Third Girl by Agatha Christie

I was desperate to increase my "Book count" for this year and it had been some time since I lread Christie. So a long journey from Bangalore  to Delhi was a nice excuse.

 The story is about three girls sharing a flat, one an efficient secretary, second an artist and the third girl barge into Poirot's drawing room saying she "might" have committed a murder and disappears. Now it is upto Poirot to find more about this third girl. Has she committed any murder? If yes, who is the victim? And more importantly, where is she now?

Another important presence in the book is that of Ariadne Oliver, Christie's alter-ego. But the story is a bit dull as there is no known crime committed until late in the story. Even the end looks a bit unrealistic.

Not one of Christie's worst, not one of her best either. 2.5 out of 5.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This was one book I looked forwarded to reading. May be due to the high amount of expectations involved, I was slightly disappointed in the beginning of the book. And the book is indeed disappointing, till you understand the underlying spirit of the parable.

The book is about the journey of a shepherd, Santiago. After receiving a prophetic message in his dream, Santiago sets out on a journey to an unknown land in search of a "treasure".A journey which starts from Spain and ends in the pyramids of Egypt, and on this journey nothing is going to help him more than "following his dream". And he is to meet many people, including the Alchemist, who will lead him nearer to his treasure. Does he get the treasure? Yes, He does, in a place where he least expected to find it.

The book is inspirational and is full of inspirational quotes. Did I enjoy the book? Well, Yes. I do not believe in "reading the omens" or "following your heart" but still I liked the book. Rather than seeing it as something that motivates me to "realise my dream", I would see it as a nice and sweet fable. Mr Coelho has not motivated me enough to "listen to my heart" but I have a strong feeling that I haven't really "read" this book; there is much more to be read between those lines. Maybe one day I will come back to this book and read it again. But one thing is definite: I will read any other other book by Paulo Coelho that comes my way.

Good but will not make to the list of my most favorite books. 3 out of 5.

Fermat's last theorem by Simon Singh

When I read "The Code Book", I was profoundly impressed by the genius of Simon Singh, the pied piper who transformed a work of scientific non-fiction into a thriller. So I was ready to grab any other book of Simon Singh that  come my way. And eventually when I started this one I was not aware that I was about to meet many more geniuses.

Well, this book is about obsession. Being a research student, I have heard so much about being "obsessed with a problem". But Andrew Wiles' obsession with a problem that he first "met" as a ten year old was a little extra ordinary. It became the mission of his life.

The problem was "Fermat's last theorem". A small statement that was scribbled down in the margins of some manuscript, a problem that was simple enough for a school-going kid to understand yet challenged mathematicians over centuries, a challenge that changed many a lives-Fermat's last theorem was all these ..and much more.

Andrew Wiles' obsession with this problem was unmatchable. The perseverance shown and the secrecy maintained throughout his research was extra-ordinary. And may be that was the reason why he did the impossible!!

Hats off to all the geniuses that made this book. 4.5 out of 5.

kodakarapuranam by vishalamanaskan

I read this one in train yesterday. I started the book when I reached Coimbatore and finished it by the time I reached Bangalore. This is a compilation of blogs of the popular malayalam blogger Vishalamanaskan aka Sajeev Edathadan.

Each blog describes some humorous incidents related to the author and people in Kodakara, a small town in  Thrissur district, Kerala. A few incidents happen in the Gulf country also where the author is working now. The narration uses very simple language and follows Thrissur dialect which makes it even  more attractive. The strength of the writing style is in the informal way in which it is done. Vishalamanskan has clearly got himself promoted from an amateur writer to a humour writer who is liked by the class and mass alike.

Good humour, highly recommended for a train journey. 4 out of 5.

2 States by Chetan Bhagat.

I started this one without much expectation after CB's previous novel and I was proved right. It is high time "the paperback king of India" rethought about his plots and storytelling ways.
 
The story(?) goes like this. The boy, Krishna(again named after Lord Krishna, like all of CB's heroes) meets Ananya ,falls in love, sleeps with her and hopes to marry her . But, wait a minute. Isn't this the story of every CB hero? Well, yes. Its the "same old story" except that the boy is Punjabi and the girl is South Indian. The next step, convice their parents for an inter-state marriage. Now follows an unrealistic, boring, sloppy and idiotic attempts to "woo" the parents. I advice you  stop reading at this point rather than  wait till the last chapter  when they finally get married with their parent's blessings.

I just hope this is not made into a movie. Read this book only if you have nothing else to do. 1.5 out of 5.

Pride and Prejudice By Jane Austen

I took a lot of time to read this. Blame it on my hectic life or the old style of English. But I thought it was total worth of my time.

In short, this is the story of five sisters, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia Bennet. The narrartive is from Elizabeth's view point. Mrs. Bennet, the girl's mother, is on the lookout for rich husbands for her daughters and the girls are looking for love. So much interest has been generated in the Bennet household when a rich young gentleman, Mr Bingley comes to stay in the neighborhood. And with him, there is his friend, Mr. Darcy. Shortly, a guest arrives at Bennet house; cousin Collins, who is also looking for a wife. There is the military regimen also, which has charming officers like Mr. Wickham. So are the Bennet girls going to find love? Can Jane win Bingley's heart in spite of her inferior connections ? Is Lizzy going to find her man even if her pride is hurt by a certain Mr. Darcy ?

I found out from wiki that Jane Austen titled the novel as "First Impressions" initially, which was rather apt considering the characters of the main protagonists, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. The characterization done is very much robust. All the characters, let it be the annoying Mrs Bennet, or the arrogant Lady de Borough or the silly and selfish Lydia, all the characters stick to the identity given to them. The novel also has a tint of humour almost throughout the storyline.

A must read for sure, 4.25 out of 5.

Deception Point by Dan Brown

Now I have read all the published work of Dan Brown. And he did not disappoint me in this also.

The story revolves around literally in "high places", starting from White House then moving to NASA space station in Artic and finally coming back to white house. Intelligence agent Rachel Sexton, also the daughter of Presidential candidate who is expected to throw the present president out of the white house, is suddenly summoned by the President of United States himself. Within a short time she finds herself in the NASA space station. Her mission? To verify and endorse the latest NASA finding! And this might mean a lot to NASA, The President and many others. All is going well until suddenly Rachel senses something wrong. She and others start digging for the truth and it is not so long before they see danger. Their lives are in danger! Now it is time to struggle for their lives as well as for the truth....

I have been a fan of Dan Brown and his writing skills and this book convinced me into continuing to be so. Dan Brown always manage to reveal the unlikeliest person to be the real villain, but in this one I managed to guess him long before the revealation. May be I read so much by him! But still I remain loyal to him.

A true mystery thriller. 4 out of 5.

2009 : A retrospection

No of books read : 17 (not bad! but can't I do better?)

Non fiction : 1 (Oops!!)

Author I read most : Agatha Christie(That was expected)

Biggest Letdowns:

Biggest Surprises:

 

Favourite of 2009:

Wish list for 2010: 

Shantaram

The man who knew infinity.

Secrets and Lies.

Alchemist.

.........and many more.