A Short History of Nearly Everything

Author – Bill Bryson

Genre – Science, Popular Science, Non-fiction, Humour, History, Physics, Geology, Paleontology, Anthropology

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

August 2013

I have been having great luck with books in recent times. Or maybe I am easy to please. But really, this book here is a definite read-this-now. The dexterity is not in the physics, the geology and paleontology and anthropology, a fair bit of which (gloat gloat) I was to an extent in the know of, but in the presentation. Bryson is an awesome storyteller, and he weaves these superb, fun, and exceedingly funny stories around the mysteries of nature and creation and the men and women who solved these mysteries for us – this is the perfect book to read beforehand if you are planning to babysit a particularly inquisitive nephew or niece. 

The Cuckoo's Calling

Author - Robert Galbraith

Genre - Detective, Mystery, Thriller

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

August 2013

I am a fanboy, so let me get done with the gushing first. JKR is such a legend! Love her! 
Ok, let's talk about the book now. Ms. Rowling has an incredible ability of putting word after word, and making you look forward to the next word. A natural-born story-teller to compare with the very best. Even while reading the Potter novels, I had always thought that mystery would be her natural habitat, she is so brilliant and ingenuous at plot and storytelling. And this here is a proof. Does it hurtle through like, say, a Lee Child novel? Nope, the story builds up gradually -- this is a classic detection novel, the thrill is secondary to the detection -- but it is still effective, you can still not put the book down. I couldn't. 
Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott are both such interesting characters, that I'd very much like this book to be Cormoran Strike #1. And okay then, let's have the acid test for all private-eye books --- Could I guess the killer? Nope. Not till the very end I couldn't. 

Un Lun Dun

Author - China Miéville

Genre - Fantasy, YA, Coming-of-age, Message-fiction, Parallel-world

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 5

July 2013

Amazing, amazing! Put Harry Potter and Neverwhere together, mix it together, and then turn the whole concept around. You get Un Lun Dun. 
So you know that I am a bit of a Miéville fan. And I read YA fiction often. Put those together, and the expectation was high. The expectation was met, to say the least.
Just to add: like the best of message fiction, the messages come in to the reader subconsciously, never becoming even a slight bit preachy; and never interfering with the story. Pollution. Using lower countries as dumping ground for waste. The experience of a subcontinental-origin person in London. And the biggest hit for me was the sublime turnaround of the sidekick. The Neville Longbottoms of the world rise up to take their rightful position in this book, and how!

The Broken Ear

Author - Hergé

Genre - Comics, Graphic Novel, 

Source - Print 

Rating - 5

July 2013

This has to be the most violent and action-packed of all Tintin stories. And my favourite. And the first Tintin I'd ever read. Love it!

Prisoners of the Sun

Author - Hergé

Genre - Comics, Graphic Novel, 

Source - Print 

Rating - 5

July 2013

There is always great value in revisiting Tintin. And in my opinion this is the best series of his.

The Seven Crystal Balls

Author - Hergé

Genre - Comics, Graphic Novel, 

Source - Print 

Rating - 5

July 2013

There is always great value in revisiting Tintin. And in my opinion this is the best series of his.

Dune

Author - Frank Herbert

Genre - Science-Fiction, Fantasy, fiction

Source - Audiobook

Rating - 4

July 2013

The fault is probably in my expectation that I didn't go absolutely crazy about this book. But this is immaculate, a work of high art. Frank Herbert has created the world of Arrakis and Caladan to perfection -- they are there somewhere, or will be. And are there greater creations in all of science fiction than the Fremen? The audiobook performance is brilliant. Paul Atreides is a little unreal, and the sequence of events are a tad predictable. But this is a high 4. I'd love to read the following parts.