I Too Had A Love Story by Ravinder Singh

Title                I Too Had A Love Story
Author        Ravinder Singh 
Publisher        Srishti, 2009
ISBN        8188575704, 9788188575701
No. of Pages  112
Size:               19 MB




Description: In his debut novel I Too Had a Love Story, Ravinder Singh explores the relevance of love in a modern setting, where commitment is a term that's fast finding new definitions.

The book kicks off with the story of Ravin and Khushi, and their unconventional love story that fails to fall prey to general stereotypes. They are two complete strangers with different dreams and goals who meet each other online, in a matrimonial website. What follows next is a journey that reaffirms Ravin's faith in the magic of love, one that takes them through several emotional highs and lows.

Do Ravin and Khushi confess their feelings and get together?

Will their love, which blossoms through their online conversations, stand the test of time?

Ravinder Singh's novel is heartwarming mainly because the conversations and characters in the book are rooted in reality, so that every single reader can relate to the story.

About the Author
Ravinder Singh is one of the rising authors in the Indian literary scene, and he hails from a Sikh family in Odisha.

After his debut novel, he hit the right chords again with his book Can Love Happen Twice in the year 2011.

Ravinder Singh's writing style is lucid and simple. His books are ideal for light hearted reading.

Born in the year 1982, he initially pursued a career in an IT company, having completed his engineering. He turned to writing after joining ISB for a course in management. Apart from his literary pursuits, Singh is crazy about Punjabi music and is a snooker addict.

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The Google story

Title                  The Google story
Authors          David A. Vise, Mark Malseed
Edition          5, illustrated
Publisher          Delacorte Press, 2005
Original from  the University of Michigan
Digitized           7 Dec 2007
ISBN           055380457X, 9780553804577
Length           326 pages




"Here is the story behind one of the most remarkable Internet successes of our time. Based on scrupulous research and extraordinary access to Google, the book takes you inside the creation and growth of a company whose name is a favorite brand and a standard verb recognized around the world. Its stock is worth more than General Motors’ and Ford’s combined, its staff eats for free in a dining room that used to be run by the Grateful Dead’s former chef, and its employees traverse the firm’s colorful Silicon Valley campus on scooters and inline skates.

THE GOOGLE STORY is the definitive account of the populist media company powered by the world’s most advanced technology that in a few short years has revolutionized access to information about everything for everybody everywhere.
In 1998, Moscow-born Sergey Brin and Midwest-born Larry Page dropped out of graduate school at Stanford University to, in their own words, “change the world” through a search engine that would organize every bit of information on the Web for free.

While the company has done exactly that in more than one hundred languages, Google’s quest continues as it seeks to add millions of library books, television broadcasts, and more to its searchable database.
Readers will learn about the amazing business acumen and computer wizardry that started the company on its astonishing course; the secret network of computers delivering lightning-fast search results; the unorthodox approach that has enabled it to challenge Microsoft’s dominance and shake up Wall Street. Even as it rides high, Google wrestles with difficult choices that will enable it to continue expanding while sustaining the guiding vision of its founders’ mantra: DO NO EVIL."


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Well Done Secret Seven

Author:          Enid Blyton
First edition: 1951
Illustrator:    George Brook
Category:      Secret Seven
Genre:           Mystery/Adventure
Type:             Novels/Novelettes
Book no:        03



Review by Dennis Worley

The third book starts with Janet late for a meeting because she has mislaid her badge, and she can't go without it because Peter is 'awfully strict about badges'. She arrives late and this time she is the guilty one who shouts out the password. That's three occurrences in three books! Peter frowns and then looks to see if she has her badge on as he had made up his mind not to allow her in if she hadn't found it. He certainly runs a tight ship!

They decide to find a new cooler meeting place because of the hot weather and find a tree in a wood and make a tree house. Pam suggests that they carve S.S. in the trunk, but Peter is having none of it. "My father says that scribbling on walls and pavements and carving on trees is only done by idiots. And if anyone in the Secret Seven wants to be an idiot he can jolly well get out." So he is certainly doesn't mind what he says and has no favourites. It's almost as if the other six are not really close friends of his. He is just their leader and he doesn't mind telling them off and telling them what to do. A bit later Pam is in trouble again. She almost gets sacked because she squeals at an inopportune moment.

Susie is not in this one, but she does get mentioned when Peter warns Jack not to mention the tree house to 'that awful sister of yours'. That's the way they usually refer to her.

That night Colin suddenly remembers that he has left his book on ships in the tree house and so a night adventure is called for. He decides to take Peter with him and wakes him up in the time-honoured way by throwing pebbles through is window and manages to hit Peter on the cheek. So Peter awakes in a bad mood, but forgets this when Colin explains. The story develops quickly from there and in the end Pam and Barbara come in for some praise from Peter, so he is human after all! Interestingly, Pam says that she notices car numbers because she wants to see if she can spot a 'Z' one day. That's the sort of thing the boys would normally be interested in, I would have thought.



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Look Out, Secret Seven

Author:Enid Blyton
First edition: 1962
Illustrator: Burgess Sharrocks
Category: Secret Seven
Genre: Mystery/Adventure
Type: Novels/Novelettes
Book no:14


Look out Secret Seven follows on from the previous book, and it is now the Easter holidays. Susie and Binkie (now disguised as nursery rhyme characters) are worse than ever. Susie gains access to a meeting in disguise, and Binkie actually causes the meeting to be literally washed out. Pam sees the funny side of it the next day, but Peter doesn't.

Jack, now back in the fold, but late for the meeting due to Susie's misinformation, evidently hasn't forgotten the events of the last book. He is so ashamed when Susie tells him what happened that he decides to play safe and stay away. He can hardly be blamed for Susie's antics this time though, but one wonders what would have happened had he been present.

This story has a few unexpected twists and turns. They have two aims: to try and find the medals stolen from a general, and also to keep a look out for a gang who are taking birds' eggs in Bramley wood. Jack, George and Barbara confront some nest raiders. Two of the thugs attack Jack and George, and poor old Jack ends up with egg on his face. Barbara bravely tells the third baddie to 'clear off' but she has to run away to safety when he tries to grab her badge.

A man comes to their rescue and says that the medals might be hidden in a tree. They plan to keep watch one night in the wood. The old rule about the girls not going out at night is waived surprisingly, so they all participate in the climax of the adventure. All seven of them (and Scamper) are then held prisoner in unusual circumstances. Susie and Binkie do them a good turn by going for help. This is Susie's finest hour and she proves to be 'all right' after all. It has a happy ending with all of them getting medals, yes, even Binkie! Actually, it would have been a nice way to end the last book in the series. It is the end of the series as far as Susie goes, so she bows out in style.


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Good Old Secret Seven

Author:          Enid Blyton
First edition:  1960
Illustrator:     Burgess Sharrocks
Category:      Secret Seven
Genre:           Mystery/Adventure
Type:             Novels/Novelettes
Book no:        12



This story is set in November, presumably following on from the previous adventure, though no mention is made of it, and, therefore, still during term time. The central plot device reuses the idea of the short story The Humbug Adventure, some six years earlier, of a telescope, on this occasion gifted to Jack and Susie by their Uncle Bob, an ex-sailor. Therefore, to the Seven's annoyance, although the telescope is kept locked in their shed, they have to share it with Susie and her friend, Binkie, who makes a reappearance. George uses it for watching seagulls and then Janet for watching jackdaws that nest in Torling Castle on its hill across from the farm, where she spots someone lurking suspiciously, which heralds further investigation by the Seven.

It's likely that Torling Castle, both from Enid's description and its depiction by Burgess Sharrocks, is based on a real place that must have been well known to Enid when she lived at Bourne End. This is Hedsor Towers, which can be viewed on the hillside from just over the river from Cookham, on the Ferry Road that runs between Cookham and Bourne End, where it dominates the hillside.

We learn nothing new about the Seven. As in the first book, we are told that their shed backs on to a hot greenhouse and Scamper chases the stable cat, an area yet to be described. Matt, the shepherd, also returns and, along with the gardener (he, who is always vying with the Seven for the use of their shed) helps Peter's father effect a rescue and a capture at the conclusion of a story that is the most mysterious and exciting since Go Ahead, Secret Seven, a trend that continued in the next excellent story.


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The Secret Seven Adventure

Author:          Enid Blyton
First edition: 1950
Illustrator:     George Brook
Category:      Secret Seven
Genre:           Mystery/Adventure
Type:             Novels/Novelettes
Book No:       2


From this point on, all the successive adventures had at least 120 pages and several more chapters. This second full-length story is a fine whodunnit involving Red Indians, a burglary and a circus. The story starts with another brief antagonistic appearance by Susie, who has stolen Jack's badge and discovered the password because she desperately wants to be a part of the Society. But, at this point, Enid makes no more of this as, once again, Susie's appearance is just to establish Jack's individuality.

The story proper starts when the Seven go off to Little Thicket where six of them don Red Indian attire to stalk the seventh, Colin, who gets greater prominence in this story. Little Thicket is vividly described and I wonder whether it was based on Maidenhead Thicket, only a few miles from Bourne End where the original access to the new M4 Motorway was located.

The story is well plotted and the Seven are very deductive throughout despite encountering a couple of red herrings along the way. There are clues in abundance and some adventurous escapades, and Enid's imagination is working well, but I do wonder if it is as easy to get up on a pair of stilts as she implies it is.

The Seven are still being referred to as the Secret Seven Society, or S.S.S., and the "The" of the title isn't always used. George Brook again does a fine job with dramatic black and brown shading.
                                                                                                   -David Cook


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Go Ahead, Secret Seven

Author:          Enid Blyton
First edition:  1953
Illustrator:     Bruno Kay
Category:       Secret Seven
Genre:            Mystery/Adventure
Type:              Novels/Novelettes
Book No:        5


 In this fifth adventure, the Seven are having some shadowing practice. 
When a sinister-looking man gets George in trouble with the police, the Secret Seven are outraged! Spying on him, the gang are certain he's bad news, but what exactly is he up to? They need to investigate, and solve the mystery, once and for all.



The story takes place during the Easter term and is concerned with dog stealing, a theme that was to re-occur.


The Seven have not had a mystery to tackle so Peter despatches them on various errands to keep them practised and alert and they make discoveries that have a later bearing on the adventure they become embroiled in. Susie twice attempts to join the Seven, once at the start of the story reminding Peter a meeting is overdue, and later when George is forced to resign ("of all the cheek!" says Jack) but, apart from that, every incident in this excellent story has relevance to the plot.


Once again the background is of a town setting with a hotel and a dead-end alleyway alongside a warehouse leading to a manhole cover featuring prominently. When the three boys remove the manhole cover and crack their heads together as they simultaneously try to look down, Peter asserts his authority over Colin and Jack. "I get to look first," he says. "I'm the chief." So the others acquiesce.


There are some well-drawn villains here, though the minute Colin observes that Mr Taylor, the young man at Starlings Hotel, has thin lips, you know that is Enid speak for identifying a villain! Overall, though, like the previous story, this is a realistic and enthralling tale.

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Puzzle for the Secret Seven

Author :Enid Blyton
First edition: 1958
Publisher: Brockhampton Press
Category: Secret Seven
Genre: Mystery/Adventure
Type: Novels/Novelettes
Book no:10


This story must take place soon after the previous spring adventure as it's set in the Easter holidays again — one week into them, in fact, though the illustrations show the nights are strangely dark for that time of the year. In it, we are introduced to two new and recurring characters.

The first is Susie's friend, Binkie, a poetry-reciting girl with a 'funny little twitchy nose and teeth just like a rabbit', of garrulous and giggly nature. She becomes Susie's regular partner in crime for annoying and tricking the Seven. The other is Matt, the shepherd, who works for Peter's father and lives in a hut up on the hills with the sheep. This sheep farming aspect is one of two new facts we learn about Old Mill House Farm, the other being the keeping of hens, whose hen houses are lime-washed by Peter and Janet.

This is an absorbing story of much incident. When the Bolan family's hillside shack goes up in flames, the Seven assist in preparing Matt's old caravan for them to live in. Later events include two thefts, one of clothes from a scarecrow and another of a violin from an antique shop by someone wearing the scarecrow's clothes, and a strange wailing noise heard on the hills at night. The story has a very rural setting and is again concerned with social problems. One instance I found very amusing was that Peter's school violin teacher was called Mr Scraper!


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The Immortals of Meluha

Author(s)              Amish Tripathi

Country                 India

Language              English

Series                    Shiva trilogy

Subject(s)              Shiva, Myth, Fantasy

Genre(s)                Fiction

Publication date February 2010

ISBN                     978-93-80658-74-2

Followed by           The Secret of the Nagas

'The IMMORTALS OF MELUHA’, the first book of the Shiva trilogy is a No 1 National Bestseller, having sold over 100,000 copies since it’s launch in March, 2010.

It is set in 1900 BC, in what the modern Indians mistakenly call the Indus Valley Civilisation. The inhabitants of that period called it the land of Meluha – a near perfect empire created many centuries earlier by Lord Ram, one of the greatest monarchs that ever lived.

The once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers face severe perils as its primary river, the revered Saraswati, is slowly drying to extinction. They also face devastating terrorist attacks from the east, the land of the Chandravanshis.

To make matters worse, the Chandravanshis appear to have allied with the Nagas, an ostracised and sinister race of deformed humans with astonishing martial skills.

The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an ancient legend – ‘when evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge’.

Is the rough-hewn Tibetan immigrant Shiva, really that hero?

And does he want to be that hero at all?

Drawn suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love, will Shiva lead the Suryavanshi vengeance and destroy evil?

‘The Immortals of Meluha’ & ‘The Secret of the Nagas’, are available online and in bookstores. One more book is to follow, book 3 – ‘The Oath of the Vayuputras


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Fun for the Secret Seven

Author            Enid Blyton
Year               1963
Series             The Secret Seven
Book No         15
Preceeded by  look out secret seven


This is the last book in the series, number fifteen
Jack is one of the secret seven. Jack’s friend, Bob says that he needs the help of the secret seven guys. There is a certain man named Tolly whose horse’s legs were injured in a fall. The farmer who Tolly is working for decides to shoot the horse, because now the horse cannot do any work. So, says the farmer, the best course out is to shoot the horse. Moreover, there is the vet bill which the farmer refuses to pay. As for Tolly, he cannot afford to pay the vet bill.
The seven children show great generosity. They have great love for children and in this book, they show how much genuine love they have for animals. All of them hand over as much pocket money which they have in order to get the bill of the vet paid. Peter’s father also agrees to have the horse on his farm for a few days. Thus, there would be no problem for the horse. In this book, the farmer whom Tolly is making much of a nuisance, poking his nose into their affairs. He asks Peter’s father why he should take care of the horse when the horse is useless. But Peter’s father manages to deal properly with this nuisance.



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