HydRAW 2021 #JanuaryReads
We started off the year with yet another variegated list of books. Read on for a good set of reads and views of our members.
The views, first.
Arun Kumar (on Motherwit): This is a collection of stories written on Marathi translated by Veena Deo. The collection of 14 stories deals with Dalit women of rural and urban areas. I liked it the most in January reading list.
Salini Vineeth (on Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine): Didn’t like it much. 😐 Sometimes I feel old and famous books are over hyped The protagonist is great, but that’s about it. No concrete plot. I somehow finished it, hoping that it would get better by the end, but unfortunately it didn’t. The book says it sold 2 million copies, so I was curious to know what was great about it. Being said that, the protagonist is really striking. But I guess that’s not sufficient to make a book great.
Manohar Grandhi (on Her Last Wish): This is a real life story that has been written with changed names Astha and Vijay. Astha & Vijay are a married couple. Vijay is a loser in his life and after many attempts marries Astha. One day when Astha leaves for work Vijay receives a call that Astha is diagnosed HIV+. The rest of the story is about how Vijay becomes a complete new person when he tries to fulfill the 7 impossible wishes of Astha. This book takes the readers on an emotional roller coaster. The story is narrated via multiple characters and this was the best part of the book. A definite read 👍👍
Aiswharya Lakkakula (on Ladies Hostel) : This is a romantic-crime-suspense which clearly depicts the so called “modern-hifi- posh” world which ruins the lives of teenagers. It is a story of many important characters but the protagonist in the novel is a newlywed student of Psychology who tries with her skills to protect her husband from a case of suspense death of a lass in a ladies hostel. On the whole — a beautiful novel.
Lavanya Nukavarapu (on House of Oracles) : It is a story of a Malayali family in Kerala living in an ancestral house, with an Oracle in the house who does nothing throughout the year but has to perform Theyyam every year to please the deity in the shrine of the house. Otherwise, there might be some consequences. The women in the house have to shift to an outhouse during their menstrual cycle because of the shrine in the house. The story not only in general talks about the taboo that is associated with the bleeding but also the extent we go in pleasing the Gods and all the unnecessary rituals we follow not understanding why we follow but somewhere in this cruel life, these taboos might offer a solace to these women. The outhouse as such becomes one of the character in the story and an important one. The narration style is excellent and I loved the writing though I thought the story could have been a little better. Some places the jump from the flashback to the current felt clumsy but otherwise can’t pick up any errors in grammar or fluidity of the content. Overall, it was a very good Jan read for me and I learnt a few writing tricks on narrating by simply reading this book.
Sanjay Churiwala (on Sapiens): Was very impressed with it, as mentioned last time. The last few chapters I did not like much. Initial several chapters were bringing in a lot of revelations to me and challenging the thought process. On how a few things that I consider obvious took a long time to materialize. The last few chapters — somehow were known to me. The concepts around happiness. The possibilities around future etc. Overall, I will still consider this to be a very good read. I also then read about the author. Got all the more impressed.
Swapnil Saurav (on Oran Ki Yatra): This is a travelogue by Nikhil Vyas, the well known journalist from Rajasthan. He documents his travel through Oran in Thar desert. The Oran (meaning: sacred grove) is an oasis of life with a rich diversity of flora and fauna, and small water bodies, that runs through the desert of Thar. Author talks about the people and their life. There are many interesting facts about the life of people living in the desert.
P. Muralidharan (on An Introduction to the Study of Literature): An in-depth and elaborate analysis of all genres and critical reading of any work. Macbeth was based on Holinshed’s Chronicles, Julius Caesar on Plutarch’s lives and King Jhon was based on earlier play we learn from this book. With hundreds of references to substantiate his views the author has certainly brought out a great work. Fiction writing or drama or poetry and the nuances in the creative process of each genre the insight is astonishing. One of the best non fiction I read.
Tahreen Fatima (on Eleanor and Park): Very amazing book. It shows true and raw love between the two high school teenagers who come from really opposite family backgrounds.
Here is the full list
Salini Vineeth
* Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
* Out of Print: Ten Years : An Anthology of Stories by Indira Chandrasekhar
Ankit Choudhary
* The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
* Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Arun Kumar
* Selayeti Savvadi by Mula Subrahmanyam
* Murder by Arthur Conan Doyle
* Savitribai Phule and I by Sangeeta Mulay
* A Dose of Laughter by RK Laman
* The Adventures of Rusty by Ruskin Bond
* Yesterday’s Ghosts by Nikhil Pradhan
* The Tunnel of Time: An autobiography by RK Laxman
* Tales from Bengal by Upendrakishore Ray Choudhury
* Hop on: My adventures on Boats, Trains and Planes by Ruskin Bond
* The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
* The Puffin Keeper by Michael Morpurgo
* OUR WORLD: A Symphony of Drabbles by Bishan Sahai
* Varma Mana Karma by Rekha Parvatala
* This Morning I Met a Whale by Michael Morpurgo
* Death Warrant by Madhu Babu
* Motherwit by Urmila Pawar
Manohar Grandhi
* Her Last Wish by Ajay K Pandey
* The Captive by Lavanya Nukavarapu
* What if You Don’t Express by Deeksha Garg
* I am N Gary V by Arun Mathad
* Just Date Your Niche by Arun Mathad
* To Sell is Psychographics by Arun Mathad
* Don’t Coast by Kishore Borra
* Idea to Empire by Sarita Chauhan
* How to Write a Book and Make it a Best Seller by RadhaKrishna Pillai
* Lets Talk Money byMonika Halan
Aishwarya Lakkakula
* Ladies Hostel by Yandamoori Veerendranath
Lavanya Nukavarapu
* House of Oracles by Chandni Santosh
Sanjay Churiwala
* Sapiens by Yuval Noah Hariri
Swapnil Saurav
* Oran Ki Yatra by Nikhil Vyas
P. Muralidharan
* An Introduction to the Study of Literature by William Henry Hudson
Sudheendra Fadnis
* Eat, Move Sleep by Tom Rath
* This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom by Martin Hagglund
* Unscripted by MJ DeMarco
* Some fragments of poetry and quotes arranged in alphabetical order by Kahlil Gibran
Tahreen Fatima
* Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell and Debbie Powell
Hari Ariyammakul
* Indian Army: A Grassroot’s Review by N. Kunju
* Military Writer’s Handbook by N. Kunju
Neena George Kunnath
* The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
Nalini Dharanipragada
* Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer
* The Short The Long and The Tall by Jeffrey Archer
Mahboob Hussain
* The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche
* The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
* Dragon Tears by Dean Koontz
* The Short The Long and The Tall by Jeffrey Archer
