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

Book Review of 'THE SILENT PATIENT'

 BOOK: THE SILENT PATIENT

AUTHOR: ALEX MICHAELIDES

PAGES: 341

BLURB:

Alicia

Alicia Brenson writes in her diary as a release, an outlet- and to prove to her beloved husband that everything is fine. She can’t bear the thought of worrying Gabriel, or causing him pain.

Until, late one evening, Alicia shoots Gabriel five times and then never speaks another word.

Theo

Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced he can successfully treat Alicia, where all others have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime, his discoveries suggest Alicia’s silence goes deeper than he first thought.

And if she speaks, would he want to hear the truth?

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK:

‘The Silent Patient’ is a book I enjoyed reading from the start till the end. The main protagonist in the book is Alicia Brenson, who is the silent patient.

The book begins with Alicia’s diary and a few notes she had made about her day.

Alicia was thirty three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years and were both artists—Alicia was a painter and Gabriel was a well known fashion photographer.

It was Barbie Hellmann (Alicia’s neighbour) who phoned the police after she have heard several gunshots. The house was pitch-black dark, none of the light switches were working when the police arrived in the scene. A gun was on the floor. Next to it in the shadows, Gabriel was seated, motionless, bound to a chair with wire wrapped around his ankles and wrists. He was shot several times in the face, leaving a charred, blackened, bloody mess. 

Alicia was found with the gun and was arrested by the police. The police questioned her in the presence of her solicitor but she remained silent throughout her interview. She answered no questions. She could not, would not, speak. Nor did she speak when charged with Gabriel’s murder. She remained silent when she was placed under arrest, refusing to deny her guilt or confess it. 

Theo Faber, a psychotherapist, had a rough childhood memory which makes him feel terrible at moments. The unpredictable and arbitrary rages of his father made him feel vulnerable. He never got to know what he actually did to trigger anger of such kind. His only hope of survival, he realized, was to retreat—psychically as well as physically. He was eighteen when he left home to study further after he got the grades needed to secure a place at university. 

He got into a university he wanted but was he able to leave the memories he had back as a child? Was he able to forget the paralyzing pain that was bought because of his father’s rage? How things went after he left his home is something I would like you to discover yourself after you read this book.

Theo was married to Kathy. Kathy knew Gabriel. Theo and Alicia were unknown to each other until the murder of Gabriel happened. 

This story is basically the story of how after 6 years of murder, Alicia who didn’t speak a word, begins to speak. Speaks what? You have to find out.

The diary of Alicia reveals the entire conspiracy. And it is when you reach the end of the story you will know what the reason was, who provoked whom, who was the one who shot the bullets and everything. 

P.S.- Suggesting everyone to read it.  It is a book worth reading. 

Overall rating: 4.2/5

Book Review of 'DEAR STRANGER, I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL'

 

Book- Dear Stranger, I Know How You Feel

Author- Ashish Bagrecha

Pages-185

BLURB:

Dear Stranger,

I don’t know much about you, but I do know how you feel. You are feeling lost, lonely and misunderstood. You are tired of pain and suffering. Depression, anxiety and negativity chase you. You don’t know where to find hope and how to heal yourself. Trust me, I have been there myself, and I know it’s not easy.

So, I am writing these thirty letters and poems to you, to let you know that you are not alone, and that you are understood. You are still cared for.

I hope you will read one of these letters every day, and I promise you, together, we will get through this. Life is difficult, but not if we take it one day at a time. 

Trust the universe and never give up.

Love and Light,

A stranger who feels you

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

‘Dear Stranger, I Know How You Feel’ is a self help book in which the author has written as many as thirty poems and letters dedicated to the people who need them. It starts with Day-1 and ends with Day-30.

When you start reading the book, you will know that the author wants you to read at least one letter a day (although I have read almost half in a  sitting). 

There are some poems that will touch your core and some letters that will make you wonder.

No matter if you are lost, no matter if you are defeated, no matter if you failed, no matter if you are left heartbroken, you will find light in your life again.

If you ask me which poem I loved the most in the book, it’s this one-

“maybe we will never meet

but we can still walk together

like parallel lines

to infinity and beyond”.

Some people just arrive uninvited in our life. When we least know about it. Some people leave us with a hope to meet somewhere someday under different circumstances. And that hope keeps us moving.

And that’s life… It keeps going no matter where you are, what you are!

You know, we all have chaos and constant whirlwind of our thoughts in our mind. Sometimes we sit in our room and allow that constant thought to overpower us. And to tell you the truth, this is where we should stop. Never let anything overpower you. Even if it’s your own thoughts.

There’s one more poem I loved from this book, it’s this one:

“you think

your dreams are dying

but here’s the truth

dreams never die.

they are simply leaving you

when they grow tired

they change homes.

they believe 

they deserve better 

because dreams love doers 

more than thinkers.”

Do you remember what it was like to dream? To believe with a wholehearted, burning passion that you dreamed would come to pass. Dreams. They were a part of your life as long as you can remember. When you were a child, you dreamed of floating amongst the stars, of walking on the moon, and of raindrops that danced as they fell. And as you grew, so did your dreams. Your dreams filled your head with ideas of what life would be like when you finally reached adulthood.

Life eventually catches up, and at some point, somewhere, you needed to be realistic.

And so, the skills you were taught as a child, to help break your future down into steps and stages, begin to slowly erode your dreams. Pretty soon, they are forgotten. They became stories of what you thought you would be when you grew up, and seem to be a distant memory.

This book tells us more about self- discovery, self appreciation and self-love. Also about dreams, love, hope and healing.

I have enjoyed reading this book and frankly, I won’t suggest you to read this. Because you yourself know what you should do. Everyone knows. This book is basically the written or printed form of your own thoughts. 

The author, ‘Ashish Bagrecha’  have written the book with a pure intension to help the people who are suffering. To help the people in healing. To give them a hope that everything will be fine one day. And I really appreciate the work done by the author in penning down the emotions.

P.S.- It is truly connected with reality of life. And I am sure you will be able to relate yourself as you go on reading this book.   

Overall Rating- 3/5

HOLD A LITTLE

 

Yet again,

Our eyes met

We didn’t talk, 

We didn’t nod.

It was just a few seconds 

that were enough 

to send a trigger 

‘you are in love’

Silence prevails

and I can’t hear a name,

when it’s you with whom 

I am there.

Every motion stops 

moving around, 

When you come walking by.

Yet again, 

I failed 

to express my feelings before you. 

I failed 

to let you know 

how much this heart wants you.

Listen to my eyes,

It’s screaming your name loud.

Talk to my heart,

And it will utter your name.

Hold my hand,

And it will hold you back.

YOU- ARE- SPECIAL

 

It wasn’t long time back since your smile captivated my heart,

your eyes wandering around searching for someone even I don’t know.

It’s easy to hide the smile that automatically curves up looking at you

but tough to remain normal in front of you.

I look at you when you are busy with your phone

and I notice the little dimple in your face

and sometimes the tense face that you make narrowing your eyes,

It is fun noticing you like that.

Perhaps may be that makes me feel happy.

 

Walking the road with you feels like an eternal joy.

Sometimes I walk behind you, to just smile about the time that I got to spend with you.

Sometimes, I walk along with you to notice how tall you are

and the difference between our heights.

I look at you sometimes, when you are walking and talking about something

and I smile feeling glad to have you beside me there.

It’s easy to think about you and even harder to get you out of this ‘mind’.

The sip of tea seems sweeter when it’s you sitting there with me.

Little moments spent are the memories I’ll cherish in the days to come.

 

Is it an illusion or a dream?

my sleep now takes me to an unknown land

where it thinks about you and just you.

My heart skips a beat whenever you call out my name

Little did I know that it would turn out this way

Where I would keep thinking about you anyway

Waiting to hear you, eager to see you

My hear flutters when it thinks about you.

Near or far, wherever you are,

Please be mine and I’ll be yours!

 

 

 

Book Review of 'And Then There Were None'

 BOOK- AND THEN THERE WERE NONE

AUTHOR- AGATHA CHRISTIE

PAGES-250

BLURB:
Ten strangers are invited to Soldier Island, an isolated rock off the Devon coast. Cut off from the mainland, with their generous host mysteriously absent, they are each accused of a terrible crime.

Then one of the party dies suddenly, and they realize there may be a murderer in their midst-  a murderer who might strike again… and again…

And all the time, copies of a macabre nursery rhyme hang in each room, a nursery rhyme with an omen of death for all ten of them.

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK:
This is the first time I have read Agatha Christie’s book and damn, it was so engrossing that I bet you on it. It is a book on Murder, thriller and crime and to my surprise I was fascinated by the way the murder occurred one after another. The book leaves a hint. And all you need is to catch hold of that particular hint.

The beginning of the book is confusing since the author introduced all the characters in one go (one after another). But, I assure you that once you get into it, you will have a clear picture of who is who.

Moving on to the title, as the title suggests, ‘And then there were none’ it actually means there were no one at the end. With the title on my mind, before reading this book, I knew it was about crime and murder (all of Agatha Christie’s books are about crime only) and the way the author crafted the story, it deserves a big applause.

The story begins with ten strangers being invited to Devon through letters by U.N.Owen, whom none of them actually knew (I wonder why they went there if they actually didn’t know the person who invited them?). The name of those ten strangers were-
Mr. Justice Wargrave, Vera Claythorne, Philip Lombard, Miss Emily Brent, General Mcarthur, Dr. Armstrong, Mr. Blore,  Martson, Mr. Rogers and Mrs. Rogers.

There was a comfortable replete silence when the gramophone interrupted into it. There was a gramophone recording which was played in the house after the dinner. Into that silence came the revelations that the voice made. Which was-

“Ladies and gentlemen! Silence please!
You are charged with the following indictments:
Edward George Armstrong, that you did upon the 14th day of March, 1925, cause the death of Louisa Mary Clees.
Emily Caroline Brent, that upon the 5th of November, 1931, you were responsible for the death of Beatrice Taylor.
William Henry Blore, that you brought about the death of James Stephen Landor on October 10th, 1928.
Vera Eliazabeth Claythorne, that on the 11th day of August 1935, you killed Cyril Odilvie Hamilton.
Philip Lombard, that upon a date in February 1932, you were guilty of the death of twenty-one men, members of an East African tribe.
John Gordon Macarthur, that on the 4th of January, 1917, you deliberately sent your wife’s lover, Arthur Richmond, to his death.
Anthony James Marston, that upon the 14th day of November last, you were guilty of John and Lucy Combes.
Thomas Rogers and Ethel Rogers, that on the 6th of May 1929, you brought about the death of Jennifer Brandy.
Lawrence John Wargrave, that upon the 10th day of June 1930 you were guilty of the murder of Edward Seton.”

The house turned into grave silence. Everyone became shocked to hear the revelation of their crime.
Although each one of them were pretending that they never committed any crime, deep inside them they knew that they were guilty.

To add more to it, two people died that night itself. The house was filled with terror and suspicion to who was doing that, and for what cause. Justice Wargrave being the modest and best in making decisions, being a judge who served for years in the court, took the charge of the situation and told everyone to keep themselves on guard and also to not trust anyone.

The whole story sums up in this nursery rhyme. (Though I liked the rhyme but something in it was creepy like just the way it sounds)
If you are clever enough you will know what I mean.

‘Ten little soldier boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were Nine.

Nine little soldier boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were Eight.

Eight little soldier boys travelling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were Seven.

Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six.

Six little soldier boys playing with a hive;
A bumble bee stung one and then there were Five.

Five little soldier boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were Four.

Four little soldier boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were Three.

Three little soldier boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were Two.

Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was One.

One little soldier boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were None.’

This rhyme is the exact way how the murderer plans the conviction. And it’s quite terrifying when you know what’s going to happen and then you have no control to stop it. (Imagine being one of them and facing the situations they are. Imagine watching your mates murdered one after another. Imagine yourself being the last one to survive. It’s terrific isn’t it?)

And there’s a strange thing that the strangers in the Island noticed. They had ten china clay soldiers in the middle of their dining table when they have reached the place and each time somebody died, one of the figures either disappeared or broke or happened to vanished elsewhere.

This book is just a total suspense. You won’t understand what’s happening. When you think one of them is a murderer, the next morning you find him dead. The moment you think everyone is doing well, someone starts feeling unwell. You actually can’t really predict anything. But you can make a vague guess at least (the thing I did. Although you might be wrong but there’s nothing wrong in making a guess right?)

It’s quite interesting to unveil the whole murder thing. To conceal who the mastermind was. What more can you think if the last person in the island dies? Who actually did all the murders when none of them were murderers?

When you reach the nearest end of the book, you will know who it is. Did you ever throw a bottle into a river or sea or anything thinking someday a person will find it and read your confession? (Actually I did once ( and I don’t think anyone ever got it. May be the paper inside it decomposed already, who knows if there was a leak in the bottle? I used to see that in movies and that’s where the idea came to me to throw my confession like that into water) this was the main revelation of the story.

The story comes to an end with the confession found enclosing in a bottle sealing it and casting into the waves. With this hitherto unsolved mystery of murder came to an end. The bottle was found by a Fishing Trawler who sent the document to the Scotland Yard.

The murderer planned a skilful and tactful way of laying out a trap for the 10 strangers who came to Soldier Island. The document was duly signed by Lawrence Wargrave, which marks that he was the one who convicted the murders in the island. And after going through the end of the story you will know that there weren’t just ten people in Soldier Island. It was eleven, who was the murderer. Along with it, what’s more interesting is that, the murderer killed himself after he threw the bottle with the message in the sea.

The mystery remained unsolved. But with the discovery of the message in the bottle, the unanswered and unsolved mystery got its answer.

This book is the perfect crime thriller if you are looking for one, just grasp it and start your journey with the ten strangers in an island.

Overall rating- 4.5/5

P.S.- What comes to your mind when you think of a book with the title, ‘And Then There Were None?’