It's All About Books!!!

Monday, 30 December 2019

Pebbles of Wisdom by Sadhguru (Book Review: 4.5*/5) !!!

For me, Spirituality means Sadhguru as he is the one who has made me understand it better than anyone else. He speaks bigger things in such easier language that it becomes a possibility for you. Other Yogi Gurus that I have tried following either speak too basic that we already know through our parents or grandparents or speak in such difficult philosophies that it becomes a thing for old and not for us. This has made me read many books written by Sadhguru regularly since last few years and in each one of them, even if there are few repetitive things, I have managed to find out something new which excited me to learn more. This made me go for a small book named “Pebbles of Wisdom” published by Jaico which consists of around 108 quotes or one-liners said by Sadhguru in some or the other instances.

I have never spent money on any such books as I always feel that why would one pay anything above Rs. 50 for something that can be completed or finished within an hour of reading in times where we already have abundant knowledge available for free on Internet. But somehow, I had purchased this book in the initial period of me getting into Spirituality because of excitement which I actually read now after years of having it in my shelf. I just wanted it to be my last book of the Year 2019 so that I could end the year spiritually in terms of my reading journey. I also didn’t want to rush into a book hence needed a shorter format but an insightful one. And this book has been just that.

To begin with, one should go for this book only if one has followed Sadhguru and learnt basics otherwise everything shall just be words without meaning for you which shall irritate you more and take you away from Spirituality. If you have gone through the concepts that Sadhguru endorses, this book shall work like caffeine for you where you would get answers for so many confusions in life through the quotes that has been collated in this book and feel energized and positive suddenly.

Every quote is unique which makes your perspective about every topic have some viewpoint to keep into analysis for some days before changing yourself completely for good. The catalyst that each page and quote is, I must say, that 108 seemed to be very less at the end of the book, it should have been around 500 such quotes as with every page, I felt I was getting wiser and learning to feel gratitude more and more with many of my perspectives getting changed gradually too.

The quotes talk about everything – your mind, your life, your body, what you eat, how you eat, your responsibility towards planet, how you should treat the nature, your relationship with trees, your attitude towards other people, your mortality, meditation, yoga, patriotism, joy, peace, happiness, power of breathing, yogis, money, humility, ego etc. This book covers every nature of human being and every relationship that he maintains. It helps you to understand things from spiritual perspective and go for self-introspection and gradually towards self-realization and then, self-improvisation.

This is one of the best short reads for people into Spirituality. It is just that you need to be spiritual before picking this one. It shall finish within 30-40 minutes itself. To gain more from it, you shall have to keep re-reading it whenever you have time. The only drawback that I found in this book is that there are certain contradictions as some quotes speak something and then another one speaks almost opposite about the same topic. This is because the whole explanation of the same is not provided and just the quote is shared which might create confusion. Except that, I feel that there should have been more quotes in the book.

Overall, I loved it. I give the book 4.5* out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Sunday, 29 December 2019

We-Men@Work by Sanchita Ganguly (Book Review: 4.25*/5) !!!

This year the number of books that I read on gender equality or on how girls should be empowered enough so that they have equal rights as boys is commendable. When society changes, such small steps such as a column in a newspaper or a blog post or a book plays a big part in spreading it in people’s mind. But then it also becomes equally important to ensure that the subject is treated with care in order to assure that wrong messages or ideology is not being spread that it ends up doing more damage than any kind of good for the society. One book that I recently completed reading on the same topic is written by a woman herself, Sanchita Ganguly, with the title “We-Men@Work” which comes with the tagline “A Conversation Starter for Practicing Gender Neutrality at Indian Workplaces”. The book is published by Notion Press publication in around 150 odd pages.

Sanchita’s motive behind writing this book is so pure and apt that you can feel the intention in each and every sentence. As I mentioned above, writing books on such topics becomes a big responsibility and I must say Sanchita has owned it very perfectly. This is one of the rare books I have gone through where it is not about demeaning men for the sake of proving that women are being pulled down from opportunities etc. Generally, it becomes very easy for any writer or columnist to write on how men are favoured over women and thus prove that both the genders are not at par with each other and women needs to be worked on. But here, Sanchita speaks without any bias being a woman herself, which is very commendable. Her 1^st sentence itself in defining the book is that both the genders are biologically different and she carries this very well throughout the book on how both of them should be dealt with respectively.

The 1^st chapter talks about how Gender Neutrality is different from Gender Equality which gives the book a great start as we are able to understand what actually is needed to be done to ensure both the gender feels that rules are meant specifically for them which has not been made by keeping them out of picture. Author then talks about how the shift in approaching gender starts early while we are growing up as kids, while searching for suitable match for marriage, pregnancy time and other many occasions. Author also covers how in workplace, the rules and regulations doesn’t do justice to both the genders always which creates very tough environment for both of them to prove their excellence and loyalty.

I am glad author also covers the dilemma of men’s work-life balance thing as this is something which no one speaks about but the way author has discussed in this book reassures my faith in authors speaking on this topic. The book also mentions the important question that who can help to beat this concern and bring the change and this being the last chapter is also a nice closure to this book which creates high expectations in you that if you try, there shall be change, also, things shall be changed accordingly by others too.

The book can be finished in a single sitting because of the way it has been published plus the division of chapters etc. The book has only positive vibes even after being on such complex topic. Few drawbacks that I would like to mention in the end of this review are:- The cover page should have been brilliant for this well-written book. Also, the title of the book is written in such a manner that you might not be able to understand what exactly it is. The book should also have discussed the recent Me Too movement and how it impacts the genders specifically. The way IKEA is given as an example occasionally, author should have come up with more such real-life examples to show how the things are already in place and these can be replicated easily. There should have been little more research.

Except the above few points mentioned, I must say, this book can be a catalyst at least in those minds who shall go through it. I give this book 4.25 stars out of 5. Please do read it if you believe in starting the change by being the change yourself.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

The Heart of Success by Om Swami (Book Review: 4*/5) !!!

Just as in movies, we appreciate the combination of few Actor-Director and ensure that we watch their movies always without missing any of them, for readers, there are similar successful combination of Author-Publisher where we ensure that we don’t miss reading the book of an author if published by a specific publisher. One such combination I always love is of Jaico Publication and Author Om Swami. As I had begun reading spiritual books few years ago, there were many books of Om Swami that I went through and understood complex terms and philosophies easily with the help of his beautiful writing.

This time, Om Swami has done something different and come up with a book more on Business Principles than Spirituality which is something refreshing and exciting. To start with, the cover page of the book is so beautiful that I picked the book because of it and later got to know that it’s by one of my favorite authors. The name of the book is “The Heart Of Success” with the tagline of “6 Business Principles To Up Your Game”. As the author was once into the corporate world before he took up spirituality, he has practical experiences of the game and that is what he shares in this great book.

Author shares the six sacred principle where the initials of each alphabet in the word “SACRED” are used to define each point such as to implement the pointers in life- S for Self, A for Approach, C for Competence, R for Resources, E for Efforts and D for Destiny. Similarly, to implement in Business, the pointers are as follows: - S for Sales, A for Accounting, C for Customers, R for Returns, E for Energy and D for Determination. I will not discuss what author has described within each of these points but I must say it’s a distinct approach towards how we handle ourselves in life and business and how we can bring great change by applying a different process and approach.

Reading about how author himself dealt with challenges in getting few things accepted at the management level plus other stories and funny scenarios that are mentioned in the book makes it an interesting read rather than just pointers and bulleted points within them. Author makes you walk with him in his own journey and learn from the applications he made in his process. The book not only ends with this but also discusses “The Insanely Epic Model” where again a word is identified from the alphabets in the word “EPIC” to derive the pointers which can help us in becoming brave and epic such as E for Enthusiastic, P for Persistent, I for Independent and C for Clear.

Overall, the book teaches you in how to excel in your working style and life which is of great help with easier implementation. I give this book 4 stars out of 5. Looking forward from more such books from Om Swami.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Saturday, 30 November 2019

Lute of the Nightingale by Khosrul Hossain (Book Review: 4.25*/5) !!!

As my reading target for this year is nearing its closure, I am always looking for the books that I have not heard much about and are written from the new Indian authors. This made me pick up my next book which is not the usual stuff that we get to read- the book named “Lute of the Nightingale” written by Khosrul Hossain with the tagline that says “The girl who spoke with her ink”. The cover page and the overall texture of the book gives you an intimation that the story is very dark and shall need your emotional cells to be strong while reading it. And it is exactly the same.

It’s not very easy to write on a protagonist who is of an opposite gender and it becomes more difficult when the character also has a physical issue which, as a writer, one doesn’t suffer. And this is where I would like to mention that Khosrul has done a wonderful job of describing a girl’s heart and with the same protagonist, a patient’s heart as well. We understand the challenges such people face in the real life through this character.

Saying this, the book is not only about how this girl is suffering with her physical issues but also about her relationship with her mother, Taslima, and Keshob, who stays with them. The chemistry that is discussed and the kind of evolution in the relationship of Reshmi- the protagonist and Taslima goes through is what makes this book a deep acknowledgment of the author’s work. The girl who cannot speak and has a physical disability which is only making her weak day by day ends up falling in love with a boy named Himaloy who is a poet already suffering with a heartbreak. The way their meeting is described makes you imagine the beautiful movies where characters speak with each other through minds and souls. The graph of their relationship is also a turmoil which makes Reshmi suffer more than before.

While the protagonist’s story in itself is so messy, author still manages to talk about each and every character so well that at a time, you feel that every character is the protagonist of the book and not only Reshmi. The way flashbacks are narrated in the form of letters makes the book interesting and makes you excited to know what all has happened with Reshmi’s mother and how Taslima is still alive and so well around her. Also, there are several stories which are separate stories and are not sub-plots to this one are also very beautiful and exciting to read- mostly the last one made me really scared.

Overall, the book is insightful and tells you about imperfect characters who have taken decisions or have fallen into darkness due to destiny and how it impacts other people around their life. The book speaks so much about emotions, love, betrayal, pain, hope, bravery, heart-breaking incidents that you just can’t be grateful about your life which is so well given by the grace of God.

Talking about the drawbacks of the book – Firstly, I believe the book is quite slow which makes it little hard to go through it at times and it could have easily been 30-40 pages short. There are few grammatical concerns but those are really few otherwise the language that author has used for narration is something which I really liked.

Except this, the book shall be surely treated as a distinct book by the matured readers and as per my personal opinion, I give this book 4.25* out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Saturday, 23 November 2019

The Soul Of Truth by Shaji Madathil/Jessy Skaria-Translator (Book Review: 4.5*/5) !!!

If you are interested in spiritual contents then it really becomes difficult in finding it because not all of them are written or portrayed in a way which shall connect with you. Hence, if we specifically talk about books, it is really difficult finding a book that is written in a way as you think and process your thoughts about spirituality. And fiction books which are based on the theme of spirituality is very tough to enjoy these days because people end up writing a very boring projection which is hard to grasp or enjoy. I find myself lucky that I got to read this book named “The Soul of Truth” by the author- Shaji Madathil which really entertained me for almost two weeks with its 350-odd pages of wonderful story of a character who is no more but speaks his thoughts on his life and death for 41 nights until his spirit completely leaves us.

The book is originally written by the author in Malayalam but it has been translated into English by Dr. Jessy Skaria. It is generally said that when the translation happens, the same soul of the author can’t be delivered in another language but I am just thinking, if I felt the story so much in a translated language, how wonderfully it must have been written in the original voice in Malayalam itself. Incredible! The book is about a protagonist who has lost his life and now he is narrating his story with us and his thoughts about life, death, philosophies etc. from his perspective and making us aware about things we don’t generally feel gratitude towards.

The book is divided into 41 different chapters where each night after the death, the protagonist, Uthaman, is remembering some of his memories when he was alive and connecting it with his current condition where every day, his spirit is getting little away from his family, friends, home etc. Uthaman, through his character, teaches us about how everything in our life comes to teach us something but it is upon us to take action and better our life. If we don’t, we shall end up having the nature of self-pitiness and lose everything one by one.

The way the life story of Uthaman is narrated by the author is very beautiful. The book flows slowly where in every chapter, only one part or scenario of Uthaman’s life is discussed but the way the chapter starts describing the current state of the spirit, what he is watching his family is doing in his absence, and on basis of both of these, a moment of his life is remembered by him at the end of which we are given a philosophical, spiritual or moral message on the same which makes us think about us and our approach towards our life and people. How people who loves us so much forgets us slowly is also discussed with the lasting chapters.

The book also tries to give us advice regarding how we aren’t celebrating our Planet Earth and killing it slowly. It also talks about other social messages as to how society doesn’t allow two people to fall in love even when they are comfortable with each other and can lead a good life. Similarly, how women’s period can be celebrated rather than making it a taboo is another good sequence. The life of an individual in village, city and even out of India is described very vividly which tells us the state of mind who can be in at different points in life. There are many such topics which are discussed with such an ease by marinating it with a fiction story that you never find them preachy but brings positive change in you and your thoughts. I give this book and narration 4.5 stars out of 5.

I recommend it to everyone who loves reading slow books which helps you evaluate deep inside you and search for answers for the questions you never asked yourself.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Wednesday, 13 November 2019

Love on the Everest: Love Conquers Everything by Deepthi Ayyagiri (Book Review: 2.5*/5) !!!

Kindle Unlimited is a great opportunity to explore the short stories written by the Indian authors which are famous in its own digital space. This lead me to the short e-book of around 50 pages titled “Love on the Everest” written by Deepthi Ayyagiri, the authoress who has many other short e-books on Amazon platform. The book also highlights its tagline on its cover page- “Love Conquers Anything” which tells us two parts- 1. The book is about love and 2. The book is about protagonist who is passionate about conquering the Mt. Everest.

Being a girl, writing a book on climbing mountain and that too from a boy’s perspective is surely a difficult job which Deepthi has done very beautifully as nowhere did I feel that the emotions of the boy was missing in the narration of the story. Keeping the size of the book in the mind, the narration is very fast-paced and I must say, authoress tried very well by still assuring that protagonist’s background is described briefly to ensure readers are able to connect with him. The story is not only about its romance genre but it also talks about the life at such mountains for the people who are wanting to explore it and the ones who help these explorers to achieve their life goals.

There are few knowledge points in the book which helps you to understand the environs and modus operandi of the climbers. The way story is treated makes you imagine it like the Music Singles which comes out on Youtube with a short story involving just two characters in the main story with an ending which makes you smile even after having tears in your eyes. The climax is treated beautifully rather than giving it the unrealistic ending even though there are parts in the book which sounds quite filmy and not very realistic.

Talking about the drawbacks now- I felt that author, having short story in her mind, didn’t extend few sections which weakened the emotional quotient of the book due to which you don’t feel the characters’ pain or delight most of the times even after you are aware what they are going through. Similarly, I feel that author completely skipped the training part of the climbers which could have made this book sound more researched and exploratory. Through the story, somewhere there should have been a thought triggered in the mind regarding going for mountaineering which I didn’t feel.

Overall, the book is a light read which you can go through in order if you are looking for a short story in the form of an e-book. I am sure authoress can do well with the long format stories as she shall get the opportunity of adding the segments descriptively along with taking care of the emotional quotient. I must end this review by saying that even after being a self-published e-book, it is very well-edited which is rare case these days. I give this book 2.5 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Tuesday, 12 November 2019

The Insider by Bharat Choudary (Book Review: 3.5*/5) !!!

If you must have gone through the post regarding the last book I completed reading, you must be aware that it was in Hindi language which took around 18 days for me to finish. Hence, the next book that I wanted to read after that had to be a great motivator to ensure I carry on the last phase of my reading marathon this year with great energy. Hence, I decided to pick up a short thriller book written by a new Indian author named Bharat Choudary. The book that I am talking about is of around 150 odd pages and titled “The Insider”. The title of the book is very attractive along with its cover page with does its job perfectly for you to pick it up and read its synopsis; after that there is no chance that you would not give this book a try.

Bharat’s writing is very simple which makes it easy for any beginner to go through the book with very ease. The book is written in a thriller genre hence the expectations from the pre-climax or climax of the book is always very high due to several popular Indian authors. I must say that author tried very well and the way the whole story is executed says a lot about his skills as a story-teller. I liked the characterizations made by the author which makes it easy for us to understand the mindset of each and every character involved in the story. I liked the plot of the story of how a writer’s life is projected with so many layers to it that after a point of time, it becomes difficult to figure out what would happen next with protagonist and other characters involved in the story.

The first half of the book is more about the development of the story and most parts of it is about the story that author has written influenced by a real-life half-solved mystery. Post this, author wishes to give it his own ending but then in the real life, some developments take place which ends up ruining the plan of the writer’s thought behind what to do with the climax of his story. And from here meets this aspiration of the author with a wanted criminal.

The 2^nd half of the book consists of lot of actions and written with ultimate passion. You can actually visualize the whole thing with big action Bollywood actors. The pre-climax and climax is how the Race series in Bollywood is written where you find someone dead in this moment and then alive in the next and again dead and then again alive which keeps on going which keeps you on your toes. I had not assumed such twists in the story hence I had to re-read few parts in the end twice after making the notes in my journal hence I recommend everyone to keep on noting down the character’s relationship with each other in order to enjoy the climax.

Talking about the drawbacks of the book, I must say that author could have easily played with the story right from the first page if there would have been little twists done with the timelines of the story which could have given more opportunity to explore. Also, I feel that the conversational part between characters aren’t very appealing which sounds artificial on which author should work in his upcoming books. Similarly, the way climax is written is very confusing which could have been written in a bit easier manner. I feel that more genuine characters should have been added in the story to make it based in a larger world as currently, it involves only few characters and only moves around them.

Overall, this book is a light thriller which you can complete within 3 hours of time. I give this attempt 3.5 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA