Review: The Blissful Brain: Neuroscience and Proof of the Power of Meditation

The Blissful Brain: Neuroscience and Proof of the Power of Meditation by Shanida Nataraja
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Meditators do not really look for proof that meditation is actually good for them. Practice makes that very apparent, really.

And yet, it is undeniable that the working of the brain is fascinating. This book does an excellent job of explaining what meditation does to our brain. It covers active and passive types and how various regions of the brain respond. As the author notes though - there are various ways people meditate and individual responses and results vary. Hence, the explanations given are somewhat generic - though they do fall into certain broad patterns.

While our knowledge of the brain is improving, it is still far from adequate. The observations in the book are hence somewhat early and limited.

Overall, however, this book is a great read and provides a scientific basis for the benefits of meditation.

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Review: The First Trillionaire

The First Trillionaire by Sapna Jha
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The title grabs your curiosity, doesn't it?

The story centres around Shail, a simple girl who makes it to a bank job with a lot of hard work. Her mother Vanashree goes through very tough times to bring her up.

Shail quips during her initial training that she wants to be the world's first trillionaire. This is however a story of her life and those around her and very little about her long term ambitions. The story breaks to the past after the introduction – the lives of her mother, the circumstances of her birth, her father, brother and her benefactor Olivia. As part of her job at the bank, Shail does very well – also helping the branch come out of tough circumstances. Shail has a well wisher in Olivia, who is a billionaire in UK, and also a business partner in Kran who is a scientist. The story develops well to reveal the interest Olivia has in Shail.

As part of her job, circumstances put Shail in conflict with the local goon Bachcha Singh, who has powerful connections. The enmity takes a serious twist when Shail is kidnapped and moved to a secret locations. At this point, more criminals including those with links to global terrorists get involved.

The first half of the book is an easy and engrossing read and the characters develop very well. Shail's humble background, her mother's struggles and her rising professional reputation all make for very good reading. The later part of the book introduces too many new characters and unnecessary complexity with many sub-plots. As a result the plot significantly deviates leaving loose ends in the original circumstance involving Bachcha Singh.

I got this book in a Goodreads giveaway. A book worth a read, especially for the story and key characters.


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Review: A Million Thoughts

A Million Thoughts by Om Swami
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are not too many books around which detail methods to meditate. “A Million Thoughts” is one of the few which is a fairly comprehensive guide – has excellent material around why you should meditate, how to go about it correctly and what you can expect from meditation.

The basic principles around meditation, the types of mediation and what each one offers is explained very well.

The book scores, since other than relating his personal experiences, Om Swami has sprinkled the book with excellent quotes from ancient scriptures and several beautiful short stories to make the point. The stories are crisp, often moving and make the point exceptionally well.

As Om Swami explains, there are various levels you can reach with meditation. While he reached a stage where he would meditate for hours and days together, many of us may not aspire for that. However, this book is for all serious meditators, however far they want to go.

While I believe people always benefit from a good instructor or Guru, this book is one of the best you can read to get started. Get going, and you might just find yourself. This book is worth far more than the price you can get it for.


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Review: The Zoya Factor

The Zoya Factor by Anuja Chauhan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Zoya Singh Solanki was born at the precise time that India won the World cup in 1983. She seems to have a rare gift – she is a lucky charm to the team she hangs around with and supports. The Indian cricket team and the cricket board seems to believe this too, except the captain Nikhil Khoda. Zoya is an advertising executive and a period of absence is worked out such that she accompanies the Indian cricket team for the cricket world cup to Australia. Zoya is soon viewed as a kind of goddess, whose blessings are desperately needed for India to win. Zoya and Nikhil share for the most part an awkward and complex relationship. Well, Zoya herself is a complex character and quite unpredictable in many situations.

The book has a good dose of wit which makes you smile. The story is fairly weak though even if unusual in concept. Also, the book overdoes the silly stuff – a large number of weak incidents & jokes. There is a large sprinkling of hinglish, which unfortunately does not add much to the book and only feels odd at many places – lacking variety and fairly uni-dimensional.

Yet, a decent book for the first one by the author and worth a read.


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Review: Sidney Sheldon's Chasing Tomorrow

Sidney Sheldon's Chasing Tomorrow by Tilly Bagshawe
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book takes off from where Sidney Sheldon's “If tomorrow comes” ends. Tracy Whitney and Jeff Stevens as scamsters are fascinating characters – intelligent, independent and charming. Unfortunately, that is about the best part of the book though.

The story shuffles between incidents in their past and current. They have been involved in a number of heists from the wealthy, corrupt and insensitive. Tracy and Jeff get married and try to live a normal life. Tracy though soon gets a little disillusioned with the lack of action. At about that time, their relationship suffers a setback after Jeff accuses Tracy of infidelity. As it happens there are others involved who want to get back at them.

Tracy moves to the US, and raises their child in a quiet environment. As it happens, the past catches up with Tracy. Her help is sought by an Interpol investigator to solve a series of murders which happen very close to heists of the kind she used to pull off earlier. And she is the only one who can now save Jeff's life after he is kidnapped, a way to repay him for saving her life once.

While the characters are good – the book disappoints. More than a flowing story, it comes across as events strung together by force. The twists towards the end with the sudden appearance of a devious character do not make good reading either.

In fact, the book ends in a way that it leaves the option of a continuation very much possible. If a further book does come out, hopefully, it will be better than this one.


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Review: The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation by Thich Nhat Hanh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an excellent book to read to understand the core fundamentals of Buddhism. It covers the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, in a good amount of detail. It also goes further than that, drawing on key concepts which are common to most variants of Buddhism.

I liked the fact on how Thich Nhat Hanh emphasizes the need for depth in life - developing it by living the values, the Buddha taught and practised. Mindfulness is expectedly a strong theme throughout the book.

The only aspect which could have been better is that while many sections do have good anecdotes from either Thich N hat Hanh's own life or the Buddha's, there are a few sections which are entirely theoretical and dry. Hence, while reading a portion of a book, it feels like simply reading the obvious.

Overall, an excellent introductory book to the essence of the Buddha's teachings, and well worth a read.

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Review: Shobhaa at Sixty: Secrets of Getting it Right at Any Age

Shobhaa at Sixty: Secrets of Getting it Right at Any Age by Shobhaa Dé
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This books is about how Shobhaa De felt on turning 60, and how she built a positive outlook to her age. The start is good – with Shobhaa writing about how turning 60 felt uncomfortable – after it is the doorstep to old age. She then goes on write about how she built a positive attitude to age – be it being busy with her profession, family relationship, diet or her fitness regime.

The problem is that, though the book starts well, it goes into a very preachy tone in the middle and later sections. It would have been fine, had it been only about attitudes and behaviors. However, there are elaborate sections on diet and fitness as well. While the advice may still be valuable, there are better sources for reading about these topics. It would have been better had there been more discussions on her personal experiences – be it with people she dealt with professionally, family or friends.

I used to find Shobhaa’s fiction books to be good to relax with. This book, however, was a disappointment. It somehow comes across as a book written in a hurry.


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