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-   -   The Books Thread (Fiction) (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/9251-books-thread-fiction-91.html)

If you have read The Shining and loved it, do watch the movie and come back with your thoughts too. And you must read The Green Mile, another gem from King and follow it with excellent movie with Tom Hanks in lead. Once you finish Green Mile, you have to read Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption to be followed by the fantastic movie.

Over the weekend, I completed 'And The Mountains Echoed' by Khaled Hosseini. Definitely the weakest among his 3 books. Too many jumps in story lines, with new characters thrown in with no conclusion.

I have watched all (almost) movies based on Stephen King's book. I don't remember Shining since I had watched it many years back.

Off topic, I learnt Salem's Lot is being made. Need to read this before the series comes out :)

Over the past few months, I read three translated works - "The Village of Eight Graves", "The Honjin Murders", "The Devil's Flute Murders" - of Seishi Yokomizo, a writer of Japanese mystery novels.

As his wiki profile says, he was prolific during the pst WWII period. The books are also set in that period and does give a glimpse of grim post war Japan - shortages, black marketing, power cuts, crowded trains etc.

These are translated works of a difficult language and set in a unique cultural milieu which we are not familiar with. The pace is also quite languid. You may find yourself keep referring to the helpful list of characters given in the first few pages. There are also references to architectural elements which are unique to Japanese houses, paper screen doors/fusuma or tatami mats, for example, which are of significance to the plot. In short, do not expect a breezy read of a John Grisham novel or even a translated work of a Keigo Higashino.

However, I would still recommend these mystery novels for intricate plotting - 2 of the three books I mentioned are Locked-room mysteries - and for just being something different. So, if you are tired of regular mysteries/thrillers set in US or UK, have a go.



ps - I will be exchanging above two books sometime this week at Blossoms, Church Street. If you are buying them there, it might be the same copy I read :)

If anyone's in mood for full timepass you can read the below books.

1) Scandal Point by Fahad Samar. Full on Bollywood storyline with lots of masala.

2) May I Hebb your Attention Pliss - Arnab Ray. Guaranteed laugh riot.

Lee Child (Andrew Child) - In Too Deep:

Am a fan of Jack Reacher books, but this book was the first book of that character that i could not be bothered to complete.

Just didn't feel like a Reacher book to me.

Hello folks,

I am looking to buy a collection of Harry Potter (paperback books) for my niece.

The prices on Flipkart and Amazon have a steep gap wherein the collection at former is cheaper.

I do not want to buy pirated copies or cheap quality books and hence wish to know whether the price gap is only on account of discounts by the seller or the books at former store are of poor quality.

Any leads on the offline availability would be extremely helpful.

Thanks.

hi taxman, i'm a big fan of used books (cheaper, better resource usage, and there's something to be said about a yellowing book vs a brand new one). Every self-respecting used-book seller would have the complete harry potter series.

If you were in Bangalore I would have suggested Blossom Book Store on Church street but I'm sure Pune will have equivalent high quality used book sellers.

When trying to buy a complete set, always visit a brick-and-mortar store like Crossword or any other book shop. They'll definitely have the complete set in both paper back and hard cover. You can check the quality in person and ask them to gift wrap as well.

PS: There are numerous Crossword bookstores in Pune along with some traditional old ones as well. :)

I have learnt the hard way that most of collections available on Flipkart for dirt cheap prices are pirated copies. Amazon is better in that respect. In general, if the collection is available for significantly cheaper price than elsewhere, then it is most likely a pirated version.

After a long time, I ran into a couple of science fiction books that were either quite gripping in their stories or had a very interesting concept.

1. Dark Matter - Blake Crouch - there is a TV series on Apple TV that is based on this book. Have seen only the first episode and dropped cos the book was much better. Multiverses. If you're worn out on the concept due to Marvel movies - this is a much much nicer concept.

2. Old Man's War - John Scalzi - A proper space war type of story. But with relatable humans and relatable science. Had started and stopped this earlier but it held my attention so well this time, that I was wondering why I dropped it earlier.

3. Lock In - John Scalzi - I liked the above book and author so much that I started looking for other books of his. This one is set in very near future after a pandemic has resulted in a large population of people with highly active minds but are completely paralyzed. They use "personal transports" or in other words mind-controlled robots to experience the world. Its a murder mystery as well, so all in all a very engaging read

Could try here?

https://www.bookswagon.com/book/harr.../9781408856772

I did the mistake of buying the same for my daughter for her birthday from Flipkart. They are pirated copies. By the time it came to my attention it was late to return it back. My suggestion is to buy it from a local book store where you can see them before buying.

Thank you everyone for your time and valuable inputs.

Bought a set from Crossword today in the afternoon :).

Author: Mark Dawson

Main Character: John Milton

Who is it for: For fans of Jack Reacher.

Chanced upon this author at the local library here and after being disappointed with the new Reacher novel, this caught my eye (It had a sticker that said "for fans of Reacher").

Two books down and it's been a fun read till now.

Ex Military dude, Loner, No possessions, Keeps wandering, Keeps poking his nose into other people's lives to make things right etc.

Title: The Silence of the Lambs
Author: Thomas Harris
Rating:4/5

Read this classic finally and must say it was satisfying. I haven’t seen the movie adaptation but have caught numerous glimpses of Sir Anthony Hopkins in it. Must say couldn’t picture the character without his face popping in the subconscious. Ditto with Jodie Foster and Clarice Starling.

Loved the thriller and a recommended book. :)