Bookati Book Review

Ever wished your boss would drop dead?

 

Of course not. Well, not really. And neither had Rachel Benjamin—until she finds herself working for Wall Street terror Glenn Gallagher on his latest pet project. Rachel thinks the deal—and Glenn—are more than a little shady, but she has a promotion at stake. It’s either keep her lips sealed or kiss her partnership goodbye. Or kill Glenn. (Just kidding!)

 

At least she has Peter. Rachel’s too-good-to-be-true fiancé has moved in, and while his stuff is everywhere and he’s strangely jealous of her friendly new coworker, she’s confident they’ll figure things out. It would help if Glenn’s killer schedule didn’t have Rachel working around the clock. Really, the man must be stopped.

 

Rachel’s jokes about killing her boss don’t seem so funny when Glenn is murdered. And it’s even less laughable when she becomes the prime suspect. With the police hot on her very stylish heels, and the threat of an unflattering orange jumpsuit in her future, Rachel’s learning the hard way to be careful what you wish for. She needs to catch the true killer quickly, before the killer catches her.The Key

 

I was having my favorite type of dream, a flying dream, when the phone rang.

 

I opened one eye, testing to see if this was part of the dream. But in my dream the skies were blue and lit by golden sunlight. In my bedroom, it was dark, and freezing, since my new roommate liked to sleep with the windows wide open, even in March and even in Manhattan. And the phone was still ringing.

 

Peter mumbled something unintelligible and pulled the duvet over his head. I thought about doing the same, but surely nobody would call in the middle of the night unless it was important. I reached out for the phone.

 

“lo?”

 

“Rachel. Glenn Gallagher here.”

 

This had to be a joke.”What time is it?”

 

“Almost six. Listen, I need you in the office. We don’t have much time to get ready.”

 

“Ready for what?”

 

“I’ll tell you when you get in. See you in an hour.”

 

“But it’s Satur—” I began to say before I realized I was talking to a dial tone.

 

I was still half-asleep, so my reaction was somewhat delayed. It was nearly five seconds before I’d collected myself sufficiently to say the only appropriate thing that could be said in such a situation.

 

“You asshole!”

 

Peter gasped and shot into a sitting position. I’d spoken more loudly than I’d intended. “And a good morning to you, too.” Even in the dark, I could make out the silhouette of his sandy hair.

 

“You look like Alfalfa.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“From The Little Rascals. You know, the one with the piece of hair that stuck straight up. He sang.”

 

“I’m in the Mood for Love.”

 

“Uh-huh. He had a crush on Darla.”

 

“And that makes me an asshole? Get this hilarious novel for N1,000 at Bookati

Book of the Week – The Undomestic Goddess

Sophie Kinsella, author of the popular Shopaholic series featuring Becky Bloomwood, has introduced a new heroine in her novel The Undomestic Goddess. The “goddess” in question is Samantha Sweeting, a twenty-nine-year-old lawyer on the fast track to becoming partner at swanky law firm Carter Spink.

Although Sam loves her job and wants nothing more than to be a partner, she has no social life to speak of, is stressed out beyond belief, and her high-powered mother and brother can’t even make the time to join her for her latest birthday celebration. All of this seems worth it, though, when she finds out that she has achieved her biggest goal—she has become a partner at Carter Spink. Unfortunately, the joy is short-lived. Sam finds some papers buried on her desk that she apparently forgot to file—and that little mistake has cost one of their clients fifty million pounds.

In a panic, Sam rushes out of the office, takes a train, and ends up in a small suburb of London, lost and terrified. She ends up on the doorstep of Trish and Eddie Geiger, who mistake her for a housekeeper come to apply for a job. Wanting only a place to crash for the night and to get her head in order, Sam unwittingly takes the job. When she finds out that she no longer has a career at Carter Spink, she decides to stick it out at the Geigers for a while. The problem? She doesn’t know how to cook or clean. And though Trish and Eddie are easy to fool, the hot gardener isn’t so gullible.

The character of Samantha Sweeting is smart, gutsy and easy to root for. It’s easy to see why the gardener ends up falling for her, and their chemistry works beautifully throughout the book. Secondary characters also shine with life. Kinsella rarely makes the mistake of creating a character who falls into the ‘good guy/bad guy’ mold and most of the supporting cast are realistic and multi-dimensional.

You can download a copy of this book through this link: 4shared

Finally,

I finally went ahead and did it. For sometime now, I have been a bit reluctant in reading Chimamanda’s novel “Half of a Yellow Sun”. I usually steer clear of African books that focus too much on conflict and tragedy. Personally, I believe we need more positive books and role model characters that can make the transition from books to films. I also believe we need to submit more challenging stories as possible winners of the Pulitzer, Caine and other international awards out there for burgeoning and established writers.

I’m still waiting to see “No Longer at Ease and A Man of the People” on the big screens. My leading man for both books would be Ramsey Nouah. Yeah! he’s a gorgeous hunk, but from what I have seen over the years while following his career as an actor, he has finally come of age and matured into fine wine. That’s the best analogy I can make. Watch ‘The Figurine” and you’d catch my drift. What were my conclusions after reading this book?

I actually haven’t finished but i’m almost through. I’m currently at the chapter denoted “The Sixties”. I found it a bit disturbing and hauntingly sad. War or conflict always leaves a scar that never heals. It is often said that “time heals all wounds”. However, there are some wounds that time cannot heal. Experience has taught me that. I also found some aspects of the book hilarious. Ugwu was such an entertaining character and likewise Miss Adebayo. I realise that this is a touchy subject in the history of this country and I like the way and manner Chimamanda has cataloged the tragedies of war. I also realized that we are yet to learn our lessons. The aftermath of war did not just start now, it has been a thorny issue since post independence and we are yet to deal with this issue once and for all. This is why we still have recurring hostilities within our various communities.

Kainene and Olanna, two sisters (twin) torn apart by their own selfish acts and parental neglect. We see this often and it’s good to know that books such as this are talking about sibling rivalry. It exists no matter how much we try to deny or avoid talking about the issue. I found Olanna a bit selfish and self absorbed due to unwarranted and warranted attention to physical beauty. Behind that beauty also lay a lot if insecurities which was evident in her relationship with Odenigbo and her refusal to tie the nuptial knot, which she eventually did. I also thought it amusing when she tries to create an image of humility when it’s so obvious that she’s so uppity. Kainene who had been described as the ugly duckling seemed to be more sensible even though she’s a bit withdrawn and rarely gets emotional. It happens if you’ve constantly been overlooked and denied of some things based on your physical features.

Overall, it’s an enjoyable read. I just might buy my own copy.

Books and more Books!

One of my favourite past time is reading novels. From inspirational to downright silly and amusing stories, I love to read them all. Reading is one of the cheapest way to travel around the world. Recently, there’s been this buzz about a movie titled “Confessions of A Shopaholic”. I had not seen that movie yet but I was told it was adapted from a book. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a downloaded version of the book on my younger sister’s laptop. 

If you are a lover of books and you’d like to read contemporary books without going through the hassle of buying it, then I’ve got a secret to share with you. I would suggest you visit www.4shared.com. Just type in the name of the author and voila, all the books authored by the author are displayed on the screen. You can start downloading each book right away. Saves ’money don’t you think?