The Devil Wears Prada.............and I want to wear it too!!!!!!!!!
Lauren Weisberger's novel is one fast paced piece of writing that gives you a glimpse into the New York fashion world. It makes you want a glamorous life even if you know that it is so wrong. The long hours, high heels, cups of coffee and lack of a social life have a unique attraction when you club them with clothes from Prada, randomn gorgeous men and famous people who think that you are really lovely.

The writing is so easy to relate to and allows you to easily imagine yourself in Andrea's ( the heroine) shoes. Everyone can relate to the 'monster boss' theme.And the character of Miranda Priestly (the monster boss) jumps at you from the pages ready to pounce. You can never imagine another more spoilt person who is allowed to indulge in so many excesses.The author has conjured up every detail of the characters to perfection right down to their "Manolo Blahniks" which is the only propah shoes that a girl should wear.

The lives of the people who work at Runway seduces you into believeing that what they are doing is real life. But in the end you realise that your family and friends are the only ones who are really there for you. And real life is about making tough decisions so that you can pursue your dreams. Although you wish it weren't so. I would reccomend this book purely for escaping into another world so that you can add a little sparkle to yours. Because at the end of the day this book plays on the emotions of every woman who are closet fashionista's even if they have to sometimes live vicariously through others.

SNAPSHOTS FROM HELL
I feel like moving to California and enrolling into Stanford because of the book. Maybe the author has tried to use reverse pschyology . Anyways I loved it........can relate to a lot of things even though Welingkar is not as severe as Stanford, but it is still a B-School.

And if your wondering what I am blabbering on abt the book SNAPSHOTS FROM HELL is about the experiences of a poet called Peter Robinson at Stanford University's Business School.Why is he called a poet? because compared most of his peers in his class he has never been exposed to Business and Numbers and so he and all the people like him are called poets. Right from Math Boot camp till the end when he gets his first job you cannot put the book down. His classmates are specially interesting and that's basically what B-School is about. The more interesting your classmates are the better is your learning. His book talks about how B-School makes you question yourself, the fast pace of the curricula and the special issues women face. Not to mention the accomplished teachers and the unique grading system. California sounds like a lovely place and at the end everyone would like to settle there. Even the author eventually settles there after marrying his sweet heart.
With humour and sensitivity he candidly describes a lot of real issues on the campus.These issues are universal and even though he had enrolled in 1991 for the course the issues are still very much relevant.I would especially recommend it for MBA aspirants or anyone even remotely connected to Business school

I was dying to get back to fiction. Granth had a booksale and I picked up lots of lovely books. Picked up this book that I wanted to get for a long time called GYPSY MASALA by Preethi Nair. She was written about in the Femina how she quit her lucrative job to write and how she invested all her life savings into self publishing her book because of the rejections. And it has just snowballed from there.

And it is a lovely book. Yes it is set in a very Indian context ( and their obession with marriage) but the theme is universal. There are 3 protoganists in the book. Molu and her adoptive parents Bali and Sheila.Its about loosing and following your dreams. About love, loss and life. Simply lovely! It moves back and forth between Kerala and England and from lives that were so far apart and yet mysteriously intertwined. It moves through secrets that are so heavy that I wonder how one can keep them and one persons pride that becomes like a stone wall of isolation. At the end you come to understand the characters like you never could before. How we judge people without viewing the entire context that they acted in. The reasons why they did it don't necessarily make it right but definitely make it understandable. Sometimes that is more important than anything.

And even though the underlying theme is to follow your dreams and keep your heart open to the possibilities it also lets you in on lifes secrets. That duty can never replace love, that pride can make you so lonely and that taking chances are sometimes so scary that even if we have the opportunity to do something bigger we don't because we fear. A highly recommended book and looks like I have been having a little luck with the books since I have not written about any bad ones.............yet.............HAPPY NEW YEAR

Pride and Prejudice ............with Kiera Knightley and Mathew Macfaden ...........I saw the movie last night. So yes this is technically a movie review though It is one of my most favourite books. Apparently it has been voted the most romantic book of all time and I cannot agree more................I love it. I wish that it didn't have to share it with the whole world. Jane Austen is brilliant I will still maintain that this book is better than the movie.

You know there is no sex or violence or anything like that but the message comes across. In fact the chemistry is so much more explosive between the 2 characters. I remember reading this when I was about 13 and falling in love with it. You could read so much between the lines and the theme was is so universal.

I could eat Mathew Macfaden up in this movie........and if any guy proposes to me like he does in the end to Kiera I will just die happy!!!!!!!!! It's like my ultimate fantasy. To be pursued by this smart handsome rich man whose love is so deep and who wants me forever. I guess any girl dreams of this. Thats why it has even been adapted into a hindi version 'Bride and Prejudice.'And the whole family are quite endearing..........with everyone acting really well. You get embarrased for the girls because of their mother and you don't like Bingley's sister for her snobishness. And Mr.Bingley himself is so endearing. OH I LOVED THE MOVIE ( this will be one of my favourite adaptations) You know I'm quite practical but for this movie I think everyone just turns romantic ..........so I reccomend this movie to everyone ( not just the romantics!)

Ok so I took a short cut........I read a book that's just about 100 pgs and I read it only because of that. Its just that I have been so busy with B-school that I think I have no time. I have bought my own copy of Rich Dad Poor Dad (because I want to re-read it) and then I bought The Kiterunner and then I'm in the middle of Shantaram........but I said let me finish this thin book first!!!!!! In a warped way whenever I finish reading a book I feel as if I have accomplished something.

Today I finished reading the book called 'The One Minute Manager' it took me 2 days when ideally it should have taken me 2 hours so you can see how little time I have. Anyways about the book. It's just like the title says and it delivers its message very quickly ( in like a minute). It talks about what it takes to be an effective manager. Its very simple and easy to read and I would reccomend it to anyone who has a phobia that he/she can't read books. Anyhow don't think that just because it is thin it is not substantial.

It delivers some important messages on how to be an effective manager, leader, human being at work.I don't want to really give you the secrets because you should pick up the book itself. But there were some things that really struck me like the fact that companies will spend millions of dollars on plant and machinery but nothing half way to match that on developing their people. I have experienced this when I was working too.You who can feel and understand and yet you are not assigned the same value that maybe the software program etc. is given!
Sayings like 'People who feel good about themselves produce good results ' is also something that struck home. Then the saying that'Everyone is a potential winner, Some people are disguised as loosers,Don't let their appearances fool you' I was thinking about this in context to my classroom where we have already categorised a few people as loosers but then we've all been choosen because we bring something to the classroom. So probably it means how motivated are you too do well and thats what the book talks about that its when your really excited about something and self motivated enough you will do well.The book also talks about critising the outcome and not the person when things go wrong. This we hear quite often but it is immensely important.

In the book we are introduced to a very special manager who because of putting into practise the 3 secrets he has so much more time to develop people and have fun. In this way we also meet his team who have learnt from him an have become one minute managers themselves. So if you are looking for some quick reading I would definitely reccomend this book.

VERONIKA DECIDES TO DIE

This book by Paulo Coelho deals with mental disorder’s that afflict us. It help’s us understand the people who suffer from them. The book revolves around the protagonist Veronika who decides to commit suicide and it just snowballs from there. It is set in Slovenia. A very bleak setting indeed. It conjures up images of snow and isolation and poverty. You keep imagining a place with mountains that are barren and a city without greenery.

In this setting is situated the mental institution Villette. Here we meet people who are mental and those who are not but still would like to keep their company. Veronika arrives here and everyone around her starts getting affected since she is so young and about die. The inmates stories are bought to the surface and the way they start questioning their own lives because of Veronika’s situation is beautifully bought to the fore. In all this death and despair a case for living is made. All of us are afflicted with madness of some kind or another. We learn that life is too short and people need to realize that they can be different. It also deals with how people get caught up in the world with things that do not inspire them. They give up something that they are really passionate about for living a mundane life and in that frustration start living a life of mediocrity and soon suicidal thoughts enter our heads.

I’ve never thought about what might feel like to be mad, to be considered mad, to feel so alone and not have people understand you. Some people come through it stronger like Mari one of the character’s in the book but it’s not a situation I would ever like to be in. This book gave me a ringside view and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a different topic to read on a Sunday afternoon.

This blog was just lying vacant. I had decided to write book reviews here. Because I read so much sometimes I forget what I've read! This will definitely help me remember. This book I read last term and the review was just lying around, incomplete. So now I'm going to actively start writing here.........it will help me in the goal of writing my book(: I'm sure. Would love to have some comments here.

The tipping point- By Malcolm Gladwell



I had read Blink a book by the same author and was impressed. At that time I heard about his earlier book, this book, and was looking forward to laying my hands on it.

Once Again Malcolm Gladwell speaks of a really novel and unique concept. It’s about how small occurrences can snowball into larger consequences. A tipping point. He takes up various examples. The first example was about Hush Puppies and how the shoes were going out of style. Then one day some really cool people started wearing them and they became bestsellers. Similarly he talks about shoes called Airwalk. Whereas in the first example Hush Puppies went about doing their usual marketing strategies, Airwalk decided to use a novel way by using those key people that others listen to, too spread their brand.

Here he explains the concepts of Innovators, Connectors & Mavens. Innovators are those guys who take the risks and do something different. They always know that there is something different about themselves be it clothes or business. They are the ones that everybody is watching. They are the ones that make the decision whether something is good enough or cool enough. Connectors are those with a large network of friends who can spread a message really fast. Mavens are the brains. They are the ones who watch the innovators and are very sensitive to their surroundings. They pick up trends and are first to know about a bargain. They may not have as large a circle as a connector but when they talk everybody listens, so do the connectors. These examples are highly relatable where you can see yourself and your friends placed into these different categories.

Malcolm also talks extensively on the TV shows Sesame Street and Blues Clues. Here he tells us how innovative children’s cinema has become and the tipping point in each of them being the novel way in which the shows are designed. Amongst other things he also talks about how New York city became a better place. It was not necessarily because the policemen increased or things became stricter. Sure that was one of the reasons. But it was mostly because graffiti was taken care of in the city and ticketless travelers in the subway were penalized severely. These were the small things that were the tipping point for the city. Once the decay in the environment got cleaned up things started looking much better. It gives us food for thought. That sometimes it’s not about your advertising and marketing strategies. But simple things like someone you respect telling you to go out and buy the product.