List and write-ups of books we read in September
Yes, the energy and interest are back. Our reading lists have increased since last month and we hope the trend continues.
Write-ups
Muralidharan Parthasarathy (on Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships) : This book is better understood by people who have read Thomas Anthony Hariss’ I am ok — you are ok which introduced to laymen the transactional analysis between individuals. Every individual’s psychology has three states i.e., Parent, Adult and Child. We can respectively relate guiding, mature and immature behaviours with these states. No individual is always a child, parent or adult and transactionally it varies. In other words, the second person influences the way the first person behaves; there are many other factors too that impact a person swings from adult to child or vice versa like stressful situations and traumatic occurrences. People play games, often a stereotyped self pitiful child’s weeping like utterances, or spouses trying to take an upper hand by way of accusations or complaints. When a person is disturbed he/she invariably plays some game or other. The games are spontaneous often but could be motivated and might harm the other. But the games are part of social life and relationships. Often the minimum payoff for a hurt person is to retain his sanity and inner equilibrium. Psychology is a science that gives us insight into our minds and their swings and turmoils which shun logic or reason.
Arun Kumar (on Noorella Telugu Navala 1878 to 1977) : This book deals with 100 years of Novels in Telugu from 1878 to 1977 written by a well-known translator and journalist. It describes 25 novels written during these years, with details of authors and the novels. There is a controversy which is to be considered first novel and the writer talks about great length. In appendix the research note by a professor is included.
Manohar Grandhi (on The Whole Thing is That ki Sabse Bada Rupaiya): He has beautifully used dialogues from Bollywood movies to relate to stories related to personal finance. To explain decisions shouldn’t be taken on emotions, he used Sholay’s scene where Sanjeev Kapoor gets angry and in the emotion of anger loses his hands. Ponzi schemes was described with scenes from Phir Hera pheri. Respecting money was described from the Deewar scene dialogue where Amitabh says he does not pick up money that has fallen. There are about 50 dialogues and 50 lessons to learn. People who love books and bollywood with a slight liking to finance would love this book.
Dhruv Nalla (on Swami and Friends): It’s story about swami who always gets into trouble, changes 2 schools in the process and finally decides to run away. The story is funny, and captivating. The writer was able to show the world from child’s perspective very well.
Sudheendra Fadnis (on The Everyday Hero Manifesto) : I have been a Robin Sharma fan since my college days. This book as the name suggests that we all have that primal genius waiting to be ignited by diligence and discipline. Legendary is not limited to the exceptional few. Everyday gives us an opportunity to show up our best selves in the service of this planet. It also has terms like possibilitarian, refers to past as the academy of learning. Every line is so well thought. The vocabulary is so far the best among all of his books. At least in my opinion. Also, it says genius is less about genetics and more about word class rituals and habits. I also liked the parable of the Buddha wrapped in the mud.
Abhishek Munigial (on Radical Candor) : It’s good writing but concept is not novel. Its about how to put/talk things in better manner. Especially useful for managers.
Sanjay Churiwala (on 2030) : The author has a general futurist view. Examples: Population will age. Electronic currency will become more popular. Women will play a bigger role in economy, etc. There was no surprise. He is using existing trends, backed by data to make predictions which seem reasonable based on current understanding.
Lavanya Nukavarapu (on Cocaine Nights) : Charles Prentice is shocked to learn his younger brother, Frank Prentice, has confessed to the five brutal murders in Estrella De Mar. Charles believes in the innocence of his brother but is unable to come to terms about the confession. Neither do the residents of Estrella De Mar who know Frank, believe he is capable of murder. Determined to find who the actual killer is, Charles plays a sleuth and as he investigates, he falls into the trap of Estrella De Mar. In the end he is exactly in a similar position his brother was a couple of months ago.
In this intriguing tale of murder, crime, drugs, guilt and psychology, J.G Ballard weaves a complex story effortlessly in a cinematic style of writing. Things don’t appear as what they are and as they unfold, the reader is ensnared through the elder brother’s POV.
J.G. Ballard puts forth an interesting theory on crime, boredom, drugs and leisure time available and corelates all of these into one story, Cocaine Nights.
However, Cocaine Nights failed to convince me on the interpretation of crime as a motivation for human behaviour for an enhanced life. As a story, I enjoyed it but the normalisation of murder and rape in a society no matter backed up with volumes of psychological and sociological theories did not interest or convince me. Maybe I am not that advanced thinker when it comes to group psychology.
Apart from this, the book is an interesting read in contemporary writing style with deep narration and conversations between the characters. The ending is as shocking as the beginning. Rather, than the individual human characters, Estrella De Mar impressed me and left a lasting mark of its existence. What I liked most about Cocaine Nights is “Show, don’t tell” and “It is not what it seems to be”.
List
Muralidharan Parthasarathy
* Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships by Eric Berne
Arun Kumar
* The Cat who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa
* The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
* Roads to New Delhi by Ruskin Bond
* Sasirekha (Chalam navalalu 1)
* The Legends of Khasak by OV Vijayan
* Rhyme Stew by Roald Dahl
* Uncle Nehru, Please Send an Elephant! by Devika Cariapa
* On Reading by Marcel Proust
* Noorella Telugu Navala 1878 to 1977 by Sahavasi
* Ek Gadhe ki Atmakatha by Krishan Chander
* Ek Gadhe ki Vapsi by Krishan Chander
* Ek Gadha NEFA Me by Krishan Chander
* Rewriting My Happily Ever After by Ranjani Rao
* The World of Roald Dahl by Kay Woodward
* The Silent Coup by Josy Joseph
* Women Who Wear Only Themselves by Arundhati Subramaniam
* A Murder in Mussoorie and Other Tales by Ruskin Bond
* Totto-Chan by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
* Pirate Stew by Neil Gaiman
* Shakespeare in a Divided America by James Shapiro
* Cocaine Nights by JG Ballard
* Feluda Stories by Satyajit Ray
* Many Different Kinds of Love by Michael Rosen
Manohar Grandhi
* 15 Secrets of the Extra-ordinary Mind by Kedar Panda
* Personal Finance Lessons from the ICU by Amit Trivedi
* The Whole Thing is That ki Sabse Bada Rupaiya by Amit Trivedi
* The Inspiring Story of Zoho by Asish B
* 10x Productivity Lessons by Sarika Rangani
* Beyond Job Life by Srinivas Bagula
* What Happens Next Changes Everything by Harley Hanson
* The Art and Science of Prayer by K S R Nair
* Autobiography of a Stock by Manoj Arora
Salini Vineeth
* The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Dr. Surya Kaladhar
* Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard
Dhruv Nalla
* Swami and Friends by R.K Narayan
Sudheendra Fadnis
* Genius Life by Max Lugware
* The Everyday Hero Manifesto by Robin Sharma
Nalini Dharanipragada
* Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by R. L. Stevenson
Abhishek Munigial
* Radical Condor by Kim Scott
* Upanishad vol-1 by Sri Sri Ravishankar
Sanjay Churiwala
* 2030 by Mauro F Guillen
Lavanya Nukavarapu
* Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard
Mahboob Hussain
* Shakespeare in a Divided America by James Shapiro
* Sex in the Sea by Marah J. Hardt
