Who Moved My Cheese? - Dr.Spence Johnson

Halleluiah ! This book is lucky to catch me at the pudding time. I'm staring right at the only possible change of this year - the 3 month sabbatical. And this very tiny book is there to help me handle all the big changes in my life. Amen.

As usual the secrets are story-wrapped ; a short story of 2 mice and 2 little people who live in a maze in pursuit of cheese. Interesting. Cheese is the symbol of what you aim to achieve in life and the maze is where you search for it. If out of stock or displaced , remember the following:-'' They keep moving the cheese. Get ready for the cheese to move. Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old. The quicker you let go of old cheese , the sooner you can enjoy new cheese. Move with the cheese. Savour the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese! Cheers !!


Why cheese? I don't like cheese, but I love butter and so shall be looking for butter all my life. People , don't you dare move my butter. Grrrrrrr

The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai

Like mother like daughter. She writes beautifully. She has inherited the splendid gift of portraying landscapes in all its vividness from her mother, Anita Desai. Progenies are expected to excel their makers and so Kiran Desai is the youngest woman to receive The Man Booker Prize. So far so good.

About the book:- It's like watching a dry dreadful black&white art movie all alone in a huge cinema hall. In a beautiful n poetic language, the novel describes the stale yet serene life of a retired judge, his grand daughter, her Nepali tuition teacher cum lover and of the cook who live in the post-colonial north-east India. The reader gets a fair idea of the short-lived Gorkhaland revolution too. The story is snail-paced n reaches nowhere.

I liked the cover design.

Fire on the mountain - Anita Desai

Anita Desai secured Sahitya Academy Award in 1978 because of this work. Generally I'm prejudiced against books with award tags. But this is a rare book, quite an impressive work of art , perfectly embroidered with beautiful landscapes so typical of Desai. One can easily relate to the main characters - the grandma , her friend and the grand child. I didn't want this touching story to end and is still mad at Desai about the tragic end. It's horribly disconcerting. Anyway , what fun if all the books end with their funny side up , huh?

Birds of Passage - Kiran Doshi

Birds of Passage is a hilarious novel written by the diplomat , Kiran Doshi. His Excellency has proved his worth in many Indian missions in Washington and Islamabad and been Ambassador to at least 4 countries. That explains this 'diplomatic satire'. The novel is set in a world of diplomacy , India - Pakistan - USA relationship as its theme. No doubt , this book is quite a valuable addition to 'diplomatic literature'.


Even our good old Ambassador car has been modified with groovy features ! Any such hope about our doormat diplomats and Ambassadors?

Charles Darwin: Evolution of a Naturalist - Richard Milner

Charles Darwin ! Oh yes , he is the father of evolution and his name is invariably associated with terms like natural selection , survival of the fittest , Australopithecus , Orangutan and Homo Sapiens. And of course this picture too is a synonym for Darwin. Sorry about the final stage. 

Evolution of a Naturalist discloses the personal and professional life of Darwin the human being. No, this biography won't bore you down with the details of evolution theories you have learned in secondary school. It is much more informative , funny and interesting than the Wikipedian Darwin. It also sheds light on his famous contemporary naturalists and scientists like Alfred Russel Wallace , Charles Lyell , Thomas Henry Huxley and many more.


If Homo Sapiens are not the pinnacle of creation/evolution , what's the next phase??