Kevein Books and Reviews

No Dead Air by Larry Rifkin is an engrossing career memoir of the author. Larry chronicles the events of his life associated with radio and TV hosting and broadcasting. Owing to his father’s legacy of radio broadcasting and hosting, the child Larry of 1960s was considered a radio brat. He had that radio legacy lineage running so deep in his blood, also his father’s influence on him was so much, that he couldn’t think of any other career. He was reckoned himself as a ‘radio station born’. The title ‘No Dead Air’ at first sounded confusing for people not much into radio and TV broadcasting. However, as I Googled it, I got it’s about silence that falls during a radio or TV show. The more I chugged ahead with the book, I found ‘Larry Rifkin’ a person full of media wisdom, personal stories, and anecdotes from his radio shows where he was either a host or associated with programs. Down the memory lane, life is like a trough and crest of bitter sweet memories. Larry’s indulgence and involve

A Wall of Sand by Mohammad Ali is a riveting romance novel backdropped against the world’s most politically and militarily vulnerable region – Gaza border. The author is a well-travel person, he traversed across the Middle Eastern countries, so his depiction of border areas and its allied life along with locals’ cultures is genuine and authentic to the readers. Right at the beginning, it comes out evidently that the story is placed around southern region of Palestine and Israel, which is quite peaceful than the other border crossings. People, especially Palestinians, cross the border for work every day without much tension. As elections approaching in both countries, it’s understandable that some nasty politicians may try to take advantage of border issues for their personal motifs. Like banter in the backdrop, Palestine and Israel conflict sway up and down…but the hardcore soul of the novel takes us to the love story of Fahd and Leah. Fahd lives in Gaza. He attends a college, howe

The Unproposed Guy is an unusually hilarious title featuring Kevin as a protagonist. The novel delves deep in the early and young epoch of its protagonist ‘Kevin’, who outwardly miserably fails to impress any girl to be his lover or wife. The novel commences with the wedding day of Kevin. He is surrounded by many, including his parents, sister Tina, and elder brother Zubin. As the novel chugs ahead, the lead character sways in and out of his reveries and old memories by some or other. It’s a kind of novel filled with sweeps and throwbacks. A close look reveals that Kevin is a good person while growing up. However, the only problem is that he is a misfit everywhere. He didn’t opt for conventional ways as his sister Tina and brother Zubin had. The focal point of the novel explores why Kevin remained an unproposed guy. He had meet-ups with many girls, some showed friendship, and a few used him to make their lover jealous. Was he boring or he found girls boring? If you read the novel

A History of Bais Rajputs by Dr. Mohsin Atique Khan is a work of historical non-fiction. The book closely studies the historical maze of Bais. Who are they? How did they origin, their history, and mythological folks allied to them and many other characteristics that define them. The book offers an encyclopedic view on Bais, which is a sub clan of Rajput Kshaktriyas. According to the book Rajputs mainly have three broad classifications i.e. first Solar Dynasty (Suryavanshi), the second: Lunar Dynasty (Chandravanshi), and the third: Fire Dynasty (Agnivanshi). And further they are subdivided into many more sub clans, in the list Bais stands to 30 th number. Since time immemorial Bais has been associated with land, the owners of land, the word ‘Bais’ means soil. As the book chugs ahead, we see during Mughal and British period it was Bais in North India that held maximum lands or taluqas.    However, like any other clan or caste, they too had conflicting points for their origin and t

‘Rituals of Happy Soul’ by Deepanshu Giri is a fascinating book on our connection with universe. The book broadly focuses on two aspects: energy and communication with universe. Right at the beginning the author asserts that it is not a spiritual book, it rather teaches you some secrets, tips, and hacks that can drastically alter your life by just being with universe. The book will guide you as how you can harness energy from the universe and communicate with it to bring positivity and prosperity in your life. The tips and secrets are called rituals here. People feel stuck, unable to move ahead in life, failed to break the circle of misery. Why? In the book you will find that our life’s problems are caused by six types of enemies that live inside us. Whenever we are powered from within, we take the challenges and defeat our manifested fears. Be it overcoming fears or healing, the secret lies in attracting energy from universe. As you chug ahead with the book, you will be mesmeriz

The Mystery of the Graveyard Gold by B. Fuddle is a short light children’s detective novel backdropped against the cosmopolitan culture of Bangalore. If you are familiar with Enid Blyton's ‘The Famous Five’ series, chances are that you will fall for this novel. However, there is some stark difference between this novel and ‘The Famous Five’ series. Often those stories are set in rural county side or secluded islands where the gang of children takes pleasure in small experiences of cottages, lonely roads, fields, boating in the river and so on. Well, this one takes on criminals and investigates the lost treasure right at the centre of the city’s hustle bustle. The novel features three junior school-going detectives: Aarava, Karthik, and Asha. As the novel commences the author brushes up the basic background of all three characters. They live in the same colony. And to your surprise Asha is that pesky little sister of Aarav. She peeps everywhere…into many matters, rankling his br

Two Minutes to an Eclipse and Other Moments by Anshu Choudhry is a fascinating read, offering fifteen short stories in a mix of first and third person narrative. The book teems with a rich and diverse backdrop, and each story’s premise differs from one to another. The collection’s focal point walks around the invited and uninvited moments of life that make, break, and ossify the tendency of human emotions and patterns. Despite variance in themes, the collection’s common thread is its beautiful description of ambience, such as sometimes chirping birds, sublime detailing of climate, and powerful sweeps from the past, and so on. “They floated at the highest point the eye can see, a speck of black; the mole on the face of the sky marking its blue beauty with unassuming elegance. And then they would arrive in hordes, swimming in the sky their synchronized dance; bodies in harmony with the rhythm of their souls.” The opening and closing stories of the book commence and conclude with a

When we are children travelling is a fantasy. When we grow up travelling vanquishes due to societal pressure and career aspirations. And then finally when we get that senile budge and look through the things post retirement, the time is ripened for taking up that travel bucket list once again left behind years ago. But I firmly believe be it any age or phase, travelling is a special feeling that one gets during the journey or upon reaching the destination. As we land, roam, see, and interact with people and places our perception about others begin ossifying in an unbidden moment that we live and experience at that place. I may not be a foreign traveler, however I extensively traveled India and it was enough for me. I love travelling and still wish to hop around the world from snow-capped mountains to scenic beaches. Reading travel books/novels is my first priority among all genres. On recommendation I picked up “People & Places” by Husna Kassim. This book is special to me because

Decoded by Sheeba Sojanar is an engrossing novel that takes us through two different worlds via one character Vidhuna. The theme of the novel is to observe special things in our life through autistic (privileged) people. The novel is a combination of futuristic and contemporary genres, it traverses two timelines. As the novel commences, we see a special child is born in the Trappists planet around 2167. There all things such as children, grooming, happiness, parenting, and so on are sorted. The need of active and verbal communication is not needed that much. The girl Vidhuna is special, as she belongs to some different era. Sensing the same, her father sends her on earth (before destruction) in 2016. She is equipped with a chip for communication with her people. However, on earth her sojourn was different. She finds herself quite naïve and doesn’t understand the mechanism of this world. She is helped by Rose, a school teacher. She is made to stay in Home, a sort of orphanage. She a

“Beyond the Father” is the first book in the series of Gods on Trial, written by Opëshum Patroz. As it commences, it looks like a promising riveting sci-fi fantasy epic. The novel is staged against a vivid, different, yet chaotic planet named Xżyber – the smallest planet in the Warget Solar System. Right at the beginning, the author asserts that readers first should go through the Xżyber glossary to grasp the storyline uninterrupted. Since it is going to be an eight book series, Beyond the Father sets the premises for all upcoming novels. “Beyond the Father” puts its focus on differences that are subverting the world of Xżyber, which is geographically divided in around four regions. Another aspect that triggers animosity among its inhabitants is rivalry between Mollards and non-Mollards, each one of the species is seeking to secure their future. Mollards are metal flesh, more like robots with less enhanced emotions, powered by battery system, while non-Mollards are like humans of th