Book Review- English Bites!

Sep 7
NabanitaDhar
Title: English Bites
Written By: Manish Gupta
About Manish Gupta (Few lines from the book) –
Manish Gupta is a banking professional. When not crunching numbers, he examines the vagaries and idiosyncrasies of the English language. He also likes trivia, travelling, adventure sports, delving into human psychology and giving professional discourses to colleagues, family and friends – practically anyone who can give him a patient hearing. An engineering graduate from Punjab Engineering College (Chandigarh) and an MBA from XLRI School of Business and Human Resourses (Jamshedpur), he lives in Mumbai with his wife Deepali, a medical professional, and their daughters Tamanna and Prakriti.
Manish can be reached at mystruggleswithenglish@gmail.com
ISBN:  978-0143419006
Cover Price: Rs. 250.00
Rating:  4/5
Something about the book (from the book’s cover):
Is the English language your biggest nightmare? It was Manish Gupta’s. Until he decided to cheat and beat the system. Today he is a smooth-talking banker and has written a unique English learning guide that is easy to read, super effective and hilarious. So whether you’re a vernacular speaker, a GRE/GMAT/CAT/XAT aspirant or just a language nut, English Bites! will expand your vocabulary and improve your verbal ability. It may even help you love the English language a little more!
Now for my View:
I never really knew until I was packed away to an engineering college in Uttar Pradesh that mastering English, even spoken English, was a struggle for many! I was brought up in Shillong where English was the language mostly used. In school it was mandated that we converse in English with our friends too, even if we spoke the same mother tongue at home. Yes, we had to pay fines for speaking in any language other than English; even if by mistake. I guess it served two purposes, first it prevented us from becoming all chauvinistic and fanatical when it came to our own mother tongues and secondly it helped us learn English, one of the most widely used languages in the world.
English has always been my favourite subject. I wouldn’t say I excel in it but I never really had any inhibition concerning it and for that I thank my school and the environment where I grew up in. I know many; let’s call them over zealous individuals, who would argue that speaking English makes you forget your own culture. But I guess I don’t believe in that regressive thought process.
Anyways, so English Bites! Well would you believe me if I said that it’s an entertaining attempt to teach, yes you guessed it right, to teach English! The author Manish Gupta makes use of his life’s experiences to teach or rather put forth delicately the intricacies of the English language. What I liked most about the book was that he has used an interesting technique of storytelling to acquaint his readers with English.
The book was engaging so before I knew it I was completely engrossed in it. Let me put it this way the book weaves a yarn. While you think you are just reading a tale, you are infact learning new English words or even enhancing your understanding of already known words. It is actually a new age guide to the English language. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that the book is an experience, a unique and interesting one at that.
Loved the anecdotes
I usually do not read self-help books. I mean if it’s self help you need, there’s no way you would be getting it from a book. So when Manish contacted me for its review I was slightly wary but truth be told I am glad that I agreed to do it.
Thumps Up for the Footnotes
If for nothing else, then atleast I recommend the book for the effort made by Manish to make something like learning and improving a language so fascinating. And yes, don’t miss the footnotes they are very much a part of the book.
Accolades for an out of the ordinary experience
It is not easy to articulate your experiences in a manner that could actually teach something of value to someone else. But Manish has been able to do that wonderfully through his book. Read it even if you excel in English. Read it even if you are mediocre in it. Infact read it just for the sake of enjoying an exciting new way of learning the nuances of a language that is used ever so frequently!

My verdict is that you’d surely miss out on something special if you don’t read the book! So what are you waiting for?

11 thoughts on “Book Review- English Bites!”

  1. Dear Nabanita,

    Thanks very much for a wonderful review. I am glad that you enjoyed the book and gained something out of it. I am also relieved that the book lived up to your expectation. If there is any feedback (howsoever small, even minor), please do share it with me while the memories of the book are still fresh in your mind. I am counting on your support to spread the good word about the book esp. when people ask you for recommendation on books to improve their language. And I am sure, given your background and the accomplishments in this field, there are just so many of them who keep seeking your guidance.

    Thanks once again for consenting to read the so called 'self help' book and kudos to your speed of reading – as my book was 4th on your reading list, and the review has been released in less than a fortnight of you receiving the book.

    Best regards,
    Manish Gupta
    Twiter: @Engish_Bites
    FB Page : http://www.facebook.com/EnglishBitesBook.
    Email: mystruggleswithenglish@gmail.com

  2. Well being convent educated ideally many of us do not question the whys on English .. or should I say the rebel is crushed the moment the slightest of it is felt in question like – D O is do .. why GO is not Gooooooo 😉 ?
    Now this looks like a book which will answer the dead rebel…I remember my Hindi school teacher saying .. this is not English .. where anything can change .. this is Hindi..a logical language 😉
    Hence I always considered English an Illogically Compulsory Language to communicate 😀
    I am surely going to recommend this to some bookworms who after reading can pass on the book to me 🙂

  4. Dear Pal, Thanks for your interest in the book. You can get your bookworm friends to order English Bites! as a physical or as an ebook thru Amazon.in. There is an option to write a peronalised note and get it gift wrapped for you at this site. Direct links to order from Amazon and other popular sites (at approx. Rs 140-145) are:

    1. Amazon.in at http://goo.gl/sFYKsF
    2. Amazon.com at http://goo.gl/ivLy2Z
    3. Flipkart.com at http://goo.gl/pd12R2
    4. Indiatimes.com at http://goo.gl/Zxzv1D
    5. Uread.com at http://goo.gl/vv8qlN

    Do share the details of your book with your family and friends if you/they believe they need to improve their proficiency in English language (spoken, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.) with a bonus read on interesting trivia.

    Thanks & best regards, Manish

  5. there is a japanese term kaizen where kai means continuous and zen means perfection, hence kaizen means continuous improvement. this books seems to be good for any level of users.

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