Toke, by Jugal Mody

About the author:

Jugal Mody believes in fiction. Before handling web and social media for Filmfare and Tehelka, he worked in gaming. As a rule, he only writes to feel like a dog sticking its head out the window of a moving car. This is his first book.

Thoughts on the cover:

Witty, humorous portrayal of Lord Vishnu, which sets the tone for the novel itself.

From the blurb:

I’d pinch myself if Lord Vishnu appeared in front of me, regardless of if I was high or not. The blurb promises a delightfully humorous plot, fresh and appealing.

My review:

It was very unexpectedly that I received this book as a review copy from Indi-blogger. I think that it had been so long between the date of receipt and my applying for the book that I thought I wasn’t selected for reviewing the book at all.

So coming to the novel, what I found in this book was partially what I expected. It was a fresh plot. The protagonist is an Indian dude, not famous or known, just an average chap with a run-of-the-mill job and a sort-of dominant family who are disappointed in him. He wakes up one day to see a guy in a funny outfit who he recognizes as being similar to a god. (No, he doesn’t realize the name) Stuck in a crappy job, he falls asleep at his desk only to be sent home with a half-day pay cut as punishment. Instead, he heads off to his old college-mates’ place where he decides to quit his job, becomes high for the first time and falls asleep. He wakes up to find a talking crow that likes to get high too, and one later he finds to be the same funny looking God he saw before, Vishnu. He is informed that the fate of the world is in his hands, along with his friends. And thus begins the adventure.

We can relate to the characters, crazy yet so familiar to our own at times. The narration is crisp though a bit predictable. The story moves quickly, sometimes too quickly for my liking. Humor is there, but I feel that it gets a little mundane as the story goes on. If I were to read it a second time, I might not find it just as humorous. His portrayal of Lord Vishnu challenges mythology and our beliefs and it is fun to imagine God being such a casual person, one who we can hi-five and call dude.

Overall, this is a fun read, and I feel it is one-time read. A confident debut offering.

---

My rating: 3 Stars

Book details:
Toke, by Jugal Mody
Harper Collins Publishing
ISBN 9789350293409
Rs. 160, 224 Pages

---

Reviewed by Leo
Also shared with:

• First Reads at b00k r3vi3ws
• Indian Quills Review Challenge at The Tales Pensieve 
• Debut Indian Writers Month at The Tales Pensieve

This review is for a review copy of the book given to me by Indiblogger and HarperCollins. Thank you.

---

Open - Andre Agassi

Open, though its a popular book about world's best tennis player but I first got to hear about it from Delhi Book Club's Facebook group. The book's cover as you can see features Andre Agassi. His eyes look as if they are dying to tell hundreds of stories and he does that in his autobiography. I got this book as a birthday gift from one of my twitter friends, Renu ( @Thodi_c_crazy ) with two other books, thanks to Uread.com ! :P 

Open opens with a shocking fact about Agassi, that he actually hated tennis, why ? Well, you would know about it in the first 2 chapters of the book. It was a heart breaking fact for me. I remember, when he used to play, my dad used to stick to TV during the matches and he used to pray Agassi's style of playing tennis like anything also when he got retired, dad stopped watching tennis! :) 

The book opens with Agassi gearing up for the last match of his career. In extreme pain and myriad of thoughts occupying his mind, his journey from his hotel room to the court, he explains it with such intricate details that you are instantly hooked to the book. His style of writing and the way he has expressed what used to feel in those times makes you feel sad about him. Though, I like one of the quote from the book which I would like to share here 

"Stop Thinking and Start Doing, If You Are Thinking Too Much, You Are Not Doing Anything"

 which is the rule I follow in my own life. I don't think much. I believe in doing and learning ! :) 

Also, the book teaches you a lot about life. Agassi, despite of  hating the game of tennis, seeing its highs and lows, still marvels at it. That is something I really admire about him. His rage, his attitude and his thought process is something that is forever etched on my mind after reading this. Extremely focussed in his own way, fighting with his mind and heart constantly, he achieved what his father had always wanted. I really don't know how to put this across, but I think one must read this book just to understand that how is it like hating something that you do for a living and still excel at it. 

Agassi's journey with people around him and how he treasured and dealt with them is something to look out for. The way his brother supported him, his mother, always calm and composed took care of him, his friend Perri, his coaches, his opponents and many other people, he has given all the details about each and every one of them. I absolutely loved this book and I might read it again in future. Also, I have made a pact with myself that weekends would be kept for biographies and autobiographies. They teach you a lot and give you thousands of thoughts to introspect on. Open is a MUST READ for all those people who love tennis and Andre Agassi. Pick this book as soon as possible.

Book Source : Personal Copy
Publisher : Harper Collins
Genre : Autobiography
ISBN : 978-0-00-741679-0 

Jack Is Back In Corporate Carnival - P.G. Bhaskar

Another book dedicated to corporate culture, and I quite liked it. Jack Is Back In Corporate Carnival is a light read and definitely one of the funniest books that I have read in recent times. We cannot call it as a sequel, but yes its the book two of Jack Patel's series penned down by P G Bhaskar after his first book, the bestseller, Jack Patel's Dubai Dreams. The book has an interesting cover and also I liked the way it is printed, it endorses a flip page animation effect with the man coming down with the help of a parachute as the book progresses.

Jack Is Back In Corporate Carnival opens with Jack and Kitch, both the friends joining a new job in Dubai only, Adriann Abott bank. Peggy is still their boss and she is the reason why both of them are there. Kitch is married to Galiya and Jack to Mina, Kitch is a father of two year old Olga who keeps appearing and disappearing in the story. There is too much travelling that both Jack and Kitch have to do to tap in new clients for their bank. The new account holders invest millions of money on Jack's recommendation, for which Jack travels to many places in Africa. There are holidays, witty discussions, super hilarious events and what keeps Jack, Kitch, Peggy and the other teammates on their toes.

P G Bhaskar's writing is something to lookout for. The book is an absolute page turner. It keeps cracking you up and also keeps you on your toes. The way the whole story has been narrated is simply awesome. Spread over 20 chapters and 305 pages, the book is a rollicking roller coaster ride. If are you looking for something that's funny and interesting at the same time, pick this one up. You'd love it.

Book Source : Harper Collins India

Genre : Fiction

ISBN : 978-93-5029-351-5

Don't Hire The Best - Abhijit Bhaduri

Ever since I have started taking reading seriously, I am reading whatever is coming my way. I am not saying no to anything and thats the best part about it. The most unexpected readings are becoming my favourites and latest addition in the list is the book Don't Hire The Best by Abhijit Bhaduri. Its a 184 page book, very well written, supplied with examples and also theories and solutions to everything related to recruitment. 

Abhijit who has led HR teams at Microsoft, PepsiCo, Colgate, Tata Steel in India, South East Asia and US has made sure that the book stays simple and easily understandable to everyone who reads it. Initially, I thought I would drop the book in midway but that didn't happen. In fact, I finished in the book in two sittings. 

In the whole book, Abhijit focuses on one and only thing, Don't hire the best, hire the RIGHT person for the job. He has tried to explain the concept from various examples, situations and theories. The book is divided into three sections with some 4-5 chapters each. I would definitely like to share the name of the chapters here because that will give the reader of this post a vague idea about the whole book

1. The Role of a Leader

2. Hiring "The Best"

3. What I Learnt and how ?

4. Boss, What's the secret sauce?

5. Hiring Leaders Needs a Different Approach.

6. Interviewers' Mistakes

7. Building a Success Profile

8. Personality and "Fit"

9. Personality : The 'Bright Side'

10. Personality : The 'Dark Side'

11. Organisational Fit : Value and Motivations

12. Values and Organisational Culture

13. Conclusion

So, if you are into recruitment business, this book is a must for you. Its not that heavy sort of reading that would take ages to finish. It presents you with key points for being a great recruiter and understand the value of recruiting the right person for the job. Even if you are an entrepreneur, this book will surely open your eyes about setting up a right team for the business you do.  Give this book a try, I strongly recommend it to all the HR people at least. 

Book Source : HarperCollins India

Genre : Non-Fiction

ISBN : 978-93-5029-433-8

Cutting Chai and Maska Pao - Digantika Mitra, Priya Sheth, Mithila Mehta

Mumbai, the business capital of India, the city of dream, a city that never sleeps and the list goes on and on.  I have been to the city once and being a true Delhiwallah at heart, I actually loved Mumbai. Call me a traitor or whatever. It was in the last week of June that I went to Mumbai this year and experienced the city in my own way. Met people both from real and online world, roamed around a lot, walked a lot, took services of taxis and auto rickshaws, lived in a posh area, ate at a roadside stall, I did it all in mere 10 days, the most interesting part of the whole trip was, I blogged the experience daily here at www.mumbaisaga.blogspot.in 

Ever since I came back, I couldn't get over Mumbai, I am still not over with the city and eagerly waiting for my next trip. I have been reading about the city and things to do there from quite some time now. Cutting chai and maska pao happened to me while I was surfing Harper Collins website and thought, I must give it a shot and I got it yesterday. I thought, I would skip reviewing this book on ALOP but couldn't resist it. I think, a person who loves Mumbai should definitely give this book a read. 

Cutting Chai and Maska Pao is an intelligent and interesting take on the city. It is a small book with 100 pages and somehow perfectly sums up the entire city with colourful pictures and sharp observations with witty writeups. The writers of the book, the three gorgeous ladies, took a project quite seriously and it turned out to be a beautiful little handbook. 

The authors of the book have picked up approx 65 words that are famous in Mumbai and have arranged them alphabetically in this book. What makes this book interesting is, the pictures and the information shared about each world. Right from slangs, to the street food and some places, the book has it all that Mumbai can be identified with. 

I am surely taking this book along with me on my next trip to Mumbai. I am going to all the places and trying all that which has been mentioned in this book. Its a sort of bucket list and one must try to tick off each and every thing mentioned in this little handbook with creativity at its best. 

Book Source : Harper Collins

Genre : Non Fiction

ISBN : 978-93-5029-111-5

The Liberals - Hindol Sengupta

 Title : The Liberals

 Author : Hindol Sengupta

 Publisher : Harper Collins

 Pages : 310

 ISBN - 978-93-5029-143-6

 Genre - Non Fiction

"The Liberals", I never thought I would read this title. When you think about the title, it feels like it would be all about politics and stuff, economic development, liberalisation, this and that and what not. But, the book turned out to be something else. Hindol Sengupta, the author, has successfully managed to floor me with his wit and writing style.

The Liberals, is about the middle class of India. In the beginning of the book, the author describes the types of middle class we have in India. I would like to quote the terms here moddhobitto which means Middle Class, uchcho moddhobitto, means upper middle class and nimno moddhobitto means lower middle class. The description about all these three classes had me in splits.

The book has 26 chapters and moves between Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Each chapter is unique in its own way and ensures that you laugh while reading it and also think about a certain points being raised in it. There are two chapters on Pakistan also, giving a whole new dimension to the book. The book deals with some harsh and poignant realities of life and makes you think about them. The author, who is 31, has shared his personal story in an impressive way and I am glad I read this book.

The language of the book is easy and familiar and you would instantly connect to it. After chapter 2, which is based in Mumbai and the author takes a walk in Dharavi, supposedly Asia's biggest slum area with a MNS worker, that book comes very interesting and you will be hooked to it.

While reading it, you would identify yourself with some situations (At least, I did) and that's what makes it more interesting. If you think, you belong to the middle class of India. Then I would definitely suggest you to read this one. You will like it for sure.

(Review asked by HarperCollins India)

To Cut a Long Story Short - Jeffrey Archer

Title: To Cut A Long Story Short
Author: Jeffrey Archer 
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 978-0-00-77359-6

Genre: Short Stories/Fiction

Pages: 419

Rating: 4.5/5

 Last evening, I was roaming in one of the markets of my city where I spotted a shabby shop. I went inside and saw it had books everywhere. Old and new both. It took me seconds to figure out that the shopkeeper is selling old books at 50% price and there were hundreds of books lying around. Yesterday itself, someone from twitter suggested me to read short stories by Jeffrey Archer after reading my review of "Only Time Will Tell" and also suggested me this title "The Twist in the Tale" but I forgot it and picked up "To Cut A Long Story Short" for mere 100 bucks in a superb condition and I am glad I did that. 

"To Cut A Long Story Short" is a collection of short stories that Jeffrey has collected and experienced while he was travelling around the globe. The book features 15 short stories out of which 9 are based on true incidents. This was actually the first time I was reading a book which is a collection of short stories so I was a bit skeptical before starting it. 

The first story of the book is named as "Death Speaks", which has been translated from Arabic. Jeffrey was so moved by the story that he has placed it in the starting of the book. He has confessed this thing in the preface itself. Apart from this, the book has another 14 short stories namely ( the ones based on real life incidents have been written in italics)

1. The Expert Witness

2. The Endgame

3. The Letter

4. Crime Pays

5. Chalk and Cheese

6. A Change Of Heart

7. Too Many Coincidences

8. Love at First Sight

9. Both Sides Against The Middle

10. A Weekend to Remember

11. Something for Nothing

12. Other Blighter's Efforts

13. The Reclining Woman

14. The Grass is Always Greener

All the short stories have one thing in common, sudden twists and turns that would surely jolt you. The first two stories of the book namely Death Speaks and The Expert Witness, I had to read them twice because the language is so tricky that if you miss out on something, the story would sail over your head.   But after that, I read all the other stories with patience and word by word. And I would advice the reader of the book to do the same.

My personal favourites from this collection is, The Expert Witness, The Letter, Too Many Co-incidences, A Weekend to Remember and The Reclining Woman. I wont discuss the plots of these stories here but I highly recommend this book if you like intelligent and sly fiction.