The China Twist- Book Review

This is perhaps the first business related book that came to me for review and obviously I was excited about it. And needless to say, The China Twist did not dissapoint. The China Twist is the story of how two very young and enterprising Wharton MBA graduates took the bold decision of opening Auntie Anne’s Pretzels chain of snack stores in China. This book is not so much about opening stores in China as their story of keeping it operating in hostile conditions which included local labor laws, health certifications, company registrations and the culture itself. Asia is now one of the fastest growing markets for American fast food chains...

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Eviction Notice: Book Review

This book review has taken me ages as I was swamped with other books and some peripheral indulgences. So without much ado, here it is! An absolute roller-coaster ride is what I would describe Eviction Notice as. Author Robyn Wyrick has taken an alien adventure story and turned it upside down punctuating the storyline with surprises, humor and incredible phantasm. A sci-fi that makes jokes at technology and aliens is a refreshing departure from the usual fare that we have been served in recent times. Part futuristic, part adventure, Eviction Notice starts with a high school prank that sets into motion a series of events that threatens...

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The Bookie's Son- Book Review

This is one book that has made me wait for the longest time to read and review. I was supposed to get the hard copy of The Bookie's Son by Andrew Goldstein months ago but by some quirk of fate and the amazing efficiency of the Postal Department, I was denied the joy of holding the physical copy of the book. It was my loss entirely since The Bookie's Son is such an amazing story of bonding of a dysfunctional family. Light but poignant, funny but touching, real but surreal is how I would describe Bookie's Son. It has all the ingredients that make a book unputdownable till the very end. Set in the 1960’s, the book throws us into the Davis’...

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Add literature to your life in a flash

Tired of wading through that ponderous novel? Wishing authors could get to the point a little sooner? Try flash fiction.  In the time it takes you to brew a cup of coffee or wait for your computer to boot up, you could read an entire story, start to finish. Maybe two.  Although short stories may even predate the novel, flash fiction is a relatively new form of literature. Hard to define, because many editors, writers, bloggers and others have their own ideas of how long they should be, flash fiction stories are generally under 1,000 words. A popular form of the genre is 100 words; some editors tell writers to stop at...

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Poor Little Rich Slum: Book Review

It's always a pleasure reading about the underdogs who have fought against their inherited destiny to survive and that too with dignity. Nothing fascinates us more than seeing people rise up from the abyss of uncertainty to scale heights of success. Poor Little Rich Slum by Rashmi Bansal and Deepak Gandhi is very different from her previous books. This book is all about the struggles in Dharavi (Asia's largest slum) and their little victories. Rashmi's earlier books too were about successful people but this one is not so much about success than about survival. Much has been written about Dharavi and has even been immortalized in movies but...

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