Make Your Bed - Admiral William H. McRaven (2017)

The book is an extension of the commencement speech given by the Admiral. Anecdotes are taken from his experience as a Navy SEAL and delivered as ten short pieces of advice. Those are summarized in the final paragraph of the book. 

"Remember… start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often. But if you take some risks, step up when times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden, and never, ever give up—if you do these things, then you can change your life for the better… and maybe the world!"

Overall a breeze read. 

Ikigai: The Japanese secret to a long and happy life - Héctor García, Francesc Miralles (2016)

 I guess the last page of the book speaks it all. 

1. Stay active; don’t retire. 

2. Take it slow. 

3. Don’t fill your stomach.

4. Surround yourself with good friends. 

5. Get in shape for your next birthday. 

6. Smile. 

7. Reconnect with nature. 

8. Give thanks. 

9. Live in the moment. 

10. Follow your ikigai. 

The last one is particularly important, Find something that you can do for the rest of your life without feeling bored, limited, being paid, or otherwise. That's your perfect Ikigai. 

The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari - Robin Sharma (1996)

A person who knows my reading habits said I would not find the book interesting. It is true. The book opened with a great story. However, somewhere the fables turned into riddles. Rather than being simple concepts, the riddle-like metaphors seemed like complex explainers for something much simple. Indian spiritual texts may have made some of the ideas easier to grasp, so explanations seemed redundant.

I am no longer the right audience for the book. I flipped through about half of the book but no more. 

Do Epic Shit - Ankur Warikoo (2021)

 Absolutely preachy. Just loads and loads of advice. In self-help books, you look for one central theme that builds up over a few pages and then explainers to support them. This book had none of those. In any case, could not keep my interest for more than a few minutes. 

Sorry, not my type of book.  

The Age of Algorithms (2020) - Serge ABITEBOUL & Gilles DOWEK

 The book, written for none programmers, starts with a simple explanation of algorithms and how computers use algorithms. However, the later chapters talk about ethics, law, artificial intelligence, ecology, jobs, human creativity, etc. - essentially all the questions on the usage of AI in our lives. The word algorithm is used in its most generic sense. 

Overall, a good read for a non-computationally inclined audience. 

The Palace of Illusions - Chitra Banerjee Devakaruni (2008)

The book is described as Panchali's Mahabharata. The whole of Mahabharata is described from Draupadi's viewpoint. If you know the stories, you may find them at places biased. Not how it's described in other renditions of Mahabharata. The book has so many details on Karna as if Draupadi was obsessed with him. There are stories of Draupadi's attraction to Karna described in other Mahabharata-related literature but this book stretches it a bit too far. Towards the end, the book moves quite fast and the battlefield gets some mention not too many details. Nor has Bhagavad Gita explained in many details. 

One can think of the book as inclined to the modern feminist viewpoints at places. There are places where Draupadi laments the injustice done to her. There are a bit of MIL and DIL differences. It's well known that Draupadi desired Arjuna, but Bhima loved her most and she was neglected by Yudhishthir by his actions. Krishna was her true friend while Karna remained as an enigma to her. 

Easy read. Great storytelling but has little emphasis on the spiritual aspects of Mahabharata. Should be read like fiction and not for any spiritual upliftment.

Nehru - The Invention of India - Dr. Shashi Tharoor (2003)

 "The major portion of my ashes should … be carried high up into the air in an airplane and scattered from that height over the fields where the peasants of India toil, so that they might mingle with the dust and soil … and become an indistinguishable part of India." - Jawaharlal Nehru.

Those were the last wishes of Pundit Nehru. While the book is a remarkable insight into Nehru's life, it also brings out the contribution of many other people like Motilal Nehru in making Jawaharlal the towering personality he became. The book is written like scholastic work though not as rigorous in terms of references; Dr. Tharoor describes Nehru's life as early rise, him as a freedom fighter, post-independence initial years of success, and later years of failure with war with China. Written when Tharoor had no political affiliation to be associated with Congress, this book has both the positives and negatives on Nehru's life. In short, one can see the appreciation for the person, his towering personality, the institutions he built for India, and even policies, not in the country's interest. 

Overall a must-read for anyone interested in Nehru's life. Though short, it has some liberal usage of Tharoorosaurus. So need some patience than zipping through the passages.