It's All About Books!!!

Sunday, 19 July 2020

Wuhan 2020 - Vacation Gone Wrong in China by Murtaza Akbar (Book Review: 3.25*/5) !!!

22nd Book of 2020!

So, almost in every book review that I have written post March 2020, I have somewhere mentioned about lockdown or isolation phase. But I never knew that within this phase itself, I shall get an opportunity to read a book that’s written completely based on Corona pandemics outbreak in China. The title of the book is “Wuhan 2020 - Vacation Gone Wrong in China” and it’s written by Murtaza Akbar in around 150-pages. The author has cleverly created a plot which talks about how a family whose life was very much sorted ended up being in the Wuhan city and got trapped in the outbreak of the pandemic which affected their mental state for the period when they were kept in isolation in a foreign city.

The book is short and I must say that’s a good decision considering that people might not want to read largely about the pandemic as they have already been suffering the same since last 6 months. The book starts like a Travel log where the author describes how the family is going through from one place of China to another based on their itinerary and provides vast description of each and every spot that they are traveling. Later on, in the book, the topic of Coronavirus enters and for some time, the book gets devoted in spreading the information about the disease and the situation in China. So basically, the first half speaks majorly on these two events hence frankly saying, I couldn’t enjoy the story till then.

But then starts the 2^nd half of the book and author takes us into a lot of backstories and flashbacks. It is then that the magic happens and you start liking the story and reading it fast and turning pages to know what happened next. Author here discusses how the couple met and got married. Author also talks about how they landed up in China and how important this visit was for them. Even their personal family backdrops are given which is quite interesting. Finally, comes the climax which I believe could have been more unpredictable or dramatic but still, story ends on a good note.

Talking about the characterizations, the characters of Adnan and Angelina is so beautifully crafted and the way they are described makes you imagine them somewhere around you. The intimate scenes between them are also beautifully written without any vulgarity imposed for the sake of selling the book. Similarly, the other supporting characters such as Rizwan are nicely crafted. Author has shared few poetic lines in start and end of the chapter which are thought-provoking many a times. Similarly, the conversation that takes place between the couple in the flashbacks are very beautifully written. The love story part of the book is what majorly impressed me more than the pandemic part.

Now talking about the drawbacks of the book- I must say that author has given too much detailing in the traveling part which actually irks you after a time as it seems you are going through the Wikipedia page of each location. Secondly, there are grammatical and typo errors which I believe author should try avoiding as much as possible as reading on a Kindle device, it is found out immediately. Thirdly, when the story is being sold out as being based on Coronavirus pandemic, I believe there could have been more thriller occurrences which could have made the readers jump out of their couch while reading. Lastly, as the sweet moments of the book is majorly in the flashbacks which takes entry in the 2^nd half of the book, it could have been great if author could have brought them in between since start of the book as it could have then made readers go through the traveling description interestingly too.

Overall, the book is a light-read and it is apt for new and early readers to begin their reading journey with or the people who love reading love and romantic stories. I give the book 3.25* out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Friday, 10 July 2020

Death: An Inside Story by Sadhguru (Book Review: 4.5*/5) !!!

21^st Book of 2020!

Picking up books to read in lockdown phase is quite a choosy task as we wish to read something which is very exciting as we are already sitting at home otherwise we generally tend to read light stuffs such as spiritual, meditational and peaceful pieces as we are already handling enough mess in our routine. Even after knowing this, I picked up the book I had been wanting to read since its release “Death: An Inside Story” by Sadhguru knowing that it could have been depressing. The book also has the tagline that says “A book for all those who shall die”. I have watched many interviews of Sadhguru and whenever people asked him queries on death, rebirths, past lives etc., he would joke on it and move to the next question. I always thought that Sadhguru doesn’t believe in all this but this full-fledged book has come up like a surprise to me hence I was very excited for the same.

Talking about Death, you would think that someone would end up explaining it within 40-50 pages and what else can be more about this thing which happens so suddenly that we don’t even come to know about it. Also, we think that Death is the end so why to think much about it. The most we want is to be healthy while dying. But Sadhguru here takes us to explain something about this one-word phenomena named “Death” in around 375+ pages. That’s huge!

I never believed that Living and Dying are two different experiences spiritually and I thought if we live well, our dying has nothing to do with it and our next life, if there is a thing like that, shall be on the basis of how we lived our previous life. Through this book, I have realized that how we even die and what happens to us immediately before that and even for days after we die, impacts our soul and energies and can be critical for it to survive peacefully post our death even if we have lived spiritually well. Sadhguru handles all the subjects with his humorous and awakening tone which makes It easy for us to go through the book even when few chapters are little heavy or depressing to grasp and digest.

I was amazed with the concepts of multiple karmas, koshas, type of bodies, Vayus, chakras and how death happens in one of the stages in each of these concepts which impacts our energies later on. Sadhguru also doesn’t shy away from talking about concepts such as rebirth, re-incarnations, samadhi, mahasamadhi, ghosts, spirits, suicide, murder, memory after death etc. He also discloses about how his wife and several other close people around him left their bodies just like that on their will. He also talks about how body vanishes just like that for some people who are at the higher level to manage such phenomena.

Jaggi Vasudev also lets us know about multiple other things such as how to identify if the person had a good death or not. How energies can be handled even after death. What rituals need to be performed in order to assure that the person who has died gets dissolved successfully. The great information that is shared is about how the person doesn’t completely die when he breathes his last but stays alive for few hours/days after that and hence can’t be called completely dead till then. Reading all this was very fascinating and knowledgeable. He also ends up talking about his previous lives and if he shall be taking rebirth again or not.

Now talking about few drawbacks- I must say that this book is specifically meant for people who have already read or heard Sadhguru before otherwise understanding his language shall be very challenging. Secondly, most of the times Sadhguru doesn’t go into detailing just for the reason so that people get curious and go to Isha Yoga center or start taking his courses to understand things better. I believe if you are a spiritual person – first of all your book should be free of cost – if not that, at least don’t use it as a brochure for the multiple programmes handled by your foundation. Thirdly, few events that Sadhguru talks about like people leaving their bodies or burning and then vanishing immediately in front of him sounds fake because there’s no proof and we have not heard anyone sharing such events happening in front of them. I understand we are not that spiritually advanced to know if it’s bluff or true but still, things like these should be spoken with proofs or references. Also, I couldn’t agree with many things that he speaks about himself in terms of past life and how he has already lived more than required and he shall not be on the planet again.

Overall, the book is thought-provoking and something that you have not read before- it’s like experiencing death before death. I give the book 4.5 stars out of 5. The book has information that shall really change the way you see Death- for yourself, your family or your closed ones. It shall not be scary anymore. Yes!

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Thursday, 2 July 2020

Khantastic by Sanjukta Nandy (Book Review: 3.75*/5) !!!

20^th Book of 2020!

Reading books on Bollywood personalities becomes a different experience altogether as we come to know about the stories we are not aware of about the people we have adored on screen. And the motivation in our life comes only after reading the approach of the actors, directors and movie-makers behind the screen on how they worked and prepared for the same. There is no denying that for people who are born after 1980 feels a deep-connect with the Khan trio of Bollywood i.e. Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan. They are someone who came and changed things for Bollywood and movie-lovers who knew nothing except Amitabh Bachchan at that point of time. They shall always have special place in heart for people who love movies. Hence, reading about them is always very exciting.

This book named “Khantastic” written by Sanjukta Nandy claims to be speaking about the untold story of Bollywood’s Trio in the 210 pages. It took me very less time to finish this book for obvious reasons as it was talking about the Superstars I grew up adoring and copying in my school and childhood days. Author has taken due care to make us feel the same we felt when these guys were coming up with their multiple movies in their 1^st and 2^nd decade respectively which has made them the star they are today. Even today if these Khans fail, they are and shall always be remembered as Success Stories due to what they did in their career’s first twenty years.

Author starts with the background of each of the family and tells how they are connected through the similar kind of roots. Then she discusses their birth story and finally about their childhood days. Each story is unique in itself of all the stars. I personally liked reading about Shahrukh Khan here as his struggles are very less known as he is an outsider and never generally speaks about his early life. Then author discusses how they got into the industry and the challenges faced by them then and how it all changed after they delivered their first hit so superbly. The way how their love stories are discussed is the best segment of the book. SRK-Gauri’s story is in fact so filmy that you would not believe that it’s a true love story at all. Similarly, Aamir-Reena’s story is fascinating in itself. The best part is how author has humorously written about Salman’s ever-changing girlfriends and his dynamics with them post relationship.

The book then discusses about their several films and how they got few roles which were either first discussed with some other actor or with one among them but how then they profited from it by coming in at the last minute and taking up the rejected role. Their biggest success in the 90s are discussed vastly along with their recent successes in the days of 100-200-300 crore clubs. Author also talks about the relationship of three Khans among themselves and how they have survived all the bad days when they didn’t get along and even fought publicly. All the controversies of Salman Khan are briefed without trying to white-wash him – her stance is similar with mentioning controversial events of Shahrukh and Aamir too. I liked author’s daring to pour everything she knew as it is without modifying facts pushing it on sources etc.

I liked how a chapter is almost dedicated to Hrithik Roshan on whose entry in 2000, there were talks and discussions that Khans’ careers would now be immensely affected and the new generation is up there. How it even got connected with the then political conditions was something I wasn’t aware about which author mentions very clearly. Without putting anyone down- Hrithik or the Three Khans, author does a great justice to that chapter.

Talking about the drawbacks, I would say that it is not the author’s fault but because media covers these stars so passionately that almost everything is known to the general public hence there weren’t many stories with her to reveal in this book as a Shock or Surprise hence there’s nothing which can be called as untold stories. Secondly, I felt that many important events from their life has been ignored which could have been given nice presentation in the book. Then, a book which talks about journey of actors must have their filmography in the end for readers to understand their career-graph which is missing. The total count of movies that each star has done should also have been discussed in some manner and their approach towards how many movies they like working on.

Saying it all, this is a light and entertaining book which tells you about the most talked-about Khans in our country. I give this book 3.75 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Sunday, 28 June 2020

Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta by Amish Tripathi (Book Review: 4.5*/5) !!!

19^th Book of 2020!

It is such a wonderful feeling when you finish a book by your favorite author and also end up finding the book as one of his best works. I am just done reading “Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta” – the latest i.e. 3^rd book written in the Ram Chandra series by Amish Tripathi. The first two books in this series were based on the characters of Ram and Sita respectively which I have already reviewed. I had found Ram to be engrossing as Amish had redefined the story in his version but I wasn’t much impressed with Sita due to the repetitiveness in respect to Part 1. But talking about the latest book in the series which is based on Raavan, I must say that this is the best book among the three and something which is now making me look forward to the 4^th and 5^th book in this series curiously.

This book is also of almost the same number of pages as Ram and Sita but Amish’s writing in this one is what he is known for- great incidents, retelling of epics in his own way, giving religious insights, acknowledging the facts of Vedas, sharing Sanskrit shlokas and mantras in between, deciphering the philosophical aspect out of the scenes etc. Even when the book is of about 370+ pages but it never bores you with the way narration has been done with regular time-jumps to ensure only the special events from Raavan’s life are given big coverages. The description of events, aesthetic values in scenes and characterizations along with their correlation is done in a crisped manner which makes you imagine so much throughout that after finishing, you’ll feel you have just done watching something on screen. The action-packed scenes are just too good and I must say it is the USP of this book.

Raavan as a character has always been misunderstood by us who are aware about Ramayan but this book makes him so known to us but still kept unknown. Yes – that’s the way the story and character has been presented to us. Sometimes, you’ll find him genuine or barbaric or emotional or pitiful or justifying or non-dharmic or you might love him at times and detest otherwise. Raavan’s characterization by the author makes this book a landmark in Indian writing. Similarly, Kumbhakarna’s portrayal is something which wins your heart in each and every chapter.

Some points that I would like to mention which impressed me are as follows: - the importance of “108” number in India in the initial chapters itself which makes you excited to know many such stuffs further in the book. The whole description of Vaidyanath temple celebration made me feel the same ecstasy as Raavan. Recently, when I started getting involved in religious activities, I always wanted to understand why Lord Vishnu’s idol is made in black with such big eyes which is very well explained by Amish in a sequence of Jagannath temple. A scene where Raavan makes a little girl kill her father is speechless- I don’t know how to explain the impact of that scene on me as a reader. There’s one poetry that’s mentioned which has been written on the relationship of Sun and Earth – it’s so beautiful that I don’t even find such poetries in the Poetry collection books by the new-age authors. Raavan’s emotions for Vedavati and that whole big section which covers the major segment of this book is very beautiful- little Bollywood-ish but it keeps you glued. And talking about the climax of the book- IMPACTFUL! It makes you excited to read the further part eagerly.

Now talking about the drawbacks of the book:- Well, there is not much I could find out but I must say that the book has few scenes which are very violent. Hence, some people who can’t take it might feel uneasy while reading it. Secondly, not all characters are given equal weightage like Raavan and Kumbhakarna which makes the other characters almost negligible in this story. But this has also been a good point about this book that like every book written based on mythology and epics, this one doesn’t have too many characters to confuse the readers. Thirdly, I felt that the story is written in a manner which sounds quite modern whereas I feel that author should keep the aesthetics of the ancient India more alive while writing so that it keeps us connected with our roots – It shall be another benefit of reading such books.

Overall, this is one of the best works of Amish Tripathi for sure. I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5 undoubtedly. Please do read it to experience an impactful story about Raavan – the biggest villain we ever had.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Thursday, 11 June 2020

"Index Investing" by Abhishek Kumar (Book Review: 3.75*/5) !!!

18^th Book of 2020!

One thing that I have realized the most while talking with my friends during this lockdown phase is – people have started believing that earning money is comparatively easy than saving it as everyone understood the importance of having money in their accounts during such times when salaries are being cut, not being given at some places, employees being laid off etc. And it becomes very important for people to understand how to multiply their saved money in order to reap benefits of their hard-saved money also. Abhishek Kumar’s book titled “Index Investing” is an effort to help us understand how to approach stock markets and putting our money in that direction with safety. The book also has the tagline which says "A Low-cost, low-risk strategy to investment success".

After completing the book, I realized that I had reviewed Abhishek’s 2^nd book exactly a year back named “Master your Money, Master your Life” which was an excellent read which taught me some great tips on saving money. This book is just next level to it where it talks about what to do with the hard-saved money. The writing style of Abhishek Kumar is really very intriguing and it keeps you hooked through the philosophies, suggestions and ideologies he endorses. Even at points where you feel that author is being too aggressive or opinionated, you still go along with him rather than disliking him.

This book is divided into four different sections: 1. The Theory of Investing 2. The Psychology of Investing 3. The Business of Investing and 4. The Solution. The chapter names are very interesting and the way author begins each chapter taking us slowly by holding our finger towards the topic and then dives deep into it gradually makes it very easy for you to cope up with this domain. Stock Market and Financial terms are never easy for a layman to understand but Abhishek has ensured that we understand as much as possible – though at few places I felt that author could have given us little more understanding of few terms.

The best part is that author doesn’t discuss only the technical aspect of investing but also about the psychology and attitude that each one of us have in this ecosystem- the Investors, the agents, the stock broker, financial advisor, broking firms, media etc. Author tells us how no one can predict the future of any stock or shares available in the market and makes us aware about the different kinds of tactics that these people play with investors to fool and extract money out of them. Author also discusses how we end up paying more in form of many charges that we never understand and how major chunk of our returns are not credited directly to us- but goes to these people who invest on our behalf.

Lastly, author discusses how we should be doing all the stuff towards investing in stock market all by ourselves by intelligently investing in Index funds. Author shares with us many pros of the same along with the quotes by famous people in the field on Index Investing. I liked how author opens our eyes regarding not to think of becoming rich through this medium of money multiplication but ensure that we are only ahead of the inflation rate always. This is something that shall stay with me for long.

Talking about the drawbacks now, as I said even in the review of author’s 2^nd book, author takes quite a long time in providing his final solution. It can be better if author keeps on giving the Pros of his suggestion over what is happening wrong elsewhere rather than listing down all the wrongs first and lastly mentioning about the solution by the time which reader becomes all negative about the topic as the book carries only the criticism. Secondly, the chapter on Solution is so short that it could have been a blog or a Linkedin article. I wish author could have given examples, graphs, diagrams etc. to make his readers understand the concept and its affect more rather than being confident that the readers shall take up the solutions without any doubts. Also, I wished author suggested few Mobile applications etc. which can help us in Index investing and ways to understand that on the name of it, we are not being made to invest in something else.

Overall this book is informative and shall help you discover a lot of things in both the cases – if you are already an investor or thinking to be one. I give this book 3.75* out of 5. Recommended for young generation who have started earning.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Sunday, 7 June 2020

"Satya : Tumhara saath hi shashvath hai” by Satyendra Singh “Apurna (Book Review: 3*/5) !!!

17^th Book of 2020!

It is not every day that I pick up a Hindi book for my reading time but when I do, I ensure that the language of the book makes me feel mesmerized and fall in love with my mother tongue more. My Hindi is good but the slightly difficult vocabulary that I get to experience in Hindi fictional books is what I love rejoicing as it helps me develop my language further. This time I picked up the book named “Satya : ...Tumhara saath hi shashvath hai” written by Satyendra Singh “Apurna”. I read the e-book format of the same on Amazon Kindle which was around 250 pages and took me 10 hours to complete due to my less experience with reading Hindi books.

The book is basically a love story between the two characters- Satya and Shobha based in the times of 1999 and 2000. The millennials might find the movement in the love story quite slow but as I have seen the love blooming in those phase, I can understand the old school format in which the book has been written. The narration of the book is nice as you shall feel that it is being spoken by the characters themselves even when the same is written in 3^rd voice. The characterizations are done very neatly in the book which makes you understand the mental state of both the main protagonists of the book and also of the other characters who are involved in the story either as Satya’s or Shobha’s acquaintances.

The 1st half of the book is bit slow and I really enjoyed the book when it went into its 2^nd half as it is when certain other layers of the story starts to get revealed and you understand the background and other struggles of the characters too. The values that both the characters possess makes them come together and fall apart several times but when they get to know each other’s condition it is then that they realize the power the other character had been displaying all these days.

There are several poems in the book as the character of Satya is someone who loves writing as per his situations which is also something that you shall cherish while reading. Similarly, another thing that I would like to appreciate author for is to exclude any kind of vulgar scene in the book just for adding intimacy. Author has written this book based on pure love and feelings without getting into any cheap thrills to sell it.

Now talking about the few drawbacks:- As I have already mentioned, I felt that the book is quite slow in the 1^st half and even in 2^nd half too- Author could have easily made this book 50-60 pages less by keeping the story crisp. Secondly, I felt that many segments sound repetitive as regularly, the characters keep on calling each other or meeting below the hostel or library – author could have made these segments sound unique and new by varying the locations and conversations. Lastly, I felt that author didn’t do justice with many of the characters who are spoken in the book such as Pooja- the lost love of Satya- there is no mention about that story at all. Similarly, other one or two characters disappear all of a sudden and are not mentioned later on.

Overall, if you love reading school/college romance and also want to try to read a book in Hindi, this book shall surely help you go through. I give this book 3 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Wednesday, 27 May 2020

Indogene by Sriram Devatha (Book Review: 3.5*/5) !!!

16th Book of 2020!

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In the time of pandemic situations, getting any kind of delivery for paperback books was out of the question until recently hence I thought of going through a short e-book. I found this book named “Indogene” written by Sriram Devatha. This is his 2^nd book. The book also has the tagline which says “Stories of Indians Across the Globe”. The book is a kind of an anthology which consists of 10 short stories – each speaking about an Indian-originated protagonist who is settled somewhere out of India and is still somehow tied to their roots.

This Kindle read is all about maximum 2 hours and you shall enjoy it as the content is altogether distinct – something that I have not read until recently. Author has tried his best to ensure that he covers the characters whom we generally don’t hear about. The book doesn’t talk about the usual NRIs that we read or watch in movies but about the personalities who are either going through some sort of dilemma, trauma or are still thinking about how they landed up where they are today being so grounded. The stories speak flavours that talks about communism, politics, religion, blind faith, spirituality, God, business, lust, values, legality, love etc.

The diversity in the story makes you go through each story one after another as every chapter presents you something new. The 1^st story begins with a taxi driver noticing a small observation between a couple whereas the 2^nd story about Nair is all about his post-life and view on communism. “Extradition” speaks about what a man goes through before knowing that he shall be in Breaking News within sometime whereas “Love’s the Idea” is all about how love is interpreted differently in different cultures. The latter chapter is also a good break from the seriousness of topics that were discussed in 1^st three stories.

Another story is about how a Gujarati family does a great business in a country like Uganda is nicely portrayed with the concept on regionalism whereas “Sanctum Sanctorum” is all about Vinayak’s spiritual and religion devotion which he himself starts questioning after what happens with his fellow devotees. One of the last chapters that I enjoyed reading was “#sinetronscandal” which was about how a cultured and traditional wife is expected to behave as per husband’s command in private and later she comes to know about his involvement in external affairs in which she becomes a key to save him from embarrassment.

How each story is vivid and unique is evident from the above descriptions. Now talking about the drawbacks of the book: - I believe author has chosen very difficult vocabulary in some of the chapters where it shall become difficult for people who must be picking this book for light-read. Similarly, I feel that author could have re-ordered the stories starting from the ones which are based on simpler concepts than the critical ones. It ends up giving a sense to the user that all the further stories are going to be on such complex issues only. Furthermore, I wished if author could have mentioned Indian culture little more deeply in every chapter – it would have been an eye-opener for every one of us reading this book regarding how we have forgotten or ignored most of our beautiful culture even when staying in India.

Overall, this is a light read if you are looking for an anthology. I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA