Hari Gopal

It's great for absolute beginners - examples are thrown in here and there to help explain concepts. This title covers pretty much everything that's needed for someone to get started with stock market investment. There are plenty of plugs of Kotak's services, but that's to be expected. And considering that the coupon in this book saved me from spending ₹750 for a Demat account at Kotak Securities, I think the plugs can be safely excused.

As far as I can tell, the only time I had any fun while reading this book, were the rare moments when Nix managed to knock a good joke into the narrative when I least expected him to.

I'm at a loss to explain the popularity of this book. Most everything I've read this year has been leagues better than this... tale. The lead character is, at best, boring. And there are only two other characters (noteworthy) in the story - yeah, a grand total of three main characters. The cat was interesting for a while, but then it was made obvious that his story wouldn't be told in this book, and he / it became a decoration, for the most part. The third guy is the obligatory romantic interest for our just-out-of-school heroine - another flat and uninteresting character whose story never really gets explored.

And then there's the weird, and frankly senseless magic system. Charter magic which... er... comes from these huge stones (??? never really explained) and is somehow seen as wriggling glyphs once they're in place. Oh, and ringing bells, and whistling that controls another form of magic (??? again, never explained) Or are they both the same thing? I wondered at one point why, if the basis of their magic system was that elementary, more people in the story didn't know it (at least a little). Sabriel's world has the most quixotic magic system I've encountered in (my short-term) memory.

In other words, skip this one, go re-read Harry Potter. Or delve into Bartimaeus's tales. Heck, even Percy Jackson and his merry band of demigods is a better bet.

According to Aldiko, I'm at the 27th page of a total 160 that this book possesses, and I've encountered dozens of grammatical mistakes, and improper word uses. This writing is dreadfully boring, and sentence construction is headache-inducing.

Yes, you may think that I'm not giving this book a chance but, quite frankly, I'm not willing to spend time on something that reads like an inept high-schooler's D-grade essay. The only upside, as far as I can tell, is that I spent only $2 to get this on smashwords.

You should take away two words from this review: Stay. Away.

What strikes me most, after reading this huge novel, is how well the large number of story threads are weaved together. And there is such mind-boggling variety in the stories! This book... well, I shouldn't call it one book, for even though, all the threads are connected (in fantastic ways), each can stand alone. Heck, there's even a murder mystery thread in here whose prime purpose is to familiarize us, the readers, with one of the existing lead characters, and introduces another who we'd never imagine could play a large role in such a story.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who thinks of himself / herself as a Sci-Fi lover. However I'd also warn them that the sheer bulk of the story can be intimidating. I was more than a little confused during the first third of this epic, mainly due to barrage of new threads. But eventually, I figured out that I shouldn't be trying to find connections in such a huge book, and it got a lot more enjoyable after that.

This is one very long journey and, you should be warned, its destination is a cliffhanger of, literally, epic proportions. The journey, however, is certainly worth it.

This is only the second book that I've read about Stock Market speculation, but I'm pretty sure that it'll be hard to find any better. While the second half of this book pretty much flew right over my head, I'm sure that there's something in the first half for everyone - especially amateurs or beginners such as myself.

Even though this book was written such a long time ago, I think the basic principles discussed here are still valid - many reviews echo this sentiment. I suppose the biggest plus about this book is that these principles aren't discussed in a dry, theoretical fashion, but instead, delivered through a series of (entertaining) experiences recounted by the narrator. If you're new to the stock market game, read this book. And if you're not, and you still haven't read this book, you probably should.

If you're thinking about picking up this book, I'd suggest reading “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham (I read the edition with commentary by Jason Zweig) instead, which never felt like it insulted my intelligence. On the contrary, The Intelligent Investor was often difficult to absorb, even with (and perhaps because of) the abundance of numbers to support the theories. Sometimes, it made me feel like a fool for having believed some very silly things.

This book on the other hands throws up some rather idiotic examples, some of the author's personal experiences, and can, at best, act as a primer to Value investing for someone who's not really serious about investment...

Because, if you're serious about stock market investment, you have to read The Intelligent Investor and have the ability to do lots of research on target companies, and read up about Financial reporting to understand all that material. And if you're not up to that sort of thing, then I agree with what Graham says, and the best thing you can do is buy an Index fund, or if you're feeling adventurous, mutual funds. Invest the Happionaire Way is a tiny book that has one whole paragraph about Mutual Funds, and it doesn't even mention Index funds - that is just not right.

I stopped reading this book quite some time ago, and every time I considered picking it back up, I was reminded of how dreadfully boring the writing was. What annoyed me most was what seemed to be the overdone british-ness of the characters... its hard to explain. The way the characters conversed just got on my nerves!

As the author admits in the Acknowledgements section, his writing is decidedly pedestrian. What's worse, however, is the spoiling of a good premise by shallow, naive characters who fawn over the protagonist for the silliest reasons. Readable, but nothing special. There's no ending either. While the author could have ended the book leaving the reader with a feeling of completion, he chose instead to stop right in the middle of an ‘incident', which begs the reader to pick up the next book in the series. It is, in fact, the first book I've read which ends with a ‘To be continued...'

Five stars, not for the quality of the writing, but for the courage required to put such an experience to paper. That is not to say that the writing is poor - it is well above average and I spotted no glaring errors. Her observations of the differences in lifestyle are, at times, humorous to read, and at others, disheartening, especially towards the end of the book, where events take a decidedly darker turn. I must also confess that, being a strong atheist, I felt it quite difficult to empathize whenever the author describes her feelings of spirituality, or closeness with God, which forms the basis for her life in India. I'd also like to note that while my mother, who read this book before I did, expressed mild shock at the revelations about the moral character of ‘Amma', I felt nothing of the sort - only some sort of inevitability - of what happens when adulation is showered on a person for no justifiable reason.

If there's one thing I can't stand in books, it's when the plot is driven by the mistakes made by the protagonists.

Unlike the previous books in this series, it's difficult to root for the heroes and heroines at any point of time. You see them make so many mistakes that when their actions catch up to them, all you're left with is a feeling of crushing inevitability.

These mistakes are so bad that the only way out that the author could find was deus ex machina: the introduction of a literal, physical God.

For a series that did so well, so far, this is a disappointing conclusion.

This is a great, quick read. Couldn't put it down once I'd started late yesterday night. Now it's 5:00 AM, and here I am writing a review.

I kept picturing the lead character, Jack Holloway, as some sort of American Old-West Anti-Hero. The way he slid into the role of the fuzzies' protectors was both believable, and... satisfying. It helped that the story moved at a very brisk pace, spending just enough time on characters and settings. Events that occurred towards the end of the story even made me cry (a bit). I really can't remember the last time, that's happened.

Still, this is not a masterpiece. Superb, but not special. Hence, the four stars.

This is a short review for ‘The First Law' series.

Gritty, gritty books. None of the three tell happy stories. Stay away if you want to read a book that'll make you feel unconditionally good, in the way the Harry Potter(s), or even The Name of the Wind does.

So why read these, then? Because the writing is top-notch. Because, at times, it's funny, or sad, or both, and it never feels awkward or out-of-place. And the grittiness, and oh-so-very obvious flaws of the characters who we follow, is a breath of fresh air. Heck, even the sparsely mentioned magic system is way grittier than most Fantasy novels I've read - the author easily manages to convey the idea of magic in this world being a chaotic / powerful force.

However, the reason that the last book is the one I've added to my favorites list is the ending, which I felt was perfect - the inevitable conclusion to a journey in a world that is decidedly unfair.

So much of this book is different from the previous two entries that it just felt wrong. And the lead character, for a myriad not-so-believable reasons, has become whiny and introspective. We spend, maybe a solid 50% of the text listening to what's going on inside her head - and none of it is impressive. I found it really, really hard to trudge through this volume - and did so, only for series completion's sake.

Am somewhat surprised that this book was voted Goodreads' favourite book of 2011. Only somewhat, since it serves to confirm my suspicion that the Goodreads community population is heavily skewed towards teenage girls.

The plot is paper-thin, the writing is mediocre, and the romance is... girlish. None of it was boring - I read this book in one day, but no part of it strikes me as being particularly good, either. Therefore, 2 stars.

There's only so much negativity that I can take before I decide that a book isn't worth it. Considering the fact that I really liked the first, I had high hopes for this one; But the whole air of hopelessness that hangs over every single event in Royal Assassin just makes it hard to swallow. I'd have imagined the lead character ‘Fitz' to have grown up a bit for this second book but, if anything, he's more of an idiot. Some of the decisions made by the good guys just make no sense whatsoever.

MINOR SPOILER ALERT

We're told in this book that Fitz is strong in the ‘Skill', but because of how he was traumatized by Galen's teachings, he's somehow blocked his own powers. We're also told that the King-in-waiting - who desperately needs strong Skill-users - simply has no time to teach Galen how to to use his powers. I'm simply not able to swallow that load of rubbish! Practically all of the problems in this book follow from our dear Fitz being powerless to do anything!

Then there's how the Verity and Shrewd manage Regal. If one of your sons just tried to (and nearly did) kill the other - I imagine there'd be a bit of an issue raised. In Robin Hobb's world, the worst that the perpetrator can expect is a slap on the hand and a (gentle) reminder that it isn't polite to kill one's siblings.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the ‘Fool' character - Hobb tries so hard to make him interesting, fascinating, and all that - but the fact that his cryptic clues always leave our poor dim-witted Fitz scratching his head... it just makes for really poor reading material.

So... I'm definitely not picking up the third book and, possibly not any R.H. books - for a very long while.

The idea that social outcasts from ‘our' society might be ‘pre-adapted' (as the author puts it) to hostile environments is interesting, and Peter Watts uses the setting in this book to great effect to highlight the differences between ‘normal' people and the crew of the ocean-floor power station called Beebe.

I didn't like how the ‘Ganzfield Effect' was used here, though. It felt superfluous, and its introduction forced, into what is, otherwise, a believable world.

I was worried whether, after how the last book ended, this one would turn out to be a sop-fest. To my relief, the ‘soppiness' is kept to a minimum, and the focus is squarely on action. The ‘revelation' towards the middle of this volume was a surprise (in a nice way), but the scenario that led to seemed rushed. And the ending, sigh... talk about leaving you hanging!