The Most Amazing And Creative Bookshelves

Most Amazing And Creative Bookshelves All Over The World

1. "Has Been Read & Will Be Read" Bookshelf

2. "Two and Half Dimension" Bookshelf

3. "Never Ending" Bookshelf

4. Infinite Bookshelf

5. The Staircase Bookshelf

6. The "Circular Sitting" Bookshelf

 7. The "READ" Bookshelf

8. The "Maze" Bookshelf

9. In-Wall Bookshelf

10. The Pulse Bookshelf

11. The "Hug The Books" Bookshelf

12. The "Almost Invisible" Bookshelf

13. The Invisible Bookshelf

14. The Inverted Bookshelf

15. The Inception Bookshelf

16. The Hanging Bookshelf

17. The Equilibrium Bookshelf

18. The Equation Bookshelf

19. The Elastic Bookshelf

20. The "Thinking Cloud" Bookshelf

21. The "States of America" Bookshelf

22. The Piano Bookshelf

23. The "Treble Clef" Bookshelf

24. The Pyramid Bookshelf

25. The Cave Bookshelf

26. The Console Bookshelf

27. The "Book Seat" Bookshelf

28. The Checked Bookshelf

29. The Tree Bookshelf

30. The "Bookworm" Bookshelf

31. The Curvy Bookshelf

32. The Corner Industrial Bookshelf

33. The Circular Bookshelf

34. The Photo Reel Bookshelf

35. The "Circular Walking" Bookshelf

36. The "Bookman" Bookshelf

37. The Designer Bookshelves

The First Teacher (Duishen)

First of all I would like to declare that the following review is based on the book “The First Teacher” written by a famous Soviet author Chingiz Aitmatov. The original work "Der erste Lehrer" has been written in Russian and I first happened to read the translation of it in my native language and then the English one. Here, I take the opportunity to bestow the credits to my native translator for his excellent work which didn’t tamper the richness of the original copy.

True that I have read hundreds of novels till date, but I seldom come across stories like this which touch my heart deeply. Despite being a very short novel it was very interesting and moving. I was even quite amazed to find out that this wasn’t noted has one of the most renowned works of the author in the Wikipedia. I dare say that those few pages of the book contained a lot more feelings and life than volumes of great literature we often read.  The words were powerful and expressive and the flow of the story had a good force in moving the reader along with it.

The story is set upon the village Kurkureu which lies in a plateau at the foot of mountains. A young artist who was brought up in the village and now have become a townsman and a middle aged Academician who too has born and brought up there but have left to the town at very early age in her life take chance to reveal quite a remarkable tale of a great personality, Duishen. In 1924, the young Duishen arrives at the village Kurkureu with a determination of a noble duty to fulfill. That is to open the first school in the village and educate the kids. The work was not an easy task; rather say it was an extremely difficult task to encourage the people to send their kids to a school. The young man was never ready to accept defeat and go back to join some other profession in order to earn his bread and butter. On the contrary, with great efforts the first teacher of the village achieves his dream that is educating the children.

Throughout the story we are exposed to the mindset of the people then, who were quite uneducated and narrow minded. Specially, the Aunt and Uncle of Altynai portrayed a couple of great evil who would be hated by every reader. Meanwhile, the character Duishen stands out of the crowd for all the courage and perseverance he had. His action of kindness and the ability to hope and work for a better future is appreciative. Being honest and passionate about his duty is a great quality every reader could add to their life by following his steps.

Altynai, who was then a mere teenage with a great passion to be educated is another inspiration for all of us. The author depicts the cruelty of the system and uneducated behavior of the people then while describing the life of Altynai. The poplar trees also have a significant role in the story. In my opinion, it was the main source to connect everything in the story, the past and the present, Altynai, Duishen and the young artist, the hopes and all the memories down the lane.

“Ah my poplars, my beautiful poplars! So much water has flowed under the bridges since you were  young slender saplings! All that the man who planted and tended you dreamed of, all he predicted has come true! Then why do you murmur so sadly, so mournfully? Are you lamenting the passage of summer, are you complaining because the cold winds are tearing off your leaves? Or are your trunks moaning with the pain and grief of our people?”

There were many incidents in the book which struck a chord in my heart. However, the parting scene of the teacher and the student at the train station was the best of all.

“There was such urgency in his shout as if he suddenly realized he had not told me something terribly important he had wanted to tell me all along, but now it was too late, and he knew it. Till this day I can hear that shout, rising from the very heart, the very depths of his soul.”

“Good-bye, teacher, good-bye, my first school, my childhood, good-bye, my first love...”

As the English Translation says in the beginning, “If there is one single book on education which will make you weep, this is it”. Yes, this is a must read for all ages and would certainly be an inspiring read for the teenagers. Also, I’m sure it would be a good read to everyone regardless you are a bookworm or not.

Ending my note with a quote from the book which I found inspiring and appropriate for all of us in our lives.

“Yes, there will be winter, there will be cold, there will be snowstorms, but then there will be spring again...”

Under His Protection

I was gifted a free promotional copy of this book to be reviewed. With just a look at the cover and the title I expected this to be yet another love story with a boring and unrealistic plot and wasn’t much excited about reading it. After seeing that the story is dated to 1838 (which makes the things even worse), I started reading it with a groan, as i’m not much into the tales of old times! But pardon me, for all the silly reasons I had to underestimate this great work, the book had real charms to entice me by its very first pages and held me tightly to it until the very end.

story takes me off guard, with the presence of the Lady Kingston. I expected the leading female character to be a beautiful and conventional woman of those days. Quite the contrary, apart from being strikingly beautiful and talented she was also liberal and audacious which is unlikely to be seen among the women in her society. I almost forgot that the story was dated back to 19th century, for it was much of a light read and very interesting one. Especially, Greyland was such a jaw-dropping character. Ah, how much I love her! I’m grateful to the author for carving out such an incredible and impressing character of a woman which is alive and unbearably exquisite. her presence at each event and the care free and straightforward demeanor was refreshing the story all the time. And, what should I say about the handsome Duke Ravenswood! He was no less a perfect personality himself. His sharp and bold attitudes were finely matched with the “firecracker”, creating an unmistakable chemistry between them.

The narration of the story and the character build-up was excellent. Stacy has taken time in describing each person for us to get a clear cut idea about them. the surroundings were also given importance, by describing with every minute detail that every reader could easily develop the mental picture of the events and where they take place. Loving and caring brothers, the understanding best friends, the well responsible fathers, the not-so-easy-to-be-controlled sister and loathsome gentleman all had their fair share in the story. each of those character had a uniqueness which made their appearance stand out in the right time with the right dialogues. Also it gave a good variety to the story when they all were connected with each other well.

A midst the stacks of great books, there would be stories in which the readers would love to take time and get absorbed to every fine detail wishing not to go further, or some stories which readers would be restless until they finish and get to know the ultimate truth. I’m glad to say that this piece of fiction is a brilliant mix of both. The curiosity was well awaken within me to read fast and reach the climax, but the same time I was spellbound by each event to not to leave those pages so soon. I held my breath many a times when the plot twisted and took unexpected turns and story never ran out of excitement and surprises while it unfold. 

The language and dialogues resembles the old days well. However, its not one of the typical boring lot. The author is ever so talented in putting the words in wonderful phrases which makes her an excellent story teller. I’m just copying some of the lines I noted. Of course they were few out of many.

“Alexander could no more stop the smile from erupting on his face than he could stop the moon from shining.”

“He was as shocked as if a prancing unicorn carrying a woodland nymph had charged into the room singing Christmas carols.”

“His manners were polished like the finest of silver, and his pedigree was better than one of the Queen’s Spaniel bitches.”

“His eyes were so sharp she thought they might be able to cut glass.”

My favorite scene in the book was the proposal of Alex to Grey. The words had me feel the intensity of the blossoming love and the honesty of the Lord Ravenswood. Its a dialogue I was attracted at once and could never forget no matter how many good reads I come across.

I should be an illiterate stupid woman with no taste (or call me what not) to rate this any less than 5 stars! This is a book which I enjoyed immensely after a long time and a one which I could re-read happily again. For her debut novel, Stacy really nailed it!

Varsha Dixit - Author Interview

An interview with the bestselling author Varsha Dixit, about her first novel... Right Fit Wrong Shoe... exclusively in Chubby Cheek's Column...

1) Did you always wanted to be a writer?

Writing happened to me by accident rather than design. However creative industry is where I have always inspired to be in.

2) Are you an avid reader? What genre you prefer the most and what is your favorite book?

Reading is my first love. I read fiction; the dark, macabre, mysterious kind. Don’t have one favorite book, though I love reading classics.

3) Who are the authors you admire the most, and did any author in particular inspire your writing?

Not really. I like to write in my own style.

4) What does "writing" mean to you?

Currently writing is my heaven away from heaven 

5) “Right Fit Wrong Shoe” being your first novel, what was the biggest challenge you faced while writing it?

Being a self taught writer, the biggest challenge was learning how to write a manuscript that was publication worthy.

6) Was it a real struggle to get your first novel published?

The struggle lay in writing a book rather than publishing.

7) What is your favorite setting to write in? Do you tend to follow a strict work schedule or write in spurts of activity? 

I like to write in solitude and to music. The first twenty pages are hardest for me to pen.

8) “Right Fit Wrong Shoe”, how did you come up with this title for your book, or was it suggested by someone?

My editor and I were brainstorming for names and one day while I was dropping my daughter off to school my sandal came loose and kept slipping off my foot. Thus I got the name for my first book.

9) When did you start with the plot and how long did it take you to finish writing the novel?

It took me over two years and innumerable edits to make the book what it is.

10) How much is your story inspired by your own experiences?

Totally fiction except for the city it unfolds in.

11) In “Right Fit Wrong Shoe” Which of your characters do you feel more connected to? Why?

I guess both Nandini and Sneha as I’m blessed to have few such close friends to call my own.

12) How did it feel after receiving the very first feedback from the readers?

Humbling and relief. The story worked  big time :)

13) Talking about the feedback since the book launch. How has the overall response been? Was it below or above your expectations? 

Way above my expectation. I never thought a book I wrote would become a national best seller.

14) Your fans from all over the globe might be sending you their wishes and feedback via facebook & email regularly. Any specific lines/incident from your book that have struck a chord with majority of your readers?

I think Aditya Sarin hands down has won million hearts.

15) What has been your greatest strength which leads you in all thick and thins of the journey as an author?

The fact that I approach writing as a job I love rather than a job that I glorify.

16) Any advice you would like to give to all the budding authors out there?

Read my blog ‘you are not born a write you become one’ and write to me.

I Found My Heart In West Virginia

The book was offered to me as a free promotional copy and I was ever so happy to accept it given the fact I loved all the previous work of the author.

Cheyenne, the protagonist is a 24 year old woman with four kids of the age 8, 6, 4 and 2 who happened to be quite unlucky to have a jerk of a husband, David. After catching him while cheating on her with a 18 year old woman, she finally decides to divorce him and move on with her life. West Virginia being one of her favorite place since childhood she takes up this chance to start a new life over there. The story would then go one with all the events that follows while she settles in the new country side making new friends, raising her kids and finding her own heart.

The book had many similarities with all other novels written by Chelsea. Large families, teenagers who willingly take much responsibilities for their tender age, young parents who are ever so excited to have as many as kids they would be blessed with irrespective of their income, all had their fare share in this book. The story being set in the country side and being lead by strong men and helpful women made me realize my favorite stories in childhood “Little House on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls. It is always soothing to come across family stories like this.

Somehow, I always felt that the story belongs to an era of 80’s or 90’s rather than in the millennium because I used to read modern day tales set up in sophisticated cities with stylish women and men with white color jobs unlike the story here. Hence, this one being soothing and different was a good break for me after reading a chain of books which belong to the bustling cities and noise.

Being born and brought up in a totally different culture, I was amazed to know how easily a young woman with kids could move on after a divorce and how lovingly and respectfully she was accepted by the society and family. I couldn’t stop falling in love with all the people Cheyenne met in West Virginia and appreciate for being such understanding and helpful. In fact, the characters sound too good to be true and sometimes even made the story look little unrealistic. For example, they all were quite ok with having so many kids despite the shortcomings in their income and also Cheyenne and Will were too selfless to be caring someone else’s children as their own without a single complaint or a sigh.

In my view, story lacked plot twists. It sure was full of surprising turn of events, but unfortunately they were not properly emphasized. An incident like unexpected pregnancy or an accident or a family dispute, they all were meant to be just few paragraphs or pages and were unsuccessful to build the tension of the situation and appropriate effects on the reader’s feelings. May be it’s because the book was having too many events and too many characters that none has enough time to develop into a major one. Even Cheyenne, the protagonist’s character had almost same joys and worries as the other characters so her life story didn’t stand out well or was unique from others’.

The events to occur next were quite predictable hence the story lacked the charm in triggering the curiosity of me. It mostly portrayed the daily life of few struggling young people. At times the details were too much and painfully slow that I really had to push myself through the pages. In other times the story was too fast paced that there wasn’t enough time to settle in that incident and take in what’s happening. Problems were shot with the answers tailed so there was no time to even ponder over the difficult situations.

However, I noticed that the writing style of the author and the quality of the story has improved a lot. The incidents were well connected to make a smooth flow and there were hardly any typos or grammar mistakes. Starting and the epilogue were well written. Even David’s character was nicely developed for all of us readers to hate him and his sinful behavior. All in all it’s a good and light read therefore I rate this 4 stars. The book would be suitable for anybody who love to read family stories set up in country side.

At The Edge Of Her Memory

Lately I have been kind of addicted to download and read e-books offered free in Amazon and the first part of this story also happen to be one of them. As I have already read the author’s many other books I was not at all hesitant to try this out.

I would rather not start the summary of the books by taking the protagonist’s name. in the first part of the story she was called as “The Girl” as unfortunately the story starts with an incident where she was attacked and wakes up at a Hospital named Paradise Cove only to find that she has lost her memory due to the damages been done on her head. Day by day while she is recovering, she had to go under several sessions of Hypnosis to look into her past and learn what happened to her. Dr. Hamilton who is in-charge of her goes above and beyond to make her recovery fast and comfortable. The story flows in between the past and the present until “The Girl” realizes who she is really and what happened to her.

I was often curious about Hypnosis and was thrilled to read this story because of it. I believe the psychologist, Dr. Larsten also played a vital role in the book and she was very supportive and kindhearted. Dr. Hamilton was always too sweet with his actions and I didn’t want any more hints to understand that he was having special feelings towards the girl rather than what is between a patient and a doctor.

The character of “the girl” is developed well. The trauma she undergoes after waking up with no past memory and all the difficulties and dilemma she was undergoing was nicely expressed throughout the book. The first book stops with a good cliffhanger which would automatically urge the reader to grab the 2^nd book of the series. Unlike most of Sandra’s erotic and romance fictions, this story had very less intimate encounters and the plot was much more woven around a forgotten past and a serial killer connected to it. It was a good change for all the fans of the author to read something of a suspense and thriller, other than the usual erotic encounter.

However, its not that the story lacked romance completely. It was garnished with a sweet love budding between the patient and the doctor. Climax was fast paced and quite intense. After all the sweet romance I was first met with the uncertainly when Adam appeared in the novel and it turned out to be a rather horrific encounter by the minute. Finally I’m glad that all of us readers could enjoy a happy ending.

The story has a good plot and I feel it would have come out as a much better novel had it been inclusive of much more character developments and few incidents in detail. I would rate it 4 stars and would recommend it to anybody who love to read short novels of suspense with a hint of romance.

You can download the book from the following links,
At The Edge Of Her Memory - 1
At The Edge Of Her Memory - 2

Memes - Hilarious Memes

It was in Facebook I came across memes for the first time. I get lot of meme updates in my wall from my friends and the fan pages I have like. When I came across this I just thought to give it a try.

I expected this to be just a small collection of memes but it turned out to be a huge collection, approx 358 memes. I read it few pages at a time, not that I was bored, but I wanted to enjoy it for many days rather than finish reading in one go. There were so many memes which I haven’t come across so far and I laughed and giggled uncontrollably.

The drawback is that the book somehow doesn’t work in my kindle reader. I had to read it in my kindle cloud reader. Also there is an issue with the resolution of most of the images that I found it hard to read the words written. May be it’s just a problem with my settings.

I re-read my favorite memes all the time. I flip over the pages whenever I’m off mood and it cheers me up in a quick flash. The last section of defining memes was also a good option. I really love the cartoons of “cuteness overloaded” and “Big kitteh smile”.

Out of all the memes, I found the following lines quite funny and hilarious. “Just gonna stand there and watch me roar, but that’s alright because I’m a dinosaur”

This is a book which anybody with a good sense of humor can enjoy.

Amazon

The New and Improved Man

After coming across an inspiring speech about online dating by a well known lady I was curious to research on most of the facts she pointed out which would build up my character in the pool of online dating. When I accidentally came across this book 2 days back, I thought this would help me in understanding men and what they think about women and what they expect the women to be. But only 1/3^rd of the book would be about dating and the rest is full of good advice which can be used by both men and women to make their lives better.

As always I was concerned about the Table of Contents in the book and it impressed me. It was well organized and was clear in presenting what all the readers should expect by reading further. The book is written in a Q&A format which I think is a brilliant idea, as the target market is male readers and it’s a universal truth that many men won’t be too happy to read books or any sort of lengthy writings. The author has finely chosen a set of questions which is very common among most of us in the society.

Book contains lot of tips on how to get ready for a commitment, make peace with the past and the internal conflicts and make you a better and attractive person in the society. It also gives good advice on online dating which is very popular nowadays.

The second part of the book is my most favorite section as it is like a treasure full of great advice on how to balance one’s work life, starting your own venture, building up sales and various other issues regarding business and work. The 3^rd part of the book has many other questions about lifestyle which were left out from the earlier topics.

Because the 3^rd part of the book referred to a topic which was quite immense, I feel it would have been better if the questions were categorized under subtopics such as Health, Fitness, Food, Psychology etc. The questions were not presented in a proper order. For instance, we would be reading “How to motivate your child in academics?” and then move to the question of “How to save money on food?” and suddenly jump in to a totally different subject such as “Should I self-publish my book online?”

Also I believe that more line spacing, breaking the text into more paragraphs and present details using bullets and numbering at times would have been a better way of presenting the things. If possible, adding few appropriate photos or cartoons would have made the book more attractive and presentable as well as easy to understand.

All in all, the book is absolutely a good guide to help all men and women to go ahead with their lives. It’s full of advice which would come in handy for all of us while dealing with our day-today live. However, the tips would only make a change if you are ready to take action and follow them. Giving it 4 stars for the excellent quality and the content.

Amazon

For Nothing - An Upstate New York Mafia Tale

After reading Godfather many years back, this was the first time I read a hardcore crime fiction. Hence, the experience was really alien to me yet adventurous and terrific the same time.

The opening scene of the story being the murder of Jack Benton was quite frightful for a starting. I should say the story was detailed about the real mafia and the danger from the very first page of the book. Each and every movement of the victim and the way he was dying was described with every minute detail I almost felt that I’m watching a crime movie in slow motion.

The character build up was excellent. The assassin, both Raffael Rontego and the best friend of the deceased, Alex Vaughan were given equal importance in the story. The plot didn’t hesitate to give evil and the good their fair shares. The battle between the mafia and the cops was electrifying and adventurous. Needless to say that the story was quite a thriller and a real page turnover.

I was impressed by the style of storytelling in the book. Episodes of two main characters Raffael and Alex, belonging to two different aspects of life was merged well without interrupting the flow of the story. Starting the investigation from cigarette butts, the story was fast paced and yet was on hold of good suspense.

Using one name at a time and other later (ex: Raffael in one paragraph and Rontego in another) was little disturbing for me. It somewhat confuses the reader or disturbs the flow of the story. Also I found the use of profanity a little offensive. True that the story was set upon Mafia and crime, yet my view point is that it would have been better to use asterisk or something rather than the whole word if it was really necessary.

The last episode where Alex would recall a memory of Jack was quite heart touching. The climax was good. Taking time to lead the readers to a comfortable and peaceful climax and suddenly ending it with a little suspense is brilliant. Anyone who enjoys crime fiction would certainly love this book.

Amazon

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Barnes & Noble

Ex...a twisted love story

What you will do if one day a svelte and sexy girl comes up to you and says she is your ex? And the only thing you know about her is that you don't know anything about her.

One of the most anticipated novels in the year 2013.... 

Introducing EX... a twisted love story by Novoneel Chakraborty, the bestselling author of A Thing Beyond Forever, That Kiss in the Rain and How About a Sin Tonight? 

To get to his heart, she seduced his mind.

What will you do if one day a svelte and sexy girl comes up to you and says she is your ex?

And the only thing you know about her is that you don’t know anything about her.

Neel, an aspiring author, meets Nivrita at the Jaipur Literary Festival. Though Nivrita says she is his ex, he remembers nothing and yet everything about her seems to lure him to unravel the mystery she personifies. The more he is drawn to her, the more Neel feels guilty because he is already in a steady relationship with Titiksha, the love of his life.

When Nivrita makes a tempting offer to Neel, which he accepts for his own good, his life slowly begins to spiral out of control while Titiksha starts turning into a stranger until Neel realizes there’s much more than his eyes can see and mind can recollect

Book Details

Title: Ex...a twisted love story

Author: Novoneel Chakraborty

Publisher: Ebury Press

ISBN: 818400432X

No of Pages: 296

About the Author

Novoneel Chakraborty is the writer of three national bestselling novels, A Thing beyond Forever and That Kiss in the Rain and How About a Sin Tonight? which have touched thousands of souls across India. They have also appeared in numerous bestsellers’ lists at different points in time since their releases. One of his articles, ‘My Mother’, has appeared in a book compilation titled Woman: Many Hues, Many Shades, alongside other veteran Indian authors. A fulltime writer, he has written a story and a screenplay, scheduled to go on the floor soon, for a two-time National Award-winning Bengali filmmaker. He is currently working as a scriptwriter on two Hindi film projects. He also pens ‘Novo Sphere’, a popular blog on life and inspiration, featuring one-paragraph stories. Posts of Novo Sphere have featured in various national and international websites.He lives in Mumbai.

Blog - Novo Sphere

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