The Undercover Economist

The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Quite a thought provoking book. The passages on how to tackle global warming by taking into account external costs, and the one on health insurance system comparison between US and UK are really great. The last part on How China became rich is also a good read for someone who wonders how a communist country is one of fastest growing in the world.
Though I am not in complete agreement with Tim Harford on his thoughts on free trade, but still those are interesting.
Overall a must read for a person who is even a little bit inclined towards economics.

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The Shadow of the Wind

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An old school thriller about a mysterious writer Julian Carax with a troubled past and how our protagonist Daniel tries to uncover it.
The story has some good twists and turns and has engaging characters who time and again come up with some memorable dialogues.

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When Mira Went Forth And Multiplied by Shinie Antony
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A difficult book to rate for me as the book was completely different from what I had thought it would be. Judging by its cover I thought it would be a light read with some good humor, but how I was wrong. It does start on quite a few funny notes but then it takes the reader to a journey of broken marriage, acute heartbreaks, family drama etc.
The book starts with the story of Mira who has recently come to the big city Bengaluru and romanticizes of soon finding her soulmate, but this wish of hers with time starts to fade. Instead she gets stuck with a boring job, a house owner who constantly rambles about her husband and lots of loneliness. Then one day she meets Sam, who shows her the glimmer of the life she always wanted; but after spending one night with her he forgets her, and thus starts her journey of tearful nights, cursing herself over the decisions made and a terrible heartbreak. Meanwhile we get to know that Sam already has a wife back home and Mira was just a one night fling. Things then get interesting when Mira finally decides to pay Sam a visit.
In terms of story, it is quite new, with good twists thrown every once in a while. In terms of writing, Mr Antony proves his mettle with some solid one liners. The later parts of the book where characters contemplate long and hard about concepts like marriages,infidelity are bit of a drag. Overall go for it if you want to read a mature story about relationships with some good dose of humor intermittently.

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Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There was a lot that I loved in this book, the awesome characterization, insanely funny conversations, bizarre situations... but having said that there are parts/conversations which were really too weird for my taste. maybe I need to read this book once more to fully appreciate/understand it, since the story is so much layered with major happenings being touched upon in first 100 pages and then their description being given layer by layer in further pages. This technique though most of the times left me in awe but in the end I feel that i should and would go through the book at least once more.


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Midnight's Children

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Mr Rushdie takes us through the lifes and times of the protagonist Saleem Sinai whose life is filled mostly with woes and lows throughout the book and very little to cheer for.
He uses a web of metaphors and bizarre coincidences to tell his story and I must admit that I was more in awe of his storytelling than the story he wants to tell. Maybe that is why for most of the part I couldn't invest much in the protagonist's journey but was more interested in how Mr Rushdie will pen down the journey.
But overall it is a fantastic read and I don't remember reading any other book which has enthralled me so much in terms of its literary value.



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Emperor of All Maladies

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Emperor of All Maladies is an important book to read. It provides several insights not only on the cancer disease in general and the various treatments developed for it over the period of time, but also on medical world at large. Parts about the randomized drug trials and the many important medical discoveries were something about which I never knew about before this book.
The book also brings forth the major social impacts the cancer has had over time which are a very interesting read, especially the parts about how the cigarette smoking was proved to be linked to lung cancer and the various battles it incited between Big Tobacco and various anti tobacco campaigns.
The last part on the changes that the carcinogens bring about in the DNA structure is a bit of a tough read but is very rewarding too for someone who is interested in human physiology.
Highly recommended for anyone who is looking forward to gain some basic understanding of the dreaded emperor of all maladies, Cancer.




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The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror by Robert Louis Stevenson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A story which is really a classic in every sense. The literary devices used throughout the book are amazing and it really added a lot of new words to my vocabulary. For the most part the narration is from the POV of an outsider which keeps the proceedings interesting.
Even though I knew the basic outline and the punch of the story I was still immersed the whole of the time.
The book is full of creeps and the final Statement By Dr Jekyll really shook me up.



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