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The posh bungalow in New Delhi is bustling with 4 daughters (the missing daughter cannot be talked about since she eloped with a foreigner), 2 husbands, 3 kids and Mr. and Mrs. Thakur. Adding to the chaos, the Judge’s brother and his wife plan to move to their home as well. These 13 people together cause no less than a laughter riot and a very gripping story. Even though the marrying the girls is the prime focus of the novel, author Anuja has very adroitly touched upon the themes of superstitions, gender biases, and Sikh riots to name a few, while keeping the dark and witty humor intact throughout the novel. The narration transports you to the 80s era with the ‘Hinglish’ lingo such as Amreekan and Campa, the songs and shows of that time and the newly built craze of the western world. A very entertaining book with engaging characters- a perfect read for a desi mind!

I had picked up this book after a long working day and finished all the ~180 pages in a single sitting. A quick and simple read, with plenty to chew on and some humor to ease the tension, it may not come across as a literary gem. At times, it felt like a creative advertisement of the Infosys Foundation but if you have built something from scratch that helps millions across the world then why not promulgate it. Her love for Bollywood and movies, her inquisitiveness portrayed through something as rudimentary as vegetables, her ability to contrast the past and present through different versions of mythological sagas, her witty jibes at the rich and her persona would surely win over your heart.

Talking about her clients’ and her own personal struggles wouldn’t have been an easy task but Gottlieb has done an incredible job of putting it into writing. You might not realize your incorrect notions about therapy till this book beautifully shatters them for you. Though we haven’t faced the struggles the people mentioned in the book did, we could still relate to and appreciate their transformation journeys. What we loved about this book was that it wasn’t even a bit preachy, in fact it was humorous, authentic and we laughed and cried with the author! Definitely a highly recommended read.

The reason we picked the audiobook version of Know My Name is because it is narrated by Chanel herself. Having already read parts of her story online, we knew we would be moved but nothing had prepared us for this brutal and beautiful book. This book is not just about her struggles coping up with the new reality she was in -- a victim who was violated while she was unconscious; but also about the hard hitting realization that the legal system fails to punish the privileged. Chanel is an excellent writer and a narrator, and her journey is heartbreaking yet empowering. If there’s just 1 book you plan to read this year, this should be the one.

Growing up in India and having seen so many of the advertisements without even knowing it was made by Ogilvy, Piyush Pandey's memoir certainly made an interesting read. It made us revisit those ads on YouTube and we loved walking down the memory lane. The book has no marketing jargons and can be read even if the reader has nothing to do with advertising. The last 25% of the book was a stretch though and it read like an acknowledgments section with him praising all the different people he has worked with, at Ogilvy. Some parts of it came across as preachy and self-indulgent and that was a bit of a letdown. Overall, the book is easy to read, entertaining and relatable.