Book Buying Frenzy

On my way back from the ophthalmologist today I decided to stop by at some bookshops in Paddington. I walked in with one book in mind but ended up buying several. Despite my severe eye infection I spent all afternoon browsing new books. I came back home with a huge purchase and was thrilled by the whole book shopping experience.

Here are my purchases:

1. Tom Cruise by Andrew Morton

2. Whatever You Think, think the opposite by Paul Arden

3. Born to Believe by Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman

4. The Gift of Therapy by Irvin Yalom

5. New Thinking for the New Millennium by Edward de Bono

6. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

Can’t wait for the infection to subside so that I can get round to read them. What are you reading at the moment?

My winged friends

My winged friends – lorikeets – are back on my balcony again after an absence of nearly four months. I really enjoy feeding them in the morning. A couple of them, who I have named Bonnie and Clyde, even fly straight to my kitchen and demand breakfast. Like swans, lorikeets pair for life and have a very curious personality. Watching them can be a wonderful experience. They love to play around with humans and are never afraid of being handled.

However, they seem to be a wee bit camera shy. I’ll try to get some close ups of them soon

Life without gadgets.

I am sorry for lack of blogs. I was away for a few days and had foolishly decided not to take my mobile phone or laptop with me. I rarely travel without my laptop, and so my trip last week was different and it really sucked big time!!!. I had troubles adjusting to life without laptop and mobile phone and had serious withdrawal symptoms. I would have loved to tell you that life without a mobile phone and laptop is somehow invigorating, but it is not.

The Year Ahead

Like everyone else I have made a few resolutions for 2008. This year my resolutions mainly focus on expanding my writings by providing useful and inspirational books.

I am currently working on five reference guide books, two non fiction books and a collection of short stories. I hope to see most of them in bookshops before the year end.

2007 was a very good year for me despite relocation to another country and I have a feeling that 2008 is going to be even better. My best wishes to everyone who is starting off this year with resolutions.

May 2008 bring you all the best.

The Indian Experience

I’m going to post on this blog a number of excerpts from my new book, Living and Working in India, which I co-authored with my best friend Ian Beadham. The book, a product of our visit to India in 2001, will ease the transition between Western and Indian cultures, giving a wealth of advice in terms of language, culture, lifestyle, education, health, housing, immigration, working practices and regulations.

Here’s one.
A typical Bollywood plot
At first, Indian movies may be a little difficult to appreciate, resembling western pantomimes and musicals as much as they do mainstream English language films. Often the characters’ qualities are well exaggerated, with sugary-sweet heroines, glaringly evil baddies and kindly mothers. Family values are paramount and typically a young man (who may be from a poor background) has to struggle to prove his worthiness for the hand of a girl whose rich parents disapprove of him. In the process Gods must be worshipped, villains must be vanquished, friendships and love triangles formed, and birthday parties may be held for children, with a sprinkling of funerals and weddings thrown in for good measure. The action may be set in a college, a historical setting, the criminal underworld of Bombay or an affluent western country, but the formula for a successful movie or ‘super-hit’ should not stray too far from these conventions. The one indispensable part of the equation is to include a number of catchy song-and-dance routines in the movie, with a beautiful heroine and a dashing hero (occasionally the hero may still sometimes be too old and overweight in a South Indian movie!).