She & Everything

Did you ever wonder the obscurity of the word Hurt? Hurt is such a subjective word. It is subjective to the situation or the state. The book She & Everything by Archana Rathore made me wonder about that.

The book is a collection of eight short stories that discusses the various emotional aspects of different yet relatable phase or situations. The stories are centred on females and entail the hardships of the relationships.

The writing style is lucid and fast-paced, and the setting is vivid. The plot enthrals the curiosity of the readers, and the climax is amusing; however, I did want to know more about the characters. In my humble opinion, the author should have written a novel with any one of these characters. Notwithstanding the maturity in her style, the last three stories seemed rushed through, and the editing could have been improvised to offer a better experience to the readers.

Evidently, the cover is quite pretty and blends with those stories. I do recommend this book to beginners and anyone looking for lucid, fast-paced stories.

Think Like A Monk

Won’t it be good to get an opportunity to be at peace with ourselves? We are so absorbed in our daily ruckus that we forget to take care of ourselves, and when inquired, we bluntly reply that we don’t have time, but remarkably, we have time to watch Netflix. It isn’t the comfort zone but sheer laziness or blatant ignorance. 

I have been reading nonfiction for a long time. I enjoyed reading Many Lives Many Masters a while back, and now this was a fascinating read. This book assists you to inculcate the thought process of a monk. There have been many experiments regarding what distinguishes a monk from a layperson, and this book emphasizes those differences. The author discusses his journey as a monk and offers a deep insight into their way of living. He also discusses his confusion after he left the ashram. He discusses the transformation with proper analysis to assist you in inculcating that mindset in your routine life, thus, justifying the title: Think Like A Monk.

The book is classified into three parts that are composed of various chapters. This book is a work of extreme research. People find reading a self-help book as a boring task, but this book follows a step by step approach, i.e., you will be able to digest that knowledge. The writing style is lucid and informal. Informal style is one of the ways to connect with the readers. If anyone has to verify the information sources, the references have been shared in the end.

By the way, when you read many self-help books, you shall observe that they offer similar content, but the way of expressing that knowledge is different. You can give this one a try, too. And if you want to read self-help for the first time, buy this. To have a smooth experience, you may prefer reading a chapter a day.

Landour Days

We have been told that journaling is a good thing, and it really is. You get to look back on the day and scrutinize your activities. At times, it helps in venting out the emotions.

In his young years, Ruskin Bond’s father urged him to keep a journal with him always. Who knew it would be another inspiration for his readers? Many times people want to hamper privacy by reading their journal secretly, but here we are offered a glimpse of 12 months of his time in Landour.

This book comprises fragments of stories of his days in Landour. The book is divided into four seasons- summer, monsoon, autumn and winter. The book comprises of his days after being a full-time writer and reminisces about a few moments of his childhood. This book includes his interaction with the public, the stories of the ghost of Savoy Hotel, the people of Landour, the troublesome souls seeking solace in Landour and Mussorie, the names of the buildings, the meeting with new budding authors, and the advice for the young writers, and many more. The book also comprises the euphoria of his first book in print.

One of the jingles I came across and loved reading in this book-

“I’m all right,
I’m doing my thing,
And in my own right
I’m a king!”

I bought this book from Landour Bake House because the cover seemed quite pretty. The title of the book is appropriate, and the writing style is informal; the precise use of humour and the vocabulary makes this book a wholesome memoir.