Skip to main content

Featured

2018 in Books #1 : Outliers

My membership at the Evanston Public Library is my best-worst decision. Best, because I now have e-books delivered right into my Kindle without having me trudge in snow to borrow or return a book and the worst, because it is going to make me lazy and unfit.  Cut to the chase, Outliers has been a good start to 2018. At a modest 300 odd pages, Malcolm Gladwell writes a deeply researched and critically analysed account of success stories that we know of.  | The biggest takeaway you can get from Outliers  is the "other side" of stories, which are often ignored for the sake of glorification of the achievement. | It was enjoyable to see how tiny, seemingly inconsequential factors can help a person go a long way. A popular example the book talks about is Bill Gates' rise as a billionaire when he was a college dropout.  Treating his story superficially has led to popularizing the opinion, "hey, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg were college drop outs
1 comment
Read more
Labels

Book Review #1 - Shantaram



Warm. Authentic. Beautiful.


Gregory David Roberts’ Shantaram is one of the most memorable books I have ever read. The story follows Linbaba aka Shantaram through the clamorous city of Bombay, his experiences encompassing an eclectic mix of cut-throat action scenes, serene travels and tender tête-à-têtes all packaged in a novel with one too many "quotable quotes".

Shantaram is a masterpiece in fiction. A pentalogy that takes you from Mumbai to Afghanistan, it can drag in parts, but on the whole, edifying. The characters are outlined beautifully and are highly relatable - you would associate them with someone you know.

Roberts makes you fall in love with Bombay and Indians again. If India saved Roberts, Shantaram will save you from drudgery and monotony.

At an extensive 900 odd pages, it did take a while for me to read it. It did get difficult in parts where Roberts dwells a paragraph too many on descriptions. But the depth of the conversations, the characterization of his creations are exquisite. I cannot call the book a “treat”, this was mental nourishment. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts