August Read Wrap-Up

Hope everyone is having a good week and both of us by all means had an exhausting month! Despite all the travel, mental and physical trauma we accomplished some reading in August. We are excited about the upcoming trips and the books we have to read. I was recently challenged by a friend to finish Ulysses and the book was sent through. I hope to be finishing that by end of the year while I have already started a historical fiction series in my native language – 6 big fat books that comprise the series. That I am a slow reader when it come to reading in the native language is not helping either. That has got to change and so I make attempts to read the language more often each time hoping to do better. So enough with my stories – here we are with the mini book reviews of what we read in August.

Rushing Waters by Danielle Steel

Set in the backdrop of New York preparing to face a destructive storm Ophelia, Danielle Steel narrates the story of how the storm passes through the lives of 3 different people – Ellen, Charles and Peter. A detailed review can be found here.

The Eternal World by CHRISTOPHER FARNSWORTH

This is a story cutting across years from the early 1500s to present day. The story travels across the ancient times when Spanish conquistadors landed on the shores of what is now known as Florida in search of ancient treasures. Simon Oliver is a young conquistador who has fought lot many battles and has sworn an oath to the King. However, this journey changes the course of his life when he is rescued and healed from fatal wounds by a woman called Shako from the Uzita tribe. Uzitas are the descendants of the Water tribe and hides lot many secrets and the greatest among them all – The Fountain of Youth – to which they are sworn guardians. A detailed review can be found here

Tamarind City by Biswanath Gosh

Madras @ Chennai has almost become synonymous to filter coffee, idly sambar and lungi dance( well, it’s actually Veshti. I’m too tired of correcting my friends from the North) But the Kanpur born journalist brings in light the history and the culture of this city that we’ve almost forgotten. Gosh takes us through the nooks and corners of this grand city, chronicling his life spent in Chennai , exploring the traditions and customs, politics and cinema, food and sex in the city. He takes Chennai as it is and moves along with the people he comes across and converses. Be it the station master at Chennai’s oldest station in Royapuram or the sex worker , the French flutist living in Mylapore or the 70 year old man from Triplicane, he interacts and meets people from all forms to get the essence of the life in the city.

Such conversations and anecdotes makes it an interesting read and throughout the read you forget that you are reading a non fictional subject. It was surprising for me to read about the Bharathiyaar poem that comes in the Tamil movie ‘Kandukondein Kandukondein’ and a mention of a few other 90’s Tamil movies that the author has loved like every other Tamil movie lover would have. With a lucid narration, he pictures Chennai beautifully with a lot of century old forgotten facts that makes you feel like a new person in the city no matter how long you’d have lived here. I’d recommend this book if you want to explore the city where the modern India began. My rating would be a 4 for 5

The Lost Tomb of Cleopatra by Osbourne

I choose this from the kindle-store only because of the title. I have an affinity towards the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs and queens. Nefertiti and Cleopatra became my favorite women in the Egyptian history after I came across Michelle Moran’s books. It is 30 BC, Egypt and queen Cleopatra is dead. While the Romans frantically hunt for her remains, a devoted stonemason conceals her tomb leaving a cryptic message that will lead to the tomb.

The book is interesting and intriguing with an American archaeologist Brook Burlington  trying to decipher the clue . She is accompanied by her allies whom she couldn’t trust fully and the Russian gunmen who have a different agenda at the burial site. Extremely well written, this book is full of mysteries, antiques and archaeological details all spread across the Sahara and the Nile. If you are a history buff, do not miss this book. The author finally leaves a note about his other books in the series. But for now this book scores a full 5.

That is it for the month of August. And yes!I have completed the GoodReads challenge . Not  a big number though.20/20 books this year. So, how have you been progressing with your reading.

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