Kanika Sachdeva

The book titled, 'Wise & otherwise', by Ma'am Sudha Murty, is yet another collection of extraordinary stories of ordinary people. Written succinctly and simply, the book is the best choice for those wanting to begin reading or catch- up with reading after ages. Wisdom and simplicity are two best takeaways of her book. Each story, yet common, carries a detailed eye and depth. It is always pleasurable to flip through her books' pages and discover that 'extra' in ordinary life. The stories revolve around the themes of life, education, philanthropy, career, death, satire, etc. But each story has something to convey - good or bad, or sometimes neutral perspective. Highly recommended for school going kids as bed time stories.

From Bihar to Tihar, very aptly titled, is the synopsis of Kanhaiya Kumar's life hitherto. The most famous student leader of India, Kanhaiya Kumar, has audaciously put out his journey from a small village town in Bihar to one of the most elite educational institution, JNU. The most enjoyable and appreciable part of the book include his honest confessions of struggling school life, dealing with career chaos, teetering between media and politics, and the tihar days. After reading his book, I am convinced he is a completely different person than what he has been portrayed by the media. The best quality I liked about him - his conviction to the causes he truly believes in. He has expressed his political intentions with utter conviction. Besides, the book is a good inspiration for the youth. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The way he dealt with the challenges has put me in a deep state to question the mediocrity of life we have been living in. The book is a must read, especially for the youth. Coming to the literary features of the book, it is written in a crisp blunt way, being equally pithy and impactful. Simple language. The flow of the story kept me intact and intrigued except the political part as I usually find politics too dry.

The bell jar, being the only novel of Sylvia Plath is equivalent to semi - autobiographical account of her college days. A very honest mirthless and doleful confession of her life, the story gives a deep insight into her life, punctured by clinical depression. The novel brings out 'the inner Sylvia Plath', the girl hidden under fancy poetry and flamboyant literary scholarships. It is a manipulated, yet detailed work of her life's dark side, bringing to light - her struggles with being herself despite flagging the zenith of academic success. One might feel low after reading this book (I did), for it leaves you with a bitter taste of life's flip side, often not visible in the brightness of professional and academic successes. The book is bound to oscillate you in a spectrum of emotions, ranging from exuberance to pity. It is a sepulchral story of success. As far as the literary features of the novel are concerned, I found it meticulously penned, with brutal confessions. Every now and then, an odd estoric word would pop up - could be a dish, appearance, place, person, quality or even pattern. However, the presence of extreme persnicketiness was a bit disappointing and seemed useless, sometimes diluting my experience as a reader and disrupting my chain of emotions that surfaced while reading.

The book brings out the inclusivity and vastness of the Bhagavad Gita in the form of a debate. The author successfully steers the content while addressing numerous arguments, one at a time, backed up with plausible logical explanations. It offers an entirely novel perspective to the interpretation of the holy book. It is truly a culmination of humongous amount of study, research and exploration which is clearly evident by the sheer depth of the content delivered. The title, Aksara Bhagavad Gita is self - explanatory, which means the imperishable God knowledge - the true essence of this book. The book, in its complete form, is a scientific discussion on Guru v/s Gita, multi- dimensional existence of the Gita, supremacy of God, concept of action and reaction, spirituality and transcendence, and the cores of such more dilemmas. It is the perfect book for spiritual hunger and exploration of a totally flip side of the coin. As far as the literary features of the book are concerned, it is very intricately written showcasing the extensive repertoire of impressive vocabulary possessed by the author. What makes it equally intriguing and engaging is the phenomenal narration of the events. Presentation of content in the form of tables along with bullets is a great tool to structure and get clarity which makes the book very reader - friendly.

A must read account of Oprah Winfrey. Very inspirational, honest, and clear insights into her share of life lessons. The book is pivoted to her choicest life lessons, "अहा" moments, her battles due to a troubled childhood, her insecurities, loving herself, her accidental birth, and how she overcame it with passage of time. The book tremendously shifts our focus to gratitude, clarity, responsibility, integrity, love, compassion, healing, self love, etc. Her work of interviewing eminent personalities is a great blessing that lends her empathy and understanding. A highly recommended one. Simple language. However, I do have my fair share of disagreement with one point.

Unfinished The most trending memoir by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, is an enthralling odyssey of her life hitherto . The memoir has been written smoothly (things go with the flow) . She shares her journey from being a bold silly small town girl to a confident accomplished woman. The memoir is brimming with instances from her family and its role in carving out her life. Crispy instances from her school days, hostel days, family get- togethers, etc. lend a personal touch to the dossier. As far as the professional part is concerned, she is jannock and outspoken when it comes to instances when she used to be the talk of the town. There is an element of courage while she shares her battle against loneliness and depression. The biggest takeaway is not throwing up the cards, come what may. To look at the bright side, I feel that the memoir is an empowering one, especially for women. Morality, integrity, self respect, sanguine, confidence, faith, dreams, hard work, etc are the highlights of her memoir, while her sense of humor is a garnish to the same. However, I found the the tone of the memoir quite flamboyant and a bit exaggerated to add curry flavour. The memoir is a giant wheel ride (Rollercoasters are cliché, aren't they?), giving you butterflies in your stomach during highs and sense of security by grounding you during lows! You will taste a myraid of emotions (sweet, bitter, anger, love, pity, frustration, guilt, etc.) during this ride, while holding till the end.

The last lecture. The novella is a must read. Written succinctly, the content is phenomenal. Simple language. Smooth flow of novella. The book will throw umpteen number of life lessons on our face, which we usually take lightly. There is no extraordinary thing, but the small things are expressed extraordinarily. The moment I started reading it, I felt myself stepping into the shoes of the author. The vicissitudes which he deals with is clearly expressed in the panoply of the life lessons he shares. His journey of fighting cancer while being cognizant of his limited time will leave you in awe. Every moment is cherished. Thank you notes, expressing gratitude, being Dutch uncle, being jannock, exploring creativity, hard work, honesty, utilising time, etc are the cores of his lessons. It's like a push to pursue our childhood dreams. He takes a great deal in narrating how he went on to accomplish his childhood dreams one after another. At last , I would personally recommend " the last lecture" to be read at least once in a lifetime.

The sole reason to pick up this book was to solve the mystery it carried in its first part. By the mid of this novella, I was able to figure out the culprit. The end was easy to figure out after you reach the mid of the story. Language is simple, entertaining narration. Plot is interesting. Descriptive language. However, the plot seemed immature at times and seemed too dramatic. I think the caption could be more catchy than the this one. The author has very cleverly written the first part - you will be compelled to read the second part.

A pristine entertainment for readers who have a taste for thrillers, fantasy, romance, drama, mystery, and fiction. One might find the opening of the novella quite kiddish. By the mid of the story, I was totally into the shoes of the characters and could imagine whatever the author narrated. You won't be able to stop yourself from reading the second part because the unsolved mystery will keep nudging you to be resolved. There were shaded of humor, seriousness, vulgarity, dramatics, etc. You would feel like having a roller coaster ride while reading. You would encounter unexpected turns and twists. It is a good time pass.

Dollar bahu is an entertaining fiction novella by ma'am Sudha Murty. Simple adorable language. Clear expression of thoughts. The plot is interesting and the ending is quite predictable. There is strict comparison of life in India to that in America. The flow of the story is intriguing and keeps the reader glued till the end. There are blunt instances of comparison, mockery, patriarchy, American influence on Indian mindset, etc. I like the concept of the novella however at some points of time, I found it overly dramatic or exaggerated with relationships. There were few instances where there was unnecessary litany of relations between daughter in law and mother in law. A good time pass, a quick and easy read.