Copyright: Library Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India 2009

The readership of library booksincreased many folds in the year2008.

Here is a list of ten books thosewere most popular in our library.It means, you can’t find them onthe shelves. They are alwaysOUT . .1. Harry Potter Series

By J.K. RowlingThe magic wordsthat rule the heartsof millions. If youcouldn’t read ityet, you are in amissing spot.

2. Hardy Boysseries Frank ,Joe, Chet, Iola,Fenton Hardyand GertrudeHardy. The mys-tery continues.(Not only forboys).

3. The Diary of a young girl byAnne Frank The brutality ofwar and the beauty of peace. In

the period of con-flicts and inva-sions, the bookreminds us thetrue losers of anyact of animosity,children.

4. A Brief History of Timeby Stephen Hawking

The story of theUniverse for thecommon man.Followed by ‘ABriefer History ofTime”, a moresimplified ver-

sion. A must read.

5. Five point someoneBy Chetan Bhagat The story ofyoung India inits true colours.A fresh and coolapproach to thelife of highlymobile, postcomputer gen-eration.

6. What Katy Didby Susan M.Coolidge Oneof the best lovedbooks of all time.S i m p l e a n db e a u t i f u l . .

7. The Da Vinci Code byDawn BrownA world bestseller from amaster storyteller. Read thebook beforewatching themovie.

8 . I g n i t e dMinds byDr. A.P.J.Abdul KalamThe new mani-festo of Indianchildren. Readit and ignite

your dreams.

9. Nancy Drewseries byC a r o l y nKeene T h emystery andthe crackerwith unfoldingevidences.

10. Goosebumps byR. L. Stine The stories

that scare usin day lightalso.

Read the shiv-ery accountsa n d b ethrilled.

January 2009Volume 2 Issue 1

Kendriya VidyalayaPattom

Thiruvananthapuram

Popular Books of 2008Popular Books of 2008

LIBRARY BULLETINLIBRARY BULLETINLIBRARY BULLETIN

Do You Know ?You can publish your

book reviews,stories, poems, articles,cartoons, write-ups, etcon LibZine -E magzineby just e-mail that tolibrarykvpattom@

gmail.com

http://Librarykvpattom.wordpress.com http://libzine.wordpress.com http://homeworksonline.wordpress.com

FRESH PICKS !Title / Author Call No.

Peeling the onionby Gunter Grass

823GRA-P

Homeby Manju Kapoor

823MAN-H

Scary stories for 9 yearolds by Paiba Helen

823.08HEL-S

Touching my father’s soulby Tensing Norgay

923.9NOR-T

Name of the Roseby Umberto Eco

823UMB-N

Unaccustomed earthbu Jhumpa Lahiri

823.01JHU-U

Man on the Moon byAndrew Chaikin

523.3CHA-M

Practical Guide to FirstAid by Pippa Keech

616.0252 KEE-P

Read these Booksand More.

Visit your LibraryToday.

Don’t Miss it !!

Copyright: Library Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India 2009

By Aravind Adiga

Reviewed by Amrita G. Nair, XII B (Shift-I)

The Glass half filledThe Glass half filledAravind Adiga’s debutant novel has been hogging the lime-light for reasons other than winning the world’s most cov-eted recognition, the man booker prize for the year 2008.The novel “The White Tiger “ has torn down the mask fromthe so called shining face of India and exposed the deeplyscarred and poverty stricken face of the unsung masses.

Adiga’s portrayal of India has ruffled a few feathers of those Indians who had beenbasking in the glory of India's rising sensex and increasing income from abroad .itis not just a content , but also his style of presentation that comes as a surprise.The entire novel is in the form of a letter addressed to the Chinese premiere WhenJiabao from an Indian entrepreneur based in Banglore.

‘The white tiger‘ has depicted the condition of the poor and the politician who feedupon their helplessness to fill their own pockets . It has revealed to the world that itis the sweet of the poor that glisten in the Indian sun and foreigners mistake it forglitter (all that glitters is not gold).

The protagonist of the novel Balram Halwai is born in a poor family in Bihar butwith an innate ambition to be high and mighty like the landlords in the village. Theprotagonist feel the need to flee the village and look for a living in the city when hecomes across the lives of those who have lived their lives in village shattered andmeaningless .He often compares his village and sacred river Ganga with darkness.This was the major factor arousing the patriotic or rather inflammable passion of theIndian intelligentsia and the ever vigilant media . But the truth is that one can onlysee what one want to see. The author speaks of darkness because that is what ispresent in the absence of light (free education and contented lives in Bihar).

When the protagonist moves to Delhi to make his fortune the book slowly startrevealed the true colors of India’s national capital .Delhi appears stylish and ele-gant to others (read foreign investors) because it has successfully camouflaged thethat plaques the city, behind the concrete jungle, in the insignificant slums.

The book is like a typical Adoor Gopalakrishnan movie. Just depiction of life ,nobackground score, no larger than life drama, nothing at all. 'The white tiger’ unfoldsmore like a chemistry text book. it speaks about the inequality between the rich andthe poor .Our speaker politicians formulate laws and policies that catalyze the earn-ing capacity of the rich, making them richer and the poor, poorer. No matter whatincentives are announced for the poor. it never reaches them because the middle-men and the politicians form an elaborate network between the government andthe common masses.

The protagonist ‘s master Ashok and his wife Pinky are classic examples of India‘scity –dwelling elite. They neither know nor care about the lives of those who are intheir service .Their hopes and beliefs echo the spirit of modern India, where thetime tested values of truth and selfless service to the country (read patriotism) onthe brink of extinction.

There novel proceeds at a snail’s pace even though the events are narrated by theprotagonist in a span of 3 – 4 days. The cold blooded murder of Ashok by his newdriver, Balram Halwai, does nothing to evoke a sense of fear or instill a chill in thespine. The book can serve as a window to the world about the truth behind‘incredible’ India. How it managed to knock the ’ the sock off ’ the judges at theBooker event is still a mystery to come. Well, one can always view a glass as halffull or half empty. Adiga chose the latter and may be the judges saw the former inhis book.

India is a nation obsessed with cricket and produces surprising results everything itgoes, like in cricket sometimes it wins an unexpected match and sometimes losesan easy match (got the analogy between India and cricket ?). India‘s six decadelong attempt in alleviating poverty has not just failed, but also produced stunningresults in increasing the number of Indian millionaires and billionaires.

Even though ‘The white tiger‘ (Aravind Adiga ), lacks the dexterity of ‘Inheritance ofloss’, it successfully reveals the secret of success in life :

‘Anyone with a killer instinct, can achieve anything under the sun .’ And now a wordof caution, this book is only for those who seek inspiration for success. Those book-worms who need to keep the mid night oil burning should look elsewhere.

(First Prize: Book Review Competition, National Library Week, 2008)

BOOK REVIEWExhibitions &DisplaysRepublic DayBook Exhibition

23-28, January, 2009

Martyr's DayDisplay of Books

29-31, January, 2009

VISIT THELIBRARY

BillionBeats:thepulse ofIndia

Read thefortnightly e-paper fromthe formerPresident.

Visit the library Blogand click on the link“ E-paper” on webdirectory.

PUBLISHED BY THE LIBRARY, KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA PATTOM. FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY.

EXAMPLES FINDS PAGES CONTAININGKerala Tourism The words Kerala and Tourism

Running orJogging

Either the word running orthe word jogging

“God’s owncountry”

The exact phrase“God’s own country”

Apple –computer the word apple but NOTthe word computer

King Louis +XIV King Louis XIV, weeding out otherkings named Louis

~home looks up the word home andsynonyms

define: velocity definitions of the word velocity

how now * cow the words how now cow separatedby one or more words

More tips on forthcoming Bulletins or

Tips for an expert web searchTips for an expert web search

(When you use Google)

ATTENTION !

Class X and XIIstudents should returntheir library books on

or before 31stJanuary 2009.

Suggest A Book

Suggestions for new bookscan be written on the BookSuggestion Register in theLibrary or the suggestionbox on library blog.

Library StatisticsJanuary 2009

Books : 14881Periodicals : 60Multimedia : 136

Site Watchwww.kidzui.com

It is an offenceto tear off pages frommagazines. Avoid It.

Library Bulletin January 2009 Page 2