
Title : The Inheritance of Loss
Author : Kiran Desai
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : "Mythic battles of past and present, justice and injustice."
Writing with wit and perception, Kiran Desai creates an elegant and thoughtful study of families, the losses each member must confront alone, and the lies each tells to make memories of the past more palatable. Sai Mistry is a young girl whose education at an Indian convent school comes to an end in the mid-1980s, when she is orphaned and sent to live with her grandfather, a judge who does not want her and who offers no solace. Living in a large, decaying house, her grandfather considers himself more British than Indian, far superior to hard-working but poverty-stricken people like his cook, Nandu, whose hopes for a better life for his son are the driving force in his life.
The story of Sai, living in Kalimpong, near India's northeast border with Nepal, alternates with that of Biju, Nandu's son, an illegal immigrant trying to find work and a better life in America. Biju, working in a series of deadend jobs, epitomizes the plight of the illegal immigrant who has no future in his own country and who endures deplorable conditions and semi-servitude working illegally in the US. As Desai explores the aspirations of Sai and Biju, the hopes and expectations of their families, and their disconnections with their roots, she also creates vivid pictures of the friends and relatives who surround them, creating a vibrant picture of a broad cross-section of society and revealing the social and political history of India.
Though Sai's romance, at sixteen, with Gyan, her tutor, provides her with an emotional escape from Kalimpong, it soon becomes complicated by Gyan's involvement with the Gorkha National Liberation Federation, a Nepalese independence movement which quickly becomes bloody. Gyan's commitment to the insurgency offers an ironic contrast with the commitment of his family to the colonial British army in earlier times, just as the judge's hatreds, learned in England, are ironically contrasted with his British affectations in later life.
A careful observer of behavior, with a fine eye for revealing details, Desai brings her narrative and characters to life, illustrating her themes without making moral judgments about her characters-creating neither saints nor villains, just ordinary people leading the best lives they can, using whatever resources are available. Her characters, like people from all cultures, make sacrifices for their children, behave cruelly toward people they love, reject traditional ways of life and old values, rediscover what is important to them, suffer at the hands of faceless government officials, and learn, and grow, and make decisions, sometimes ill-considered, about their lives. Dealing with all levels of society and many different cultures, Desai shows life's humor and brutality, its whimsy and harshness, and its delicate emotions and passionate commitments in a novel that is both beautiful and wise. Mary Whipple

Title : You've Earned It, Don't Lose It: Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire
Author : Suze Orman
Rating : 1 Stars out of 5.
Summary : The math is wrong
The time value of money analysis in this book does not take into account that money has time value and thus the results of the studies Orman presents are biased in the wrong direction. Also the rate of inflation of 5% is too high based on current and past values. This also biases the results. It is funny to see the results of her long term care insurance policy analysis. According to Orman, the insured pays in $1,255 each year for 30 years and alternately if they had not taked the policy get no credit for the compound growth rate this money would earn had not they taken the policy. It makes a huge different that was not considered Also there is a chart that shows a comparison of 5% simple and compound interest on an inflation rider. Certainly, inflation is not a simple interest growth rate. The data of Orman's table make no sense whatsoever and certainly have no bearing on the long term care policy decision.

Title : Retire Rich with a Property Pension
Author : Nick Braun
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Everything you need to know about A-Day
This was a really excellent and enjoyable read. Anyone interested in putting property into a pension from April 6 2006 should read it. All the 'A-Day' pension changes are explained very clearly with lots of examples.
Definitely the most interesting part of the book is where the author shows how someone investing inside a pension could end up with 140% more income than someone investing outside a pension.

Title : Brilliant Deductions
Author : Wade B. Cook
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Misnamed Title?!
This title is misnamed. There are no suggestions in here on where to deduct your union dues. This is more of Wade's asset protection strategies that he teaches in his seminars. Why is a cabdriver talking about taxes? Some professionals spend their entire careers working with, studying, and researching taxes. A cabdriver thinks Section 179 on asset expensing is a secret. All the tax professionals know about this advantage. A cabdriver wants to sell you on his seminars, tapes, Nevada corporations, internet service, etc. All the Wade Cook information is the same repackaged in a new format. It makes interesting reading, but follow your local professional's advice.

Title : The Bond Book
Author : Annette Thau
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Straightforward and Clear
I really liked this book. It was well written and organized clearly. Everyone is crazy about stocks, so not much is really known about bonds. I read another book on bonds and still was unsure. This book was different. It was clear and thorough on all types of bond issues and offers clear warning on risks. Bonds are not as safe as I thought - if you think they are, definitely read this book. Many good ideas on setting up safe portfolios that will do well over time.