Brajesh's Review : 61 Hours

"61 Hours" has a different construction of plot. The story starts 61 hours before the big action and clocks down. I have never really been able to ever find a fault in a Jack Reacher book, except that I find it incredulous how accidentally he finds himself in the middle of hardcore action.

This book is no different, where an accident of in the bus he is traveling in, puts him in the middle of a manhunt for an assassin targeting a drug exchange witness.

The fact that an underground WWII bunker full of meth in the middle of US landscape worth multiple billions might sound impossible on its own, the book justifies it very well. One can never find an obvious logical flaw in a Lee Child book and this isn't any different. Overall standard Jack Reacher thriller which will keep you wanting more.

Rating : 4 / 5

Brajesh's Review : Theodore Boone - The Activist

Fourth in the Theodore Boone series, "The Activist" has all the usual stuff similar to the previous two. Simple story line with a key issue of eminent domain or land acquisition by government is relevant and is dealt with maturity for young readers.

After reading two John Grisham's back to back, I was quite amazed by the difference in style. As we know, Boone is the young reader series of Grisham, he keeps the narrative and language simple, yet never makes it stupid or dumbed-down. This makes it a powerful story for young readers.

The book also has several motivational and inspirational plugs without being preachy. I would say great read for all kids in the age group of 8-13, and the parents could also read and discuss the book to make the experience even richer.

Rating : 3 / 5

Brajesh's Review : Sycamore Row

The hero of "A Time to Kill" Jake Brigance returns after 25 years in real time and 3 years in narrative. This book reminds us why John Grisham remains one of the best.

Although the real trial begins only on page 450, the characters and storyline keeps you hooked. There aren't any dramatic or earth shattering twists, but the smaller human behaviour led turns are deeply engaging and real.

You get hit in the gut with the pain of lynch mobs only in the last 50 pages, but before that you just keep guessing motives, inspirations and drivers for actions of all key characters. Though I had forgotten most of "A Time to Kill", this one gave sufficient key references to get the memories back and that was another bonus.

Great holiday read.

Rating : 4 / 5

Brajesh's Review : Poisoned Arrow

I read everything, all genres, all types of writers. The only constraint being language, which is predominantly English with an occasional Hindi book. I almost feel compelled to constantly widen my reading horizons and this book surely did the trick for me.

Kim ordered this translation of an Urdu detective novella from 1960s, written by one of the most prolific Urdu writers of 20th century Asrar Ahmed, who wrote with the pen name of Ibne Safi.

Poisoned Arrow is part of a series starring his famous detective Inspector Faridi and Sergeant Hameed. Quirky and funny, the story impressed me, though I thought the climax left a lot of unanswered questions. Which I guess was expected, given that this is only one part of the serialised Jasusi Duniya.

Rating : 3 / 5

Brajesh's Review : Cain

I quote from the book "The history of mankind is the history of our misunderstandings with god, for he doesn't understand us, and we don't understand him." And that on page 73 was the essence of this hilariously lighthearted yet potently sharp critique of the Biblical God.

My wife who had a better understanding & knowledge of Biblical Religious literature, tells me that the Old Testament God is mostly an angry one. That is exactly what troubles Jose Saramago in this book, and he manifests the unforgiving, selfish and egoistic God through the story of a time traveling Cain.

Everything about the book is brilliant, the translation in my mind actually added another layer, though one can't say that with certainty without reading the Portuguese original.

The story covers a wide set of episodes from the killing of Abel, destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah, destruction of Tower of Babel, Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, Job's agony, Lot's rescue, Noah's ark, Moses's golden calf and in each of the cases the author systematically and logically with agonising pain exposes the flawed God.

P.S. I doubt literature like this could ever be produced India, given our total lack of ability to debate any politically and religiously controversial point of view with any sense of openness or tolerance. And that makes me sad.

Rating : 4.5 / 5

Kim's Review : Young Chefs - Vikas Khanna

Chef Vikas Khanna released his latest book - Young Chefs - on November 14th (Children's Day) in collaboration with Penguin India / DK Books.

Vikas Khanna is a Michelin starred Chef. As a judge on Masterchef India and Junior Masterchef India he is now a well recognised name and face in most foodie households in India.

The recipes in "Young Chefs" are well illustrated with a lot of them following a photographic step-by-step format, which makes them easy to follow for kids (they can check the pictures to verify consistency, texture and colour). I personally think that the first few pages are the most helpful section of the book. They include a photographic index of cooking tools, preparing ingredients and ways to cook & bake.

The book is divided into 5 main sections – breakfast bites, lunchbox, main meals, drinks, and sweet
treats.

Each recipe clearly mentions number of portions, prep time, cooking time and a lot of them also itemise the tools needed for each recipe to be prepared. I think, that is a wonderful idea for young cooks, so they can have all their tools ready along with their ingredients. Some recipes also have doodles of the ingredients and tools used.

There is also a warning sign (white exclamation mark in a red triangle) against recipes / steps which involve hot ovens, hobs, or sharp implements. Depending on the age of your child you can interpret it to mean adult help or adult supervision.

The recipes range from simple boiled eggs and eggy bread (French Toast) to Sweet Corn Fritters, Chilly Paneer, Veg Lasagna and Chicken Tikka Masala. The recipes aren't restricted to Indian staples, they come from all across the globe. But they are all dishes that are exciting for young chefs to cook or eat. Fun facts and tips accompany some recipes.

Its a lovely book to introduce a young chef to the pleasures of cooking, but there are a few things, I hope they can take care of in the next book.
- The recipes for crepes and pancakes are combined on one page in a manner which I think may cause some confusion for a novice cook.
- The recipe for cheese & pesto straws calls for cooked shredded chicken breast in its ingredients but isnt used in the recipe.
- On the page with 4 ways with kebabs - the non veg kebabs have a prep time of 20 minutes, but the prep time for the tofu chunks is 80 minutes. I later realised they had clubbed the marination time with prep time, but it was only for this recipe and not the other 3. Some standardisation will need to be maintained.

My other concerns with this book are:
- Some ingredients like yellow cherry tomatoes, smoked haddock and baby leaf spinach are difficult to find even in a larger Indian metro cities.
- Most recipes call for canned tomatoes and chickpeas and other ingredients. Given the availability of fresh ingredients in India and the side effects of preservatives and sodium in canned products, I would like to see an alternative with fresh produce listed alongside the canned ingredients. 
- The kids pictured in the recipes look so clean and neat, i don't know many young chefs who are so spotlessly clean when cooking. a slightly messy apron seems more natural to me than the pristine cleanliness pictured.

However, these are more minor personal peeves than a vote against the book.

I honestly think that its a great collection of recipes to get a young chef started. Its a lovely gift to present to a young kid and I hope the next edition takes care of the little oversights in this edition.

As Chef Vikas Khanna says in his introduction "Here's to the future Michelin star chef!"

Rating : 3.8 / 5

Note: Young Chefs is not yet available on flipkart or amazon. I was sent a copy of this book by Penguin and it was launched on the 14th, so I'm not sure if it is available in bookstores yet, but keep your eyes open and I'll update the online buying links as soon as they go live.

Kim's Review : Cooking at Home with Pedatha

I had bought "Cooking at Home with Pedatha" in January 2011, shortly after winning "Sukham Ayu" in an online contest on facebook. The authors of these 2 books - Jigyasa Giri & Pratibha Jain have become foodie friends since then and they are both complete sweethearts who have a wonderful zest for life as well as food.

However, I'm guilty of never cooking from either of these books for almost 3 years -  for the simple reason that they were "Vegetarian" cookbooks and Vegetables for me are just a side dish to be consumed to give the body adequate nutrition and not really something I relish cooking or eating.

As I age and travel around Gujarat, I realise that vegetables too can be main courses in a meal and I'm trying to cook more such food.

When I wanted a different way to cook brinjal, these were the first 2 books that I picked up and I wasn't disappointed.

"Cooking at Home with Pedatha" was awarded the Best Vegetarian cookbook in the world at the Gourmand World Cookbook awards 2006 and once you start reading it, its easy to see why.

The Pedatha (eldest aunt) in question is Mrs Subhadra Krishna Rau Parigi, daughter of India's former President - Dr. V V Giri. Jigyasa & Pratibha decided to document Pedatha's knowledge of Andhra food after relishing yet another meal at her house. The accuracy of her recipes, inspired them to turn a personal collection of recipes she shared with them, into a cookbook.

And having tried the brinjal recipe above I have to attest to the accuracy of recipes too. I often tweak recipes considerably, but in this case I just increased the chilli and decreased the oil and the end result was fantastic, for such a simple and easy recipe.

The sections are divided into Chutneys (Pachchadi), Powders (Podi), Rice (Annam), Vegetables (Koora), Dals (Pappu, Chaaru), Yogurt (Perugu), Sweets (Theepi), and Crispies (Vadiyalu).

The recipes are very simple and well written, so even a novice cook or someone completely new to Indian cuisine, can easily understand and master them. There's a beautiful visual glossary at the end, for someone who isn't familiar with the terms and ingredients in this book.

The pictures throughout the book are beautiful and illustrative. I'd highly recommend this book, to anyone interested in cooking Indian food for the first time, or looking to expand their repertoire of Vegetarian dishes or seeking a deeper knowledge of Andhra cuisine.

Rating : 4.5 / 5

Note : The Picture for the Brinjal recipe is from http://www.innoconcepts.com/pedatha

Brajesh's Review : In the City of Gold and Silver

Kenize Mourad's - "In the City of Gold and Silver" is another realisation for me of how little I know about my own history.

1857 - mutiny, rebellion, uprising or start of Indian freedom struggle? This work of historical fiction outlines the story of Muhammadi turning into Begum Hazrat Mahal. The intrigues of Zenana, conspiracies of taluqdars, brutalities by the British, valor of the Indian freedom fighters and legendary characters like Nana Saheb, Tantiya Tope and Lakshmi Bai are the background for the life story of Begum Hazrat Mahal.

The story is outstandingly told with brilliant characterisation and authentic research.

Rating : 4 / 5 
(The book is a translation from French and you can feel it, this costs 0.5 to the rating)

Also read Kims review of : In the City of Gold and Silver

Brajesh's Review : Cat Vs Human - Another Dose of Catnip

"Cat Vs Human - Another Dose of Catnip" is a happy book. Read it with a smile if you don't have a cat. But if you are owned by a cat you will burst out laughing on every second page. The cartoons are amazing and Yasmine Surovec's insights are so real, that they feel spooky. This is a must buy for any cat lover and should be made compulsory for all those who are owned by a cat

Rating : 4 / 5

Another Dose of Catnip is the second book in the series. Also read our reviews of the first "Cat Vs Human"
Kim's Review
Brajesh's Review

Brajesh's Review : E2 - Nine Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality

All lovers of "The Secret" will go totally crazy with this book. I hated "The Secret", hence didn't really like "E2 - Nine Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality" much.

The first few chapters of this book by Pam Grout were intriguing and kept me hooked. I even tried the first 2 experiments in full earnest, but both failed. The concept of using power of affirmation, positive thinking and inner voice isn't a new one. This books uses smart experimentation based left brain approach to try and convince the skeptics of right brain. Sounds a little odd, but it's done very smartly and efficiently.

I am quite sure the book will sell loads, but just didn't work for me.

Rating : 3 / 5