Kathihar to Kennedy - The Road Less Travelled by Sanjay Kumar

It’s a cliche when I read this book and reflect some of my own beliefs about having a purpose-driven life. This book amazed me for 2 reasons. First, what starts as a biography of sorts completely transcends narration to a reflection of societal norms and how flawed some of them are really are and how is it impacting everybody's life blatantly but silently. It’s a story of a boy who travels from a village to the city to just go back again to bring the change he earnestly wished for in the area of education, women empowerment, and numerous other fields. To that extent, it was holistic, Rich with his own experiences, contemplative and somewhat disturbing when we tend to relate to it in our everyday life. What starts as a story ends with a proactive thought of who we really are and what do we stand for? Who is responsible for the degeneration of the values in our society? Why there is corruption in our culture as well as in our thoughts? How things have turned from bad to worse with a bureaucracy which thinks as no less than the kingsmen, government looking other side and poor/marginally neglected class left to fend for itself. Where does it all going to end if we degenerate to the point of no return? Did we ever have an ethical identity? And if so there is a slight chance to invoke that collective wisdom to change the society for good and that cannot happen without changing the education system! A good read and thought-provoking indeed!

ಸರಸಮ್ಮನ ಸಮಾಧಿ | Sarasammana Samadhi by Dr.Shivarama Karanth

Dr.Shivaram Karant’s satirical story about the system of marriage is both commendable and powerful for a reason that it was written in 19s and still very relevant in our society. Marriage has been systemically poisoned and men of powers have suppressed and oppressed women to an extent that they live 2 lives to escape this tyranny - one which adheres to custom and culture which society approves, the other - a secret life where they can imagine a different outcome, dream a better life, crave for a meaningful relationship and possibly escape the clutches of a "bonded labor" called marriage. The struggle and the aspirations of these women portrayed in the novel are brilliant and worth a read. This book deserves a round of applause and holds a mirror to equally hypocritical and irrational patriarchal society like ours! and the fact that it was written by our very own Dr.Shivaram Karanth who was a Kannada writer, social activist, environmentalist, Yakshagana artist, filmmaker, and thinker is all the more worth the bet! He was described as the "Rabindranath Tagore of Modern India who has been one of the finest novelists-activists since independence" by Ramachandra Guha. Fast read but the impression will last forever! Available both in Kannada and English for the book lovers!

little book of common sense investing by john bogle

Wow-what a wonderfully analyzed book it is and indeed a very thought-provoking for finance geeks. Bogle the man who invented the Index fund concept has more to say than just about index fund. Read every chapter and came out enlightened so to say. He not just uses anecdotes to explain simple concepts but also share an analytical example to back his claim about why index funds win thumbs down. An only cautionary note for Indian readers is - this book is primarily written by an American and for American investors, so to that extent I reserve my judgment towards the application of these data in the Indian investment scenario. Because American index is larger than our indices and hence generality may work for a broad spectrum. But undeniably, principles explained in this book are all gems and worth every bit to follow. Towards the end, it’s not the result but the process of investment that determines returns which is what matters for investors like us. This book more boldly argues for this cause. Truly a legendary work by Bogle and he lives on high and moral in the American Wall Street history.

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

Dr.Harrari is clearly envisioned what is a plausible case to worry about if AI and machine learning start to control us and more importantly our consciousness . What would be that world look like where life’s are nothing but a connected network of data . Humans and more specifically Homo sapiens would merely be a muted spectators furlong this gigantic machine learning growth and meets the same fate as the other Animals upon which Homo sapiens came to this world ruling them , ruining them and manipulating them as non-existent entities merely born to serve the humanity . It is this postulate which Mr. Harrari vociferously argues to prove a point that , the very basis on which humanity came to existence would be threatened as we continue to evolve to become a connected world and in his parlance it’s rightly called a religion called “Dataism” . While his arguments open a pandora of imagination , we already see the glimpse on the realm Dataism occupying every part of our life from life sciences , to politics , to capitalism and eventually to our very own inner self called conscious ness . Scary but it’s a definitive possible result when machines will rule the roast and should we then call the 21st century the end of the world of wisdom and start of a new world called Super human dominating humans and using them as a mere tool to promote their own interest . Read it and am sure you will dream to escape the realm of life thinking about aliens invading our planet and aliens would be our very own Internet of All things .

The Little Book of Behavioral Investing by James Montier

Well packaged and well researched book . Icing on the cake is , it’s not lengthy and boring . Very simple experiments on each of the investment bias to prove the point , is worth to contemplate . Being an avid reader on financial matters , I skipped the experimentation part and went right to the theory of biases and I must say it did intrigued me to think on what biases I would have displayed which impacted my investments . The only way we learn to unlearn some of the investment decisions is to be aware of these emotions and acknowledge the same ! Pick it if you like brain teasers else move on but be aware that it’s your real money at stake when and some of these emotions do create havoc on our lifestyles when investments go awry :)

Millionair Road Maps By Matthew R Kratter

Boy what a book it is . One - it’s easy to read , plain simple language about people who have done really well in their life and mind you , they are all from humble background and second it’s free on kindle ! Icing on the cake , you really cannot resist trying to check kratter other book series on this subject :) . What life offers is limitless opportunities and we have a living proof of the results around us . As I finish reading , I was thinking we are generation behind about exciting things happening with humans life , perhaps they have surpassed the realm of reality itself ! Must read if you like turn around your life !

Do It Now - By Napolean Hill

Its very concise and written well . There are basically few nuggets discussed in the book which we can always relate to but hard to replicate :) There are things like Personality development through Self-Awareness which in turn will help to channelize the energy towards the purpose of our life . Then they are definitive action plan around how to know real self and what are the fundamental questions we need to ask to unearth the potential of our consciousness ( read Sub-Conscious Mind) so that it can unravel itself in purest form . Once you discover the path , its basically - how to reach there . As simple as Health , Discipline , Focus and other things which will help to accomplish few steps every day for a long time so that we can achieve the desired goal . While there are many self help books which picked a single monolithic structure or theme on how to succeed , this book has taken a holistic view of what ticks in our life and why present moment matters for everything. In His own words - “Do it now! can affect every phase of your life… It helps you seize those precious moments that, if lost, may never be retrieved.” Napoleon Hill