Reading Recommendations #2

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I've read 56 new books this year so far and two were rereads. For few people it might be a crazy amount and for others it's nothing. Well, reading less or more doesn't matter if you enjoy reading. I told you in June that I might share what am I reading. Deciding between 56 books is really difficult. Here are some of my recommendations:

1. The Last Queen by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Last Queen is the story of Maharani Jindan Kaur, youngest wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (of Punjab). Book is written by the perspective of queen Jindan, born as a daughter of a dog trainer, how she became queen of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, how she faced all the conspiracies against her, most importantly her transition from a little girl to strong women has been written in detailed and beautiful manner. She is not portrayed flawless. You will see many mistakes done by her turning in to blunders. At some point book might felt like drag. If you've already read the Palace of Illusion by same author, then you might not like this book to that extent. But again you can't compare two books as they're two different stories. If you're looking for historical fiction you can check out this one. 

2. Waiting for Mahatma by RK Narayan
I don't know if I am a fan of RK Narayan but I've read more than 8 books of him so far and bought his books on impulse. Well that's the another thing. Waiting for Mahatma is another master piece by RK Narayan. This novel is set in the era of Indian National movements for Independence and revolves around Sriram, a graduate (living in Malgudi) with his grandmother. His life is quite ordinary until one day he falls for a girl named Bharati who is an activist for Mahatma Gandhi's Quit India Movement. He just became part of that only for Bharati. Bharati assured him to marry him only after Bapu's (Mahatma Gandhi) permission. With the turn of events Bharati and Sriram got separated. Will they meet again? To know that you've to read the book. 
The role of Mahatma Gandhi as a character , the conflict of traditional and revolutionary ideas, path of violence and non violence, life in jail, love story, patriotism every aspect is embedded in a beautiful manner. From my side this book is must read. 

3. Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Queen of deduction Agatha Christie's another masterpiece featuring detective Hercule Poirot who has taken retirement from his profession and living in King's Abbot. A widow named Mrs. Ferrar commits suicide which disturbed her fiance Roger Ackroyd, a widower. Two days later Roger Ackroyd was also found dead in his room. When Flora Ackroyd ( Roger Ackroyd's niece) and Dr James Sheppard ( Ackroyd's friend) ask Poirot to investigate this case Poirot comes out of retirement. Will he able to find the murderer? Is it really a murder or a suicide? Are these two murders connected? To find the answers to these questions you must check out this book.

4. Memoirs of Geisha by Arthur Golden
This is a heart wrenching story of Chiyo/ Siyuri. Chio and her elder sister Sastu were sold by their father due to poverty. They were separated as Sastu was not consider as beautiful as Chiyo to become a geisha and thrown to prostitution. Chiyo also had led harsh life and struggled to become geisha. Book becomes quite dark and disturbing at some places. If you're below 18 then I wouldn't recommend this book. But who am I to stop you? 
I do think that novel could've been at least 80-100 pages short. One might feel frustrated at certain point as the story become little stagnant and have some unnecessarily long conversations.

5. Age Of Pandemics (1817-1920): How They Shaped India and the World : Chinmay Tumbe
A non fiction/ history book covers the history of outbreak of diseases in the world (1817-20) and How India has been worst hit of all. This book covers the people's sentiments, community behavior, social-political reaction, impact on economy and scientific perspective. 
Don't read this book in one go. If you're going through some mental crisis or you're not ready to take toll on your mental health in these times then I wouldn't recommend this book. I'm saying this from my personal experience. Obviously reading about epidemics/pandemics in these times would make you feel overwhelmed. It's just a personal thought. Book is quite knowledgeable, especially for history enthusiasts. 

6. My journey:Transforming Dreams into Actions by APJ Abdul Kalam 
My journey is collection of essays cum incidents from his life written by former Indian President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Some of these incidents are quite known to the people who have read his autobiography Wings of Fire. I'll also recommend that book if you haven't. If you're trying to find motivation you should definitely check out My Journey. 

7. Death in Colaba Bay by Ambika Subramanian
The murder mystery sets in Bombay Presidency of British India. Victorian Bombay where few families are now breaking their old traditions and sending their girls to school. One day three young girls go missing from their school. Tara Bai, a widow belongs to an affluent and strong family, agrees to help the Principal of school. Arun Rao, young inspector become the official incharge of the case. Both Tara Bai and Arun agree to help each other. The involvement of the Royal family of Jaiwar, similarities in previous cases from Jaiwar and Bombay will keep you hooked till the end. Would Arun and Tara Bai be able to solve the case? Why has the Royal family been shifted to Bombay? What are they hiding? All these answers you'll get in this book. 
So here's the list of my few recommendations. I'll try to post recommendation of Hindi books as well as poetry in different blog posts.
Until then Happy Reading!! 

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Nidhi katoch
A silent observer in search of her TRUE HOME. If you like my writings, do comment and share... Views are extremely personal and are original writings of mine.

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