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

General people appreciation post

 I cannot get to sleep, so I decided to sit in the balcony. And it is frikking cold, and there is music playing in my room, well where is there isn't. I have recently been feeling a lot of appreciation for the people in my life and wanted to pen it down.  Two days ago I got my much awaited first-ever promotion. I was alone at home when I got the call. I was beyond elated. I called all my friends and family to share the good news and then sat in front of my laptop. Then I decided to call up a friend who didn't respond to my somewhat cryptic message "call aa gaya". I call her and give her the news and the first words out of her mouth were "saman uthao apna aur aa jao" which translates to pick up your things and come over ASAP. And that is all we want in life, someone to say that to us. I love this woman very very much.  Umm secondly, I don't know if this happens with everyone or just me, but in the last couple of years, I have gotten really close to my cou...
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Sometimes, Stop and look around

We get lost in the tailings of daily life. The laundry that is becoming a mountain, the fridge that needs restocking, and the Roomba that needs to be cleaned. And on top of all of this, there is Mark Zuckerberg trying his fucking best to make you addicted to a social media platform that is known to induce anxiety, fear, and loneliness in people. So we don’t have time. Or so we think. I think sometimes we need to take a giant, deep breath and just look around. Look at where you are. Look at what you have achieved. Appreciate it. Appreciate it not because, oh look, other people don’t even have this, but because, hey, look at you. You got here. You dreamed of being here. You worked to get here. And you did. Take a beat and enjoy it. Somewhere between the laundry and the traffic, we have genuinely forgotten how to enjoy the things we once desperately wanted. For instance, I have been working at Accenture Strategy for about 4–5 months now. I had been applying here for almost three years and...
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Where are the "Friends" now?

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It's been 11 years since Monica and Chandler moved out of the apartment. That was one big moment for the group, after which they all really did grow up. Their lives went into six different directions, but they still try to keep in touch. The keeping in touch does not go very well with their busy lives. But they try to meet at least once a month at the coffee house, and swap stories like old times. This has now become a tradition. Also they always always go to Monica's place for thanksgiving where she cooks them a delicious meal and the kids run around and have fun! Monica and Chandler moved to the suburbs with the twins, who are now 11 years old. Monica is not only a chef at one of the best restaurants in NY but has published two cookbooks as well. Chandler who started on a new career path is now booming in that field, He is working at a great advertising firm, but he prefers to work from home (at least half the time) and stay with the kids. They have a perfect littl...
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Template Thoughts and Instant Reactions

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Social Media is eliminating the need for us to use words and form full sentences. We can just like an update or applaud an accomplishment without so much as uttering two words or worse thinking two words. Our reactions have become standard and templatized either in the form of emojis or a chatbot writing things for you and you just have to press send.  The Emoji-fication of our lives. Gone are the days when loved ones would write pages over pages to each other or coming back to reality, those irritating and long messages on WhatsApp. The weight of our expressions and responses is now carried by little yellow digital icons and a variety of ways to express them. They seem to be creeping into professional conversations as well.  Chatbots speaking to chatbots. In the realm of generative AI and omnipresent chatbots waiting eagerly to finish your sentences, much like a head-over-heels love couple during their honeymoon phase, we are soon going to forget how to write. I remember last...
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#5 List five places you want to visit

Ohh, this is going to be so easy I tell you! Making this list is all I have been doing sitting at home in the lockdown. Goa: When do I never want to go there? Goa is home. Goa is like the former lover I go to meet every year to remind myself of the simpler times, have some fun, and take a break from life. I have been going to Goa every year since my graduation to visit the campus, go to our regular hangout places, and get my feet wet. I am off on a weekend trip to Goa the first chance I get.  Tirthan: This a beautiful place, up in the mountains where I have been wanting to for a year now. As much as I love beaches, I maybe love the mountains just as much. Beaches were the old Shiro, mountains are the new Shiro. I've seen this place in pictures and it is absolutely mesmerizing. I want to go to Tirthan to be away from the city, away from my problems and be just with nature. I want to sit by the river, eat some Maggi, and read a good book. The kid who brings chaos to life has promised...
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#1 List 10 things that make you really happy

#1 List 10 things that make you really happy 30 days of Quarantine Ooh. This one is a toughie. The way life has been going right now, I think it would be easier for me to list 10 things that make me sad or anxious.  I am currently living with my parents, but occasionally we go to Gurgaon (where I live) to spend a few days there. And being back in that house, my room, and my balcony with all my plants is something that makes me really happy. It is one of the few things that makes me happy in corona times. I could've been an amphibian. I love swimming. It helps me clear my head and think. It also calms me down. But thanks to the coronavirus, swimming for this year has been cancelled. So, I got myself a bicycle about four days ago. I have been going on bike rides regularly for the past three days, and I have to say it isn't as much fun as swimming, but it has its advantages. Cycling around the Cantt area in Ambala with the lush greenery, plenty of doggos, and just the right music ...
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#9 Post some words of wisdom that speak to you

There are a lot of things that speak to me. Different things at different points of time in my life.  The most recent one being something my brother said to me when I had spent almost full days in bed in complete darkness not talking to anyone, just sulking. I have written about this in one of my previous blogs as well. But since this one has been a roadblock for me for a while, might as well write it and move forward.  He said "Aru, we do good work not for recognition or appreciation, not that that's not helpful, neither do we do it for the company or the manager or colleague we might like. We do good work for ourselves. We do so so that we can learn and grow. We do so because not doing so would be ethically wrong. If we are ready to give up the minute we don't see a reward, then our motivation, to begin with, is wrong and corrupt and needs to change. So stick around for as long as you like, but while you are here do keep giving your best for yourself " And that made...
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Hey Amazon, will you be my best friend?

Why do we say being materialistic is wrong? I think in the current times, our relationship with material things is more satisfying than the ones we have with people. Things always have time for you, they are never too busy or they never get tired of your shit! I mean does Amazon get tired of your orders? Does it say Shiro no more? Or does it ever ignore your order? Or has your book ever told you, it was tired? Or have your cigarettes refused to walk with you when you've had a bad day? No! Things are always there. So what is wrong if I choose to order a stupid post-it online if it makes me happy, or smoke an occasional cigarette to relieve some of that pressure inside my brain or play a game of Tetris to take my mind off thing. Okay, think of this. You are stressed. You reach out to a human to talk or for support, the human says no. Now you are stressed and rejected. Wouldn't you rather just be stressed? I think it is better to be attached to material possessions than human bein...
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30 days of my Notice Period

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I know a lot my posts have been a bit morbid to say in the slightest.  Apologies for all the ranting, preaching and the poems! (I might not be done yet) But somehow the sun has managed to finally wake himself up from his cozy slumber and managed to throw some light my way, putting a crack in the dense clouds hovering over. Too much imagery eh? As I am writing this, I am imagining a dark mark hovering in the sky. But yeah, getting back to the tiny bit of light I have in my life. I have been giving interview after interview for this firm for about 1.5 months now, and finally, they have decided to stop throwing case studies and guesstimates my way and graciously extend me an offer! Yay! I put in my resignation yesterday and I already feel extremely free. I have to serve one month of notice period here, where I will be extremely free, hopefully. It's barely been one day and I am already bored. So I have decided to take up one of those 30-day challenges. I have picked the one below...
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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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