A book review community for all the readers out there!

Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.

While the author who wrote this remains unknown, the truth of this statement can hardly be overstated.
Reading is perhaps the best gateway for the human mind to explore the world without leaving the comfort of your seat. Isn't this what Laura Jane Scott conveyed in her song 'The Librarian' (thank you, Castle!) when she said-
"I know the distance it takes
to sail around the world
I've done it many times
behind my knotted desk
In quiet service to the stories I collect
Until it's time to close and go home for the night"

I was thinking about how reading is an individual process but how I can make it more fruitful. And then it hit me, why not build an online library for all of us? Not of books but of book reviews! I figured since my book reviews get a great response I could make the activity more interactive by building a network of readers who're looking for suggestions and can give out some of their own.

Reading is best done if we share our experiences with each other.

How I plan to do this?
Well, I've come up with a dedicated Instagram account of my blog (@mrinaalsdiary) wherein readers can send in their pictures with the book they're currently reading. It could be a review of the book or the reason why you picked up the book, anything at all. What's more is that you can even send in an Instagram video of the book review! Can you imagine having a review of a book you've been meaning to pick up in 30 seconds or less? I believe it will be fun for all readers and further we can even put up a compilation of these reviews on the blog here.
I don't know if this venture will be a success or not but I'm willing to put in an honest effort to make it a success provided I have the support of you people which I hope I do. 

If reading is our gateway to another dimension then why not enter it together?

You can send in your review pictures or videos directly on the Instagram handle @mrinaalsdiary or inbox me on the Facebook page fb.com/mrinaalsdiary or mail it to me at mrinaaldatt.uils@gmail.com
Happy reading! 

Why ‘Of Love and Politics’ is the best book on politics you’ll read by an Indian Author.

What happens when Congress, BJP and CPI youth leaders end up in a love triangle?  Of Love and Politics by Tuhin Sinha attempts to answer exactly that and manages pretty well on that front.

This might just be the best book I've read by an Indian Author!

A political scion, a civil officer turned politician and a do gooder- this is no ordinary love story. There’s not much I can say about it but the writer (Idk what his political leanings are) has tried to remain as objective as possible.

All things good and bad about all these different political ideologies are analysed in such a deft manner, you’d hardly believe how masterfully Tuhin crafts his words. 

  

From the time of the Partition, to the Wars India has fought, to minority appeasement by way of reservations, to capitalist politicians, to the issue of Kashmir, to Karl Marx, anything to everything related to Indian politics has been addressed in the book.

Want to form an opinion of Kashmir? This book might give a neutral view.

What happens when a BJP leader locks horns with a Communist!

And all this has been done so skillfully by never losing the characters that you’ll never for once lose interest in the plot. 

The dilemma of these three characters- modern day leaders who want to do something for their country- when they see that the ideologies of their respective parties are skewed and not exactly what they’ve stood for all along is amazing to read. Their journeys of ‘unlearning’, taking each others places is a delight to read and an eye opener for the reader.

What makes them go on this journey? Their troubled personal lives and the 2008 Mumbai attacks that makes them question everything they’ve believed in and stood for before that. 

You'll get to know what goes through the mind of every public servant. EVERY one of them.

 
My opinion? This is perhaps the easiest way to educate oneself about Indian polity as it is very neutral whilst dealing with every political school of thought and at the same time resonates with a young reader who’s more aware about the circumstances in the country  but at the same time lost in his personal life.

Review of The Street Lawyer by John Grisham

Okay, first off, John Grisham hands down is one of the best authors EVER. Like this dude’s the epitome of legal bad-assery.  As many know it, his books are almost always related to some “law” theme and every single one of them is a masterpiece. I’ve read three so far- The Litigators, The Tort King and the latest one, The Street Lawyer. 

This book is a masterpiece!

 Grisham has a set framework for every of his novel (atleast so far in all that I’ve read), there is ALWAYS  some hot-shot/ some struggling lawyer who either suddenly becomes famous or leaves his high paying job to struggle and there is ALWAYS a relationship failure (law students, take note) and finally, there is ALWAYS a good prevails over the evil ending. But does it make his novels boring or predictable? The answer would be a resounding no.

Grisham is a master of words, a weaver of stories so intricate and complex; you’d scarcely believe the finesse with which he achieves it. I’ve been in awe of his writing ever since I picked up my first of his, The Litigators. Grisham knows the law and executes it flawlessly, and there is most certainly some moral lesson involved.

So the latest that I read, The Street Lawyer is one of its kind. It starts with a shooting (it’s the USA, what do you expect really?) in a law office where our protagonist is climbing the success ladder, soon to be a partner. He’s taken a hostage but fortunately, the rescue ops are a success and the perpetrator is shot down. But Michael (our protagonist) has developed some kind of PTSD, he goes in a search to find the identity of the guy and when he does, he finds out he was a homeless. This information is provided to him at a free legal clinic by a man named Mordecai (to whom this novel is actually a tribute).

From here starts his journey into the unknown, he leaves his job, his marriage is already falling apart and he figures he has nothing to lose. But before he leaves, he receives a mysterious note regarding some unlawful eviction his firm carried out to give effect to some contract and he ends up stealing a file from the Real Estate branch of his firm. 

What follows is roller coaster ride with Michael visiting shelters, helping the poor and everything. But it is the death of a family of four (a mother and three kids) that jolts him to the core and he takes up the cause of the homeless. So our once potential law firm Partner is now helping people get food stamps (!) while his wife files for divorce (pool ol’ lawyers).

Back to the stolen file, our protagonist lands into a lot of trouble for it- accidents, legal malpractice suit, prison where he gets beaten up, you name it! And what he finds out is *drum roll* S-C-A-N-D-A-L-O-U-S. Apparently, the Real Estate branch of the firm carried out an illegal eviction; the occupants were not “squatters” but actual tenants and *surprise surprise* the shooter and the family of four were also amongst the ones illegally evicted and his firm was involved in a hush-hush cover up of the “dirty act” lest they’d have lost the contract.

So Michael alongwith Mordecai file a suit against the firm which takes the newspapers by storm. What ensues is a constant tug of war between the two sides. Shots are fired and it gets downright mean (welcome to the legal world).  

But yes, it has a happy ending albeit not like you would expect it. But then again, he is John Grisham, he’s mad talented at what he does and he does it like a pro, never disappointing you.  There are certain very endearing incidents, like a homeless addict who’d come to their clinic just because Michael would offer her cookies and “crappy coffee”. You’d love every moment of reading it.

Grisham is the epitome of legal bad-assery!

Yet there is a hidden message underneath these gripping stories- you may win many wars in the courtroom but you’ll lose the battle of justice if your sole purpose is money while you’re practicing law. He doesn’t advocate sacrificing everything but striking a balance between the two. Maybe a little volunteer work here, maybe working a case of a poor person for free there. But as soon as you take up one extreme, you’ve lost direction and your world, professional and personal will fall apart.