A word of caution though - there are at least a couple of places where the protagonists make borderline misogynistic comments. It’s cringeworthy to read, but then again, keep in mind that this was published in 1976.
Apart from this, an adequately entertaining and frankly a near-perfect read for the Holiday vibe! Despite being Jeffrey Archer’s first published novel, this is a finely polished piece of writing, quite impressive. Overall a solid 4/5.
“The Maratha Century” is everything that I wished my history textbooks were! Thoroughly researched and analyzed, prose that is a matter of fact & to-the-point accompanied by copious amounts of footnotes, evidence & references - this book is a whirlwind tour of the roughly 175 years of the Maratha rule - starting from the Chhatrapati to the Peshwas to the 3 Anglo-Maratha wars.
What I liked the most is that there is neither the aggrandizing nor the belittling of any of the historic personalities. There is no unnecessary dramatization, things are told as they would have happened.
The excerpts & pictures of the original documents, letters, etc. are included; which are simply fascinating to read. The focus is not just on the wars and the battles and the ever-changing political landscape but the light is shed on the cultural aspects, the day-to-day lives of the 18th-century people.
Compared to Dr. Kulkarni’s previous books, “The Maratha Century” is a quick read. Clocking in at about 300 pages, it gives a bird's eye view of the entire era but at the same time manages to delve into sufficient details of quite a few key events. This balance of detail vs high-level summary is superbly maintained.
Overall, a solid 5/5 if you enjoy facts-driven, evidence-based & non politically motivated history tellings!
“The long period of the foreign rule until the Maratha period, and the British Raj thereafter, places the Maratha Empire in a unique position in Indian history. Not only were they the first indigenous power after centuries of Turkic rule they were also the last indigenous Empire before India succumbed to the British rule.”
"जुने कधीही सर्वस्वी टाकाऊ व सर्वस्वी गैरलागू होत नाही; नवे ते इतके नवे कधीच नसते कि त्यात जुन्याचा अंशच नाही!"
"महाभारताचा अभ्यास व्हावा तो मोकळ्या दृष्टीनें. अभ्यासाआधीच ठाम मते ठरवून भक्तिभावानेही होऊ नये आणि आवेश किंवा द्वेषभावनेनेही होऊ नये इतकीच ती प्रार्थना!"
शक्य झालं तर मूळ मराठी प्रतच वाचा!
In the second half, the book succinctly captures how overdoing, over-emphasizing, and frankly thinking with swollen egos can destroy the most robust of things. It is actually quite painful to read how the presence of a business-minded, emotionally rational “suit” could have helped save this company. The dealings with Microsoft, the advantages, disadvantages of the Shareware model are some of the other non-gaming interesting things discussed here. All in all, highly recommend it if you work in Tech.
After the snoozefest that was the “Artemis”, I had lowered my expectations, and boy am I glad to be more than pleasantly surprised! So if you enjoy SciFi, then give it a go - solid 4/5.
(Alternatively, you could just wait and watch the movie when it comes out in a couple of years; apparently, Hollywood has already purchased the rights!)
Thinking Fast and Slow by the Nobel Laureate Dr. Daniel Kahneman has multiple “Aha!” moments, quite a few “Holy sh*t” realizations, and at least about a hundred of “this should have been taught to everyone in the school!” epiphanies.
“The fact that logically equivalent but contextually different statements evoke different reactions makes it impossible for Humans to be reliably rational.”
But a word of caution though. Despite being one of the most enlightening, educative, and thought-provoking books, Thinking Fast and Slow is a laborious read. Don’t get me wrong, you should definitely read this if you have an interest in anything remotely related to Psychology, Sociology, Behavioral Economics or just plain enjoy finding out about the research being done around the human psyche. But be aware that this book demands dedication. You would need to be able to recall ideas introduced in previous chapters to appreciate and soak in the content.
With these disclosures out of the way, the book itself is fascinating, the research done and the Conclusions drawn by Dr. Daniel Kahneman are groundbreaking.
"People expect to have stronger emotional reactions (including regret) to an outcome that is produced by action than to the same outcome when it is produced by inaction.”
Literally, hundreds of examples of research experiments are discussed, augmented by analyzing various real-life scenarios from advertisements to hedge funds to government policy decision making. The results are mind-boggling and yet believable. Overall, a solid 4 out of 5.
"Cynicism is a crutch, a crutch that justifies the worst in us by pointing to the worst in others."
So even though I am probably not the right “target audience” for this book, I found “The Mine” to be adequately enjoyable. The mystery is not bad, the characterization is sufficiently layered for a horror story and even though the gore is a little too much for my taste, it is not completely off-putting. Talk about a lukewarm review for a book! A “solid” 3.5 from me.
What did bother me though is that despite the theme of the story being how some evil is hidden in all of us, the only “sin” that the characters indulge in, is lust. I understand sex sells, but I like to believe that it is not the only thing that sells.
So anyway, if you enjoy horror, do give this a try. If you don’t particularly enjoy horror, you can still give this a try and you won’t be too put off. One absolutely great thing about “The Mine” is the super unexpected twist at the end - which literally happens on the last page, so be sure to read the Epilogue!
“When most people say they want to be a millionaire, what they might actually mean is “I’d like to spend a million dollars.” And that is literally the opposite of being a millionaire.”
“Every financial decision a person makes, makes sense to them in that moment and checks the boxes they need to check. They tell themselves a story about what they’re doing and why they’re doing it, and that story has been shaped by their own unique experiences.”
Psychology of Money essentially talks about life lessons for managing, accruing & in general dealing with your money. It juxtaposes quite a few amazing real-life stories with a tangible outcome/lesson. Yes, it does get preachy in parts. Yes, it does feel like it's just scratching the surface and avoiding the weeds of uncertainties and nuances, but I am willing to turn a blind eye to these - because the book does indeed put forth “the lessons” very succinctly. I found myself saying “aha!”, “that is so true!” and in general vigorously nodding my head throughout the reading.
“What’s often overlooked in finance is that something can be technically true but contextually nonsense.”
Morgan Housel was a Motley Fool columnist, If you trade in NYSE and/or Nasdaq, you are surely aware of the Motley Fool. I had picked up this book hoping for something in between the Freakonomics and Thinking Fast and Slow. Happy to report that “Psychology of Money” is neither - which is Not necessarily a bad thing mind you. No kidding, this book is literally one of the most quotable books I have read in recent years. Give this book a go! Solid 4.5/5.
“Good decisions aren’t always rational. At some point you have to choose between being happy or being “right.””
What I liked about this trilogy is that it doesn’t try to be anything more than a fantasy story. It does what it sets out to do and it does it very well. The character development is superb, the twists are shocking enough and everyone, including the protagonist, faces the consequences of their actions! So even though, as a standalone book, Hero of Ages is not the best of the trilogy, it succeeds in ending the story in the best way possible.
“If you give up what you want most for what you think you should want more, you’ll just end up miserable.”
"Which is more potent? The pain of memory, or the pain of forgetting?"
That being said though, the first half is maddeningly slow and slightly off-putting. But in a typical Brandon Sanderson style, the last 30% or so is a whirlwind of action and adventure and impossible to stop in between. So a word of caution - do Not get into the third act of this book on a weekday night unless you are ready to sacrifice your sleep! Overall, not perfect but a solid sequel to the first book.
I decided to take the plunge into the famed Cosmere Universe and boy oh boy, the first book in the Mistborn trilogy is a superbly entertaining piece of writing! This is taking fantasy writing back to basics. No hidden philosophy or any satirical undertones. A story told very well, that’s it.
A likable, sympathetic, and feisty protagonist, her helpful & charismatic mentor (think temperament of a teenage Sirius Black with the skillset of an adult Snape) and a well crafted, all-powerful antagonist with just the right sense of mystery - the three pillars that make the Final Empire click. The metal-based magic system designed by Brandon Sanderson is unique and super fun to read. You might be put off by the pacing in the first half, but the second half more than makes up for it!
“That’s kind of what trust is, isn’t it? A willful self-delusion?”
“The End of Everything (Astrophysically speaking)” is a wild, imaginative, and intense ride! The Author, Dr. Katie Mack, is a Theoretical Cosmologist at NC State University (my alma mater!). This book discusses the possibilities, the probabilities, and some insanely creative speculations about how the ultimate end of the Universe would look like. Think Neil deGrasse Tyson on steroids - the same enthusiasm, the same energy, and the passion coupled with an astute ability to explain complex, theoretical concepts in a fairly easy-to-digest form!
“Beginnings imply and require endings.”
There is a slew of literature about the Big Bang and in general about the “the beginning” of everything. Not so much about “the end”. The ideas discussed in this book are mind-boggling and do bring out the contemplative side of things. The last chapter is particularly interesting where the possible mechanics of “the end” are put aside and the philosophical implications are discussed - still keeping the tone of the book as fun & informative and never getting preachy.
“Acknowledging an ultimate end gives us context, meaning, even hope, and allows us, paradoxically, to step back from our petty day-to-day concerns and simultaneously live more fully in the moment. Maybe this can be the meaning we seek.”
Just beware though - even though this book is under 250 pages, it is extremely dense. For an astrophysics layman like me, I had to stop and look up on Wikipedia a few times to get more context about the various ideas discussed here. But it was well worth it. A solid 4/5.
“Cosmology requires thinking creatively. This doesn’t mean fully unconstrained flights of fancy. You can’t just randomly make stuff up. But what you can (and must) do is constantly find new ways to look at problems to wring a little more insight out of whatever data the universe has to offer.”
What makes Ted Chiang’s ‘Exhalation’ - a collection of hard science fiction stories - a unique read is the contemplative and the incisive nature of his prose. Some of the ideas in his stories are simply mind-boggling and make you somewhat uncomfortable in a Black Mirror-ey sort of way.
Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.
Even when we’ve experienced the same events as other individuals, we never constructed identical narratives: the criteria used for selecting moments were different for each of us, and a reflection of our personalities.
One of the stories from Ted Chiang’s previous book became the amazing movie ‘Arrival’ back in 2016. ‘Exhalation’ definitely has a few stories that Hollywood will likely cash on. Be as that may, if you enjoy hard science fiction, do give this a go. 4/5.
