Let Love Take Over - Tomson Robert

 :) - Smile is all I was doing while typing the name of the book and the author.

Super proud of you dear Tomson for all the effort you are putting in to conquering the heights you have conquered in the myriad phases of life  and making all of us proud and famous :)

Tomson was my classmate in school , from first to tenth in Kendriya Vidyalaya Ernakulam . In general KVs are known to be the best option for children of government employees with transferable jobs however ninety percent of the students in our batch managed to study in the same class from first to tenth. As a result we share a special bond and like most of us would agree those childhood days are the most colorful and happiest days of our lives ! 

It is indeed my privilege to be able to write a review for a book written by a good friend.

'Let Love take over'  is the third book from Tomson after a collection of short stories in 2016 ( Work , Life and the Balance in between ) and his debut novel in 2019 ( Alumni of the year ).

Easy, simple read with a good story line is how I would like to summarize the book. It's the story of how Joshua , the protagonist fights his inner fear to rediscover the lost hero in himself to face life with a mature outlook. With a perfect blend of narrative description of food , places ,relationships , personalities and corporate lives, the book  challenges you to rediscover the lost 'YOU' and face your fears while being able to let go of the small fights. 

Loved the way the book identified the 'GOLIATHs' in modern day lives and the imperfection in our outwardly perfect lives.

Keep writing !

Becoming - Michelle Obama

Becoming – by Michelle Obama is an autobiographical narration of her life from the South side of Chicago where she lived a very middle-class life in a two bedroom apartment with her parents and brother to the high profile life as the First lady of the United States.

Her well planned and disciplined life, her choices of projects to work on are all inspiration for ladies to plan their life for independence and enable themselves to be the change they want to see in the society. 

The book gives us a sneak peek into the political sentiments and major issues  facing  the American society  as well as the political propaganda driving the Democratic and Republican campaigns.

Michelle Obama describes with equal candor her childhood  days in ‘Euclid Avenue’ in Chicago  when she excelled in school , her college days at Princeton as also her early years of marriage with Barak Obama trying to balance her career with the political ambition of her husband. She has successfully portrayed the transition from Euclid Avenue to White House capturing well the subtle nuances involved in loosing once privacy to popularity and media attention.

Some excerpts from the book that I underlined:

“And If every sadness, when it came , turned out at least to be redemptive in the end.”

“Dominance, even the treat of it, is a form of dehumanization. It’s the ugliest kind of power.”

“You may live in the world as it is, but you can still work to create the world as it should be.”

“Failure is a feeling long before it becomes an actual result. It’s vulnerability that breeds with self-doubt and then is escalated, often deliberately, by fear.”

And the best of all excerpts is :

“I tried to communicate the one message about myself and my station in the world that I felt might really mean something. Which was that I knew ‘invisibility’. I’d lived invisibility. I came from a history of invisibility. I liked to mention that I was the great-great-granddaughter of a slave named Jim Robinson, who was probably buried in an unmarked grave somewhere on a South Carolina plantation. And in standing at a lectern in front of students who were thinking about the future, I offered testament to the idea that it was possible, at least in some ways, to overcome invisibility.”

That according to me is the gist of the Book.

After reading the book , I felt safer to live in this country and have my kids build their life here. With all the negative sentiments against immigrants in this country, the book assured to me that there is still HOPE.

Lean In - Sheryl Sandberg

'Lean In' by Sheryl Sandberg , the chief operating officer of facebook , portrays in detail , the challenges faced by women at every step of corporate career to move ahead and sustain . She describes in detail the intricate unfavorable equations working against women in the balance of work at home and office. 

"While women continue to outpace men in educational achievement , we have ceased to make any progress in the top leadership positions in any industry." - in Sandberg's own words. She has been successful in looking into the details of the reasons of  this unequal representation and throws light on how to speak and work for ourselves and be empowered to have choices in life.

She quotes and presents facts and researches that reveal that sharing financial and child care responsibilities leads to less guilty moms , more involved dads and thriving children. She has been successful in establishing how professionally successful women reap rewards of greater financial security , more stable marriages,  better health and increased satisfaction in life.

She insists why it is important for men to Lean in to the task of 'home making' as much as it is important for women to Lean in to work. Why it becomes imperative to break the stereotypes to have a more fulfilling life and be free to make the choices for a happier more 'equal' tomorrow.

The chapter 'Make your partner a real partner' is a must read for  all men with or without partners in active workforce to better understand the dynamics of work-life balance in the lives of their partners, friends or colleagues.

In 'The Myth of doing it all' Sandberg has been successful in providing consolation and guidance to women who get into the of illusion of having it all - a high paying job that gives ample flexibility to single handedly handle all the work perfectly at home. That is an illusion and there is always a trade off .

In "Leadership Ambition Gap' and 'Don't leave before you leave' the author has captured how ladies are conditioned to aim less and be more likable in the society.She also details how we condition  ourselves to always consider job as an optional platform of fulfillment and keep ourselves prepared to leave in situations where we have to make a choice. On the other hand she says why it is vital for ladies to consider the initial years of job as crucial to climb up or broaden up as much as possible so by the time we have to make a choice the job itself is rewarding enough financially and  inspirationally to cling on and continue.

A must read for ladies already in the workforce , planning to join  or rejoin after a break.

P.S : Thanks to my dear friend who referred this book to me.

The Secret Wish List : Preeti Shenoy

Having connected with an author who replies to your comments in her blog ; I decided to buy 'The Secret Wish List' - the fourth book by Preeti Shenoy.
A good one time read - best for a casual, easy read on travel - is how I would sum up this novel which largely revolves around adolescent love , parental pressure, unhappy marriage and extramarital affairs.
The protagonist , Diksha , find her life that revolves around her husband and son monotonous and lifeless.
Out of her discontent  grows a  Secret Wish List - a list of things that she identifies to make her happy and satisfied. The story is a chain of events by which Diksha realises her wish list.
I should say that I approve of Vibha and even Thanu more than Diksha - read to find out why ...

Life is what you make it - Preeti Shenoy

Easy to read, simple and narrative Preeti Shenoy’s ‘Life is what you make it’ is a great and easy read.  

The life of young, smart, intelligent, college going Ankita goes on reverse gear when her pace and reactions go out of her control. The remorse of not having responded well to her boyfriend and  the stress of management studies takes her through heights of exhilarated energy and depths of depression. The story of how she copes up with the condition reiterates how faith and determination can bring back a lost mind to track and trace a new path of life . 'Life is what you make it' is a book of hope.

After  the initial few chapters of the book , I began to think if it was just another adolescent love story – the storyline though straight ;  the book was captivating enough to keep me going . I enjoyed Preeti's story telling ability , narrative writing style , the way she churned out words and also the in-depth study of symptoms,causes and treatment of 'Bipolar Disorder' that has gone into writing the book.
Keep Going Preeti- I'm sure you would.

IF YOU THINK; YOU CAN

A self help book of around 200 pages ; 'If you think you can ' by TJ Hosington is a great read;
that interleaves 13 laws with practical steps and real life examples to form a symphony of success. I read it in 6 hours at a  stretch  - but for the nights sleep in between. A simple but powerful motivational read.

The performance laws in the book summarised below :

• Power of Decisions: If you are unhappy with where you are today ; you CAN DECIDE to change.
• Demanding the best from yourself : Go from thinking ' It would be nice to have ' to ' I must - I will - I'm committed'
• Taking time to work on you : If a person will spend 1 hour a day for 5 years on  a  subject ; he is sure to master it.
• Master your thinking : Change your thinking to focus on the future that we want to achieve than on the limitations of today.
• Be sure of what you want in life : than settling for generalities
• Operating from Imagination : Fake it until you make it
• Action : By taking action when inspiration is strong ; you begin to create momentum. Each action you take will give you continued motivation and a massive desire to keep going.
• Maintain a Winning Perspective : Gives the energy and drive to press forward in spite of momentary setbacks.
• Success Team : To get most out of yourself spend your time with positive people.
• Focus  : Be wise  when spending time and energy in relationships , sports , hobbies ,work and other activities or commitments. They may stand in the way of getting what you really want.
• Create a sense of urgency : Stop procrastinating
• Never give up 
• Live with purpose

The Importance of being Earnest : Oscar Wilde

A sattirical drama set in the late 19th century, the act definitely has a sense of humor in it throughout..but the humor in the drama lies in the casual, irresponsible dealings of the supposedly responsible matters of life.

The dual existence of human beings is the central theme of the play where the protagonists live two lives in two societies. May need  a more thoughtful mind to understand the meaning of what the author intends to convey !