Just Another Bookaholic: April 2019

Saturday, 27 April 2019

#Spotlight ; Beyond Scars by Alka Dimri Saklani

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Beyond Scars
by
Alka Dimri Saklani

BLURB

Hi, I am Avinash, but this is not my story. This is the story of Avni, my sister. I know the smell of cement and bricks still pulls her to the incident seven years ago where she made a daring yet ruthless decision. I know she is drifting away. I know she has begun to find comfort in Vivaan. But I don’t know if I like it.

Hi, I am Avni, but this is not my story. This is the story of Vivaan, the stunning, vivacious painter. There is something sad about the paintings he has locked away from the world in his storeroom. But he never talks about it. But then there are a lot of things he doesn’t talks about, like how deeply he loves me.

And what about Dev and Kangana? Isn’t this their story too? It wouldn’t have been if only we did one single thing differently on that ill-fated night, the night that changed the course of our destiny. And hey, I am Vivaan.

And what about me? Why does nobody talk about me? Or talk to me? Because I am a little girl or because…Well, this is my story too. You will ask who I am? The answer lies somewhere in the pages of BEYOND SCARS.

Grab your copy @

Amazon.com | Amazon.in

About the author

"Alka Dimri Saklani writes contemporary fiction. Her books are labeled as ‘intense’ by most of her readers. Her debut novel ""45 Days in a Cancer Hospital"" was longlisted for Crossword Books Award 2013. Writing is her first love, the love that seized her when she was just 8.

She holds MBA degree in HR and worked with a leading MNC before turning to a full-time writer.

Born and brought up in Vadodara, a city in Gujarat, her roots hail from “Dev Bhumi” Uttarakhand. Apart from writing, she loves music, reading, traveling, and spending time with her two naughty kids.

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Saturday, 20 April 2019

#BookReview ; Jahangir by Parvati Sharma

Jahangir was the fourth of the six Great Mughals - great grandson of Babur and grandfather of Aurangzeb - and the least known among them. His father, Akbar, transformed the Mughal kingdom into an empire, and his reign is often considered an epoch in itself. Jahangir's son Shahjahan built the tomb that Tagore famously described as a 'teardrop on the cheek of time', and was sometimes upheld as Akbar's true heir. Jahangir, on the other hand, has the reputation of a weak man, at best: an alcoholic with an eye for art and greed for pleasure, controlled by a powerful wife. But far from being a disinterested prince and insignificant ruler, Jahangir showed tremendous ambition and strength throughout his life. When his succession was threatened, Jahangir set up a rebel court in the face of the mighty Akbar himself. While he made no conquests to match his father's, Jahangir was the first Mughal to win the allegiance of the fearsome Ranas of Mewar. And, for all his reputed frivolity, Jahangir was the emperor who won his dynasty its glorious association with things of beauty and splendour - and who wrote one of the most perceptive and entertaining imperial memoirs of all time. The man who is most often defined by his relationships is here presented holistically as a canny ruler and conscientious administrator, an astute observer of human society and a connoisseur with wide-ranging interests. In this marvellous work of popular history, Parvati Sharma tells a compelling story of one of the most fascinating and undervalued rulers of India.

Jahangir is a non-fiction historical novel written by Parvati Sharma. Parvati Sharma's debut, The Dead Camel and Other Stories of Love, earned her a cult following for its depictions of love and sexuality in urban India. Her novella, Close to Home, was acclaimed as 'tender, acute and pulsing with real Indian life'. She has also written a book for children, The Story of Babur. Sharma has worked as a travel writer, editor and journalist.

The Mughal period has been taught since a long time but the focus has been mostly on Akbar, Babar or even Shahjahan but Jahangir is probably the most ignored Mughal ruler. This book explores the life of the ruler who ruled India for a span of 22 years, his interests like that of writing or in art & the state of affairs he dealt with. We also come to know about an interesting person from his life, his wife Nur Jahan & how she used her wit to influence the ruler to take some decisions as per her will. Do get this book here,

Non-fiction historical novels are a bit tricky to write about since there is a huge chance that it might get boring or lose its pace but as I started to read this book, I can assure you that you won’t face this problem atleast. The book is divided into 7 chapters starting with his accession to the throne to the rest of his life. As we read further, we get to know about the kind of ruler he was & what kind of legacy he left, this gives us an insider view than that of what we just hear. Another fascinating thing to read about was the kind of amicable relationship he had with his wife Nur Jahan. All these stories will keep you engrossed with this book till the end. The language used is extremely simple & the cover is simply beautiful. Surely a must read.

Wednesday, 17 April 2019

#BookReview ; The Moving Shadow by Arunava Sinha

Disappearing corpses. Scientists who are spies.

Maniacal murderers. Brooding, remorseless detectives. Love triangles and murders. A robot that falls in love. Secrets of the dead and the departed. Sex, romance and betrayal. All these and more are to be found in these eight novellas and stories featuring spies, criminals, ghosts, black-magic practitioners and, of course, femmes fatales. These are the finest examples of a long tradition of pulp fiction that has always lurked in dark corners within the hallowed precincts of Bengali literature.

Written by brilliant mainstream as well as pulp fiction writers from India and Bangladesh, including Premendra Mitra, Satyajit Ray, Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, Gobindolal Bandyopadhyay and the redoubtable Swapan Kumar, the stories in The Moving Shadow: Electrifying Bengali Pulp Fiction give the reader a dazzling introduction to noir from the land of the bhodrolok.

The Moving Shadow is collection of stories written by a range of extraordinary Bengali writers from India as well as Bangladesh, it has been translated into English by Arunava Sinha. Arunava Sinha translates classic, modern and contemporary Bengali fiction and nonfiction into English. Besides India, his translations have been published in the UK and the US in English and in several European and Asian countries through further translation.

As the tagline of the book says, “Electrifying Bengali Pulp Fiction” this book consists of verity of stories which will keep you hooked till you finish them. Stories covered in the crime genre make a thrilling aura as you read them, several mysteries are interlocked & as you think you have figured them all out, there’s a twist that will knock your socks off. The stories in horror genre will indeed scare you but at the same time intrigue you to the core. Get the book here,

I haven’t read any Bengali pulp fiction before & there couldn’t have been a better introduction to this world. The stories are selected with great care as they’re so engaging that they will not let you leave the book alone until you have finished all of it. The translation is brilliant as usual, the cover is beautiful & the title is apt. Dive into this book & I can promise you won’t regret it.

Monday, 8 April 2019

#BookBlitz ; Scepters of Empyrea by Vignesh Ravichandran

~Book Blitz~

Scepters of Empyrea

A Journey to the Andromeda Galaxy

by Vignesh Ravichandran

About the Book:

Empyrea, an island in the Andromeda galaxy belonging to planet Vathura is serene. Everywhere your eyes turn, you will feast on the lovely birds singing their heart out in the lush green vegetation. Osiris Mysterio ruled the regions of Empyrea with his brother Tyrant Seth and with their children Pitheceus Babi, Kraity Wadjet, and Horus Mysterio.

5000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians were the only humans to receive the invitation to enter Empyrea. They gladly on-boarded into a Pegasus chariot and took their journey to Empyrea. Their journey is indescribable. Empyrea by itself was like a fairy-tale garden, an ocean of flowers and exotic trees.

As the Egyptians went further inside Empyrea, they saw its netherworld. They had mixed feelings when they saw the triangle shaped tombs and the bizarre headhunting people. Empyrea also had the blood-curdling creatures like the deadly dinosaurs, gigantic snakes, furious apes, ruthless rhino’s, massive mastodons and many other creepy creatures. This showed the power of the Empyrean Army and that no other army could survive their wrath.

The Emperor Osiris and the kings ruled Empyrea with powerful Scepters. With those powers, they were not only considered as kings but also worshipped as Lords. The Lords with the help of their scepter had the crucial power to transform themselves into giant creatures.

Egyptians while departing from Empyrea was gifted with a shortcut portal to earth and also with some people and creatures of Empyrea to build the Empramids in Egypt. Overwhelmed with happiness they took the shortcut door and returned to Egypt.

However, the happiness was short-lived in Empyrea. The Empire of Empyrea was betrayed for ruling earth avariciously. Somehow the Emperor of Empyrea locked the shortcut portal and asked the Egyptians to safeguard it. The Egyptians, on the other hand, failed to safeguard the portal. And some gangsters accidentally opened the shortcut door in 2017 A.D, entered Empyrea, and inadvertently got access to the Lord scepters.

So, now the Earthians were left with no choice but to battle against the merciless predators and headhunting people in their heroic journey. Their ultimate fate lied in an empire beyond imagination. They would take their stand against the powerful lords, who brutally led their people to war against planet Earth.

Did the gangsters protect the earth from danger, or left the other world to accomplish their tyrant rule on Earth? Explore the world of Empyrea to unravel the truth behind this mystery.

Book Links:

Goodreads * Amazon

Book Trailer:

Meet Ekmali:

Ekmali with harder effects climbed the edge and ran all over the terrace for finding kalishka, but she couldn't see any foot prints of it.

At last, she saw a blood filled mammoth tusk with a shell ornament on it. She picks it and closes her eyes, and a lovely visual comes into her mind, a naughty little girl playing alongside in the seashore and picking the shells from the sand, sudden water showers on her, but it's not the rain, it came from the trunk of a kid mammoth with lush brown colored hair. The girl ran towards the kid mammoth and tying the shell ornament.

Ekmali opened her eyes, and the tears automatically poured out of her eyes, she noticed kalishka's bones rolling down on the floor with its blood. She wiped the tears from her face, took the shell ornament and wore it like a bracelet and lifted the tusks of the mammoth, tied at her two hands from her elbow.

The sharp tusks are scratching down in the ground and leaving fire sparks in her fierce footsteps. She was ready to take on the foe army with the extra long tusks of her kid, she lunged like a saber and nailed the sharp tusks into the bodies of Dinomens and quetzals in a humongous force. .

About the Author:

Vignesh Ravichandran is the author of the book Scepters Of Empyrea: A Journey to the Andromeda Galaxy. He did his Masters in Business Administration from a leading Business School and presently working as a Human Resource professional in a leading software organization in Chennai. He wrote this debut novel with the story line which he experienced in his nightmare 7 years ago.

Contact the Author:

Website * Facebook * Instagram * Goodreads