Love, That Shit by Chandru Bhojwani - A Book Review

Love, That Shit by Chandru Bhojwani
#BookReview

I am here again with a book review and this time it is from the non-fiction genre. In this book - Love, That Shit, author Chandru Bhojwani rants about life and relationships in general. It is not your stereotypical self-help book that promises you to give a solution to all your life issues; rather it is one that encourages you to look at life with a new perspective. The blurb at the back of the book talks about how life, in general, is for most people, and how this book is supposed to help them.

Quoted from the blurb:

“Like a rollercoaster, relationships have their nauseating ups, downs, twists and turns... Sure, like a rollercoaster, relationships are also fun and exciting but what happens when the ride isn’t as smooth as you thought it would be? What do you do when you want to get off the ride but disengaging the safety harness is a lot harder than you thought? Or simply, what if you’re finding it difficult to get on a ride in the first place, especially when there isn't a height restriction?

 ...Unfortunately, relationships don’t come with perforated edges and Love, That Shit! (LTS) hopes to help you through the process of getting into, dealing with and even the aftermath of relationships. What sets LTS apart is its contemporary approach, aimed at enlightening while simultaneously, entertaining.

 Challenging norms and common thinking at times, LTS hopes to keep you chuckling, or at least smiling, as you embark on the journey and absorb its message.”

Let’s first start with the title and look of the book. At first sight, one can easily find the title of the book a bit offending and the cover of the book doesn’t help either. If you are reading this book in a public place, you might get a few questioning stares as well. But as they say ‘don’t judge the book by its cover’, this book lives up to the quote. In less than 150 pages, Bhojwani has tried to dwell on some of the life biggest questions. He talks about relationships in general, marriages, finding the soul mate, breakups and everything else they bring into our lives.

The writing style is crisp and witty which makes the book a quick and enjoyable read. The best part is that you don’t have to read the chapters in the book in a sequence. Every chapter has its own message and you can choose to read them randomly. Personally, I could very much relate to some of them and found them enlightening. My favourites are ‘Spring Cleaning for your soul’ and Karmic connection. Chapters like ‘Who’s your Daddy’ and ‘Many faces of MIL’ had me laughing out loud.

I also liked the way each chapter started with a quote. Some of them were outright hilarious and others were quite inspiring. Here are a few of my favourites:

• The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire, the size of your dream, and how you handle disappointment along the way. – Robert Kiyosaki.
• You have to experience life, make observations and ask questions. – Mos Def. 
• Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time. – Maya Angelou.
• I told my mother-in-law that my house was her house, and she said,’ Get the hell off my property.’ – Joan Rivers.
•  Happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. – Democritus.

If non-fiction books on relationships and life in general, interests you then you can surely pick this book for your next read.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an unbiased review.

A Cupful of Aha by Anandaa | A Book Review

A Cupful of Aha by Anandaa #BookReview

“…Hello,” I said, “Can’t say I’ve seen you around here before.”

She smiled again…and my heart melted.

“No, you haven’t,” she giggled. “For I have come especially to meet you today. I am Death, and it is time.”

Did the last few words give you goosebumps? Yeah, they did that to me too, the first time I read that line.

Let’s imagine this. You are in a coffee shop and suddenly you come face to face with your death. Spooky! Isn’t it?

But, that is how this book starts. However, contrary to your vision of death in the form of a ‘Yam-Doot’, death meets the protagonist of the story in the form of a beautiful damsel – one who likes her coffee with a smiley on top.

Little Italy Ristorante, Chinchwad | A Restaurant Review

For those looking for dining at an Italian vegetarian restaurant, the Little Italy chain of restaurants perfectly fits the bill. It is India's largest chain of authentic Italian fine dining restaurant with over 25 Italian ‘Ristorante & Bar’ formats across 18 cities in India. 

What I didn't know was that it started its journey from the city of Pune in 1989 as 'La Pizzeria'. When I got an invitation to sample the menu at the newly opened Little Italy restaurant in Chinchwad and do a review; I was more than happy to oblige. So, I tagged my DH along and went to dine at the restaurant as scheduled over the last weekend. Since the restaurant is not very far away from the place where I live, it took us less than half an hour's drive to reach the place.

The restaurant is located in a relatively quiet area of Chinchwad. On reaching there we were greeted by the restaurant staff who took us to the designated table. 

The first thing that caught my attention in the restaurant was the decor. It is minimalist yet elegant, and the quiet atmosphere instantly makes one comfortable. The ambience was perfect and the seating was comfortable. 

Soon, we were greeted by the enthusiastic restaurant manager - Ganesh, who shared some details about the menu and dishes. He was also thoughtful enough to suggest some of their signature dishes. We decided to start with some mocktails and starters. For starters, we ordered Bruschetta Al Pomodoro - which was basically grilled Italian bread slices topped with garlic, fresh chopped tomatoes, olive oil and oregano. The starter was made to perfection. I enjoyed the perfectly grilled bread with a hint of garlic and the juicy chopped tomato on top.

The starter was accompanied by a set of mocktails. I got myself - Fruit Punch - a fruity drink with pineapples, black grapes, apple, pomegranate, orange and lemon, and DH ordered a Lava Flow - a concoction of strawberry, pineapple and coconut cream. They were nice, DH, in particular, liked his Lava Flow.

Later, I also ordered a 'Cool Blue', which I quite liked. It has a nice flavour of Blue Curacao and a subtle lemony flavour which was refreshing.

Next dish we ordered was a salad - 'Insalata Mista'. It was basically a light salad comprising of fresh tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, oregano, mozzarella cheese, olives seasoned with extra virgin oil and balsamic vinegar. The salad was average. I felt there were too much of lettuce leaves and less of the tomatoes and cucumber. So, after a few spoons, I was left with just lettuce leaves on my plate. However, it was seasoned perfectly with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. If you are overly fond of lettuce, you might like it a lot. But, for me - I will order some other salad next time.

For the main course, we ordered a "Wood Burn Pizza - Fantasy". If you are a fan of thin crust pizzas, you will like them instantly. It had spicy tomato sauce with Italian herbs, onions, capsicum, cottage cheese, coriander and mozzarella and was perfectly seasoned. A must try if you plan to dine in Little Italy Restaurant, Chinchwad.

Along with that we also ordered a 'Cannelloni Alla Florentina' which the menu said was a traditional dish from Florence. It comprised of tubes of home-made pasta filled with ricotta cheese, spinach, mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce baked in the oven. It was perfectly made and had a melt in your mouth texture. I was so engrossed in eating that I almost forgot to click a picture of this dish. And when I remembered, it was kind of too late. You can see part of that dish on the plate below. I know it doesn't look appealing here, but it tasted awesome.

The variety of dishes in the restaurant menu was just mind-boggling, to the point that it can get confusing. I couldn't believe that one could have so many authentic vegetarian Italian dishes to choose from in a restaurant. If you are visiting this restaurant for the first time, a little help from the staff in placing the order will definitely help. The portion size of all the dishes is generous. In most cases, one dishes can easily serve at least 2 people.

Overall, I was happy with the two main course dishes we had ordered. Now, it was time for dessert. I am very much a dessert person. However, by this time we were so full that we settled for only one dessert! The manager - Ganesh suggested us to go for their signature dish - 'Chocolate Bomb' and we ordered that.

A mini molten lava cake with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream - one bite of it and you will be transported to a chocolate-y heaven. The dessert was decadent, to say the least. ( I must admit here that I absolutely love chocolate cakes and brownies, so, its no wonder I loved this dessert). If there was only one thing that I would have to order at this restaurant, it would be this Chocolate Bomb. This dish was the show stealer!

Overall, I had a great experience at the Little Italy Restaurant, Chinchwad. The restaurant caters to food lovers looking for fresh, authentic, Italian vegetarian cuisine and it does a very good job at it. Highly recommended to all Italian food enthusiasts in Pune.

Wordless Wednesday | A Single Rose Can Be My Garden

Linking it to Wordless Wednesday

Just Kidding... Yours, Destiny by Anirban Das - A Book Review

Just Kidding... Yours, Destiny by Anirban Das
#BookReview

After a long time, I have read a book that I could finish reading in a day. In fact, I was in dire need of such a quick read as the past few books I have read took me a couple of weeks to finish! Just Kidding...Yours, Destiny by Anirban Das came to my rescue at a very appropriate time. In this 190 paged book, the author dwells on the strange ways and behaviour of destiny through the story of his protagonist – Kunal Roy.

Meet Kunal Roy – a high flying corporate man, Head of Sales in the real estate company HomeMakers. He has a life everyone dreams of – a lavish own flat in Mumbai, an eye-popping salary and a Mercedes Benz to flaunt. Just when Kunal thinks that life is moving smoothly, destiny plays its prank. Homemakers is taken over by a bigger firm and his new boss is hell-bent on making his life miserable by throwing in new challenges. He meets Shristi and gradually falls for her. But, there are problems there are as well. Kunal is a divorce and is 10 years elder to Shristi. Will Shristi’s parent consent to such a match? How will Kunal manage the challenges in the office? How will life unfold for Kunal and how destiny will play a role? These are the things to discover in the novel.

The novel is a very quick read. It will hold your attention and will keep you glued till you have finished it. The writing style is very simple. There are many twists and turns in the story that makes it engaging. The first half of the book had a strong romantic angle. The middle part is focused on the work challenges of Kunal and last part is about the self-discovery of Kunal. The characters are well sketched. One can easily relate to them. The author takes the readers through the life of Kunal – his college days, his first marriage with Sarika, his work life and more. I just wish the author had ended the book in a different way. You have to read to book to know why I am saying so.

I would recommend this book if anyone is looking for a light read. However, if you are looking for a literary masterpiece then it’s not the book you should pick.

I received a review copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review.