Book Recommendations

 I love reading books. My motto is - never be without books. I make it a point to read at least 12 books every year, a goal that I have managed to achieve last year and this year as well. I plan to stick to this for the rest of my life. I am the kind of person who carries books everywhere. And I mean everywhere. 

As a kid, I used to read a lot of fiction, starting from the likes of the Sweet Valley series and Harry Potter series to a lot of Jeffery Archer. As of late, I have started reading a lot of non-fiction. This is a fairly recent phenomenon, circa 2018. Most of the books I read are recommendations from my closest friends or cousins. I have built quite a repository of totally kickass books, so I thought I would share some of those here as well. I am going to try to write my review of the books I read much like Bill Gates in gates notes.

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All time highs

The rise of the extroverts?

Assertiveness has become a survival skill. If you aren’t assertive, you are not going anywhere. More than your skills and capabilities what matters in the world is how well you portray what little capability you possess. You might be the genius who came up with the concept of the hype cycle (#gartner), but if you can’t market yourself, it is no use. In a world where everyone is trying to make an impact and make themselves more memorable, the ones who speak constantly are bound to be remembered. This is the era of the extroverts. The ones who can speak their way through life. People who surf the world on confidence and aggression. In today’s world, “ Jo dikhta hai, wo bikta hai ” and this system has an innate bias towards the outspoken, no matter how daft. Okay, that is a little extreme, but if you are not completely dumb and chatty and can speak your way through a bunch of conference rooms, congratulations, you are it! If you are humble, people are going to walk all over you. N...
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Are you depressed or just down?

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Our generation doesn’t go to doctors, it googles or webMDs. We eventually do go to doctors but not unless we have diagnosed ourselves fully. So, we claim to have various ailments and diseases that sound so complicated you could find them in my dust-infused organic chemistry books.  One such problem people claim to have is “Depression”. A condition very serious and just as misunderstood and exploited. If I were to take everyone on their face value every second person is suffering from depression. And yes, the number has increased significantly. But people throw this term around very casually. I have too. Until I actually suffered from “clinical depression”. I did not realize how serious it was. Earlier, if I were a little down or sad, I would term it as depression. And what this does reduces the seriousness of the problem. If everyone is going through it how serious could it actually be? But that is not true. Everyone isn’t going through it. Taking a quiz on the internet doesn’t g...
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The Fight that Never Ends

Men need to understand that women aren't theirs to be ordered around or have them even define the rules of their existence. Wait, let me rephrase that, every individual needs to understand that they have no right whatsoever over any human being. If you are a part of someone's life either by legal bounds, for the lack of a better word, or even by their own choice, it is their choice. You could be a father, a husband, a son, a boyfriend, or even a friend, and pardon me for pointing out the males here but I am just in that state of mind, it is there, and I cannot stress this enough, their choice. They let you be a part of their life, they are doing you a favor.  You simply cannot think you have any stake, much less claim over any individual. All you can do is offer suggestions and helpful tips. You under no circumstances can dictate the boundaries of their life, I don't care how you are related to them.  And to be honest, I am tired of having to explain to men that when...
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Turning Twenty-five

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Birthdays are a lot of fun, if you are a kid. As an adult, birthdays become annoying. I think it is a bell curve, wherein the beginning you don’t care about your birthday because let’s face it, you are much too young. This interest or enjoyment increases with time when you are a kid and finally understand that birthday = gifts, and then comes back slumping when society thinks you are much too big to be wearing a birthday cap and blowing out candles. I am one of those people who always dread their birthdays. Somehow because you expect your birthday to be special, and as a grownup, there isn’t much special left to be done in life, ice cream cakes are not a novelty anymore and any money you get goes towards your credit card fund and not to buy a magnifying glass and playing detective. Somehow there is too much pressure on birthdays, and hence the dread. You've got to party, you have to have a good time, and in achieving that, simple things that otherwise make you happy fail to ...
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When Men Mysteriously Misplace Their Mothers: Marriage Edition

  I have finally identified the reason why most mothers feel that their sons' wives have "taken away" their sons. It has nothing to do with the wife, and everything to do with the son himself. I have realized that men are unable to maintain a good level of communication or conversation with their mothers and fathers after they get married. Also, in our society, a daughter and a mother often share a close bond. I know I am generalizing, but this is based on my experiences and those around me. The influence of patriarchy within society often leads women in the immediate family to stick together. They become each other's confidants from an early age. They come to depend on each other for moral support against the omnipresent force of patriarchy. Mothers, daughters, and sisters share a close bond, one that might be akin to soldiers at war. Oooh, trauma bonding maybe? Just speculating. Anyway, now that we have established that the bond a mother and daughter share is spec...
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Ground Zero

I left Bangalore abruptly about 18 months ago, and since then have never thought about going back, maybe just once, and that too just to face my fear of the city. Since I moved, the sheer name of Bangalore was enough to get me anxious. But recently, I had to go to the traffic city for a short two-day trip due to some office work. Unavoidable. On one hand, I was sort of happy that I would get to face my fear of the city but on the other, my insides were tumbling around. I clearly remember sitting at the airport waiting for my flight and trying very hard to remain calm. I landed late at night. I exit the airport and the classic Bangalore air, enough to make anyone fall in love with the city, hit me. And for a second I did. Moving on, I was trying to recognize the airport, trying to find memories hidden behind pillars and outside coffee shops, but none came to me. It felt very unfamiliar. Also, the entire layout of the airport has changed. I mean I leave a city for some 18 odd months, ...
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Moments of Impact

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These are moments that change our life in ways we can't even imagine. They can significant and insignificant at the same time. They could be something as huge as a promotion or an unfortunate accident or as small as losing a girl's number or a traffic jam making you late or one of the countless moments we go through in our daily life. For those of you who have seen the movie "The Vow", are familiar with the concept of "Moments of Impact". As a matter of fact the whole movie is based on such moments. For those of you who are wondering what this is, here it is. Well basically, these are events or incidents that change the course of our life and in turn define who we are. These moments need not be gigantic or huge, but they impact they have definitely is. You might not even notice how even the smallest of decisions changed your life and led you to where you are today. There is no way to know which of the moments in our life are the ones. No one is standing...
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The Dichotomy of Crop Top

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I have always had a problem with crop tops. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a problem with people wearing them. You do you. I was just never able to comprehend them. For me clothes are mostly functional and comfortable. They can be trendy and fashionable, but comfortable at all costs. I hardly wear anything that makes me feel physically or mentally uncomfortable. This is why I don’t get crop tops. And I know I sound conservative and judgmental, but I’m honestly just coming from a place of trying to understand what about them makes me uncomfortable. So my husband and I are finally watching The Bastards of Bollywood. Great show. And I vocalize this thought to him. We try to figure out why. Both of us being consultants, we started to break the problem down. What I realized is that I don’t mind crop tops, but I cannot understand what beyond the male gaze is the value of this. I am sure people who wear them find them incredibly comfortable. But this begs a bigger question.  To what e...
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Tug of war - your decision

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There is a popular game in India called Rassa Kashi, or commonly known as tug of war. It is played a lot in India and there are proper tournaments and competitions for it. Athletes train regularly for it, basically it is a not just a game, here it is a sport. This game usually has two teams on the opposite sides holding a rope, and trying to pull it towards themselves. If you have ever noticed, it is a pretty thick rope, and holding on to it when it is being snatched away from you is pretty hard. Firstly there is a lot of friction involved when the rope is being tugged on by two ends, and due to that friction a lot of heat is generated and your palm may get burnt, also secondly, holding on to something so tight when someone else is trying to snatch it from you can give you bruises, and not just those tiny ones, deep bruises and maybe even cuts. You might be wondering why I am suddenly talking about this. Well, I have a good reason for it. I am trying to draw an analogy t...
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Think Non-Fiction is Boring? Think Again.

You think non-fiction books are dry?  You think there’s no story, no suspense?  Just a bunch of facts or perspectives with nothing to keep you hooked?  Then you are very wrong, my friend! Non-fiction books can be incredibly addictive. Once you step out of the fictional world and into the reality of non-fiction, you’ll see the scales tip. Every decision carries weight. Every move has to be calculated, because unlike in fiction, when someone messes up in real life, the consequences are real. Watching people factor in risks, make tricky, bold, or even borderline insane decisions will leave you anxious for them. It doesn’t matter that it happened years ago—you’re right there with them in that moment of panic and uncertainty. Non-fiction also teaches you empathy in a way fiction can’t always achieve. You live through the triumphs and failures of real people, understanding the weight of their choices, the courage in their risks, and the humanity in their flaws. You begin to se...
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