Beyond the Book

  Sequel to the best-selling book To Kill a Mockingbird , Go Set a Watchman is a story of a 26-year-old Jean Louise Finch who is now an eccentric woman and loves to have her way with things. The book begins with Jean Louise reminiscing about her family while  she’s travelling back home to Maycomb, Alabama from New York City. Her 72-year-old, kind and wise father and role model, Atticus Finch has been reduced to a medium sized man due to arthritis. As Jean Louise settles back home with her impossible aunt, Alexandra Finch Hancock and Atticus, she realizes  Maycomb has slowly changed and so have the residents of Maycomb. She comes across a pamphlet that is labelled as “The Black Plague” with a drawing of an anthropophagus Negro. Disgusted and shocked with the contents of the same, Jean Louise realizes  Maycomb is going through turmoil and she has been left behind. She manages to sneak into the Maycomb Citizens’ Council Meeting and is horrified to witness the thoughts ...

"Every true love and friendship is a story of unexpected transformation. If we are the same person before and after we loved, that means we haven’t loved enough." The Forty Rules of Love is a captivating and titillating novel that consists of two parallel stories with characters who are struggling with life and love. One story is set in 2008 and the other in thirteenth century during the time when the great poet Rumi met his mentor and companion, The Shams of Tabriz.  Ella, a forty year old mother of three, is unfulfilled and unsatisfied with her life. She is constantly questioning her relationships, especially with her husband whom she is unhappily married to.  As the desire to change things around her takes a stronghold of Ella, she takes on a job as a reader for a  literary agent and her first task is to read Sweet Blasphemy , a novel by Aziz Hazara. Thus begins the other parallel of the book which contains The Forty Rules postulated by the wandering dervish popularly...

  The highly acclaimed novel One of is lying is followed by its close competitor i.e One of us is next and it just does not disappoint! It has hardly been 18 months since the tragic death of Simon Kelleher and Bayview has just settled back into normal life when another death occurs.  Despite claiming so many lives with gossip, seems like Bayview High does not learn from its mistakes. Since Simon's death, a lot of copy-cat gossip apps have come up and have forced the high school authorities into suspending various students. A no-phone warning does not shake up Bayview High and they go on gossiping incessantly but none of the apps seem to fill the void left by Simon's brilliant app, About That.  Until one day another gossip app comes up and it comes with its facts in line. The rules are different this time. You take Dare and you are safe to go (maybe even a hero). You choose Truth, you're doomed anyway. You fail to choose either, your secret is out! Phoebe, a beautiful and ...

  One of us is lying is a novel about 5 students who are strangers to each other but happen to be together on a fateful day. Bronwyn Rojas, Cooper Clay, Simon Kelleher, Adelaide Prentiss and Nate Macaulay all enter detention together but only 4 walk out.   Bronwyn Rojas is a smart, organized geek who has an innate need to achieve perfectionism in all things she does. A Yale aspirant, she's always on top of her class and never fails to follow a rule until one day she makes a mistake that causes major upheaval in her life.  Cooper Clay is the boy with the dreamy eyes and a tan that makes him the good-looking jock that he is. With the perfect striker that he can throw, he is a varsity champion and one of the popular students at school until one day everyone turns on him.  Nate Macaulay, has an air of nonchalance around him and he never fails to get detention for something or the other. With criminal probation on his hands for dealing, this boy is smarter than he se...

The Immortals of Meluha is the first book written by banker turned happy author, Amish Tripathi. Meluha is one of the greatest kingdoms established by one of the most exceptional monarchs to have ever lived, Lord Ram. Devagiri, the capital of Meluha is under the rule of the Suryanvanshis who are proud acolytes of Lord Ram and His laws. The Suryavanshis face numerous threats and problems that include drying up of the holy river Saraswati and terrorist attacks by the disdainful Chandravanshis and their allies, the evil Nagas . However, the only respite that the mighty and brave Suryavanshis have is The Legend of the Neelkanth. According to the legend,  When evil reaches its zenith, when all seems lost, when it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge.  And thus, according to emperor Daksha's orders, emissaries are sent out far and wide and the task of discovering the Neelkanth begins.  Shiva is a Tibetan barbarian belonging to the Guna tribe, on reaching...

The five people you meet in Heaven, written by Mitch Albom proved to be one of the best books I have come across. It is a story about a man named Edward, popularly known as Eddie who works at Ruby Pier and his job involves maintaining and fixing the rides in the seaside amusement park. One fateful day, Eddie dies while trying to save a young girl's life. The next thing we know, Eddie wakes up in his afterlife and gets to meet five people in Heaven.  Albom manages to create his own version of Heaven that seems to be authentic and real. From childhood to old age, Eddie gets to meet people whom he may or may not have known but impacted their lives in some way. He thus realizes that Heaven is not a resting place but instead it is a destination where you seek answers and comprehend your time on Earth.  A brilliantly written novel, it managed to get through my deeply entrenched views on life and death and made me realize how all human lives are interconnected and te...

Finding Chika is a heart-warming and moving memoir of loss and love. Considering it as one of the most personal stories of  Mitch Albom, the novel revolves around what it means to have a family tied by the bond of love, friendship and understanding rather than blood.  Born three days before the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010, Chika lives her initial years impoverished. She is brought to the Have Faith Haiti Orphanage operated by Albom in Port Au Prince after the birth of her brother. On arriving at the Orphanage that acts as Albom and his wife Janine's family, Chika does not take much time to form an ever-lasting impression. Curious, enthusiastic and sprightly, Chika was a sight to behold! At age five, Chika is diagnosed with brain tumor which forces her out of her homeland and into the unknown-America.  Personal conversations, memories of the young girl and especially her journey with her adoptive parents towards finding a cure brings out the vulnera...