The Bestseller She Wrote – Ravi Subramanian – Book Review

Goodreads blurb: He was a bestseller… She wanted him to make her one.

Paperback king, Aditya Kapoor’s life is straight out of a modern man’s fantasy. His literary stardom is perfectly balanced by a loving wife and a spectacular career. With everything he touches turning to gold, Aditya is on a winning streak.

Shreya Kaushik is a student with a heart full of ambition. Young, beautiful, and reckless, Shreya speaks her mind and obsessively chases after what she wants. And what she wants is to be a bestselling author.

What happens when their worlds collide? Is it possible to love two people at the same time? Can real ambition come in the way of blind passion? Can trust once broken, be regained?

Master storyteller Ravi Subramanian, delves into the glitzy world of bestsellers and uncovers a risky dalliance between a superstar novelist and his alluring protégé.

The Bestseller She Wrote is a combustible cocktail of love, betrayal and redemption.

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Despite the fact that I am a fan of Ravi Subramanian’s work I did not pick up a copy of his latest book, The Bestseller she wrote primarily because of the genre that it was slotted into, the romantic novel genre. But then some reviews and then a gentle nudge from Blogadda.com meant that a review copy of this book landed on my desk and I had no option but to read and review it. And to belie all my expectations from it, this book is the author at his best, albeit in a genre that is completely new to him, the romantic thriller genre.

As the blurb states, Aditya Kapoor is a bestselling author who has everything going well for him. His books are bestsellers, he has an enviable career in banking, he is happily married and he has the proverbial Midas touch. However, all of this changes when he comes in contact with outspoken, ambitious Shreya Kaushik whose primary ambition in life is to become a bestselling author herself.

Shreya’s entry into Aditya’s life opens up a Medusa’s Box full of surprises and unanticipated twists and turns. What begins as an attempt at harmless flirting on both their parts soon leads down a path of no return for both of them. Pretty soon Aditya finds himself in quite a soup, both professionally and personally. His protégé Shreya soon ends up becoming more than just that and at the same time he has more than a little love left for his wife of fifteen years Maya as well. Where this path leads Aditya, Shreya and Maya down is what forms the crux of this novel.

As is the norm with all his books the author paces this narrative as well wonderfully well and it is quite unputdownable. Anything less from Ravi Subramanian would have been unacceptable. And true to his form, the pages of this book also pretty much turn themselves.

One part of the book that I found particularly interesting though is the attention that the author has paid to the one friend who has always had to live in his illustrious friend’s shadows. Like the moon which has always had to rely on the sun’s brilliance and luster for its own light and beauty, this book too has a similar character. I have always been somewhat interested in these personalities, the Robin to the Batman, the Kato to the Green Hornet, the Alfred to the Bruce Wayne, the Hanuman to the Rama, the Balarama to the Krishna, and so on. Without giving away any spoilers here, I would encourage prospective readers of this book to pay attention to a similar character in this book as well.

The ending itself is quite a cracker, and it is here that Ravi Subramanian truly outshines himself in this book. How he manages to bring proceedings to a logical closure without giving away any slack speaks volumes for how well he has mastered the craft of penning a thriller novel.

In a nutshell, do read this book if you are already a fan of Ravi Subramanian or of the romantic thriller genre.

Click here to purchase the book from Flipkart [Link] or Amazon [Link].

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I am reviewing The Bestseller She Wrote by Ravi Subramanian as part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

The Deadly Duo

Picture this situation; you are reaching the end of the financial quarter and this has been a terrible quarter, both for your company and your client as well. The sheer volume of financial transactions has been mind-boggling and the ongoing economic recession means that your company cannot hire additional resources to handle the increased load. You and your teammates are pulling in all-nighters as well as working through most morning hours as well, and yet the load simply refuses to come down. The only times you can relax a little and forget about work is when you folks go to the company cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee and some snacks as a team. It is only in the lobby of the cafeteria that all boundaries of hierarchy, age, gender and class are broken down and your true spirit of camaraderie comes out to the fore.

Now, while the company management realizes that while monetary compensation is probably the best reward that they can offer the team for all the hard efforts they are putting in during the quarter, there is only so much happiness that money can buy. Your bosses really want to do something special for you folks. They literally want to re-energize the team and charge them up so that it can take on the additional work-load with renewed vigor. What would you suggest?

Well, why think any further than the ‘deadly duo’ of music and dance? After all, there is hardly anybody who doesn’t respond positively to foot-tapping music and mind-blowing dance performances. It is a universally known truth that the right genre of music is probably one of the most effective therapies for all of us to take our mind of tensions, worries and live in the moment and enjoy life to the fullest. It also goes without saying that when we hear awesome music, if we see an equally mind-blowing dance performance, then our bodies and minds will be doubly re-energized.

And when you think of this ‘deadly duo’ of dance and music, why would you want to look any further than the ‘deadly duo’ of Anushka Manchanda for the music and Allu Arjun for the dance performance. After all, they have more than half the country’s youngsters rocking and re-energized with their bubbly, chirpy and overall energetic personalities.

Picture this, your bosses arrange for a secret impromptu concert of this duo without publicizing it within the company at all. You and your team head out to the cafeteria for your much needed break, and you find the cafeteria engulfed in darkness when you step out of the elevators. And then suddenly the music starts, foot-tapping music, and gradually when the lights come on, you see Anushka behind the turntables at a makeshift DJ counter. By the time this fact registers and you begin enjoying her groovy beats, Allu Arjun makes his way on to the stage by literally tearing through the back of the specially made prop for his foot-tapping, mind-blowing performance.

Just imagine this, the combination of music and dance, of Anushka and Allu Arjun, of good food, good music and good times. Do you think you and your team could get any better re-energizers? I don’t think so.

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I am blogging for #MaxFreshMove activity at BlogAdda.com. Are you?

The Amazing Racist – Chhimi Tenduf-La – Book Review

Goodreads blurb: Eddie Trusted, an English school teacher in Colombo, wants to spend his life with Menaka Rupasinghe, a vibrant Sri Lankan beauty, but as with all matters of the heart, there’s an obstacle. If Eddie wants to wed Menaka, it is Thilak Rupasinghe, her orthodox terror of a father, whom he must woo and whose farts he must kiss – Thilak wants his daughter to marry someone of the same race, religion and caste, and if possible from the same locality.

In a desperate bid to make his dream a reality, Eddie tries to connect with Thilak in other ways – eating curries that make him bleed spice and breathe fire, driving drunk through red lights, threatening co-workers with violence, and sleeping with snakes. But will Eddie ever be good enough for a man who hates the color of his skin?

Sparkling with wit and featuring an endearing cast of characters, The Amazing Racist is the story of a man who finds a home among strangers, of a father-in-law whose bark is worse than his bite, and of bonds that grow to be stronger than family ties.

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There are more than a few things which tear me up, and until today, books were not on that list. But that last line of The Amazing Racist by Chhimi Tenduf-La opened up the tear glands, albeit just for a few seconds.

This lovely simple well written book does not have a complicated plot and has characters which all readers can easily relate to. I am more than sure that all readers of this book can relate to some or the other aspect of these characters to some traits and behaviors in themselves. And the story itself, to be honest, is quite clichéd. However, despite all these so called ‘flaws’, what makes this a must-read book is the fact that the author has written it from his heart. The plot itself, the situations, how the author deals with the myriad emotions of Eddie Trusted through the five odd years of his stay in Sri Lanka which form the crux of this book; these are the reasons to read this book.

The author very subtly tugs at readers’ heartstrings and appeals to their emotions using fatherhood and parenting as his hooks. I don’t read too many books in the ‘family drama’ genre, but this one and Em and The Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto [Link to my review] have dealt with the concept of parenting, parents and caregiving in a manner which I possibly cannot even imagine of. While we all hear stories of people literally giving up their own lives to be caregivers to their parents and loved ones, using that as the backdrop of an entire novel is something that this book and the one by Jerry Pinto take to an entirely new level.

Thilak Rupasinghe is your regular well to do Sri Lankan businessman who hates anything remotely colonial and it therefore doesn’t help that his daughter Menaka brings home a white boyfriend, Eddie Trusted and promptly announces that she intends to marry him. The first third of the book deals with how Thilak tries his best to drive Eddie out of his daughter’s life and in some cases, out of the country itself. This portion of the book nicely sets up for the events that happen in the second and final thirds of the book. I am not giving any more spoilers here as the paragraphs preceding this have already told enough about what this book is about.

Suffice to say that all parents and caregivers should read this book at least once, if not for anything else, at least for the fact that they would be able to appreciate the emotions that Eddie Trusted goes through in the last few pages of the book.

Click here to purchase the book from Flipkart [Link] or Amazon [Link].

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This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

A review copy of this book was provided to me as part of the Book Review Program from Blogadda. However, the review itself is completely unbiased and the views presented are my own.

My Black Wishlist

I have always been impressed with how James Bond has been portrayed on screen, more so in movies that were made before Pierce Brosnan played the eponymous character on screen. I mean, who can forget Sean Connery and Roger Moore playing the playboy spy in all those movies. In that vein, here goes my list of things which are in my “Black wishlist”

Black Bentley

Just imagine getting out of a Black chauffeur driven Bentley at a party and stepping on to the red carpet with all the papparazzi vying for your attention. The Bentley Continental GT-3 R while having the looks and features of a sports car retains all the elegance and classiness of the Bentley brand. No other car would suit someone of my caliber, more so when I have to make an appearance at a social do like the ones James Bond does.

Black Armani tuxedo

While it is a well known fact that Giorgio Armani has been designing clothes for over four decades now, not too many people know that he custom designs clothes only for his special friends and customers. His exclusives are designs that fashion legends and folklore are made of. Nothing less than a custom designed Armani tuxedo, in jet black would do as my official party ensemble.

Black Gucci sunglasses

With the paparazzi going crazy clicking each and every moment of mine from the time I get off my car, walk the red carpet and enter the venue of the party, it is imperative that my eyes, my precious eyes are not affected by the innumerable flashes of their cameras. This therefore makes my black pair of Gucci sunglasses a faithful companion to protect them. After all, a little style never hurt anybody, did it.

Black Florsheim shoes

The first part of your anatomy that people notice when you are getting out of a classy car are your legs, your shoes. It therefore goes without saying that nothing but the best of shoes make that all important first impression. And why should I look any further than my trusted pair of black Florsheim shoes. After all, a company which has been in the business of designing and manufacturing shoes for the most stylish men in the world since 1892 cannot go wrong, can they.

Black Citizen Eco-Drive Stiletto watch

When one waves to all the gathered photographers and doting fans who are lined up outside the party venue to have a glimpse of their favorite celebrity, it is quite obvious that one wears a watch that reflects the class, elegance and stylishness of one’s personality. The Citizen Eco-Drive Stiletto conveys your personal sense of style like no other watch does. And the fact that it is all in jet black just adds that extra zing to its elegance, doesn’t it.

This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at BlogAdda.com

Securing her future

As soon as the initial euphoria of having a child wears out, one of the first things that hits all new parents nowadays is the fact that going forward a steady stream of expenditure has to be taken care of. Starting with settling the medical bills of the maternity home where the child was born, and moving on to the insanely expensive initial vaccination shots, each and every thing involving the new born child is expensive nowadays and even the most well off middle class family will have to surely start planning its finances. And that requires more than just a bit of financial discipline.

As if this was not enough, all of us parents nowadays want our children to have the ‘best childhood’ they possibly can even if it means spending more money that they currently possess. In fact I know of parents who do some of the most counter-intuitive things professionally to ensure their financial well-being. Why else would mothers of 3 month old children leave behind their infants at their in-laws or parents place and go aboard for a 18 month onsite assignment without any fly-backs. I mean, how can any mother bring herself to leave behind her nursing infant for such a long duration of time just to earn more money to secure her child’s financial freedom. But then, I personally know of more than one set of parents who have taken similar decisions. Such are the times we live in, where parents make all sorts of sacrifices to ensure that their children have a financially secure future.

In this backdrop, when Blogadda in collaboration with HDFC Life announced a blogging contest where we, as parents had to list down five special gifts that we wanted to gift our child with for a secure future, I immediately knew that this was going to be a golden chance for me to pen down my thoughts on this particular topic and share it with the rest of the blogging community.

The following are my selection of five special gifts that I would like to gift my two year old daughter (in no particular order).

Values

Given that both my wife and me have been born and brought up in a middle class family, family and societal values played an important part of our growing up years. Basic values such as respect for elders, respect for teachers, being polite to others, being considerate of people around us, sharing with people who are less fortunate than us, were inculcated in us at a very young age. And we have found that these values have held us in good stead in our lives so far and have provided nothing but happiness and contentment all these years. It shall therefore be our endeavor to ensure that our little daughter also learns and inculcates these values at a young age, and the sooner they become a habit for her, the better it will be for her future.

Courage

In today’s day and age every girl must be empowered with enough courage of mind and mental fortitude to deal with the variety of situations that she will likely encounter through her life. Although it is humanly impossible to visualize of every possible situation and teach her specific strategies to overcome them, the fact remains that all these situations can be overcome by her if she has one important ingredient, courage.

By courage, I am referring to the ability of the mind to stay calm and composed despite the situation so that it is able to work out possible alternatives, select the most optimum one given the circumstances prevailing and to take necessary steps to face the situation. This is an important gift that I would like my daughter to have as a life skill.

Open Mind

Today’s world is filled with people who belong to different cultures, who speak different languages, who believe in different ideologies, who look different from each other and in such a multi-cultural world, it is of paramount importance that children develop open-mindedness at a very young age. Given that most children in cities nowadays are exposed to a mish-mash of various cultures, they need to learn to absorb the good features of all that they experience so that they are enriched by them. This is possible only when they are taught to be open-minded to everything around them.

Patience

Philosopher, writer, composer, Jean Jacques Rosseau famously said “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet” and he couldn’t have been truer. While most of us know that it takes time for our actions, our deeds to bear just rewards, we all tend to be impatient in our wait for these rewards to come to us, and as a consequence end up being cynical or pessimistic in our attitude towards life.

Both my wife and me will strive to teach our daughter that patience is probably the most important virtue that bind together all her other virtues in life. We will try and teach her to put in her best efforts at whatever she wants to do and then be patient enough for the rewards to manifest themselves to her in an appropriate manner.

Financial Security

While the rest of the gifts are mostly behavioral and personality related, the fact remains that financial security is probably the most important material gift that we can give our daughter. In this day and age, when everything keeps getting more and more costly by the day, it is imperative that we secure her financial future to enable her to pursue her dreams with confidence that she will not run out of finances while doing so.

And it is in this regard that HDFC Life with its innovative and easy to understand children’s financial plans, aptly titled Young Star Children’s Plans comes into the picture. While the basic plan itself assures a lump sum amount on the maturity of a plan, add-on benefits such as Accelerated Benefits, Maturity Benefit and Double Benefit provide additional benefits which parents can think about, discuss with the company’s financial advisors and opt for if they are interested.

HDFC’s Young Star Super Premium and Young Star Super II ULIP schemes are designed specifically to accumulate wealth for your child’s future by investing in market linked financial instruments which enable you to make money based on the market movements. More details are available at this link and this link. It is clearly visible that the company has made a number of plans to cater to all categories of people and is more than willing to work with all parents to help them choose a plan that matches their requirements appropriately.

In summary, I am more than sure that armed with the gifts of a good value system, a courageous nature, an open mind, a patient disposition and the financial security offered by HDFC Life children’s insurance plans, my daughter will go on to have an awesome future where all her dreams will be fulfilled.

This post is a part of the 1001 Gifts Activity by HDFC Life in association with BlogAdda.