Under a Sky on Fire: A gripping and utterly heartbreaking WW2 historical novel by Suzanne KelmanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
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Good Books Lift You!
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Review: Under a Sky on Fire: A gripping and utterly heartbreaking WW2 historical novel
Under a Sky on Fire: A gripping and utterly heartbreaking WW2 historical novel by Suzanne KelmanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
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Sunday, October 11, 2020
Review: How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain
How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain by Lisa Feldman BarrettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am fascinated by the advances in neuroscience and what it tells us about our brains, behaviours and who we are. It is even more interesting to combine that with the wisdom of mindfulness theory & practice. This is a book with a lot of very interesting material which we do not often come across, and is intellectually very stimulating.
In what Lisa describes as the most prevalent classical view, we think we are all very similar in how we display our emotions. If shown a picture, based on the person’s expression, we believe we can recognise the emotion he/she is going through. This has in fact led to a number of technology companies making investments in this area, juries basing judgements on how defendants conduct themselves etc. Lisa forcefully argues, and very successfully, that there are no specific standards for emotion & variation is the norm. There is no specific common brain pathway for emotions and attempts to decipher emotions such as anger from body measurements & brain scans have shown no patterns and have failed. She goes on to discuss that the concept of the 'truine brain' where parts of our human brain were inherited from other species and govern rudimentary survival behaviours has been largely discredited by neuroscience.
Our brain is constantly anticipating and preparing our body for what is to come (balancing the body budget) and dealing with prediction errors (deviation between the expected & actual). Right since our birth, our brain is building concepts for us based on what we are told and what we experience. Our emotions have roots in these concepts, and are hence very individualised. Similarities are more explained by the fact that we go through many similar experiences in similar environments, and hence build adjacent concepts. This makes perfect sense and also explains the growing inability of people to change their world views in later stages in life.
The parallels with mindfulness theory can provide great insights. Lisa does discuss eastern philosophy (largely around Buddhist thought) and the alignment with the latest of what neuroscience is telling us.
There is only one mistake you are making: you take the inner for the outer and the outer for the inner. What is in you, you take to be outside you and what is outside, you take to be in you. The mind and feelings are external, but you take them to be intimate. You believe the world to be objective, while it is entirely a projection of your psyche. That is the basic confusion and no new explosion will set it right! You have to think yourself out of it. There is no other way.”
― Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
In quite a few cases though she just skims the surface and the treatment lacks depth. The impact of words & language is written about in great detail and yet misses some obvious negative implications. When concepts are fortified, egos grow bigger, resistance to change becomes greater and de-sensitization develops, largely robbing us of the newness of the experience.
“Do you know that even when you look at a tree and say, `That is an oak tree', or `that is a banyan tree', the naming of the tree, which is botanical knowledge, has so conditioned your mind that the word comes between you and actually seeing the tree? To come in contact with the tree you have to put your hand on it and the word will not help you to touch it.”
― Jiddu Krishnamurti, Freedom from the Known
“The day you teach the child the name of the bird, the child will never see that bird again.”
― Krishnamurti
The implications of all this knowledge for the law is important and there is a fairly detailed discussion on that (eg: there is almost no basis for segregating ‘crimes of passion’ vs ‘conscious crimes’). Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky was another fascinating book based on neuroscience and there are quite a few common themes (such as the impact of past experiences, implications for law etc). This book is also as interesting but is far more speculative & less organized in parts. The chapter on animal emotions is in fact very poorly written, makes lots of assumptions and comes across as rambling. While the broad contours of the book are very logical, a number of the similarities across species cannot be explained by only the theories in this book, which considerably downplays the impact of genes.
If this subject interests you, I would also urge you to read ‘Behave’ and The Ape that Understood the Universe.
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Monday, September 28, 2020
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Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Sunday, September 13, 2020
Review: Do It Today: Overcome Procrastination, Improve Productivity, and Achieve More Meaningful Things
Do It Today: Overcome Procrastination, Improve Productivity, and Achieve More Meaningful Things by Darius ForouxMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Well, most people, including me tend to procrastinate on many things. So, this was a book which piqued my interest. I found the book useful, though as with much of the self-help literature today, the incremental new concepts or techniques you learn is (very) limited.
I liked this book because it is simple, direct, and crisp. The chapters are short, and each gets directly to habits you can develop and action. I was hoping for some neuroscience inputs, which was mostly absent though. Nevertheless, the suggestions are all practical, make sense and area drawn from the author’s experience. The coverage includes – minimizing distractions (mostly technology related), appropriate technology aids, concentration, holistic approach combining exercise, work & hobbies.
While most people are unlikely to find much new material, I recommend the book for its honest & straightforward approach to the topic it covers.
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Friday, September 11, 2020
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Thursday, August 13, 2020
Friday, August 7, 2020
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Saturday, July 11, 2020
Review: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John CarreyrouMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
John Carreyrou does an amazing job of reconstructing the story of Theranos. The book is engrossing and keeps your attention right till the end. This is a story I had not known about till this book was recommended to me.
Elizabeth Holmes drops out of Stanford and starts Theranos. The aim of the company is do a range of blood tests with very small amounts of blood – most with a finger prick. The underlying premise is an exciting one, and as with most people I would certainly hope this can happen where drawing large quantities of blood from the veins for tests ends someday. The company claims success and finds interest from many investors, pharmacies and even the US armed forces. The truth though was that the company could never get its devices and technology to work reliably. Elizabeth, however decided to plunge ahead with going to market nevertheless, hiding the issues from investors, regulatory authorities, partners and customers. Theranos finds some hacks by using modified commercial instruments with diluted blood samples for testing when its own devices fail. Safeway invested a considerable amount of money in designing wellness centers at its stores. Walgreens enters into a partnership as well.
The culture at Theranos was another problem – a demanding and authoritarian leadership team of Elizabeth & Sunny Balwani, who also had an undisclosed romantic relationship. There was an air of extreme secrecy and teams were encouraged to work in silos. Elizabeth saw Steve Jobs as her role model and adopts a similar dressing style as also a suspected put-on deep voice. Balwani was feared and often fired people who felt were too independent and not falling in line. Elizabeth also later starts moving around with a lot of security.
At one point the company was valued at $9 billion, with Elizabeth’s worth being about half of that. An aggressive legal team headed by David Boies coupled with the intimidation tactics of Elizabeth & Sunny keeps the wraps on the issues for a fairly long time. The board of Theranos & investors had many well know and powerful names, and relationship building was Elizabeth’s unique strength. All this falls apart once John Carreyrou starts an investigation based on a tipoff and speaks to a number of ex-employees and does his own tests on Theranos technology. Theranos tries its best to intimidate the people he speaks to you and him as well. A series of articles in the Wall Street Journal brings widespread attention to the practices of Theranos, which the company vigorously denies for some time. Theranos is shutdown and Elizabeth and Balwani will face a trial soon.
I later read a number of more articles on the net and saw some videos on youtube. Elizabeth’s voice does come across artificial, but maybe because it was unexpected. Startups do not always succeed and that by itself is obviously not the issue. I do hope some startup does succeed in the area Theranos failed. There is the serious issue of lack of mature leadership in many startups (Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons is another interesting read as well though the issues are entirely different).
This was a fascinating read and one which I strongly recommend.
My rating: 4.5 / 5.
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Thursday, June 25, 2020
Monday, June 15, 2020
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Review: The Three Women
The Three Women by Valerie KeoghMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I have been reading a number of crime / mystery / suspense novels this year. ‘The storyline of ‘The Three Women’ and the largely favourable reviews made me pick this up. It however fell far short of my expectations.
Beth, Megan and Joanne meet while at the university, quite by chance. They grow to be close during their years in college. They decide to go on a short outstation break for a couple of days before they move on to their careers. An evening at a restaurant & bar ends on a horrifying note. Megan and Joanne cannot find Megan and learn that she had left earlier. As they reach the place they stay, they find Megan there in bad shape and crying. As she tells them what happened, they are horrified and it is an incident which is to shape the rest of their lives.
The story picks up events after nearly 20 years, by when each of them take up different careers, and get into relationships which are difficult to sustain. As she gets engaged, Megan feels constrained now to reveal to her partner on all that happened that evening many years back, which she has told no-one till date. Her partner is shocked but insists that Beth and Megan should know as well. As the three friends discuss the events of that evening, they find that it has majorly influenced their lives – especially the choices which Beth and Joanne made.
The premise of the story is just about passable. The good thing in the narration is how the impact of a single event can have a cascading effect on many lives. The build-up of the characters and the choices they make is weak in parts, especially the story around Beth’s relationship and Joanne’s career choice. The ending has a twist but the story ends rather poorly.
An average read unlikely to be feel satisfying when you reach the last page.
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Sunday, May 17, 2020
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Friday, May 1, 2020
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
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Tuesday, April 7, 2020
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Saturday, March 28, 2020
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Monday, February 24, 2020
Monday, February 17, 2020
Review: Candles on The Ganges
Candles on The Ganges by Peter E. UptonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a deeply spiritual and moving book. This is true account of how the urge to communicate with his son (who passed away tragically very early at the age of 7), keeps the author, Peter, going.
The loss of a child, and at such a young age is a painful tragedy like no other. I have seen how immensely traumatic this is for people who have faced this. Peter is a cab driver in London, and senses that he has a gift as a potential medium himself. He approaches many mediums at the church and also at some other places subsequent to his son Michael’s passing. He receives several messages from his son and feels good that his presence in their lives continues – Peter and his wife also have another daughter. Peter himself is able to convey messages to other people from their loved ones who have passed on. He also takes up a course in astrology. At some point, he feels he should make a trip to India to deepen his spiritual practices.
His travels in India – Delhi, Haridwar and then Rajasthan are very well narrated. Peter runs into a number of instances where he is cheated, but at the same time meets many wise & helpful people as well. Much of his experiences makes for very interesting reading (except a very silly narration of an episode on a train where a doctor asserts that eating chappatis is making Indians foolish and weak). His keen interest, respect for and observation of the meditation practices of some of the gurus in Haridwar, helps him reach the silence within him which he has longed for. An overview of Vedanta would have helped Peter better tie up the concepts, temples, practices and rituals which he observed though.
This is a book which should be widely read – it is very honest, deep and meaningful. Very strongly recommended.
My rating: 4.5 / 5.
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Saturday, February 15, 2020
Review: The Autoimmune Solution: Prevent and Reverse the Full Spectrum of Inflammatory Symptoms and Diseases
The Autoimmune Solution: Prevent and Reverse the Full Spectrum of Inflammatory Symptoms and Diseases by Amy MyersMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is the third health related book I have read and reviewed in the past few months (the others being ‘Brain Food’ by Lisa Mosconi and ‘How not to die’ by Michael Greger). It can be difficult to reconcile the advice offered – as there are contradictions. And yet some conclusions are clear – we severely underestimate the role the food we eat plays in our health and the benefits of consulting a good dietitian. My interest in reading this book was because of some prevalent autoimmune conditions in people close to me. As I read on, I found I have an autoimmune condition myself.
This book makes an interesting start – it delves on the various types of autoimmune diseases ranging from allergies, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and others. The first section of the book details how the immune system mistakenly attacks inflammatory agents it encounters. The key principles of addressing this includes: healing the gut, reducing intake of inflammatory foods, limiting exposure to toxins and managing stress. This is referred to as ‘The Myers Way’ – a phrase which repeats multiple times on each page. The author talks about how conventional medicine does not help much – progressively requiring more medication, compounded by the fact that people with one autoimmune condition are at high risk of developing others. I cannot agree more that better solutions are needed to treat autoimmune disorders.
Amy details the foods we should strictly avoid – gluten, grains, dairy and legumes. She explains how she ate largely vegetarian food herself but changed her diet to come out of her autoimmune condition. She states that vegetarians & vegans have no way to improve their autoimmune condition. While this view came across as disappointing to me – I also know this to be incorrect as I personally know a few people who have improved their autoimmune condition with a strictly vegetarian diet. Also, a lot of her diet recommendation contradicts studies on people living long and healthy lives. So, assuming ‘The Myers Way’ does work for limiting autoimmune conditions in the short term, what about the longer term? Unlike the other two books I have referred at the start of this review, this book refers to almost no research.
There is detailed discussion on inflammatory foods, especially gluten, grains, dairy & eggs and the harm they cause us – even people without a current autoimmune condition can progress towards one. The book includes a detailed 30-day diet plan and recipes of many of the dishes mentioned. The author claims that people taking up this diet will feel better in a week, and are most likely to significantly limit their symptoms in a month.
If people are able to take up this diet, I suppose there cannot be any harm in trying this for a short period (after all the author says the difference should be noticeable in a month). I would be very wary of adopting something like for the long term.
I considered my review and rating carefully to see to what extent I am allowing my personal values & diet habits to influence it. This book suffers from an egotistical tone, repeating material, non-evidence based conclusions and almost no references to credible research. So, not guilty.
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Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Review: The Stranger's Wife
The Stranger's Wife by Anna-Lou WeatherleyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is my first book by the author. It has a decent story and good pace. A story about two women – Beth and Cath who are struggling with marital issues, and the stories converge well at the end.
Beth is married to Evan who is wealthy, but there seems to be little else to the marriage. She wants to move in with Nick, but it is not going to be easy and there is her young daughter Lily to consider. Cath is married to Saul, who is addicted to drugs and indulges in violent abuse. The scenes describing the abuse make for difficult & depressing reading but are very well written. Beth & Cath meet unexpectedly on the train and are struck by the similarities of their pains.
A violent crime brings Dan into the fray, who tries to piece together the sequence of event and the motive.
The book makes for engrossing reading - only the last few chapters could have been much better.
My rating: 3.5 / 5.
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Saturday, February 1, 2020
Review: The Girl in the Spider's Web
The Girl in the Spider's Web by David LagercrantzMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have been late in getting to this considering that two more books in the series are out. I loved the characters of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist in the Millenium series (The girl with the dragon tattoo, The girl who played with fire and The girl who kicked the hornet’s nest) created by Stieg Larsson. Lisbeth’s character is especially unique – with her strong sense of purpose and the strength she draws upon from within, after a difficult childhood.
The Millenium magazine is in financial distress and new investors are seeking changes. At this time, Blomkvist receives a desperate call from Frans Balder asking to meet him urgently. As Blomkvist rushes to meet him, he lands up a scene of murder. Balder’s autistic son August was also on the scene.
Salander enters the scene – and she is not a stickler for the rules. She will show no mercy to the bad & cruel guys. And in this case, it is a child’s life at stake.
I liked the plot and pace. Salander enters the scene a little late though, and I would have liked it otherwise. David Lagercrantz does a good job of continuing the series, where he does retain the essential personalities of Blomkvist and Salander.
My rating: 4.5 / 5.
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Thursday, January 16, 2020
Review: How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease
How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael GregerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is an important book and has a lot of information I wish I had come across earlier. Other than the fact that the book is based on evidence and has good nutrition advice, it is also brave – challenging the politics which prevents most people knowing the full facts. Also, much of the medical profession is focused on diagnosis and cure of diseases, with limited understanding of the role of nutrition.
The first and biggest section of the book deals with various serious ailments and how they can be overcome with diets based on plant food, grains, spices & nuts. There is detailed information on the harm meat, fish and dairy causes us. It will appear as if the matter is repeating across sections since the recommendation is straightforward – you need to eliminate processed food, meat, diary, all animal products from your diet to be healthier. There is a good amount of research referred in the book and the case histories certainly makes this credible reading. Apparently, while a lot of medical profession knows about the risks lurking in the foods we eat – only a few are inclined to take on big industries and the politics involved.
So, is Dr Greger advocating a strictly vegan diet? Dr Greger clarifies that his recommendations are based on what is good for health rather than what to avoid for ethical or other reasons. As he points out, he comes across many vegans stuffing themselves with French fries and guzzling a lot of beer. He, advocates a whole food, plant based diet and there is detailed information on what to include and what not.
I would certainly recommend this book – it as a wake-up call to eat healthier.
My rating: 4.5 / 5.
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Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Review: 2019 on Goodreads
2019 on Goodreads by VariousMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
2019 was a great year for reading (while a difficult year otherwise). I read many excellent books and am providing a summary below. The below are the standout books for me in 2019 (I top rated all of them).
1) Recursion by Blake Crouch: Great story & mind-blowing pace with highly plausible science as the backdrop. Read his ‘Dark Matter’ first if you have not already read it.
2) My Name was Five by Heinz Kohler: An exceptional account of a normal German caught in the fallout of Nazism and the Second World War.
3) Pathways to Bliss by Joseph Campbell: There is no better way to learn deep life lessons than by reading Joseph Campbells. Amazing insights from mythology and how they can help life full lives.
4) Colombiano by Rusty Young: A gritty story of how children get embroiled in gangs.
5) 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari: Brave, intellectual & thought provoking – continues the impact he set by Sapiens & Homo Deus.
6) A View across the Rooftops: A beautiful moving story of love & survival set during the Second World War.
7) Brain Food: How to Eat Smart and Sharpen Your Mind by Lisa Mosconi: Has very important information on eating right for brain health.
8) An Elephant in My Kitchen: What the herd taught me about love, courage and survival by Francoise Malby-Anthony, Katja Willemsen: A real life account on how Francoise continues the work on the Thula Thula sanctuary. Read ‘The Elephant Whisperer’ first if you have not already read it.
9) Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking: A journey of intellectual excellence. You may not agree with all his conclusions, and yet the brilliance shines.
10) The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak: Another beautiful moving story of love & survival set during the Second World War.
11) Leadership Dharma by Raghu Ananthanarayanan: Deep insights into human behaviour based on Indian philosophy.
12) Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown: I cannot think of any other author who writes as profoundly about the need for authenticity as Breene Brown does.
13)The Boss by Caz Finley: A very good gang-based story.
14) Boss Girl by Emma Talon: A very good gang-based story.
15) Sita’s Sister by Kavita Kane: An imaginative retelling of Indian mythology from a lesser discussed point of view.
16) The Girl from the Sea by Shalini Boland: A fast paced thriller, as are all of her books.
17) The Silent Victim (Jessie Tucker Mystery #1) by Dana Perry: A good crime novel with pace and a story.
There were a number of other good reads: The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli, The Second Wife by Sheryl Browne, Finding Grace by K L Slater, The Marriage Trap by Sheryl Browne, The Men's Health Little Book of Exercises by Adam Campbell, India Wins Freedom: The Complete Version by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, I See You by Clare Mackintosh, Big Billion Startup: The Untold Flipkart Story by Mihir Dalal, Single by K L Slater, The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee, Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia Puigcerver (Goodreads Author), Francesc Miralles (Goodreads Author), Magic Square by Salini Vineet, DareDreamers by Kartik Sharma and Ravi Nirmal Sharma, Muhammed Bin Tughlaq by Anuja Chandramouli, A Man from Mandu by Manoj Jain, The Murder Suspect by Rani Ramakrishnan, Bridgital Nation: Solving Technology's People Problem by Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran, Roopa Purushothaman.
A number of the above were review copies from authors either directly or via NetGalley, and am grateful for their generosity.
Despite the inroads made by the visual media, reading remains unique in the experience it offers isn't it? Happy reading in 2020!
Thanks for your support, friends!
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