Blood from a Stone

Blood from a Stone by Donna Leon(a Commissario Guido Brunnetti Mystery)

I was looking forward to blissfully soaking myself in a good old-fashioned cloak and dagger novel, but initially found this one a little tepid. More used to the rat-a-tat pace of the American crime caper, or the sinister undercurrents of the English countryside, it took me a while to get used to the well-read, genial hero of this Venetian mystery.

Guido Brunnetti, devoted family man and lover of good food, is a far cry from the stereotypical hard-boiled, macho cop hero. The story is well written, with a thought-provoking plot that takes time to unravel.

My main quibble is that our hero is reduced to being a frustrated witness when the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Neither he, nor the reader, has the satisfaction of declaring whole-heartedly, “Case closed!” Still, I think the series holds promise. Next time, I might try one of the better-reviewed books of Ms. Leon’s like, “Doctored Evidence” or “Uniform Justice”. Until then, Ciao Guido!

The Tao Of Warren Buffet- Mary Buffett & David Clark

This is a short book for those with interest in investing and business.  Warren Buffett the icon for investment success is looked up to as a good person who is immensely wealthy.  

His mantra for big returns from the stock market are:

• Invest in a good solid company, which you believe will be around for at least 15 years, whose management is solid and ethical, and whose products are of great quality and value.
• Buy large number of stocks in a few great companies when the prices are low.. Keep watching for market scenarios where you can accomplish this. Don't listen to wall street!
• Sit on the stocks for a long time.  Long term investment. See your wealth accrue!

Simple eh!

Hindu Scriptures

In the word `Bhagavan' - `bhaga' signifies the six qualities of God. These are: jnana (wisdom), vairagyam (dispassion) kirti (fame), Sri (prosperity or wealth, divine aisvarya), sakti or bala (omnipotence) , and dharma (righteousness) .

According to the Prasnopanishad, there are fifteen kalas or rays of God. These are: prana (life), faith, sky, air, fire, water, earth, senses, mind, food, strength, penance, mantra (mystic formula), karma (action) and name.

 This was quoted by Dr. Abdul Kalam

Where there righteousness in the heart there is beauty in the character

When there is beauty in the character there is Harmony at home

When there is harmony at home there is Order in the nation

When there is Order in the nation there is Peace in the world

My Book Recommendations:

Book:Eat,Pray,Love
Author:Elizabeth Gilbert
Recommended to:Mala Srinath
Because:I think she'll enjoy it. It's a memoir that reads like easy fiction.

Book:The House of the Spirits
Author:Isabel Allende
Recommended to:Anyone who enjoyed 'The God of Small Things'.
Because:It's a lushly written, sweeping epic.

Book: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author:Harper Lee
Recommended to:Everyone
Because:It's a modern American classic. Beutiful, Simple, Powerful.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time By Mark Haddon

 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a 2003 novel by British writer Mark Haddon. It won the 2003 Whitbread Book of the Year^[1] and the 2004 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book.

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher's carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor's dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.

Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents' marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the workings of Christopher's mind.

And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon's choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion. The effect is dazzling, making for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing is a mind that perceives the world literally.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is one of the freshest debuts in years: a comedy, a heartbreaker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.

Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron

In ‘Shadow of the Silk Road’, Colin Thubron retraces the route of the historic Silk Road, starting from China and wending his way through Tibet, the fractured republics of Central Asia, through Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Turkey.

Thubron’s prose is elegant and evocative in its unsentimental, yet compassionate telling of lands and people rendered remote by geography and cultural divides.

What I found particularly interesting was his exploration of the historic intermingling of various ethnicities, and the consequent racial anomalies that exist to this day, especially apparent in China and Central Asia.

The ruthless ambitions of early empire-builders are echoed in the brutal regimes of modern-day despots. There is little to rejoice in as we hear the grim accounts of lives shattered by war, ancient bigotries kept fervently alive, and dreams crushed underfoot by religious fanaticism, or authoritarian suppression.

Nevertheless, the book is oddly luminous. All along this silken swathe, despite the differences of customs and cultures, the common humanity of these impoverished people shines evident – be it in their aspirations for a better life, for freedom from persecution, for peace, for dignity; or in their hospitality to a wanderer who experiences first hand the kindness of strangers.

An eye-opener for those (like me) who, misguided by the media, would write off this Eurasian melting-pot as nothing more than a seething cauldron of religious fundamentalism.

This fascinating and erudite travelogue will delight alike lovers of history and archaeology, as well as those who merely revel in fine writing.