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.

Army of Empire: The Untold Story of the Indian Army in World War I by George Morton-Jack

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by the publisher in return for my honest opinion.

Well written book with enormous amount of who's who hard to keep track of. The book started out really well with discussion of factors that caused many illiterate Indians to enlist in the British army. However, as the chapters progress the subject matter becomes dense and one is most likely going to lose the track of the characters. Certainly not the book if you are going to read it casually but I doubt the book wasn't written to be read casually on the beach anyways. I couldn't finish the book in it's entirety but I really enjoyed most of the book and if you are a military history buff you will like this book. I personally am more interested in WWII history. 

The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller

Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with free copy of this book for my unbiased opinion in return.

As a reader of mostly non-fiction books, it was difficult for me to get a handle when it came to fictional story telling given the way authors use words to describe the heck out of the scene, the subjects, the emotions etc. But once I got accustomed to the author's way of story telling, I started enjoying this book more. The story revolves around paranormal activity in a house which is haunted and how the phenomenon brings a famous scientist and the house's owner Mrs. Alva Webster together and how their love blossomed. The haunted house and the haunting entity still continues to be at the center of the story plot and eventually pacified by Mrs. Webster and "released". Overall, it is a good novel and if you are into romantic novels you are sure to like it.

Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street's Post-Crash Recruits by Kevin Roose

Good journalistic work by Kevin Roose. Books on wall-street personalities have always been a special interest of mine given the stories or myth that surrounds people working on wall-street. Many books have been written before the most recent crash and gives tantalizing account of lives of high rollers and deal makers for example The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort. Everybody has heard stories of more money than God hedge-fund billionaires, excessive partying, sexcapades, drugs and what not. But this book by Kevin Roose is about how valid is that idea of wall-street bankers in post crash era. He takes us through the lives of 7 aspiring wall-street interns who wants to make it big and join the ranks of those who have come before them. Things have certainly changed after the crash and that is reflected in the hardships and dissatisfaction experienced by the subjects of this book. A trend is developing however, gone are the days when the cream of the cream from Ivy league colleges were attracted towards financial sector jobs. There are competing sectors now to choose from such as startups, IT sector, and if you are really idealistic maybe some non-profit work and of course politics. 

Overall I think this is a good read and if you enjoyed books like The Wolf of Wall Street or The Buy Side you will like this book.

Mishka by Mike Maroney

Geared towards children and young adults this book is a story of a young girl and her "dog" set in the background of crime infested town in Eastern Europe. Triumph of justice over injustice, goodness over evil and strength of collective action is well-portrayed in this book.  The book is an easy read and I recommend to parents of young kids. Will make a good bedtime read.

P.S: I was given this book by the publisher for  my unbiased opinion.

Stealing Green Mangoes: Two Brothers, Two Fates, One Indian Childhood

Nature vs Nurture is an age old debate and in this book the author Sunil Dutta has tried his best to help the readers pick a side and decide for themselves. The reality is that it is difficult to say which one has a total say in how a person develops and acts. I personally feel they both are at play to varying extent in defining his or her personality. The author is a scientist by training and what better to test the hypothesis but on your own life. Two brothers both turning out 180 degree diametrically opposite in personality. One following the path of love, meaning, patience and other one following path of greed, manipulation and crime. The description of life in India at that time is fairly accurate except couple of things that I found little imaginative  but overall good description of socioeconomic and cultural practices at that time. I think most Indian readers can relate to the story except the romantic aspect of the author. The author is cut from a different material when it comes to love. His love for an american girl with everything she puts the author through is little too much to stomach for any self-respecting man. But I suppose when you are in love, you are in love. Journey from  a refugee camp to PhD at UC Davis and then eventually as a police officer at LAPD is what this book is about but the debate this book tries to answer is whether an evil person is inherently evil or does the circumstances around that person makes him so.

Overall, I think this is a good book. It's an easy read and certainly worth checking it out at your local library.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

The first time I saw this book was in 2013 or 14 at Barnes and Noble in Chicago. What attracted me to it was its cover page. I found it very artistic and thought this gotta be a comic book. But somehow I moved on and didn't get to this book, albeit audio version from a local library until now. Set in New Orleans this fictional work by John Toole is a perfect work that won Pulitzer price and rightly so. The protagonist Ignatius J. Reilly a strange character with a very narrow and well-defined but grandly flawed world view struggles to make sense of this world and its workings by pure analysis and writing and often imposing his will on the people he meets all while deftly justifying his doings. In short, he is a lazy bum who just doesn't want to work and lives in his fantasy world. Amazing book that won his author a posthumously Pulitzer prize. 

The Castle on Sunset: Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont

Disclaimer: I would like to thank Doubleday Publishing for offering me this book at no cost for my unbiased opinion and review. 

This is a story, a biography of one of the iconic buildings in Hollywood, Chateau Marmont. Conceived in 1920-30s by a visionary Fred Horowitz as an apartment complex that morphed into a hotel for  under auspices of it's early owners and eventually a status symbol among celebrities from various fields of arts, movies, musicians, singers, etc. Known for it's strict code for secrecy and turning a blind eye about the behavior and "naughtiness" of celebrities, the Chateau was seen as a rite of passage for anyone making it into Hollywood. Big wigs and who's who of Hollywood have at one time or another lived at Chateau either while filming their movie, producing their movie, while carrying on an affair with someone and lastly but not least while going through divorce, etc. Ever associated with Sunset Stripe but physically located slightly away, hidden from the main strip it attracted many visitors who were looking for time away form media, papparazzi to carry on their shenanigans. 

The book is a wonderful read and offers glimpse the lives of some of it's celebrated residents be it John Belushi (who died at the hotel) to Lindsay Lohan who racked up a huge bill and was ultimately kicked out. 

Overall, a good book by Shawn Levy, easy read, interesting and well written.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

After hitting slump with non-fictional book I decided to check this book out and I was not disappointed at all. As the book's titles says it is about a story of the protagonist whose adventure starts when he decided to run away from his nursing home and embarks on a long journey during which he meets interesting people and friends all while accruing accomplices to join his heist. As it turns out Mr. Karlsson the main character has lead a very interesting life meeting big named under strange circumstances. All in all this is a light and comic read and is sure to make you laugh and sometimes ponder.

Bollywood Invasion by Ricardo Alexanders

Wow, what a flight of fancy has the author taken in this book. I was really amazed by the concept. To be honest when I picked up this book with Bollywood in its title written by a non-Indian sounding author's name, I was sure I was going to come across some misguided and misunderstood concept of Bollywood but it has nothing to do with Bollywood, the Indian movie industry that churns out movies like there is no tomorrow. Instead, this book is a fusion of East and West in an alternate universe. Just to tickle your fantasy, imagine your favorite movie celebrity(western) or your favorite music band (western) originating from India and what their life would have been in that case. Without giving out too much, in my opinion this book is thoroughly enjoyable and unlike some books that are written with one type of audience in mind and are hard to understand by someone on the other end of the spectrum, this book is sure to be understood by both eastern and western audiences.