The Paperback Badshah by Abhay Nagarajan

When you read, “The comical Journey”, you expect humor and objects to laugh, I was expecting moments of fun. The book did have some fun elements however not as much as I expected or anyone else would expect after reading the tagline on the book. Not talking in general, it didn’t work out very well for me as a reader. It may work for some, not making a generic comment here!

It was not a boring read; I was entertained at some parts. The book can be read to kill some leisure time.

A guy who is sick and tired of his job, he is from an upper middle class family and can afford to take a break to write his manuscript. The book written was “The Paperback Badshah”. People made fun of him, his friends laughed when they came to know that he is writing a love story as he had never been in love. And it finally happened!

One think I don’t like with some of the books is about authors mixing language, with this book I found usage of a lot of Hindi words. Either you write in Hindi or English or some other language, why to mix and make a mixed language soup which not everyone is able to digest?

I think the publisher was well aware in advance about the quality of content in this book and that is why they didn't invest much in designing the cover or in giving a better quality print.

I don’t want to be too harsh here however being a reviewer I have to be! The book was not a humor book for me as most of the jokes failed to make me laugh. Now days publishing business is getting a professional structure however with this book I don’t know why Shrishti wanted to take a chance. I don’t know if this is what the author can write as I have not read any of his other books however what went wrong with this book is beyond what I can think of. If it was just a marketing strategy, it failed!

The book lost track at so many places and lacked proper editing. To be honest, I kept the book down so many times and always picked it again with a hope of getting something in coming pages, disappointed.

I repeat it was not a boring read; I was entertained at some parts. The book can be read to kill some leisure time. And to add, to kill leisure time only!

Complete/Convenient by Ketan Bhagat

A famous writer’s younger sibling getting into the same profession, ‘nothing to be shocked about’, was my first expression. The famous author getting published by Rupa and the sibling from Shrisht …. I better stop here and speak about the book! (Is it not natural to think this way? It will happen for sure as people will compare in their sub conscious mind at least)

I read the book and I went slowly, I was delighted to see that Ketan did a good job indeed. The book has a plot, characters and narrative is also satisfying. Writing style is also good however lacked innovation, there are emotions, family drama, description etc. but still it went good. At times, going overboard with emotions grabs your head and you started to feel that the spice of emotional flavours are added considering Indian readers.

People might be entertained but at certain points I clear felt it was too much. Too much detailing at places and I think editors of the books were overruled with this aspect at least.

The title of the book didn't quite match with the story. The quality of the print was very nice however design of the cover is not attractive.

I liked the simple writing style; it is easy to connect with the plot. The story is good and looked like an autobiography however flows like a typical Karan Johar movie.

Author indeed left an impression and it will a good read for people who like emotions in detail. 

English Bites! by Manish Gupta

This book is not a novel and it was very clear when I held the complementary copy of the book in my hands for the first time.

This book is about Manish’s journey in mastering the English language. Readers should not take this book something to replace the requirement of the basics of English knowledge; you need to have Basic English knowledge to understand and making use of the tips shared in the book. I think it is the first book written where someone has shared his journey of understanding and mastering a language.

I don’t know how easy it was for the author to sell this idea to the publisher as looking at the way publishing industry is going, most of them are manipulated and governed by some of the so called editors who run the show with some agents. Whatever the case is, I am glad this book is published. It is worth a read!

The book is filled with details and appealing flow about topics and narrations and all are about improving the vocabulary. This is a very effective and non-traditional way to learn the language. Initially I found it boring and wasn't able to understand to what is happening but soon I started realizing that this book is written differently for people like me who can try to master the language and can also realize at the same time – there is more to learn every day.

The book covers topics, words and also tips/tricks to help us understand the words and their meanings. Go slow, is the mantra to read this book which I soon realized and with that started enjoying the read. The details given in the book are mind boggling and will help anyone for sure who are willing to give a conscious effort to improve their skills and get better in the language. What I really liked about the book is the way it progresses; the transition is smooth and makes it a pleasure to read this book.

The cover page of the book gives an insight of the book and it grabs immediate attention.

I would like to congratulate and thank the author for writing this book, an honest effort! 

When Strangers Meet by K Hari Kumar

Interesting title, nice cover, good quality print and a gripping synopsis – this is enough for a reader to pick up the books from the shelf. It feels good to hold the book, credit goes to the publisher!

This book is another example of a quick read. I liked the narration of the book; it’s simple yet grips the reader and leaves an impression. I was expecting to find sections in the story line and I was right! Although overall the book sails smooth however at some places I felt the story was dragged, was it really required or writer was trying to increase some pages to his novel? Anyways, I liked the way the story ended, a bit of surprise and shocking. I liked it!

The writing is simple and the book is easy to read especially for the people who want to read some English fiction with not a difficult to understand narration.

The publisher is known to throw books at reasonable rates and this book is no exception.

Editing is not at par, I was a bit disappointed. I do not want to spoil the review with pointing errors here 

however there was a lot of scope to remove some of the evident errors in the book.

The climax of the story is not very new, but is good and narrated well. The book could have been a much better read with more work on the language.

The author was successful to leave an impression. 

Taken Already by Yaagneshwaran G

The title is not original and unique; there was a book by the same title written by Love N. Lee. Authors should give a second thought and work on finding a title that makes their work unique, a lot of people are dependent on search engines to find details of anything and everything; books are no exception.

I am reading this author for the second time, his first book “The group of fools” didn't strike any chord in me and I was looking forward to read this book as I really wanted to see if the writer evolved or not. I was taken aback when I saw that the book is published under a self publishing unit…..But, I was wrong. My assumptions were stumped when I started reading the book.

I liked the fact that this book is a quick read, just 130 pages and you are through with a story with some twists and interesting turns.

The character of Sam Chacko is the most interesting while the climax is been ended with a hope that there can be a sequel following to this book, I will not be shocked and to be honest, I will be waiting.

Talking about the language and the editing part of the book, Author is improving! I read his first book and I was switched off as the book had so many errors however with this book, if I have to compare with his debut book, this is far better as a final product. Though the language is still not very crisp which is really required. The narration of the story is simple, if it was to be complicated, there would have been some added pages in the book.

The cover page is nice and attractive, the quality of the print is above average and it can do average business however the availability of the book can be a challenge. I have no idea if the publisher is doing something to market the book or not however as per my experience self publication units cannot give a structured marketing to any book for which they are charging to publish in advance; it makes no business craving for them to spend some extra thousand bucks.

I liked the book and I wish the author good luck for his future ventures. 

The Secrets of the Dark by Arka Chakrabarti

The title of the book is not selected intelligently. There is a popular game by this title as well and search engines will not give fruitful results for this book if the name of the Author or the Publisher is not added to the search text.

Story line of the game is - Your friend is a journalist who is staying in a seemingly quiet desert town. After getting involved with a story involving the dark forces, he is kidnapped by three dark priests! Now they are getting ready to sacrifice him to provide the Demon of Darkness with limitless power, and it’s up to you to stop them! Save your friend in Secrets of the Dark: Temple of Night, a challenging Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game! 

I will not be surprised if the readers will try to find a relation of story with the game. “Game of Thorns” hooks close to the story line. It puts a question mark on the originality of the story line.

The cover page of the novel did not grip my attention as it did not compliment the story completely. It doesn't give a reason of a reader who is surfing for books in a book store, looking for an interesting read.

The page and print quality is class and the publisher deserves an appreciation for that.

The story starts very grippingly and the author was successful in leaving an impression. The book is an interesting read and keeps the reader hooked till the end; however end is yet to come! A lot of mystic turns and twists kept me entertained. I would be waiting to read the next book.

Editing is a concern with this book and there was a lot ignored.

This book is recommended as a good read for fantasy lovers and I am glad to see Indian Authors writing something else over love stories.

Event story of Vikrant Shukla at Amdavad National Book Fair 2013

Amdavad National Book Fair was held from 01^st till 07^th May 2013 at Gujarat University Convention Hall Drive-in Road, University Area, Amdavad.

One of the main attractions of the Book Fair was the “Author’s Interaction + Book Reading + Book Signing Session” with Vikrant Shukla. It was awaited by a number of people and as expected it was an action packed event. The Author came casually dressed, people meeting him for the first time were astonished to see a young writer. Dressed up in blue jeans, blue t-shirt, the author came with a casual look and that was complimented with his humorous approach. His Down to Earth personality won many hearts in no time.

Welcome speech was given by Parul Bhadoria, the Strategy Head of Mehta Publishing House. She looked gorgeous in a green sari, a typical Indian attire. Later, Vikrant came on the stage & grabbed the attention of the audience and started sharing the synopsis of his books, Call Centre An Inside Story & The Wrong Chase. As expected, the audience was mesmerized. 

One of them asked, “How is your book different from Chetan Bhagat’s One night a @ call centre?”  The response given was, “We should not compare these two books even though they are based on the common theme i.e. Call Centre. I have read Mr. Bhagat’s novel and I liked it, however I felt there were some realistic things missing. The call centres are not so easy to work at, life at a call centre is not a happy ride all the time, people can’t go out to have party and booze while they are on the shift. I have worked in the call centre industry for the past eight years and therefore wanted to present a realistic story. Mehta Publishing House showed their trust in me and the main appreciation came when you liked the book. The core difference between two books is that the latter is coming from the horse’s mouth”, this response was followed with a big round of applause.

The second phase of his session was about answering the questions asked by the audience. Gayatri Lodha, a 13 year old young writer (Author of Gayatri’s Math Tricks) asked, “What inspired you to write?” and the response given was, “It was due to my loneliness. I was never a party animal, I had nothing special to do over the weekends and I wanted to do something creative and I ended up penning up my thoughts on my laptop”, said Vikrant with a smile on his face.

Post the interaction with the audience, the team of Mehta Publishing House came back to their stall which was one of the most attractive stalls at the book fair. Vikrant met with a number of readers and signed copies of his books for them and his positive gestures and interaction was highly appreciated by everyone. His fans were happy and Vikrant met everyone who were waiting anxiously for his visit to their city. 

Something strange happened, when a young man approached Vikrant and asked, “Are you Vikrant? Do you remember that your interview was published on our website?” “Which Website, can you please help me recollect?” responded Vikrant. “Spectralhues”, replied that young man. “Oh, I remember…..” and the communication commenced. The young man whose name was Prashant Gandhi proposed Vikrant to be published on the front page of their monthly magazine “Moments”, Vikrant accepted the proposal.

One of the main attractions of the event were the imprinted mugs where a famous dialogue from Vikrant’s novel was mentioned with the logo of Mehta Publishing House, complemented with a smiling picture of Vikrant Shukla. It was gifted to people who visited the stall and to the winners of the interactive games held at the stall. Mugs were also given to people who bought books in bulk from the stall.

Mayor of Amdavad City, Mrs. Meenaxiben Patel visited the stall and had a candid discussion with the author. She was thrilled to see a young author doing so well in writing and was curious to know about his published and forthcoming books.

Overall the event was a super success.

The Team who made it possible for the Author Vikrant Shukla to meet his Gujarati fans were - 
Parul Bhadoria, Amol Joshi, Sagar and the team (Mehta Publishing House)

Vikrant explaining the synopsis of his books

Book Signing 

Arrival at the stall of Mehta Publishing House

Interaction with the audience

Interaction with the audience continued....

Vikrant talking about his forthcoming books

Answering the question asked by Gayatri Lodha (Author)

Interacting with the Mayor of Amdavad, Mrs. Meenaxiben Patel

Interacting with the Mayor of Amdavad, Mrs. Meenaxiben Patel

A picture clicked with Prashant Gandhi 

Team behind the scene, Left to Right  - Parul Bhadoria (2nd), Vikrant (3rd), Sagar (4th), Amol Joshi (5th)

Goodies on display at the stall

Best Sellers of Vikrant Shukla at the stall of Mehta Publishing House

** Photo Courtesy - Mehta Publishing House

The Homing Pigeons by Sid Bahri

Reading novels from the debut authors is always exciting however most of the times it becomes a nightmare to finish; I think you understand what I mean to say here. Most of the debut authors now write out of desperation to get published and after failing to get the book approved by some publisher they opt to self publish and pay for that, results are disaster for the authors and readers as well.  

This novel changed the perception!

To start with, the cover page and quality of the book is international standards. I was impressed, it is very important for any reader to feel good, carrying the book with them. Full score should be given for the designer of the cover and publisher for giving a quality print and pages.

Reading the blurb at the back side of the book gives a glimpse of this book to be a love story however it is not just a love story. Reading the first chapter set the mood when one of the characters was laid off his job and was sitting in the bar. It is a perfect kick start for the story. The character, Aditya, lost his job due to recession and is sitting at the bar with last of his money. He met a lady, Radhika and his life changes drastically after that meeting.

Story line is good however I found that the story was not moving straight, the author chose to move the story more in a zig-zag approach.

I liked the way the story is narrated, author definitely maintained the grip on the story line and as a reader I enjoyed reading the work. The author managed to mark his presence. Characters were defined well and the plot of the story was also managed well which keeps on swinging from past to present.

I was not fully satisfied with the editing work, at some parts the short sentences becomes evident. At times, it is very important to manage a flow in delivery; short sentences gave it a break at times.  

A good read. I would like to congratulate the Author and the Publisher for giving a decent read after a long time. 

Looking forward to read more from them........

The Inferno by Kanishk Banka

Holding the book in hand is not a feel good factor. Publisher didn’t bother to give any justice to the look and feel of the book. Cover design doesn’t speak anything and fail to grab attention. It looks like a self sponsored book where publishers are least interested in investing in cover design and good quality of papers etc.

Reading the synopsis mentioned on the back cover could have been illustrated better. It is more of introduction of the characters and doesn't really create any zest.  

The book talks about a serious issue – Jihad. I liked the author’s guts to start his writing journey with a sensitive topic. Was it a card played to get sure success or was it done with some other intentions?

Any book talking about Jihad can’t be covering a lot in 166 pages (including title page, dedication page etc.) – A thought of anyone who picks up a book with getting some insights of something.

I will not refrain to appreciate the author for collecting a lot of information and knowledge about this topic. At certain places, the book really talks what it is about. The author managed to maintain a good tone. As the story is narrated, it also talks about 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, story hovers around a lot. If I could sense it right, author wanted to speak about the lot of things, if that was the case, why he didn't think of increasing the word count to give justice to the book?

The book is priced at Rs. 150 which is not complimented with the quality provided by the publisher. The author and the publisher should consider reprinting the book with a better cover design and quality of paper, with this quality I really doubt if the author will get noticed in the market.

The author proved with his work that his writing and thinking style is different and we can expect to read better novels in the future.

This book will attract only the readers interested in reading political controversies and riots. The story line is not mass appealing.

Overall I liked the book and if it was not for the poor quality of cover design and paper quality, the book could have picked up the market. With what I have in hand, it will not give anything to the author at least.