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Why we Sleep By Matthew Walkers. 

There have been times! When you have not just heard but have been told to sleep, Sleep and complete your eight hours of sleep! Without really knowing or understanding why should you sleep. Then a year’s later when you have grown up you find a book –Why we sleep? That answers your questions on the importance of sleep. This book interested me for two reasons one since I too like many don’t like to sleep much and unlike like many who sleep too much. 
The book highlights how changing your sleep cycle from just a couple of hours to a minimum of eight hours can make you healthier and keep all your levels ( Sugar, Blood, Weight) balanced and under control. 
I also remember visiting the Facebook office & The Google office a couple of years ago in California US and noticing sleeping Pods for the employees to Nap and be more creative. 
And can’t recall if the same as being implemented in India where most of the Indian’s are overworked and underpaid and if any of the organisation have sleeping Pods. 
While reading the book I also read another point where certain Ceos and owners abroad are giving incentives and bonus for people to sleep and not coming to office half asleep. the  
Even some of the Animals sleep a lot. 

*Lion & Tiger 15 Hrs a Day

*Brown Bat sleep 19 Hrs. Outperforming all Mammals 

And with this whole change with the pandemic, it has taught a lot of us to slow down and take it easy and we should focus on the importance of sleep. Just changing one thing we all as individuals can change our lifestyle. 

The Subtle Art of not giving a F***K & Think like a Monk – Book Review !!

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**K
A book, That I had heard a lot about. But, never did I find out what it was about. Maybe because it had become such a big sensation and had hit the best-selling charts. That I was slightly sceptical to read at that time, So this year… In The Bookclub we decided to read “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**K” And literally within two days, I was done reading this book. 
Let’s start with what I liked about this book. 
The tone is very conversational, with examples for explanations, so that it becomes very relatable, unlike other self-help books the language is easy to understand. 
The authors refer to his situations in his life, this makes the book trustworthy and gives the confidence to be the change. 
the chapters too are captioned with the doubts or questions we always come across or have come across that makes it a fun read. 
Yes! Happiness is a problem, We always do have a choice, Why we must say “No” and We are always wrong about everything.
This book is like you have always heard someone say those same things, but this time you are not listening, but you have understood his argument. 
CHAPTER 1: Don’t Try
CHAPTER 2: Happiness Is a Problem
CHAPTER 3: You Are Not Special
CHAPTER 4: The Value of Suffering 
CHAPTER 5: You Are Always Choosing 
CHAPTER 6: You’re Wrong About Everything (But So Am I) 
CHAPTER 7: Failure Is the Way Forward 
CHAPTER 8: The Importance of Saying No 
CHAPTER 9: . . . And Then You Die 

 

Think Like Monk – Jay Shetty.

You might think, If you have read a book on spirituality, Zen, Buddhism all are the same. Yes, Most of them are very similar to a great extent. But giving relevant examples that one can connect to the current generation, can install the belief and practice of enlightenment yet again.

Whether it was Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse to finding out the secret by Rhonda Byrne or To know about the Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma to Learning The Art of not giving a F**K Mark Manson to Thinking like a Monk by Jay Shetty.

All have their way of telling you the same thing, But they use the relevant examples to keep the practice going- If Think as a monk spoke about Brain Acton’s rejection to not giving up and come up with WhatsApp to giving each of us simple practices to practices to live a life of detachment.

Jay Shetty’s this  book, one should read today if they want to connect and change their way of living.

The book is written in three parts – Let Go the first part, Grow second and Give the last part…With some practical applications.

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa 

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa 
A book that I first wanted to read, When I had visited a bookstore and found the copy on New arrival and since I had a couple of books that I was reading or wanted to read. I hadn’t picked it up and after a month when I was looking to read something new. I thought about reading The Memory Police. Originally written in 1994, but has been adapted to suit 2019-2020. This book is a science dystopian novel like the ones of 1984 George Orwell, But has more similarities with Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand as who is the Memory Police?  can easily be compared to Who is John Galt?  
The book was also nominated for shortlisting Booker Prize 2020. And relates to issues like loneliness and being expressive the issues like the lives been controlled by a particular organisation. 
This is the first book, I have read of Yoko Ogawa and it is a book, no matter how many years later you read it. You could relate to quite a few of the issues.
This Book written by yet another Japanese writer that I have read this year Should be on your reading list.

2020 Thoughts!

Ever since 2020 began! 
It’s been setting up new challenges every day. 
Two months into the year and we were all dealing with a pandemic that even more than six months later doesn’t seem to end. 
As the year moved ahead! We lost a legend and one of the best actors in our Hindi Film Industry. Just when we were coming out of these two shocking deaths. We were thrown a mysterious death of another actor. Which was cited as a suicide, but reports were pointing to murder, three months later we still aren’t sure whether it’s a suicide or a murder. 
While there was just a hand full of those who questioned and wanted justice to be served for the late actor as it was strongly pointing towards a murder 
But, Things started to change when we were forced to pick up a side as one of the prime suspects in the investigation was arrested for Drugs and also used PR tactic’s to defend herself exclusively with two Broadcasting channels without first being questioned by The CBI. 
Weeks later, An Actor who began the fight of justice for the late actor, who had also being vocals and her ”Nepotism” Conversation took an ugly turn for. Leaving her with no movies offers. Plans to come to Mumbai and is not only threatened for her remarks a couple of days ago for comparing the city and situation with an enemy territory but just a few hours before her arrival to The City of Dreams! Her Office is tarnished citing reasons, illegal construction work. 
Mind you all these series of events are taking place while India is at its peak on the Coronavirus. 
The economy has hit it’s lowest since we had our independence and our in the middle of a war with another neighbour of ours. 
And what hurts the most is people who are considered role models, people who are looked up by Millions and Billions not just from our country, but from around the world. 
Haven’t spoken about anything at all from the injustice or justice for a late actor whose death remains a mystery, For an actor who’s office has been attacked wrongly. 
Or for the matter of where our country is headed in terms of our economic mess, How one should be tackling the pandemic or for that matter about the tensions amongst the borders, Are they all scared to open their mouths, Are these the people we aspire to be like? 
Where is the Freedom, If our well-known celebrities themselves can’t speak about anything? 
Is this the country we want to live in? Where there isn’t any democracy any more, but just dictatorship from all sides… Where power is also being misused by the powerful and not used the way it should be used. 
Where we speak up in minutes and condemn the West, but can’t really address and speak about the issues that are taking place in your motherland.