The book-marked experience!

Of late, there have been many discussions around a shift in book reading trend from paper books towards electronic media. The ease and comfort of carrying electronic media around with us is a definite plus, yet, it differs largely on experience front when compared with paper books. For one, the reader is deprived of the smell of unread book when reading from a soft copy.

There's another thing which I got reminded of when I picked up a partially read book and discovered a bookmark inside. No, I do not mean the bookmark in the web browser, to which we are more accustomed to nowdays. I am talking about the real thing, the tangible bookmark which in this case was encrusted with dried rose petals and leaves.Sometimes, a sophisticated luxury item is not able to please as much as something trivial like a bookmark.

The shift towards electronic media seems inevitable. Yet, we may be leaving behind the joy of gifting bookmarks to friends, with beautiful friendship quotes inscribed on them, or metallic gold plated bookmarks gifted on special days. These bookmarks elevate book-reading experience just by their presence in a book, and sighting them in a book at a later time is delightful,  like receiving a surprise bonus.

 

Book Review: Fate Fraud and a Friday Wedding

Fate Fraud and a Friday Wedding, a book written by a debutante writer Bhavna Rai, is about people whose lives did not turn out to be as desired by them, but leads them to discover a new meaning in their lives.

The story mainly revolves around the lives of six young people - a software geek, a girl belonging to a rich family, another software professional, who has been staying in USA but has to relocate to India to be with his parents, his American girlfriend and 2 other professionals working at a BPO (Business Process Outsourcing ) company.

It is interesting to see how the lives of all these seemingly distant characters turn out to be intertwined together. The author's vast experience in the field of Information Technology (IT) has enabled her to weave the story in the backdrop of IT and ITes (Information Technology Enabled Services) industry. The way the management of the software firms strategize in the wake of recession and follow up on their plans has been captured beautifully.

The highlight of this book is the smooth flow of events which are every bit engrossing. Reading through the fast-paced story, it didn't seem like the work of the first time writer. The characters are very well defined and even if some characters seem a bit geeky, the story is told in a lucid style. There are no non-required lengthy descriptions of characters or events and hence no wasting of reader’s time. It also has lots of interesting drama thrown in and never a dull moment. A bit more effort though could have gone into editing in the language department.


I liked the way the author has captured the thought process of the young generation and how they handle conundrums that ensue when it comes to making important decisions in their lives.

All in all, an easy reading and a completely engrossing book from cover to cover which tells the story of urbane youth woven around an intelligent plot!

The 8th Habit

Here are a few of the many goodies i've discovered in the book The 8th Habit by Stephen Covey-
1. Covey believes that by following these 4 simple assumptions we can immediately begin leading a more balanced, integrated, powerful life.

a. For the body - assume you've had a heart attack, now live accordingly.
b. For the mind - assume the half-life of your profession is 2 years, now prepare accordingly.
c. For the heart - assume everything you say about another, they can overhear; now speak accordingly.
d. For the spirit -assume you have a one-on-one visit with your Creator every quarter; now live accordingly.


2. Quote from T.S. Eliot: We must never cease from exploring. At the end of all of our exploring will be to arrive at where we began and know the place for the first time."

3.Quote from author, founder/CEO emeritus of Visa International, Dee Hock:
"The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get the old ones out."

4. This link has the real treasure http://www.8thHabit.com/offers: It has a collection of 15 very short movies. The movies
carry a strong message for advancement of the one or more of the 4 human capacities: Body, Mind, Heart & Spirit.

To watch the movies goto the link http://www.8thhabit.com/offers, fill in the required info and select "8th Habit Companion Films"
from the Drop down and submit.

Surely You're Joking!

Finished reading a book called Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman. Feynman, the noble prize winner for physics, is a curious character who is always trying out new experiments with life like getting hallucinations, breaking locks & cracking safe codes, getting hypnotized, playing drums and so on - apart from performing the experiments in the physics lab.

This book reminded me that there are so many things in life apart from work one wants to do...and so few of them ever get realized. The experiences of Mr. Feynman have a lot of inspiration for those who lead their life for their work and family - to take out some time for themselves- to try out new things - get new experiences - may not be to the extent of getting hallucinations but surely - the small things which make a big difference - like learning to play a musical instrument or trying hands at a new sport or art form – just to feel that we're growing not only in years but also in knowledge and experiences.

We should be thankful to these people who after living a complete life - think of leaving their experiences for us to get inspired from and also to those who introduce us to their work.