James Patterson's Finest!

The reason this post is not about a single book is because I've been on a James Patterson Binge over the last few weeks, and have devoured several books from the author. In fact, James Patterson has been one of the most prolific authors of all time, and several of his books made their way into my reading list. Recently, however, I laid my hands on an ebook collection comprising of the entire collection of Patterson's novels, and put them on my iPad. Since then, the binge has been on.

James Patterson has a terrific (if slightly predictable) style of writing. Most of his novels revolve around the homicide mystery - atleast the ones which involve Alex Cross. In fact, his other genres are also murder mysteries, but what sets him apart from the rest is that he does not try to hide the identity of the perpetrator like most other novelists. Serial killers like Gary Soneji, The Wolf, The Jackal, and Jack and Jill, are as well defined as the hero himself - or even better! Patterson sure has a liking for psychos, and he spends tomes to delineate the exact personality (or disorders) the protagonist suffers with.

After gouging myself on Jack Reacher novels, I actually find it strange that the hero is not glorified. Alex Cross is a hero who is unassuming, and humble - which is quite strange for his abilities!

Last week, I read Patterson's first two novels - Along Came a Spider, and Jack and Jill - back to back, and it was almost like watching a serial. There are a lot of carry-on characters, and villains simply don't go away! They keep coming back again and again, and are almost like family members in Patterson's novels. It is not a bad technique - you don't need to create a whole new persona yet again :)

A few weeks ago, I read London Bridges (which I believe is has the worst anti-climax I ever read in fiction), and the book has a whole range of bad guys - some of whom are carried forward from the first books of the author. So if you read Patterson, know that these baddies don't go away! They will keep coming back in every other book.

And the reason I use the plural here is because every Patterson novel has multiple baddies fighting for the attention of Alex Cross. So each novel is actually two or three murder mysteries woven into one - with parallel stories happening in Washington DC - and strangely, it works for Patterson. 

Ok. Patterson is not among my favourite authors, but the books are good reads! In the author's own words, 'There are thousands who don't like my writing. Luckily, there are millions who do' :) If you are looking to start off on the Alex Cross series, start from the very beginning. It'll make sense as you go along.

Apple drags you in!

There was a nice little tweet floating around a few days ago - Three apples changed the world. One seduced Eve, One awakened Newton, and one was in the hands of Steve Jobs. The tweet went on to ask which one people felt was most important to this generation. And if you truly belong to these times, the answer should be obvious!

Apple is not just another technology company. Actually, Apple products don't sell because they are technologically superior - they are that too, but more important is the brand. There is nothing which comes close to the image of a bit-off apple behind your gadget. Suddenly, the person holding the device is transformed in the eyes of the beholder to the status of an ultra-geek. And in today's world, a geek is an amazing guy! He is the casanova of the modern world, and is the most popular guy around! No wonder really that Apple is counted as the world's #1 brand - even ahead of Coca-Cola in certain surveys.

But then this post is not to wax eloquent about Apple and Steve Jobs' achievements - there are tons of them, but the post is about the way the company drags you in and does not let you go :) It is not a complaint, but that is exactly what happens. Once one Apple product comes home, there is no other brand which can satisfy. From the most basic version of iPod to the most expensive MacBook, all of them grow off each other. The funny thing is that an Apple product owner does not happily buy another brand's product - in spite of the huge cost difference! This is not my personal opinion - most Apple gadget owners would agree! Even if we buy another brand, it is only option # 2.

Once iTunes sets up on our PC, it brings with it QuickTime. Then comes Safari browser (which, by the way, is quite good, and never crashes!). From there on, it is just a matter of time before another Apple product enters your home. Now that Apple is aggressively coming into India through resellers and authorized dealers, the excuse of availability is not valid either.

But strangely, not a single Apple product can be termed 'Value for Money' in the strictest sense of the word. Yes, they are very good. And yes, they are very safe. But when we get to comparing them with the competition, it is very obvious that we are paying more than what we would normally pay any other brand for a similar product. A fully loaded tablet with Andriod (where the apps are easier to get) including a phone will be available at a lower price than the iPad 2 which is not a phone. But 90 out of 100 people will still go in for the iPad 2 - honestly, just to flaunt it :)

That is why we don't see people put covers on their Apple products - what is the fun of covering up the logo - lest someone think it is a China product in a similar design ;) Our local computer dealer actually suggested an innovation - he showed a few iPad size cases which come with a cut-out area in the back of the case at the exact place where we see the logo! Our marketers know exactly why people buy their iPads!

In India, Apple hasn't even begun to do serious branding. All they do is to put up their bit-off Apple in front of stores, and people flock in! Globalization is for real.

And I know for a fact that my next phone is going to be an iPhone and my next computer a Mac :) You get used to these things, you know! Apple owners will agree with this. Jai Steve Jobs - the third Apple is certainly more thought-provoking than the first two :)

PS - I went on Google images to search for an image to use on this post, and typed 'Apple'. The first three images were not of the fruit - they were of the company's logo! Hence proved.

The strange case of Diesel cars in India!

Every car owner would have had these thoughts run through the mind on several occasions - especially if their car runs on Petrol.

Each month, when the credit card statement comes full with fuel transactions, frustration reaches a level which is not healthy for human beings, and then starts the hunt for a diesel vehicle.

Last week, the urge to save big on a diesel car took over me. Afterall, in commercials and on brochures, diesel driving people are depicted as sharp, savvy, and eternally smiling - even while filling fuel at the pump! And petrol car drivers are reduced to counting their fellow idiots on the road, with a dog for company!

Compared to them, the expression on my face while filling petrol into my pre-historic petrol guzzling vehicle is quite horrid. Especially when my card is maxed out, and the fuel needle does not go beyond half :(

So I headed out to all the showrooms in town to take test drives of the vehicles. Realization!!!

Car manufacturers are literally fleecing customers into buying diesel cars! There is absolutely no way by which a Diesel Ritz would cost 6.5 lakhs, while a Petrol one would come at less than 5. Seriously, there is nothing in that engine to justify that price hike. The same phenomenon holds true for all cars which have diesel and petrol versions. Ford, Tata, Chevrolet, Mahindra, Maruti, Volkswagen, Honda, and all the other manufacturers know this obsession, and surprisingly, they are all united in making an utter Giraffe of the customer.  What is even more surprising is that these ‘manufacturers’ actually don’t own the complete car. They get the engines from some poor company like Fiat (which has an atrocious market penetration in India) and just build a body around it. We must really be blind – the engines of Maruti Swift, Ritz, Tata Indica Vista, Fiat Grande Punto, and probably a couple of other cars in the segment are all the same! The much touted K-Series is not really from Maruti, but is from the Fiat stable. So in reality, we will be getting the same engine irrespective of which of these cars we drive – with a few subtle modifications of course.

Ok, so what did I do with this info? Did a little calculation. My petrol car gives a mileage of about 9-10 kms in the city. A diesel car would give say 16 or 18. Considering today’s fuel prices, the cost per km on Petrol comes to about 8/- and if I buy a diesel car, it’ll come down to say 3/-. So the saving per km is Rs 5/-. I average about 20000 kms a year, and that’ll come to a saving of Rs 1,00,000/- on fuel costs. Now that is an incorrect calculation for two reasons – once Diesel gets deregulated, the margin between petrol and diesel will come down drastically, and then we don’t spend the same for maintenance. But even at that rate, it’ll take over 2 years just to recoup the additional investment on a diesel car. If my fate laughs, and diesel and petrol do manage to come to the same price range, Jai Hind!

The decision to put off buying a diesel car is easily taken after this, but what is more difficult is the thought leaving the mind. Each time I convince myself that my present car is the best option available, there comes along a full page Ad in the newspaper touting some other ground-breaking technology (from Fiat obviously) and people stand in front of a board (like during the presentation ceremony of IPL) and sign their names under fantastic mileage figures like 40 and 50 kmpl!! But no, I will be firm, I will be firm, I will be firm… at least till someone comes up and boasts of the mileage and power their Vento gives.

Owning a car was never this tough!