The Appeal - John Grisham

'The jury was ready.

After forty-two hours of deliberations that followed seventy-one days of trial that included 530 hours of testimony from four dozen witnesses, and after a lifetime of sitting silently as the lawyers haggled and the judge lectured and the spectators watched like hawks for telltale signs, the jury was ready. Locked away in the jury room, secluded and secure, ten of them proudly signed their names to the verdict while the other two pouted in their corners, detached and miserable in their dissension. There were hugs and smiles and no small measure of self congratulation because they had survived this little war and could now march proudly back into the arena with a decision they had rescued through sheer determination and the dogged pursuit of compromise. The ordeal was over; their civic duty complete. They had served above and beyond. They were ready'


'The Appeal is a powerful, timely and shocking story of political and legal intrigue, a story that will leave readers unable to think about our political process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again'

'Politics has always been a dirty game. Now justice is, too.'

A very interesting insight to get one to read more. Those were excerpts from the book. Another excellent piece from Grisham.

In summary "When and if a second chance is deserved".

The Innocent Man - Part 2

When I first started reading the book, I was a little bit aprehensive on how Grisham was going to prtray a real life story into his trade mark novel. It was indeed very slow moving at first but it became like a fiction thriller as you progress with the chapters. What amazed me was the way Grisham handled the various scenarios in real life into a very smooth transition of chapters in the book. You would not really feel that you were reading a real life story. Such a writing skill!

Anyway, it was also disturbing to see the way things were unfolding at the litlle town of ADA. It was anything but fairness, reasonableness and compassion. It was indeed a situation when no one should be subjected to. But then again, it was no different to those happening at many other places in the world, this country included. It is a case when people act at their own whim and fancy for the sake of getting things done.

It is a sad world indeed when the halpless was continuously ignored and abused. When a human being is treated worst than animal. When a person moving to a danger being pushed further and closer to the danger! What kind of human would do such a thing, one wonders! It is a sad state of any society which would allow this; when people close their eyes or look at the other directions. It was red herring in full action. At the end of the day the real victim did not get the justice he or she really deserved!

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Part 1

'[A] masterful follow-up to....The Kite Runner. Not to be missed. A Thousand Splendid Suns will tear at your heart' - Chicago Sun-Times

'A stirring read....almost impossible to resist.' - Entertainment Weekly

'Uplifting, Enlightening, Universal.' - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

'Once again the setting is Afghanistan, but this time [Hosseini] has taken the last thirty-three years of that country's tumultuous history of war and oppression and told it on an intimate scale, through the lives of two women.' - The New York Times

'A brave, honorable, big-hearted book.' - The Washington Post

'This engaging, heartbreaking novel soars.' - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

''When the journey continues, the search will go on until the sun sets" - White Eagle

Double Jeopardy - Part 1

'When mobster Al Moroconi is charged with orchestrating a heinous crime against a young woman, the first defense attorney on the case mysteriously disappears. TravisByre - a smart Dallas cop who recently traded his badge for a law degree - is appointed by a federal judge to speak for the defense.

Then Moroconi vanishes into the Dallas underworld - taking Travis's reputation with him. Running for his life, Travis comes to a horrifying realization: the charge against Moroconi is just a cover for something much bigger and more foul.....'

William Bernhardt
www.ballantinebooks.com

The Innocent Man - Part 1

In the town of Ada, Oklahoma, Ron Williamson was going to be the next Mickey Mantle. But on his way to the Big Leagues, Ron stumbled, his dreams broken by drinking, drugs, and women. Then, on a winter night on 1982, not far from Ron's home, a young cocktail waitress named Debra Sue Carter was savagely murdered. The investigation led nowhere. Until, on the filmsiest evidence, it led to Ron Williamson. The washed up small-town hero was charged, tried and sentenced to death - in a trial littered with lying witnesses and tainted evidence that would shatter a man's already broken life ... and let a true killer go free.

.......It is a book that will terrify anyone who believes in the presumption of innocence - a book no American can afford to miss.

'A Gritty, Harrowing True-Crime Story' - Time

'A Triumph' - Seattle Times

'Grisham has crafted a legal thriller every bit as suspenseful and fast-paced as his best selling Fiction' - Boston Globe

The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Epilogue

I am not sure how the critics considered this book as 'more exciting than any thriller' (Philip Pullman) or 'admirably spare and amazingly exciting' (Rachel Cooke, New Statesman). I may be bias but the story was rather ordinary except for the way it was presented, in a flashback technic. Just like when one's mother would relate a family story, except in this case it was related to a stranger - with no name. The experience Changez went through was not dissimilar than many who took the same journey. A journey undertaken at a relatively young age when one is bound to discover many new things in life. In this case, it was a discovery of Princeton, Underwood Samson & Company and Erica. The disenchantment experienced by Changez with Erica and Americain general was nothing new regardless of 9/11. A person who grew up in one culture then moved to another culture would definitely feel the conflict. It is the challenge in managing this conflict will make one becomes either a steel or a plasticine!

Indeed, to me the true reason for the meeting between Changez and that American did not become abundantly clear at all............

The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Part 1

Having read The Kite Runner, I just could not resist picking up this book by MOHSIN HAMID while browsing the shelves at my regular bookstore the other day. Perhaps the caption 'Shortlisted for the Man Brooker Prize 2007' was the real eye catcher for me.

' Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard. I am a lover of America...'

So speaks the mysterious stranger at Lahore cafe' as dusk settles. Invited to join him for tea, you learn his name and what led this immaculate speaker of English to seek you out. For he is more wworldly than you might expect; better travelled and better educated. He knows the West better than you do. And as he tells you his story, of how he embraced the Western dream - and a Western woman - and how both betrayed him. so the night darkens. Then the true reason for your meeting becomes abundantly clear.....

The DNA of Leadership

Leverage Your Instincts to COMMUNICATE, DIFFERENTIATE, INNOVATE

Just as your DNA may determine your destiny, a company's organizational DNA may determine its destiny. The DNA of Leadership helps you understand how to shape your company's genetic code for success. The author identifies the 7 vital leadership practices that can reshape an organisation into a WE-centric culture-a culture that will enable people to effectively work together during times organizational change. Learn how to 'graft' these 7 practices onto meetings, conversations, and strategic initiatives, and you'll leverage talent, maximize results, and boost profits in amazing ways!

Alter a Company's DNA, and Accelerate Its Profits!

Testosterone Inc. - Tales of CEOs Gone Wild

'Combines an understanding of balance sheets with an ear for gossip and an eye for human failings' - Daily Telegraph (UK)

'Irresistable, wonderfully well written, superbly documented..This book is a fabulous read' - The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

'Unearths tantalizing stories of bad behavior' - USA Today

'Cheeky, mesmerizing, and sometimes out-of-bounds...Byron will have you shaking your head in amazement by the time you finish Testosterone Inc.' - Business Week

'Entertaining and eye-opening...rarely do we get such a well documented and readable account of such unacceptable behavior among those at the top of American business' - Barron's

Play Dirty

'Accused of murder, convicted of throwing a game for the mob, former Dallas Cowboys superstar Griff Burkett spent five years in federal prison. Now a free man, the fallen quarterback has no prospects - and worse, no forgiveness - in football-crazy Texas. But there is someone willing to pay - millions - for Griff's services. Airline CEO Foster Speakman and his lovely wife, Laura, want the one thing fate has denied them: a child. It's an offer Griff can't refuse, a job that demands total secrecy. But in this high-stakes game, Griff finds himself falling in love with Laura Speakman - and racing to protect them both from a ruthless nemesis from his past. Now, plunged into the spotlight of suspicion as the clock winds down, Griff's future - and his life - hinge on one last perfect play'

It took me about half way through before I got 'drawn' into the thriller. After 2/3 of the book, it was really a page turner to the end. Good read.

Back Spin

The boy was last seen in a seedy, down-town hotel - and then he disappeared. Just another runaway, or is there more to it than that?

When Myron Bolitar is asked to unravel the mystery of the boy's disappearnce, he crashes through a crowd of undesirables, blue bloods and liars on both sides of the social divide. And when family skeletons begin to emerge, Myron is about to find out just how deadly a game he's got himself caught up in.....

The story of Jack, Linda and Chad Coldrens together with Win, Esperanza, Norm Zuckerman, Lloyd Rennart, Esme Fong, Tad Crispin, Tito Marshall.....

Its from Back Spin by Harlan Coben!

The Kite Runner - Epilogue

Khaled Hosseini was really magnificient in authoring the book. It may be his first published but the balance between fiction and reality was so even they could have been separated by a strand of hair split into seven parts. If ever that was, I did not realise.

For me it was a good learn on Afghanistan. The sdie which I did not know before. It is hard to phatom why but it was definitely not impossible to undertstand. Taliban was perhaps undone by overzealousness in moving from one end to another side it ended being too extreme. It was when man behaves worst than animals. In the end justice prevail, never mind how. One thing is clear, the afghans had a jolly good time like many other places in the world before they were befallen by their onw-made calamities. Not only once or twice but .... many times over. Perhaps the root is clear - they strayed from the Right Path.

Thank you Khaled Hosseini! I shall be looking for your next one...A Thousand Splendid Suns.

The Kite Runner (Part 5)

Baba did his last task for Amir. Their life changed with Soraya's presence. It was the most beautiful period for Amir in spite of the grief.

He soon faced another challenge. But non-too serious until the call from Rahim Khan. The second phase of the journey towards discovery and redemption began. It was a process that Amir had to go through. He soon learned what I have thought all along. All the reasons between him and Baba. The missing links and the dotted lines with Ali and Hassan. There was Farid and his family. The true value of honoring a guest. The revisit, the despicable finding and the deadliest encounter. Sohrab the saviour. The trust and betrayal one after another. The determination, the ultimate price to pay.

The return journey, hope, acceptance and more pain. The patience and the unfailing effort to make it happen. The search for happiness from an empty space. The unspoken love. Finally the rise of a new hope for being a Kite Runner!

The Kite Runner (Part 1)

Came across this title a few weeks ago. Sounds like a good read i.e. good story with interesting expression. Finally got it as a gift from one of my daughters...the author was Khaled Hosseini.. Its supposed to be based on his life experience way back in 1975 and before, in Afghanistan. I was sort of attracted to the title...to me...it is like saying

' When floating in the air does not really mean total freedom.....'

I like how it satrted...well I have just finished a few pages anyway.... Amir, Hassan, Baba & Ali are the main characters. I somehow managed to visualise and feel the setting. Perhaps it was not much different from the setting where I grew up in about the same time frame. Of course Amir had a better physical surrounding than me and I would probably had better ones than Hassan's.

Both Amir and Hassan lost their mothers almost immediately after they were born though due to different reasons..

Khaled must have been a very creative person; he managed to balance between now and the flashback years; at least up to where I am now.

I hope I could continue sharing my reading experience here...........