My top reads of 2021
Reading books has become an integral part of my daily life since the lockdown days of 2020. The initial days of reading books in 2020 was faltering due to multiple diversions social media had gifted us with. But, I made 2021 fruitful to an extent by reading a good number of books on multiple genres that includes biographies, novels, crime thriller and self help books.
Reading a book is not about just reading a book. Every book I read was an experience elevating my life and helping my thought process to be aligned one step ahead. Books motivated me to lead a rhythmic well organised life, brought a lot of change on how I need to comprehend world realities, gave me visualisation on a few aspects where I had apprehensions.
Here I go, sharing a snippet of review for the top reads I enjoyed in the last year.
The God Of Small Things
The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy is a family drama centered around a place called Ayemenem. The story begins with the meeting of fraternal twins after years together of separation. Their childhood is captured in the novel filled with love from their mother Ammu and hatred from the other family members as Ammu is separated from her husband. The disrespect with which women are treated when separated from their husband is explicitly called out in the book.
Every character in the novel has a story which makes the reader ponder on multiple societal threats which exist even today, out of which the character Ammu is portrayed strong enough, deep rooted into the minds of the reader. The author talks clearly about the political influence and casteism ingrained into the souls of people.
The author gives a melancholic end to the story but the women stigmatisation recited in the novel is contemplating for the readers. The God Of Small Things, a story about family, love, death and separation is a novel close to my heart and set a spark to read more of Arundhati Roy’s works, the novel being a true masterpiece.
“A novel of real ambition must invest in its own language and this one does … — John Updike, New Yorker”
“Winner of the 1997 Booker Prize”
The Doctor and the saint
The Doctor and the Saint is a book of debate between Dr. B.R Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi on caste, race and annihilation of caste in democratic setup. The author, Arundhati Roy conveys the views, beliefs and principles of both the great leaders of India in the form of real time stories happening in their lives. The inequality in India based on caste is addressed to the point without any disguise supported by real time incidents which leaves the readers distressed.
The political inclination and influence both the leaders had during and after the independence of India from British rule is quoted in a point of analysis by the author.
This book left me with a few bothersome thoughts with respect to casteism in democratic India and also an admiration to the author for challenging the readers with surprising truths that had happened in the past with respect to socio-political aspects in the independent India, free from British rule but still cuffed with casteism. Below is an excerpt from the book,
“Democracy hasn’t eradicated caste” writes Arundhati Roy. “It has entrenched and modernized it”
The Agile Samurai
The Agile Samurai by Jonathan Rasmusson is a knowledge hub for introducing agile concepts in software projects. The author covers the best practises of planning projects before kick off, typically discoveries and inceptions.
We often have the question of how to give a timeline for delivery to the client? How best can we reach a projected timeline as we would not know the unknowns? The author illuminates the readers with a step by step procedure for agile planning and execution. The way the content of the book is structured makes it interactive for the reader as everything is explained with scenarios and stories.
The author has quoted the questions that we usually have in mind that are confusing related to agile. The questions are also answered in a “Student-Master” format of conversation. The Agile Samurai is indeed a go-to book to understand the basics of Agile planning and execution. Practicing all the concepts quoted in the book into a real life client setup would definitely help the team to become a “Samurai” in solving challenges and moving forward.
The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A f*ck
The Subtle art of not giving a f*ck by Mark Manson is a self help book that cross cuts on different topics of life which includes suffering, happiness, failure and success. The author gives another dimension of thoughts to not have the intention to be successful or happy. Thinking to become successful or happy is in itself a negative experience which can ruin the process of work we intended to do. The author calls out few values to be shitty that includes pleasure, material success, the thought of always being right and the value of staying positive all the time. The art of responding to a tragedy and the explanations that the author has given with respect to Manson’s laws of avoidance is spectacular.
The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A f*ck is a perfect read to kill the views and values that we as humans usually stick to, as some of the values we hold on to is of less help for betterment.
One arranged murder
One arranged murder by Chetan Bhagat unveils how conservative families in India unknowingly implant the seeds for ego and jealous within family members themselves and how they would go to any extent for maintaining the social status of the family.
The story revolves on solving the murder case of a women called Prerna, who has been the charm of a family and a successful entrepreneur. With lots of twists and turns, the case is solved by her fiancée and his friend. The way the author has centred the script of the thriller, leaves the reader suspect most of the characters called out in the book for the murder.
One arranged murder is a crime thriller story that covers the aspects of friendship, family and love that gives the reader a lively experience.
To conclude
2021 was a year of simple (yet challenging) resolutions I made to reduce my screen time and social media usage. Reading books had helped me hold on to my resolutions marginally and have made life much thoughtful.
Cheers! Hope you had an enjoyable read:)
P.S Stay tuned for more blogs covering my book reads.
