- reviewed by Ruth Zothanpuii

Written by Amy Tan in 1989 and later adapted into a movie, The Joy Luck Club is a wonderfully crafted novel filled with powerful characters from four different Chinese American immigrant families living in San Francisco, California.

‘The Joy Luck Club’ is a name that comes from the club formed in China by a woman, Suyuan Woo, to lift her friends’ spirits and distract them from the problems during the Japanese invasion. When Suyuan migrated to the US, she continued the club, hoping to bring luck to her family and friends and thereby finding joy in that hope. The club would play a game of Majhong and share stories about their lives and problems while enjoying a variety of foods.

The book is divided into four sections to create sixteen chapters.Each part of the book is preceded by a parable relating to the game of Mahjong. Each revolves around three mothers and four daughters. One mother, Suyuan Woo, the founder of the Club, dies before the novel opens and her story is told by her daughter.

A unique book, The Joy Luck Club talks about the relationship between the mothers and daughters; it contrasts the lives of four Chinese women in pre – 1949 China with the lives of their American-born daughters in California. It is heart wrenching to see the daughters trying to come to terms with the tragic stories of their Chinese mothers. Their gradual understanding of the differences in the cultures and of the events that shaped the lives and characters of their mothers has a magnetic pull, something that is almost mystical. I found their story – fascinating, almost magical.

The book is not just emotional but also full of depth. Without being pedantic, it reveals the clash of two cultures and societies and the story of those caught in between. It talks of the gravity that finally pulls the two together – the gift of a culture by the mothers to their daughters. Amy Tan has a unique way of bringing together the themes of women, history and human spirit, to provide an insight into another culture and another time. The characters are strong and very real.

I strongly recommend this book for everyone who looks for that little bit extra in a book. This is not just another work of fiction; it is a story filled with information, values, insights and emotions – one that appeals to both your head and your heart.

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MARY SHELLEY

(30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851)

Daughter of the philosopher William Godwin and feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley is best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Shelley’s mother died soon after her birth and she had a traumatic childhood. At the age of 16, she met the romantic poet Percy Shelley and despite him being married, she eloped with him. After the suicide of Shelley’s first wife, in 1816 the couple married. They spent the summer with their friend Lord Byron in Geneva. The boating trips on the lake and the ghost stories that the friends exchanged at night, inspired Mary to write Frankenstein. In 1922, Shelley died in a boating accident in Italy and Mary returned to England. She died of a brain tumour at the age of 53.

Here’s a list of quotable quotes from Mary Shelley, known for her vegetarianism and her support o fthe social reform movement, especially of women’s rights.

“No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.”

“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.”

“The beginning is always today.”

“. . . the companions of our childhood always possess a certain power over our minds which hardly any later friend can obtain.”

“With how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries.”

“I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”

“Be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes and firm as a rock. This ice is not made of such stuff as your hearts may be; it is mutable and cannot withstand you if you say that it shall not.”

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Nelson DeMille

Courtesy: www.nelsondemille.net

Born on August 23, 1943 in New York, Nelson Richard DeMille served in the United States Army and fought during the Vietnam War. He is a member of Mensa and also writes under the pen names Jack Cannon, Kurt Ladner, and Brad Matthews. Some of his popular works include:

The Lion’s Game

The Charm School

The General’s Daughter

The Talbot Odyssey

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Edgar Lee Masters

(August 23, 1868 -March 5, 1950)

An American poet, dramatist and biographer, Edgar Lee Masters is best known for his Spoon River Anthology. In his lifetime he produced twelve plays, twenty-one books of poetry, six novels and six biographies. A lawyer by profession, Masters often fought for the poor. In the 1880s he published his first writing in the Chicago Daily News. He was married twice and also wrote under the pseudonym Dexter Wallace and Webster Ford.

Source: onlineathens.com

The talk of Kindle and a languishing publishing industry notwithstanding, authors seem to be earning well. Forbes.com recently did a survey ranking authors based on their earnings from books, film rights, television, gaming deals and other income from June 1, 2009, through June 1, 2010. Here’s what they found:

* The world’s top selling authors earned a whopping $270 million in one year

* James Patterson topped the list with $ 70 million, thanks to his committment to release 17 books by the end of 2012. So you’ll be seeing a lot more from this author of 51 New York Times best sellers

* She may not have released any new title in 2009 but Stephenie Meyer still earned $ 40 million from her sales of the Twilight series. She was second on the list.

* Horror novelist Stephen King came in third with $ 34 million. He will soon be co-authoring a comic book series.

Source: www.daniellesteel.net

* Romance novelist Danielle Steel earned $ 32 million; Steel is embracing the e-book revolution and 71 of her novels will soon be found in electronic formats.

* Ken Follett, the man who penned the Pillars of the Earth, came fith with $ 20 million.

* Author of 44  NY Times best sellers Dean Koontz was sixth with $ 18 million.

* Koontz was followed by Janet Evanovich ($16 million), John Grisham ($15 million), Nicholas Sparks ($14 million) and J.K. Rowling ($10 million)

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Hugo Gernsback

(August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967)

A Luxembourg inventor, Gernsback is, along with H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, often called the Father of Science fiction. Born Hugo Gernsbache, he is credited with starting the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, in 1926; the annual achievement awards in Science Fiction, are named after him. He also founded the world’s first magazine on electronics to educate the public about technology and created the first home radio. Many call him the modern world’s first “futurist.” Gernsback first got interested in science when a handyman in his father’s winery showed him how to make a bell ring by connected it with a battery and a wire. Since that day he became thoroughly engrossed in the phenomenon of electricity. It was Percival Lowell’s, Mars as the Abode of Life that  triggered Gernsback interest in aliens and subsequently science fiction. As soon as he finished college, Hugo ventured into the New World and began selling his inventions. He became a naturalised American citizen and till the time of his death Hugo had 80 patents in his name.

Ted Hughes

(17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998)

British poet laureate Ted Hughes is often ranked as one of the best poets of his generation; so much so that he is slated to have a memorial in the Poet’s corner at Westminster Abbey by next year. Hughes first published poetry appeared in a journal he brought out with fellow students at Pembroke College. It was at the launch party of this magazine that he met the poet Sylvia Plath, who he married soon after. The suicide of Plath, followed by that of his lover Assia Wevill brought a lot of bad publicity to Hughes. Hughes poetry, especially his earlier work was heavily influenced by his childhood in Yorkshire and deals with nature. Later he wrote of British myths.

Georgette Heyer

(16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974)

Often credited with establishing the regency romance genre, British novelist Georgette Heyer was an intensely private person. She refused to give interviews, simply saying ” You will find me in my books.” When Georgette was just 17, she started a serial story to entertain her younger brother who suffered from hemophilia. He father encouraged her to write this story and in 1921, it was published as The Black Moth. Heyer began with romance novels but soon moved to historical fiction and thrillers as well. Her works are marked by in depth research and at the time of her death she owned over 1000 historical reference books.  She sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Stella Martin. Though she never won critical acclaim, most of Heyer’s works were best sellers and were translated into different languages.

Some of her famous works include,

Friday’s Child

Royal Escape

The Conqueror

JONATHAN KELLERMAN

Born on August 9, 1949 in New York, Kellerman is the award winning author of many suspense novels. Most of his novels star the fictional child psychologist, Alex Delaware and reflect his own training in psychology. Like Delaware, Jonathan received at Ph.D. in psychology at the age of 24, with a specialty in the treatment of children. In 1985 he won the Edgan Award for the first Alex Delaware novel, When the Bough Breaks. Kellerman has also co-authored many mystery novels with his wife Faye Kellerman.

Some of his best selling titles include:

Time Bomb

Double Homicide

Billy Straight

The Murder Book

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BARBARA DELINSKY

Born as Barbara Ruth Greenberg in Boston on August 9, 1945, Barbara Delinsky is a best selling romance-mystery novelist. In High School Barbara was thrown out out of an English Hons class as she couldn’t keep up. She took lessons in Ballroom dancing, piano and flute.  After her first son was born, she took loads of pictures of him and that inspired her to begin working as a photographer and reporter for the Belmont Herald. In time, Barbara realised that she was better at writing than at photography. In her own words, “I became an actual writer by fluke. My twins were four when, by chance, I happened on a newspaper article profiling three female writers. Intrigued, I spent three months researching, plotting, and writing my own book — and it sold.”

Some of her popular works include:

Facets

Three Wishes

Looking for Peyton Place

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FREEDOM is, “the absence of obstacles to the realization of desires”

- Bertrand Russell

Now time, traffic, access or price issues, will no longer be an obstacle to your reading desires!

This Independence Day, INDIAreads bring you the Freedom Offer: read anything, anywhere, anytime!

Just log on to INDIA’s fastest growing online LIBRARY and BOOKSTORE @ www.indiareads.com and get the books of your choice delivered to your doorstep at no extra cost!

Enjoy Mega discounts on all book purchases + free shipping!!!!*

And that’s not all, for every purchase above Rs 750 made before midnight August 20, 2010, you take home a best seller of your choice, absolutely free!

This INDEPENDENCE DAY, INDULGE your senses FREELY!!!

If your billed amount is Rs 750 or more, choose from the following freedom basket:**

Any Chetan Bhagat or Noddy title ***

Shop worth Rs 1500 or more and take home one of the following best sellers:**

Any AGATHA CHRISTIE title***

ANd if you have billed Rs 2500 or more, you can select from any of the following titles:**

Select any Sidney Sheldon title***

That’s not all, if you have space, time or price issues, then just join the INDIAReads Online Book Rental Library and rent the latest best sellers for just Rs 150 per month. There are no due dates, no late fees and no travel hassles!! The Books are delivered to your doorstep!

Activate your Library membership before August 20, 2010 and get a best seller from our freedom basket absolutely free!!! And yes, you choose the title!

If you have opted for a monthly membership, choose from:**

If you have opted for a Smart Plan (Six monthly), you can take any of the following title:**

If you have opted for the Bonanza Plan (annual Plan), select from:**

Paulo Coelho (Brida, Alchemist, Manual of the Warrior of Light), Nicholas Sparks (Bend in the Road, The Rescue)***

This INDEPENDENCE DAY, gift yourself and your loved ones the freedom to read anything, anywhere!!! Join the growing movement of booklovers across INDIA

“I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind.”

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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*** Any title by this author will be sent to you.While we will try to accommodate your request of title, in case it is not available, we will send you any book by the author which is in stock.

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IST.

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Percy Bysshe Shelley

(4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822)

Everyone poetry lover is familiar with the romantic lyricism of Shelley. However, this English poet, who has inspired many including Browning,  Rabindranath Tagore, Karl Marx and M.K. Gandhi, did not, during his lifetime,  earn more than 40 pounds through his writings. His uncompromising idealism, his atheism and political beliefs did not have an audience till well after his death. Shelley was, an unconventional man. He preached non violence, was a vegetarian and an atheist. Though he was educated at Oxford, according to legend, he attended only one lecture. Instead, he preferred to spend his time reading. Mary Shelley, who wrote the famous Frankenstein, was his second wife.

Shelley drowned just one month before his 30th birthday. Rumours about his death abound and everything from suicide to political murder has been suspected.

Dennis Lehane

Born on August 4, 1965, to a family of Irish immigrants, Dennis Lehane is an American author best known for his award winning novel Mystic River, which was later adapted into a film. Lehane currently lives in Boston which provides the setting for most of his novels. Many of his works, including t Shutter Island have been adapted into movies.

Robert Hayden

(4 August 1913 – 25 February 1980)

An American Baha’i poet, Hayden was born Asa Bundy Sheffey in Detroit, Michigan. As his parents separated before his birth, he was raised by his neighbours and had a traumatic childhood. Hayden’s eye problems also led to social ostracism and he turned to reading. He went on to be appointed the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress.

Some times you pick up a book and the title leaves you confounded. It makes no sense. You go through the book, page by page, trying to understand teh significance of the title and in the end, you put the book down with a “Yippeee! finally I understand,” or “wow, what nuances.” But some book titles are just plain weird. Here’s a list of books you have probably never heard about and with good reason: do these titles even make sense?

Just Plain weird…

The Making of a Moron by Niall Brennan

The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories by Alisa Surkis, Monica Nolan

If life was a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pitts by Erma Bombeck (good book, but what’s with the title?)

How To Make Love While Conscious by Guy Kettlehack

People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It by Gary Leon Hill.

Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality by Glen C. Ellenbogen

Living With Crazy Buttocks by Kaz Cooke

A Cow if too much Trouble in Los Angeles by Joseph Fosters

Lightweight Sandwich Construction by Jim Davies

Bombproof Your Horse by Rick Pelicano and Lauren Tjaden

If You Want Closure In Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs by Big Boom

What Kind of Bean is this Chihuahua? by Tara Jansen-Meyer and Swapan Debnath

Levin Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by  Obert Skye

Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman

The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America by Julian Montague

The Flat-Footed Flies of Europe by Peter J. Chandler

Spitting off Tall Buildings by Dan Fante

The Minotaur takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill

So Your Wife Came Home Speaking in Tongues! So Did Mine!  by Robert Branch

Don’t Tell Mom I work on the Rigs, She thinks I am a Piano player in a Whorehouse by Paul Carter

Teddy Bear Cannibal Massacre by Tim Lieder

The GROSS List…..

First You Take a Leek by Virginia Carroll, Maxine Jo Statonstall

Curbside Consultation of the Colon by Brookes D. Cash

History of Shit by Dominique Laporte

The Sex Life of the Foot and Shoe by William Rossi

The Armpit of Desire by Scott Siders

Fart Proudly by Benjamin Franklin

How to SHit in the Woods by Kathleen Meyer

P.D. James

Baroness Phyllis Dorothy James of Holland Park, the eldest daughter of an Inland Revenue official, was born on August 3, 1920 in Oxford, UK. Best known for her crime fiction novels featuring Scotland Yard policeman Adam Dalgliesh, she has won many awards and is also a Conservative life peer in the House of Lords, UK. A government servant, James started writing in the mid – fifties and her first novel, Cover her Face, was published in 1962. In 1999 she received the Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award for long term achievement and in 2008 she entered the International Crime Writing Hall of Fame. She has served as a Governor for the BBC and Chairman of the Literature Advisory Panel at both the Arts Council of England (1988-92) and the British Council (1988-93). Some of her famous works include:

The Private Patient

A Taste for Death

Shroud for a Nightingale

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LEON URIS

(August 3, 1924 – June 21, 2003)

Source: http://www.jewoftheday.com

Born to Jewish immigrants from Poland in Baltimore, USA, Leon wrote his first operetta at the age of six, inspired by the death of his dog. Interestingly the author known for his in depth research and historical novels, was unable to pass high school as he failed in English three times! After serving in the United States Marine Corps during World War 2, he starting writing for newspapers and magazines. Drawing on his world war 2 experiences he wrote his first novel, Battle Cry, depicting the toughness of the US Marines. According to sources, he went to Israel in the 1950s at the behest of a PR firm to create a novel. Thus was born Exodus, that was translated into 50 languages and later made into a movie. He died at the age of 78, of renal failure.

Some of his popular works include:

Topaz

Mitla Pass

Trinity

O’Hara’s Choice

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