Tom's treasures of fiction, poetry, literature and more...

How does one navigate the cut-throat world of business when they have no previous business experience? What does one do when faced with the impossible? Is it possible for someone to be handed a dream opportunity out of sheer luck? Here on this nice day in July, t his is where I start with Vikas Swarup's 2013 novel,  The Accidental Apprentice . For Sapna Sinha, her ordinary life is turned upside after she is approached Vinay Mohan Acharya, one of India's richest men. Imagine being offered the job of company C.E.O if you pass the seven life tests. You do not have to imagine what Sapna's first thoughts were... Nevertheless, this novel takes us on a ride of highs and many lows, as we see how challenging life can be to navigate. Sapna's journey does not simply show her do seven tests as it were and then she becomes C.E.O of aging Vinay Mohan Acharya's business. She often found herself in situations where the outcome had that many possibilities, I never knew which way the...

Hi everyone, I decided that I wanted to focus on another bookshop that I have recently visited. This time it is Camilla's in the delightful East Sussex town of Eastbourne, down Grove Road. On the outskirts of town, you can find this rather overloaded bookshop with something to suit everyone - Margaret Atwood, William Shakespeare and Alice Walker to name a few. While the bookshop is a great one with a lot of choice, some of the corridors downstairs are narrower than most. I would not call it a problem as long you do not want to stand there and browse or read for a long time. It can also be hard to try if you are after a specific author. However that should not deter you! There are books out the front, upstairs, downstairs and as you walk in. You can always find a book here as I have done on multiple occasions. My last visit saw me pick up Alice Walker's  Temple of my Familiar , which I delighted to have. I am confident that if you visit this bookshop, that you will not be disapp...

Hello to all my blog readers. I recently found the soundtrack CD (2008) to the film Slumdog Millionaire  (2009). I decided to get it and give it a listen as I knew I watched the film at this point. For me, it was cool and perfectly matched the film. The music and score is from A. R. Rahman. I became heard of him around the time the film came out when I bought a compilation album that included the Pussycat Dolls version of Jai Ho. Now that is a great song but the original version on the album is just as amazing. I do not want to take away from that. The funny thing is that I never watched films much as a grew up but in recent years I started watching them more. I even went through a phase of watching them a lot. Lately I decided I wanted to watch a new film and as I was reading Q+A  (2005), I chose to watch Slumdog Millionaire  (2009). Then I got the CD soundtrack and gave it a listen. All the songs titles fit well and make sense. The songs are catchy and I enjoyed listeni...

Good evening (from where I am) blog readers. Today I am presenting to you a review of the film  Slumdog Millionaire  which was based loosely on Vikas Swarup's debut novel  Q+A  (2005). In this film, we follow Jamal Malik who ends up being arrested on suspicion of cheating on the Indian version of the gameshow  Who Wants to be a Millionaire?  As the film progresses, we see Jamal's life with him telling the police how he knew the answer to each question. What makes this film magical is how even when Jamal ends up in trouble, he tries his best to get out of such tough situations. There's this determination to get out, better himself and find the girl/woman of his dreams. For him, that is Latika who he first meets as a child. Their friendship is quickly formed, as they navigate life together along with Jamal's brother Salim. One thing that confused me however is that in the film, Salim is Jamal's brother. The character of Salim is only just a friend in the nove...

Hello blog readers. Apologies for not posting yesterday but I have been unwell. I decided that I would try and post today though, while I remember and am feeling up to it. Here I am going to review Vikas Swarup's debut novel  Q+A  (2005). As far debut novel's go, the one I present to you is teeming with life, joy and fear in equal measure. This novel is alive and highlights how the world of an ordinary person can suddenly change in an instant. Meet Ram Mohammad Thomas. Our protagonist here is due to face prison on the basis he has been suspected of cheating in the Indian version of the game show  Who Wants to be a Millionaire?  But Ram protests his innocence and the novel ends up him revealing how he knew the answer to each question. Through his vivid, retelling of various stories in his life, we slowly get to understand Ram a lot more. As a reader, Vikas Swarup got me to empathise with Ram as he displayed the good and the bad of India. There were times that shocked ...

Welcome back to blog all. Here we are in the midst of July and all it makes you want to do is read. Whether that's lying in the hammock in your garden or grabbing a great read for a day at the beach or even finding a book that will occupy you on a long train journey. Whatever it is, there is a book out there for everyone. Now I have been away because I spent time focussing on a writing competition I wanted to enter. Then I went away for a few days and have not been back long. Now I have returned I am introducing to a new theme of the month for the remainder of this month and next month. The theme of the month for now is authors who are BIPoC. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the term BIPoC, it just means Black Indigenous People of colour. I will be having an author of the month for the rest of July. My author of the month will Vikas Swarup, so watch out for me reviewing something from him. I will still be posting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from now on again. Do keep a look...