Others got used to the terrific traffic sound that nearly deafened them until they reached their destinations.

The Bumper to Bumper traffic has been out of sight, yet is still in the mind.

The sound of the crowds at crowded places, the fight to squeeze yourself in and find a place is long forgotten.

The sound of the coffee machine pouring out some freshly brewed coffee with some eggs & desserts is occasionally remembered.

Some More of my Writing Part -2

Personal Book Review – Becoming & Charles Chaplin !!

 

Becoming by Michelle Obama

I Wouldn’t have really read this book. But, The moment you read It’s written by the former first lady, You know it’s going to be a great read. As it’s going to have things you wouldn’t know about their lives and you also get the chance to know the White House from an insider, The whole architecture, The protocols and the life behind the camera as a president and more importantly Michelle Obama’s journey in life.

Charles Chaplin – Autobiography

I really don’t like reading artist biographies or autobiography’s who have been part of the entertainment industry. For one they could be totally biased, one-sided and slightly boring to read. But Charles Chaplin I have been wanting to read for a long time, a couple of days before we went on national lockdown (25th march ’20’ ) I was about to place an order from the e-commerce website, But did not. Also, having read most of the books that I had already ordered and now worried I had no books to read, First I began scrolling from my contacts and messaged a couple of my “friends” if they could lend me some books. After having waited for too long for them to reply, I browsed through my library at home once again! Maybe there is a book I haven’t read and guess what! I found one of the first editions of Charles Chaplin which was tearing apart and I began reading the book, It was one of the best books I must have read on cinema and actor as it teaches you so much about what goes behind an actor during his preparation and how much effort is it to “Act” and being a superstar of the “silent Era” This fascinated me and within five days I had finished reading the book. Right from his childhood to him coming back from Hollywood and visiting his roots in The UK to him finally settling down in Switzerland to have been married numerous time. About five times and having eleven kids to getting the longest standing ovation in the (Twelve Minutes long ) history of academy awards Charles was one hell of a “Charlie.” It’s a must-read for all and besides Charlie, if you want to read another book on an actor you must! And must read Naseeruddin Shah Memoir – Then one day!