tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47917647622489494552024-02-28T14:31:02.217+05:30Life Under MicroscopePrasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.comBlogger374125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-87526681913109789472018-01-09T09:35:00.002+05:302018-01-09T09:35:46.718+05:30Book Review 2018-2- Carthick's Unfairy Tales by T F Carthick<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Who doesn’t
like fairy tales? As children we loved listening to fairy tales where the
world seemed like a perfect place. Cocooned by the safe and secure environment
around us (or maybe I’m speaking of the times when I was a kid), we believed in
such a world. Until adolescence struck and the phrase ‘happily ever after’ sounded
more like a myth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Recently
there was a video about how every fairy tale had
a fixed prototype in its plot. The damsel in distress, the princess in
jeopardy, who had to be rescued by the handsome, courageous prince was the
recurring theme in most of these fairy tales. When I read Cinderella or Snow White to my daughter I don't really think about the damage that I’m
causing inadvertently. But the video made me think, why did Cinderella require a prince? Was she too weak and docile to fight
her own battles?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Carthick's Unfairy Tales brings a new twist and a
complete new perspective in the old fairy tales. The stories are retold from a
fresh point of view which sheds a disparate light on these tales, a
view that we would have missed on seeing while reading it innumerable times
before. Here’s a short review of each story in the collection.</span></div>
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<li>·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Of Mice and Horses- This tale is narrated by
a rat who is worried by his fellow mouse living in a delusion that he is a
royal horse. It was difficult to guess which fairy tale this story is based on until
midway. The twist in the ending is apt and remains true to the
nature of book showing how nothing is fair in fairy tales.</span></li>
<li>·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Frog Who Would Be King - This is my favorite one in the book and tells
a story of a princess who is tricked into kissing a frog and then has to save
herself from being married to an obnoxious prince. I could feel myself cheering
for the princess and wondered why couldn’t there be more such female models in
fairytales.</span></li>
<li>·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">No Country for Wild Beasts- This story is
narrated by a baby bear who is angry at a girl who invaded their home and disrupted
their lives. The story is shorter when compared to others but I liked the way the original story
was used to depict how humans take things for granted and muddle with nature
and animal habitats.</span></li>
<li>·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Beans of Avarice- This story depicts the
attempts of a magician to get hold of magical secrets from the kingdom in skies
using a simpleton boy’s help. I found the story to be humorous because it depicts
the tale from the villain’s perspective.</span></li>
<li>·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">A Tale of One City- This is a slightly dark
story that is narrated by a town. What I liked about it is the ending which
perhaps mirrors the desperate times of America’s political situation of today.</span></li>
<li>·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">What the HobGoblin Did – Another interesting
tale of human greed and cruelty which feels like a consistent theme throughout
the seven tales in this collection.</span></li>
<li>·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Hunger Diaries – This is another grim story
narrated by Hunger, the Ravager and his attempts to claim two children, Hansel
and Gretel and present them to his brother Death and how the children outwitted them.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Throughout
the retelling I loved how the author imbues fresh perspectives and new twists
in the tales which makes you forget that you are reading a retelling
of the ancient fairy tales. The stories illustrate the satire and subtle humor
of the author and the narration never makes you realize that you are reading
someone who is trying his first attempt at publication. What makes the stories
more interesting is the unusual point of views as each tale is narrated by a
character who is an integral part of the fairy tale but may have been ignored in
the original version.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It
takes a lot of imagination (and a risky venture if I may say so) to take an old
story and put a new spin over it AND engage the readers. But kudos to Carthick
for doing this and he makes it look effortless (although we know it to be far
from truth). I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and I'd rate the book 4 stars.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I look forward to
reading more from Carthick.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Buy the book using the below links -</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Carthicks-Unfairy-Tales-retelling-seven-ebook/dp/B0782P93G6/ref=zg_bs_1637125031_15?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3F4KX50DYAXRS455KKXE" target="_blank">Kindle Version</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.pustakmandi.com/pre-order/Carthicks-Unfairy-Tales-T-F-Carthick" target="_blank">Print</a> </span></div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-89869724666064278652018-01-05T11:11:00.002+05:302018-01-05T11:11:28.851+05:30Book Review 2018-1- Jonathan Aycliffe's Naomi's Room<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICdUFPpZzY9inojr0EuiSwGVwDZc9iRj7pZYg8xAaaPiaR7NBzJz_Fb2dB9Y0-15u5t0ivAY78wBZIhU2oegIfHOamvrHgOmwqU5KldDARF5Ykt7To7FTxBeqHKa1M8jwKC7NnMX5E0I/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICdUFPpZzY9inojr0EuiSwGVwDZc9iRj7pZYg8xAaaPiaR7NBzJz_Fb2dB9Y0-15u5t0ivAY78wBZIhU2oegIfHOamvrHgOmwqU5KldDARF5Ykt7To7FTxBeqHKa1M8jwKC7NnMX5E0I/s320/images.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The first book that I read in 2018 is Jonathan Aycliffe's Naomi's Room. I bought this book in
Broadway Book sale in Goa during my vacation. I had never heard about the
author before, so I trusted my gut instincts and also the fact that book was
being sold as cheap a rate as 50 bucks. What attracted me to the book was the
blurb which talked about a couple, Charles and Laura whose daughter Naomi,
disappears on Christmas Eve and the horrors that follow after.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That’s
why I love these quaint, old, second hand book stores, because sometimes if you
are lucky enough you come across real gems (that’s how I came across this
wonderful book <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/402024.A_Candle_in_Her_Room?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">The Witch Doll</a>), books that no online stores sell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Naomi’s
Room is a psychological horror fiction that starts off on a brilliant note.
Charles and Laura are the perfect couple, and with their small daughter Naomi
they form the perfect family, until tragedy strikes on Christmas Eve. Charles
and Naomi go for a shopping trip to London and Naomi is lost in a large toy
shop. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
next day her body is found mutilated in a small alley. While the couple try to
cope with their loss, the weird and frightening occurrences in their house,
scare them and give them hope too. Hope to see their daughter and talk to her again.
Meanwhile a freelance photographer called Lewis, helps Charles to understand
more about the paranormal activities in his house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
problem is in the last 75 pages of the books, everything goes a little haywire
and cliche. The explanation to the haunting and the detailed flashback into
the past becomes tedious to read. The climax is a little gory and becomes too eww,
but that’s OK, it’s expected from a horror fiction. The ending seemed a little
hurried, like too many things happening at once. Overall the book definitely
gives you the creeps, especially the Victorian Gothic settings and the
narration of the haunting. A good horror read from an author other than
Stephen King.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So
I’m happy that I got to enjoy my first read in 2018. I’d rate the book a 3.5 on
a scale of 5.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-59130757957225311182018-01-02T16:05:00.002+05:302018-01-02T16:05:20.221+05:30Book Reading Challenge -2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Happy New Year 2018. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">What I like about new
year is that it feels like a fresh beginning, a chance (or at least we fool
ourselves into believing it) to forget the mistakes that we did in last year
and start a new chapter in life. There’s hope and there’s resolutions. That
reminds me the subject of my post. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Resolutions. I have
one resolution this year and hope that I stick to it. I’m not good at sticking
to something for a long time. I’m keeping it simple, so what I hope to achieve
in 2018, is to read more. Yes, that’s it, and given my immense love for books,
it should be easy to achieve. I have taken up the Goodreads challenge for 2018
and I am keeping a realistic target of 50 books. What I also want to do is
broaden the scope of the books that I read. I usually read books from Crime/Thriller
genre and very rarely stray away from this genre. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">So I have decided to
prepare a reading challenge that will make me explore books from diverse
genres. That should make things more interesting, I think. The list was prepared
by adapting from the popular <a href="https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Reading-Challenge-2018-44138581" target="_blank">Popsugar Reading Challenge</a> and some, I have added
my own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book made into a movie you’ve already
seen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">True crime/or about a real serial
killer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The next book in a series you started<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book where the plot is covered in
24-hours<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book with an animal in the title<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book with a female author who uses a
male pseudonym<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book that was published in your year
of birth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book that was published in 2018<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book that has two authors<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book you borrowed or that was given to
you as a gift<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A classic that you’ve always wanted to
read but never got around to reading<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book that you loved reading when you
were a child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book mentioned in another book<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn’t
get to<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book that will make you laugh out
loud<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book that involves a book store or library<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book about terrorism<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book about criminal psychology<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A complete book series<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">A book that I’ve not read and has been
sitting on my bookshelf for a long time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">So that’s my list. I also intend to cover a short
review of the books that I read and plan my to-read pile in the beginning of
the month. So, as you can see, this is going to be lot of fun! 2018, here I
come </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
</div>
Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-48649638553779453432017-10-30T09:52:00.001+05:302017-10-30T09:52:59.530+05:30Heartprints<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: adobe-garamond-pro; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Susan was sweating
profusely despite lying in an air-conditioned room. It did not help that she
was in an unknown place, surrounded by people she didn’t know, speaking a
language she didn’t understand. As another contraction hit her, she screamed
out in pain ‘Mama!’ Her mother ran to her side and grasped her trembling hand.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘Mama, I can’t bear
the pain any more. Please get the baby out. Please’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘Su, I just spoke to
the doctor. It’ll be over in few minutes but until then you have to tolerate
the pain darling.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As the contraction
subsided, Susan gulped in air as if the baby had been suffocating her. ‘Mama
you have given the nurse instructions, right?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘Yeah, but are you
sure that you don’t want to see the baby’s face? You can’t hate it so much, can
you?’ Her mama asked her but Susan turned her head the other way. The tears
rolled into the pillow making a wet patch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">No, she didn’t hate
the baby, not yet. But she was worried that once she saw the baby’s face, she wouldn’t
feel love for it. She’d feel revulsion, she would feel anger and she would be
reminded of the horror of that night all over again. When she looked into the
baby’s eyes, she would remember those demonic eyes on top of her, lids
half-closed in ecstasy as she struggled to escape. This baby wasn’t borne out
of love, rather it was the aftermath of a violent rape. Of course she could have got it aborted but
her orthodox Christian values made her believe that she would be committing a
sin in doing so. She had decided to give birth to the baby and then put it up
for adoption.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As another
contraction racked her body in pain, all thoughts were driven away from her
mind. She just wanted this ordeal to be over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Susan opened her eyes
groggily. A tiny bundle had been placed beside her and she could see a pair of
small legs that were kicking steadily at her sides. Susan opened her eyes wide
and she was about to call for the nurse when her eyes connected with the baby’s
eyes. The baby was looking at her and the small puckered mouth was making
gentle crooning noises as if to placate its mother. For a baby that was just
born, it was surprisingly cheery and joyous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Looking at the baby, Susan
was not reminded of that terrible night. Neither did she go through the
unspeakable agony that she had experienced in the last nine months. She could
only wonder at the way her heart was suffused with an intense love and desire
to pick up the baby and shower it with kisses. God works in miraculous ways and
if He gives us pain, He also gives us a way to build courage and determination to
overcome the pain. The baby was the miracle in Susan’s life, the balm that healed
her wound. At last she had understood that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: adobe-garamond-pro; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
here is the deepest secret nobody knows<br />(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud<br />and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows<br />higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)<br />and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: adobe-garamond-pro; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (By E.E. Cummings)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This post was written for <a href="http://writetribe.com/purpose-of-writing/" target="_blank">Write Tribe Problogger Challenge</a>.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">#writebravely #writeproblogger</span></span></div>
</div>
Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-56179260691133901442017-10-27T20:15:00.000+05:302017-10-27T20:15:55.808+05:30Music Therapy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif;">Today is the 8th
post for WriteTribe Problogger Challenge and quite frankly I didn't think that
I would survive. I had given up writing for around a year while I was busy
preparing for my MA exams and I remember when I was writing the first post, I
felt weird, typing on my laptop. It felt unfamiliar giving a voice to my
thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif;">And
today's theme is a little different- we are supposed to write a post using a
song as a prompt. It interests me because music is one of my stress-busters. I
love listening to songs no matter what mood I'm in. And I'm a hardcore
Bollywood fan- no Eminem or Bieber for me, no Sir. Give me Arijit or Kumar Sanu
any day. But one singer I simply adore for his versatility, to bring alive any
kind of song- sad, mischievous, brooding, romantic, nostalgic is the immortal
Kishore Kumar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif;">There
are so many of his songs that I love- the list is endless... Recently I have
started using Hungama app on my phone, and I just love it. You can browse any
number of playlists and there is a good collection of songs. I came across the
below song during one such browsing session. I was listening to it in the
office bus during my journey from office to home. And I was moved to tears. I
had to control hard to stop the tears from flowing and embarrassing myself in
front of my colleagues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C9A94NFAHVM/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C9A94NFAHVM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif;">And it’s
so damn hard to believe that it’s the same Kishore da who gave his voice to the
rib-tickling and funny song Ek Chatur
Naar from the laugh-riot movie Padosan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif;">Coming
back to Zindagi Ka Safar from the movie Safar- what I love is the lyrics and
the soulful rendition by Kishore da. For instance the below lines-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Zindagi Ko Bahut
Pyaar Hamne Kiya</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Maut Se Bhi Mohabbat
Nibhaaenge Ham</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
To give a little background, in the movie, the hero, Rajesh Khanna is suffering
from a terminal disease and although he loves Sharmila Tagore, he cannot
profess his love to his lady because he knows that his life is short. In the
above two lines the hero says that he cherished and loved his life, but at the
same time, he is also ready to accept death. To show true courage even while
facing death and to welcome it with loving arms - this only a Bollywood hero
could teach us.</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br />
This song reminds us that no one is immortal on this earth. Some may live a
little longer but in the end, we all end up as ashes. The song also
reminds us that there are some lives that are very short, that ended even
before it began. The uncertainty of death and the importance of living life
fully before meeting death as a friend is beautifully portrayed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Do let me know if you love Kishore Kumar’s
songs and if you have a favorite. </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This post was written for <a href="http://writetribe.com/blog/" target="_blank">WriteTribe Problogger Challenge</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">#writebravely #writetribeproblogger</span></div>
</div>
Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-28133875441520699582017-10-23T20:50:00.000+05:302017-10-23T20:50:44.225+05:30Monster<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">'Ok, it's time to sleep now. Good night
baby,' Sara kept the book that she had been reading to Alex aside and kissed
the top of his head. She pulled the duvet around his small body but Alex held
onto her arm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">'Mom, can you stay till I fall
asleep. Please...' Her 4 year old son pleaded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">'Alex, you know that there are
no monsters in your room. Didn't we go through this just last week? Can you see
that cross on that table? That's God's symbol and no monster can touch you
because God will protect you. Ok?' Sara explained in a soothing voice to little
Alex.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">'Mom, I'm very scared. Please
don't leave me till I fall asleep', he cried with tears in his eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara sighed and sat on his bed.
The trouble had started couple of months ago. Alex had complained of a monster
that came to his room during night after he fell asleep. He would refuse to
talk about the monster to his parents but he was so terrified after these
incidents that he would plead to sleep in his parents' bedroom for the next few
days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The next morning Sara was
preparing breakfast when Alex came in, still in his pajamas. He looked teary
eyed and his eyes were red as if he hadn't slept properly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">'Mom, the monster is more
powerful than God because even the cross couldn't prevent the monster from
entering my room last night.' Alex whimpered while holding onto her legs.
Sara's heart broke and she lifted him into his arms and pacified him until he
fell asleep again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Sara powered her laptop to
check the CCTV footage. Few weeks back Sara was disturbed by Alex's stories of
monsters and she had decided to install a CCTV in his room on a weekend when
their house was empty. Of course Alex was not aware of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When she saw the feed from the
camera her body froze in shock and panic. In the dead of the night, when Sara
was deep asleep, the door to Alex's room creaked open. A shadowy figure wafted
towards Alex's bed and gagged him with his large hands. As the figure bent close
to whisper in Alex's ears, the bedside lamp threw a dim light on the monster's
face. It was no monster who slept beside Alex and slowly slid his hand in his
pants. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">That day Sara realized that a
monster need not be a creature with two heads or a deformed body. A monster is
as normal looking as you and me. It can walk amidst us and act as sane as
anybody. The monster if it's there lies in the soul of a person and
unfortunately there's no mirror invented yet that will allow us to look into a
person's soul.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p>This post was written for <a href="http://writetribe.com/blog/" target="_blank">Write Tribe Problogger Challenge</a>.</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p>#writebravely #writetribeproblogger</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p>Theme for this post- Monster</o:p></div>
</div>
Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-49765449357069039582017-10-20T15:50:00.000+05:302017-10-20T15:50:52.499+05:30Courage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">‘Arjun,
what happened? Why are you sitting silently and why is your room so dark’,
Mridula asked while switching on the lights in her son’s room. She had been
downstairs preparing dinner when she realized that Arjun had not
come down from his room the whole evening. He had stayed put in his room after
coming back from school. He hadn’t even asked her if he could play cricket with
his friends like he usually did most of the evenings.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Arjun
had changed his uniform but he was sitting on his bed forlornly. Mridula
quickly touched his forehead, because like most mothers, her first thought was
maybe he was sick or running a temperature. But he appeared to be well. Maybe
something had happened at school. Arjun was a Class VI student and he was good
at academics. But clearly something was troubling the boy’s mind because his
eyes appeared red and swollen from crying.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">‘You
remember I was telling you about Karthik and his group’, Arjun started talking
hesitantly.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mridula’s
heart skipped a beat. A few months back Arjun had come back from school and reported
news of an incident that had spread like wildfire in their school. A group of
boys had ragged a student in their school and all though there was no physical
violence involved the ragging victim had suffered a nervous breakdown and had
to be hospitalized. The leader of this group, Karthik was a senior student, and
he was also the son of the local MLA. Karthik was clever enough not to cause
physical damage which could be used against him later. The abuse and bullying
was more psychological and verbal.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mridula
along with a group of concerned parents had taken up the issue with the
Principal but the spineless Principal had vehemently denied the occurrence of
any such incidents within their campus.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">‘Did
they do anything to you?’ Mridula tried to keep her voice low, although she was
already seething in anger.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">‘No,
it wasn’t me Amma. They got hold of Praveen, you know the silent boy in my
class who sits next to me. I saw them when I was walking towards the school
van. Two boys were holding Praveen and Karthik was emptying the contents of his
bags and tearing the pages of his notebooks. Praveen was begging them to let
him go but they were pushing him around and shouting lots of bad words. Instead
of helping him, I fled from there. I didn’t want them to see me… So I ran as
fast as possible... ‘ Arjun explained falteringly.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mridula
now understood her son’s predicament. Arjun was feeling bad because he had
ditched his friend at a time when he needed him the most.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">‘Arjun,
you were too scared to think properly and you wanted to save yourself. I’m not
saying that what you did was right, but even I’d have done the same thing if I
was in your place. It’s not easy to be brave’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">‘But
Amma, I’m feeling miserable ever since. Praveen always helps in my class work.
He’s a good boy and maybe, if I had helped him we could have escaped. Anything
would have been better than running away like a coward.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“But
we can’t change the past, can we? I have an idea. We could go to the Principal
and you could narrate what you saw. Maybe it would help put a stop to the
menace completely”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">‘Oh,
like a witness’, Arjun pondered for a while. Mridula was silent, allowing him
to come to a decision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">‘If
Karthik comes to know that I have complained against him will he not make me their
next target’, Arjun asked with a frown on his face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mridula
had anticipated this question and she had an answer ready ‘Yeah, that’s a possibility.
But if you and your classmates stand up against this bully, then Karthik would
know that you are not alone. And there’s no guarantee that even if you remain
silent now, you won’t be the next target of bullying. You can either choose to
ignore what happened and remain in fear or you can choose to take action. But I
promise that I’ll see to it that the Karthik is suspended from school if you
speak up.’ Mridula had a few contacts in the media and knew that if she made a
stink of this issue in papers the Principal would be forced to act. Like Arjun,
Mridula had realized that you can choose courage or you can choose comfort but
you cannot choose both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">‘Amma
will you accompany me to school tomorrow’, Arjun asked after some speculation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mridula
replied happily ‘Of course, my son’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This post was written for <a href="http://writetribe.com/food-for-writers/" target="_blank">Write Tribe Problogger October 2017 Challenge</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today's theme is <span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;">a quote from Brené Brown:</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"> </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;">You can choose courage, or you can choose comfort, but you cannot choose both.</em></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-74991040738850220892017-10-16T09:59:00.001+05:302017-10-16T10:00:22.474+05:30Disobedience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">Joe
advanced menacingly towards Brett, his bloodshot eyes narrowed to slits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">“You
dare to speak against me, boy? You dare to disobey me?” Joe loosened the
buckles on his belt and coiled the belt around his fists. Brett cowered in the
corner, with his arms around his head, flinching at the first whip on his legs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">Brett
was 8 years old then.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">Brett,
now, is 30 years old and he has learnt the rules from his father. He knows how
to tackle disobedience. Imitating his father’s actions, he loops the length of the
belt around his hands, but this time it’s his wife and child at the receiving
end. They quake in a corner, the same corner where Brett once, many years ago,
acquired from his Pa, his lessons on “how to be a man”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">Note: I’m not
justifying domestic violence, because there is nothing that can justify it. But
these people (both men and women can be victims of domestic violence) who
raise their hands against their family have obviously learnt from somewhere
that dominance is an appealing quality. And more often than not this violent
psychology is a legacy that’s passed from one generation to next. Changes begin
at home!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">This post is written for <a href="http://writetribe.com/blog/" target="_blank">WriteTribe Problogger October 2017 Challenge</a>. The theme for today's post is disobedience.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";">#writebravely #writetribeproblogger</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif";"><br /></span></i></div>
</div>
Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-6236701089057024032017-10-13T14:31:00.003+05:302017-10-13T15:29:10.751+05:30Friday, The 13th<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">It
was Friday the 13<sup>th</sup>, but Jaya didn’t believe in these ridiculous
superstitions. She was happy, doing the thing that she did best-cooking. And
she was preparing her favorite dish today, Alu-Gobi. Her comfort food! She had
come back early from work because they were predictions of heavy thunderstorms
and rain. Jaya picked up the local newspaper as she cooked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">“Dangerous
psychopath’s incredible escape from maximum security prison”. A small shiver
went down her spine as she read with <b><i>bated breath</i></b> that the man convicted
of killing his family, including his aged parents, his wife and two children,
had miraculously escaped from his cell where he was serving his life sentence. The
media had nicknamed him as The Ripper because of the violent and gruesome
nature of his attack. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">Jaya
wondered what would happen if the killer came at her doorstep and felt a little
jittery. She blamed it on the stormy night-the deafening thunder, the heavy
downpour and today’s date had spooked her-that’s all. That was when she heard
the knock on her door…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "chiller"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">C…R…E…A…K…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "chiller"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">Ashwin
stopped typing on his laptop and whirled around in his chair with a frown on
his face as the door to his study opened with a squeaking noise. He was sure
that he had locked the door before starting his work. How had the door opened?
He looked back at the incomplete sentence on his laptop. He was so engrossed in
writing Jaya’s story that he couldn’t think clearly whether he had latched the
door. Maybe he had just imagined that he had done it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">Ashwin
thought it better to shut the door. Just like in Jaya’s story, the night
outside was going to be a stormy one and a fierce wind was howling through the
windows. He walked quickly and closed the door firmly, latching the bolt. He
walked towards the windows to stare at the gloomy night outside. A sudden chill
in the room made the hairs on back of his neck stand on end. He could feel his
skin break out in goosebumps. He knew that there was something terribly evil in
the room…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "chiller"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Behind you, you idiot…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "chiller"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">Just
as Ashwin whirled around, the knife slashed in his face and there was a
terrifying scream of agony.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">Jasmine
paused the movie. “What a useless horror writer! Doesn’t he know that the
killer always attacks when you have your back turned towards the door or window.”
Jasmine pulled the blanket closer and settled snugly on the sofa. She loved
watching these slasher movies and today had seemed like a perfect day for a
horror movie marathon. Unlike her friends who were scared to watch horror
movies, Jasmine was a horror film junkie. She was addicted to them. Today was Friday
the 13<sup>th</sup>, and she decided to binge watch all the horror movies in
her collection. Alone! I told you she was not your typical girl who grasped her
boyfriend’s arm in theaters after being coerced to watch slasher movies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;">A
slight noise in the kitchen distracted Jasmine’s attention but she didn’t budge
from her cozy perch on the sofa. She lived with 2 other girls and 3 stray cats
from down the road. So midnight snack attacks were common in their house. But
Jasmine, you’d’ve been paralyzed with fear had you known that The Ripper had
broken one of your kitchen windows and was now gazing lovingly at the array of knives on your shelf.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "chiller"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Behind you, Jasmine. You should know better, after all you watch
horror flicks, don’t you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "chiller"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This post is written for <a href="http://writetribe.com/" target="_blank">WriteTribe Problogger October 2017 Challenge</a>. The theme for today was Bated Breath. #writebravely #writeproblogger</span></span></div>
</div>
Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-85366929659360579582017-10-09T17:50:00.001+05:302017-10-09T17:50:16.894+05:30If I could...(Fiction)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">‘<b><i>I’ve
known about it for some time now</i></b>. But I didn’t know how to break the
news to you’, Sid spoke into Maya’s hair as she hugged him tightly. The tears
were streaking her mascara and drawing dark lines down her cheeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">‘I’ve
to fly tomorrow because the specialist was saying that the treatment has to start
soon. You know, the chemo and all that stuff’, he made a face as he said it and
that brought a fresh tide of tears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">‘Let
me come with you, Sid. I know that we can both beat this thing together, baby.
I want to be with you. Please let me come along with you.’ Maya pleaded but she
knew that it would not break Sid. She had already asked him a dozen times to accompany
him to Delhi, to his parents’ house. But Sid persisted that it was better that
they cut off their relationship now. He didn’t want to cause her the pain of
seeing him in battered condition, weakened, sick and in a hospital. He wanted
her to think of him always as the young, spirited boyfriend with whom she had
spent the last 2 years together. Maya considered her time with Sid as the best
two years of her life. In fact, she had hoped that their relationship was
moving forward, she wanted to introduce him to her parents, maybe move in
together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The
goodbye was heart-wrenching for Maya. She couldn’t digest the fact that Sid,
all of 26-years old could be diagnosed with a terminal disease- lung-cancer
that was spreading ominously but unquestionably through the cells in his body.
He had pulled a wry face when he said that he should have thrown away the
cigarettes all those times when Maya looked at him disdainfully. As she lay
beside him in his flat, sharing his bed maybe for the last time, she looked at
his sleeping face and felt a tug at her heart. Did she think that she could
endure the pain of seeing him suffer? Could she give up everything- her career
and her life in Bangalore and accompany him to Delhi? Did she love to him such
depths really? She had no answers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><i>*********</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Sid
was in a bar in New York, 3 months later</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">, his hands around the waist of a blonde who was
plastered. Sid’s life was good, in fact it was great. He had a new job, he was
in a new country and he had finally got rid of his clingy girlfriend. He was
living his dream life, the grand American dream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“Yaar,
she had become so clingy and she kept dropping hints of meeting her parents. I
mean officially, for Shaadi-vaadi. It got to me. We had good times, we really
enjoyed each other’s company and then she had to do this typical Indian girl thing on
me.” He had tried to explain to Ajit, their only common friend. Maya had
apparently called Ajit to ask how Sid was doing and Ajit had a shock of his
life when he heard that his childhood friend was suffering from Cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“You
could have just said that to her. Why do this drama of cancer? You are a
complete asshole”. Ajit had somehow got Sid’s new number and blasted him with a
slew of expletives when Sid had answered the call.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">“You
know me. I didn’t want all the drama of break-up, the emotional blackmailing. I
know Maya had all our future built in her mind, the marriage, the suburban
house, the pets and the kids. Hell, I was not ready to settle down. I know I’m
a coward, but I didn’t have any other way of escaping” Sid hated Ajit for
making him feel guilty. Deep down, he knew that he had wronged Maya. He knew
that Maya and he made the perfect couple, but he was just not ready for the
life-long commitment. He ordered another round of whisky and started necking
the blonde. He just wanted to wipe out the memories of Maya that kept haunting
him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Sid
was in the middle of another coughing bout</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">. He puked the little breakfast
that he had managed to force down his throat. His mother and father rushed
towards him just as he saw the blood that he had coughed up. His mom looked
haggard, as if she had aged twenty years in the last six months. Bloody cancer,
it had finally gotten to him. Six years after his little fib. Well, if it had been lung cancer he'd have
said that Karma had been served in a platter with a sprinkle of astounding
coincidence. But he had been diagnosed with blood cancer. It made no difference
to him. He had, what, 1 -2 years left? Despite the forced optimism in the faces
of his parents and doctors he knew. It terrified him but he had come to accept
it as his fate. He only wished that he could apologize to Maya. He had written
a long letter to her begging for her forgiveness. But he knew what he had done
was unpardonable. He had imagined Maya reading his letter and laughing at the
line where he had written his fate. He pictured her tearing the pages in a fury
and throwing it away in trash. And he did not blame her. He deserved this. He
let the pain wash over his body and hoped that it would redeem his sin. He let
the sleep engulf him and his tired body.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style, serif;">This post is written for <a href="http://writetribe.com/" target="_blank">Write Tribe Problogger October 2017 Challenge</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style, serif;">#writebravely #writeproblogger</span></div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-89790407836156330682017-10-06T09:00:00.000+05:302017-10-06T09:22:58.380+05:30Nostalgia- Unappeased Yearning to Return<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "bookman old style", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">For my second post of ProBlogger
Challenge I’m going to stick to the theme provided by Write Tribe- Nostalgia.
How can I not? I’m an utterly nostalgic person. In fact when I’m down, I think
of the happy childhood days to cheer myself up. Almost everybody cherishes
their childhood days- those days of no responsibility, when the only thing
expected from you was to attend school and score decent marks (of course
parents then were not as aggressive about marks as now). But you know what I
loved? The summer holidays and the mid-term holidays in October when (unlike
now) the school was closed for the entire month of October. I used to love the
days when it used to rain so heavily that the schools had to be shut and we got
an unexpected holiday. I remember burrowing myself in heaps of blankets with a
book in my hand and falling asleep while reading the book.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The holidays were spent in my native
place, Padubidri. The house that my father and his brothers built was an old,
tiled house. But for us, it was nothing short of a beautiful palace. Surrounded
by vast rice fields and huge playgrounds with trees, it was a paradise for us
children. I think we used to be inside the house only for breakfast and lunch
during daytime. Those days, there was no television at our home. But there was
one in the village Panchayat office. So we used to watch all our favorite
programs (mine was Chitrahar and Ramayan on Sundays) here. Cable TV came much
later so there was only one channel- the great Doordarshan, but I swear, there
were so many good programs on that one channel. These days there are thousand
channels but not one good thing to catch on TV. I think when I came to higher
primary school, my mother finally purchased a television set, and you should
have seen the sheer number of people assembled in our house on weekends to
watch a movie. And then there were late night movie marathons that we watched
on a rented DVD and VCD players.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What I like about those childhood
days was the simplicity. No mobile phones to distract you from the endless
hours of reading. And internet was completely unheard of. There was the famous
landline phone and we cousins used to communicate with each other using
letters. When I received a letter in my name, I was so excited. And then to
ponder over what to write back, thinking how to cover all the topics within the
3 blue pages of the Inland letters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I know it’s not unusual for a sight
or a visual to trigger off a memory, but for me, what acts as a stimulant is
music-old Bollywood songs to be precise. I have always associated songs with a
particular moment in my life. Like for example if I listen to Dil To Pagal Hai
or Gupt songs, I remember that in the year these 2 movies had released, I had just
finished my tenth exams and we had moved to a new house. And the neighbours(our
landlords) used to play the songs in a loop, using cassettes and a recorder. We
collected tape cassettes and displayed in a row of cases. IN THE HALL. Yes, we
were typical middle class ( I can imagine Maya Sarabhai disdainfully commenting
on us with her nose turned upwards).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And then there were books. I don’t
know if I love books because they are associated with my childhood, or if I
love my childhood days because of books. But these both are inextricably
linked. We used to borrow books from a small circulating library-but usually my
brothers were the ones who used to go for exchanging books. So my reading was
initially limited to Archie, Tintin and Asetrix. But I’m not complaining. Later
on, I started using my school library, and from then on books and I have been
best friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m a highly nostalgic person.
Anything and everything associated to my past is precious. Sometimes I feel
that I live in the memories. But these memories are my happy place, my comfort
zone. I can go on and on about the olden, golden days but since I want to keep
the post short, I’ll leave you with the quote below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> This post was written for <a href="http://writetribe.com/write-tribe-problogger-october-2017-challenge/" target="_blank">Write Tribe Problogger October 2017 Challenge</a>. #writebravely </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "sorts mill goudy" , sans-serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: left;">#writetribeproblogger</span></div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-32233268166440717392017-10-02T22:08:00.000+05:302017-10-02T22:12:31.285+05:30When The Going Gets Tough...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s
been a long time since I have written in my blog, and I can see myself dusting
off the webs on my blog and within my mind, as I write this. It feels alien to
sit and type something other than an official email. That’s the only writing I’m
doing these days. So, when I came across the Problogger challenge on Write
Tribe, I thought what better opportunity to take up writing again. It’s just
the push that I needed, that whip that will make my mind churn and give up the
lethargic feeling, which I sometimes call (to fool myself) the creative block. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I
did take a break from writing, but that doesn’t mean that I have been sitting
idle twiddling my thumb. I now have a double degree to add to my name, a
bachelors in Engineering and a Masters in English literature. Last week, I was informed
by my jubilant spouse that my marks were announced on the Indira Gandhi
National Open University site and I have cleared all my second year MA papers,
albeit the marks aren’t that good. But that didn’t put a damper on his spirits
and he did remind me that it isn’t an easy feat to work in an office, take care
of a child single handedly at home, cook, and keep a house and study for five
papers. Yes I did all that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2017
has been tough taskmaster for me but I wasn’t the one to call it quits. When my
husband had to travel to Germany for 3 months, I was a little jittery. I didn’t
know if I could manage it alone. What if there was some emergency( I am no good
at emergencies, I become paralyzed with fear and shock), what if I had an
accident while coming home, what if there was a flood, what if… Once you start
thinking of probable situations that may occur, then your mind loses all control
and it goes into free spin in a pattern of its own. Anyway my exams were in the
month of June and my in-laws were going to come down, so that they could help
in looking after my daughter and I could study in relative peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But
you know what happens when you make eloquent plans and you think you’ve figured
it all? The man up there (with his sense of humor, I figure he’s a man), takes
a shotgun and with a cigar dangling on his lips and his hat lowered over his
eyes, blasts all your plans away to glory. Yes, that’s what happened to me. An
aged, close relative, who was perilously close to his end, and had to be hospitalized
several times the past few months, decided to make his grand departure just a
few weeks before my exams were to begin. You can imagine the quandary I was put
in; I had already paid the exam fees, had taken a week’s leave from office and
had mentally braced myself for the hard toil. So there was nothing else to do,
but convince myself that I could do it. Yes, it was tough and yes, there were
few times when I cried aloud, frustrated and angry for thinking that I could do
it. I cursed myself for enrolling myself for the course but somehow I trudged
on. All those dark days are, of course, now safely behind, and the victory
tastes just a little more sweet because of the realization that I totally
deserve it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Often
I get asked why a degree in literature after an Engineering degree. It’s not as
if it could help me progress my career, I get asked if I was planning to take
up a career in teaching literature. And my honest answer is ‘I don’t know’. I
love reading, I love literature, I love learning about the great poets and
authors, about the history of pioneers of literature. I loved reading Chaucer,
Wordsworth, Spenser, Coleridge, Whitman, and Dickinson. It was like a whole new
world opened up and it was fascinating. For that I will be forever grateful for
the opportunity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I
also learnt resilience and was again awakened to the fact that I am indeed a
tough player in this game of life. Life isn’t smooth sailing always and let me
quote the old, clichéd saying “When the going gets tough, the TOUGH get going”.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdaDF3g5xXeqYy7RG1vxp-mJDoSqQrcNvyTZ4iTNBBF6-rFJtolN5CLExSk3Nr79LPxkIkxCv12HciV7mUZDOA9ev0REhlg8t5KKKxaVfCebxIWGvOHn_rKr_r2z0TveC6-DM_k7uedcE/s1600/writetribeprobloggerparticipationbadge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdaDF3g5xXeqYy7RG1vxp-mJDoSqQrcNvyTZ4iTNBBF6-rFJtolN5CLExSk3Nr79LPxkIkxCv12HciV7mUZDOA9ev0REhlg8t5KKKxaVfCebxIWGvOHn_rKr_r2z0TveC6-DM_k7uedcE/s320/writetribeprobloggerparticipationbadge.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Linking this post to <a href="http://writetribe.com/" target="_blank">Write Tribe Problogger October 2017 Challenge</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">#writebravely #writetribeproblogger</span></div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-5673485772566445652017-07-20T14:17:00.001+05:302017-07-20T14:40:36.271+05:30When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXmRDdPmLKTj_Z6WyY_wBUE0F2lEMj22ykFWnoFh5P_pr9V-0Iix4qVfEIjXoDZHV64wvrTq4lN90X0e72hWbcu0zLKttF1JGvg9jgfQZbamLD0MzgjIYXbjIZJv2cszd4whNOG0WqSQ/s1600/IMG_20170716_171059087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXmRDdPmLKTj_Z6WyY_wBUE0F2lEMj22ykFWnoFh5P_pr9V-0Iix4qVfEIjXoDZHV64wvrTq4lN90X0e72hWbcu0zLKttF1JGvg9jgfQZbamLD0MzgjIYXbjIZJv2cszd4whNOG0WqSQ/s320/IMG_20170716_171059087.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When Breath Becomes Air
by Paul Kalanithi</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">- this was a book that lay dormant in my
to-be-read pile for quite some time and it was just recently, I finally got
around to reading it. I am not a non-fiction reader but the book was very much
hyped and of course it has an emotional angle to it also- a brilliant physician
who is forced by fate to face his own mortality. I had another reason for
wanting to read this book-my own fascination about death. I don’t talk about it
loud with people around me-like family and friends because they will assume
that either I’m off my bonkers or I’m under deep depression. <b><i>You
see fascination with death is considered to be morbid, but at the same time we
are all aware of our own mortality</i></b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Paul Kalanithi who
believed in a purpose to life, in finding what makes life meaningful and worthy
of living, comes face to face with his own death when he is diagnosed with lung
cancer. As a successful neurosurgeon-scientist, at the end of his
residency in Stanford, he is shattered. The book can be seen divided in two
parts-the first part deals with his journey in his profession as a doctor and
the reason why he considers neurosurgery as his calling. The second part deals
with his battle with his disease and how he chose to bring in a new life even
when his own days on earth were numbered. What comes across of his persona, is
a man who is passionate about the work he does and strives to not only cure his
patients but also make them understand (to some extent) of what they will have
to endure because of their illness. Such empathy and kindness in doctors is
rare-we may have doctors who are brilliant in their field of work, but Paul
wanted to know what made his patient’s life worth living so he could ensure
that his treatment did not strip off his patient’s identity. This makes sense
with the ending that he preferred to his own life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">However his narration
is very clinical and that may be the reason why I remained dry eyed through the
first two parts. He approaches his illness as a doctor but the epilogue by his
wife, Lucy Kalanithi, shows how Paul’s family had to come to terms with their
loss. It made me tear up to realize that often death leaves a profound impact on
the people who are left behind rather than those who leave us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Most of us are scared
about death, scared of talking about it and discussions about it is considered
as ill-omen by the elders in the family. What is it exactly about death that
scares us? Is it that the phenomenon of after death is still a mystery or the
fact that we don’t know when exactly we would die- makes death appear ominous?
Here again Paul’s insight helped me to understand more on my own musings. He
says, in the book, that his diagnosis of cancer changed nothing in his life. He
knew that he’d die someday but he didn’t know when. After cancer this still remained
same. Terminal illness made him realize that his life on earth was short but he
still didn’t know if he would live for 2 months or 2 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I remember few lines
from a poem of Sri Aurobindo <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Life only is, or
death is life disguised, -</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Life a
short death until by Life we are surprised.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>“<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sri Aurobindo
considered death as another kind of life, an after-life and he compares life to
a short death on earth until we are surprised with the after-life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Paul Kalanithi’ s book
may be a memoir to his daughter but it also helps people like me(with a “morbid”
fascination of death) to gain a deeper and philosophical understanding that <b><i>death
is not dying but withholding from life and not living life to its fullest
possibilities</i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px; line-height: 19.9733px;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25899336-when-breath-becomes-air" target="_blank">Goodreads Page</a></span></span></div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-48840466783940259862017-07-05T15:36:00.000+05:302017-07-05T15:44:12.524+05:30The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Plot:
There's a serial killer on the loose, bent on working his way through the
alphabet. And as a macabre calling card he leaves beside each victim's corpse
the ABC Railway Guide open at the name of the town where the murder has taken
place. Having begun with Andover, Bexhill and then Churston, there seems little
chance of the murderer being caught - until he makes the crucial and vain
mistake of challenging Hercule Poirot to frustrate his plans</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<h1 style="background: white; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Goodreads Page:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span> </span><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16322.The_A_B_C_Murders" target="_blank">The A.B.C. Murders</a></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So I
am determined to get through the Agatha Christie novels that are lying unread
on my bookshelf. And her books have that quality where you start reading one of
her books and get addicted to the whole series. You can read my short review of
<a href="http://prasannaprao.blogspot.in/2017/06/peril-at-end-house-by-agatha-christie.html" target="_blank">Peril At End House</a> which is the 8<sup>th</sup> in the Hercule Poirot series.
The A. B. C. Murders is the 13<sup>th</sup> and differs slightly in its
narrative strategy. Most of the Poirot stories are narrated by his companion
Arthur Hastings, but in this book the narration also includes the personal
commentary of the killer. Poirot is challenged by a killer who sends him
letters informing him of the murders that he plans to commit. The killer adopts
an alphabetical complex for his murders beginning with the first murder of
Mrs.Ascher in Andover. As in other Christie novels, this novel also includes a
complete mind-boggling twist in the end that is revealed in Poirot-esque
dramatic manner. And to compete with Poirot’s detective skills is the young officer
from Scotland Yard Inspector Chrome , who has already caught a serial killer in his
previous case and considers himself an expert in serial murder cases. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I am
a self-confessed lover of serial murder plots so I obviously loved the twists
and continuous guessing game in the book. My next Christie book is going to be
a Miss Marple case, meanwhile any other suggestions on Poirot series?</span></div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-14311422463889768242017-06-28T11:32:00.001+05:302017-06-28T11:34:03.597+05:30Peril At End House By Agatha Christie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Plot: Hercule Poirot is vacationing on the Cornish coast when he meets Nick Buckley. Nick is the young and reckless mistress of End House, an imposing structure perched on the rocky cliffs of St. Loo. Poirot has taken a particular interest in the young woman who has recently narrowly escaped a series of life-threatening accidents. Something tells the Belgian sleuth that these so-called accidents are more than just mere coincidences or a spate of bad luck. It seems all too clear to him that someone is trying to do away with poor Nick, but who? And, what is the motive? In his quest for answers, Poirot must delve into the dark history of End House. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the more certain he is that the killer will soon strike again. And, this time, Nick may not escape with her life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Goodreads Page: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16424.Peril_at_End_House" target="_blank">Peril at End House</a></div>
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I returned to reading an Agatha Christie after a long time. The last book I had read of hers was “And Then There Were None “and that of course was a brilliant book. ‘An edge of the seat suspense’- this phrase must have been coined after reading Agatha Christie novels, because most of her books have that jaw-dropping climax where she completely boggles the readers’ mind, and makes you wonder why you did not see that before. I used to read her when I was young, especially her Hercule Poirot books the reason being, the entire series was available in the school library. So it was a joy returning to Hercule Poirot after so many years. But this time I did not like much the small Belgian detective whose pride in his own talents almost makes him conceited but yes, one cannot help but admire his genius mind that is capable of hunting down the criminal through a small and seemingly insignificant detail.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Coming to the book “Peril at End House”, it starts with Poirot and his Watson, Captain Hastings, who are on a vacation and Poirot claims that he has given up his profession when they come across a young, beautiful lady, Nick Buckley who has suffered several attacks on her life. As the book progresses we are introduced to Nick’s friends and the fact that appearances can be deceptive. Well I am not going to give out more details of the plot, but if you love AC and a good crime story that keeps you guessing about the killer’s identity, then I’m sure this book is not to be missed.</div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-20069657405538355972016-07-11T10:40:00.001+05:302016-07-11T10:40:33.064+05:30Parenting Woes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The toughest job in the
world is parenting and this I realized when last year I quit my job and opted
to take a break from my professional life, so that I could spend more quality
time with my daughter. Now that I’m back to working all the difficulties of
balancing of professional and personal life are back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As a working woman, I spend an average of 4 to
5 hours during the weekdays with my child, and the task that gets me most
worked up is feeding dinner to her. When she was 2 years old, I had to employ
all tactics that I was aware of to get her to eat few morsels of food. I used
to take her outside and try to distract her with sounds and sights of nature (of
course it was pitch dark so she was not so easily distracted), I tried to feed
her while showing cartoons on TV, I threatened, bribed, begged-all my creative
talents came to the fore in those 45 minutes and at the end of dinner time, it
was like the end of a war. Sometimes won, sometimes lost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some practical mothers
would advise me not to fuss too much over the child’s eating. Do not give
options, do not create distractions, just put the plate in front of her and
when she’s hungry , she will eat. That does sound too good in words but in
reality-well, let’s just say that the food ended up everywhere in the house
except in her mouth. And the end result? A cranky kid in the middle of the
night demanding food. And a cranky mom in the office next day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As a working mom, I can
say that my biggest anxiety is how to provide her the required nutrition. How
to get her to eat the veggies and fruits. My daughter is 4 years old now and
fortunately she is not that fussy at dinnertime but she still refuses to eat
vegetables. Also since we don’t eat non-vegetarian food, she is missing out on
vital nutrients. In this competitive and fast modern world I don’t want my daughter
to be left behind just because she is not eating proper food. She studies in
Kinder Garten and the homework that she brings home every day make me wonder
how I coped when I was her age.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m sure that most mothers
would agree when I say that a major concern of every mother is the overall
development of a child-both physically and intellectual growth. My daughter is
at a vital age of development. She is physically active and she is curious
about so many things that she sees. I realize this from the questions she
asks-just the other day she asked me why fishes have fins and not hands and
legs. I may not have the right answer every time for her questions but I can
ensure that she receives proper nourishment to aid her growth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fortunately my daughter
loves to drink milk and the essential vitamins she misses when she refuses to
eat her veggies can be provided by health drinks like <a href="https://growthplus.horlicks.in/" target="_blank">Horlicks Growth+</a> which
help in weight gain in kids and support complete all round development. My daughter
starts her day around 7.30 in the morning and I make sure that the first food
she has, is a tall glass of milk fortified and made more appetizing by Horlicks.
Her hours are similar to mine-she goes to school between 8 and 12 in the morning
and then to her daycare. She comes home only at 7 in the evening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When I’m in office I
worry about her- if she’s eating well, if she gets along with her friends, if
she can cope up with her studies and if she misses her home and mummy. So as I
said in the beginning, parenting is tough, your kids can try your patience to
no end, it can leave you frustrated and helpless at times. But when at night my
daughter holds me tightly and goes to sleep, I feel that I can do the whole
thing all again, I feel it’s all worth it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-33900928302663505792016-05-14T12:47:00.001+05:302017-05-08T12:14:02.069+05:30The Lone Traveler on an Ideal Yatra<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>“Free as a bird to settle where
I will.</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>What dwelling shall receive me?
In what vale</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Shall be my harbor? Underneath
what grove</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Shall I take up my home? And
what clear stream</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Shall with its murmur lull me
into rest?</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>The earth is all before me.”</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wordsworth may have been
delighted to leave the humdrum life of the city and settle down in the meadows
that were home to him during his childhood but to escape the everyday grind of
our mechanical life I need a vacation. And not just a vacation, I need a dream
vacation. I need to feel the sand below my feet, I need the soothing sounds of
the waves lapping at the shores, I need to wake up to the chirping of the birds
and I need the mouth-watering aroma of food to tempt my dormant taste-buds. And
I know the perfect destination where all my wishes can come true. Mauritius!
Yes, that’s my dream vacation (of course I’m a Piscean, so I’m going to choose
a beach destination)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With prior scheduling using the
help of travel planning sites like Yatra and some meticulous comparison of flight
prices it is possible to book international flight tickets at reasonable rates
and cheaper flight tariffs mean more money for shopping. Yay! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Fortunately for me I can book a
ticket with Emirate Airlines from Namma Bengaluru. But you know what I would desire
to do? I would like to travel solo. Going on a vacation alone and exploring the
world as a solo traveler- just thinking about it makes me feel exhilarated and
nervous at the same time. It would be a new experience and I’d be checking off
an item from my bucket list. So that decided, all that was left would be to
plan my itinerary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ideally I would like to spend a
lifetime lazing on the beautiful beaches, reading a book and taking moonlight
walks in the night, but a little thing called reality creeps into these
daydreams of mine. So I have opted to spend maybe 4 days on the islands of
Mauritius (keeping in mind my budget constraints). One choice which wouldn’t be
compromised for the sake of budget would be my choice of stay at a resort.
Mauritius is home to some of the most exotic beach resorts and I would be spoilt
for choices. I would want to stay in a room where I can be greeted in the
morning with a view of a glorious sunrise. Now that’s some way of waking up,
isn’t it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The day would be spent indulging
in various water sports and other water activities. The beaches of Mauritius
are so pristine and clean that deep sea diving and snorkeling would be an
amazing way to explore the marine life and the coral reefs. I have heard that
the underwater sea walk is a unique experience that one must try out in
Mauritius. The first day of the vacation would be devoted completely to
beaches. The La Cuvette beach in the northern region, The Blue Bay and Belle
Mare beach in the South East are perfect picturesque locations. The beaches are
not very crowded and my plans to dip in the water for a swim and relax with a
book fit in magnificently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What better way to end the day
than a drive in the Mauritian countryside with a wind tousling my hair and a
drink in my hand. That is the way to live life, in my opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The next day will be spent exploring
the culture and the small, almost hidden, villages. The interesting thing about
Mauritius is that the land is inhabited by Hindus, Tamils, Buddhists, Muslims
and Christians and all of them peacefully cohabit respecting each other’s
religion. In fact there is no “majority religion”, so temples, churches and
mosques are all monuments that reside alongside with no violence. Maybe it’s
time we took a leaf out of the Mauritian culture and learnt how to mutually
respect each other?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This melting pot of land also
has a mixed cuisine and the best way to taste the local cuisine is to hit the
streets. The street food of Mauritius is a culinary paradise and one gets to
taste the intricate flavors that are sure to titillate and fire-up the taste
buds. Just yum!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Visiting Mauritius and not
getting a spa luxury? That should never happen! So the next day would start
with a rejuvenating spa therapy session. After all I’m on a vacation and I’m
allowed to splurge a little. Mauritus is not just a beach destination but it
also has lots of interesting museums and galleries. The La Vanille Nature Park
is another tourist attraction which houses giant tortoises and crocodiles. The
mystery of Chamarel, also called Seven Colored Earths because of the different hues
of the soil is another must visit place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The last day of the vacation
would be completely devoted to lounging around the beaches and absorbing the
mesmerizing scenes of Mauritius. What I wouldn’t give to have my own private
piece of this paradise but all good things must come to an end and this
vacation too would end. But the glorious memories would still linger in my mind
until the next vacation. A new place to explore, a new land to visit and lots
of food to eat!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-36663309598748741422015-09-04T14:40:00.000+05:302015-09-04T14:40:47.917+05:30Tornado Giveaway 2: Book No. 75: WRONG FOR THE RIGHT REASONS by Ritu Lalit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-74-to-catch.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 74</a></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1_yXQcEMt5M/VejzeS_U_EI/AAAAAAAAF74/itJi4qt1qwE/s1600/3d-ritu.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1_yXQcEMt5M/VejzeS_U_EI/AAAAAAAAF74/itJi4qt1qwE/s400/3d-ritu.png" width="256" /></a><br />
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Name of the Book: WRONG FOR THE RIGHT REASONS<br />
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Author: Ritu Lalit<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Read some reviews:</span></b><br />
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1. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1156584278?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Rubina Ramesh</a> </b><br />
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2. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1185092003?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Inderpreet Kaur Uppal</a></b><br />
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3. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1203161433?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Nikita Jhanglani</a> </b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Story:</b></span><br />
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Shyamoli Verma’s timing is wrong. In her late twenties, she finds that her marriage is irrevocably broken. She comes back to her parents with her pre-teen son and an infant daughter, only to find that she is unwelcome.</div>
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Independent and brash, she decides to bring up her children and also get a divorce without any support from friends and family.</div>
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Written with wry self deprecatinghumour, this is the story of a divorced woman's quest for love and security.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">You can also buy @</span></b></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thbocl0a-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00R7HDVIW" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.in/Wrong-Right-Reasons-Ritu-Lalit/dp/938370103X" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilqFEiuyTM8DFt4Cd0lR_Cp_hI1zqhokLgnrd1Yo9wJK2R5nQlyWySWnmXcDl4KG_1yJ72SoRZFQtoZY8lLQictE7zlvLf18DB5qH1NWH_drHJpQwcYHUtMwh4TTmFW21i5YDnG9etkkRe/s200/Wrongforright.jpg" width="160" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>About The Author </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibDDdaea8A7VB-thCCaPf69qCO06QC0fTid2gRe4MLhDitIDWYOzxbZI9eLlPhqHDM4eC8PBgvtSfo7BH7T1UiKfzkheUWcOGLP4KYjrcfH-cmLztrV4urRCe2dH1qTEmVSrW8PLyevtJw/s1600/ritulalit.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibDDdaea8A7VB-thCCaPf69qCO06QC0fTid2gRe4MLhDitIDWYOzxbZI9eLlPhqHDM4eC8PBgvtSfo7BH7T1UiKfzkheUWcOGLP4KYjrcfH-cmLztrV4urRCe2dH1qTEmVSrW8PLyevtJw/s200/ritulalit.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ritu Lalit </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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Ritu Lalit is a corporate slave turned fiction writer. A voracious reader, she is a gold medalist post graduate in English Literature who spent most of her childhood in remote areas in the northeastern parts of India, lying on grassy hillsides daydreaming and reading books.<br />
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She loves spinning tales, but no longer has her captive audience as her children grew up and flew away from the coop. Her three dogs don’t pay much attention. She began writing in the vain hope that the characters she creates will listen to her, even do her bidding.<br />
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She has five books out in the market, A Bowlful of Butterflies, HILAWI, Chakra, Chronicles of the Witch Way and Wrong, for the Right Reasons. Her fifth novel, His Father’s Mistress is coming soon.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Stalk her @</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.ritulalit.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Phoenixr2" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RituLalitFanPage" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-76-saved-in.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 76 </a></b></span></div>
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#TornadoGiveaway is an initiative of The Book Club. Click on the icon to go to the event page of the Tornado .. Lots of fun awaits you :)<br />
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-17740271572879101322015-09-04T14:33:00.002+05:302015-09-04T14:33:47.141+05:30Tornado Giveaway 2: Book No. 74: TO CATCH A KILLER by Lindsay Downs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-73-second.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 73</a></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cniyjOcnvxc/Vejur7lsO_I/AAAAAAAAF7k/0fMLVgBcTik/s1600/book%2B74.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cniyjOcnvxc/Vejur7lsO_I/AAAAAAAAF7k/0fMLVgBcTik/s640/book%2B74.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1UrDXbl6VU0/VejsAHEL8cI/AAAAAAAAF7Y/Mgh82hpE1vw/s1600/3d-lindsay.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1UrDXbl6VU0/VejsAHEL8cI/AAAAAAAAF7Y/Mgh82hpE1vw/s320/3d-lindsay.png" width="205" /></a>Name of the Book: TO CATCH A KILLER<br />
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Author: Lindsay Downs<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Read a review:</span></b><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/RCPVTL4KYQKDU/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00Q9W0G0C&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=133140011&store=digital-text" target="_blank">Amy E. Baggott</a> </b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">The Stories:</b><br />
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<b>The Masked Lady and The Murder</b></div>
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When Lord Robert Markson, Viscount of Hampshire, is force to return to England to find out who murdered his father and older brother he’s in for a surprise.</div>
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It comes in the guise of Lady Kristina Rosewood, daughter to the Earl and Countess of Crossington. To many she’s quartz but to him a multifaceted diamond.</div>
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While recovering from an attempt on his life which thrust them closer together they work through emotions for each other while sorting through letters sent to his mother years ago. Slowly, they’re able to discover the one man who could have set the murders in motion. The only problem, he’s been dead for years so who could it be and more importantly why now.</div>
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Once all the evidence is compiled the answer is something neither could believe as the threat comes from within the late viscount’s house.</div>
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<b>The Guilty Countess </b></div>
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Accused of murdering her husband, Lady Donna Kersey turns to the only people who can prove her innocence, her brother and his new bride.</div>
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As Robert and Kristina start their search for the real killer they learn the murder might be more complicated than first thought. Uncovering evidence sends the three in pursuit of a possible suspect only to find this person is innocent, or is he not guilty of the murder but not something else.</div>
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When Robert and Kristina learn Lord Kersey might not be exactly who they believe him to be that’s when the facts become murky. It takes a surprise visit by Kristina’s brother to help set the record straight which only adds more confusion to the facts.</div>
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Will Robert and Kristina find the killer of Lord Kersey before the authorities take Lady Kersey away in irons?</div>
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<b>Highland Gold</b></div>
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When Lord Robert and Lady Kristina Markson arrive at their estate in Scotland they find that not everything is as it should be. Questions are left unanswered and a mystery unfolds.</div>
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Once they start investigating further, they realize the castle and the grounds are in shambles. Then people start to die, and Kristina fears the worse.</div>
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Her older brother, Lord Ethan Rosewood, shows up and makes unreasonable demands upon her and Lord Markson. Kristina and Ethan have never been close, and wherever Ethan is trouble seems to follow.</div>
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When missing pieces come together and the puzzle is forming, Kristina and Robert realize people aren’t as they seem and they must figure out who can be trusted.</div>
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Who is the killer? Does he walk among them, or are the clues to the mystery leading them down the wrong path?</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">You can also buy @</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Catch-Killer-Markson-Regency-Collection-ebook/dp/B00Q9W0G0C/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Y9PU5xZYL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="200" width="125" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>About The Author </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61PaA+eUd5L._UX250_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61PaA+eUd5L._UX250_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lindsay Downs </b></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-size: x-large;">Stalk him @</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://lindsaydowns-romanceauthor.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ldowns2966" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lindsay-Downs-Author/325132754200597?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-75-wrong-for.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 75 </a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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#TornadoGiveaway is an initiative of The Book Club. Click on the icon to go to the event page of the Tornado .. Lots of fun awaits you :)<br />
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-34548506423478116032015-09-04T14:13:00.002+05:302015-09-04T14:13:30.952+05:30Tornado Giveaway 2: Book No. 71: ALL ABOARD by Kiran Manral<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-70-letters.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 70</a></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6vUdNx6xCr8/Vedt5vOPBzI/AAAAAAAAF54/0KT-_d6fOAw/s1600/book%2B71.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6vUdNx6xCr8/Vedt5vOPBzI/AAAAAAAAF54/0KT-_d6fOAw/s640/book%2B71.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Name of the Book: ALL ABOARD<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzWlDDjyjZY/VeduJaiTi_I/AAAAAAAAF6A/xc4QFXKoCKs/s1600/3d-kiran.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzWlDDjyjZY/VeduJaiTi_I/AAAAAAAAF6A/xc4QFXKoCKs/s400/3d-kiran.png" width="262" /></a></div>
Author: Kiran Manral<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Story:</b></span><br />
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When Rhea Khanna is dumped just days before her wedding, by her boyfriend of four years, the only thing she wants to do is to get out of the city to clear her head. The opportunity presents itself immediately when her aunt, a retired school headmistress, invites her to accompany her on a Mediterranean cruise.<br />
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As Rhea struggles to cope with her grief of being dumped at the altar, she finds herself getting attracted to the seemingly unavailable Kamal Shahani—the infuriatingly attractive ex-student of her aunt and a hot shot entrepreneur. To add to the confusion, Sonia, Kamal’s very attractive ex-girlfriend boards the ship in a bid to win him back.<br />
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Will Rhea heal her broken heart, or will she end up even more shattered than she was when she got on this cruise? Read, to find out.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.in/All-Aboard-Kiran-Manral/dp/0143423576" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb5QgvMvIrJnazKuP2LqX128-EKrPlKPwY2PYh6n6oXNSrq6Wu_I-QRFTVHNfJ_KA4M-t6MUZO-3CK48ncG7PIld1AJMIoyj98htAIxJy5kEGUWufPw7ELbpKpeSzNJoydkwHRwVrFaOXd/s200/allaboardfinalcover.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>About The Author </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2hJd2X473yAFZNdDRZ4HmVdlBsmiLVehS74zLm84TLl2BpIt5-o5gEJUPVHlxsRxZjPVXmWuL90JI73I05C3zrVvbueEbfuX2iK72lWrwbrmmnbLoNWc1dLkTlbvZnFnhsstUEStCTAq/s1600/KiranManral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2hJd2X473yAFZNdDRZ4HmVdlBsmiLVehS74zLm84TLl2BpIt5-o5gEJUPVHlxsRxZjPVXmWuL90JI73I05C3zrVvbueEbfuX2iK72lWrwbrmmnbLoNWc1dLkTlbvZnFnhsstUEStCTAq/s320/KiranManral.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kiran Manral</b></span></div>
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Kiran Manral worked as a journalist with The Asian Age and The Times of India before she quit full time work to be a full time mommy. One of the leading bloggers in India, her blogs were listed in Labnol's list of India's top blogs, and her parenting blog was ranked among the top five parenting blogs in India by Blogadda. She was also a Tehelka blogger columnist on gender issues.<br />
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She was listed among the 10 non-celebrity 'social media stars' on twitter by the TOI and IBN Live named her as among the 30 most interesting Indian women to follow on twitter and among the top 10 Indian moms to follow on twitter in 2013. Fashion 101.in named her as amongst the most stylish authors in India. Womensweb.in listed her as one of the 20 women authors from India to be followed on twitter.<br />
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Post the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai, she founded India Helps, a volunteer network to help disaster victims post 26/11 and has worked on long term rehabilitation of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack victims and 13/7 Mumbai bomb blast victims, amongst others. She was part of core founding team behind Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Month (<a href="http://www.csaawarenessmonth.com/">www.csaawarenessmonth.com</a>) and Violence Against Women Awareness Month (<a href="http://www.vawawareness.wordpress.com/">www.vawawareness.wordpress.com</a>), two very well received social media awareness initiatives.<br />
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Her debut novel, The Reluctant Detective, was published by Westland in 2012 and her second novel Once Upon A Crush, was published by Leadstart in May 2014. She has three books due for release in 2015, the first of these being All Aboard! from Penguin Random House.<br />
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She is on the planning board of the Kumaon Literary Festival, an advisor on the Board of Literature Studio, Delhi, an Author Mentor at <a href="http://sheroes.in/">sheroes.in</a> and a columnist at <a href="http://idiva.com/">iDiva.com</a>. She was awarded the Women Achievers award by Young Environmentalists Group in 2013.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Stalk her @</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.kiranmanral.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/kiranmanral" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kiranmanralauthorpage" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-72-myth.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 72 </a></b></span></div>
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#TornadoGiveaway is an initiative of The Book Club. Click on the icon to go to the event page of the Tornado .. Lots of fun awaits you :)<br />
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-34775072919984762672015-09-04T14:08:00.002+05:302015-09-04T14:08:46.972+05:30Tornado Giveaway 2: Book No. 70: LETTERS FROM INDIAN SUMMER by Siddharth Dasgupta<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-69-voices.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 69</a></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vpO8oY7MWjc/VedrcZJA67I/AAAAAAAAF5k/R8e3voDR1a0/s1600/Book%2B70.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vpO8oY7MWjc/VedrcZJA67I/AAAAAAAAF5k/R8e3voDR1a0/s640/Book%2B70.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XG7PdRtH4jw/VedrqX-y-TI/AAAAAAAAF5s/7-Dirt2wrRw/s1600/3d-sidhartha%2B.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XG7PdRtH4jw/VedrqX-y-TI/AAAAAAAAF5s/7-Dirt2wrRw/s400/3d-sidhartha%2B.png" width="256" /></a>Name of the Book: LETTERS FROM INDIAN SUMMER<br />
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Author: SiddharthDasgupta<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Read some reviews:</span></b><br />
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1. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1119743570?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Shree</a> </b><br />
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2. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1129979692?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Purnendu Chatterjee</a></b><br />
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3. <b><a href="http://plusminusnmore.rapo.in/letters-from-an-indian-summer-siddharth-dasgupta/" target="_blank">MenakaSankaralingam</a></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Story:</b></span><br />
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A love story between an Indian photographer and a French artist, Letters from an Indian Summer is suffused with a strong sense of serendipity and spiritually liberal doses of the things Arjun Bedi and Genevieve Casta hold dear in this world. The past, though, lurks constantly around every chosen corner. Will the secrets they harbour end up destroying them, or will the unspoken belief in their entwined cosmic paths be much too strong a force . . . ?</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">You can also buy @</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.in/Letters-Indian-Summer-Siddharth-Dasgupta/dp/8172345496" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-CokNLYaXwPiWX0NxL_7p-q1mMPOKCQbPGgVQIcd2EhUE0lh-T4sJI6jFC89mQKWY-1flx9YS09e-ZU4tCfsyOcFpIfHM5w5Et68Q1KV1fBiYjWLGlapw5KJ49TBU-KaKYQUbFCHuWEAc/s200/LETTERS.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>About The Author </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>SiddharthDasgupta</b></span></div>
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Born and raised in the city of Poona, SiddharthDasgupta left home at the age of seventeen and ended up spending the next decade, and then some, in foreign lands. After he’d had his fill of both southern Africa and Dubai, and after battling and then vanquishing a particularly tumultuous brain tumour, he returned to India and promptly set about putting pen to paper. He’s enjoyed a storied advertising career in which he’s led creative agencies as well as written for them, but writing for his own self has always been the most consequential journey. He regularly submits himself to the passions of wanderlust, the unexpectedness of conversations, and the whims of desire. Letters from an Indian Summer is Siddharth’s first novel.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Stalk him @</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/siddha3th" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/leavesfromabook" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-71-all.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 71 </a></b></span></div>
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#TornadoGiveaway is an initiative of The Book Club. Click on the icon to go to the event page of the Tornado .. Lots of fun awaits you :)<br />
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-41836711077903355792015-09-04T14:02:00.002+05:302015-09-04T14:02:59.585+05:30Tornado Giveaway 2: Book No. 69: VOICES OLD & NEW edited by Naheed Hassan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-68-writing.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 68</a></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qi4qlsu83cA/VeaJ00eeYOI/AAAAAAAAF5I/WsN2CLBj7xw/s1600/Book%2B69.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qi4qlsu83cA/VeaJ00eeYOI/AAAAAAAAF5I/WsN2CLBj7xw/s640/Book%2B69.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GpsV6ly4Kto/VeaJ9Iwr0GI/AAAAAAAAF5Q/YgFqiYbtG50/s1600/3d-voices.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GpsV6ly4Kto/VeaJ9Iwr0GI/AAAAAAAAF5Q/YgFqiYbtG50/s400/3d-voices.png" width="256" /></a>Name of the Book: VOICES OLD & NEW<br />
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Publisher: Indireads<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Read some reviews:</span></b><br />
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1. <b><a href="https://vishalbheeroo.wordpress.com/2015/04/21/book-review-voices-old-new-an-experience-poetic-prose-in-story-telling/" target="_blank">Vishal Bheeroo</a> </b><br />
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2. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1184119188?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Dhivya Balaji</a> </b><br />
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3. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1177489183?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Biswanath Banerjee</a> </b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Book:</b></span><br />
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Voices, Old & New is a fantastic collection of short stories featuring the very best submissions from Indireads’ 2nd Short Story Competition 2014. It is available for purchase on Amazon, and is also available for free, as a thank-you gift, for a limited time, to all new and existing subscribers of the Indireads newsletter.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">You can also buy @</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Voices-Old-New-Naheed-Hassan-ebook/dp/B00S6YJBSY" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO0a7UkYJtd1j9UHHA72AFDqYbk7IpoQJpeLqV2X9W-nsaYR7b_Ja_6N0VRnY_hxZ8hPEuZdwenRkFRiWXePTxzNkHf2Vj5zSgl35eVmsjsEIThqhdxlJWB1HE00YUf_ib57RUaWV0cWG0/s200/VOICES.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>About The Publisher </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Indireads</b></span></div>
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Between the blue shores of the Indian Ocean and the white tips of the Himalayas is a land crowded with the rich history of many peoples. Tapping into the region’s diverse cultures, languages, religions and traditions, Indireads weaves an intricate tapestry of fresh voices from the sub-continent.<br />
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Indireads’ books bring alive the vibrancy and intensity of modern South Asian life and present it in digital friendly formats, inviting new generations to fall in love with what it means to be South Asian. Digital, handy and engaging, an Indireads book is the perfect companion for a quiet afternoon under a Peepal tree, for the early morning ride on the bus, for that long flight or for that relaxing moment at the end of a long, draining day.<br />
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Indireads is a place for you to call home, whether you enjoy telling stories or you hope to abandon yourself to a web of words spun by other story-tellers. Join us on a magical journey through the sub-continent, with writers whose prose echoes the people’s voices, whose imagery paints vivid, familiar landscapes and whose stories capture the very essence of being South Asian.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Stalk them @</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.indireads.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/indireads" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/indireadsbooks?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-70-letters.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 70 </a></b></span></div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-17702805118549858652015-09-04T13:53:00.001+05:302015-09-04T13:53:36.109+05:30Tornado Giveaway 2: Book No. 67: TAKE A CHANCE ON ME by Mia Epsilon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-66-choices.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 66</a></b></span></div>
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Name of the Book: TAKE A CHANCE ON ME<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oS_nkB8irSw/VeaExRv4nOI/AAAAAAAAF4o/iMhVuBJ0r0g/s1600/3d-mia2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oS_nkB8irSw/VeaExRv4nOI/AAAAAAAAF4o/iMhVuBJ0r0g/s400/3d-mia2.png" width="256" /></a></div>
Author: Mia Epsilon<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Read some reviews:</span></b><br />
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1. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1071356128?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Torie James</a></b><br />
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2. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1065740277?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Krista Kelly</a> </b><br />
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3. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1057042122?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Dawn Brower</a></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Story:</b></span><br />
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Friends and lovers rarely mix well with coworkers and embezzlement cases, just ask Christine and Charlie.</div>
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After a near fatal accident leads to one incredible night of amazing sex, Christine and Charlie take the leap from friends to lovers.</div>
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Christine has battled many demons in the last few years. Charlie has always been her confident and support. When Charlie refuses to answer emails or texts after an embezzling scheme arises at work, Christine must come to terms with not only losing a fabulous lover and her best friend but her job as well.</div>
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Charlie carries his own scars when it comes to women. Yet there's something about Christine which brings out his protective side and makes him hope for love he's wanted for years.</div>
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Christine and Charlie must work together to catch the thief before they can secure a love of a lifetime. Can they catch the embezzler before they lose not only their jobs and each other, but their lives as well?</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">You can also buy @</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZLN91Z6" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrt57Fjw_8ExqufO1kxq8EG-BGA6VYLTVKSwBFLa561MHOu86xpZfiDku_HRmWHBP9mii7IgKB-uxc_t_swkeBHX4uuATWdZy4m4UlWw7epyFwOrwWtapmxmMl9e6eXYuc_sLMJk3ajDgj/s200/Takingachanceonme.jpg" width="127" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>About The Author </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWr7Dwy5_E1_cyYZINXIL2MkCCx88mwUcDGB5fUttPOJL3DNZZF6_ML21KuAe9eKt3hdjmoJ5Zu1sElPAabf5L-QuW-J-_yfBXZSBZb7o4WE56uq0scD-9DZZnrDRxFYqc-8PDEW4R1XL/s1600/MiaEpsilon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWr7Dwy5_E1_cyYZINXIL2MkCCx88mwUcDGB5fUttPOJL3DNZZF6_ML21KuAe9eKt3hdjmoJ5Zu1sElPAabf5L-QuW-J-_yfBXZSBZb7o4WE56uq0scD-9DZZnrDRxFYqc-8PDEW4R1XL/s320/MiaEpsilon.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Mia Epsilon</b></span></div>
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Mia Epsilon is the author of the 'Weddings by C & C' contemporary romance series featuring a location wedding company and set in Hawaii. The first two books, <i>Take a Chance on Me</i> and <i>Wedding Belle Blues</i>, are available now with the third, fourth and fifth due out later this year. A feisty red head, Mia lives with her enduring hubby in the gorgeous Blue Ridge Appalachian Mountains, USA. She's an avid reader of almost anything and loves to be curled up with a great book. She never misses an episode of Doctor Who or Sherlock and happily suffers coffee and chocolate addictions. She can most often be found at her computer spinning new stories or in a quiet padded nook with her e-reader.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Stalk her @</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://miaepsilon.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/MiaEpsilon" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MiaEwrites?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-68-writing.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 68 </a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
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#TornadoGiveaway is an initiative of The Book Club. Click on the icon to go to the event page of the Tornado .. Lots of fun awaits you :)<br />
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-10803893377511489772015-09-01T14:56:00.003+05:302015-09-01T14:56:21.202+05:30Tornado Giveaway 2: Book No. 66: CHOICES: A NOVEL by Ruchira Khanna<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-65-his.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 65</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.tbcblogtours.com/tornado-giveaway-2.html" target="_blank">Check all the Books Here</a> </b></span></div>
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Name of the Book: CHOICES: A NOVEL<br />
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Author: Ruchira Khanna<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Read some reviews:</span></b><br />
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1. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/926644551?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Rubina Ramesh</a> </b><br />
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2. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1135706965?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Ruchi Singh</a> </b><br />
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3. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/871351434?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Privy Trifles</a> </b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Story:</b></span><br />
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Leonardo is a young man who is standing on a crossroad of life, facing choices. One road leads to a high stress career that brings in big bucks; the other is a chance to make a real difference in lives of others. He has a few questions, questions that all of us have faced when facing choices that can change our lives. Does fate make a man, or do his desires? Do ambitions and desires actually lead a person to true happiness and fulfillment, or does providence and life changing events actually show a person the true path to follow?</div>
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‘Choices’ raises these questions, and attempts to answer them. It is a slice-of-life, a book written from the heart.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">You can also buy @</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Choices-Novel-Ruchira-Khanna/dp/1492758361" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNsNqa5QBY5STBxsQHnij_UmsLQjlqmuSadeey3fHh_BSygMXTM_qP2rrMixAVbM3yrcxYkbo_9BXO729fkLx_5bxbm0qLZpdOn0jhfNrmTpcky2R8nF13KoPUcZzm3MadCXVhH-JT3ZMZ/s200/Choices.jpg" width="145" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>About The Author </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK265mt6Z6vzX7fLm3JkkS7Z-pvMu5ghBjab04PIejC10D9pMi2qG1Bd-DTmbUHLejznuAUJvrQSEWs_oxILr2jYpldqXx5ByW9W6yuMHUbm_Ve3WxOokNkYbCD2XOm61iCCpoour0yTOh/s1600/RuchiraKhanna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK265mt6Z6vzX7fLm3JkkS7Z-pvMu5ghBjab04PIejC10D9pMi2qG1Bd-DTmbUHLejznuAUJvrQSEWs_oxILr2jYpldqXx5ByW9W6yuMHUbm_Ve3WxOokNkYbCD2XOm61iCCpoour0yTOh/s320/RuchiraKhanna.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ruchira Khanna</b></span></div>
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Just another soul trying to make a difference in this lifetime by juggling between my passion and responsibilities.<br />
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A Biochemist turned Writer who draws inspiration from various sources and tries to pen them down to create awareness within her and the society.<br />
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Published a novel in 2013, which peeps into every one's daily life named, "Choices"<br />
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Her children's book came out in 2014, The adventures of Alex and Angelo for which she got thumbs up from Kirkus Reviews.<br />
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One of her story got included in a published anthology, The Turning point of Life, in 2014<br />
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The Lonely Wish Giver, a novel that includes work of ~299 writers from 27 countries. We all got together to write a group novel for NaNoWriMo.<br />
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Frozen by Fire, a novel written by ~ 499 writers from 54 countries.<br />
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Another fiction novel coming up this year.<br />
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A Reiki Master in her spare time where she passes out information about channeling universal energy and conducts sessions.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Stalk her @</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://abracabadra.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/abracabadra01" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ruchira.khanna.3" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-66-choices.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 67 </a></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Now for the Rafflecopter: Gather as many points as you want to. The more points you get, the more you have a chance to win it all. Show your love for books.. Tweet, Like and Spread the Word... Thank you for being a Reader... You keep the Authors motivated... This is our way of saying a Thank you :) </b></span></div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791764762248949455.post-10752418386283483732015-09-01T14:55:00.003+05:302015-09-01T14:55:43.710+05:30Tornado Giveaway 2: Book No. 65: HIS FATHER'S MISTRESS by Ritu Lalit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-64-worst.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 64</a></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--djRttb_t-o/VeU0qNReY8I/AAAAAAAAF3A/pRpQa5WZCK4/s1600/3d-Ritu%2Blalit%2Bhis%2Bfather%2527s%2Bmistress.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--djRttb_t-o/VeU0qNReY8I/AAAAAAAAF3A/pRpQa5WZCK4/s400/3d-Ritu%2Blalit%2Bhis%2Bfather%2527s%2Bmistress.png" width="256" /></a><br />
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Name of the Book: HIS FATHER'S MISTRESS<br />
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Author: Ritu Lalit<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Story:</b></span><br />
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Sumit is the heir to a huge inheritance, but has been in disgrace since his youth when he had a torrid affair with an entirely unsuitable woman. When his father dies, he inherits not only the wealth, but also the hostility of his family members and his father's enemies.</div>
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When he suffers many life threatening attempts on his life he realises that his father's death was not an accident either.</div>
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Intrigues and counter intrigues of the plot are finely interwoven with suspense and speed. Read to find out how he catches his father's killers to save his own life and empire.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">You can also buy @</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.in/His-Fathers-Mistress-Ritu-Lalit/dp/938253637X" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpwHSSz7uV7uVciIUeF0pt9gEhqQfvM1rpF6eJHl7zZSdUZvdZdUeZIZ0hxmW-_YsxnHiEnNfTwCY5c6vvokUD4HVYfXMtFsiXW-U68Sw11R1V4GVLSAq3L9yqwvh5rFmd_ia8wYmAcyp/s200/hisfathersmistress.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>About The Author </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ritu Lalit </b></span></div>
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Ritu Lalit is a corporate slave turned fiction writer. A voracious reader, she is a gold medalist post graduate in English Literature who spent most of her childhood in remote areas in the northeastern parts of India, lying on grassy hillsides daydreaming and reading books.<br />
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She loves spinning tales, but no longer has her captive audience as her children grew up and flew away from the coop. Her three dogs don’t pay much attention. She began writing in the vain hope that the characters she creates will listen to her, even do her bidding.<br />
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She has five books out in the market, A Bowlful of Butterflies, HILAWI, Chakra, Chronicles of the Witch Way and Wrong, for the Right Reasons. Her fifth novel, His Father’s Mistress is coming soon.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Stalk her @</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.ritulalit.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Phoenixr2" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RituLalitFanPage" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://thetornadogiveaway.blogspot.com/2015/08/tornado-giveaway-2-book-no-66-choices.html" target="_blank">Go to Book No. 66 </a></b></span></div>
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Prasanna Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14037973005941719840noreply@blogger.com0