Review: A Million Thoughts

A Million Thoughts by Om Swami
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are not too many books around which detail methods to meditate. “A Million Thoughts” is one of the few which is a fairly comprehensive guide – has excellent material around why you should meditate, how to go about it correctly and what you can expect from meditation.

The basic principles around meditation, the types of mediation and what each one offers is explained very well.

The book scores, since other than relating his personal experiences, Om Swami has sprinkled the book with excellent quotes from ancient scriptures and several beautiful short stories to make the point. The stories are crisp, often moving and make the point exceptionally well.

As Om Swami explains, there are various levels you can reach with meditation. While he reached a stage where he would meditate for hours and days together, many of us may not aspire for that. However, this book is for all serious meditators, however far they want to go.

While I believe people always benefit from a good instructor or Guru, this book is one of the best you can read to get started. Get going, and you might just find yourself. This book is worth far more than the price you can get it for.


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Review: The Zoya Factor

The Zoya Factor by Anuja Chauhan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Zoya Singh Solanki was born at the precise time that India won the World cup in 1983. She seems to have a rare gift – she is a lucky charm to the team she hangs around with and supports. The Indian cricket team and the cricket board seems to believe this too, except the captain Nikhil Khoda. Zoya is an advertising executive and a period of absence is worked out such that she accompanies the Indian cricket team for the cricket world cup to Australia. Zoya is soon viewed as a kind of goddess, whose blessings are desperately needed for India to win. Zoya and Nikhil share for the most part an awkward and complex relationship. Well, Zoya herself is a complex character and quite unpredictable in many situations.

The book has a good dose of wit which makes you smile. The story is fairly weak though even if unusual in concept. Also, the book overdoes the silly stuff – a large number of weak incidents & jokes. There is a large sprinkling of hinglish, which unfortunately does not add much to the book and only feels odd at many places – lacking variety and fairly uni-dimensional.

Yet, a decent book for the first one by the author and worth a read.


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Review: Sidney Sheldon's Chasing Tomorrow

Sidney Sheldon's Chasing Tomorrow by Tilly Bagshawe
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book takes off from where Sidney Sheldon's “If tomorrow comes” ends. Tracy Whitney and Jeff Stevens as scamsters are fascinating characters – intelligent, independent and charming. Unfortunately, that is about the best part of the book though.

The story shuffles between incidents in their past and current. They have been involved in a number of heists from the wealthy, corrupt and insensitive. Tracy and Jeff get married and try to live a normal life. Tracy though soon gets a little disillusioned with the lack of action. At about that time, their relationship suffers a setback after Jeff accuses Tracy of infidelity. As it happens there are others involved who want to get back at them.

Tracy moves to the US, and raises their child in a quiet environment. As it happens, the past catches up with Tracy. Her help is sought by an Interpol investigator to solve a series of murders which happen very close to heists of the kind she used to pull off earlier. And she is the only one who can now save Jeff's life after he is kidnapped, a way to repay him for saving her life once.

While the characters are good – the book disappoints. More than a flowing story, it comes across as events strung together by force. The twists towards the end with the sudden appearance of a devious character do not make good reading either.

In fact, the book ends in a way that it leaves the option of a continuation very much possible. If a further book does come out, hopefully, it will be better than this one.


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