1) The Test of My Life:
The Test Of My Life From Cricket To Cancer And Back is a book that provides its readers with insights into the most traumatic period in the life of cricketer Yuvraj Singh, as he struggled to come to terms with the fact that he was afflicted with cancer. The victory of the 2011 ICC World Cup receded far into the background in the light of this new development in Yuvraj’s life.
The cricketer, who had recently been in the spotlight for his phenomenal performance in the World Cup, had to now see the world crumbling before him as he dealt with chemotherapy and its numerous adverse effects. What started off as frequent bouts of illness and insomnia, along with a persistent cough that caused him to vomit blood, had eventually been diagnosed as cancer. The author talks about the chemotherapy treatment, and how he lost his hair and appetite.
The Test Of My Life From Cricket To Cancer And Back is a heart-rending story that never fails to grip the attention of its readers. Filled with varied emotions, doubts, and fears, the book is a captivating story of how a human being can fight to survive, even in the toughest of circumstances. Yuvraj Singh also speaks about Youwecan, which is an NGO that helps patients with cancer.
2) Follow Every Rainbow:
Follow Every Rainbow tells the stories of 25 women who set up business ventures, and despite various difficulties, succeeded in doing what they had set out to do. These are stories which encourage the readers to have faith in themselves and their abilities, and follow their dreams. These inspiring stories have been divided into 3 sections named Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Durga. The section, Lakshmi, has 8 stories. These are stories about women whose priority are their families, and they achieved their success without compromising on the time they spent with their families, or their children’s education and upbringing. These women achieved everything with their family’s support.
The next section, Durga, has 8 stories. These are about women who had to fight for their careers. The stories in this section focus on their determination, strength, and ability to fight all odds. The last section, Saraswati, has 9 stories. These are stories of educated women entrepreneurs, who successfully created a niche for themselves. Some of the women featured in Follow Every Rainbow are Ela Bhatt, Neeti Tah, Namrata Sharma, Patricia Narayan, Leela Bordia, Jasu Shilpi, and Meena Bindra. The author aims to tell readers that dedication and perseverance can ensure success in any venture. She also wants to highlight that women, with their different qualities, can be as successful as men if they strive to achieve that success.
3)Â The Oath of the Vayuputras :
The Oath of the Vayuputras is the final book of the Shiva Trilogy. In the earlier books of the trilogy, Shiva finds out that the Nagas are not his enemies and joins hands with them to reach the root of all evil. This book will have answers to ‘the Neelkanth’s’ questions about his fate, the choices he made previously and karma.
Further, in the concluding book of the trilogy, Shiva reaches Panchavati, the capital of Naga where he will come face to face with his greatest enemy. Will he win the battle over his wicked enemies, who are out to destroy him and his legacy?
The Oath of the Vayuputras will also reveal the reason of Shiva’s close friend Brahaspati’s disappearance and reappearance at the end of the second book, The Secret of the Nagas. Further the relationship between Daksha, the king of Meluha and the mysterious temple priests will also be exposed in this last part of the trilogy. Shiva seeks helps from the Vayuputras in the quest to conquer all evil.
The great warrior will encounter the real intentions of some characters he deemed to be close to him. Some new characters will add that extra vitality to the entire plot, especially Shiva’s greatest enemy whose name sends shivers down the spines of many great warriors.
An interesting journey of a warrior who is turned into a God by his followers because of his deeds and war against the evil, this book is sure to have its readers’ full attention. A good read which will make one reflect on their actions, this book like the two earlier books of the trilogy focuses on philosophy, religion and the never ending battle between the good and the evil.
Â
4) Gandhi Before India:
Based on a wealth of new material, and archival research in four continents, Gandhi Before India presents a vivid portrait of Gandhi and the world he lived in, a world of sharp contrasts between the coastal culture of Gujarat, High Victorian London, and colonial South Africa. It explores in rich detail his experiments with dissident cults such as Tolstoyans and vegetarians; his friendships with radical Jews, heterodox Christians, and devout Muslims; his enmities and rivalries; and his failures as a husband and father. It tells the dramatic, profoundly moving story of how he inspired the devotion of thousands of followers as he mobilized a crossclass and inter-religious coalition, pledged to non-violence in their battle against a brutally racist regime.
5)Â My Journey : Transforming Dreams Into Actions:
From a small boy growing up in Rameswaram, to becoming the country’s eleventh President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s life has been a tale of extraordinary determination, courage, perseverance and the desire to excel. In this series of anecdotes and profiles, Dr Kalam looks back on key moments in his past—some small and some momentous—and tells the reader how each of them inspired him profoundly. With warmth and affection, he talks about the people who left a deep impression on him as he was growing up and as an adult, and the lessons he drew from his interactions with them. He describes those who have been the closest to him—his father with his deep love of God, his mother and her great kindness, his mentors who helped shape his thoughts and outlook. There are heart-warming accounts here of his childhood years spent in a small town by the Bay of Bengal and the many struggles and sacrifices made on the path to becoming a scientist and then the President of India. Dr Kalam also writes about the times when failure and dejection nearly overtook him and how he prevailed over those obstacles by drawing strength from books and spirituality. Nostalgic, honest, and deeply personal, My Journey is the story of a life as rich as it is unusual—and the beautiful lessons to be learnt from it.
6) How to get filthy rich in rising Asia:
In this keenly-awaited follow-up to his bestselling The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid confirms his place as a radically inventive story-teller with his finger on the world’s pulse. The astonishing and riveting tale of a man’s journey from impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon, it steals its shape from the business self-help books devoured by youths all over ‘rising Asia’. It follows its nameless hero to the sprawling metropolis where he begins to amass an empire built on the most fluid and increasingly scarce of goods: water. Yet his heart remains set on something else, on the pretty girl whose star rises alongside his, their paths crossing and re-crossing in a love affair sparked and snuffed out again by the forces that careen their fates along. The hero of the story could be any one of us, hungry for a different life. And ours too could be the fate that awaits him .  Fast-paced, vivid and emotionally absorbing, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia creates two unforgettable characters who find moments of transcendent intimacy in the midst of shattering change.
 7) How not to make money:
When booze smugglers Jai and Mike reconsider their options after another close brush with the law, their friend Aziz, a corporate lawyer comes up with a plan for all of them to rake in even more money with less risk. Setting up an undetectable, foolproof scam, the boys who grew up together in the same London neighbourhood are now going to grow rich together, and quick. As with the best laid plans, they had not counted on a few bumps along the way in the form of the intrepid fraud investigator who picks up on their trail and Pam, the femme fatale whose sari blouses leave less to the imagination than bikinis, who has her eye set firmly on Jai. Knowing you have to risk it big to make it big, the boys put everything on the line in this high-speed thrill ride of a novel. But will they come out laughing or are they walking into a trap?
7 Comments