Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

Ready Player one is one of the most interesting and fun SciFi novels I have read since Angels and Demons. This book is set in a fictional world where a larger version of the Matrix is an acceptable alternate reality for its citizens.

This book will keep you interested right from the beginning until the big bang ending, and you'll keep cheering for the underdog protagonasist to defeat the bad-guys in the fictional world and come out victorious as the greatest 'Game-player' in both the real and virtual worlds.


This is a great read for sci fi fans and people who enjoy treasure hunts, video games and 80's themes. Somehow the author has been able to successfully combine all those elements to make an awesome read. I wouldn't be surprised if this is made into a movie for the masses.

Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

This is a great work by Oscar Wilde, his artistic, angular yet witty writing will keep you interested just by itself. The story of Dorian gray and his painting is also very captivating, although it tends to drag on a little bit towards the middle, it picks up very well towards the end.

This book is funny, easy to read and very witty. Oscar Wilde, does an amazing job of keeping the readers chuckling throughout his greatest novel.

Echo Park - Michael Connelly

Like many Michael Connelly books this one is based on a murder mystery in LA. A popcorn suspense novel with a semi-interesting and semi-predictable plot. The protagonist Harry Bosh doesn't do anything special in this book.

This book is the literary equivalent to the third matrix movie. Nothing great but just interesting enough to keep you occupied for a little while, especially since it's a pretty fast read.

Lost & Found - Jacqueline Sheehan

The black lab on the cover is what caught my attention. The story of a widow and this orphaned dog who find companionship with each other in the autumn of their lives. Mildly depressing as you'd expect but pretty realistic with the level of emotions involved.

The dissappointment with this book was the lack of focus on the dog and his stories. This is book is more inclined towards female readers, which is clearly apparent in some chapters where every alternate paragraph is an explanation of the "feelings" in the paragraph preceding it. Hence there's a lot of "feelings" about the dog and how he makes them feel but no crazy dog stories.

I will probably never read this again but would recommend this to women or somebody going through a hard time and might want a glimpse on how to cope.

Getting Stoned with Savages - Maarten Troost

The sequel to 'Sex Lives of Cannibals' is another hilarious look at the authors life in a 3rd world country riddled with problems like hunger, poverty, military coop's and even bloody earthquakes! Yikes. This time around the author is pulled to the island of Fiji is more developed than the previous book but the sarcasm and stories doesn't fail to deliver.

If you loved the first book, you'll like this one. I wouldn't call it as good as the first one in terms of laugh out louds but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein

This was a funny and heart full read thats narrated by the Dog. Yep, this book puts a voice to the family pet and a lot of dog lovers won't have trouble agreeing with his ideas. Set on a pretty heartfelt storyline this book puts the pet at all the important points in the course of his owners life, including several hilarious ones, who's a budding race car driving.

If you like dogs and/ or remotely interested in the world of auto-racing, I'd recommend this book to you. Also it's a pretty quick read as the chapters are pretty short and flow well.

Crescent Dawn - Clive Custler

I added this book to my queue because I used to like spy novles but they all start reading the same after a while. This one was no different, few deaths, lots of explosions, at least 3-4 countries and an emotionally cripped protagonist.

This is a brainless fast read, thats good for certain times when you just want to see the good guy blow things up and win!

Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami

A coming of age story involving a 15 year old boy that runs away from home in post war Japan. This is a very serious read that will delve deep into the mind of teenage boys, their thoughts and actions. In other words, you may hear things that you might have thought of but never really said out loud because it might be scary.


This is not a fast read by any means as the author is very analytical and likes to psychologically describe everything and a multiple tangents. Don't think I would read this again but I've heard good things about his other novels.

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

Its good to read a Dan Brown novel once in a while. This 3rd installment of Dan Browns' Robert Langdon series is exactly what you'd expect if you've read Angles&Demons and Da Vinci Code. Overall impressions to story and writing style are very similar to the initial 2 books.

Although longer in pages, there's a lot more fluff built into this book and it might even be simpler and faster to read because he doesn't have more then 2-3 parallel stories running side by side. An annoying part was the almost unnecessary suspense built into tiny inconsequential things to give it a 'Dan Brown' feel.

I'd recommend this book to anybody who liked Angles & DaVinci code but personally I would rank the books as: Angels&Demons > Da Vinci Code > Lost Symbol

Star Trek Academy: Collsion Course - William Shatner

This book is William Shatners spin on the teenage years of Kirk and Spock. It is also a kind of "origins" story of how Kirk & Spock met and why/ how they got into Star Trek academy. The personal interactions between Kirk and Spock in this adventure are exactly what you'd expect, a lot of sarcasm built around a well set cohesive story. There is also a background story running about Kirks pre-teeenage years.

With large text print this is a pretty fast read and the story was interesting enough to keep me engaged throughout the book with a bang of an ending. Filled mostly action and lots of things to keep Star Trek geeks engaged.

Bob Dylan Chronicles - Bob Dylan

I picked up this book because the premise sounded interested. An upcoming struggling folk artist in the 80's greenwich village trying to make it big. Its a 1st person narration by Bob Dylan himself to the point where a lot of the chapters just seem like brain farts. He doesn't seem to have any structure at the book level or chapter level. There's a vague chronology of all the events happening in his life but it's really hard to follow and includes A LOT of references to obscure artists that probably only folk music historians would know.

I found myself losing interest in this book about half way through, because frankly I picked up this book to get some interesting stories about his upcoming struggles but it was more of a walk through his Bob Dylans mind.

Next - Michael Crighton

I started this book with the same excitement I've started several other Crichton novels and it starts off like a bond movie would. In the middle of some kind of spy action. But then then about a quarter of the book through and several simultaneous stories later I realized I was starting to lose track of what was important.

The novel delves into several subjects related to transgenics, biotechnology and genetic engineering with Darwinian overtones, wrapped around with an overarching theme that was hard to grasp until almost half way through the book.

Similiar to 'State of Fear', this felt more of a propaganda book. Michael Crichton is truly dead, literally and figuratively.

i, Robot - Isaac Asimov

I saw the movie before I read this book and first impressions, this book is not even remotely related to the movie. Which isn't good or bad, just completely different. The book is a set of short stories, loosely based on the Three laws of Robotics. The arc of the stories is the evolution of the positronic brain and its relationship with humans, from initial deployment to the robots running the world.

The book delves deeply into concepts such as Robot Psychology, breaking down of the 3 laws and 2-way logical discussions based the current problem presented in the story. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's interests are peaked by simple analytical problems and their arguments. This might not be the book to sit down and relax to if you plan to read every alternate paragraph with a 7&7 in one hand.

A fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

This is a fact-based multi-generational history of 4 random strangers and how they connected in Mumbai. The book describes the lives of the lower and lower-middle classes in India in the late 20th century. I read this book around the same time I saw Slumdog Millionaire so the description of beggar livelihood and the cruelty involved was especially prominent.

Overall a very long novel, probably due to the detailed description of all the main characters backgrounds, but it comes together very well at the end. A depressing novel, but only to the extent of reality. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has a little patience and wants to learn a little bit more about the "real" india.

Never have your dog stuffed - Alan Alda

Alan Alda's biography has exactly what you would expect in a biography. His real name, information about his family, a few major incidents, his life as a struggling actor sprinkled with a few tragedies here and there. A few things I found interesting were that he grew up around strippers & burlesque houses, his dad was a semi-popular actor and his mother literally belonged in a mental asylum. And ofcourse his dealings with these things and how they helped shape him into an actor.

I picked up this book to get an extended dosage of Hawkeye but he is nothing like the womanizing alcoholic he portrays in MASH. Although his hilarious writing style, which reminds me of the dark sarcasm of Marten Troost, keeps the book interesting.

The latter half of the book includes the back-stage stories of MASH and thats when things get really interesting. I found myself saying out loud "Oh Oh I've seen that episode" when he talks about how (or why) those episodes played out the way they did. Apparently the cast n crew were a pretty tight knit group.

I'd recommend this book to anybody looking for a quick read (only about 250), with a fast pace and enough humor to keep you smiling throughout the book.

Death Masks - Jim Butcher

The 5th book of the Dresden files is exactly what you'd expect. The unexpected. There's always unexpected twists in the plot with a little bit more exposure into Harry's past, non stop magic action mixed with the super sarcastic and calm-under-fire nature of Harry Dresden.

After 5 books, I'm still enjoying Harry's character, who I can describe as the House.M.D of the magic world who always finds himself in 24-like plot. All the books have a plot that last about 48 hrs in which Harry's is hunted by multiple parties and he slips out with some beasty magic action everytime he's pushed into a corner. And Death Masks definitely delivers. The plot is my favorite one so far, which includes a duel with a vampire and the return of a great character from Book 3.

Probably my favorite book of the Dresden files so far, but I wouldn't recommend reading this one without going through the rest of the series. The character build-up through the series makes this book that much more enoyable.

Summer Knight - Jim Butcher

Book 4 of the Dresden files. Summer Knight has all the sarcasm and action I've come to expect from the first three books. The theme in this one is Faeries and Harry Dresden finds himself in the middle of TWO potential wars. This book finally delves a little into Harry's background and the white council. The action scenes weren't as interesting as the first 3 but Harry's ingenuity in getting out of tough situations or dumb luck keeps this book interesting.

If I was putting the Dresden files on a graph, compared to the first 3 books I'd put book 4 at a plateau. It starts off great but then doesn't really get much better. It just keeps building upto something and feels a bit anti-climactic towards the end.

Killing Pablo - Mark Bowden

This book is about the hunt for Pablo Escobar, so it's pretty interesting right off the cover. The first half of the book sets up the political and social climate in Columbia to which Pablo was born and how he rose to becoming the most hunted man alive. The second half of the book is about the hunt. The author is an investigative reporter so the book includes a lot of facts from interviews and quotes. But the book still reads like a novel.

In addition to a LOT of political detail and the history of every player involved, there is also some cool information like secret CIA spy aircrafts which seem like normal 2 prop airplanes but have sliding panels and antenna's that pop out once in the air. They used to keep those up in the air around Medellin trying to catch Pablo, he was one evasive SOB. 16 month hunt and hundreds of millions of dollars

The author does tend to go off into tangents about the background of each new player that is introduced but if you have the patience for that it only makes the book and drama involved that much better. The book is very clear about the overarching theme that Pablo's demise was his love for his homeland, Medellin and a couple of pivotal mistakes he made along the way.

Grave Peril - Jim Butcher

The 3rd book in the Dresden files continues the Harry Dresden saga and this story knows no bounds. All hell has broken lose in Chicago with ghosts and ghouls with Harry and this time a trusty sidekick to clean up the mess. This book introduces a whole bunch of new concepts. The NeverNever alternative world that was touched upon in the 1st book is explained further, among other things.

Harry does a lot of cool magic in this, stuff that makes Harry Potter look like a candy ass. And he does it at the brink of death and exhaustion with his never ending sarcastic humor that makes you smile the whole time. The story also develops to a point where you know is almost setting up for something even bigger to take place in the next book. I can't wait for the next one.

Fool Moon - Jim Butcher

The 2nd book of the Dresden files picks up about 6 months where the last one left off. Harry Dresden is still a starving wizard in Chicago and this time there's a new problem in his city, Werewolves. Although in a series of a books, this book is a stand-alone story where, as usual, Harry Dresden is wanted by everybody and liked by none. The author explains the different types of werewolves and a plot that has atleast 2-3 pivotal turns that keep you guessing till almost the end.

Great writing by Jim Butcher in this quick read sci-fi novel. Harry Dresden is a great character that I can't enough of. Always exhausted and coming up with the right magic at the last minute. I will definitely be reading the rest of Dresden Files series.

Freakonomics - Steven Levitt

Steven Levitt is described as a rogue economist. He's not a traditional economist but he does believe in the basic principles of economics, such as incentives, although he has a completely different way of looking at things.

The book is split up into stand-alone chapters that can be read individually and are very interesting. The author proves, using probability theory and simple logic, that Chicago public teachers cheat, that sumo wrestling is rigged and that drug dealing isn't as lucrative as people think it is. After reading some of the chapters, you feel like you could have come up with these results yourself if you had just looked at the data in a different light.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone. It is all factual and includes very interesting analysis for some of the issues that the country is facing in recent years. The writing itself is relatively loose with a touch of humor that makes this book an easy read. There simply aren't enough chapters in this book.

Storm Front - Jim Butcher

This is the 1st of a series of 8 books called the 'Dresden Files'. Harry Dresden is a wizard but the interesting part is that he is a wizard in modern day Chicago who is also a starving private eye. He does some consulting work with the police and takes on weird and mysterious cases.

This book develops the character of Harry Dresden really well. He's hungry and always looking for more work but bound by human and wizard ethics he's kept from using his powers for bad. The end of the book is definitely the best part, makes you want to get book2 and see really how good a wizard is Harry Dresden.

I'd recommend this book for anybody who likes Harry Potter but with a slightly more adult outlook and with a modern day outlook to boot. I'm definitely going to read at least a couple more books in the Dresden files.

The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama

First impression of this book was, long sentences. All well articulated but long sentences. I think many of these celebrities have other authors ghost write books for them, but if Obama even wrote a part of this book, he's brilliant. All those votes that Obama cast as part of the legislative process are recorded & scrutinized in the media but this book gave me an insight into things from his perspective. His thought process that goes into those decisions, that from a distance seem so easy.

The whole book is written in first person, during the timeframe when he first got elected as a senator in DC. Juggling work with a young a family between DC and Chicago, Obama clearly humanizes himself with all the honesty that you'd expect from Joe next door. A fresh new senator in the middle of the old boys club still holding on to the basic principles on which this country was found upon.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I believe I gained a much better understanding of political America as well as a lot of american and international history. I also got a lot of attention at airports and planes when people saw me holding this book.

I hope they serve beer in Hell - Tucker Max

OMFG! This book was so funny that I couldn't pick it up for bedtime reading because I'd find myself up till 2am with tears in my eyes laughing my ass off. The whole book is a collection of his drinking and sex stories from his blog @ TuckerMax.com. Making fun of rednecks, fat people, ugly women with no bounds, he makes telling the truth sound like a disease. His friends and drinking nights sort of remind me me of my own drinking nights but not nearly as as crazy. This guys lifestyle will make your fun nights sound like a church bingo party.

I picked up this book because I was in the mood for reading something humorous and I mistakenly stumbled upon on a phenomenon. Apparently this guys blog and his stories are famous and he's on his way to make a movie. Internet celeberities of the new era at its best.

Sex Lives of Cannibals - Maarten Troost

This book was freakin' hilarious. Its so funny that I kept chuckling to myself in libraries and airports. About a guy who can only be classified as a social reject, sarcastic as hell, lives in parents basement and no ambitions decides to moves to a pacific island. He thinks its exotic. The lack of electricity, kids and pigs playing on the 1 airport runway, no water and only fish fish fish for food. The lack of infrastructure and the hilarity that ensures by putting a white couple in the middle of it is well worth it. To add to that the sarcasm is the best part. His writing kind of reminded me Joseph Hellers writing. After this book, I really appreciate living in a developed society.

Supposed to be a true story and a really funny read. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a light read that'll keep you smiling. Although there are a couple of gross moments in it though.

Eldest - Christopher Paolini

As good as expected. This book was along the same lines as Eragon, picks up right where that one left off. He's finally on his way to the elf-land to get his training and then he finally shows what he's capable of. And the battle at the end was even better than the one in Eragon. There's a couple of surprises along the way that caught be completely off guard.

This is a must read for anybody who liked Eragon, and I can't wait to read Brisingr.

Eragon - Christopher Paolini

This book is exactly half way between Harry Potter and Lord of the rings. So many similarities but its still a great story. Whats interesting is the vast difference in the beginning and the end. Eragon goes a long way from farm boy to a legend. The fight in the end of the book was amazing, kept me in goose bumps and I couldn't wait to see what happens next.

Anybody who enjoys fantasy reading will enjoy this, especially if they're looking for something like the LOTR series thats actually readable and not convoluted like Tolkien made it.

Godfather Returns - Mark Winegardner

Chronologically this book is placed in between all three movies. It fills in the gaps about Michaels family life and his struggle to take his family legit. I don't know what the reviewers who gave this thing a thumbs up were smoking but the writing is nothing like Mario Puzo. This moron has put the godfather saga to shame. He writes with forever annoying brackets (oh so many brackets). The new character, Geraci, was great and probably the only good thing in this novel.

The overall story wasn't bad but I'm never going to read a book written by this author again. I think I'll have to read 'The Godfather' again just to remove the bitter taste in my mouth.

The Closers - Michael Connelly

I love how Michael Connelly novels always have a bang ending. This one didn't. This book was like reading an episode of 'Cold Case', which sucks. Either way the story could've been much shorter. I could've read only the alternate pages of this book and not missed anything. It took me forever to finish it because it just so boring. Granted I was a little intrigued by the suspense created but it took forever.

I don't recommend this book for anybody, unless you're a die-hard Michael Connelly fan, even in which case this would be a mediocre read at best.

The Brethren - John Grisham

The story of three criminal judges that are in prison and upto no good was what got me interested in this story. I loved the old fart characters that have gone astray and come up with the best way to make money whilst in prison. At the same time the other story developing on the political side (big surprise with John Grisham) has an obvious connection to these scam old scam artists. Atleast it didn't start off with a young hungry lawyer who gets a high paying job.


This book is a good quick read thats just a little humorous and very predictabe. The read speed is very fast so I didn't wasn't too much time on it.