Reading Round Two
If you’re new, welcome! I’m Arjun Agarwal and this is my newsletter. I hope it convinces you that reading books is the easiest way to live for almost 10000 years.
This post only covers the books read till March 31. That was the end of the half quarter. The reason I am telling so is that if the books I read from then are included a few rankings may change. I read six books from than.
Stats
This fiscal month/half quarter:-
Books Read: 20
Pages Read: 5920
Longest Book: Fifty Shades Freed(592)(Bad book, why does it exist?)
Shortest Book: The Tomb of Sun and Moon(100)
So I am few behind my normal reading goal. Exams cause a lot of changes to ones time, people have to cut on their sports and social media and partying, I have to cut on reading.
Hall of Fame
#5 How to Think Like Bill Gates(4.5/5) and The Mathematics of Love(4.5/5)
For the first time in the history of my hall of fame list, we have a tie. The very curious thing about the tie is that it is between two books with very unrelated subjects.
How to Think Like Bill Gates is Daniel Smith’s breakdown of Gate’s methodology of design, entrepreneurship and philanthropy. Dotted with observations and inferences about Gates’ behavior and his interviews and articles confirming it. Overall, this book is just a must for people who want to think innovative, unstoppable, and competitive.
The Mathematics of Love is written by Hannah Fry, Professor in the Mathematics of Cities at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at University College London.
Don’t expect the book to give you some equation which will spark great love between you and your crush.
Something very beautiful Hannah Fry said in the introduction was
My great hope is that a little bit of insight into the mathematics of love might just inspire you to have a little bit more love for mathematics.
I think this is enough to explain the main purpose of the book.
#4 Champ’s of Devgarh(4.5/5)
I liked this book so damn much that I wrote a fan mail to the author.
It is one of those few ‘unputdownable’ books that one gets hooked to(I personally finished the book in a 2 hour marathon session). Aditya Sharma’s Champs of Devgarh keeping cricket as the backdrop teaches one how they can realize their true and hidden potential and follow their dreams. It shows the path to hone your skills and overcome your shortcomings; to realize your dreams and be what one wants to be.
The characters are relatable and the writing style reminiscent of RK Narayan.
In email correspondence, the author has also said that he is planning a sequel to the book, along with an anthology collection set in Devgarh(in publishing phase) and a love story based in Devgarh(currently writing). I am looking forward to reading both of them.
#3 How to Talk to Anyone(4.5/5)
For some reason, Goodreads disagrees with me on this one. Many have stated the book is just redundant and contradictory and offers no new advice.
I have to disagree. The book in not redundant, two ideas are similar and build on each other. For example, Leil says that one should not smile immediately when they meet a person but wait and then let a flooding smile get on their face. She later says that when greeting a group have a unique smile for everyone to tell them that they are special. The point’s are not redundant, they build on each other.
I agree that some points are conventional wisdom, but then isn’t everything conventional wisdom. We just don’t believe it, and the book illustrates it with examples.
I liked the book so much that I made a deck of cards out of the advice(only fifty two or something out of the ninety plus in the book, if you want everything, buy the book) in it. If you want to print it:
#2 Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive(5/5) and Make Time(5/5)
Both these books were brilliant books. Let’s talk about Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive first. Written in the late '80s, it surprising how relatable it is today.
In a very short read, the author conveys some critical business concepts that any business owner or salesperson should take to heart. Perhaps what drives it home so much is that the lessons are timeless.
Ideas like really taking the time to know your customer and having true customer service. They seem so obvious and not worth mentioning. But as we all know, even though core business practices like that SHOULD be obvious, they aren't really practiced. MacKay drives home their importance through some clear stories of his success. Some are just as important but aren't as obvious in the real world - we need reminding. For instance: being willing and able to say "no" and walk away.
As for Make Time, my review is similar to Ali Abdaal. It is my favorite productivity book.
#1 The Cartoon Guide to Calculus(5/5)
This book truly deserves a chef kiss. It is that good.
The book explains some of the more complicated parts of calculus so damn well. You’ll question why did you even find calculus hard in the first place, and that is not what I get to say daily.
Hall of Shame
#5 The Fault in Our Stars(3.5/5)
See, I don’t hate the book. It’s just not for me.
The book is part of a genre described as sick-lit. I don’t have a problem with the story, or the characters or the writing. I have the problem with the underlying message. I am not trying to say that John Green is writing such messages intentionally, I am quite sure that it was unintentional. What I am however saying is that the messages in this book can easily be taken the wrong way. This video explains it more clearly.
#4 They Both Die At The End(3/5)
Either I’m heartless or everyone’s emotional. It was a sad story indeed but I expected to be destroyed and... I was not. Mateo was great, I loved his character. Rufus was inconsistent at best. Random POV’s in middle of the book were not fun. But that’s all okay, the main problem is not the writing or the characters it is the fact that…
I simply can’t wrap my head around the idea that two people can fall head over heels in love with each other after only a few hours of meeting each other. It’s just too... nope. Just can’t.
If they’d had a bit more time together, at the very least, I would’ve believed it.
#3, #2, #1 Fifty Shades of Grey Triology(1/5)
Before anyone asks, the only reason I ever read this was because a friend told me this was good. We are no longer friends.
Luckily, I didn’t buy the books and borrowed them from my sister who had bought them five years ago. She still regrets ever buying them.
This trilogy really did not live up to the hype. It is poorly written and I struggled to get lost in the story or motivate myself to complete the books. The characters were very one dimensional and the plot of the story was extremely weak. There was so much repetition: eye rolling, lip biting, blushing, twitchy palming. There were times I wanted to throw the book out of the window. I didn’t as the books belonged to my sister.
Ana went from an innocent level headed girl to a needy maniac in the space of a few days was totally unbelievable. Christians personality was disturbing to say the least. He is a controlling, sick and twisted Jekyll and Hyde type of guy. I have no problem with him having a strange fetish. What I have an issue with is the idea that a storyline whereby a man chooses to sleep with, beat and dominate women who resembles his mother; is being labelled as Erotica. To be fair, I will applaud the author for managing to capture the attention of women far and wide, and making money off such a story. However, I think reading this trilogy was a waste of time for me.
Final Stats
Books Read: 47
Pages: 12200
Longest Book: Fifty Shades Freed(592)(Vomit emoji x 3)
Shortest Book: The Gopi Diaries: Coming Home(91)
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