Monday Reads..

I finally get the time to make a post...My reading has drastically come down in the last 2 months and I just don't feel good about it...work has been the main culprit, in addition to a busy personal & social life! But I hope to finish the 5 books I have on my list before the end of this year.. hmm..that's quite an ambitious target!






Books read in the last 2 weeks

1. Freakonomics by Steven Levitt - one of the best non-fiction books I've read this year...

2. But then again I could be wrong by Jim Rising - my first book in the humour/comedy genre..a very light read... can be a good break between 2 intense books

Currently reading:

1. To Sir With Love by E.R Braithwaite - this is part of the Orbis Terrarum Challenge'09

2. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami - I badly want to finish this. It's been 3 months since I started this one! :(

In the pipeline:
1. Life after 187 by Wade Halverson

2. Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda

Head over to J.Kaye's blog to see what other bloggers are reading this week...

Freakonomics

Author: Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 210
Rating: 5/5

Synopsis: Freakonomics is a collection of economic articles by Levitt & co-author Dubner wherein they unravel the mysteries behind the events and issues we encounter in our everyday life, based on their 'unconventional' economic theories. The authors state that there is no unifying theme in the book, though the aim is to explore the 'hidden side of things'

I've been wanting to read this book for ages now and am glad I did it finally. It's one of the best non-fiction books I've read this year. One word that comes to my mind when I think of this book is - Unconventional. The book is not based on the typical economic theories and numbers. It gives a completely different view of the world. Some of the conclusions drawn by Levitt are just unbelievable and close to earth-shattering!

Levitt has a great knack of staying away from convention. He unravels the assumptions & myths layer by layer to present the 'real causes' behind the trends. The book is pretty much like a set of case studies where Levitt takes a few significant historical events (a mundane set of open-ended questions) and analyzes the trends to finally arrive at that one particular moment which actually caused the event.

The book encourages us to think laterally, out of the box, to keep our eyes open and minds alert and break out of the conventional ways of thinking and see through the trends with a fresh eye. In short, it makes economics seem like fun!

Highly recommeded ....A must read!!

But then again I could be wrong

Author: Jim Rising
Genre: Humour/Comedy
Pages: 228
Publisher: Tribute Books
My Rating: 3.0/5

I received this book last month as a review copy from Tribute Books (http://www.tribute-books.com/ ). Thanks to Nicole for sending across this copy to me!

Jim Rising, the author, is the program director of 102.3 The Mountain WDMT and hosts a weekly show called "Rising at Ten". This book is a collection of some of these shows from the past few years.

As the title suggests, this book is nothing but full of rants. It's not really stand-up comedy, so don't expect to have a hearty laugh. But it's quite funny and a good source of entertainment. It's a collection of Jim's personal experiences and mundane activities and other random life situations which are presented in a humorous way..The nice part of the book is that Jim talks about those small things in life which we usually think about...He has a very unique take on life and it makes you wonder if he is reading into your thoughts!

Each of the rants is just about 2 pages long and that makes it an easy read. Some of them are extremely hilarious while a few others have some inspiring & thoughtful messages. However, I did find a few of them quite boring and bland which I just skipped through. Jim's style is quite different, so it takes a bit of getting used to, in order to understand his sense of humor. 10-20 snippets down the line, I got a hang of it and enjoyed reading it...

I feel that an audio version of this book would be a better choice, something that you can listen to while driving or doing some mindless tasks ...for those times when you don't want to stretch your mind a lot...

Brida

Author: Paulo Coelho;
Genre: Modern Fiction;
Publisher: Harper Collins;
Pages: 266;
My Rating: 4/5;

Challenges: Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009; Country: Brazil



This is the 7th book for my Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009...and I have 3 more to go to complete the challenge, yet again!

I picked up this book only because the brief synopsis that I read for a few minutes caught my attention, in addition to the cover page (sometimes an interesting cover is the only reason why I buy certain books!). Reading Brida was a totally different experience. It was almost like reading a fantasy novel. The book is all about witchcraft, magic, tarot, rebirth, incarnations, spiritualism , philosophy, etc. So if you are not interested in *any* of these, then this novel is definitely not for you. I love exploring these subjects, so I found the book to be quite interesting!

Synposis:
Brida is the story of a young Irish girl who embarks on a spiritual journey and her quest for knowledge. Here search leads her to a magician who dwells in a forest, who teaches her to overcome her fears and a woman who teaches her how to dance to the music of the world, along with the Tradition of the Moon. As Brida continues through her journey, she slowly learns to tap into her hidden gifts...struggling to balance her relationships and her desire to become a witch, find her soulmate and transform herself.


I have never been a big fan of Paulo Coelho. The only book I've read so far is The Alchemist and that too, many years back! So I hardly remember anything from it. In terms of writing, Brida didn't captivate me much but I was truly amazed by the author's philosophical brilliance and spiritual ideas! I liked the way he has portrayed Brida's search of her soulmate with a lot of metaphors and references. Though there is quite a bit of vivid descriptions and nudity involved, it doesn't seem out of place or sleazy. The story is fast paced yet the characters are etched perfectly well to fit into the flow; you never feel that you are missing out on any details...

Typical to Paulo Coelho's works, even this book has a lot of interesting quotes scattered all over -



“Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.”


“I learned that the search for God is a Dark Night, that Faith is a Dark Night. And that’s hardly a surprise really, because for us each day is a dark night. None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, and yet still we go forwards. Because we trust. Because we have Faith. That every moment in life is an act of faith.”

“The path of the life is and always will be path of Mystery. Learning something means coming into contact with a world of which you know nothing. In order to learn, you must be humble.”

Booking Through Thursday: Would you lie?

This week's BTT question:

Two-thirds of Brits have lied about reading books they haven't.

Have you? Why? What books?

No! Never! I dont understand why would anyone want to lie about reading something which they havent actually read. I have my own taste for books and I proudly stick to it. I have no issues in accepting the fact that I hardly read any books in many categories like sci-fi, historical fiction or classics. That doesn't make me less smart or my reading insignificant...


There are quite a few books which I have just stopped reading in the middle or just after a few chapters and I would definitely have my opinions about the book to share when someone asks. But I always base my opinion only on the part of the book which I have read...which I feel is fair enough.


But I still wonder why someone would lie about reading a book! Is it peer pressure? Is it just to "fit in" to a discussion, or just to show off their interests or intelligence? Any thoughts?

Head over to MizB's blog to check out what other blogger's feel about this topic...

The Monk who sold his Ferrari

Author: Robin Sharma
Pages: 200
Genre: Self-Help/Inspiration
Rating: 2.5 stars (on a scale of 5)

Challenges: Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009 ; Country - Canada (Author's Origin)

I've been wanting to read this book for more than 3 years. I remember it had generated so much hype when it was released and I was quite intrigued by the title as well. As per the statistics, more than a million copies of it are sold; wanted to figure out why?!

Even when I picked up the book I had absolutely no idea that it was a self-help!! I thought it was more philosophical. Anyways, since I am open to reading all kind of genres, I started this with an open mind...

As you can see my rating, I've given it only 2.5 stars. To me that means it's quite an average read and I wouldn't probably recommend it to anyone. The book actually starts off quite well. I was quite inspired reading the first few chapters! I was hoping that it would continue throughout, but half way through, it proved to be quite pedantic. Though the author has a valid point to make, he drags on and on about the same concept which is a real put off. Rather than emphasizing the importance of those principles, it actually bored me to death. I agree, emphasizing the facts repeatedly with various instances and examples is a good way to create a lasting impression on the reader's mind but it shouldn't look artificial or forced. Though Robin Sharma has used a dialogue approach between Julian (the Monk) and John to explain the 7 key concepts, it just fails to look natural. Every question that John asks seems like a rehearsed script in a reality show!! It just doesn't fit in....Probably a different style of writing would have helped here, is my opinion!

Even the 7 concepts discussed seem to be very cliched and I have read many books explaining the same concepts in a better way, holding the reader's interest. The book really disappointed me. I would not recommend this unless you are in desperate need of self-help.

However, I still liked a few quotes in the book which I made a note of, while reading.

"Every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson.I have realized that failure whether of the personal, professional or even spiritual kind is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and whole host of psychic rewards.Never regret your past. Rather, embrace it as the teacher that it is".

"Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you"

"It's only when you have mastered the art of loving yourself that you can truly love others. It's only when you have opened your own heart that you can touch the heart of others. When you feel centered and alive, you are in a much better position to be a better person"

"By controlling the thoughts that you think and the way you respond to the events of you life, you begin to control your destiny"

Teaser Tuesdays

"Every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson. I have realized that failure whether of the personal, professional or even spiritual kind is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and a whole host of psychic rewards. Never regret your past. Rather, embrace it as the teacher that it is"

- Page 16, The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma

"There is no one strategy that will magically transform your life, John, let me be the first to say this. Lasting and profound change comes through the continued application of a number of the methods I have shared with you. But yoga is an extremely effective way to unlock your reserves of vitality. I do my yoga every morning and it is one of the best things that I do for myself. It not only rejuvenates my body, it completely focuses my mind. It has even unblocked my creativity. it is a terrific discipline"
- Page 111, The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!(make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!