The Reluctant Mullah by Sagheer Afzal

I found it to be a brilliant story, a unique insight into the British Pakistani culture of today. The characters were almost real like especially the ones representing British Pakistanis. There was a bit too much reference to the Holy Book for a Pakistani (from Pakistan) but I guess that is what most British Pakistanis must feel like. I loved the various one liners in the novel including the sad ending which was pretty apt. I predict one day this novel will be adopted as a movie or a TV drama simply because there are so few narratives on this subject out there.
Who are you, are you a Muslim?
No, I am not a Muslim, I am a Pakistani.
Get the message my Pakistani brothers and sisters?

Misadventures in the MiddleEast by Henry Hemming

O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another... The Quran 49:13. This was a courageous travelogue of two artists crisscrossing across the MiddleEast looking for inspiration. They choose to drive across the waste lands from Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq and Israel. They discover a strange brand of Islam which means different to different cultures. The book is a quick page turner. I loved the way author presented his various experiences across the very diverse cultures. The best bit for me was their time spend in Iran which I think they enjoyed the most. Very brave young men.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Tried by level best to get into this story without any luck whatsoever. Some I was reminded over and over again that English was indeed my second language. But then there are a lot of books in Urdu which I have struggled with a lot as well. Maybe I shall try and finish this story after a few more years?

In the Plex by Steven Levy

This is a five star book most of the time. It has coined rightly as the Google story. The author takes us a Ross the 13 or so years of Google's life by narrating interesting anecdotes and tribulations of the young company. Apart from Google the book also touches upon some of its competitors and the relationships over the years. Larry Page and Eric come across as two modern day prophets with a singular dream of helping the whole world with the power of their minds. Read to understand whether they are able to a commish this momentous feat or not. For me the most interesting bit of the book was its chapters of Googles experiment in China which culminated eventually in them pulling out which for me proves that in order to make effective change you need to be among the right sort of people. Too much restrictions can cripple the best of intentions. As a Pakistani, I felt a bit deflated as it is clear for me that few outside Silicon Valley can come up with such super corporations like Google as these need proper space at the right time. So may be the most brilliant individual in the world, but if you are unlucky enough to be living in some Pakistani village, then you have little or no chance of being noticed. Therefore, spacing is extremely important. So lets get out bags packed and all migrate........

I Putin by Jennifer Ciotta

I loved it, the whole story was put together with a lot of insight of the Russian people, their lives and the impact left on them of the Second World War. The author has managed to present a reality of the hidden world of presidents, reflecting on their human sides which is very interesting. A very good effort.