An optical caution

Do you watch long, full-length videos on your mobile phones? Just like me, do you also feel comfortable simply plugging in your earphones and watching series of your favourite T.V shows? Being able to watch episodes easily and on the top of that, subscription to hostar, Netflix, Amazon prime and other such platforms are too much fun. Naw?

And, this fun is costing us our eyesight for whole of our lives. 

I used to do it a lot. Until, a teacher warned me about the hazards of doing so. I think it is important to aware as many people as I can. 

Yes! Watching a video on our smartphones for merely half an hour to an hour is capable of seriously damaging our eyes. It is the reason so many of us have blurred vision and dry eyes. And this is just the beginning. These basic yet severe problems can pave way for even more series problems. 

There is hardly anything we can do about it except try to use smartphones as less as possible.  Never use it continuously for more than a few minutes. If you do, make sure to take a break of 20 seconds every 20 minutes or so. Adjust the brightness to the one you are most comfortable with. But try to avoid it as much as you can. Try that you watch movies or TV shows only on T.V or laptop/desktop P.C (something with a larger screen). 

And, despite all these precautions, the damage will be done, if only slowly. So, make sure to never watch long videos on your phones, if nothing else. 

I hope at least some of my readers will take my suggestions seriously. I only shared it because I felt it could lead to optical health of a few. 

Take care y’all!

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[Book Review] The sins of the father (The Clifton chronicles#2) by Jeffrey Archer

You can read my review of Only time will tell (The Clifton chronicles #1) here. 

Genre: historical fiction

Pages: 429

Publication date: 8th May, 2012

Published by: Pan Macmillan

Goodreads synoposis:
Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchant Navy. 
But his ship is sunk in the Atlantic by a German U-boat, drowning almost the entire crew.  An American cruise liner, the SS Kansas Star, rescues a handful of sailors, among them Harry and the third officer, an American named Tom Bradshaw.  When Bradshaw dies in the night, Harry seizes on the chance to escape his tangled past and assumes his identity.

But on landing in America, he quickly learns the mistake he has made, when he discovers what is awaiting Bradshaw in New York.  Without any way of proving his true identity, Harry Clifton is now chained to a past that could be far worse than the one he had hoped to escape.

My review:

Can reading a very mundane scene in a novel feel thrilling? Jeffrey Archer makew it possible!

Even though this is only the second book I’m reading by him, Archer’s left me in no doubt that he is going to be my favourite writer real soon. He is a superstar entertain, if that is what I could call him. 

Not unlike the first book in the series, this book is just as entertaining, filled with twists and turns at every second page. The story unfolds in such a way that since what happened with a character is linked with another, we have to wait for one character’s story to finish to learn about another’s. 

The characters are just as distinct and entertaining. But Emma Barrington simply stole my heart here. Even though her character was quite clear in first book, this one put Emma in a spotlight. Reading her was nothing but utter delight and thrill. 

Then, the clever writing style of Jeffrey Archer cannot be left without admiration. One won’t want to part with this book before reaching the end. This book was a complete literary feast, if you ask me. 

My rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️

A dreaded moment

I was scared of that moment which wasn’t even here yet

I thought and thought about it

It did nothing but spoil my present moment. 

Fav 💝

It makes me feel boozy, it makes me travel a thousand places

Neither do I touch a single drop of alcohol, nor do I move from a single spot

Reading is capable of doing many more indescribable things!

[Book Review] Q & A by Vikas Swarup

Genre: fiction, contemporary, Indian culture

Published on:  2 August 2005

Published by: Scribner

Pages: 318

Goodreads synoposis:

Vikas Swarup’s spectacular debut novel opens in a jail cell in Mumbai, India, where Ram Mohammad Thomas is being held after correctly answering all twelve questions on India’s biggest quiz show, Who Will Win a Billion? It is hard to believe that a poor orphan who has never read a newspaper or gone to school could win such a contest. But through a series of exhilarating tales Ram explains to his lawyer how episodes in his life gave him the answer to each question.

Ram takes us on an amazing review of his own history – from the day he was found as a baby in the clothes donation box of a Delhi church to his employment by a faded Bollywood star to his adventure with a security-crazed Australian army colonel to his career as an overly creative tour guide at the Taj Mahal.

Vikas Swarup’s Q & A is a beguiling blend of high comedy, drama, and romance that reveals how we know what we know – not just about trivia, but about life itself. Cutting across humanity in all its squalor and glory, Vikas Swarup presents a kaleidoscopic vision of the struggle between good and evil – and what happens when one boy has no other choice in life but to survive. 

My review:

This book, on which the award winning movie The slumdog millionaire is based on is slightly different from the movie. It is all the more brilliant. 

I’ll condidently say that this book is one of the very best I’ve ever read. This book has knowledge, drama and a thrill which keeps you engrossed to the book. There is absolutely nothing I didn’t like about the book. 

Reading about the story of a slum kid becomes all the more interesting as one of us has no idea about what it could be like. The things happening here are so peculiar to us that we’ll be unusually interested to read more and more. 

After reading a few pages, I was certain that I can expect something unexpected every few pages, that it will always be happening and making me excited and awed everytime it happens. 

Then, the questions and the answers are so interestingly presented that you’ll always be awed at the writer’s ability to think of such a thing. The knowledge one can gain about India is a unique and bonus aspect of this book. 

This book, along with being one of the bests, also stand apart from any kind of fiction book. The suspense created every few pages is unmatchable. This is the book which I’ll recommend to anyone who wants to read a great fiction. With this books, Vikas Swarup has left me with so many thoughts and that satisfaction of reading a great book. 

My rating: 5/5 ⭐️

[Book Review] Harappa: curse of the blood river

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Genre- historical fiction, mystery, fantasy, mythology

Publication on: June 9th, 2017

Published by: VB performance LLP

Number of pages: 316

Goodreads synoposis:

The story oscillates from history to mythology, from occult to religion, from exorcism to gunfights, from taantrics to warriors, from love to ambition. It knits 3,700 years, powerful ancient and modern-day characters and a nail-biting conspiracy – all in one literary thriller. Harappa is the first among a series of four books. 

2017, Delhi – Vidyut’s dying ancestor summons him to Banaras. The old Brahmin chieftain of the Dev-Raakshasa Matth, or the God-Demon Clan, bears a chilling secret. Their bloodline carries an ancient curse that will plague mankind – towards its own violent extinction.

1700 BCE, Harappa – Harappa is a magnificent city on the banks of the mighty Saraswati river. The darkness of treachery, taantric exorcism and bloodshed unleashes itself on the last devta, paving the way for his devastating revenge…and the horrifying truth behind the fall of the glorious civilisation.

2017, Paris – The world’s most powerful religious institution is rattled. Europe’s dreaded crime lord meets a mysterious man in Paris. A lethal assassin boards a train, as Rome fears the worst. The prophesied devta has returned.

What connects Banaras, Harappa and Rome? What was the ancient curse and who was the last devta? What is the terrible secret behind the fall of the colossal Indus Valley? Read on as you travel through a saga of violence and deceit, gods and demons, love and ambition. 

My review:

This book is in the topmost segment of Indian fiction. 

Like a mystery or thriller or mythology or historical fiction or fantasy? This book has it all. Also, nothing less can be expected of a book stretched over a time span of 3700 years. 

Vidyut is last in the lineage of shastri family. Something very ancient is about to change his life and the life of whole mankind. So, this book has thrilling plots concerning people of harappa in 1700 BCE and also in 2017. How this half human half god copes up with the events is sure to be nothing short of exceptional. 

The book and no nonsense descriptions. There is action here, but without unnecessary stretching of similar scenes which makes sure the reader is not bored. The descriptions otherwise are just enough to give the reader a complete image of the setting without adding anything unrequited. 

The characters feel vivid and interesting. After reading for a while, one can get a picture of what the character must be like and what he is capable of doing. This makes the characters come live in our minds and makes reading experience feel real. 

There are a hell lot of emotions in this book. Also, there is good and there is even more evil in this book. I went through each of these emotions reading this book. I smiled, I also cried for the characters. The emotional package inside is filled upto the brim. 

The only problem I’ve with this book is that the hints to some mysteries are exceptionally vague. This keeps you in dark and at time there is no conext towards which the story is leading towards. It can sometimes make reading experience slightly disturbing. If not for this, it would have been a five star book for me. 

With his magical writing, Vineet Bajpai has succeeded in creating my interest in this series. Also, the expectations of the second book are very high for me. I’m eagerly looking forward to read the second book of this saga, Pralay: the great deluge. 

My rating: 4/5 😃

*This Book Review is a part of The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program and Book Promotions. To know more log on to http://thereaderscosmos.blogspot.in/.*

My last resort

I looked for help everywhere around me

There were willing and incapable & there were unwilling and capable

Both willingness and capability stared at me when I looked in the mirror. 

[Book Review] A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas

Published on- May 5, 2015
Published by- Bloomsbury children’s

Genre- fantasy, retellings, young adult

Pages- 416

 Goodreads synoposis:

Feyre is a huntress.

She thinks nothing of slaughtering a wolf to capture its prey. But, like all mortals, she fears what lingers mercilessly beyond the forest. And she will learn that taking the life of a magical creature comes at a high price…

Imprisoned in an enchanted court in her enemy’s kingdom, Feyre is free to roam but forbidden to escape. Her captor’s body bears the scars of fighting, and his face is always masked – but his piercing stare draws her ever closer. As Feyre’s feeling for Tamlin begin to burn through every warning she’s been told about his kind, an ancient, wicked shadow grows.

Feyre must find a way to break a spell, or lose her heart forever.

My review:

Starting as something very mundane, this story took off to become one which is difficult not to fall in love with. It has so many amazing things that they easily make up for some small faults. 
As I said, the story starts quite normal and slow. And it goes on for a 100 pages or so. But it is quite acceptable as this is the first book in the series and it was important to build a strong base for a story that had to continue for two more books. These first hundred pages are important despite being not so exciting because they are informative. 
The characters are the best part here if you ask me. Feyre is strong and weak at the same time. Tamlin is such a charming and sensible person throughout. There are some very evil characters as well. The characters you’ll hate with all your heart but will also admit to enjoying reading them do evil things. Overall, the impact each character leaves on you is what proves they are all very well developed and there is a clarity of what each of them is capable of which makes them feel even more real. 

This book has the capability of making you feel many things at once. You’ll feel angst, fear, love, dread and a lot of other feelings. You worry for the characters as if you are them. 

Except a very small part of the book which feels distant and hollow ( a nano part), the book is all packed up with a great storyline, action and anticipation which will keep you glued to it. And, you will want to read the second book immediately you’re done with this. 

My rating: 4.5/5

August book haul

All of you must have known by now that I’m an avid reader. But I’ve never shown off my books till now owing to the fact that taking pictures is such a tedious job for me. So, this little post is dedicated to a few books I bought this month. 

These books include:

1. Animal farm by George Orwell
2. A court of thorns and roses by Sarah J. Maas
3. The sins of the father by Jeffrey Archer
4. Harappa: curse of the blood river
5. Into the water by Paula Hawkins

1. Animal farm by George Orwell

It is one of the two books I’ve read out of these five books. I adored this little book so much! You can read my full review on this book here. 

2. A court of thorns and roses by Sarah J. Maas

The second book out of this haul I’ve read till now. You’ll get to read my review on this book tomorrow. 

3. The sins of the father by Jeffrey Archer

I’ve adored Jeffrey Archer ever since I read the first book in the series ‘The Clifton chronicles’. Only time will tell was really good. You can read my review of it here.  This is the second book of the series and I can’t wait to read it!
4. Harappa: curse of the blood river

I received this book from readerscosmos for their reviewing program. I’m really excited to read this book as it is the first physical book I’m receiving to review. 

5. Into the water by Paula Hawkins

I was left awed with the first book of Paula Hawkins. So, I’ve really high expectations from this one!

[Book Review] Rich dad poor dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Genre- non fiction, business, self help
Published on- 1st January, 1997

Pages-  195

Review:

This book makes a person think. The notion of life and earning money is shown so differently that every reader will wonder after reading it. They’ll wonder and ask themselves a question that were they living with a wrong concept of career and finances? Even though some might feel so, there is no compulsion to think so. 

Even though this book is written with a context of a certain economy and every country has a different economy, one may apply it into their lives after some improvisation. This is what makes this book universal: despite being set in a single economy, it can be applied to many others as well. 

Along with being universal, this is quite simple too. Each lesson has been written with such simplicity that one need not be a business management or finance student to understand it. Any person may read and understand this book easily gaining some really good points regarding managing their finances. 

This book must not be misunderstood as a guide to start your own business. Sure, you may take some tips which will help you but you can’t follow exactly what has been done there as your circumstances and economy may vary drastically from those in the book. 

I would strongly recommend this book to every person. Planning to start a business or not, working person or not, this book will always help you from basic finance management to making big business decisions. 
My rating: 4/5