In an Antique Land by Amitav Ghosh

So this took a bit longer than I expected to finish, and not because the length of the book but due to me committing less time to reading.

I completed the book but there seems to be no ending to it. The book revolves around two larger disjointed narratives one from the personal experience of the hero, and the other one where our hero is doing research for his doctoral thesis.

The narrative keep moving between the two plots, and there are times when the reader can get lost what he was reading (happened to me couple of times actually when I didn't realise that this was a different plot).

The book is full of warmth, and nostalgia. There are some really funny instances of our hero trying to answer the questions from the locals. And this actually highlights the point that we all have our natural curiosity, and prejudices when we heard of the things we're not acquainted with.

Well it was a good read but a lot of the people may not enjoy this style of writing.

If you're an Amitav fan, than just go for it.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

This one I opted to read because I was looking for something from a Nobel prize winner, and this came around at the right time. However, this one is quite old.

This is one of the amazing read I had. The narrative was so soft, and this remains beautifully poised between a love story and a life story.

The plot revolves around a butler from England Stevens who dedicated all his life to served his master with honor. The whole narrative flows around his life, and the housekeeper Miss Kenton.

There were clear incidences where we can see that Miss Kenton admires or even romanticize her time with Stevens, of course with some tension around it. However, Stevens was so much serious about his duties that he forgot to take note of things around him. His whole life was to keep his duties, and dignity.

Later in his life he starts on a journey post getting a letter from Miss Kenton. When he slowed down a bit in life, and looked back, he realized that he had a chance to be happy, and be with somebody whom he loved/liked but couldn't realize.

He ends up with a thought that taking a pause is actually not that bad, and it gives you an opportunity to look, enjoy, and appreciate things in your life which make it worth one.

Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, Alan Eagle

I picked up this book after listening to some real good reviews from the people in my work group.

This is a quick read, and can be labelled as leadership, management etc book from the very first page.

The whole narration revolves around Bill Campbell who was a mentor/coach to almost all the large organizations in Silicon Valley.

Well the whole book is filled with superlatives for Bill, and I couldn't find a single thing which is not so good about him. In a larger perspective this sounds like a eulogy to Bill, and unfortunately doesn't throw much light on Bill's leadership style. The book is mostly filled with all the possible big names of Silicon Valley. It sometimes amazes how he was able to reach out to so many people with equal zeal but than you realize that's why a book was written about him. People came forward to talk about him, and how he influence their lives.

The one thing which comes out really strong is that empathy is the strongest leadership skill. But than this is the single strongest trait to have irrespective which line of work you're in.

For a long time it was believed that only a care giver or NGO worker or humanitarian need empathy but now this has become one of the key ingredient to be successful in anything you do.

A quick read but if you're not much into leadership books, better skip it.

Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology by Adrienne Mayor

Another book picked out of curiosity.

Artificial Intelligence is a buzzword, and the whole world is talking about it. Science has made a huge success in cracking it, and if we look around we can see a lot of devices are building intelligence on it's own. We even hear that machines are going to take over the world much before than expected. There are different school of thoughts who are arguing about it but that is not the focus here.

The book is full of ancient myths from Greek, Roman, Indian, and Chinese literature. The oldest reference is the Greek myth of Talos created by Hephaestus, the Greek god of invention. Surprisingly, Pandora was also a female robot. The broader uses of such inventions were slave, security, spectacle, sex, and punishment.

The movies related to artificial life, and robots are also extensively quotes. Not a bad thing but could have avoided the overkill.

In a lot of cases the mythic inventions were compared to the latest inventions. There were even some cases where a detailed design is available was replicated by the modern scientists.

Artificial intelligence, and robots has fascinated the human imagination since long. In different era it has been designed to serve different purposes but the main object was the spectacle, and saving the human efforts. Which still holds good with more sophistication added to it. The scientific researches have made a lot of things possible which was just a myth in early days. We heard the stories of fascinating inventions but don't really have a proof if it really existed which is why the lines between science, and myth gets blurred. It is quite possible that the ancient workman might have imagined the possibilities of things like airplane, and might have even came up with some working models but it was definitely not a success otherwise some remains might have been available.

Well, if you're interested in myths, and would like to have a modern retelling than this is where you can start!

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

I picked this one up when I saw a coverage of it getting the Pulitzer Prize, and it was just there when I was looking to start a new one.

So, the first impression is not so great. I've not read much stories with a gay man as the main character, and this is definitely the first one where the man is getting about to turn fifty.

This is a story of Arthur Less an ageing writer who recently split with his long time boyfriend, who is getting married, and to avoid the invitation Less starts on a journey around the globe. This is a story of journey to unlikely places, and reflections of all your life.

You may escape the events (the whole journey is actually an escape to avoid the wedding of his boyfriend) but you can't escape the thoughts. The idea is to grow over them, and move on.

Not the best one but it's a prize winning for sure.

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari

I picked this book just because the previous one was a really good one.

I enjoyed reading "Sapiens" a lot, and I was expecting something similar.

However, the book focuses mostly on what lies ahead of us. The fundamental theme of the book is about how the recent developments in life sciences, and technology are going to change the humanity in the near future.

The book has good efforts but I recently finished "Thank You for Being Late" which is also on similar lines, and I felt that "Homo Deus" fall behind.

It has a lot of historical facts, and figures, and you can actually check the mistakes on their website.

You can pick the book, and maybe build your own thoughts. If not, you're not missing much.

The Rise and Fall of Nations by Ruchir Sharma

I've never been interested in economy works but I always look for numbers, and how it can be interpreted to define a real time situation.

Hence, I picked this book. It was a pleasant switch between this, and the previous book which I was reading in parallel. And I must say this has expanded my horizon of understanding how the things lead to a particular result. We can see a lot of things happening around us, and the innovation is keep on adding the pace to our lives which leads to a lot of changes.

One thing which always gets my attention is how factual the book is. There are no crystal ball readings but some profound conclusions from the trends. Not all trends end in same way but they definitely gave us a fair idea of the direction the needle is moving to.

The book broadly gives the 10 rules of  identifying the political, social, economic changes which can predict how the country is going to perform in next five years. It is clearly said that anything beyond five years will be more like a guess work. The forecasts or trends should not be for really long duration. We can work on policies or the basic tenets of the policy but it is better to avoid a long term prediction.

Time is one of those factors which we can't really measure in terms of how much is good enough. But a short term prediction based on historical trends can give us really close results.

The book is filled with a lot of data but not in a overwhelming way. If you're not a data person you can focus on the outcomes, and predictions. In fact, with the help of data you can actually put your thoughts around it, and connect with your own experience/facts from other sources.

Thank you for Being Late by Thomas Friedman

Thomas Friedman was not a new name to me. I've already read The World is Flat so I knew the kind of writing I should expect.

One thing which I was not aware, and which I realized after finishing the book was that there was so many updates from the latest tech world. These updates might have sounded a fairy tale to many readers but I could relate to a lot of these things.

Anyways, the book is more around how rapidly we've increased our knowledge in science which actually transformed to real world. These innovations have immensely affected our daily lives. The changes have been so fast that the human beings are not able to adjust to such speed. This has given rise to inequality in many ways within the society, and country.

These innovations have also hurt the natural resources which we're exploiting on a similar exponential trend. In the recent years the attitude towards such issues has changed as there are more and more researches happening which are trying to help us maintain the equilibrium with mother nature. The consequences of imbalance will be fatal.

Thomas has suggested a framework around how we can maintain the balance with nature, and also how we can create an all inclusive society which works toward the goal of common welfare, and connects the people to build a long lasting bonds which ultimately brings the harmony in the society.

Given the larger topics are covered the book is a bit fat but worth the read.

Peace

Casanova: The World of a Seductive Genius by Laurence Bergreen

Finished two books which I was reading in parallel (one hard copy, and one ebook, this one).

Picked up this book as I wanted some true accounts on the fabled Giacomo Casanova who is said to be greatest lover of all time. So much so that Casanova has moved from a Noun to an Adjective.

The book is based upon the accounts written by Casanova himself (12 volumes in total). So this one is like a quick story but not so quick, about 500+ pages fat.

The chapters are loosely based on different girls Casanova was able to seduce. The original list seems to 100+ but there are 20 chapters in this book.

I read the book, and there were a lot many moments when I felt like not going ahead but finally finished it. The Italian adventurer, as he is called, was established as a poet, writer, gambler, seducer, and what not. The narrative is so set in tone that it kind of started taking the enjoyment in describing all the events in the life of a seducer. All the chapters start with a new woman, and the book moves to the next with a new one. And do mind that there are lot many women coming, and going in between.

I couldn't keep a track of age of all but can safely say that these narratives are enough to establish him as a pedophile, and not really the lover as known in common folklore. A man who always keep a trick up his sleeves, the out right liar, petty cheat, and what not.

And to quote him in his own words, "I have never been able to understand how a father could tenderly love his charming daughter without having slept with her at least once,”.

Venice is portrayed in the most debauched state as full of libertine, gambling, and whoring. I've not read much about European history but on the basis of this one book I can say that Casanova was either super exaggerating his life, or he was actually a serial rapist (pedophile). More like a parasite who lived on sucking life from others monetary or otherwise.

In many instances (girls we say) he has projected himself as the most charming of the man whom no girl can say no. But you read a bit close, and you realize that this was not charm, this was money, lie, deceit, and poverty at it's best.

Don't be fooled by what you hear about Casanova in the pop culture. Casanova, is not a compliment, it's a disgraced title. Watch out when the next time you hear it from somebody or for somebody..

Peace.

And Quiet Flows the Don by Mikhail Sholokhov

Another heavy read from Russian literature about war, and life.

The book is really long so not for the faint hearted or the readers looking for a quick satisfaction. This really needs a lot of attention, and involvement while reading.

As always with the Russian writers the book is very detailed, and covers a very long span of time just prior to World War 1. Surprisingly, the book doesn't have a hero figure, and mostly runs among Melekhov family, war, love, and more war.

Grigori can be considered as the main character but there are many other characters which move in, and out of narrative as the plot moves to sub plots, and further.

The basic theme of the novel is war. Looking at it from the people on whom it has been thrust upon. The people who were busy living their simple/complicated lives were pushed into a senseless war. Eventually, people question the relevancy of it, and how it is going to change their life.

The another plot is of love between, husband and wife or man and a woman. This question the definition of love but gives no answer. A married man/woman having multiple partners in a war torn country for all the different reasons is a situation which can't be right or wrong. This situation stays there, and the life just flies by all the people involved.

We make a lot of choices but our choices depend on our circumstances. We choose family, love, work or war, and each of the choices come with it's own burden. It doesn't matter how well thought or prepared your selections are, the end is not in your hand. You can just choose it, and hope it to work out somehow.

This is the whole struggle.

Happy reading.

Love.

Sita: Warrior of Mithila by Amish Tripathi

I'm sorry I'm putting it here but I did read it quickly.

No words but if you've not read it, don't bother. Not worth the time.

Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan by William Dalrymple

It's a bit difficult to believe that it has been such a long time since I wrote last. The other things are catching up so fast that I'm left with very less time for reading. And since I was not reading I couldn't write. I was juggling between a couple of books but was not able to dedicate time for reading, and finish the books.
So here is one book which was kept in the cupboard for so long that I was surprised to see it there, and couldn't remember when I ordered that. I started with it, and pushed myself to finish it. It was a lengthy read, and having the books in my hand really helped (not the digital one).
The book is about the rise, and fall of Shah Shuja and the subsequent effects of the same on Afghanistan.
I'll not go into narrative but I realized that everybody who got a chance to be brutal took it to extreme. There were a lot of moments when all the insanity could have been stopped, and people could have just let the things go but that was not the case hence this book.
The one single thought that comes out strong is that nobody wins in a war. It's just an illusion that somebody is a winner or looser. Actually, there are only looser, some people just got away with it in the name of winner.

Chekhov in My Life By Lydia Avilov

This was a quick read.

This is a journal (or may be a memoir) of Lydia Avilov and her sad love affair with Chekhov. She was herself a short story writer, and as per her wishes this was published posthumously.

She has broadly described her eight meetings with Chekhov, and her dilemma of choosing between her love, and her duties.

Chekhov was a famous man of her time, and he was known to have affairs with a lot of women (about 33 as per theguardian). So if you look at it this may not really look like a new thing but it is one of the recorded documents (or memoir) from one of those women. A women who was in dilemma, and her relationship with Chekhov never materialized because Chekhov was never really committed.

The lines from Chekhov in the book seems to coming out fluent, and well rehearsed. It is quite possible that if another woman with an affair with Chekhov might have ended up writing the same lines.

It's a quick read not to judge Chekhov but to listen to Lydia, and what she went through because of the hope she had in love.

Love

The Nineteen by Alexander Fadeyev

My readings have become more infrequent and it's becoming a bit difficult to catch with the books I started some 2 months back. Didn't really pick up anything recently.

Given that this was a relatively smaller book (about 180 Pages) this was supposed to be a quick read but took almost 2 months.

Anyways, this is definitely a great read for anybody who is or is not interested in Russian literature.

The book revolves around the difficulties, and circumstances of gorilla revolutionary.

It is difficult to be a leader but it is more difficult to take decisions which may not be of liking for everybody who get affected by these decisions. The bigger problem is that a lot of times it is not humanly possible to gauge the affect of your decisions in advance. Once you're in soup than only you know how hot it is.

But this has life been all about. You make decisions, hope it to turn out well, and if it doesn't you've to make another choice.

War is not good but a lot of times even if you don't choose war, others choose it for you. And you're left with the option either to stay low, and perish or face it irrespective of where it leads to.

Peace

A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul

This was a quick read, and honestly I was not aware that it was included in the 100 best novels by The Guardian.
It was a quick read, and given the current time period it is fairly old. The things have changed in Africa but this doesn't mean that this has lost the relevance. That is the whole idea behind a good story, it's always great to read them.
The plot revolves around Salim, who has recently shifted to Africa and his one point program is to survive till he makes enough money.
I'll not delve too much into the story but the plot is not everything here, it is the narrative which gets more attention.
Go for it if you're fine with an open ended story.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Again a Russian novel from a master. And as expected it did took a lot of time. I just couldn't run through it.

So this is a satire which is political, personal, ungodly and what not. It was such a great fun but a pain because it was so long (worth the effort).

Plot revolves around Satan, ordinary people (master and Margarita) in extraordinary circumstances, God, Messenger, and Pontius Pilate.

Of course there are 2 plots which are century apart but the connect is so great that you never feel the time leap while reading. It all looks so natural that there is no question of getting lost in the narrative.

It's definitely a great read, and also a platter for thoughts.

Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov

Another Russian novel, and it didn't fail to meet the great standards of Russian literature from that era.

The story is basically a love story of a young nobleman Oblomov who is incapable of taking any decisions. Love story may not be the most appropriate term for this because is has all the usual impressions of philosophy, character development, larger narration, and longer depiction of all important scenes.

Oblomov is shown as a great young man with great knowledge, a pure heart, and a tender gentleman. The only problem is that he can't decide on anything. He is dependent on others to decide on his behalf. He falls in love with beautiful Olga but the doubts always keep his thoughts hazy, and he doesn't know how to move ahead.

His best friend Stoltz tries to do all he can to pull him out of lethargy, and put him in action but didn't succeed.

The condition of Oblomov is described in a word "Oblomovitis" which is described as a family disorder which got transferred from one generation to another. All the kids have grown up in such a protective environment that when they are on their own they can't take a decision even after all the education, and learning.

I'm unsure if I should feel sorry for him or take pity on him but this is one of those personalities which we see around us sometimes if not frequently. We all no that one person who can't decide, and in turn been exploited by others for the good nature.

It's a long read, and of course a tiring one at time but definitely worth the effort. If you're a fan of Russian greats than this is one of the books that you should read.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

So I picked this book after reading Norse Mythology. Another factor was that the series based on this got some rave reviews so thought of reading the book, and chuck the series.

And what are the thoughts? Well it is not that great. It's actually full of cliches, and there are so many details of weather, localities, and what not which has unnecessarily added the number of pages.

The whole plot is a long shot fight between the old gods, and the new gods. The old gods are any gods which you can think of from mythology. New gods are weird like internet, and media.

I don't generally look for a reason but this went beyond the realm (cliche).

I've not watched the series, and if you're liking it there are chances that this is actually better than the book.

The book ends on a note which I was anticipating, but the whole narrative couldn't build that charisma of a good read with such a huge plot.

I hope there is a sequel to it because you just can't leave it here but I also understand that this has got so twisted you may never know how to end it properly.

Give the book a pass if you can. 

Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality by Christopher Ryan, & Cacilda Jethá

Of course the title was so catchy that I couldn't drop the book.

It took me more time than I thought but the reason was mainly me juggling between 3 books together.

Anyways, the book is about what it's title says. It explores the copulation habits of humans and other related (distantly or otherwise) to build a case that monogamy is not something which comes naturally to humans.

According to this book the humans are wired for uncontrolled out of bound copulation activities.

The book is full of citations, and references to prove the point from different sources related to different fields, be it anatomy, archaeology, behavioural studies etc.

However, the biggest disconnect was that the book starts backwards. It takes the premise that humans are not one partner species, and they subsequently start adding the references etc to drive this point.

I really don't have any opinion on what should be the sexual preferences of anybody because it is a very personal choice. Neither anybody should be forced to comply to what others think/call/label indecent or immoral.

One thing that I'm in favour of is that over all the years of civilisation (really???) whole society has created a moral fabric that everybody is supposed to be follow the rules, and any aberration should be punished, discarded or hated. Which is not a welcoming situation if you're on the other side.

The book is a fun read, and the only caution is that don't make any opinion based on this book alone. Since you might be reading this book doesn't give you a permit to cheat on your partners, and justify it with it's being the human nature :)

Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas by Romila Thapar

Here is another book which was pending since long. I think I should make the list, and start working (reading) on it.

Anyways, here is another book on historical figure, Asoka. This book is so fact based that it qualifies as a thesis or a research project. Plus this book is big. It's about 350 pages along with all the references. And I'll like to add that I never felt so good while going through the appendix, footnotes etc.

I believe that the historical figures can't be reported without an imagination, and supporting facts. Nobody can claim anything about such myths. Most probably there can be an educated construct around the fossils and remains but we never know when the bias of a viewer or writer will come into the picture, and distort the facts as their liking.

This book sound very unbiased because the author has mentioned that a lot of myths/stories about Asoka are created by those religious authors who wanted to show their religion in the best possible way, and these can't be taken as an evidence. There is so much contradiction between different accounts that we can't really conclude anything from these. There will always be a biased view if we take these stories as a fact.

This is a difficult book to read, and even I felt to leave it in between a lot of times. But as I mentioned this is full of facts and references this was never meant to be entertaining.

If you're interested to read an unbiased account of what would have Asoka been like than this is the book for you.