Buried Alive by Roy Hallums

Title: Buried Alive
Author: Roy Hallums
ISBN: 9781595551702
Publisher: Thomas Nelson/2009
Pages: 241

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Synopsis

Contractor Roy Hallums recounts the harrowing ten months he was held captive by Iraqi insurgents, the heroic rescue by American troops, and the faith that helped him survive it all.

In November 2004 Roy Hallums was working late at his office in Iraq at the Saudi Arabian Trading and Construction Company, supposedly well-protected by armed security guards, when four kidnappers broke in and hauled him away at gunpoint. The next ten months were the darkest of his life. Hallums spent most of his time in a concrete pit beneath a farmhouse, constantly bound and blindfolded. A small pipe in the ceiling provided the room's only oxygen - and its only link to the outside world. Hallums banked on one group in particular not forgetting his existence-the US military. And sure enough, on September 7, 2006, they successfully rescued him. This is the edge-of-your-seatstory of a trip through hell for Hallums, the daring rescue mission, and faith that brought him through the experience.

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On November 1, 2004, Roy Hallums was kidnapped from Baghdad by 20 gunmen, along with few other people. Those other hostages were released soon after but Hallum was in captive for 311 days. It is his story, a true account about what he endured in his captivity. Reading it was difficult enough for me and he lived through it. Also what his family had to undergo. They left no stones unturned to get him released.

It is an emotional roller coaster to read this book, an account which leaves us deeply moved. It speaks of a Iraq that we know nothing about. In the darkest moments of despair, Hallum retained his sanity and kept his spirits up. It is man's journey into himself and also a way of finding oneself in the unimaginable madness. The terror, the torture and then the triumph, all these make it a edge on the seat read. A book that inspires and speaks about human endurance, no matter what. It also gives us a good insight about the Middle East. The rescuers too deseve kudos. I salute to the spirit of Hallums.

The Good Person Guidebook: Transforming your Personal Life by Richard Bayer

Title: The Good Person Guidebook: Transforming your Personal Life

Author: Richard Bayer
ISBN: 9780944054161
Publisher: The Five O'Clock Club/2008
Pages: 274

I received this book from Lisa Roe of onlinepublicist.net.

Book Blurb: What type of person should you be? What should you do when faced with a decision of ethical importance? Those are the two key questions that everyone should answer, and The Good Person Guidebook helps you answer them and:

• overcome suffering
  
• learn the true meaning of love
  
• develop the character traits that will make you happy and fulfilled

I usually do not read or review self-help books. This is one of those. Here the author tries to answer two great questions that arise out of ethical theory. Those are:

• What type of person I should be?
  
• What should I do, given a decision of Ethical importance?

Bayer has dealth with these in an ethical way. He quotes from the well known religions and tries to make us understand the essential good in those. The use of quotes throughout makes it a good read. I sailed through those very fast. The questions at the end of each topic too makes us ponder over what we had just read.

I wouldn't say, I would follow it through and through. But reading it was not so bad. My mom liked many of the quotes. She liked the book more than I did.

The Dark Child by Camara Laye

Title: The Dark Child
Author: Camara Laye
ISBN: 080901548X
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, NY/1954
Pages: 188
Genre: Memoir

I received this book from Dewey via Weekly Geeks. I asked three question about this book to her and she sent it to me. The title had interested me.

Although this is pegged as a memoir, it reads like a well written novel, holding our interest till the end. Camara Laye was born in Koroussa, French Guinea. Here he speaks about his life there, his father being a village Goldsmith, his mother with supernatural powers, his own growing up years. He reflects about the various traditions and primeval rituals. He has to choose between staying there or going for academic success to distant lands.

Laye speaks of his childhood bringing vivid images for us. We can sense the dilemma in his mind for his roots and as well as pursuing higher education. He desperately desires to go to Paris and yet is torned apart to leave his family. He is nostalgic about all that. This might be his autobiography but it has that universal feel. People who come from primeval cultures have to face this kind of thoughts where they are pulled apart. Laye's writing is in simplistic words and very readable. Here we get to know a lot about his people, his culture, the rituals and place.

Once Upon a Time When We Were Coloured by Clifton L. Taulbert

Title: Once Upon a Time When We Were Coloured
Author: Clifton L. Taulbert
ISBN: 0140244778
Publisher: Peguin Books/1989
Pages: 153
Genre: Non-fiction

The author writes about his life in Glan Alla, Mississippi. In a coloured set up. He fondly recalls his family, his cousins, friends. He tals about the feeliing of community along with segregation from whites. That did not affect the deep love he shared with his community, family, cousins and friends.

The picking up of otton, a job in the field of ice delivery, the arrival of minstrel show and festivities. All these sustain him. Despite hardships, he never lets go of his hopes and dreams and he does make something of his lie.

Those people he grew up with, might have been uneducated by our standards. But the most important thing they taught him was, family values and love. Being coloured in a white set up does not deter them. It fact it made them strong and self reliant. With underlying humour, this book tackles the irony of life rather very beautifully.

The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen

Title: The Snow Leopard
Author: Peter Matthiessen
ISBN: 0330261614
Publisher: Picodor/1978
Pages: 291
Genre: Nature Writing/non-fiction
Rating: 5/5

My youngest brother received this book as a prize for getting the highest marks in English in Std X in his school way back in 1982. I had read that then, I don't think I had understood it much. When I re-read it again, I did not remember anything of it.

In September of 1973, Matthiessen went on an expedition to the Himalayas with field biologist George Schaller. George invited Peter to accompany on this expedition to northwest Nepal, near the frontier of Tibet, to study the Himalayan blue sheep and who knows they might even see Himalayan snow leopard. Peter could hardly refuse that and embarked on a journey, which is filled with interesting, meticulous details about trail, the montains, porters, sherpas and any human being seen on the way. They start their journey in the rainy season and are delayed by many reasons, the weather, by moody porters, Sherpas etc etc.

I started it by thinking of it as a travelogue by Matthiessen but soon changed my mind. Along with all his observations, he writes about the mystism of the place he is visiting. What he truly encounters is not the snow leopard but a spirituality beyond description. His mind undergoes changes at every step of the travel.

There are fascinating glimpses of Tibetan culture. It is filled with Zen philosophy at every step. Matthiessen reflects over those at each moment. What he truly finds is just as intangible as the snow leopard. Here he finds what he is truly seeking. Maybe difficult to understand but is it not what we seek too? Only in nature, surrounded by snow, in an isolated monastery, he understands the truth of his being.

It is one of the best books I have come across in a long time. Although I read it again, I understood it only now. This is book that will continue to fascinate all those who choose to read it, with its stunning imagery and insight. And as with me, repeat readings can only enhance it. If not, read it for its descriptions of nature, wild life, people and the human touch in all this.

For another review, check out:
Juliet Wilson

America's Hidden History by Kenneth C. Davis

Title: America's Hidden History
Author: Kenneth C. Davis
ISBN: 9780061118180
Publisher:Collins/An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers/2008
Pages: 236/Hardcover
Genre: Non fiction/History

Before I proceed, what I thought about the book, I reproduce here the product description of the book as mentioned in the inside of the front cover.

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Kenneth C. Davis, author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller Don't Know Much About History, presents a collection of extraordinary stories, each detailing an overlooked episode that shaped the nation's destiny and character. Davis's dramatic narratives set the record straight, busting myths and bringing to light little-known but fascinating facts from a time when the nation's fate hung in the balance.

Spanning a period from the Spanish arrival in America to George Washington's inauguration in 1789, America's Hidden History details these episodes, among others:

• The story of the first real Pilgrims in America, who were wine-making French Huguenots, not dour English Separatists
• The coming-of-age story of Queen Isabella, who suggested that Columbus pack the moving mess hall of pigs that may have spread disease to many Native Americans
• The long, bloody relationship between the Pilgrims and Indians that runs counter to the idyllic scene of the Thanksgiving feast
• The little-known story of George Washington as a headstrong young soldier who committed a war crime, signed a confession, and started a war!

Full of color, intrigue, and human interest, America's Hidden History is an iconoclastic look at America's past, connecting some of the dots between history and today's headlines, proving why Davis is truly America's Teacher.

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Before reading this, I had not heard of the author, let alone reading anything by him. I received this from Collins for review purposes. found it interesting and informative to a great extent. There are 6 stories consisting of little known facts about American History. Although not strictly interconnected, they are in chronological order. Tracing out from Spain, English, France we finally reach America and find out hitherto unknown facts about who helped in shaping it up.

With human touch and engaging way of writing, it holds our interest and we are deeply involved in each of the stories. Davis takes us on a journey, which consists of war, religious bigotry, treachery along with flashes on human quirks. At some places, this is very shocking, jolts us out of our stupor.

Although I have read about history of England, I was not much aware of American history. This book has vetted my interest to learn more about it. There are some strong women who changed the course of America's history. Some bits are very shocking. How the native Indians were deprived of their own land. What made an impact was religion was so much part of it. This I fail to understand. How can anyone let any religion rule over humanity?

There are lose connections as the six stories are not connected. There are places, one asks why it happened but none forthcoming from Davis. Some parts are hard to comprehend. Even after re-reading those, I couldn't understand bits of it. Not knowing much about American history, made some portions difficult for me. Saying that, I found it engaging.

The Second Journey: The Road Back to Yourself by Joan Anderson

Title: The Second Journey: The Road Back to Yourself
Author: Joan Anderson
ISBN: 9781401303396
Publisher: Hyperlion/April 29, 2008
Pages: 224/Hardcover

I then sat down with a book, I had started earlier. I had received this for review purposes. The Second Journey is written by Joan Anderson and is about unexpected changes, which somehow come out of nowhere. That stops us on suddenly from whatever path out lives has been taking at that moment. and we are left to take stock of it before it is too late. It is about choosing. Whether to stay in the same rot or move to another direction. Most of us dislike change and do nothing. In a way that is detrimental for our life. We need to try to rearrange our life so that it is more fulfilling.

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"Book Description

Nearly a decade after the debut of her bestselling, life-changing classic A Year by the Sea, Joan Anderson is busy. When she's not on the road helping groups of women search for their true selves, she's working on her latest book. And when she's "not working," she's taking care of her husband, her grown children, her grandchildren, and her ninety-one-year-old mother. Joan is stretched so thin from being all things to all people that she doesn't even realize how out of control her life has become. Ironically, she finds she needs to listen to her own advice more than anyone else does. It takes a serious intervention--from her best friends, her doctor, and her husband--before she finally wakes up.

The Second Journey chronicles Joan's quest to restore her own equilibrium and find herself again. Suffused with her characteristic humor and warmth, this is a book for any woman who wants to know how to awaken her own independent spirit and set herself on a new path. Joan shares her musings on love, marriage, growing older, family, aging parents, and spirituality as she casts a watchful eye on her own life and helps readers find peace and inspiration within their own lives. She offers reassurance that the best is yet to come, and empowers other women to come of age in the middle of life.

The call to a second journey usually commences when unexpected change is thrust upon you, causing a crisis of feelings so great that you are stopped in your tracks. Personal events such as a betrayal, a diagnosis of serious illness, the death of a loved one, loss of self-esteem, a fall from power are only a few of the catalysts. A woman caught thusly has no choice but to pause, isolate, even relocate until she can reevaluate the direction in which she should head. Should she stay the course or choose another path? The goal is to come of age in the middle of life rather than live out our days lacking purpose and energy. It's all about rearranging our lives in our own image. "

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In a way, I am at that crossroad of my life. I have had to change my place of living. And I am kind of thinking of changing my very secure job. I can stay in the same rot and do nothing or move on to new pastures. I have started to think, do I want the same thing in another 10 years? And what do I really want?

This book has made me think. There has not been any drastic changes in mylife unless I wish for it. Am I prepared? That is the big question which needs to be answered. My life has no parallel with Joan's. However, we all have certain questions and certain values. Do we really value ourselves? Or do we live in the images of others?

I liked the verses and quotations at the beginning of each chapter. A few are by well-known poets and others I had not heard of. This book has inspired me to set a goal for myself and follow it through. I have to direct my thoughts and energy towards achieving that. I usually keep away from self-help books. This time I am glad I did not. With personal stories, Joan has made this a very interesting read.

Shop your closet by Melanie Charlton Fascitelli

Title: Shop your Closet
Author: Melanie Charlton Fascitelli
ISBN: 9780061343810
Publisher: Collins----An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
Pages: 147

The copy I received is an uncorrected proof for reviewing purposes from Collins. This one is for reviewing purposes. The real cover is shown here.

This is a very useful book which tells us how to optimise our closet space. Most of us are pack rats. First thing we should do is, to let go of clothes which we have not used for two years. We should slot those into throw, give away and keep piles. Only those kinds of clothes should be be bought which last longer because of the eternal feel. Fashion should not be rigidly followed. We should know how to co-ordinate our clothes and accessories.

The tips are very practical and useful. Different types of clothes and shoes need different types of storage space. We are given on tips for those too. And before storing we should clean each and every piece of items. That will make those last longer and prevent from insects and pests too. Then there is one chapter devoted to storage of medicines, CDs, other knick knacks.

I especially liked what to pack while going for a holiday. It also tells us how to create closet space when our significant other moves in. And how not to go nuts thinking about that!

I liked the advice. I am a pack rat. Now I am going to reduce my wardrobe and keep only those that I need. As I am moving house, I found this vey useful.

The Last Single Woman in America by Cindy Guidry

Title: The Last Single Woman in America
Author: Cindy Guidry
ISBN-13: 978-0525950523
Publisher: Dutton Adults/Jan 2008
Pages: 290/Hardcover

As I mentioned in my previous post, I got this book via Dewey's post. This is a collection of essays, which are written in dry humour. Cindy Guidry has written about the most serious things with a wit that is wry and makes us love the book instantly. She is outrageously funny, has the ability to laugh at herself and draws vivid pictures of people and places she comes in contact with, idiosyncrasies and all.

Cindy Guidry is a former film executive living in Los Angeles. In the space of forty days, she loses her job and a potential husband. Infact the three men she has been going out with one after the other, all have been impregnating women behind her back!

She finds herself happily single despite advice from her mother, so-called well-wishing friends and a neighbour, Tomas who is always around to ask himself in for dinner. She discovers that men are the new women who don't have time for women as they are too busy preening themselves like women. Narccissitic males? Cindy explores the internet, finds happiness in her CD collection and gets a love letter in the form of poetry from an Indian gas station attendant when she least expected.

Although Cindy has written this with lots of humour, however it touches many grounds that we singles feel. It questions why is it so?. Are we choosy? Do we have high standards? Should we lower it? Is being married and having kids should be the ultimate goal? Why aren't there potential partners for singles? Why is a woman who is over forty and single is considered to be left on the shelf, while a forty plus man is still looking?

These essays ask a lot of questions, answer a few on the way and her characters are funny, outrageous and very interesting. She has put life into her writing. Her wicked sense of humour has made this book very readable for single women (and single men too!) all over the world. There is pain, tenderness, power and so much truth in what she writes. As a writer, I suppose she has arrived.

Babyproofing your Marriage by Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill, and Julia Stone

Title: Babyproofing Your Marriage
Authors: Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill, and Julia Stone
ISBN: 978-0-06-117354-7
Publisher: Collins-An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublisher/2007
Pages: 273/Hardcover


I received this book from Collins, which is a part of Harper Collins publisher for reading and reviewing.

This is a book which ought be read by all those who are going to become parents and by singles too who are having relationships with someone who has a child. This book might somewhat prepare them what to expect. One can't really follow it like a clockwork as each situation is different, but one can get a lead somewhere.

Three woman got together and wrote this book from their point of view. They take issues like stay at home mothers, working mothers. Life after a child is not same any more. Sex life gets haywire and sleep becomes non-existent. A mother feels tired and depressed all the time but a husband expects the same kind of life even after becoming a father.

Every one from relatives to friends start giving unwanted advice. Each grand parent feels that the child looks like them. How having more kids affects the family including the older child? How to balance these and more? How to set priorities and acton those? How do we deal with situations? How do we get back to the life prior to children? All these issues have been well covered.

Sharing work, mutual respect and placing value on work should all be taken into account. Husband and wife need not be adversaries. They are on the same side nurturing their family. If all understood that, family can function as an unit. Helping out, taking time out, planning to spend time with family..all these have to be considered too.

This book covers so much more. I truly liked reading this although I am single and do not have children. It takes up each aspect in a witty manner, and not in a patronising tone. That makes this book very readable.

The Ultimate Tea Diet by Mark Ukra with Sharyn Kolberg

Disclaimer: I have only reviewed the book. I am yet to follow it through.


Title: The Ultimate Tea Diet
Author: Mark “dr. tea” Ukra with Sharyn Kolberg
ISBN: 9780061441752
Publisher: Collins


I received this book from Collins Nonfiction for reviewing. The Ultimate Tea Diet is offers a way to lose weight by making tea drinking a way of life. One can lose pounds by taking to tea and gain health benefits on the way. We get to know how it boosts metabolism, shrinks appetite helps in reducing weight. All from something, which tastes good, inexpensive and is easily available. It can be had at any time, any place, before meals, in between meals and after meals.

One can choose from wide variety of the beverage, which is available in varied flavours. This guide is divided into three parts, which again are divided into chapters. Part One consists of The tea/Weight Loss Connection and is divided into four chapters. Here we learn about the various teas (White, Green, Oolong, Black) are all derived from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis. Though other alternatives are coming up. One such is Rooibos. It is not strictly tea as it does not come from the above mentioned plant.

Tea contains three main ingredients, caffeine, L-Theanine and EGCG. These help in burning calories, promote weight loss, help in metabolism. Tea contains antioxidants too, which are good for our hair and skin too. Caffeine stimulates, L-Theanine reduces stress, which further reduces appetite and storage of fat in our body. EGCG is the much-publicised antioxidant. These prevent and repair damage caused by free radicals. These stimulate weight loss.

Subsequent chapters talk of flavoured teas, tea recipes that can be tried by anyone wishing to lose weight. Frankly, I like drinking tea just the way it without any flavours. I do like to add milk and sugar. If one follows the Tea Diet plan given in Chapter 8, I suppose one can lose weight and gain a lot more. However, one also needs to have some dietary changes and physical exercise. A positive belief that he/she can lose weight is must.

As I belong to a tea-drinking country, I could relate to a few parts. Here we have spices added to tea, which is known as Masala Chai. It is available everywhere, roadsides, bus stops, railway stations etc.

Most who want/wish to lose weight can download the e-book. Drinking tea seems to be an easier way to do so. Even if one does not lose weight, drinking tea is any day better than coffee!

For the Love of Rachel by David Loewenstein

Title: For the Love of Rachel
Author: David Loewenstein
ISBN: 0979194342
Publisher: Enalan Communications
Pages: 147
Rating: High

David offered this book at one of the online sites I visit. I won it from there in a draw. He sent it to me and I received it within a week. I sat down to read it that same day and finished it at one go.

For the Love of Rachel is a story of a father’s love towards his daughter who is born premature at 23 weeks of gestation. David and his wife wanted a child and after the process of in vitro fertilization, Susan conceives. However, her uterus is not able to hold the pregnancy and Rachel is born early. Her chances of survival are dim. Survive she does, with the love and faith of her parents, their families, efforts by the doctors, nurses and all involved in saving her life. She has a strong survival instinct. She lives in the hospital for nine months before she is taken home. Even then, she needs constant attention.

David and Susan never give up hope. They are ready to go to any length to save her, make her life comfortable. She has special needs because of mild cerebral palsy, partial hearing and vision. Despite that, she is a very happy child.

Somewhere down the line, David and Susan decide to have another child. This time they go for adoption. They go to China and get Amy as a sister for Rachel. Both these children teach them so much about life, its beauty, its perfection.

David has himself said that life gives us chances. Sometimes we miss those with our skewed view of it. We seldom learn from past, we dwell too much on the future, forgetting the present. Life is filled with love, wonder and gratitude. We only need to recognise that.

I am very glad I read it. Every one irrespective of having children or not should read it. This book goes much beyond Rachel although it is written about and for Rachel. With positive feelings, we can turn our lives the way we want it. A child, who had almost no chance of survival, lives because her parents do not give up hope. They are always prepared for the worst but never lose out on hope. They are lucky to have Rachel and Amy. Same goes for Rachel and Amy who are both lucky to have David and Susan as parents.

I have left certain aspects for the readers to find out for themselves. All in all a must read. My mother too recommends this. She rarely reads anything other than magazines unless something really interests her. For the Love of Rachel did.

Downsizing Your Home With Style by Lauri Ward

Title: Downsizing Your Home With Style
Author: Lauri Ward
ISBN: 978-0-06-117097-3
Publisher: Collins/2007
Pages: 164 Hardcover

I received this book free, from Collins Nonfiction via Gather some time back as I volunteered to review it. It could not have come at an appropriate time. I am on verge of moving house and the book is timely for that. As I live in India, I had not heard of Lauri Ward. I found useful ways to create space and make it functional. Lot of practical ways to improve upon the space one has. However, I am moving to a bigger house than this, so space is not going to be a problem for me. Still, de-cluttering is a must.

I even went to the extent of measuring each single space, in my new home and photograph it the way she has suggested. That way I already know what to place where and how, after I finally move in. My biggest concerns are my books and I need lots of space for those. I have even made up my mind for what kind of book shelves I would need after looking into the book. I will get the local carpenter make those for me.

I am going to discard stuff or remodel those, which can fit in. Her suggestions are down to earth, sensible and very handy. Her photograph shows us how to make optimum use of natural light, how to make a room look bigger and how to highlight certain items. What kind of shelves should be built, how the bigger or smaller pieces should be placed. Cluttering should be avoided and she even offers solutions how to go about it. She advises us to let go of things which we no longer need.

One book which everyone should read, irrespective of moving house or otherwise!

The Feudal Lord by Tehmina Durrani

Title: The Feudal Lord: A Devastating Indictment
of Women’s Role in Muslim Society
Author: Tehmina Durrani
ISBN: 0552142395
Publisher: Corgi Books/1995
Pages: 382
Genre: Non-fiction/Biography


Though The Feudal Lord is pegged as making a powerful statement about Muslim Society in Pakistan and men interpreting Islam to suit them, marrying and divorcing is common amongst the men. I consider this as a powerful statement for all those parts of the world where feudal system still exists. All the power is centred on the men and the women have no say in the matter.

Tehmina belongs to a powerful family in Pakistan and is expected to marry in a family of same stature, having children and lead a life, which is sheltered. Tehmina meets Anees while she is in school and marries him despite her parent’s misgivings. After a while, she finds herself bored with him. When Mustafa Khar, twenty years her senior, slowly seduces her, she is ready for his attention. He is one of a very prominent figure in Pakistan Politics. She is flattered by his attention, when he professes love for her; she divorces Anees and secretly marries him becoming his sixth wife. Her parents promptly disown her.

Her life turns into a nightmare after a while. Mustafa is a violent, possessive and a jealous male who expects complete obedience from his wife. The abuse and beatings start although she is pregnant. After beatings, he seems to come back to his senses and professes love for her. This is indeed a vicious circle. Tehmina too falls for it. She suffers for thirteen years, bearing him four children in between. Once he kidnaps their children to make her return to him. She does go back to him. The torture starts all over again. He has an affair with her younger sister. Finally, she leaves him giving up on her children and all her possessions. She is alienated from her friends and her parents yet again reject her.

Tehmina is repeatedly broken, betrayed, used, abandoned, mashed up, but in the end rises and survives in Pakistan's male dominated society. Its message is for any woman oppressed anywhere.

After the divorce, Mustafa tells Tehmina, “You have to introduce yourself as my ex-wife. You have no identity of your own. Nobody knows you. People meet you because you have something interesting to say about me.”

After she wrote this book, he called her before its impending publication and asked her about it. Her reply was, “Well, Mustafa, now the world will soon know you only as Tehmina Durrani’s ex-husband.”

The book also makes political statements of contemporary Pakistan but I am not dwelling on that. Writing this book was the best thing Tehmina did by giving a voice to oppressed women not only in Pak

So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson

Title: So Many Books, So Little Time
Author: Sara Nelson
ISBN: 0425198197
Publisher: Berkeley Books
Pages: 242
Genre: Non-fiction
Rating: 3.5/5


This was one book I started to read right away, because I liked the title and fell in love with the cover. Sara Nelson is a publishing columnist. She is a compulsive reader of books. Here she has described her booking habits, adventures and quirks along with her relationship with her husband, son and books. She tries to make her husband read without much success.

For one who reads like mad, this book connects instantly. Reading habits are very personal. Some of the books interest us the instant we lay our eyes on those. Some we pick up never to read. A few we start and never finish. Then there are books we want to show off to the world and in our privacy we might be reading chick lit or some such light stuff. Sara Nelson has written all about that. For those reason, I think her book is an instant hit with lovers of books.

She has listed her reads throughout the book. She even mentions a few rereads. Her agenda is to read a book a week/52 books per year. She completes it with a few more thrown it. A few she picks up at random. A few others are gifts or recommendations.

She carries books with her. She selects meticulously. She writes with a witty charm, with subtle references. She in a way says nothing that a book lover does not know. Still it makes a pleasurable read because we nod at what she says. We identify with the situations. We relate to certain instances. We do not feel guilty about jumping pages nor about not reading something we have had for years. Not even for never being able to finish Ulysses. When she speaks about books, which are exchanged or recommended between friends, can make or mar a relationship, we are reminded of such instances in our lives. Like her, we too remember what was going in our lives while we were reading a particular book and how rereading gets us to being nostalgic.

This is indeed a book, which one can read once and enjoy. Moreover, happily pass it on to another book lover!

My Mother's Garden--A collection of Essays

Title: My Mother's Garden--A Collection about Love, Flowers and Family
Introduction by Penelope Hobhouse
ISBN: 1596091479
Publisher: Chamberlain Bros./2005
Pages: 179


I had won this book in a draw from Sioux and glad I did.

This is a beautiful collection of essays, penned by an inspiring group of writers who have a love for gardens. Most have reminiscences about their mothers and grandmothers. This book is a great tribute to mothers/grandmothers everywhere. One just cannot stop with the first essay. I found myself totally immersed until the whole book was finished. I laughed with joy at some, was a little sad with few and wondered at the pleasant memories of mothers and grandmothers. The essays are very lucid and well-worded. There are two poems too in this collection. "To Any Reader" from A Child's Garden of Verses by R L Stevenson and "Mother in the Garden" by Sarah Gorham.

The love pours forth for the gardens as well as mother to daughter or granddaughter. Most essays are about the bonding but a few do tear apart. Creating a garden is like raising a baby with all the birthing pangs and the worry one goes through for a baby. The result is very fulfilling if the Garden sustains just like a child.

The essays are very inspiring and make one long for a garden. As I live in an apartment and have a terrace garden, I longed for open fields and big trees. This is one book one can read again and again.

Marie Antoinette-The Journey by Antonia Fraser

Title: Marie Antoinette-The Journey
Author: Antonia Fraser
Pages: 544
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0385489498
Publisher: Anchor Books/2002

Genre: Non-fiction/Historical

What led me to pick up this book:

I was always interested to know about Marie Antoinette who is much vilified and about the French Revolution.

Summarizing the plot:

Marie was born into the large Hapsburg family and married off before puberty to Louis, Dauphin of France and later Louis XVI. Other key players in the story of Marie Antoinette include Maria Teresa, her domineering mother; Louis XVI, who was not cut out for the throne of France; her children, all but one of whom died in childhood; and Count Fersen, family friend and Marie Antoinette's lover for many years. Marie Antoinette was either greatly admired or intensely loathed. More significantly, however, this woman was clearly defamed. She had her faults like most but surely, anyone who has a bit of compassion could accept that she woman deserved the harsh treatment she received and the way she was put through abject humiliations.

What I liked most about the book:

Antonia Fraser's book is historically fascinating, well written and researched. It also is a very moving and unforgettable story. One will never think of Marie Antoinette again without feeling acutely the last sad and proud moments of her life. One can also intensely feel how tragically and wrongly, history has judged her. The tragedy of her life is a haunting one that does not go away.

What I liked least:

At some points, Fraser appears to be biased towards Marie Antoinette. She is not objective at all.

What I thought of the main character:

Antoinette appears, in spite of her faults, to have been largely a caring and kind-hearted (if not overly intelligent) woman. Nevertheless, she had the ill fortune of being by accident of birth of royal blood and, by the manoeuvrings of an overbearing mother, queen consort to the king of France at a time when the French court was, in spirit, a sumptuous fishbowl. As a result, Antoinette had the added misfortune of being at the mercy of liberalists who are intent on her destruction. With reference to Louis XVI, Fraser makes a comment equally applicable to Antoinette: She is hated, not for what she did, but for who she was.

Other particularly interesting characters:

Her domineering mother, Maria Teresa and family friend/lover for many years, Count Fersen.

Sharing a quote from the book:

"Lanterns illuminated the walls of the Temple when the royal party arrived, as though for a public festival, and a great crowd of people chanted 'Long live the nation!' That cry at least was a familiar one. More sinister was the gleeful Marseilles chant of the guards: `Madame goes up into her Tower, when will she come down again?"

Sharing a favorite scene from the book:

One of my favourite occurrences in this book was when the Queen was forced to live in the tower, before her death. Though this was a quite sinister event, Antonia Fraser did an excellent job of describing the arrival of the royal party, and their miserable life in the tower.

Feelings after finishing the book:

This is not a book for those who want light reading--yet its rewards are deep for those who have a love of history and want to understand the human condition, both for its good and bad attributes. The book is a masterpiece at showing how people are products of their times, and yet because of historical events move on to personal achievements.

I found the book to be gripping, eye opening, informative and insightful, making it a pleasure to read. Most importantly, I came away from the book with not only a greater knowledge and understanding of one of the most famous women in history, but a much deeper understanding of the French Revolution and

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Notes from a Small Island
Author: Bill Bryson
ISBN: 0552996609
Publisher: Black Swan
Pages: 352


This is an account of a journey that Bryson makes round Great Britain some time in the early 90's after deciding that he will leave UK and go back to the United States. Before he leaves, he feels the need to see the country, which he has called home for the past two decades. He starts with a recollection of his first arrival in Dover good 20 years before and then repeats the Calais-Dover journey and continues the tour (mostly by public transport) that takes in - amongst others - London's Wapping; Dorset Coastal Path, Salisbury, Lincoln, Bradford, Port Sunlight, Inverness and Wick.

He begins his journey, entering by sea from France as he first arrived, on the south coast of England and aims to travel all around in just a few weeks. This time limit seems like so little once he actually begins. Everything is of interest to him and he cannot quite find the time to fit it all.

It is full of rich conversations, humorous sketches and amusing exchanges with the natives who often astonish him with their observations and attitudes. A good-natured work of art through the country's eccentricities as well as its charms, this is an affable companion for any trip to the isle.

This book is not just a catalogue of Bryson jokes, there are idiosyncratic description and some chapters are gems of light travel writing. He seems particularly better at describing cities and town than countrysides.

Overall, 'Notes from the Small Island' presents an informative, personal and mostly warm portrait of this island and its inhabitants.

Reading this, one should not expect beautiful prose or deep insights. However, it makes us laugh over and over again.

The Places In Between by Rory Stewart

ISBN 0-15-603156-6
The Places In Between by Rory Stewart
Harcourt Inc.
Pages: 299

"The Places in Between" has a great narration of travel. Rory Stewart writes this with the juxtaposition of a sage, writer and comedian. He philosophizes, sees the depth of character in humanity and has a sense of humour despite many odds.

Stewart's travels in Afghanistan were fraction of a much longer journey, a walk across Iran, Pakistan, India and Nepal. However, in this book we only get a glimpse of his walk from Herat to Kabul. Walking through bitter cold, in snow, it almost seems an impossibility to complete the journey but he does it for us to read about it.

Stewart dresses up in Shalwar Kemis worn by most Afghans. He merges into them. Only difference being he does not have a beard. He loves those Afghans who are not always welcoming. In his own words, despite sometimes being "greedy, idle, stupid, hypocritical, insensitive, mendacious, ignorant and cruel, these people never attempted "to kidnap or kill me" — even though he “epitomized a culture that many of them hated." For average citizens of Afghanistan, some of whom had worked for or aided the Taliban, he beholds with admirable calm.

Stewart, who speaks Persian, has no illusions and is mater of fact mostly. Armed only with a wooden staff tipped with a metal nub foraged from an old Soviet armored personnel carrier, he begins his journey with two companions who are rather forced on him. He is at times accompanied or escorted by villagers along his trek. He even ends up with a full-time companion, a retired fighting dog "the size of a small pony" that is earless, tailless and has more gums than teeth. Stewart names him "Babur." Together they face the toughest part of the journey, through deep snows, blizzards and mountain passes. At times Stewart must almost literally drag Babur along. Stewart commendably does not give in to sentiment. He is about to collapse from cold and exhaustion, "half buried in deep powder," he looks up to see Babur barking at him. "His matter-of-factness made me feel that I was being melodramatic. If he was going to continue, so would I."

Babur's 16th-century autobiography, the "Baburnama," is among the books Stewart packs, he following a route used nearly 500 years before by Babul the first emperor of the Munhall Empire. The quotations from Baburnama are a delight. He draws the parallels at numerous instances.

While some villages appear relatively unscathed from years of warfare, others have been severely damaged or traumatized. The effects of war appear even in geographic descriptions. Afghans refer to many places and locations by some tragic or brutal event that occurred there, not by physical attributes.

The loss of great cultures is evident by the villagers looting and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Talibanis.

The Places in Between uncovers and revels in the diversity, strains and struggles of the people, their land and culture. It is a fascinating journey into a place as diverse as Afghanistan. A man’s walk brings all of it alive for us. We get a very good glimpse into a world wholly unknown to us.