The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Roald Dahl....Not a new name for the books lovers. I haven't read his books earlier but have spent all my childhood watching movies inspired by his stories. I have picked a book set of all the books written by Dahl but was having second thought if I would like reading them as they were for children. I was astonished how much I enjoyed reading it. This is a small book with a simple story. Epic elements of personification of three animals and an enthusiastic kid.

The most significant thing is that it took me back to my childhood days. I had a smile the whole I was reading it. This is a must read for all the children but also adults can enjoy it. I wish I could have read it during my school days .

The way of writing was really good . Fantasy books have a tough work to create a imaginary world for you and have you believe in it. Dahl have done this very effectively . one will easily be transported to another universe where the animals taking was not a big deal.

There was not much of a story , with any twist and turns but this book is for children. We cant expect this to be super exciting . The language was also very basic suitable for a 9 yrs old which servers the intention.

Overall I rate this book a 4*.

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Turning Points: A Journey Through Challenges by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Turning Points: A Journey Through Challenges by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second book that I have read written by the great scientist Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam . The first book Wings of fire introduced us to an aspiring Scientist and the challenges he faced . His hard work, his love for the country and the dedication for the development of the nation. The technical victory he had with all his team , putting India in the world map. His contribution towards building a strong and determined India. But that was not all.

Turning points showed us that Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was not just a scientist , he was also a visionary. He dreamt of a successful nation. Not just technically developed but overall development which included easy access to basics amenities and all the fundamentals services provided to all without any difficulties.

This book describes the tenure of his presidency and how he Aimed and worked for the plan of a developed nation by the year 2020. He was a great man , no doubt of it but this book made me respect him more for the ideologies he had and how important was the country and the people of India was for him.

This book took a little time for me to read. It is very well written but i think the Wings of fire was a bit more interesting than this.

I rate this book a 4.5 star



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Your Dreams Are Mine Now by Ravinder Singh

Your Dreams Are Mine Now by Ravinder Singh
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have read a couple of books by Ravinder Singh and have understood that this writer is greatly influenced by Bollywood Drama. Even with this book I had the same issue, at many times the situation was over dramatized.

I picked up this book for light reading and to see if the writer have grown mature in his writing , but alas. The pace of the book was good but it lacked a good plot. The buildup was also very poor . The first few pages left me with seriously disappointment.It was utterly unnecessary to try to grow curiosity among the readers as it came out to be really negative. The image of a college portrayed was very superficial, rather then being a practical one.The lead characters were too good to be true.The hint of innocence would have done good but too much of anything mess things around. How ever there were some less annoying thing in this book than 'Can Love happens twice(The last book I read of this author)'.

1. The use of Hindi phrases were reduced , although still present.
2. The romance was not cheep and felt cute at times.
3 .There was No Ravinder Singh to remind us how he was a author of a National best selling novel .

I felt the problem was , there was too much of every thing and because of that a lot of things happened too fast. There was no proper build up for the incidents to happen. The love story was quite amateur and I feel the social issue and the resemblance to the Delhi Rape case was just added for things to go in favor of the book. One can sense the lack of intent easily. The ending was also very sudden. The whole tempo of the book was in a hurry.

I understand that this book was targeted for only Indian audience , as it doesn't stand up to the International standards. But today's India is mature enough to leave behind typical Bollywood formulas and is looking forward to have some fresh content. This is the reason this book have got so many negative ratings. The writers have to understand this.

I rate this book with a 2*

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Wings of Fire: An Autobiography by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Wings of Fire: An Autobiography by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is not just a book; it’s an Institution of Inspirations. This book is the autobiography about one of the gems born in this country. There were three ambitious programs in India till date.
1. The Space Program
2. The Missile Program
3. The Nuclear Program
A.P.J Abdul Kalam was on all these programs. What he have achieved in his lifetime, much of the people won’t able to archive in multiple lives. I can keep going on appreciating his achievements but let us talk about this book. This is a must read for those who see Mr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam as an Idol  and for those who closely follow the Space and Missile Program of India (I Being the Both). Knowing about something doesn’t have the same impact as reliving the incidents. With This book one can relive the life of a genius yet an ordinary person he was. The book did a splendid work in holding up the curiosity to keep going. The flow is strictly limited to all important events not only the success but also failures. It helps to keep the zeal to know how the things turned out to be in their favor.

As already a lot is known about A.P.J Abdul Kalam , This book help to makes one understands him as a person. We come to know how highly he regarded his teachers. He was obliged by the care and faith of many other scientist specially Dr. Sarabhai and DR.Satish Dhawan. He was a humble human being. He had a great knowledge of literature and many more details.

As today’s youth, we have seen India as an establish Nation, an economic power Where we have resources for technical advancement. We do have both manpower and finance to support them. This book will make one picture how with limited resource dedicated scientist worked days and night to make the Space Program and the Missile Program a success. It will make you proud to be an Indian.

Can't Wait to read his next book "Turning Points : A Journey Through Challanges: A Journey Through Challenges"

I rate this Book A full 5*


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Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was one of the oldest published Book I have ever read. Literature changes in every decade. This book was written as early as 1873 , around 150 years earlier. I thought that the style of writing will be different and may be at some point of time I may face difficulties with the pace of the story or with the plot. After all the world back in 1873 was very different than what we have it today. As I progressed I only proved myself wrong. The book keeps up with the pace excellently and excite the readers on what is next to come.

The writer have done an wonderful job in bring the picture of the world in the late 19th century. For history lover like me , this was a gem. One will be travelling back in time to experience the day to day life, the machinery people used, the way the people traveled the way they see the world and this was the main attraction of the book .

I am not sure if Jules Verne had ever traveled the world but for sure he had the knowledge of Various places. The story have a detail picture of travelling in two vast countries , India and America accompanied by various other countries. As i am an Indian , I can tell that one cannot describe India the way the writer have done without visiting it. of course some of the names of the places were pronounced differently , and it was expected as we know how the British did that.

Not just for fun , the book also teaches us many thing . we can learn from the protagonist(Phileas Fogg) how to be calm in whatever situation we are in , he also teaches us determination. Passepartout teaches us how to be faithful and also Fix teaches us not to give up.

One can really enjoy reading the book . The only problem i had was that sometimes there was a little to much details on the travelling. I enjoyed it when they were in India but it annoyed me a little when it was for America. As I don't have much knowledge on the geography of the country.

I Rate this book 4.5 *


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Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh

Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very different then any other book I have read. There was a sense of mystery , curiosity , disgust and a lot of feelings while reading this book .

This book portrayed India during the partition time. It puts light on the lifestyle of the people , the difference between the educated and the illiterate mass and this has been done perfectly. Khushwant Singh wrote this book in 1956 , so he was well aware of the lifestyle of people in India during the partition era. He was successful in binding the readers with the story perfectly. The writing style is a masterpiece here. The story consists of many characters and hence there is very less space for each of them as the book is around 190 pages only but still each of them has there own impotence and non seems to be neglected.

The topic of the book as we all know is partition. That is something one cannot remember without having tears in there eyes. The massacre that took place was beyond imagination. Today it seems barbaric when we think about it but this book have done a wonderful job to explain (although it was wrong) how people turned against each other. How people were ready to brutally slaughter friends and neighbors with whom they fought for their freedom , with whom they stayed harmoniously for years. The love and affection was forgotten in seconds. Khushwant Singh also tried to show the scale of genocide that took place.

This book will take the readers to a roller coaster ride of emotions , anger and a sense of helplessness people felt during these dark time. For me this is a must read for all.

I rate the book as 4.5 *



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