The Stranger in the Mirror - Memoir of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

I have been reading Bollywood-based books for the last 4 years. Just like Its movies and songs, Bollywood books also provide unparalleled sources of interest. Especially if you are reading some informative content like behind scene stories, success stories, and biographies of interesting characters. With similar hopes, I have selected "The Stranger in the Mirror" by Rakeysh Mehra. The hardcover book is designed so beautifully that after finishing it I kept it in a seperate collection of coffee table books.

The book covers the following aspects of Rakeyesh's life

• His early childhood days and few interesting incidents of that time
• His initial struggle from ad-film director to movie director
• His way of visualizing story, characters & people's perception
• His strategic thinking about field marketing
• Behind scenes of movies like "Rang de Basanti"
• Other Bollywood personalities' view or say about Rakeyesh's life from a personal as well as professional front

The book covers many more things than I have listed above. Though it is a biography you will find it as interesting as a storybook. My observations about the book

• Easy language usage makes a smooth reading experience.
• Just like parallel timelines common infections, a biography is written in more than one timeline.
• Book is not just about Bollywood gossip but full of business insights in and around Bollywood.
• You will surely enjoy narration covering behind scenes as well.
• A must-read for movie buff for sure

I will give 4.25 out of 5 to this book.

Book links - Goodreads and Amazon

Twenty millionaires under thirty by Sophia Graham

I have been reading business startup stories almost for 12 years now and they always capture my mind. Being a NITIE alumnus, I always read more of this genre. My favorite author is Rashmi Bansal. Reading success or failure stories give us not just inspiration but new ideas as well. Chanakya had rightly said the smart people learn from other's successes & failures. With the same hope, I selected "Twenty millionaires under thirty" by Sophia Graham.

As the title suggests, you will find 20 chapters in the book. Each chapter is dedicated to one successful personal. The book specifically covers entrepreneurs from the IT & Technology domain. The story coverage is to the point as the book is short only the most important points were covered. You will find a good number of inspirational quotations in the book.

My observations

1. Fast-paced story writing 
2. Easy and smooth language usage
3. Catchy cover design and title
4. Limited domain coverage when you are covering 20 personalities
5. Limited content. Only the inspirational aspect was kept high. The author could have shared some strategic points of these businesses
6. If you are a follower of success stories, you will find repeated sections for many stories about personalities covered in the book.

Still a good book. An especially new entrant can enjoy the book.

I will give 3.25 out of 5. 

Book links - Goodreads and Amazon

Song of Draupadi by Ira Mukhoty

The diversity of the Mahabharata is so vast that you will get narration from almost any character of it. I have read the purpspectives of not just Pandavas & Krishna but Duryodhana, Shakuni, Karna, wives & sisters of these characters. The most touching of these narrations is that of females who played a pivotal role in the story but were always given a smaller platform than their male counterparts in mythological literature. Recently many authors have taken it to next level and have given females their due platform. In all those literature, the story from Draupadi's point presents a more vivid picture of the Kaurava dynasty's family values.

When I selected "Song of Draupadi" I was expecting a story from or of Draupadi. Instead, the book delivered more stories than just Draupadi's. Let's remove magic from the epic and now tell me which characters were landmarks in the story. You may give names like Bhishma, Pandu, Dhritrashtra, Kauravas, Pandavas & Krishna. I am not talking about who fought the war, I am talking about why they turned towards war. Why did Bhishma take auth of celibacy? Why did Shakuni take auth of revenge? What happened during Game of Dice? Why did Pandavas share a common wife? All questions will finally end with one or another female character. Ira has painted that canvas for us. Read the book to know more.

Good points about the book

1. Attractive cover design, one cannot forget such a nicely designed cover.
2. Fluid language for smooth reading
3. Diversity in capturing female issues of that time
4. Strong character building that makes us adore even minutest contributor 

I will give 3.5 stars out of 5 to this book.

Book links - Goodreads and Amazon

Ganesha's Global Startup by Prachi Garg

My group has reviewed around 5 books of Prachi Garg collectively. And she is on our list of top ten inspirational authors list. "The Legend of a Start-up Guy" was Prachi's and probably among Indian authors' first attempt at mythology-based startup fiction. In that book, she wrote a fictional story around Ganesha's attempts to establish himself as an entrepreneur. Her next book was based on the story of Ramayana-based characters. Prachi is back with her next book and that too sequel of "The Legend of a Start-up Guy".

I think I have discussed enough previous works of Prachi, let's talk about the main book for which I am writing this review. "Ganesha's Global Startup"

In the first part, we read that how after mountainous efforts Ganesha got successful in establishing his startup and make it a steady business. He also received good recognition and an award for the same. But as we see in real life, you need even greater efforts to survive and to expand your new startup. This book is more focused on those points. Through this part, Ganesha's story passes through phases like handling funding entities, expansion strategies, sustainable business models, etc. Read the book to know more.

My observations about the book 

1. Easy language for any age group
2. Familiarity with Indian Mythology characters' names. Added benefits if you have read the prequel
3. Fast paced storyline
4. Self-help bundled with fiction
5. All basic startup-level learnings were covered in the last part. This book is more about the next level of startups

I will give 3.5 out of 5 to this book.

Book links - Goodreads & Amazon

The Sinful Silence by Abir Mukherjee

Thrillers are the best source of entertainment in the reading spree, at least for me. I enjoy it the most and the only competition I get against thrillers are mythology-based fiction. I have seen many reviewers post about books of Abir Mukherjee and I made my mind to read his latest book when I came to know that it's a thriller. The book I am talking about is "The Sinful Silence".

There are two central characters of our story, DCP Abimanyu, and newly appointed IPS officer, Vayu Iyer. They are faced with a challenging crime where a successful businesswoman was found dead in a locked room. Vayu being a novice officer followed all clues and procedures but found deadends in most of them. Along with that Abhimanyu's attention was divided as he was also after the killer of his fiance. The book is full of twists & turns to make the book unpredictable. Read the book to know more.

Good points about the book

1. Fast paced story that won't let you put the book down
2. Easy language usage makes reading fast
3. Written for the age group of 15+ for lovers of a wider genre reader
4. Short read gives you a ride for a weekend or short trip
5. A good mix of thrill, suspense, and drama.

The book deserves 4 out of 5.

Book links - Goodreads & Amazon