r/Indianbooks

I have heard so many good things about this book especially about its characters and themes. I’m curious to see how I feel about it.
For those who have read it, was it good? No spoilers, please! 😅

When the Bookswagon app went down around a week ago, they had over 445 reviews. And the application is still down.

Instead of fixing it they are trying to track down people by searching their Google Play Store account name on their database and then finding their Mobile Number tied to Bookswagon account and calling them to delete the review. Happened to me and another person I know so far. They had over 445 reviews just a week ago or so, now they have 439.

So If you are one of those 450 or so people who have reviewed , don't delete whatever you have said even if they contact you to delete it.

Man the frustration that I can't login for over a week now and over that They are calling me to delete my Review, how low they have fallen. They aren't even fixing the app. Should be review bombed if they don't fix the app. And for breach of privacy.

Couldn't resist the Diwali sale and picked these up:

1. The Time Machine
2. The Invisible Man
3. Skin in the Game
4. Antifragile

Looking forward to diving into them over the next few weeks. Which one should I start with?

​

I actually liked the ending and found it happy. I know many people say this book is really traumatic, but honestly, I didn't feel that way. Maybe because I already know about the Taliban and all the things that happened in Afghanistan and I've read many emotional books.

The part that made me the most angry was when Amir didn't help Hassan in the alley. Hassan was always loyal to him, and when he needed Amir the most, he just left him alone. And Hassan getting killed was another part that really made me sad.

I liked Amir's character development, especially how he finally stood up for Hassan's son. He couldn't change what happened in the past, but at least he tried to do something right this time.

My only problem with the book was the pacing. Some parts, especially the character development and the chapters about Amir's life in America, felt a little boring to me. But overall, it was worth reading.

Maybe I've already read a lot of emotional stuff, or maybe it's just me (depression ) but the book didn't affect me as much as I expected. Still, I really enjoyed it, and I'm glad I read it.

Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider, is my kids alter ego. He is a big fan and I hear daily Alex Rider stories ar home. That said, he has no clue that dad has a signed copy of Anthony Horowitz's signed copy, it would matter little to him, even if he knew- perhaps he would be happy if Alex Rider had somehow signed it.

That said, I haven't read anybook, but I have heard a lot, and if you are a Gen A or B you may perhaps like it. (Kids bookshelf featured)

Was planning to start with silence of the lambs series but could not find the red dragon, so choosing this for month read, have watched the movie series, lets see how this goes...

I have started Rebirth by Jahnavi Barua. This is my first book by an Assamese author. The summary of this book is the second picture. I think I'm going to finish it by today. I'm feeling both very sad and angry reading this, so, I took a break.

What about you all?

Hi people,

I picked this book up thinking it’s some foreign author writing about Buddhism and Gautama Buddha (pretty dumb of me ik). While it does brush up on these topics it’s very different.
It’s about a Siddhartha, a boy who questions everything he’s being taught and sets himself on a path to find the self - “Atman”.

The book revolves around this one main idea - "wisdom cannot be taught"

Knowledge is something you learn from the books or religious texts, but wisdom is something no one can hand you.. you have to learn it for yourself.

Siddhartha learns life’s lessons through his encounters with different characters in the book.

The samanas(the band of ascetics) teach him discipline and detachment, but he realises that their path of denial only numbs the self. 

He finds the Buddha’s teaching the most sensible but he walks away because he believes that even if the answer is right in front of you it cannot be handed to you, you have to figure it out for yourself. 

From Kamala the courtesan he learns how to love, which he spent his entire life denying as Maya.

Kamaswami the merchant teaches him ambition and wealth creation, he masters it without being consumed by it like an outsider. 

And Govinda his oldest friend spends his years following the right teacher and the right doctrine not having experiencing anything himself. 

It’s a short book that packs a heavy punch. Still I took fair amount of time digesting it.

One thing I took straight out of the book - 

Siddhartha learns three things from the Samanas that he later says are the key to achieving anything: to think, to wait and to fast. Not in the literal sense.

To think — hold your goal with total clarity, don't let it get muddied by every passing distraction.
To wait — move toward it without desperation. No panic, no grasping.
To fast — be able to go without. Want it, don't need it.

There are some Aha moments in book as well, where what Hesse is saying just clicks to you. 

“The river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere, and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past, nor the shadow of the future.”

Using this example of a river he explains what is known as the Block universe theory in physics.

It is the idea that past, present and future all exist equally and our sense of time “flowing” is a feature of consciousness, not of reality itself. 

The lesson to learn from the book is to “stop needing teachings” :p 

Figure things out for yourself. Try, fail and attach more importance to things than to thoughts and find what you are looking for. 

Do give it a read.

I am currently reading Musashi. So I will be reviewing that next.

Toodles!

Finally completed this novel today and i’m short of words to describe the way loss has been depicted by the end. This novel is cozy, heart warming & leaves you on with a sense of reality.

I really like books like

A man called ove

I want reccomendation like these book non-thriller but feel good .

Like just pick it up read it no mind involvement no thinking for what happens next just feel good books .