Title: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Author: Rebecca Skloot
Paperback: 370 pages
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (February 2nd, 2010)
Genre: Non-fiction, Science
Read: eBook
Stars: ****/5
Summary: (GoodReads) Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.

Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia—a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo—to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells.

Review:

This book has been on my reading-list for a while but I just kept putting it off. I’m glad I got down to it.

The book is about the woman behind the HeLa cells. HeLa cells are the most used cells in research and have contributed hugely to science. They helped with vaccines like polio and research like the method of freezing cells. HeLa was the first cluster of cells to survive and grow in a laboratory; it grew so successfully it is mass-produced. The interesting thing about HeLa cells is that they are cancerous!
These cells and their history is interesting. You can read more here – HeLa on Wikipedia

HeLa cells being interesting as they are I found the story of the person behind the cells and her family more moving. The pathos, the struggle, the love and the bigness they show is heart warming.

The opposites are striking. On one hand HeLa cells get famous and a lot of companies make money. On the other Henrietta’s family don’t even have health care. They don’t know for years how much their mother has contributed to science. They didn’t get their due credit.

Reading the book its clear that Rebecca has spent ages in research. The book is scientific and you’re going to walk away knowing a lot more about cells and cell research but its going to be an interesting read. There is no point at which you get bored. Rebecca has balanced the medical and personal well. I enjoyed the book.

A must read!

Author: Cyrus Broacha
Paperback: 246 pages
Publisher: Random House,India (Nov. 25th, 2011)
Genre: Indian Humour (for want of something better)
Read: Paperback(Library)
Stars: ***/5
Summary: (Flipkart) Name: Average Indian Male; Latin name: manush, purush, aam aadmi, Bunty.

Cyrus is back. And this time as agony aunt and master critic as he sets out to deconstruct a subject we re all familiar with the average Indian male. The mama s boy, the groin scratcher, the man who holds hands with another man, Cyrus tackles these and many other quirks and shortcomings of Indian men in his inimitable style and unfailing logic. Join India s best known funny man as he takes you on this laugh riot like never before.

Review:

I saw the book at the Library and considering it was Cyrus and the blurb said laugh riot, I picked it up.

The book is a fast read and humourous in places too. I DIDN’T laugh loud once through the book though I did smile sometimes but those were rare and in-between.

Cyrus’s quirky humour shows up in places and I wish there was more of it through the book. At some places I did think of some of the men I know and their habits and bonded with the book.

Over-all – OK! Cyrus could have been much better and more himself. Definitely not worth a second read!

Author: Rick Riordan
Hardcover: 528 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (May 4, 2010)
Genre: YA Mythology
Read: Paperback
Stars: ****/5
Summary: (GoodReads) Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a “research experiment” at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them —Set— has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe – a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

Author: Rick Riordan
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (May 3, 2011)
Genre: YA Mythology
Read: eBook
Stars: ****/5
Summary: (GoodReads) Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister Sadie have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command, but the devious gods haven’t given them much time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, which has become a training ground for young magicians.

And now their most threatening enemy yet – the chaos snake Apophis – is rising. If they don’t prevent him from breaking free in a few days’ time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it’s a typical week for the Kane family.

Review:

Having read the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series and I knew a bit about Greek and Roman mythology but I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy the Egyptian version so I was a bit tentative when picking up the book.

The book starts with a warning that it is a transcription of a digital recording. It’s the first time ever that I have seen a warning of this kind in a book. A nice way to say any mythological errors/deviations should be forgiven.

Riordan was great with Greek and Roman mythology, but I think he excelled at Egyptian. I understood so much about Egyptian mythology, its hierarchy and stories while reading the books. I’ve had an interest in Egypt but wonder now why I never delved into Egyptian Mythology.

The books are written as a dialogue between Sadie and Carter, the brother and sister deo who are trying to save the world from chaos. I wasn’t sure how well this would read but I have enjoyed the books. There were times when I felt like telling a character to shut-up but those moments weren’t so many that it would spoil the books the books for me.

If you like YA Action Mystery Thrillers, then you should read this series. The third book is scheduled for May 1st and I’m looking forward to it.
Have you read the Kane Chronicles? Liked it?

Before I get into the reading challenges I’m taking up this year I thought I’d take a look at the books I read last year.

So I did, and found some interesting stats and patterns from my reading last year. Here’s some of them –

Top Rated Books
Crooked House by Agatha Christie
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale
Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh
The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella
The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye

My Favourites for 2011

Books –
Crooked House by Agatha Christie
Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale
The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Series –
The Belgariad by David Eddings
Bridgertons Series by Julia Quinn
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella
The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

Most Read Authors
Nora Roberts – 9
Rick Riordan – 7
Sophie Kinsella – 6
David Eddings – 4
Eoin Colfer – 4

Most Read Month
February – 11
April – 9
May – 8
August – 8
March – 7
July – 6

Its interesting that the shortest month in the year has the most number of books read!

Most Read Genres
Romance – 29
YA – 29
Fantasy – 26
Paranormal – 13
Historical – 10
Chick-lit – 6

Looking back my choice of books says so much about the year. When I started out I wanted to read more Romance books. Not just the sappy romance but all the new genres I seemed to be seeing – Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical, Regency, etc. I think I accomplished that. I now know the difference between a fantasy romance and a paranormal one.

I found some exceptional books by chance. Don’t miss out on The Help and The Host. And not to forget my all time favourite that I now have parked permanently on my Kindle – The Far Pavillions.

I got the Kindle on June and since then I’ve read 17 books on it. I think that’s a good number. The Kindle has definitely increase the number of books I’m reading by making it easier to carry and access them.

What have you noticed in your reading in 2011? What were your favourite books? What would you recommend I should not miss reading in 2012?

My favourite book site is GoodReads for many reasons – here’s one.

I took up the Goodreads Challenge last year and aimed to read 50 books in the year. And yippee… I exceeded it. I read 66 books in the year and I’m trilled to have read so many books. 66 books less to read in the world 😀

2011 was one the years in which I have read a lot of books and GoodReads has been a huge contributor. The reading challenge was motivating and the groups and members have been such fun to interact with. Growing up only a few of my friends were voracious readers but on GoodReads I’ve met so many more who made reading so much more fun. If you’re a reader you should be on GoodReads.

Here’s some interesting stats Goodreads has about the books I read last year.

Most of the books I read had been published after 1995.
7 books had be published before 1984.
And one was published in 1932!!!

I read 26,148 pages in the year!

I gave 10 books 5 stars!!
And 32 books got 4 stars.
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett was the longest book I read with 985 pages.
And there was only one book I did not finish!

How many books did you read in 2011? Are you on GoodReads?
Send me a friend request – Lets Connect! 🙂

The last two weeks had me in a daze as I felt lost in my mind and just didn’t seem to be able to find a way out. Ever been here?

My directional or route map in these circumstances are books. Actually books are my escape route always and all the time. To me books are a way to escape reality for a bit and go into fantasy as the plot unfolds and the characters live out their lives. The story feels like am watching a movie only I seem to be in it while it runs. I pick up books based on how am feeling and over the last two weeks I read three feel good books – Shadow of the Moon, the Bride and P.S. I Love You.

Shadow Of The Moon by M.M. Kaye is set in pre-independence India around the time of the first mutiny. Winter de Ballesteros who was born in India but sent off to England after her parents die, comes back to be married. Her guardian on her return journey is Captain Alex Randall, and there starts their love story. Of course they do not realize it until much later and by then Winter is married to Commissioner Conway Barton. Around all of this the mutiny of 1857 is slowly unfolding and despite Alex’s efforts, suddenly Alex and Winter find themselves in the middle of it. The historical bits are well researched and as Kaye was born in India, she has added the real Indian touch. A good book but not as good as Kaye’s ‘Far Pavilions.’

The Bride by Julie Garwood is set in Medieval Scotland. Jamie by order of King Henry must marry Alec Kincaid of Scotland (who has been similarly ordered by King Edgar). The story revolves round Jamie and Alec getting to know each other and falling in love despite the different cultures and customs. There is also mystery as Alec’s first wife had been killed and now Jamie is a target. The story is interesting and gripping and again the history has been well researched and woven in. A good light read.

Cecelia Ahern’s P.S. I Love You is a modern day story set in Ireland unlike the previous two. The story is about Holly who has lost her husband and soul mate Gerry. Holly is devastated and can’t seem to snap out but just before her 30th Birthday she receives a bundle of notes from Gerry that gently guide her towards a new life. With help from Gerry, friends and family, Holly starts off on a journey of finding herself and a new life. This book is also a movie of the same name but I recommend reading the book first.

These books certainly helped me get out of the mind maze but even otherwise I think they are a good read. So what do you do when you’re lost?

Photo Credit: Amazon

P.S. – If you like the book and want to buy it; the pictures link to the book’s Amazon page and the text link leads to IndiaPlaza for those in India. : )

Last week I came across a blog by Tony Eldridge the author of ‘The Samson Effect’ (link to blog given below). Through this blog Tony was trying something new, something I haven’t seen very often in book marketing – He was giving the book away for everyone to read. That doesn’t make sense, does it? An author would want people to buy his/her book, that’s the way to make money.

But what if you gave the book away slowly, chapter by chapter; just one chapter every week. Now that changes the game a bit…

People start to read the blog and follow it regularly; that’s you first benefit, you’ve got increased viewership. Now as people read the blog slowly the story gets gripping and they don’t want to wait another week to read what happens next, so they buy the book. And that increases sales.

Of course there are other benefits, media coverage, twitter exposure, people talking and telling other people about the book…

It will be interesting to see how Tony’s experiment works… In the meantime I have only one complaint; its Monday morning here in India much before the US and I have a long wait before I see that next chapter…

The Samson Effect Blog

Ok I know again I haven’t posted in a bit but am trying… ok ok… will try harder… Now onto today’s topic…

Let me tell you a little about this product or tool – BookBuzzr, I am marketing right now. (which will also explain why am so interested in Internet Marketing – this is fun! 🙂 )

BookBuzzr can be found at www.freado.com and is targeted mainly for authors and readers. Authors can upload either their entire book or just an excerpt in PDF format for people to view. The excerpt or book can be viewed in a reader (BookBuzzr) that feels like a book as you can flip pages, zoom in and out and read on a full screen. (See below) But it isn’t just so simple and neither does it end here.

Authors can use the BookBuzzr widget on their sites which includes websites, blogs, social sites like facebook, myspace, bebo, etc.(60 different sites) and just about anywhere on the internet. They can even email it. Now that sounds cool right! Authors can paint the town red with their books and that’s a lot of marketing and publicity. But it doesn’t even end here…

What most authors don’t realise is that this tool can be used by anyone; hence fans, readers, friends, etc. can also help by posting the book widget on their sites. Now just think how much the book’s publicity and marketing has increased by just involving the people around you. This is the real key…

And to top it all – BookBuzzr is free… That just increases the reasons why it should be used to its maximum potential…

Oh and fReado and Phyllis Zimbler Miller are currently running a Memorial Day contest. Do check it out – http://www.freado.com/offer.php

A few Examples of the widget –

Mrs. Lieutenant – Phyllis Zimbler Miller

The Samson Effect – Tony Eldridge

Too Many Visitors For One Little House – Susan Chodakiewitz