The Four Encounters by Osamu Tezuka (Buddha #2)

Blurb (from the jacket):

Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of Japanese graphic art, brings ancient India to life, lavishly retelling the life and times of 'the enlightened one' in his critically acclaimed eight-book masterpiece: BUDDHA. The fates of real and imagined characters are deftly interwoven as they engage in fresh and unexpected adventures, playing out Tezuka's philosophical concern with overcoming fate and the uselessness of voilence.

In book two, The Four Encounters, Prince Siddartha – fated to become the Buddha – is confronted by the harsh penalties of social injustice within his own kingdom, fuelled by selfish warlords and villains like the depraved warrior, Bandaka. The tragic fortunes of his loved-ones, such as Tatta the rogue and Migalia the fierce female bandit, force the Prince to choose between love and destiny; Siddartha must forsake his heart and begin his pilgrimage.

Kapilavastu by Osamu Tezuka (Buddha #1)

Blurb (from the jacket):

Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of Japanese graphic art, brings ancient India to life, lavishly retelling the life and times of "the enlightened one" in his critically acclaimed eight book masterpiece, Buddha. The fates of real and imagined characters are deftly interwoven as they engage in fresh and unexpected adventures, playing out Tezuka's philosophical concern with overcoming fate and the uselessness of violence. 

In the first book, Kapilavastu, Chapra, an ambitious slave, spurns the caste system into which he was born and tries to become a nobleman. Tatta, the wild pariah child, communes with animals. And the monk, Naradatta, strives to uncover the meaning of strange portents surrounding the Buddha's birth.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Blurb (from the jacket):

The compelling story of two outsiders striving to find their place in an unforgiving world.

Drifters in search of work, George and his simple minded friend Lennie have nothing in the world except each other and a dream--a dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch in California's Salinas Valley, but their hopes are doomed as Lennie, struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and feelings of jealousy becomes a victim of his own strength.

Tackling universal themes and giving a voice to America's lonely and dispossessed, Of Mice and Men has proved to be one of Steinbeck's most popular works, achieving success as a novel, a Broadway play and three acclaimed films.

Cafe Latte by Amit Shankar

Cafe Latte : Eighteen Unusual Short stories

Guest Editors : Shayantani Dutta sen, Reshma Bhatnagar

Published by : Renu Kaul Verma( Vitasta Publishing Pvt Ltd.)

Pages No. : 1-190 pps.

                                                      

INTRODUCTION : I am very surprised to look at the personal note ( loads of love), followed my the author's signature , soon I leafed through the book. It some how made me fill special.There is always a subtle magic lingering  around the personal notes . 

                                   As mentioned, eighteen unusual stories are truly unusual, few bizarre, few heart touching, few thought provoking .All the stories are very simple, but carrying a deep message which can transform the readers. 

                                    Here I am just trying to give a glimpse of  all the stories

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Blurb (from the jacket):

It began for our narrator forty years ago when the family's lodger stole their car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed. Dark creatures from beyond the world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive: there is primal horror here, and menace unleashed—within his family and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it.

His only defense is three women, on a farm at the end of the lane. The youngest of them claims that her duck pond is an ocean. The oldest can remember the Big Bang.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a fable that reshapes modern fantasy: moving, terrifying and elegiac—as pure as a dream, as delicate as a butterfly’s wing, as dangerous as a knife in the dark - from storytelling genius Neil Gaiman.