Search

Total Pageviews

Showing posts with label #brunchbookchallenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #brunchbookchallenge. Show all posts

Friday 30 June 2017

Book Review: Breathing Two Worlds by Ruchira Khanna




About the Book:

Neena Arya, a Delhi-born goes abroad for

further studies and decides to settle down there. Determined to be a 'somebody'
from a 'nobody' she blends with the Americans via the accent and their
mannerisms while having a live-in relationship with her European boyfriend,
Adan Somoza.
When illness hits home, Neena rushes to


meet her ailing dad. Tragedy strikes and amidst the mingling with relatives and
friends, she finds herself suffocated with the two different cultures that she
has been breathing since she moved to the United States. How will she strike a
balance between both the cultures as she continues to support her widowed
mother? Will she be able to do justice to her personal and professional life
after the loss?


Amidst the adjusting she bonds with an
ally and learns about ties beyond blood. On what grounds will she be able to
form an invisible thread that she has longed for since childhood?


Breathing Two Worlds ventures into
cultures and ethnicity allowing Neena to ponder upon her foundation and
priorities.
Available

on
Amazon


Book Trailer: 





About the Author



Ruchira Khanna, a biochemist turned
writer, left her homeland of India to study in America, where she obtained her
Master’s degree in Biochemistry from SJSU and a degree in Technical Writing
from UC Berkeley.
After finishing her studies, Ruchira

worked as a biochemist at a Silicon Valley startup for five years. After the
birth of her son, Ruchira took a job as a technical writer, so that she could
work from home. Soon, she began doing freelance writing work as well.

Her love of writing grew and she started

working on her own books. After four years of freelancing, Ruchira published
her first book, a fiction novel for adults called Choices.

Then came the children’s book The

Adventures of Alex and Angelo: The Mystery of the Missing Iguana. She got a
thumb’s up review from Kirkus Reviews

In January 2016, she has published her


second fictional novel Voyagers into the Unknown. It talks about the quest for
happiness as the heavy hearted tourists travel miles from different parts of
the world to Raj Touristry in Agra, India. Return to their respective home with
a healed heart. This book talks about their journey!

In Breathing Two Worlds, Ruchira talks

about ethnicity and cultures, and helps to strike a balance via a fiction-drama
novel as her characters breathe two worlds.

In addition to writing books, she is a

holistic healer associated with Stanford Healing Partners and also maintains a
blog of daily mantras on Blogspot, called Abracabadra. Ruchira currently
resides in California with her family.

Find

her on:
Website Blog

My Review (3.5/5)

The book had me at its idea. The metaphoric title seems just apt, and someone who relocates to another continent/country can very well relate to the conundrum. The story follows the journey of Neena Arya as she adapts to the professional lifestyle and embraces the work culture of a new culture while still keeping herself grounded to her roots.
This dilemma is as old as time, or at least time since travel was invented. But the point is the story was simple, lucid and easy. It is a quick read too, and the occasional quirks of India and the clashes of the culture are an entertaining element.
The millennial generation will have these lives over and over again, in different forms, so the story makes a whole lot of sense. The interactions between the family members of the protagonist and her boyfriend were warm and cordial, which was a welcome departure from the cliche.

At some point I may have thought that this theme has now been beaten to death and something more crispy is worth exploration, but the story, due to its simplicity, made me finish it till the end. If for nothing else, for the metaphor!


To get your book reviewed, read my review policy here. And then contact me here.






Follow for regular reviews, author interviews and bookish love:
Facebook Website Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Email 24-snapchat-2-128

Saturday 25 July 2015

Why #brunchbookchallenge is awesome!

There's no denying it now. You know it, I know it. So many of us have started reading, thanks to the reading challenges, that surprisingly have a far longer life than the fragile resolutions we make at the beginning of the year.
Just when the publishing industry was at its performance peak, churning out one good book after another (also some really crappy ones), Hindustan Times did what every one was waiting for.
They brought in the #brunchbookchallenge last year.
Lo and behold, a revolution was in action.
Twitter became a book hangout, recommendations are now being exchanged faster than it is possible to keep track of, our to-be-read lists have grown humongous tails, and we have publicly and unabashedly been a fangirl for our favourite books. We have read them, reviewed them, recommended them, sent spoilers and whatnot.

Just a challenge to read 30 books in a  year (increased from 24 from the last year) and we saw a revolution:
Avid readers became disciplined readers.
Unorganised readers started keeping a track of how much and what they are reading.
Non-readers took a plunge.
The reading bug had bitten and the reading mania was, and continues to be infectious.

Without much ado, let's get straight to the point, and let me list out why #brunchbookchallenge is awesome. (As if it needs reasons!)

1. They have a massive reach


Sundays had become synonymous with the treat of HT Brunch. And twitter was never before made better use of. This is my definition of corporate social responsibility. Using your power to reach masses and getting them to read. CSR is for real!
This was like book club level: 21st Century

2. They give recommendations


The folks at Brunch don't shove books in your faces, but they do give recommendations drawing from what they have read recently and what your tastes sound like. This bunch of readers are awesome.


3. They conduct giveaways and contests


Yes- free books and bookish stuff. Who doesn't like to be the lucky owner of some swag?

4. They have brought bibliophiles together



They have used their media presence well- bringing scores of readers and non-readers turned readers together. Logging in to twitter/Instagram became a prospect of excitement about finding new bibliophiles and registering our progress with reading. And well, reading 30 books a year isn't that difficult.

5. They are our Sunday treat, duh!
Reading=Brunch= Reading list update








To get your book reviewed, read my review policy here. And then contact me here.

Follow for regular reviews, author interviews and bookish love:
        

Popular Posts