Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

This is a big book, and be sure that you can't just run through the pages. The book is a running commentary which starts from human evolution and ends up with the latest developments in science and society.

Yuval is an Israeli professor of history and he mentioned that Guns, Gems, and Steel is the main inspiration behind this book.

Guns, Germs, and Steel is on my list since last 3 years but didn't really started it. I had a thought of reading it but I was not very sure if history is something which I'm ready to go into.

Anyways I finished Sapiens and it took some 11 hours over the last two weeks.

This book left a lasting impression on me as it unfolded how the things developed along the human evolution. There are a lot of instances which are more like an educated guess and not a proven fact but given the citing you may end up agreeing with a lot of them.

The human evolution resulted in the extinction of lot of other species. I couldn't have agreed more because there was a recent study which showed that during the British Raj 75% of lions were killed in the name of entertainment during their hunting expeditions. We may cry for dwindling number of lions but deep down we know that we're responsible for this destruction. The natural habitat of so many animals and birds have been destroyed in the name of development.

Along with the evolution the book touched various subjects around religion, social norms, biology, anthropology, and economics.

I specially liked the story of evolution of credit, money and religion which is spun around myths, and a common belief in those myths.

I wish that we all could have seen beyond the myths which are around us. These myths in which we don't believe but still follow.

Just wanted to quote "Consumerism tell us that in order to be happy we must consume as many products and services as possible. If you feel that something is missing in life, go shopping".

This book is a must read if you want to know how things evolved and we as a human have done so many wrong things in name of development and so called "civilization".

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

This is another novel which I read after reading about the author.

I never heard of Sylvia Plath but somehow her information showed up when I was searching for some other piece. I immediately checked the Wiki link, and decided to take this up next.

This is a small book, and I completed it pretty quickly.

The book is a good read as it is a semi-autobiographical novel. The whole story revolves around the thoughts and experiences of Esther, and doesn't boast of a conversationalist style that novels generally have. There is no plot as the whole narrative doesn't fit as a story, and should be treated like a personal diary or a journal of a mature person who looks at the world from a different lens.

I believe there are some people in this world who are so amazing, and they have an entirely different view of looking at things. It is sad that sometimes they are so driven by their own thoughts that they don't realize that their being present makes this world a better place.

I hope Sylvia could have written more, and we've definitely

I just couldn't complete this piece without mentioning her poem "Mad Girl's Love Song" because this can be written only by a person who is in perfect sense, and so sensitive to everything happening around her/him. Here is the poem:

"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed
And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade:
Exit seraphim and Satan's men:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I fancied you'd return the way you said,
But I grow old and I forget your name.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

I should have loved a thunderbird instead;
At least when spring comes they roar back again.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

I'm not a big fan of poems but I'm going to remember this one forever.

Love