It truly was an amazing journey for Aurora as well as me. When Aurora De La Torre breaks up with her popular boyfriend Kaden, she goes back to finding and doing things for herself and for her mom. The things which would have made her mom so proud.
The book tore me up at a particular instant.
Mariana justified every word of her writing. It feels like I had travelled with Aurora all along, all through her breakup, her return to her hometown, her hikes and her discoveries on so many good and bad stuffs.
I can literally quote everything in this book and admire Mariana for bringing them up. But I am biased and I am just going to quote one of my favorite set of words.
I think I’m more scared of the people I care about dying than I am of myself.
It takes a lot of heart to go on and take up a new life, after believing someone was going to be always by the side and they won’t be anymore. Incase of Aurora, it was a whopping fourteen years. The enormous heartbreaks she had to go through to accept what was happening and the courage with which she went through all the mess they made up with her parting can never be truly expressed.
With all the bits and pieces she had, aiming to have something for herself in her thirties, with a good heart, Aurora was truly a light in the dark sky. And there are many more warm sources of light in the same sky we live under is a warm feeling that the book leaves you with. Be it, Rhodes, Amos, Clara, Jackie, Mr. Nez, Walter and I am pretty sure I am not even listing all the names.
I was hesitant about this book, since it was kind of bigger than the books I usually read. And now, I am glad I did and it will always have a special place in my heart.
All Rhodes Lead here had an account of everything, resiliency after a break up, coping with grief, parenting and all the unjustifiable regrets we have of life.
It takes you to the world slowly that you can sit back relaxedly and allow it do the wonders. I would recommend reading this book even if you are not a fan of this genre (romance, fiction)
Elizabeth Holmes, and her ambitions, driven by a unquenchable zeal to be an impact on this world, guided by misinterpreted examples and accompanied by the fear of failure.
This is simply the one line description of how Holmes found her path to an epic scandal.
Bad blood – is John Carreyrou, WallStreet Jounal‘s attempt to accumulate and unleash the facts of Theranos, a startup that aims to performs most of the tests on blood with just a prick in the finger, rather than venous draws (using needle at the vein).
Holmes starts off as a Stanford dropout from chemical engineering. She wants to do big in business, and finds silicon valley as the perfect hub to work towards her dream. She draws inspiration from Steve Jobs, though he works in a completely different field, where unkept promises don’t cost lives of people.
With every chapter of the book, I was appalled to see what extent was Holmes ready to pursue when she was faced by a hurdle towards her goal.
The one that affected me the most was Ian Gibbons incident. It is brutal, how they brushed off Gibbons and continued to work as if nothing changed.
Like a ponzi scheme, forming a pyramid of lies, it is sometimes to see how Holmes and her ex-boyfriend Sunny were brave enough to go this far into deceiving investors with tons of money collected on promises that can never be delivered.
True to the name, the book was devastatingly portraying how a bit of confidence and some set up stereotypes can take you far enough, costing lives along the way.
Every page was something even more impactful than the earlier.
It is a must-read if you are more interested in corporate politics, how venture capitalists can fail and some background stories of lawsuits that are brought out in US courts. For me, it was Elizabeth Holmes’ mind that intrigued, how she managed to believe when clearly the world was against it.
When Ashleigh Lowen comes across a man’s skull crushed, the few first words gave me an impression that it is going to be gory thriller. Later I realised it is a different one.
When Jeremy Crawford offers his shirt to Ashleigh in a public restroom, I thought it is going to be a romantic thriller. But then, it had clearly more to it.
I had known for a fact that it is going to be a thriller, for I come across when I was looking at a list of thriller books. Colleen Hoover, known for her, emotional romantics, made a good attempt to introduce her fanbase to something different on the plate.
For me, the names of the characters had a wonderful sense into who they were. Be it Ashleigh’s pen name Lauran Chase or Crew Crawford, the names, themselves had a good story behind them, which I loved. With just handful of characters, it is simply wonderful to think what Colleen could deliver.
It is not a grand book with a lot of characters, and you need not have a very tedious mind to grasp it. If you are like a slow reader like me, it would just cost you a day, maybe even less, because it is impossible to stop reading it once you had started to.
But, one thing that is quite questionable is that, how could Ashleigh take so long to read the manuscript, for it had just 19 chapters and being a writer herself, it is possible for her to have a good reading speed. Even if, she wasn’t capable of reading it fast enough, how could it take her weeks to stay away and read chapter by chapter. Though Colleen tries to justify this, by portraying that Lowen got overwhelmed with all that she read and was scared to continue reading it, anyone who picks such a manuscript would definitely find it hard to let their hands off it.
The intricacies in explaining how Verity’s mind worked, especially in the manuscript was breathtaking. It is really difficult to sketch the psychology of Verity and it was very well done. Just as when I got bored of the repetitive nature of the intimacy described, Colleen was quick enough to change it to a different plot.
I think that the whole perspective with the protagonist being a writer, might have helped Colleen to relate and she must have taken a safe sojourn into this new venture of hers, which is fabulous.
Colleen managed to justify her genre, I truly was intrigued about what is waiting in the next page.
All in all, it was a very good read and a definite page turner.
A beautifully narrated story of two girls, who grew up to be women on the part of the earth, where their lives are the least respected.
This might be the one line I would like to convey about the book.
A very touching story, brought with a very clear picture of the backdrop.
The way Khaled explains the nature of the land, throughout the years, with the Taliban on and off the throne doesn’t miss its chance of taking the reader to witness the lives of the two wonderful women.
Mariam, a girl born out of marriage, leads a peaceful life on the laps of her mother and nature. She likes her dad who visits once in a while because it is easy for him to be sweet and compensate for his absence in her life.
How Mariam loses this life and goes on to live with a man named Rashid, whose heart is too rigid to realize the boon of Mariam in his life, is a story that sure makes you long for a wonderful life that Mariam truly deserves.
The Two Minds
Khaled brings in Laila, a smart girl born to an educated father who believes in equality for women. Her childhood is an absolute bliss which every woman of Afghanistan truly deserves. But turns out, Afghan women were (are) so unlucky.
When Laila meets Mariam, how their life gets intertwined with each other and what is in store for both women is a heart whelming story that can cross and live through the years (unfortunately).
Tariq is a wonderful person, who seems to be a light in the dark endless coal mine. It is hard and satisfying to believe that the earth houses both Rashid and Tariq. And maybe less number of Tariq’s.
So?
Personally, this book kept me engaged, for they came with the historical events, along with the story of civilians and especially the ground reality of the state of women in Afghanistan.
It is very hard to not be disturbed by Khaled’s words.
If I need to give this a genre, you got me, it is a self-help book. But it is quite different, from all the books you read, that gives you this instant motivation and makes you think, you are unique and are here to perform massive tasks that none can perform. (Which is true)
The author states ‘four agreements’ as the title suggests.
So what is Agreement?
The talk you have with yourself or principles by which you live by. Principles can make concepts difficult to grasp, so I will deal with the first one.
“You can’t do that, you know”
“Hey, how can I forgive him for that?”
“Stop thinking too much”
Yeah all these talks, and how you talk with yourself depends on what agreements you have with yourself. You can have an agreement that dictates, ‘You can’t dance’ and also, ‘You can do anything if you give it a lot of time’.
These are the agreements, sort of things you have with yourself, you will live based on them, more than you think. So now, Ruiz proposes a plan. What if, you could change those agreements that can limit you or makes you take wrong decisions with respect to others. What if you can simply replace those agreements with agreements that definitely will guide you in a positive way.
How to overcome the old bad agreements you have with yourself?
As I said earlier, not just having the new agreements will help us. We need to get rid of those toxic relationship we have with ourselves.
You know how many times you abuse yourself? Sounds absurd? It is true. Think of times, when you thought it was all your fault. (I can hear you, but I just can’t believe you saying me, ‘It was all actually my fault, you know?’)
You know what, you can’t carry that guilt too far. It will drag you down. When someone stresses it’s your fault, you will likely believe them, than when they say, it was their fault. You will likely believe when those words when they come from people you love the most.
It’s fine, people most of the time, don’t utter the words they mean 100%. So, start searching for your own answers. Stop punishing yourself. Forgive yourself easily, it is no big deal. After all, you are always younger than tomorrow. Stop saying things to yourself, that you know, when you utter to others will break their heart. Don’t be harsh on yourself, you definitely don’t deserve that.
I know you are waiting to know what are those agreements
As I was when starting to read the book.
Be Impeccable with Your word
Don’t take anything personally
Don’t make Assumptions
Always do your Best
Aaah, this is what every self help book tells you, what’s the big deal?
Well, first off, I never saw a self-help book having contents this less. Telling ‘this is it, this is enough’ itself was such a great relief. (If you had known books with such less words in the contents page, go ahead comment it, I would love to read them too 🙂 )
Let me brief you on the first one. The word ‘impeccable’ is beautiful (or was it his explanation for it !?!?). It just means, ‘not capable of sinning’. I hear you, even I haven’t committed such ‘sins’, so hear me out. He says, sins are actions or beliefs, that affects you, the origin of those sins might be others or yourself. Don’t utter words you would clearly regret them later. It’s the most difficult agreement as he states. But the most important too.
When I was reading the next one, I felt I was constantly hit by a bullet. They were so true for me. I take everything personally so easily, that even sarcasm affects me (Yeah I know, it’s not the point of sarcasm). I was feeling so negative already, so I took in every cue that tells, you know what, you are trash. People most of the time, don’t even care about others’ actions, like about what dress you wear or how you laugh. The thing is, they are worried about themselves just like you, and they have no time to watch you and criticize you or have an opinion.
Have the courage. Yeah, don’t make assumptions. If in doubt, just ask questions, a lot of question if it needs. Just be brave enough to confront them and don’t end up making your own cloud of thoughts. You know, I love this, it reduces all the unnecessary stress you have. People will actually love to clarify than to know, you have got it all wrong. At the same time, don’t be annoying, just ask when you need to.
Now to this part, where you used to harass yourself. It’s just so simple. Give your best. Do all you can, the universe then catches up to you. The point is, even if the universe is a late bloomer, be happy and contented that you did all you can. I would like to add something here, even if you didn’t give your best. It’s fine. Forgive yourself and look for ways you can improvise. The most important thing of all this is, ‘don’t punish yourself, be a great friend to yourself”.
Do read the book, I can obviously, not state everything the author said or how he said. You will find very good moments when you read them. The book explains how we ended up like this, how to break those old agreements and how to form the new ones and live by them. To buy the book, click here
Rating: 4/5
I would love to know your thoughts if you had already read this book or you can come here anytime to tell about all that, once you read. I am all ears (well words, if comment section doesn’t support biomimicry)
Stephen Hawking, all I remember when I come across the name is, a geeky and humorous person with a machine voice. No wonder, even if you remember the same. I am not so much into science to know every scientist with path breaking innovations. I am just curious about science, so I read books who try to explain the world in simple terms to me. And Stephen Hawking does that work pretty neatly.
This book answers to 10 questions. As the title suggests they are 10 big questions in terms of the concepts and the scientist had done a wonderful job, explaining it without bringing in complex mathematics and making it simple.
If you had this nerdy friend, who has answers to every question you ask (like literally), you sometimes think, why can’t I know them? What is so big about that? Maybe, you are bad at analytical things (there are books that can help you with that too). But this book gives you a clear-cut idea without knowing much of the complex things. It gives you the concept. You need not have a prior knowledge to read this book. Even if you get stuck, googling it would set you on track.
I am going to brief on my favorite 5 questions.
Is there a God?
So, we all say God is the creator of the universe. In fact, it was his job, that gave birth to the sun, the earth and the humans. Scientists can’t acknowledge things that don’t fit under logic, so, without a logical explanation for existence of God, they look for other means for the creation of the universe.
So, there are 3 essentials that make up the universe.
energy
mass
space
Einstein has proved that mass and energy are same. So it is just 2 things now, energy and space. Big bang theory is to explain how energy and space can materialise out of nothing. The answer is negative energy: when big bang introduced lot of positive energy, it produced equal amount of negative energy simultaneously, that’s what makes the total energy of the universe to be 0.
If the universe adds up to nothing, you need a God to create it. At quantum level, it is possible for a proton to disappear and appear somewhere else. Since universe was once the size of proton, it is possible for the universe to appear where it is now, and the release of positive energy has created what we know today?
He brings an interesting question again, “So God created the quantum laws, right?”
Then he explains, there is no time at the beginning of the universe, so how can God exist when there is no time, to create them later.
It’s true that science does not answer all the questions we have, but we have come a long way and it won’t take much longer time for science to explain them.
2. Is there other Intelligent Life in the Universe?
This is the most interesting question. Obviously, with all the movies and fiction books out there, existence of aliens is believed by many people. (Don’t ask me what I believe in!)
We, humans, witness the world the way, that makes the human existence as indispensable at the end. The world, we survive has its own physical constants, that help our existence. So with a change in the physical constants, we can derive conclusions on what kind of lives that world can support.
Darwin’s evolution theory makes us humans, nothing but an admirable showcase of evolution. We are lucky to live in this planet for these long years, without the universe throwing at us anything violently. Because, universe is a violent place out there, and we are merely lucky for nothing has happened to us all these years.
So if aliens existed in some other universes, and if they were intelligent, they would have contacted us by now, is what he says.
But yeah recently, we have some governments telling us aliens had already established connections and a scientist claiming that an asteroid that passed by earth in 2017 is an alien vehicle. There are no scientific claims made to prove them right. They are merely rumors and speculations. So, let’s wait till they reach us 🙂
3. Is time travel possible?
To travel in time, we need a vehicle that can travel faster than the speed of light. So, warping space and time makes it possible. But warping it would give virtual particles real energy hindering the same possibility.
In other words, with current theories, scientists are still working on it, playing with the ideas of possibilities. So, not yet, maybe in future.
By the way, I thought of sharing this, Hawking threw a party on a day and gave invitations for the party on the next day. Since none turned up at the party, he concluded that maybe time travel is still not possible for future humans. This was interesting to share.
4. Should we colonise Space?
With NASA and beyond it, Elon Musk working actively to colonise Mars, since he utterly believes that we will destroy the earth someday, or if earth gets destroyed by other foreign entities, we need a place to continue the existence of human race. On the other hand, there is this question by humanitarians, what is the need to invest a lot in space colonisation, when there are billions of people who could make use of the money to get their food.
Hawking explains that, exploring space is an essential just like Columbus tried to explore. In 1000 years, earth would become uninhabitable, and it is essential we find some other entity to continue our race in future. He also says that as of now, Mars is the most prospect with moon as base and humans need to habitate by atleast 2070.
Quite interesting, what do you think?
5. Will AI outsmart us?
Musk said it would. So what does Hawking has to say?
Hawking brought an interesting concept. Genetic Engineering. By the time, when AI becomes capable of surpassing humans, we would have made great progress at genetic engineering and nations would have signed a pact for proper usage of it. So we humans can outsmart them using genetic engineering to manufacture us, bypassing the slow evolution and ensuring survival against AI.
This is was the most fascinating as well as intriguing concept I learnt about.
There are yet 5 questions and you must really read the book for wonderful journey into the answers for the above 5. I just gave a glimpse of it.
It is quite difficult when you have a spouse whose dreams line with the welfare of the people and the world’s prosperity. It is difficult to figure what the world expects from you; it is difficult to figure what your close circle expects from you; After all it is difficult to understand what the inner you craves for yourself.
Michelle Obama, the former First Lady of the United States, in her memoir ‘Becoming’, describes her story.
So who is Michelle?
Michelle is someone who was born in Chicago with dreams of gaining respectable positions, propelled by great zeal towards learning and shaping herself. It sounds such a normal dream for us in the 21st century. But it is a crazy dream for people of color in the 1970s.
A four year old girl playing piano to a person with love for jazz. Michelle showed herself as a simple yet sophisticated person. I never knew about Michelle before, apart from her being the former FLOTUS.
This memoir, travels from a humble girl to one of the most respected women of the world. It was quite soothing to know that, she faced many vague days and wrong decisions, clearly telling life is all about the big picture and the people you love.
Her efforts towards obesity control in children of the US to being a mom of two teenage girls at the White House. Concerned if, the two beloved girls of hers will get adopted to the drastic transformations their parents put them through, both into and out of the White House is an extreme environment shift for anyone.
It is astonishing how she had put through the criticisms thrown her way. Her words expressing how she took care of them are surely true words of inspiration.
This book is simply an humble account of Michelle’s life in her own words.
Richard Stengel spent around 3 years with Mandela, while writing Mandela’s autobiography. This book is a collection of humble notes by the author on Mandela, one of the greatest believers of the human society.
This book aims at bringing lessons to people on life, love and courage, as the title suggests. It comprises of 15 lessons or principles that are mostly Mandela’s beliefs, as well as practices his life advocates. Let me give a quick outline of the lessons, in other words, the contents of the book. I don’t want to give a summary of the book; I wish to make this book appealing so you would pick it as your next read. So, I have explained briefly the first 5 lessons the book preaches followed by the 10 lessons and my favourite lines from them.
1. Courage is not the absence of fear
What if I tell you Mandela also had fear? From the serene face of his, and the colourful shirts we see him in, finding a place for fear seems like an absurd idea. But it seems, he had fear and the courage wasn’t showing the absence of fear, instead showed the way to set heart amidst the fear.
However, the problems test you, never fail to be brave, at least act to be brave and you will be.
2. Be Measured
In simple terms, be aware of your emotions. Decisions are meant to be practical, clouding them with emotions is the most easily made mistake. In Mandela’s words, “Don’t hurry, think, analyse, then act”.
3. Lead from the Front
As we all know, Mandela was in prison for 27 years for protesting against the Apartheid government. It’s no wonder, he is the most revered leader. To lead for a cause, he believes in and serve as a hope for the numerous followers who believed his cause, leading from the front is crucial.
4. Lead from the Back
To celebrate the victory you struggled for, you deserve more than anything in this world, spreading the joy and owing everyone for the achievement sufficiently explains what leading from the back means.
5. Look the Part
“Appearances are deceptive” is the proverb. But, to be fair, we rarely come across a person who doesn’t walk by without judging us and vice versa. We can’t help but wonder what the person must be earning or where he/she/they must come from just by looking at their clothing. Mandela considers this as most important quality to be judged. We can’t help but look at them, so why not take time to make them good. As per his words, “Appearance constitute reality”. So, next time, you shop reluctantly for clothes, remember Mandela judges you and knows you by what you wear and so does, every human on the planet.
6. Have a core Principle
When conditions change, you must change your strategy and your mind. That’s no indecisiveness, that’s pragmatism.
7. See the good in others
No man is evil at heart. Evil is something instilled in or taught to men by circumstances, their environment, or their upbringing. It is not innate. Apartheid made men evil; evil did not create apartheid. By behaving honorably, even to people who may not deserve it, you can influence them to behave more honorably than they otherwise would.
8. Know your enemy
The Afrikaner was very direct, very straightforward, not wily or sly. He could be sympathetic or not, but he was going to tell you what was on his mind.
9. Keep your Rivals Close
10. Know when to say no
11. It’s a Long Game
Every person is the sum of all that he or she has done
12. Love makes the Difference
When you love a woman, you don’t see her faults. The love is everything. You don’t pay attention to the things others may find wrong with her. You just love her.
13. Quitting is Leading Too
14. It’s always both
15. Find your own garden
This book has a magical narration, to walk along with the author, as he learns these lessons from Mandela, with life stories. If you are person, who loves story-telling, life lessons and of course, Mandela, you shouldn’t miss it.
A small book, easy read, I would recommend this to every person out there to read it once.
Rating: 4/5
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Everything goes normal, despite the fact that Tracy missing her adrenaline rush. Life always has a lot of surprises and hence came a woman between Jeff and Tracy. Tracy left Jeff, without letting him know the fact that she was pregnant. She goes in hiding, raising her son Nicholas, somewhere in a ranch with Blake Carter, who becomes Tracy’s dear friend.
Love never ends
Even after all years passed, Tracy is unable to forgive Jeff, but she can’t accept that she is still in deep love with Jeff. When she hears about heists, she sees the clarity in her husband’s work, who returned to ‘conworld’ after his wife left him, and admires him.
The Cycle
When a french detective appears in front of Tracy’s porch after she performed a small heist to fool her husband’s believed-to-be mistress, life takes a new path. She helps the detective in solving a serious of rape and murder crimes, believed to have a connection with major heists pulled off.
The Wit of Ms Whitney
Tracy later finds that Jeff is in danger. The fact that the psychotic killer is an acquaintance to Tracy and he is going to lay a hard hand on Jeff haunts Tracy. The rest of the story is how she finds the identity of the killer and if she stopped him from performing his heinous crimes.
A perfect Sequel!
Sheldon has gifted his readers with a perfect sequel that is equally interesting as the first book ‘If tomorrow Comes’. The journey of con artists who face difficulty to lead a normal life is beautifully portrayed.
Are you an enthusiast of mystery, romantic and thriller novels? Then ‘If Tomorrow Comes’ promises you a pleasant day, with itself in a hand and a coffee in the other hand.
Sidney Sheldon has etched this book to serve a delicious meal at the plates of the bookworms.
Enthusiastic Banker Lass
Tracy Whitney, yes right, the protagonist, works as a banker and she loves her job. She is in her beautiful part of her life, where a woman will be at their utmost natural beauty, loving her man and expecting a baby! She has a rich boyfriend, who wishes to marry her and enjoy the life of father with their child soon. He falls in love with her, when she glows with the beauty of her banking knowledge.
Unhelpful Suicide of her Mother
Doris Whitney calls to have a final talk to her daughter, when the girl happily describes about her boyfriend and their soon-to-be-held marriage. The mother patiently hears and feels joyful for her daughter’s wonderful life and at the same time, feels sorry for her, since she may have to get married without her mother. Doris knows she is going to die, all due to the greediness of Joe Romano.
The Unexpected Jail Life
Tracy goes down to New Orleans to make the most powerful man of the city, Joe Romano, to surrender at gunpoint. All in vain. She ends up in jail, duped just like her mother. Charles, her boyfriend and father of her baby, leaves her. The prison is not her place. She is a woman of values. She is tested of all her values; sexual harassment and violence, and she loses her baby. She loses herself in all these cases, wondering how the love of her life could leave her and at the first place how she ended up in a penitentiary.
The Hurt Lioness
She grows powerful to survive and takes a resolution to herself, to teach Joe and his men a lesson.
She gets released after her brave and humane act of saving the jail warden’s daughter’s life. Then goes after Joe, teaches all of them a lesson in their own way, with the touch of her intelligence.
The Con Artist
She gets to use her intelligence, first to survive and then that turns to be her successful career. With none having any clue of her existence, Daniel Cooper, a detective, determines to collect evidence against this radiant woman. The rest of the book, deals with her interesting con expeditions, the tryouts of Daniel and Tracy’s hatred turned lover, Jeff Stevens.
Treat to the con minds
This book is itself an interesting con treasure to be preserved and cherished. If you wish to go into a journey of common girl, whose life turns miserable to make her one of the greatest con artists, then, I promise you are going to enjoy the journey! Bon Voyage:-)
Lit Loom 