The Second Law (Lynn Dayton #3) by L.A. Starks (Goodreads Author)

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by the publisher/author free of charge in return of my unbiased opinion.

Ok, so I have to say I am little disappointed in the book and probably to some extent in myself. I was looking forward to reading this book as I liked the premise but the first couple chapters made me rethink my decision. This is in no way my assessment of the book or its content but it fell short of my expectations. The plots are complicated and very broad to keep track of what is happening and who are the characters. There are like bunch of characters that author introduces in first couple chapters and I found it hard to keep track of who is who.  In fairness I gave it a second shot by re-reading the chapters but to no avail. I would say this though, the story line is certainly interesting and intriguing. I will revisit this book at future date.

Becoming Kim Jong Un: A Former CIA Officer's Insights into North Korea's Enigmatic Young Dictator by Jung H. Pak (Goodreads Author)

The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan

Disclaimer: I was given this book by the publisher for free in return for my unbiased opinion and review.

So here it goes. When I am considering a fiction book I look for two things. Easy readability and average to above average story plot. This book fulfills both my criteria. Lian Dolan has done a good job in this book portraying characters from an ultra-suburban and dysfunctional family of 3 sisters. The book revolves around now dead William Sweeney(the father) and his short comings as a father, as a husband and as a decent man. That is only equaled by the fact that he use to be a famous and renowned writer. There is also a child born out of marriage to make this saga of Sweeney sisters more interesting. There is good mix of peripheral characters that add substance to the story. Overall, I think people are going to enjoy this easy read. It's not a nail biting what's next kind of book but the flow of story is maintained through out to keep a reader interested.

When Dimple Met Rishi Collection: When Dimple Met Rishi; There's Something about Sweetie; 10 Things I Hate about Pinky

Oh my Gods(as Rishi woud have said) in this teenage romance novel by Sandhya Menon. What we have here is a teenage love story about Dimple who is tunnel focused on becoming a career woman and Rishi is hopeless romantic who wants to follow the path his parents have laid down for him. Dimple is more of a girl determined to not follow the path her parents have laid for her. How these two opposites attract and "fall in love" is what this novel is about. Honestly, it's not my favourite genre and reading about some teens high on hormones and amateurish outlook on life but hey...if you might enjoy if you are hopeless romantic. ha ha ha!!!!

The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

Thank you publisher, Random House for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Illegal immigration is a hot button issue in every election since I can remember. If you don't have any idea what I am talking about then you are either in wrong country or a recluse. It's impossible not to have an opinion on this issue. Anyways, getting back to this book by Karla Carnejo, it is a glimpse into the lives of undocumented immigrants as told by them to the author who also happens to be an undocumented immigrant. It's easy to connect with someone who is in the same shoe as you are and that's the advantage the author has in extracting information that most undocumented immigrants will never share with anyone. It's not just the ethnic similarity  but also similarities with psychological issues. It's no surprise that most of the undocumented immigrants and their children suffer from psychological issues that eventually manifests as physiological issues. They are hot mess to say the least all because of government policies that keeps them paranoid even in their sleep. No surprises that without "papers" you have no access to legal jobs, healthcare insurance, medical care ,driver license , you name it. The things that we you and I as US citizens take for granted are just a dream and something to avoid if you are undocumented immigrants least you will be tracked down by ICE. No wonder this leads to jobs where they are abused such as in day laborers or restaurant workers not getting promised pay or having to work in harsh conditions. They certainly can't get medical care in the US so they resort to care that is based on naturopathy or seek out hidden pharmacies that will give any drug without proper consultation or even voodoo crap. With no social net, there is on such thing as retirement for such people. They are basically left to survive on their own, or go back to their country and die there. The author puts it nicely, this country as in the USA uses these guys when they are young making them do jobs that no American will do no matter how poor they are and then once their bodies give up they are kicked on the side to live out their rest of the years with no social safety net. The children of such immigrants have their own issue they have to deal with. So many families are destroyed because of one of the parents who has been in the US for 10+ years suddenly is caught driving without license and is deported leaving the wife and little kids who are by the way american citizens to care for themselves. It's heart wrenching.

Over all, I think this is some good work by Karla Cornejo who is a Harvard graduate and writes and advocates for undocumented immigrants. 

Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel by Tom Wainwright

I was told about this book by a friend few years ago and I bought the book few months ago at a local library book sale. Eventually I got around reading this book and let me tell you it was very informative and eye opening. Don't let the title of this book make you avert from reading it. It really has nothing to do with what title says. On the contrary this book is a good piece of investigative journalism by Tom Wainwright on the business of illegal drugs and drug cartels if you are to look at a bigger picture. Turns out that legal corporations and drug cartels share quite a bit in common from controlling supply to customer service to everything in middle such as marketing, public relations etc. Knowing how the "system" works can provide useful insight on how to dismantle or weaken the system. The war on illegal drugs isn't new but this book highlights how the efforts are directed where they are least to make any significant impact. For example, rather than attacking supply side the book makes a point how much useful it would be to control the demand side of the business. Rather than allocating more police force to stop the sale of drugs it would be helpful to invest money in public campaigns such as criminal re-education, after school activities, job placements for prisoners after they get out and such. 

There is also the argument of legalizing some of the drugs such as marijuana. Fortunately some states are seeing the point of economists and starting to do that. Not only that will weaken the cartels hold of the drug business but can lead to decrease in violence and more money in taxes and licensing for the states. 

In my opinion this is a well-written book on investigative journalism with arguments backed by statistical data. I recommend highly recommend this book. There are other books in this category one of my favourite is American Kingpin by Nick Bilton. 

Second City Sinners: True Crime from Historic Chicago's Deadly Streets by Jon Seidel

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by the publisher in return of my unbiased opinion/review.

Chicago has always been close to my heart having been lived there for almost 16 years so any chance I get to explore Chicago either through books or taking a stroll through the city is always thrilling. The title of this book intrigued me and hence I decided to read this book. Chicago is known for many things its chilly winters, deep dish pizza but first and foremost its crime. This book focus on the criminal history of Chicago through its criminals. The author has done a wonderful job by piecing together crime stories chronologically using newspaper archives of one of the most prominent newspaper of the time. The stories flow nicely and full of interesting details that is sure to keep the reader glued.

Overall, I really recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history of Chicago.

Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country by Sierra Crane Murdoch

Disclaimer: I have received a copy of this book  from the publisher in return of my unbiased opinion and review.

Books on investigative journalism are always fun and gripping to read. This book is no different. The story of this book is multifaceted in that it involves one woman's relentless efforts to find out about a missing person on Indian reservation while at the same time the author takes us through the oil boom on reservations and how it impacted the lives of people living there and the way the boom brought in array of bad things such as violence, drugs, and greed influencing every aspect of lives of those living there. To what extent people droop to satisfy their greed for money and power involving stealing from their own tribes to engaging in morally and ethically questionable things to murders is what this book is about. It reads like a murder mystery and is a page turner. Long book but certainly an eye opener.

Everything is Figureoutable: How One Simple Belief Can Help Us Overcome Any Obstacle and Create Unstoppable Success by Marie Forleo (Goodreads Author)

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book for free for my unbiased opinion and so here it goes.

Self-help books have been around for long time and time and time again I have picked up a book that would quality as a self-help book just to get bored of the same material recycled and repackaged ad nauseam. The moment I picked up this book I felt this would be different and thank God it was. No....don't get all excited about learning any breakthrough psychological research or something new that hasn't been preached already. Instead what got me excited about this book is the format and the way of presenting it. Let me elaborate on it a little bit more.  The book is broken down in chapters, exercises and something called field-notes i.e. real life examples of people who have tried and apparently found success using this "Everything is figureoutable" philosophy. The goal of this book is on to make you master of your emotions or pump you up with traits that will make you successful but rather infusing qualities that are vital for survival in current times. Anxiety, desperation, fear, rejection are very prevalent in current times as more and more people are trying to throw the status quo and want to stand out among the crowd. How do you make a unique life for yourself that is fulfilling and worth enjoying? How do you get started on that business idea that has been simmering in your consciousness for years? How do you become financially secure? How do you find courage to get up and start all over again after having dealt a massive blow to your face? All these endeavor needs qualities such as dedication, patience, ability to read your gut(not your mind), perseverance, commitment, measured risk taking, and facing your fear head on. Unfortunately all these necessary skills for living a fulfilling life are not taught in any classroom. Hence, the booming genre of self-help books. 

In my opinion, this is a really good book if you are ready to make some positive changes at the start of this new year. Also  if you are just trying to recalibrate your already awaken sense of positive change this book will hit you spot on. Lastly for people who are not new to this genre you will find material that is presented from a different perspective and lens to keep you motivated in making those changes.

The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal by David E. Hoffman

Amazing book on CIA's most valuable spy in Soviet and his betrayal by CIA's one of its own. The book is riveting and grips you from beginning to the end. Almost made me want to join CIA. lol. but I doubt and seriously wish we don't have a second cold war. That would be terrible for all involved. US owes a lot to Mr. Tolkachev, the Soviet spy whose material gave US air to air combat technology upper hand for decades.

Overall, I highly recommend book. No matter what genre you are fan of you are going to enjoy this one especially if it's on audio.

I've Been Wrong Before: Essays by Evan James

Disclaimer: I got a copy of this book from the publisher in return for my unbiased opinion.

This book is a collection of short essays about the author's reflection of his time travelling to places. It's like David Sedaris's essays. Each essay however has something deep and philosophical about it. The inner thought process and emotional state is put on the paper in a very tactful manner. There is an undertone of looking for true love only to be sabotaged by the author himself as in when his wanderlust takes priority. Overall, I found this book entertaining and if you like short essays you may like this book too. The chapters are not that long and you can go through them in 30 mins maybe less than that each.

Caging Skies by Christine Leunens

Disclaimer: This book was given to me for free by the publisher for my unbiased review in return.

Stories that are set in the backdrop of historic events are my favorite and this novel by Christine Leunens falls in that category. Set in the backdrop of pre-WWII in Austria the main character Johannes then a child is brainwashed by the propaganda machine of Hitler which his parents don't agree with but has on choice but to put up with their son's misguided love for their leader. The daily interactions between a misguided son and his parents are well-captures by the author. The book is almost fun to see how a child can be made a part of such a machine and cause to blur the line between moral and immoral. The story starts getting interesting once Johannes finds out that his parents have been hiding a jew girl in their house which nobody knows off. First hatred and feeling of supremacy of being an Aryan compared to a jew girl and then irrational obsession towards her makes the middle third of the novel pretty interesting. The lengths Johannes goes to hide the fact that Allies won the war so that he doesn't have to part with his "girlfriend" is what makes the middle third of the book interesting. There is quite bit of tension between the girl and Johannes , again well written by the author. The book starts getting little dis-interesting in the end where the writing takes a mostly philosophical turn making it hard to get by. But the story comes full circle when once a man of free will keeping a girl from achieving her freedom himself becomes a captive of his psyche. 

Overall, a good book. I think most people will enjoy it atleast the first 2/3rd of it. The last couple chapters may feel like a little drag but if you like heavy writing you will enjoy even those last chapters.  

Temper by Layne Fargo (Goodreads Author)

First of all  I would like to thank the publishing company for providing me a copy of this book in return for my unbiased review.

What drew my attention when I asked for this book for review was the cover and the title. I knew it had to be a story on one of the undesired elements of human nature i.e anger/temper. But it's not a flat out vendetta novel nor is there a frank declaration or portrayal of uncontrolled anger. What we have is a psychological thriller of a sort where the constant provocation leads to an ever building passion in which the line between good passion and bad passion is so blurred that one does not know which one is guiding the action of the doer. The doer is a debutante, Kira Rascher who has just landed a lead role in a famous Chicago theatre company production whose director cum lead actor Malcolm Mercer has been known to take his actors to extremes to mold them to his desires by psychologically manipulating them on and off stage. There is a particular magnetism that people feel around him that they can't pull themselves out of and continues to egg along knowing that they might be losing their identity and continues to torment themselves just to prove that they are worth his time. Between a constant psychological manipulation by the director and his actors, there is another character Joanna who is a constant companion to Malcolm Mercer and  has been desiring his validation since the day she met him be it professionally or romantically but to no avail leading to build up of years of resentment that finally finds outlet as the book end draws near. This interplay of human emotions divided in short chapters told from the perspective of two women Kira  and Joanna keeps this book so interesting and a page turner.

Layne Fargo the author has done a good job capturing and exploring the interplay of confusing emotions and relationships in her debut novel. I enjoyed this book and I am sure if you are into psychological thrillers and drama you will too. 

Good Will: Shakespeare's Novel Life by Arthur W. Wiggins (Goodreads Author), Barbara M. Wiggins

This book was sent to me by the authors for free in return for my unbiased opinion of it. So here it is.

Shakespeare has been a man of mystery to many and such an antique personality that hardly someone outside studying English literature would express curiosity about Shakespeare's life. This book is for those who are peripherally interested in knowing about his life. It is a hybrid of facts as gathered by authors during their trips to England and some extrapolated ideas that fills in the gap and makes most sense. Thankfully the language is easy to comprehend and the book reads fast. Interspersed are sonnets as one would expect of any book on Shakespeare. Overall, I think this book is worth reading if you have even the slightest curiosity about Shakespeare and what the life would have been like when he was alive. 

I particularly liked the last paragraph of this book. It is a conversation between business manager of The Globe after it was burnt down in an accident. The business manager asks Shakespeare who is tending his wife who has been injured in the fire while watching a play to commit his time and money to rebuild The Globe and keep writing more plays that makes money for the company and Will says " Cuthbert you disgust me. Your emphasis on money sounds more like my father than yours. Life isn't about money, it's about love. The love of my life and I are going home."

I think that is true no matter if you are a playwright genius like Shakespeare or someone who works long hours just to make ends meet.

Knowledge in a Nutshell: Astrophysics

One of the most thorough book I have read on astrophysics. Backed by diagrams, figures and formulas this book goes a step beyond The Origin Story by David Christian or Neil Degrasse Tyson's book Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. Be warned though that it is a little bit more technical for a layman wanting to explore field of astrophysics. Perhaps above mentioned books may serve as a stepping stone for this book but once you feel comfortable with the level of complexity you are sure to enjoy it. The book addresses the field of astrophysics from its history to current state. The content is thoroughly explored and explained.

Overall, I found this book worth reading with my interest in Astrophysics. If you are a budding scientist or have a general interest in astrophysics and want to take it up a notch, I highly recommend this book.

Raising the Bar: Diversifying Big Law by Anthony C. Thompson (Editor, Introduction), Debo P. Adegbile, Lisa Davis, Damaris Hernández, Ted Wells

Diversity and inclusion is the theme these days at many institutions, public and private sector work places and corporations. In Raising the Bar: Diversifying Big Law the author Anthony C. Thompson discusses how this theme can be included in workings of Big Law firms. Unlike many professions, Law remains a somewhat conservative profession where we haven't achieved much diversity in terms of colored folks in partnership position though that is changing we are lagging significantly behind. This book dubbed as a Playbook for law firms on how to diversity their workforce by mentoring, feedback, compensating is an interesting and insightful read. For colored folks as the be it Latino, African american,  Asian or women, the prevailing way to success is  work twice, thrice or even four times as hard to achieve half as privileged person and the authors suggests that it is not going to change at this moment or even not in your lifetime but looking at the history we know one thing that we have come far, the pace albeit is slow. 

Overall, this book is a good read and I recommend it to anyone who would like to incorporate diversity at their work place. Although the book is meant for law firms, the ideas are fundamental and adaptable to any work place be it a major corporation or small firm with just 100 employees. 

Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher for free in return for my unbiased opinion.

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham

Amazing history of one of the most terrible nuclear disaster as told by Adam Higgibotham. I bought a book called The Legacy of Chernobyl but wasn't able to finish it due to some life circumstances. But with this new book available at my local library, I felt I had to put an end to my gaps in understanding of Chernobyl disaster. This book takes you through not only what happened at the reactor that went haywire but also provides the historical context  sort of a lens to see this disaster through. How USSR's hunger for economic development via increase in production of electricity lead to making some irresponsible decision by the higher ups and how USSR's top government decided to hide the accident rather than come clean and let the world know so that it can prepare for the nuclear fall out. It it was common in USSR only few people got punished while others who were derelict in their duty of letting the operators know of the potential risks involved were let loose. The book is more of a story than a documentary as most books on Chernobyl are. The story if unfortunately interesting and is a page turner all the way. Salute and respect to those who risked their lives to contain the fire and nuclear leak by working too close to immensely high radiation levels at the site of the nuclear reactor. It is as much a  story of them as it is of USSR's misadventure. The world should learn from the past mistakes. Companion book to this book is The Legacy of Chernobyl by Zhores Medvedev.

Hot Shot by Fern Michaels

Disclaimer: This book was given to me for free by the publisher in return for my unbiased opinion.

This happens to be the first pocket book kind of a novel I read. The plot of the story revolves around figuring out the mystery behind certain someone with power gets shot but survives. Bunch of friends of the shot guy and his wife's take it upon themselves to investigate the series of events that lead to the shooting. I find the end hilarious. I won't disclose the ending but I was like seriously!!!!!

I would have liked the story to have some police work mentioned but I guess that's fiction for you. Overall, I think if you are used to reading books without much thinking then you may like it. I personally didn't enjoy it much but then I am not the target reader for such books either.

The Dark Heart: A True Story of Greed, Murder, and an Unlikely Investigator by Joakim Palmkvist, Agnes Broomé (Translator)

Wow...what a murder mystery but a real one that can be made into a movie. Set in a small farming town in Sweden this is a true story of a multimillionaire father and his sudden disappearance and a persistent search undertaken by police and volunteer organisation that eventually yields results after 2 years. Although the prime suspects are easy to figure out it took a sincere dedication by a volunteer to finally nail the suspects down by taking on risk on herself. This family saga mired in greed, hatred, delusion, blind love and devotion is certainly a thrilling true story. 

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

A thought provoking novel by Celeste Ng. We often forget that everybody is different and comes from a different background with his or her own set of experiences that have made that person who he/she is today. What is normal for one might not be normal for the other. Such is the plot of this book in which a vagabond artist who happens to rent a house from a landlord who thinks she has the perfect family and life until things happen that makes her analyze her own life. The catalyst in this novel are children and an adoption of a asian baby by caucasian parents. Overall, it's an enjoyable light read. If you are into fiction-drama, you will like this book.