''This Book Will Save Your Life'', A. M. Homes

I bought this book because the cover made me hungry. It only seemed fitting, as I now live in the home city of Dunkin' Donuts where every walk down the street is a battle against temptation. In fact, I am woefully, moronically, irretrievably influenced by book covers. It's totally irrational. I know that it's really very little indicator of whether a book is good or not (insert ''book/cover'' joke here), and yet.... I'm a sucker for the marketing. After recommendations from friends, and newspaper reviews, book covers are practically the only things which guide me once I'm in a bookshop. I was in Barnes & Noble yesterday after work (quick aside - shops that are open after 6pm! Yay!) and ended up totally disoriented due to a lack of anything I recognised, or anything visually appealing. Some day I will have to grow up and get over this, but for now it is my fate. Unfortunately, not only will this book not save your life, it's also a bit rubbish. Shame, it was so appetising.

''Family Matters'', Rohinton Mistry

Sitting in my temporary apartment overlooking Quincy Market in Boston it's hard to process the fact that I bought this book on one of the busiest, dirtiest streets in the middle of Calcutta, and that that was only 2 months ago. But strange as it may seem for last minute shopping in India (saris? incense? no, English books), there was a reason - Penguin Indian-edition books are GBP2.99. Bargain! Especially for someone who's been living abroad for so long and used to paying a premium. Unfortunately that mentality is now about to get me in trouble as I live in a city of endless bookstores all selling books in English at low prices. Ludicrously, I can even buy books without leaving my office given it's bizarre location in a shopping mall.

Given how much I liked the first Mistry book I read (see below) I thought I would read a second. This time, however, instead of reading in hotel rooms in the Himalayas, it was more of an airport lounge, business-trip read. Therefore I take some personal responsibility for not liking it so much, which I'm sure will relieve Mr. Mistry considerably. There's no doubt that context can make a difference: I read Conrad's "Heart of Darkness'' whilst sitting in my concrete shack in Malawi with no electric light - now that's atmospheric. So I guess it's not surprising that a story of a Mumbai family didn't resonate with me quite so much this time. This book has a lot of similarities with ''A Fine Balance'', although the characters are quite a bit less sympathetic, and there's something of the Soap Opera feel about it. So if wasn't obvious enough already, if you fancy a bit of Mistry I'd recommend ''A Fine Balance'' first. And then maybe you can be a more attentive student than me and give this one a bettter shot.