In My Hands Today…

I’ve been very lax in doing this recently. The only reason is that the last lot of books I had borrowed were not worth posting about. In fact, I think I left most of the books half read. Hopefully the current lot is better. Also I’m reading a lot of books on my iphone using the Overdrive app. I love love this app and since I can borrow another 6 e-books at any point in time without leaving home, this is my new BFF! I’ve decided to download 24 books (that’s six for each one of the four of us) before we go on our trip to India next month. Hopefully I’ll have my iPad by then and with enough books for all of us, boredom should not be an issue during the flight…Going on to this week’s reading selection.

The Writing on My Forehead – Nafisa Haji

I close my eyes and imagine the touch of my mother’s hand on my forehead, smoothing away the residue of childhood nightmares…

Free-spirited and rebellious, Saira has grown up in California with her beautiful, obedient sister Ameena. From childhood, she has broken the boundaries between her desire for independence and her family’s traditions – in particular, her Bombay-bred mother’s idea of how girls should behave. Now hungry for experience and curious about the world, Saira travels to Karachi for a wedding, and stumbles upon family secrets that will shape the rest of her life.

It’s the begining of a journey of understanding and reconciliation that goes back three generations. As her background gradually reveals itself, Saira finds that the battles she faces – over love, belonging and fulfilment – have faced many others before her, and comes to realise that her many-layered inheritance is a thing to be treasured.

In My Hands Today…

The Hundred Foot Journey – Richard C. Morais

The Hundred Foot Journey is the story of Hassan Haji, a boy from Mumbai who embarks, along with his boisterous family, a picaresque journey from London and then across Europe, before they ultimately open a restaurant opposite a famous chef, Madame Mallory, in the remote French village of Lumière. A culinary war ensues, pitting Hassan’s Mumbai-toughened father against the imper \ious Michelin-starred corden bleu, until Madame Mallory realises that Hassan is a cook with a natural talents far superior to her own.

Full of eccentric characters, hilarious cultural mishaps, vivid settings and delicious meals described in rich, sensuous detail, Hassan’s charming account lays bare the inner workings of the elite world of French haute cuisine, and provides us with an affirming and poignant coming-of-age tale

In My Hands Today…

The Deed – Lynsay Sands

Lady Emmalene Eberhart wanted to do it. She’d even begged an audience with the King so he would order her husband to do it – because she was determined to be a good wife. But then her husband died, and Emma remained a virgin. Now the innocent young beauty finds herself with an ample dowry and promised to Amaury de Aneford, a landless knight whose able sword helped defend the King’s crown. Surely her new husband would want to do the deed, for his rugged good looks certainly make Emma’s heart skip more than a beat. And Emma suspects there is more to a wedding night than just a sound sleep…and more to true love than she ever imagined.

In My Hands Today…

The Temple Goers – Aatish Taseer

The Temple-goers tells the story of two young men from very different sides of the tracks: one cast adrift in a world of fashion parties, media moguls and designer labels, the other who reveals to him the city’s hidden and squalid underbelly. But when a boy is found floating in the canal and one of them is accused of the murder, some deeply unsettling truths begin to emerge, testing their friendship and exposing the dark and troubled heart of the city in which they live…

In My Hands Today…

The Obvious Diet – Ed Victor

At last, a diet so obvious, it works! Literary agents are famous for lunching, and there is no more famous agent than Ed Victor. If Ed can lose twenty pounds in three months without changing his life-style, can can everyone! If you have tried many diets over the years but found they didn’t work, then this is the book for you. With ideas and advice from Ed Victor’s celebrity friends and clients, the book also provides anecdotes and inspirational tips to help you stick to your plan. Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Tina Brown, Sidney Sheldon, Andrew Llyod Webber, and many more contribute their recipes and words of wisdom. Dieting has never been this interesting! Millions of Americans are overweight and want to do something about it – if a gourmand like Ed Victor can do it, so can you!

The Obvious Diet includes: Day-today eating plans, including the Cleansing Day and Treat Meal, Clear nutritional guidance for setting up your own plan, Invaluable motivational tips, Fabulous recipes from great restaurants, chefs, and many more sources