The Journey Home by Radhanath Swami

 Many years ago, I had read the sequel but had not thought too much about reading the prequel after futile attempts of getting hold of it. Couple of weeks ago, was browsing through the online catalog of library, and came across this book finally. This book comprises of the author's arduous journey from US to India by land (mostly), and then his travels within India itself while he meets with so many accomplished yogis and gurus. Like the movie Forrest Gump where Tom Hanks meets most of US Presidents, the author of this book has met most of the Indian Gurus like Srila Prabhupada, JD Krishnamurthy, Neem Karoli Baba, etc.. Even celebrities like Mother Teresa. It is a fascinating read about his travels and travails, the way he meditated in caves and river banks, his near-death experiences, and the spiritual learning he gained from everyone he met. Definitely worth the read. May Hare Krishna bless you!

A Man of Means by PG Wodehouse

The last Wodehouse I had read was at the end of 2021! There was a time when I used to read his books back to back, and the only reason not doing now is because there is so few of his books left for me to read and those are the ones which I am unable to get my hands on. This is my 72nd Wodehouse novel! 

Coming to the novel itself, it is a collection of short stories. The first two chapters are really handsome, and you want to read more and more. But then third tale onwards, it becomes stereotype. Pretty much same tale but setting is different. Even the humor starts to get dry. But Wodehouse is blessed with linguistic flair which can still make it a page-turner. A small book.

Asterix & Obelix All At Sea

To my surprise, I had not read this book! I am now subscribing all of Asterix's books to my daughter and re-living my childhood days by re-reading some of her books (however, the blog posts are only for the ones which I had not read). This book's a ripper, had to stifle my laugh at many places! The story is pretty complicated with mutineers, pirates, Caesar's galley, Roman's galley, etc. but Uderzo and Goscinny have outclassed themselves. And I guess this is the only book where Obelix drinks the magic potion - now who would want to miss out reading such an improbable event...!

Asterix and the Actress

Maybe after 30 years, read an Asterix book that I had not read before! In fact, I thought I had read all in the series only to find out that this one book was not in my list of books that I had read. Thoroughly enjoyed, like any other Asterix book, although had a hard time the first pew pages of the book. Introduced Asterix to my daughter and hence it made way back to my life! Uderzo and Goscinny are fabulous!

Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss

Starts off with aplomb, then gets boring, but all along it is insightful. It has very specific facts listed since this is a True Story about a patient telling how we are all same souls in different bodies, taking rebirth after rebirth, and learning along the way. Definitely a book to read once as a story but many times the messages from the Masters.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Considering this novel was written in the 1700s, it is fantastic. Much like the 20000 Leagues, this book has intricate details of different parts of the world and it is a wonder how folks of that era visited so many places just by ship and yet could make such wonderful journals. Added to the geographical details, is the fascinating novel itself where a man is cast away on an island and how he makes a life for himself literally from scratch. Not to mention, the loyalty of Friday, his servant after he saved his life miraculously. The literary language used is unique and fresh to read. At times, it gets boring but one can skip through those parts. Some sections suddenly become very religious and it seems rightly so, since the cast away kind of surrenders to the Will of the Almighty. Understandably some people might have gone through those situations in real-life, and this book provides the details of the hardships faced. It is a good read indeed.

Ella Diaries: Friendship SOS by Meredith Costain (Illustration - Danielle McDonald)

This one was being read by my daughter and I started flipping through it but then got gripped by it! The illustrations, the graphics, the font, the language, the deliberate spelling mistakes, the tale itself is all FANTABULOUSLY FABULOUS (to use the book's lingo!). It truly is one of a kind and a perfect book for pre-teen girls. The illustrations definitely deserve a separate shout-out, and the author has done wonders putting herself in the shoes of a young girl on her adventure in a cruise ship.