Contemporary Reads

Reviews & recommendations of contemporary books.
Literary Fiction, Thrillers, Feel Good Books, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction & more…

The Midnight Library (Matt Haig) | Book Review

The Midnight Library | Book Review

The Midnight Library is an immensely useful book that comes in handy for anyone who feels the need or scope of improvement in their lives or way of living and view of life. Though fiction, it is not a fun or leisure read. If you look for something to learn from what you read, and not just a plain simple story telling, this book fits into the slot.

The book has some good awakening thoughts. The book is basically telling you not to have regrets in life. It emphasizes the need to be content with one’s life as there is no life that is immune to some sadness and disappointment. No life is perfect. The Midnight Library propagates the existence of parallel universes – it tells you that doing one thing differently is often the same as doing everything differently – which probably is quite true. It makes me think, …

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Falling (T.J. Newman) | Book Review

Falling - T.J. Newman | Book Review

I have always been fascinated by airplanes from as far as I remember – probably most children are. An airplane with it’s gigantic size and roaring engines is such a beauty to watch, and as it takes off or lands – it looks so majestic! “Air Crash Investigation” on Nat Geo has been one of my favorite knowledge based shows. It just intrigues such a great deal to see what caused such a dream machine to meet a disaster, or maybe avert one. Thus, when I picked up this book, I had all these expectations of it – it would definitely be a crisis situation (maybe a technical failure, maybe a natural factor or maybe a hijack) and how the captain, crew & passengers come together to face it, and overcome it – with some heroic deeds that would stand tall – something like Titanic. I had for long been …

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The Maidens (Alex Michaelides)

The Maidens | Book Review

This is not a book! This feels more and more like a motion picture as it takes you on a chilling journey, full of excitement, suspense, fear & anticipation. Alex Michaelides has a sure shot winner with The Maidens and I would be most keen to see if it replicates the success of his debut novel ‘The Silent Patient’. I for one had not read ‘The Silent Patient’, and so I had no benchmark to judge his latest work. Nor could I (thankfully!) draw a comparison with it. For me, this was a wonderful wonderful book deserving of all accolades & applause.

From the word go, the book has you on your toes. At the start I had thought it was probably an investigation into Sebastian’s death. But as the plot unfolds, it brings in such unexpected scenarios. To start with, the character of Henry – he embarks such a …

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Anxious People (Fredrik Backman) | Book Review

Anxious People | Book Review

Funny, witty, heart warming with elements of surprise that pique your curiosity – Fredrik Backman has it all in this extremely enjoyable book that translates into many hours of happy reading. Anxious People is not just a light hearted fiction, it’s real win stands in teaching us some invaluable lessons of life, without actually preaching them.

The book is alternating between three stories – a suicide off a bridge, a prevented suicide off the same bridge & a failed robbery turning into a hostage drama. It is fascinating to read is how the three stories gradually turn out to be intertwined.

The setting of the book – an apartment viewing – where all the action is – it is an interesting & unusual premise, allowing the author to play around with so many different characters, each with unique defining traits – finding themselves locked together in this situation. The sequence …

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Sooley (John Grisham) | Book Review

Sooley | Book Review

Set in the small village of Rumbek in South Sudan, John Grisham’s Sooley is an epic journey of the life of a 17 year old  Samuel Sooleman, or ‘Sooley’ as he would fondly be called. Coming from a poor country that doesn’t has much else to cheer about, Sooley would soon become the pride of his village with his extraordinary natural talent and his relentless determination to play college basketball in the United States and ultimately NBA.

His dreams soon get wings with a call for the trials for the national team, where he would meet his mentor for life – coach Ecko, and his subsequent selection to play a showcase tournament in the United States. Sounds much like a typical Bollywood flick with all ingredients of becoming a blockbuster. I think we have all followed the journey of some super star in our times, our growing up years – …

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Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir) 🥉

Project Hail Mary | Book Review

3rd Rank 2021

Genius. That is the most apt summation for this mind boggling science fiction by Andy Weir. Being loaded with chunks of physics & science, Project Hail Mary would cater specifically to this audience. Or at least would be best enjoyed if one has an inclination towards this discipline. For a science enthusiast, this book is certainly not to be missed.

For someone like me, who has immense love for the subject, this book comes as a pure delight & nothing less. It is absolutely thrilling to see physics in full action, and how! Each segment of this book is a convincing testament to the sheer brilliance of the author Andy Weir and speaks highly of his command over the subject.

The premise of the book is a natural phenomena that is eating up the sun & gradually depriving the earth of it’s heat, which is essential for …

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