The Kite Runner

One word to describe this book : Gripping. This book is hard to put down once you start. The story set both in Afghanistan and US, comes together very well. It is a story about redemption. Can we correlate to the story? Most of us can. The setting, the innocence of childhood and the darkness of the past all make this book a very compelling read. The story starts with 2 young boys, Amir and Hassan. Their world seems so diffent : one rich the other poor, one educated the other illeterate, one master the other servant. But they share a bond. But one incident changes their lives forever and this is when the story takes a turn. The twists keep coming. The selfishness of youth and guilt of old are all portrayed very well. For me, having born and raised in India, it was very easy to relate the settings to my own childhood. The warmth of friends and relatives were very easy to understand and it did not seem unreal, even for a moment. It is a very emotional ride.

Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions

As the title explains, this is the story of some MIT grads, who took Las Vegas casinos for a ride. They used probability theory, which is quite popular now (the ho-lo trick in blackjack), and the entire team, made millions at the casinos. This story is all about how the team was formed and how they made it big, before their secret was compromised. The first half is a little drag but the second half is quite gripping. It is hard to put the book down once you start the second half. The writing style is not very appealing, but the story itself moves fast.

Well, it is still hard to believe that this is a non-fiction book. I strongly feel that some of the facts may have been exaggerated to the length of the book. But I believe, it is consoling to know that most of is probably non-fiction. I recommend this book for some fun. There may be more books in the "fiction" section of your library that gives more adrenaline rush, but this is pretty darn good!