179. Udayagiri & Khandagiri by Debala Mitra

BOOK REVIEW: Udayagiri & Khandagiri by Debala Mitra

As a bookworm, wherever we go, books play a central part in our life. I'm writing this review all the way from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Dubbed as the 'land of temples', Odisha is famous for its many temples and temple relics. What better way to brush up knowledge on these sites than by getting a book on them?

One of the earliest groups of Jain rock-cut shelters, the caves of Udayagiri (Hill of Sunrise) and Khandagiri (Broken Hills) command a unique position in the files of history, architecture, art and religion.

These caves are essentially dwelling retreats or cells of the Jain ascetics. Mostly excavated near the top of the ledge or boulder, they simply provided dry shelter for meditation and prayer, with very little amenities for small comforts.

This book, which was published by the Archaeological Survey of India, explains the various facades of the temple, including carvings, sculptures and the rest of the buildings on site. It proves to be a great guide for those visiting these caves.

I did visit the caves after reading this and whatever that was described in the book was portrayed on the cave walls and pillars. For those of you bookemons like me who also travel, do have this book with you when you are in Bhubaneswar. It will prove to be your trusty guide in these caves.

178. Camino Island by John Grisham

BOOK REVIEW: Camino Island by John Grisham (Courtesy of Pansing)

I seldom touch mystery cum thriller cum murder because I used to find it too gory, boring, monotonous are all of the mentioned reasons. Thanks to Pansing, on several occasions I have started to relish these genre books. This was no exception. The writer wove a story that I highly recommend to the bookish types in my midst.

What happens when you read a book which has a mystery about stolen manuscripts written by F. Scott Fitzgerald (think The Last Tycoon and This Side of Paradise), titles of books cropping up everywhere in the story and visions of grandiose bookstores by the beach? Well, you just get HOOKED! If you are a bookworm like me, it's a heaven of books crammed into a book. Unable to describe more as I am at a loss for words. Let's jump into the review.

The most daring and devastating heist in literary history targets a high security vault located deep beneath Princeton University. Valued at $25 million (though some would say priceless), the five manuscripts of F Scott Fitsgerald's only novels are among the most valuable in the world - and now they're gone. After an initial flurry of arrests, both they and the ruthless gang of thieves who took them have vanished without a trace.

Then, secret agents rope in Mercer Mann, a writer who originates from Camino Island to spy on hunky Bay Books bookstore owner (also in Camino Island), Bruce Cable, who is suspected of having the stolen manuscripts. Now she has to crack a case that has thwarted the FBI's finest minds. Along the way, sparks fly between Mercer and Bruce ending up with some finely toned down cumbu scenes (sorry ladies..haha).

This book was unputdownable in many ways and I highly suggest you head to your nearest bookstore and pick up a copy. You will definitely regret not having this in your ever growing collection of TBRs. Happy Reading!

177. The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table by Tracie McMillan

BOOK REVIEW: The American Way of Eating - Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table by Tracie McMillan

Food is so easy to come by these days, what with supermarkets and grocery stores popping up just like mushrooms after the rain. We are able to taste fruits, vegetables and a variety of other food products from any part of the world we wish to. America is no different to us, but just what is going on behind the scenes of America's most famous supermarket and also dining scene as well as in the fields. This book answers these and more.

When award-winning and working-class journalist Tracie McMillan saw foodies swooning over $9 organic tomatoes, she couldn't help but wonder: what about the rest of us? Why do working Americans eat the way they do? And what can they do to change it?

To find out, this plucky author went undercover in 3 jobs that feed America, living and eating off her wages in each. Reporting from California fields, a Walmart produce aisle outside of Detroit and the kitchen of a New York Applebee's, she examines the reality of America's food industry in this "clear and essential" work of reportage.

Chronicling her own experience and that of the Mexican garlic crews, Midwestern produce managers, and Caribbean line cooks with whom she works, the author goes beyond the food on her plate to explore the national priorities that put it there. 

Fearlessly reported and beautifully written, this book goes beyond statistics and culture wars to deliver a book that is fiercely honest, strikingly intelligent, and compulsively readable. In making the simple case that - city or country, rich or poor - everyone wants good food, the author guarantees that talking about dinner will never be the same again.

Tracie's account of her time in Applebee's was something I could relate to, the harsh working conditions of the kitchen scene where men dominate and ladies are seen as too "light" for that sort of work. Sexual harassment is so common that ladies just grit their teeth to make ends meet, just to place food on the table.

Written so personally and thoughtfully, it made me think of food and how it doesn't come easy for everyone. It makes me have a higher appreciation for what I see on my plate. Loved this book to bits and highly recommended for foodies everywhere!

176. Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami

BOOK REVIEW: Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami (courtesy of Pansing)

Japanese stories are cute and short and to me, they hold enough essence to make you feel what the author is trying to tell without overdoing things. This is one such story by Mieko Kawakami. What attracted me at first sight was the cover which was oh-so-cute and attractive. 

Ice Sandwich here is not ice cream sandwich though, don't be fooled. It means sandwiches kept in a cooler like chilled egg mayo sandwiches and cold chicken salad sandwiches. Ms Ice Sandwich seems to lack social graces, but our young narrator is totally smitten with her. He is in awe of her aloofness, her skill of slipping sandwiches into bags, and most electric of all, her ice-blue eyelids (no prizes for guessing where part of the title is from).

Every day he is drawn to the supermarket just to watch her in action. But life has a way of interfering - there is his mother, forever distracted, who can tell the fortunes of women; his grandmother, silently dying, who listens to his many musings; and his classmate, Tutti, no stranger to pain, who shares her private thrilling world to him.

Most of the young urchins today can relate to this story: preoccupied parents, loss of a dear family member and infatuations for people who normally aren't accepted by others as normal. It actually made me shed a few drops of tears as the young narrator spilled his feelings all over the pages of the book.

Tender, warm, yet unsentimental, this book is a tale about new starts, parents who have departed, and the importance of saying goodbye. I loved this book and highly recommend it to those who want a fresh read besides those from Western writers.

175. Murder, Interrupted: Shocking True-crime Cases by James Patterson

BOOK REVIEW: Murder, Interrupted - Shocking True-crime Cases by James Patterson (courtesy of Pansing)

Ahhhh....what's better than a good book complete with the most macabre murders that you can ever imagine? Twisted thinking you might think...when you read this book your mind becomes equally twisted at just how foul murder can actually be.

Derived from the television series Murder is Forever, the two gruesome stories in this book are brought to life through the tip of his pen making these true cases jump out at you at the worse possible moments.

In the first story, Murder, Interrupted, rich, cheating financier Frank Howard wants his wife dead, and he's willing to pay Billie Earl Johnson whatever it takes. When the bullet misses the mark, Billie and Frank will turn on each other in a fight for their lives.

For Mother of all Murders, you will be wondering how a mother's mentally sick ways almost killed her daughter and how the tables are turned on her. Dee Dee Blancharde is a local celebrity. Television reports praise her as a single mother who tirelessly cares for her wheelchair-bound, chronically ill daughter. When Gypsy Rose realises she isn't actually sick and Dee Dee has lied all these years, the daughter exacts her revenge by murdering her mother.

Reading this book made me feel queasy and utterly at unease because I never knew how criminally charged are the brains of these cold-hearted murderers. Imagine being shot in the face and being left to die but you survive the harrowing ordeal though you are in pieces. 

Unputdownable, this book is great for those who love a good murder novel made even better as these are actually true crime cases. Highly recommended, I'd give this book a 5/5!

174. Howl: Everything the Modern Werewolf Needs to Know by Serena Valentino

BOOK REVIEW: Howl - Everything the Modern Werewolf Needs to Know by Serena Valentino

Books, movies on the silver screen and many other influences have romanticized werewolves, good and bad, and left an imprint on much of the younger generation. There is much attraction (especially from girls) when these shapeshifters are around. Maybe one among us is a werewolf...If the answer is a hushed yes for fear of being hunted down, this book is the one for you.

This book is a claws-on guide for today's lycanthrope (ability to change into a wolf). For those who have yearned to run wild and free, howl at the moon or join a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, this book reveals:

• Time-tested techniques for controlling your transformation.
• Shocking secrets of real-life werewolves.
• All the amazing powers that await lycanthropes.

In the first part, Unleashing Your Wild Side, it portrays what type of werewolves there are, the signs of werewolf transformation and other werewolf characters and instincts. Part two, The Stylish Lycanthrope, details how werewolves can remain stylish among human company, decorate their homes to suit their needs and much more. Moonlight Mastery relates werewolves in movies, books, folklore and fairy tales for more information on these sexy and mysterious creatures of the night. 

If you have a dormant werewolf in you, I suggest you read this book to release your inner beast. I have unlocked mine and seen its wondrous talents and superpowers. Time for the change!

173. In The Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food by Stewart Lee Allen

BOOK REVIEW: In The Devil's Garden - A Sinful History of Forbidden Food by Stewart Lee Allen

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. This famous saying paints a positive connotation of the humble fruit, but did you know it was once so blasphemous to eat that it was considered sinful? Piqued your curiosity, haven't I? This frolicking read relates the history of food that was and sometimes still are taboo.

Deliciously organized by the Seven Deadly Sins (lust, gluttony, pride, sloth, greed, blasphemy and anger), here is a scintillating history of forbidden foods through the ages - and how these mouthwatering taboos have defined cultures around the world.

From the lusciously tempting fruit in the Garden of Eden (the aforementioned apple, it got stuck in Adam's throat when he ate it to become the 'Adam's apple') to the divine foie gras (deliciously unctuous goose liver), the author engagingly illustrates that when a pleasure as primal as eating is criminalized, there is often an astonishing tale to tell.

Among the foods thought to encourage lust, the love apple (now known as the tangy tomato) was thought until the 19th century to possess demonic spirits. The gluttony 'course' invites the reader to an ancient Roman dinner party where nearly every dish served - from poppy-crusted rodents to "Trojan Pork" - was considered a crime against the state.

The vice known as sloth introduces the sad story of the "lazy root" (the potato), whose popularity in Ireland led British moralists to claim that the Great Famine was God's way of punishing the Irish for eating a food that breed degeneracy and idleness.

Filled with incredible food history anthropology and the author's travels to many exotic locales, this tome also features recipes like the matzo-ball stews outlawed by the Spanish Inquisition and the forbidden "chocolate champagnes" of the Aztecs. 

This is truly a delectable book that will be consumed by food lovers, culinary historians, amateur anthropologists and armchair travelers alike. I loved this book so much that I continued reading day and night.