My musing as a book reviewer

When the editor of Muse India, a Hyderabad based online literary journal, invited me to join their panel of book reviewers, I was delighted. This meant a lot to me as I was and still am on the cusp of entering this expansive world of writing.

I have been a die-hard book lover with my favourite titles and authors, just like most people who love to read. But this was different. Here, I was getting a chance to read books with a critical eye, huge responsibility! An obligation to express my opinion on the works of writers who have spent vast amount of time on research, conjuring up plots, creating and giving life to characters in order to whip up a good story or a brilliant prose.

The journey of hope, despair, faith, patience, prayer, dose of good luck and what not, in having the manuscript accepted by a publishing house, could have been a struggle for aspiring writers. And for the fairly established writers, the level playing would have been different. They are morally committed to not disappoint their readers and the pressure starts mounting. The moment they attain the celebrity writer status, everything reaches a crescendo.

Writers feel pressured to the core by media, publicity, fans and their own drive to excel that in order to preserve their sanity and creativity; they disappear in safe houses and retreats until they have finished their book at peace. This is where some writers also fail. There are several writers who have been consistently good and their books sell stupendously. They must have mastered the art of coping up under any circumstances, I reckon.

Reviewing works of an author, aspiring or established, is by no means an easy job. It requires objectivity and an astute sense of attention to details.

I take my role very seriously. I typically read a book as any other reader first. Then when I read it the second time and the third time, I start making margin notes. If it is a non-fiction I do my own research even before starting my first read of the book, to understand the subject matter better so that I can review it with adequate prior knowledge. My legal training has taught me this.

Let me share a few books that I have reviewed:

1. #Checkmate - by Hrishikesh Joshi, published by Frog Books, an imprint of Lead Start Publishing is a bold novella with violence, passion and wildness.

2. #Zorami (a redemption song) - by Malsawmi Jacob, published by Morph books, an imprint of Primalogue Publishing Media Private Ltd is a tale inspired by the struggle for independence by the people of Mizoram.

3. #New songs of the survivors {the exodus of Indians from Burma} - by Yvonne Vaz Ezdani, published by Speaking Tiger Publishing Private Ltd pieces together the reminiscences of courage, faith, hope and human endurance by the refugees and the Forgotten Long March coined by historian Hugh Tinker.

4. #Anusual {memoir of a girl who came back from the dead} - by Anu Aggarwal, published by Harper Collins is a true life saga of a supermodel and Bollywood diva who fought destiny and re-emerged from near death.

5. #The Spectacular Miss - by Sonia Bahl, published by Fingerprint is a chick-lit that is touted to be made into a Bollywood movie.