One Straw Revolution ~ Masanobu Fukuoka

An earnest and simple book on natural farming and the power of nature to re-generate itself - one mans observations from living with nature and observing rather than make the soil/ crop live or you.
Would suggest reading the book to remove a few misconceptions we have about farming and nature in general.

One hundred years of Solitude

My dear Mr. Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I acknowledge and agree with all the reviews made by all these distinguished critics - you have an amazing grasp of vocabulary from which you can bring out the most minute of details and provide it in the most amazing prose. I will go to the extent of even saying that if you were given the chance of writing about a single scene of an Indian picking his nose in the crowded bus stand of an arterial road in a small town, you would be able to write 200 pages for that alone! My good man, please stop going round and round so much entwining each and every detail into so much that your characters in the novel themselves seem to have become dizzy and fallen down! :D
Its definitely an entertaining start but as you go on, its soon becomes a story of nothingness... enjoy it for the way he can twist and provide details... but do beware that you'll grow numb after a certain point in time.

One Night at the Call Center

Chetan Bhagat should have stopped with his first book 5 point someone and not let Idiots allow him to waddle in its fame and glory. What happened instead is his second book came out first in the movies and there too didn’t fair well (with a movie title like Hello, I’m not surprised). I really think it came out a couple of years after its time and if it had come out with the BPO boom, it would have been the most talked about book for sometime to come. What disappoints is the lack of grip the author has over the English language. One of its strengths however is in how well it allows the reader to imagine and visualise (taking into account my personal craziness, I sometimes had to force myself to stay true to the authors imagination and not bring in my own characters into the fold, I somehow was not successful however). One night at the Call Center does have its bright spots, it gives you normal people with problems that are unique (when I read it I thought it was a weakness, now I think it’s a strength). The characters are believeable to some extent and gives you emotions which a reader understands very well (but cannot connect with, don’t get me wrong).

True Evil

Greg Iles tried to do a Robin Cook…medical thriller with evil inside geniuses’ minds. The book starts off ok and carries you in a more than normal pace though at times, it feels like the author wanted to deviate along 2-3 paths and kinda allowed ideas from the weaker ones to still come in wvwn if it hadnt been selected. The book is an ok read though I’d have skipped it if I had known earlier but then that’s what gives a really good book its charm isnt it? It’s a read which doesn’t offer too many pages to flip so the author doesn’t allow you to get into the book, there are no details to grip you, it lacks the quality of information a medical thriller has, it doesn’t give you glimpses into the medical world nor delves into medical aspects enough which is why I think it doesn’t keep your attention. The book though I think is ingenious with by giving the villian a better role than the good guys, it allows him to be stronger, smarter and with more resources at his avail. However I realise while reading the book that the hero (or heroine in this case) doesn’t or isnt allowed that emotional connect with the reader. What happens if the reader isnt pulled into her shoes or into the story allowing them to be even at times disinterested in the story but just turning the pages anyway.

The Watchman

The Watchman starts off at a fast pace and tries to stay that way throughout the book. The main protagonist with a name like Mike has got to be good right? So he goes off reducing the number of bad guys almost immediately while making sure that even a hair on his head isnt bruised. This turned out to be one of those action hero books which makes Jason Bourne look like an amateaur. There is a love angle without a love angle, the good guy saves the girl, beats up the bad guys and walks away into the horizon. A book to pick up only if you like nonstop, brainless action like I do. It’s written by Robert Crais. I kept getting gthe feeling that the author wanted to make Mike here a kind of sequel creating book, giving him almost super natural abilities of endurance, not having to sleep, eyes which don’t show emotions nor a heart that doesn’t skip a beat, the next thing to expect is a stare that could kill but thankfully its not yet there… might be there in Mike’s next book.

The Bourne Betrayal

The Bourne Betrayal – Robert Ludlum with some Eric guy… edge of the seat thriller with a super agent with amnesia beating the crap out of whoever he meets and still survives to tell the tale. Anyway, here he’s is pulled in by the agency (followers know the history) to get back Bourne’s only friend (and hes a hot shot in the agency that’s been trying to kill Bourne in the previous books) who happens to be caught behind enemy territory. But for action fans and more importantly Bourne fans, yep it’s the fifth of the legend.

The Werewolf Trace by John Gardener

The Werewolf Trace by John Gardener – a small novel written in the spy genrie… its my first book by the author. Story is about a guy who when he was small was chosen by Hitler to be the next great dictator but as you know, hitler dies and so a sub plot is woven with the british searching for the kid whose grown to become a businessman and has a unassuming life. Not a spy thriller with any amount of action, more of a Agatha Christie meets Remington Steele – all brit upper lip and faint on a pin prick types. A read when you want to pass time or when u read just for the heck of it.

Chaos

Chaos by James gleick - Just re-read the book and it takes me out on a thinking frenzy everytime. Its a good book, worth your time if you are into science and its understanding. Dont pick it up if you just want to relax and do some no brain activity reading. The way he explains concepts with its qwerkiness gives the whole book its humour. You sniggle with a 'oh yes, now why didnt i think of that" at the same time admiring the science and advancement, understanding the pro's and con;s we get with every apple. Go ahead, read the book, its not of your mill types but then again, Richard Feyman is a class apart.

The Avenger

The Avenger by Frederick Forysth, just finished the book. Its an ok book, not too complicated, he tries to make it action packed and with a lot of pace but frankly, he doesnt seem to be writing like he used to. Its not edge of the seat, u more or less know the story before the half on the book is over. A lot is lost out on detailing, it would have added so much more to the book.
Anyway, its a one time read book for passtime.

Starfish and the Spider

I forget which year exactly but for many years now, I’ve often asked myself this question of why exactly do we follow a structure of power. Do I need to elect only one President or vice president, why does my company have one ceo and not three or four or so ceo’s, why should I have one leader to lead? Before I get your mind running into all the theories of one command, unity of power, structure, responsibility and a hundred other things; I just picked up a book called ‘The Starfish and the Spider’ which gives a small yet meaningful insight to the power of leaderless organisations, just general reading fare but in terms of bringing out one important point among many, it is successful. It’s an ok read but only if you liked books like fish, freakanomics and the kind.