Book Review: The House that BJ built

Book Title: The House that BJ built
Author: Anuja Chauhan
Pages: 408
Genre: Drama
Price: Rs. 259 (Flipkart)
Publisher: Westland Ltd

Thanks to Flipkart and Westland for sharing the uncorrected bound proof copy of Anuja Chauhan's second installment of 'Those Pricey Thakur Girls' with me for the review.

Image source: www.vervemagazine.in

This book is about the the Thakur Girls coming back together to meet their father LN Thakur, fondly referred to as BJ. He is under the care of his granddaughter Bonita Singh Rajawat (Bonu) at his home on 16, Hailey Court in Delhi, who runs a garment workshop under his roof. Samar Vir Singh, upcoming Bollywood director, step-grandson of BJ visits the House to meet BJ and complete the missing piece of the puzzle of his film's story on BJ's parents - Pushkar and Pushkarni. BJ insists that he sell the house worth Rs 200 crores and divide it into 5 equals hissas for his daughters and Bonu. However, post BJ's death, what follows is a series of family squabbles, vehemence unearthing painful past histories, and a full blown property dispute court case on the House that BJ built.

What I really loved is the style of narration- simply superb with right amount of Hindi words that fit well with the situation and dialogues. Some dialogues are simply unique and memorable, for instance:

I'll make them squirm like well-salted earthworms,
I won't sell, Even my jooti wont sell.
And if I die na, then even my gosht won't sell.

You need balls to do business!...Remember, any incomepoop can work in an office...


And some are truly hilarious, almost that I burst out into laughing while reading the book - an instance of perfect comic timing, that is now-a-days very rare in books.

Throughout the book, I loved the usage of stereotypes and similes that one can connect well with. Moreover, every character in the book had a distinct and distinguishable personality, akin to a family drama, yet the camaraderie shown between them was flawlessly executed. My favourite bit was the bonhomie between Samar and Zee and the random banter and gossip among the sisters and their aunt.
The crunch part of the story was superbly glued together with all the other bits and pieces, coming together as a perfect narration.

Though this is my first book review of one of Anuja Chauhan's titles, I am truly in awe of her style of writing. It is zany, peppy and unputdownable. Looking forward for more !

Book Review: The Case Files of P. I. Pojo - The Killing of Mr. Heathcote

Book Title: The Case Files of P. I. Pojo - The Killing of Mr. Heathcote
Author: Meghna Singhee
Pages: 204
Publisher: Penguin India
Price: Rs. 199
Genre: Mystery

Pratap (Pojo) Pande is a teenager who studies at a boarding school in Panchgani called Heathcote International. Son of parents that are creators of a popular detective show, Pojo is a precocious boy who loves to solve and unfold the mysteries behind everyday cases, akin to a Private Investigator (P.I. ). And one such mystery he resolves to unfold is when the mascot and icon of his school, a cat, is said to be killed - Mr. Heathcote. He has his sidekicks as a super senior Radha Rao and Pops - a junior to Pojo, who's also Radha's cousin to help him uncover secrets, search for clues and interrogate suspects. Eventually, Pojo solves the mystery, in a truly Sherlock meets Poirot style - a tad bit eccentric and the use of the little grey cells.

If you've been reading my book review, you'd know I'm a sucker for mystery and a thriller any given day. So when I signed up for the Book Review program with Flipkart, they sent me this book right away. One look at the cover, you'd think it is uncannily representing a children's book. However, abiding with the adage- I judged this book by it's content and not the cover.

And it was truly a delight to read this book at one go ! Meghna Singhee has done justice to the whole idea of representing a hostel life set in a hill station, be it the junior-senior divide, the banter, the pranks, the hostel food, the allowance, the midnight escapades, the social gatherings, the hot shower restrictions, the free time break and the finer and innocuous details of the on-goings of the staff and the students day in and day out.
It brought back nostalgia by transporting me back to the days when I was away from home for higher studies. The characters have be described well, with each of them distinct from the other, as one would actually find in a hostel. Overall, I liked the smooth flow of the book's narration with witty and funny anecdotes, with one chapter after the other connecting the dots of the mystery flawlessly. And in the end, when the mystery unfolded, it was a wonderful surprise!

I would love to recommend this book to anyone who would like a good mystery, age no bar. (Even though the back cover says '10+')

                                                

ZENith - The next Smartphone Level

Now-a-days, buying the right phone for oneself, can be one of the toughest decisions to make. No sooner than you finally decide on a model and purchase it, than a newer and better model appears into the market. Alas! That is technology – ever advancing.

So why should one settle for last season’s smartphone?

Smartphones belong to various budgets and price points against the features. Then again purchasing a smartphone is an investment after all. So get the best value for your money with features that stand out without compromising on quality.

E-commerce sites will help you to refine the top features out of a motley of features.

But, what features in a phone would redefine your smartphone experience?

I just found out about the new ASUS ZenFone2 which claims to redefine the smartphone experience.

Shall we test it out?

Lemme check out 5 features that stand out:

TOP 5 FEATURES OF THE ASUS ZenFone2

5. 4G LTE for Superfast connectivity

Need for Speed? Internet is life and there is no life without the internet! Forget 2G and 3G when there's 4G to propel you to superfast speeds of data-transfer with multimedia messages, video chats. Live lag free. Asus ZenFone2 promises superfast on the move data speed of upto 150 Mbits/sec.

4. 13 MP PixelMaster Rear Facing Camera with 140 degree panoramic selfies.

I believe a camera with a good pixel density is a total must for any smartphone. Besides, one cannot always carry a digicam along to capture moments.

Now-a-days 8MP in the maximum Megapixel density available in most smartphones. ASUS ZenFone promises 13 MP camera with a 5 MP Front facing camera. It also has a 140 degree panoramic selfie mode to compete with Ellen DeGeneres' Oscar selfie capture.

3. 4 GB RAM

4GB is usually the smartphone’s space capacity and no I’ve not made a typo. It is the world's first smartphone with 4GB RAM. Asus pioneering the way for more better, faster phone performance. Upping the ante indeed.

2.  Low Light Mode

This cool camera feature is gonna make all those spur-of-the-moment-I-forgot-to-put-flash-on-auto-mode photos look blur free and blob free. Low light mode increases the light sensitivity by 400% and reduces the noise to give clear and bright shots without the need for flash.

1. 60% battery capacity in just 39 minutes ! 

How amazing is this feature! This is by far the USP of this phone. Thanks to the ASUS Boostmaster Technology no more being tethered to the charger. Less time to wait. Hey, a phone would charge up faster than delivering a pizza!

How cool are these features! Did I make your smartphone choice easier? No wonder it’s at the smartphone ZENith.