Book Review Of 'YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE?'

 BOOK- YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE

AUTHOR- STUTI CHANGLE

PAGES- 179

 

 

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What if you ran away from your life today?

Twenty years later, three people are looking for you.

One is dying to meet you again.

The other wishes you had never met them.

The third wishes they could have met you at least once.

You are one person. Aren't you? But you are not the same person to each of them.

Find the answers about your own life in this story about searching for love and discovering yourself. Join a broken but rising YouTube star Alara, a struggling but hopeful stand-up comedian Aarav, and a zany but zen beach shack owner Ricky. Together, take the journey to seek the truth behind the famous singer Elisha's disappearance somewhere by the deep sea in Goa.

Will you be able to find Elisha? Or will you end up finding yourself?

 

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

You Only Live Once by Stuti Changle is a fictional story about three characters - Alara from Prague, Czech Republic; Aarav based in Pune and Ricky who is from Goa. Three completely different characters,  yet somehow interconnected.

I loved how the author narrated the story from the perspective of each character. One could relate to each of them, each one has a story to tell, a journey to witness. Aarav a stand-up comedian, Ricky the owner of Ricky's beach shack and Alara a rising Youtube star.

The plot of the story is wonderful, filled with mystery, love and affirmations.  Yes, this book has some life-changing lessons. The author expressed the story of each character in a beautiful way. Be it, unrequited love of Sheen or Aarav's fear of Quitting a job and following his passion or Alara's decision to stay in Goa.

How they crossed each other paths, how they came together for their love for Elisha. Just like the shades of sunset, this book has its own shades of love. The well-developed characters and engaging writing style keeps the readers hooked throughout. From standup comedy scripts to Alara's songs, it has all. Not to forget, Ricky's style of living in Goa.

It's a smooth paced story with simple language and crisp narration. A story of love, passion and friendship that ANYBODY will definitely enjoy. A light read full of fun and crazy time in Goa.

What I liked even more are the quotes from the book. Everytime I read a book, I keep track of all the beautiful lines I come across. So here’s some of them--  

“Bleeding dreams isn’t just crying. It is not even bleeding, exactly. When you’ve cried so much that your eyes become red with blood, this is when you’re bleeding dreams. When you’ve tried your best to believe that your dreams will come true but can’t walk any further, or even crawl any further; this is when you’re bleeding dreams.”

“Maybe, ‘love’ her is correct. I don’t know. Maybe I did tell her as much in bits and pieces but she never reciprocated. That’s the worst part of life. You can’t make someone who doesn’t love you, love you.”

“The worst thing about unrequited love is that you start to compare and make a list of all the things that you could have to get this person. And then realizing that no matter how hard you try, you just can’t make the other person love you the way you do.”

“Choose carefully what you believe in. your beliefs can either limit you or set you free. You’re only as good as you think you are! You have the capacity to make people laugh and cry as an artist. Visit me when you feel better. I might have something for you!”

“Walking away from anything in life is easy. But to stay resolute, to hold on, to wait for the sunrise is difficult.”

“You don’t choose to all in love with someone, neither do you choose to fall out of it. If it was as simple as taking a decision, are all these statements like ‘it was love at first sight’, ‘I could not help but fall in love’, ‘ love just happens’ bullshit? Void?”

“The thing you’ve come to form a bond with will not be by your side forever. Neither will you. Again, that’s nature- veer changing yet magnificent. But the love that you’ll receive and give back will last forever.”

 

Well! I love the bond between Ricky and Sheen J why I am saying so? You have to read the book to know that!

If you are thinking its a love story, let me make it clear it's not. So, now go get a copy and leave your opinion

P.S.- All of them are in search of Elisha, a singer who has disappeared 20 years ago.

What connections they have with Elisha?
Will they be able to find her?
Read the book to find out the mystery about the Elisha and how they are interconnected.

 

Overall rating: 3.8/5

 

 

Book Review Of 'JOY 24x7'

 BOOK: JOY 24 x 7

AUTHOR: JITENDRA JAIN

PAGES: 133

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Joy 24x7 is a very simple but unusual exploration of  joy. There is no religion in this book. There are no rituals prescribed here. There is no deep meditation being described here and neither is there any mention to any spiritual practice.

This is not a guidebook. This is not a “self- help” book. It is not going to give you “an instant formula for joy”. But it will surely make you explore your Joy for yourself in a very direct way. The simple, short snippets of daily lives connect with what Sadhguru has to say about Joy, will take you on a wonderful roller coaster ride on Joy with the Master himself.

With Sadhguru’s incredible clarity of expression, his brilliant wit and sense of observation, his ability to bring the most profound aspect in a very simple and direct way,  this book is for any human being who seeks to be Joyful.

No matter who you are, what you are trying to do, Sadhguru’s words will touch a wonderful wave of Joy inside you and you will soon be restless to seek Joy 24x7

 

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

Let me begin with how I got hold of this book first. It has been a year or so I saw some of the interviews of Sadhguru with different personalities, and the answers he replied with were something I really enjoyed. And few months back when I was strolling with my friends, I discovered this book and instantly decided to buy it.

To be honest, we all seek for joy at some point of time. When someone dwell too much upon the expectations and validations of the society, it tends to be the case that the person is living to achieve the expectations and not what he actually want from his/her life.

Joy can be found in little things. Like, I was really happy when I called one of my teachers form college and she said she has been waiting for my call. I was really happy when I heard the voice of a person I haven’t in a long time.

A person can’t be happy all the time, it isn’t possible but the thing that is possible is that we can allow ourselves to gain experience and move ahead. We can allow ourselves to not hold on things and to let go. Life isn’t full of happiness but a balance between everything. So, finding positivity is what can make you happy.

Well, the book has small stories at the beginning of every chapter and exploration and explanation of the facts thereafter. The stories mentioned are of Dev, Lila and their son Arya. (which is very much relatable)

This book isn’t any fictional novel. Perhaps it is a book that will help you in realizing what you are lacking in life.

P.S.- It is a book with very few pages but it will strike you really deep. If you want to discover yourself, go for this book J

Overall rating- 4/5

Book Review of 'THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN"

 

BOOK: THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN

AUTHOR: MITCH ALBOM

PAGES: 231

BLURB:

‘All endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time…’

On his eighty-third birthday, Eddie, a lonely war veteran, dies in a tragic accident trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. With his final breath, he feels two small hand in his—and then nothing. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path for ever.

 

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

‘No story sits by itself. Sometimes stories meet at corners and sometimes they cover one another completely, like stones beneath a river.’

Well, it is my second read and the first time I’ve read this book, I didn’t start reviewing books.  And you know? everytime I recall this book ‘The Five People You Meet In Heaven’ a smile curves up in my face.  Because if not for a dear friend of mine, I would have never encountered this book.

What I like the most in this book is the ending. Where it says, ‘The life of each affects the other and the other affects the next, and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one.’

The book starts with the first chapter titled ‘THE END’  and it is because the book is all about Eddie’s life and more about his death.

NOW WHO IS EDDIE?

Eddie basically followed the suit of his father and ended up working as a maintenance guy for the rest of his life in Ruby Pier which was an amusement park. He longed to leave this place, find different work, build another kind of life. but the war came, his plans never worked out and in time he found himself graying and wearing looser pants and in a state of weary acceptance, that this was who he was and who he would always be, a man with sand in his shoes in a world of mechanical laughter and grilled frankfurters.

The first person Eddie met in heaven was ‘THE BLUE MAN’. He made Eddie understand the fact that ‘there are five people you meet in heaven and each of them were in your life for a reason. You may not have known the reason at that time, and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your life at earth.’

People think of heaven as a paradise garden, a place where they can float on clouds and laze in rivers and mountains. But scenery without solace is meaningless.

The Blue Man tells Eddie a story and then viewed it from two different angles. It was the same day, the same moment, but one angle ends happily at an arcade, with the little boy in tawny pants dropping pennies into the Erie Digger machine, and the other ends badly, in a city morgue.

The Blue Man died because of Eddie, and when Eddie shook his head uttering it wasn’t fair, the man replied saying ‘Fairness, does not govern life and death. If it did, no good person would ever die young.’

The second person Eddie met was the Captain. What he learnt from the Captain is that ‘Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else.’

The third person Eddie met was Ruby, the woman who was the one the Amusement park was named after. What Eddie learnt from her was – ‘Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves’

The fourth person Eddie met was his beloved wife, Marguerite. She died at the age of 47. What he learnt from her was that ‘Life has to end but love doesn’t’

When life ends, memory becomes the partner and we nurture it, we hold it, live with it. Life will end one day but memories will stay till the end.

The fifth person and the last person Eddie met in Heaven was the little girl. The girl who was burnt in the yellow flames when he was held as a captive in the war. With the little girl, Eddie admitted that he was sad. Sad because he didn’t do anything with his life. accomplished nothing.

But the answer he was seeking since the time he reached this newfound land  made him feel better. He lightened up to know the fact that he saved someone.

Who was that someone? how did he save? What all Eddie suffered in life? how did he die? And how he played a role in the life of each person he met in heaven?

I am leaving it to you.

P.S-  Can I call it a mystery book? May be I can! Well this book has a special place in my heart. And I would be glad if you give it a try and let me know if you liked it.

 

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Book Review OF ' THE KITE RUNNER'

 

BOOK: THE KITE RUNNER

AUTHOR: KHALED HOSSEINI

PAGES: 327

BLURB:

Afghanistan, 1975: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realizes that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.

 

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

The first book I’ve read of Khaled Hosseini was ‘And the Mountains Echoed’ and I still remember the entire story. That’s the thing with the stories of Khaled Hosseini, they leave an imprint on you, perhaps the kind you will remember for a long time.

Amir’s father is a well known and respectable man in Kabul. He had always stood up against the wrongs but his son, Amir lack the qualities of his father. Whenever someone troubles Amir, he never stood up for himself. It was always Hassan who stood for him. Hassan considered Amir as his best friend but he was just the son of a servant for Amir. And when Hassan needed him the most, Amir left him alone. This guilt stayed with Amir for the rest of the life.

Amir’s father molded the world to his liking. The problem, of course, was that he saw the world in black and white. And he got to decide what was black and what was white. You can’t love a person who live that way without fearing him too. May be even hating him a little. Amir struggled to get love and affection from his father and it took him a long time to achieve so.

The only way to get Baba’s attention was by winning the kite flying tournament. There were no other viable options. Winning the tournament and running for the last kite to show Baba how competent his son was, was the only way Amir thought.

He won. But as he won, he lost something forever. (What he lost? Was it a person or a possession or anything else? That you have to find out from the book !) 

Ali, the servant who worked in Amir’s home had a congenital paralysis of his lower facial muscles, a condition that rendered him unable to smile and left him perpetually grim-faced. It was an odd thing to see the stone-faced Ali happy, or sad, because only his slanted brown eyes glinted with a smile or welled with sorrow. People say that eyes are the windows to the soul. Never was that more true than with Ali, who could only reveal himself through his eyes.

Hassan kept trying to rekindle things between him and Amir, but Amir doesn’t have the courage to face him. It hurts, when you try to get back the bond you shared, but what you get in return is only series of disappointments. Amir has always been harsh with Hassan but Hassan never took it the wrong way. He always stood for his Amir Agha. And when Amir told him to go away, to stop harassing him, he left.

Once, Amir took Hassan to a hill top where they climb and read stories. That day, Amir threw a pomegranate to Hassan shouting ‘what should you do when someone hits you?’ he repeated it again and again and then answered ‘you should hit them back’ sobbing in between. The love and brotherhood shared between the two can’t be explained. I wish Amir wasn’t that rude or harsh with Hassan. May be things would have been different if he never participated in the kite flying tournament.

Although Amir and Baba toil to create a new life for themselves in the US, the past is unable to stay burried. When it tears it's ugly head, Amir is forced to return to his homeland to face the demons and decisions of his youth, with only a slim hope to make amends.

"When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, Rob his children of a father. And when you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness. There's no act more wretched than stealing" The way Baba explained this lines to Amir couldn't have been more realistic and relatable. 

The final chapter of the book is perhaps my favourite, and one that I have found moving even when rereading it. The message behind the very ending could be interpreted differently by different readers, but personally I feel that it offers a small sense of hope for both the future of its characters, and perhaps for the war-torn Afghanistan as well.

I loved how the story kept unfolding with time and I assure you would love it too.

How Hassan and  Amir got separated? What made them do so? Did they ever meet again? Why Amir remained thirsty for the love and affection of his father? What happened the night following the kite flying tournament?

I am leaving these question for you.

P.S.: the books I've read of Khaled Hossein so far always had a connection with Afghanistan and so does this book.

Let me know if you liked this book as much as I loved it :)

Overall rating: 4.3/5  

 

Book Review of 'NEVER LET ME GO...'

 

BOOK: NEVER LET ME GO…

AUTHOR: SACHIN GARG

PAGES: 239

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What made Samar abandon everything he had- an engineering degree and a drop dead gorgeous girlfriend- and flee to Goa instead to start life afresh?

On being kicked by life, harder than he could ever imagine, Samar had three options:

He could look life in the eye and fight back. He could succumb and do something that would haunt him forever. Or he could flee, to a place where there were no traces of the blow he had received.

So Goa it was. In search of solace, perhaps, by working in a small shack at an unknown beach.

Dealing with the local police, resurrecting a dying shack, and managing rowdy parties, risking having his bones and jaw-line broken, does Samar get what he was seeking?

 

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

“SOMETIMES,  YOU JUST LOOK AT THINGS YOU KNOW YOU CAN NEVER HAVE”

The book begins with Samar being locked in his room.

The story is basically of Samar, Roy, Navya, Maansi and Kanika.

Based on my point of view, the beginning of the story truly doesn’t tell you what is there inside. You need to go deeper and deeper to unfold the reasons. And for me, I was truly satisfied with the story.

The way Navya confessed her feelings and asked Samar if he was too falling for her.  What Samar replied was a genuine one and at that one moment I fell for him :) . He compared what he felt for Navya to what he felt for Kanika. And he knew the answer. There was no comparison. He was definitely not in love with Navya and even though he barely even thought of Kanika, she was what would always rule his heart.

Samar made a promise to himself that whatever happens, for the rest of his life, he will take care of Navya no matter where he was. This girl was special. He felt the urge to tell her what the real reason was but then it would change the way she looked at him. He was happy being an outcast. And perhaps it was fine.

The way Samar turned and looked at Navya and his heart told him that she was special and she was who he waited for all the time, she was the one who he wanted to talk to, she was the one he thought about unceasingly. But she wasn’t someone he loved.  Samar was polite and knew his limits.But he was quite selfish, by wanting her to stay.

When Navya told that they should separate their ways if there was no future, and also when she told if he wanted her to stay or just tell her to ‘stay’ she might just stay and not leave. And the reply Samar gave is STAY.

If she left suddenly, quite frankly she was what Samar was living for then. He would have been clueless with the departure and being dependent of her, he had no other choice. He was being selfish for wanting her to stay. And he knew that it would be hard for her- to love him and know that he can never love her back. But he could not let her go. He couldn’t exist without her.

‘MAY BE SOME CHAPTERS SHOULD END IN LIFE, SO THAT THEY REMAIN A SPLENDID MEMORY FOREVER’

Navya leaving WoodStock Village was the moment Samar hated the most and the way things changed for him was so sudden that it began hurting him.

Thimappa’s character was also a strong one. The way he took up things on Christmas eve was commendable. And I pitied on him for his childhood bullying episodes. But where he was at last gave him satisfaction. What else do you need?  

Joseph, Zeeshan and Arshi too played a good role.

Go and read this book and know the reason Samar left Delhi and stayed somewhere else with zero penny in his pocket. How he stayed? What he did? What were the reasons? You have to find it out yourself.

Overall review: 4/5

Book Review of 'IKIGAI'

 

BOOK:  IKIGAI

AUTHOR: HECTOR GARCIA AND FRANCESC MIRALLES

PAGES:  196

BLURB:

The people of Japan believe that everyone has an ikigai- a reason to jump out of bed each morning.

Inspiring and comforting, this book will give you the life changing tools to uncover your personal ikigai. It will show you how to leave urgency behind, find your purpose, nurtutre friendships and throw yourself into your passions.

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

“The things we love are like the leaves of tree: they can fall at any moment with a gust of wind.”

It is not a quote with which the book started off. 

I discovered this lines when I was almost on the verge of completing the book and it literally went deep into me. So, I thought of starting with this lines :)

IKIGAI is a book that talks about how to find the flow or the purpose of life. This book being a best-seller serves its purpose right. And to my opinion, whenever you feel low, whenever you feel distracted or a void in yourself, I guess this book is the best choice.

This book talks about psychoanalysis, logotherapy, happiness, longitivity and more. Psychoanalysis dwelves into the past while logotherapy looks into the future.

The process of logotherapy can be summarized in five steps:

1.          A person feels empty, frustrated, or anxious.

2.        The therapist shows him that what he is feeling is the desire to have a meaningful life.

3.       The patient discovers his life’s purpose (at that particular point in time)

4.       Of his own free will, the patient decides to accept or reject that destiny.

5.      This newfound passion for life helps him overcome obstacles and sorrows.

 

‘Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way’

If I ask you what is your IKIGAI? What will be your answer? 

Existential crisis is typical of modern societies in which people do what they are told to do, or what others do, rather than what they want to do. They often try to fill the gap between what is expected of them and what they want for themselves by numbing their senses.

Existential frustration arises when our life is without purpose, or when that purpose is skewed. And that is what we should overcome. According to logotherapy, discovering one’s purpose in life helps an individual fill that existential void.

And if you are in crisis, I think you should find someone to share with. Because in that way, you can make the crisis shallow. And that is the only escape.

In this book, the authors went to Okinawa and Ogini where they have interviewed more than hundred old people about their secret to longitivity because these are the places in Japan where men and women have lived for more then a century and some of them even held world record for being the oldest one in the world.

This book talks about the positivity, finding the purpose of life, being happy, the secrets of longitivity and more.

Some of the lines that I loved from the book-

‘We should never forget that everything we have and all the people we love will disappear at some point. This is something we should keep in mind, but without giving in pessimism.’

‘All things human are short lived and perishable’

‘It’s not what happens to you, but how you react that matters’

‘Worrying about things that are beyond our control accomplishes nothing. We should have a clear sense of what we can change and what we can’t, which in turn will allow us to resist giving in to negative emotions.’

Read this book and know the secrets which are shared by the authors.

P.S.- If you haven’t read this book, you should. I am sure you would love this piece of art.

 Recommended to you by ten folds ;)

Overall rating:  4.7/5

 

Book Review Of 'THE DIARY OF MY LOVE'

Book: The Diary of My Love

Author: Deesha Sangani

Pages: 166

 

BLURB:

IF YOU HAVE A HEARTBEAT, THERE’S STILL TIME FOR YOUR DREAMS.

Anushkaa is young, dynamic and deeply passionate, with her goals clearly set out. She has just stepped into the corporate world, chasing her dreams. Life seems perfect.

Ayush meets Anushkaa on her first day at work, and feels a spark of liking rush through him. A chance conversation with Anushkaa evokes emotions he hasn’t felt in years. She seems to be perfect.

But does a perfect life exist?

When they meet again four years later, their hearts are broken and their will to love is lost. They heal each other’s hearts and help each other achieve their dreams. Finally, when they start living for themselves and each other, life plays a cruel card.

Anushkaa’s diary is her only true companion, holding within the pages the secret that nobody else will ever know. Join Ayush and Anushkaa on this rollercoaster of emotions, and take a peek into the secret Anushkaa has buried in The Diary of My Love.

 

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

In this busy life how many of us actually write a diary?

The book starts with Anushkaa scrolling through her phone gallery when her eyes spotted a picture. She wished she had not clicked that picture. The picture that bought back the memories, the pain and the hope of seeking an answer which can never be answered.

How life can change so suddenly is unbelievable. We hear and read about things changing drastically but it’s a struggle when it actually comes upon us.

Anushkaa was on the floor when her mother saw her and screamed. That’s when her father came and they rushed her to a hospital. She was given medicines for her panic attack.

Her parents and the doctor discussed about the onset and the cause of sudden attacks but nobody knew the reason.

Anushkaa worked for a marketing firm; she had her share of happiness and adventure in life. But life sometimes takes you to a cruel turn and that was what actually happened.

Ayush was Anushkaa’s colleague at the place she had joined. He had trained her and taken her through what would be her role in the team. He had layers of lies hiding his true nature. It generally happens to all of us, when surrounded by energies that contrast with our energies. We try to absorb whatever is around us, gradually hiding our true self.

Ayush is a character you would probably love. Why? – you have to find the answer J

Riya is a character you would abhor – because she isn’t loyal.

Ayush’s family was shocked when after so many years of being in a relationship and then marriage, Ayush and Riya were separating. Ayush did everything to save the marriage but Riya was adamant and filed a divorce. Ayush went into a bad shape of mind after divorce but even after separating, he wishes and believes that Riya is a good-hearted girl with a messed up mind.

Anushkaa didn’t know how to react to whatever he said. All she did was listen to whatever he was venting out. They spoke about mountains, his bad marriage, her relationship, health and also about friends and rejoiced some of the fun times they had while working in the same office.

Anushkaa left a message for Ayush, but had no response. She remembered him telling her that he could go into a shell and not respond for days. He wasn’t healed completely. Everyone has a different pace of healing, and they have a right to choose their pace. That’s the reason she thought she should give him some space and time to be himself.

Was it the right decision for her to not ping him when she didn’t get any response? Or was it just the destiny? – read the book and find it out.

When Anushkaa logged into her Facebook, the next day, she saw people commenting on Ayush’s picture with ‘Rest in peace’. She was in a state of complete shock and pinged almost all the people who commented there to tell her it was a prank. But, it wasn’t.  She called Ayush’s brother and broke down.

Ayush was her biggest secret—a secret that absolutely no one knew about. Everyone knew about his bad marriage, but no one knew how they started loving each other. Neither did Ayush confess nor did Anushkaa. Yet the dream to be with each other just remained another dream.

 

Sometimes, you shouldn’t leave things for destiny, when you feel something is not right, believe it. Sometimes, when you think it’s the end, try again. And live life without any regrets.

 

P.S.- This book contains some entries of diary which make it more engrossing.

Overall Rating: 3.4/5