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

Bend Your Knees & Do Your Best by Kalyani

I would like to thank Kalyani for providing me the review copy of "Bend Your Knees & Do Your Best" in exchange for an honest review. Before I start let me give the first impression of the book I perceived. The first communication of Kalyaani was kept unread almost for a week, but the self-help-looking name didn't give me enough motivation to check the mail. Later on, I checked the book and found the blurb interesting enough to venture. 

The protagonist of our story is Kalyani (don't worry it is fiction, not memoir). She is working in the IT industry and settled in Bangalore. She has already spent more than a decade in the industry. She has managed to keep away normal expectations away from her, the expectations that usually society has from women generally. She is just happy with her life, food habits, fiction books. But the funniest thing is her best friend and confidant. Hardly we have any imaginary character as a friend, Kalyani doesn't only have an imaginary friend but that friend is a demon from Hindu mythology, Hiranyakaship. 

Things were going great when things started changing. Well, that's when the interest quotient changes in the story. First pressure and firing at the office. Second health issue and the last one her acceptance and mental peace over the situation. Read the book to know more.

The book is a lengthy one. And that required efforts at least for the first 50 pages. Language is easy, and content is age-appropriate. The book has a good amount of humor in both formats direct jokes and satires. As the author is from the IT field, she has nicely connected the pros and cons of the domain and made it lighter in tone keeping a humorous tone.

Overall a nice book. But things that the author could have improved the length of the content, title & cover.

I will give 3.75 out of 5 to this book.

Book link - Amazon and Goodreads

Shall We Tango, Charlie? by Chetna Lumb Bedi

I have just finished "India's Most fearless" on audible when I saw this book on Writersmelon. I was not aware of the fact that the story was female-centric, instead only the color character on the cover made me believe the book was a love story. The cover was attractive to get at least one glance from any age group interested person. It is not just cover but the story was equally gripping. After capturing the cover photo I was planning to take it after finishing two ongoing books, but I read the prologue and then the next chapter before I realized in 90 minutes I finished 3rd of the book. Yes, it is correct, and you won't believe I have finished the book in the next two sittings.

As the blurb mentioned, "Shall We Tango, Charlie?" by Chetna Lumb Bedi is a female-centric book. Unlike normal female-centric books, which focus too much on the love story, this book is more of an exemplary hardship of a lady in the armed forces and her achievement of reaching elite force's troops. But just hardship won't interest readers, so the author has used the right mix of Ahna's (protagonist) and her near one's issues as well. 

The book has the following unique features

1. Shows work and challenges of armed forces day to day life

2. Shows struggles and challenges to reach elite troops

3. Internal politics and friction female has to go in fields

The book is a good pick at any time for any age and any genre lover. The writing is simple and smooth. The choice of words is good even for beginners. Also, an occasional dose of inspiration, courage, and comic episode keeps the story interesting throughout. With its emotional touch with iron-willed heart character of Ahana has won the heart of readers.

I will give 4.25 out of 5 to this book.

Being Gay by Sandeep Sharma - Book Review

I took up this book because I support the LGBTQ community whole-heartedly, and that everyone has the right to be who they are without any prejudice. I expected a coming-out story like "Simon v/s the homosexual agenda" or "call me by your name" but this book came out with a completely unexpected storyline.

This book is about a guy who has a feminine personality but is still straight. And in his definition, the gay is just another word for Happy. Sahil is an amazing character. His struggles, his morals, his relationship, and everything that he has gone through along with the way he came out even stronger is shown in the book and been inspirational. The book also touches the influence social media have on people's lives both in a positive and negative sense. And how social media cripples creativity. It shows thoughts of a social media star who had become a brand. I know that you're thinking what's social media has to do with a book called being gay, but I won't reveal that you'll find out once you read the book.

Now, if we come to story writing, the begging of the book, where there is a description of naga baba on the bank of river Ganga is attention-grabbing.

The story, in middle, did get a bit haywire, but the end is thrilling, astonishing, and unexpected in a way that you will feel spellbound. 

So my last thoughts about this book are:

It is not what you're expecting from the title. It's definitely worth reading even if you belong or don't belong to the LGBTQ community.

I will give 3.5 out of 5 to this refreshing read.

Book links - Goodreads & Amazon

Book Series Review - Karmic City Trilogy by Hema Myer Sood

If you ask me the count of books for which I have misjudged genre based on cover the count would be in double digits. May be for an occasional reader that might not happen frequently, because they select books after a lot of thinking/researching. But for bookworms like us for whom reading is more like a daily routine, such incidents happen more frequently. I am not going to lie but when I ordered the trilogy of Karmic City, I thought it was an action & thriller packed series. My original plan was to finish the series in the first half of February. But I was dumbstruck when I read the first few chapters of part one, "the city of the Lord Brahma". It was clear that the book is not to devour but to digest. I dropped the plan of reading books in haste, instead, I decided to take the whole series slowly and come up with a combined review. To know the reasons check the full review.

First of all, those who think this trilogy is a mythology or mythology-action thriller then it is a big no. The books are from completely different realms. These books belong to the spiritual fiction genre. 

There are five central characters. The first one is the Soul (he preferred himself to be called one) a spiritual learned person. For his next book, he wanted to go to a serene place, so he chose to stay at a friend's flat. He met Aditi, Virat, Vaidehi & Karthik in that society, who are our remaining four characters. The author, Hema, has wonderfully designed each of these for characters such that if a reader looks around, he will find a combination of these characters' personalities surrounding him. Aditi was portrayed as a person who was looking for a mentor for her spiritual uplifting. Vaidehi, on the other hand, was shown as depressed (& oppressed) but over devotional woman, she was looking for answers about why her life was miserable. Virat was shown as all those normal people who can think but accept social norms generally. Such personality usually does wonders when forced to work according to their own thoughts process. The last category is for kinds of Karthik's, financially stable and successful who think their worldly possessions are indicators of personal growth. 

Now as we are aware of central characters, let me give you a brief of the context of each volume of the trilogy. The first part is "The City of Lord Brahma", it covers the journey of Soul. Here Soul explains the wonderful concept of internal dialogues and ego. Through Soul Hema has explained how these internal dialogues affect our life. It shows that one doesn't need the scripture knowledge but an attitude to obtain real knowledge. The concept is simple but mind-boggling. But it helps us to cultivate positive thoughts, which in-turn help us in a healthy spiritual life.

The second book in the series is "The City of Lord Vishnu". As the name suggests this part takes the support of the Lord Vishnu, his avatars and Bhagavad Gita. It contains concepts: food qualities, the human aura, chakras, kundalini, karmic bank balance and many more. Each of these concepts is calmly explained by Soul.

The last book in the series is "The City of Lord Shiva". In the first two books, Soul readied disciples and asked them to attain spiritual guidance from divine power. He made them re-learn ideas behind Shiva, and how by eradicating our ego we can proceed towards higher realms of spirituality.

What you will find these books?

• The simplicity of explanation.
• Wonderful poems.
• Good quotes and lines.

Book is written for

• Those who seek spiritual guidance
• Those who seek work-life balance and tranquility
• Those feel low in life and blame outer circumstances for their grief
• It is a serious read. So a casual reader may need to give extra efforts to read and digest the content.

Ratings

• The City of Lord Brahma - 4/5
• The City of Lord Vishnu - 4.25/5
• The City of Lord Shiva - 3.75/5
• Karmic City Trilogy - 4/4

Book Links - 

• The City of Lord Brahma - Goodreads & Amazon
• The City of Lord Vishnu - Goodreads & Amazon
• The City of Lord Shiva - Goodreads & Amazon

The Winning Sixer: Leadership Lessons to Master by W.V. Raman

Things that I observed when I saw "The Winning Sixer: Leadership Lessons to Master".

1. A title based on sports but subtitle based on management lessons

2. A round table conference

3. A cricket ground has drawn on a round table

I was excited to read the book. I would like to apologize to cricket fans, as I am not a big cricket fan and lacks cricket facts, I was not aware of W V Raman. It was after reading the first chapter and encountering the environment in which the discussion of the chapter started I search about the author. And then it became clear to me that the author is the coach of the Indian Women Cricket team. 

Coming to the content part, I was expecting a self-help book with examples from the authors' cricket career. Surprisingly, the author has destined an interactive content, covering the 5 Cs (credibility, clarity, connect, control and conviction), and 5Ts (Truth, Time, Tango, Thrift, and Theatrics) of leadership. These concepts are not given only for management guys but for people from every domain, be it sports person, student, salaried or small business owners. I liked the way things have been conveyed in the form of questions answers & conversation. Well, the author is a sportsman himself so content has taken good support from various exemplary Indian sports icons personalities covered are not just from cricket domain but from badminton, tennis and other sports as well.

The language is simple and easy to read for any age group. You can read it in a few sittings. This 175-page long book is designed in such a way that you may revise it every year. A short read to remind you pointers that keep your mind on better leadership practices. 

I would give 3.5 out of 5 to this compact book. 

Book links - Goodreads, Amazon and Flipkart

Inspirational Fiction - Alumni of the Year by Tomson Robert - Book Review

I got this book last to last week Saturday (20th July) and I was expecting a more of a self-help type book. But it turns out as a light read with a good entertainment factor. I would like to thank author Robert Tomson and Writersmelon for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Blurb

Experience Dave’s journey.

Dave is ambitious, has a demanding boss, and is struggling to balance work and life, especially the relationship with his five-year-old daughter. Dave cherishes the memories of his school days. However, due to an incident from the past, he hardly keeps in touch with his best friends.

When Dave learns that his arch-rival from school is nominated for the prestigious Alumni of the Year Competition, he buys his way into the nomination by donating to the school library.

Travel on a life-changing journey with Dave—from Dubai, to Goa, to Kochi—as he goes for the School Reunion function. See how he confronts his past, his ambitions, his fears, and discovers about what truly matters in life.

When I say inspirational, don't dishearten, the book is based on a fictional story. The protagonist of the story is Dave married to Ann and father of 5-year-old girl Alexa. He is working with JW Associate and settled in Dubai. Well set in a job and doing better financially was not able to give Dave satisfaction. He was one of those (maybe like us) who always say just next target (maybe project/promotion) and then I will slow down. But the moment target is achieved he would make the next target by sacrificing family relations. Dave's company is targeting for a multimillion bank merger project and Dave's team with his shrewd boos Ben was working on it. Dave has already started experiencing early family problems due to his negligence toward family. His vacation was colliding with Ben's set expectations for the project. Dave is getting stressed out how to handle out the situation. He revisited memories associated with his friends and how things went during junior college days. The gem of the story is the last section which gives inspiration to Dave. Read the book to know more.

My observation

• The fast-paced story you won't feel it finished. I did it in just 3 sittings in less than 4 hours
• Language is easy. Good for beginners
• Good balance of faith and inspiration
• Can help people stuck in such professional-personal cycle.
• Good choice for light readers. Take it on the trip, it will keep you entertained

Talking about ratings

1. Cover - 3.5/5
2. Concept - 3.5/5
3. Content - 4/5
4. Overall - 3.5/5

Book can be found at Amazon & Flipkart

Review from other readers can be found at GoodReads

Book Review - Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho

I have picked up this book from this year's book fair. My eyes went on this book and I knew I had to buy this book. I have read Paulo Coelho's work before and I have loved it so I was eager to know what this book contains.

Book Blurb

Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything she could wish for: youth and beauty, pleny of attractive boyfriends, a fulfilling job, and a loving family. Yet something is lacking in her life. Inside her is a void so deep that nothing could possibly ever fill it. So, on the morning of November 11, 1997, Veronika decides to die. She takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up.

Naturally Veronika is stunned when she does wake up at Villete, a local mental hospital, where the staff informs her that she has, in fact, partially succeeded in achieving her goal. While the overdose didn't kill Veronika immediately, the medication has damaged her heart so severely that she has only days to live.

The story follows Veronika through the intense week of self-discovery that ensues. To her surprise, Veronika finds herself drawn to the confinement of Villete and its patients, who, each in his or her individual way, reflect the heart of human experience. In the heightened state of life's final moments, Veronika discovers things she has never really allowed herself to feel before: hatred, fear, curiosity, love, and sexual awakening. She finds that every second of her existence is a choice between living and dying, and at the eleventh hour emerges more open to life than ever before.

Veronika is a beautiful, attractive girl, has a basic job and a comfortable living. She finds no excitement in her life and so she finally decides to end it but her attempt was foul. And she ends up in a mental hospital where she finds out that she has limited days to live. But the things that happen in that mental hospital changes her life and she ends up wanting to live again. If you want to find out what happened in that hospital you have to read the book.

I loved the character of Veronika and I have also found similarities between her and myself. Her character is written beautifully along with the characters of Zedka who was in the hospital for her depression, Mari who was there for her anxiety attacks but her illness has been long cured but she still choose to be in the mental hospital, and finally Eduard the schizophrenic and also Veronika's lover. The storyline for these characters is spellbound.

Although this book does start negatively and you may feel depressed reading the first few pages but I want to tell you that hold on it does get better in the end. Also if you are someone who likes to read peculiar love stories than this book might be it but by saying this that if you think that this book is some romance novel than no but it does feature peculiar romance towards the end. I don't think this book is for everyone, you'll either love it or hate it, in my opinion, I loved this book and I might even read it again in the future.

Some of my favorite lines from the book are below.

I want to continue being mad, living my life the way I dream it, and not the way other people want it to be.

The "mad" always believe in first impressions

Although she had always felt loved and protected, there had been one missing element that would have transformed that love into a blessing, she should have allowed herself to be a little madder. ( Favorite of them all)

Ratings

1. Cover : - 4/5
2. Content : - 4/5
3. Character : -4/5
4. Concept : - 4/5
5. Overall : - 4/5

Book can be found at Amazon & Flipkart

Review from other readers can be found at GoodReads

Book Review - Wake Up, Life is Calling by Preeti Shenoy

This is my second book by Preeti Shenoy. The first one I read was "Love a Little Stronger" that was a wonderful light read. I enjoyed the humor, emotion and feeling shared in those stories. And Preeti is one of the bestselling authors of India, so I didn't want to lose the chance to read the next book by her which was a sequel to "Life is What You Make It", again a national bestseller. I happily accepted the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Blurb

Ankita has fought a mental disorder, been through hell, and survived two suicide attempts. Now in Mumbai, surrounded by her loving and supportive parents, everything seems idyllic. She is not on medication. She is in a college she loves, studying her dream subject: Creative Writing. At last leading a ‘normal life’, she immerses herself in every bit of it.

Underneath the surface, however, there is trouble brewing. A book she discovers in her college library draws her in, consumes her and sends her into a terrifying darkness that twists and tears her apart. To make matters worse, a past boyfriend resurfaces, throwing her into further turmoil.

Can she escape her thoughts? Will Ankita survive the ordeal a second time around? What does life have in store for her?

Preeti Shenoy’s compelling sequel to the iconic bestseller Life is What You Make It chronicles the resilience of the human mind and the immense power of positive thinking. The gripping narrative demonstrates with gentle wisdom how by changing our thoughts, we can change our life itself.

"Wake Up, Life Is Calling" is a story of Ankita. She had troubled past. She recently came back from a mental asylum, she was admitted there due to Bipolar Disorder. Her parents were her biggest supporters. The story started when she joined the course of creative writing. She made 2 friends from her class and started living normally. Her phone-friend/school friend or I would say her long-distance boyfriend suddenly entered her life. She was annoyingly enjoying her life when something unexpected happened to her which brought back troubling memories back to her. The last third of the book shows her struggle from the phase.

Frankly speaking, I found the book is inline or may be inspired by "Veronika Decides to Die" by Paulo. Don't get angry with me but I was not able to finish "Veronika...". Somehow I was getting too many negative vibes from that book. Something like that happened to me when I was going through the phase of Ankita's struggle. The reason I sailed through was limited options and 15 hours journey. Also, Indian background helped me to go through. Once I was done through 2nd third, I was enjoying the book. And before I know, I reached the last section. Yes I finished the whole book in one day (6-7 hours)

My observations

1. Though the book is written with good intention and motivation in mind, for people in depression I would advise either finish the book (if you start) or skip it. If you leave it in low of Ankita's character you may get more depressed. 
2. The book is written for mature people with the proper thought process.
3. To make sure, the seriousness of the subject won't affect the reading pace, Preeti has used simple language and straight storytelling.
4. I haven't read part 1, if you want to read it first then do it. It will be helpful.
5. Nice and colorful cover design.
6. I didn't like Parul's behavior in the climax, the way she was portrayed in the beginning I thought she would be mature enough to support Ankita.

I know many people said good words about the book, I felt depressed (even though I was not depressed at all) while reading the book. And that's why I am not able to give more than 3.5

Talking about the ratings

1. Cover - 4.5/5
2. Concept - 3/5
3. Characters - 3/5
4. Overall - 3.5/5

Book can be found at Amazon & Flipkart

Review from other readers can be found at GoodReads

Book Review - Riding by Cassia Cassitas

Before I start let me apologize to the author for extending review for so long. Actually, I have read a few road trips & trekking related awesome books 2 years back. I liked the genre and then I saw this book in Goodreads giveaway. So I participated in the contest. I got the copy in exchange for an honest review, but somehow book was shifted to a lonely place called "Back Shelf". Determined to finish all our pending work, we started giving equal priority to older review copies as well. And here we are to discuss the book "Riding"

Book Blurb

Amidst real events and landscapes, men and women like us wander the cities we inhabit, rehearsing happier lives in the pages of this motivational novel. From each one, destiny took a part to make them perfect.

When he is born, André propels his mother’s life in a new direction, shifting her focus away from her professional aspirations. His father, an executive who organizes Olympic competitions around the world and doesn’t know when to come back home, strives to make him a worldly citizen. Cycling, his life acquires purpose: becoming an Olympic para-athlete.

Together with his friends, he experiences disappointments and new beginnings. A doctor that builds robots, the daughter of a lonely teenager, and a retired athlete teach André how to overcome his limits and live his dream.

Set in Curitiba with breaks in Los Angeles, Seoul, Johannesburg and Soweto, Barcelona, ​​Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London, the narrative ends in 2012, in Rio de Janeiro.

As a tribute to all those who choose to sign the next episodes of their lives, this book is about overcoming one’s self amid achievements, obstacles, love and heroism, written behind the scenes of life.

Yes as the blurb suggests, the story is about a para-athlete Andre Propels. The protagonist of our story is born to a family where both parents were working with Olympic executions, so they kept moving from one city to another. But when Andre was affected by Polio and lost both of his legs, his mother took the call of being a full-time mother. She didn't want his son to have a life of crippled. Then starts challenging the story of Andre and how he overcame his disability and through his hard work achieve something which is not possible even with a person without disabilities. Read the book to know more. I hope I haven't revealed much.

Strong points about the book

• The book is written in a dual style, you may consider this as a sports fiction or a travelogue. If you are a fan of even one genre the book is good for you. 
• Coming to narration style author's writing style is a little bit poetic. It may be difficult at points if you are new to English. 
• Family values. Elizabeth & Mario (Andre's parents) were portrayed with an emotional brush. By Elizabeth, you will feel how the mother goes through the difficult times of a family and how her sacrifice made the family as one in time of need. On another side, Mario also understands the family value and his unavailability towards family chores at a time can be sensed while reading the book.
• Motivational part. Which shows the success of Andre to everyone who thinks things could have been better with them.

Overall a serious read. Will required efforts from readers at the same time will provide a good source of inspiration after reading it.

Ratings

1. Cover - 4
2. Content - 4
3. Characters - 5
4. Overall - 4

Book can be found at Amazon India & Amazon USA

Review from other readers can be found at GoodReads

Life's Amazing Secrets by Gaur Gopal Das - Book Review

It was a Saturday evening around 5:55 PM, my daily office closing time, when my mobile pinged. That mobile notification brought mail with two great news for us.

1. We got mail from Pengium India to offer us a chance to review a book
2. The book was none other than Gaur Gopal Das, who's videos are being viral every now and then, referred by many of my friends on social media.

So it was obvious that we were not gonna say no to such a golden opportunity.

Book Blurb

While navigating their way through Mumbai's horrendous traffic, Gaur Gopal Das and his wealthy young friend Harry get talking, delving into concepts ranging from the human condition to finding one's purpose in life and the key to lasting happiness. Whether you are looking at strengthening your relationships, discovering your true potential, understanding how to do well at work or even how you can give back to the world, Gaur Gopal Das takes us on an unforgettable journey with his precious insights on these areas of life. Das is one of the most popular and sought-after monks and life coaches in the world, having shared his wisdom with millions. His debut book, Life's Amazing Secrets, distils his experiences and lessons about life into a light-hearted, thought-provoking book that will help you align yourself with the life you want to live.

Though we had said yes, we were a little bit tensed as the book belonged to a spiritual/mental self-help genre, which I personally not prefer. But I was proved wrong just like his videos. Gaur Gopal Das has used a unique concept. He has narrated his incident from his personal experience. The story started with Gaur Gopal's visit to an elite (super rich) couple's house. Harry (husband) went to drop Gaur Gopal after lunch. They stuck in traffic during the trip, at that time Harry confessed his situation to Gaur Gopal, that was when the story started. From there started a series of serious thoughts bundled with amazing short stories or narrations that one can correlate. Gaur Gopal has wonderfully used the object in which they were traveling to explain things. The content was divided into 4 sections, just like 4 tyres of a car, which according to Gaur Gopal Das makes our life easy and satisfied. These 4 tyres are

1. Personal life
2. Relationship
3. Worklife
4. Social contributions

Even if one tyre gets punctured one cannot drive safely or survive the good drive. Our life depends upon the balance of these tyres. With each section, Harry's doubts were resolved by Gaur Gopal by proper reasoning and spirituality.

Good points

• Easy to follow language and medium pace
• A wonderful amalgamation of self-help and short stories
• Applicable to each and every person, especially in India where people judge first and act later
• Question provided at end of each chapter which can help to learn yourself and align yourself with the logic

A sure shot must read for anyone and any age group. I must be the lucky one to get a chance to review such a book.

No need for separate rating 5/5 to the book.

Book can be found at - Amazon & Flipkart

Review from other readers can be found at GoodReads

"The Code - Awaken the Hidden Wisdom of You Heart" by Mukta Mahajani - A Book Review

I have seen many positive reviews of Mukta Mahajani's previous book. My only reluctance was the self-help genre, as that is my less preferred genre, I was not sure whether I can take her book. But I played on my gut feeling and selected the book. I am glad that I said yes to the book. Because we got a hidden treasure in form of the book.

Book Blurb

Live free of the seven deadly behavioral attributes that threaten to disrupt our lives!

We can resolve most problems by applying the wisdom of our heart; all we have to do is listen carefully. However, in practice, a range of detrimental yet common attributes that we experience in large doses prevent us from listening to our inner voice. In The Code, author Mukta Mahajani identifies these negative attributes as the Ego, Over-Competitiveness, Jealousy, Overexpectations, Overambition, Anger and Procrastination. These attributes flare up when we face challenging situations. We explode when the world does not go our way and our relationships with others suffer as a result.

Based on meaningful quotes from world leaders and revered religious texts, this book weaves short stories about the impact of these attributes. These narratives are designed to help us reset our mindset and resolve the issues we face in our day-to-day life. They help us understand that we have the inherent power to make the right choice at all times. 

Coming to the content part, yes I am confirming this is a self-help book. but you will love the content preparation.

The book is divided into multiple small chapters. Each character starts with a wonderful quotation of a well-known personality. Then comes a short story. This story was followed by a section called "The Code" which is the psychological part or I would say self-help part of the book. Last part of these chapters cover questions for readers related to the chapter. Answers of exercising those question will help readers to learn the hidden lessons of these stories.

The last time I read such well-designed book was "Open Eyed Meditation" by Shubha Vilas. That book was also a self-help book but in disguise of mythological short stories. Similarly, Mukta has given short stories with hidden messages.

Good points about the book

• Simple and straight stories
• Easy to follow language. Even for starters.
• Freedom to select your choice of chapters. You may skip or change the order in which you would like to read. As there is no strict dependency on previous chapter.
• You may skip part of questions or "The Code" itself if you are not comfortable. Because the author has done a wonderful job covering the same in the story.

Ratings

1. Cover - 3.5/5
2. Content - 5/5
3. Concept - 5/5
4. Overall - 4.5/5

Book can be found at - Amazon & Flipkart

Review from other readers can be found at GoodReads

Book Review - The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma

We always give chance to review the book by other than our team members. In past, we have given chance to more than 5 people and 2 of them are our core member now. So last month when one of my colleagues asked me to give him some good books, I gave him 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma only on one condition that he will provide the review for the same. Well, we both got benefited from this. Se here is the review written by my colleague Raviraj Shah.

Book Blurb

Part manifesto for mastery, part playbook for genius-grade productivity and part companion for a life lived beautifully, the 5 am club is a work that will transform your life. Forever.

Legendary leadership and elite performance expert Robin Sharma introduced The 5 AM Club concept over twenty years ago, based on a revolutionary morning routine that has helped his clients maximize their productivity, activate their best health and bulletproof their serenity in this age of overwhelming complexity.

Now, in this life-changing book, handcrafted by the author over a rigorous four year period, you will discover the early-rising habit that has helped so many accomplish epic results while upgrading their happiness, helpfulness and feelings of aliveness.

Through an enchanting—and often amusing—story about two struggling strangers who meet an eccentric tycoon who becomes their secret mentor, The 5 AM Club will walk you through:

■ How great geniuses, business titans and the world’s wisest people start their mornings to produce astonishing achievements

■ A little-known formula you can use instantly to wake up early feeling inspired, focused and flooded with a fiery drive to get the most out of each day 

■ A step-by-step method to protect the quietest hours of daybreak so you have time for exercise, self-renewal and personal growth

■ A neuroscience-based practice proven to help make it easy to rise while most people are sleeping, giving you precious time for yourself to think, express your creativity and begin the day peacefully instead of being rushed

■ “Insider-only” tactics to defend your gifts, talents and dreams against digital distraction and trivial diversions so you enjoy fortune, influence and a magnificent impact on the world

I admire the writer for attempting a new concept of sharing motivation idea in a fiction way to get readers interested in it. The author has shared a beautiful concept to develop inner power to get external achievements. It also shares how should we develop our inner power by following daily rituals. 5 AM club doesn't only share the benefits of waking up early but it shares how powerful it impacts on our rest day activities. The book helps to develop the habit of rising early and also shares what we should do after waking up. The writer has focused on the importance of phycology, emotions, physical strength and spirituality. He has shared the method of developing it and use it to achieve all our desires.

The concept is beautiful the writer could have avoided fiction story or could have given less focus on it. Many times content deviated from its core point. There were places where the writer got into over-detailing which lost the main point of motivation. It also seems the material could be reduced if the writer could balance the main topic and story. 

I feel one should read the book at least once. If the reader find book heavy, they can avoid starting chapters and jump to later chapters to get the core idea of the book.

I will give 4 out 5 stars to Robin Sharma's 5 A.M. Club.

Book can be found at Amazon India, Flipkart & Amazon USA

Review from other readers can be found at GoodReads

The Big Switch - It's never too late by John Thomas

I had mixed feelings when I have got this book. It was highly praised book looking by reviews. Though fictional, it was a story of an IT guy and that's why I was bit hesitant. Still, I started this book, and I really liked the was story progressed.

Book Blurb

AN INSPIRATIONAL TALE WITH A TWIST 

What does a 24-year-old man want in life? Love? A decent job?

Keith has both. He is a software engineer at a reputable company and has a girlfriend whom he loves a lot. Yet, there is something missing in his life. He is not even close to being happy. Only after losing his girlfriend, he realizes what the reason for his unhappiness is. He realizes that he is caught up in the wrong career. With time running out, he knows that he must switch to a new career — one that makes him happy. But, is 24 too late to do that? Is he making a mistake? Find out as Keith follows his heart in pursuit of an impossible-looking dream

The protagonist of our story is Keith. Being a solely responsible guy for his family economic responsibility he was giving his 100% in his current IT job. Captured between insensible boss and over-expectant girlfriend his life had become frustrating, boring & monotonous. His frustration crossed limits when his annual appraisal & girlfriend both dumped him. In the mix of leaving the company or doing something else, he got chance to work with a new manager for the duration of 2 weeks. And that was all he could have asked of the God. His life got new direction after meeting that guy. I don't want to reveal more information. So do check the book for the same.

Talking about writing style, I was finding book "okay-okay" in first few chapters. Maybe I have worked in IT industry, where I have seen a similar situation in the day-to-day. Maybe for the people from other industry/mindset find it more interesting. Having said that story takes an interesting turn once Keith meth new manager, Ramesh. Their conversation was having inspirational material. Every few pages you can find a life-changing quote or line. I have shared more than 10 such wonderful line on Twitter while reading the book.

Talking about characterization, the author has used optimized detailing to create them. You won't find too much use of words to explain or describe a thing. The storyline was also to the point. The pace was medium to fast, appropriate for the genre.

My suggestion to the author, when the book goes for printing edition (and I think it will go), do get some a better cover design.

Talking about ratings

1. Cover - 3/5 
2. Content - 4/5
3. Concept - 4/5
4. Overall - 4/5

Book can be found at Amazon India & Amazon USA

Review from other readers can be found at GoodReads