Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading  

To participate : 
1. Grab your current read.
2. Open to a random page.
3. Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page. 
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE  SPOILERS.

This week's teaser comes from: 

Until the End of Time

Author: Danielle Steel 

TEASER : "He killed her last night. Tony killed Debbie. He came home drunk and threw her down the stairs. She died of brain hemorrhage this morning. I just saw her mother." 

SUMMARY:  Two couples, four decades apart. One believes that if lovers die, they find each other again in another life or perhaps the will wind up as stars side by side in the sky; together forever. Who knows how it ends? 

MY THOUGHTS:  Even m curious to know how its gonna end. Can't wait to continue reading this novel. Got it today and planning to stay up all night n finish it. I love Danielle. Her novels are fast read, this is one reason that I can finish her books in one day or at the most two. Took a break to blog on this. 

Happy Reading !! 

Sun Rise (Haiku)

Sun, I can make you

Rise from West and set in East

Gift of love for Him !! 

Review: A Death In Vienna by Silva, Daniel

About the book: 

• A Death In Vienna is the fourth book in the fictional Gabriel Allon series. 
• Its based on revenge and justice themes.
• 416 pages.
• ISBN: 9780399151439

How did I get this copy?

• Won a giveaway on a blog.

My thoughts on this: 

Very well written with complex plot with full of twist and turns which are not immediately obvoius. A story so unbe­liev­able that even those who suf­fered through it almost can­not believe it has happened. 

Gabriel travels to Vienna to investigate the bombing incident in which two girls were killed and went in coma. He finds in the hospital a man named Max Klein who believes that its cuz of him why Lavon has been attacked. Max tells Gabriel the story of his survival of the Holocaust during which he met a man named Erich Radek who he has recently encountered after sixty years, a man who was then responsible for many deaths and for burying evidence of the genocide who is now a respected businessman living with another name and identity.

Silva's books r not only intelligent and sophisticated but credible. He takes historical research very seriously. 

Overall its a gr8 ride. for me it was a bt slow too. I took my own time to finish n review it. 

Happy Reading !! 

Brain Health and Puzzles

When we hear the word "Addiction" it is usually associated with drug abuse, excessive drinking, smoking and even too much gambling are all negative activities that are addictive.But if there is one kind of addiction that is actually beneficial for adults and kids alike, it would be an addiction to sudoku puzzles. Not only sudokus, but also, crosswords, ken ken, kakuro to name a few. As I was doing my research on these kind of puzzles, I came across this site " Startdl.puzzle"  which has help me and my kid in our daily exercise. 

I started off with Sudoku, then Sudoku high-fives ( 5 puzzle in one grid), Sudoku Ball (I donno how many puzzle in one ball). Sudoku was followed by Ken Ken, Kakuro, Anagrams, Qbox ( Qbox game in this site has really captivated my mind. You just don't want to stop doing it.) and then there is "Quote lovers" , you name it. 

In my son's everyday routine, he has this site in his list. It is a must for him to solve any one of these puzzles a day, which has helped him a lot in his logical thinking skills. Since the puzzles entail the use of logic, common sense, and concentration, his brain is put out of the stupor of doing routine, mundane tasks. In other words, his brain actually gets a break and a good work-out. These puzzles keeps the brain cells healthier. 

Education is important, but studies actually show that students who do mental workouts like sudoku and other puzzles have higher IQs than students who do not. This only shows that doses of puzzles solving are more than just ways to pass time. They actually help in improving your ability to comprehend more complex ideas. 

Instead of watching TV, being on laptop and video games, hand them sudoku puzzles. Then, both you and your kids can defend your love of puzzle solving to those poor souls who do not understand the beauty, joy, and benefits of solving it.

The nice thing about doing a puzzle is that you know that there is solution. So lets solve some and find solutions !!!

Startdl.com 

These are some of my personal favorite puzzles: 

1. Ken Ken: 

2. Sudoku Ball:  I solved this in 2 hrs and 17 mins. 

3. Kakuro: 

4. Qbox: 

Click on this link to go to the game page. 

Happy Puzzling !!

Review: Love Story by Erich Segal

"Love means never having to say you're sorry" 

How this book came to me? 

Today I left my college early as I was done with my exam. I had more than enuf time to pick up kids from school, almost 2 1/2 hour. I stepped in the library and randomly picked this one and started reading without wasting time. 

The very first sentence itself gave away the ending of the book, "What can u say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died?" and of course I do wanted to know what had happened in between. Its just 130 pages and finished in less than 2 hrs. 

My Thought:

This love story is no different than any other love story. A typical love story where two college mates, date and fell in love and against all odds, gets married. Face all the life challenges together and sails through the turbulent times. When the time comes for them to live happily ever after, the "Death" calls. 

But the way Erich has portrayed the two characters is amazing. You almost yourself experience love, despair and evrything else that Oliver faces and overcomes. 

Being in relationship and being in love is two different things. This story make u feel that love is true, it does exist, and its so beautiful. This is a must read for those who want to know the difference between casual romance and pure love. 

Review: Cross Roads by Wm Paul Young

This is Young's second book. First was "The Shack" Cross Road is very similar to The Shack, very spiritual, religious oriented. Books like these need to be read very slowly, patiently and carefully, cuz there is always a message n lessons in such fiction books which relates to our every day to day life.

This book has reminded me of my mom who had Cancer n later went in coma, right in front of my eyes. I can totally relate, not much, but a lot, cuz of being there, doing that, seeing that !! May her soul R.I.P 

However, let's talk about Anthony Spencer, the main character of this story !! The problem with him was that he was a very selfish, paranoid, egoistic, ambitious, sociopathic, self-made businessman, who never valued his family, never valued love, who cut himself off from the people who loved him, his ex-wife, his daughter and his son who died at a very young age. A brain tumor and cerebral hemorrhage leaves his body in coma and landed him in ICU. Here he interacts and encounters with the Holy spirits, who reveals the state of his heart to him, and gives him an opportunity to be transformed. Transforming his life from being egoistic to helping others, love others. This is what we take at the end of the day with us. Tony is now visiting in minds of those surrounding him. And what happens when Jesus himself tells Tony that he could heal one person? Will this selfish man win or he will experience a change in his heart? 

There is this beautiful lines at the end of the book which sums up the book.

" Imagery,” added Grandmother, “has never been able to define God, but it is our intention to be known, and each whisper and breath of imagery is a little window into a facet of our nature.  Pretty cool, eh?”

If u are one in those million people who picked "The Shack", then u shouldn't give a second thought on this one. 

I got this copy from Chapters, Indigo. Actually i ordered it from library, but I was way way behind for my turn and I couldn't wait. I thought of keeping it in my shelf, but after reading it, I decided to donate it to the library, cuz I don't want others to wait to read this. 

Of course a MUST read !! 

Happy Reading !!