📚Well February has been quite a month in terms of reading.

📌Check out some books that I have been reading and plan to read

📚𝙉𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙀𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙮-𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙧: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙘 𝙉𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 by 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 , 𝗜𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗱𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶

"1984: The Graphic Novel" is a visual adaptation of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel "1984". The graphic novel format allows for the story to be presented in a different way, using illustrations, dialogue, and captions to bring the world of 1984 to life in a new and engaging way. The story remains largely the same, following the journey of protagonist Winston Smith as he navigates a world controlled by the all-seeing, all-knowing Big Brother. Despite its bleak and oppressive atmosphere, "1984" remains a powerful critique of totalitarianism and a warning about the dangers of government control. The graphic novel version of "1984" offers a unique way for readers to experience this classic story and explore its themes in a new and dynamic way.

📚𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝗯𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗼 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲

"Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte" is a book that explores the concept of creating a personal knowledge management system. The author argues that in today's information-rich world, it's becoming increasingly important to have a system for capturing, organizing, and accessing information efficiently. Forte proposes "building a second brain" to enhance your productivity and creativity by creating a personal database of ideas, knowledge, and insights. The book provides practical tips and techniques for developing your own knowledge management system, including how to structure your information, how to store it, and how to retrieve it when you need it. The book is intended for anyone looking to improve their productivity and creativity by building a system for managing the information they encounter in their daily lives.

📚𝙏𝙤𝙢𝙗 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙙 ( 𝗞𝘂𝗻𝘇𝘂𝗺 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ) 𝗯𝘆 𝗚𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗹𝗶 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲,𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝘀𝘆 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹

The Booker Prize-winning book is a slow burner about an eighty-year-old woman who goes into depression after the death of her husband but goes on a journey of truly comprehending herself.

Read the book for one of the most refreshing voices of our times.

📚𝘽𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝗯𝘆 𝗬𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗧𝗶𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗶

This book surprised me as the author was an unknown quantity to me but the rendition is hard-hitting speaking about the futility of war. Relevant especially in these times when war is always around the corner.

📚𝟵𝟭 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄𝙩𝙨 𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙛 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙮 𝗯𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗯𝗼

This book was quite a journey for me as a sceptic, astrology has never been something I thought I would read about or be interested in but Greenstone's book which treats the process of prediction quite scientifically and rationally has for the first time made me believe!

Not to mention his Adani prediction which came true.Whoaaaa!!!

📚𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙣: 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝗯𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗱 𝗡. 𝗕𝗵𝗮𝘁

I have recently started reading about finance and how to invest better. This book which I will be reading in the coming days just might add to that universe of me trying to understand money better and of course, become financially independent

📚𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙃𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙨, 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 : 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙂𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣 𝘼𝙬𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗱𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿

This book is just incredible to develop habits which can make our lives better. If you loved Atomic Habits this is a must-read since Ashdin's story will inspire you to become your best version or even better!

📚𝙍𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡: 𝘿𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙮 & 𝘽𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝗯𝘆 𝗩𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗱𝗵𝗮 𝗥𝗮𝗶

The book is so out of the box in terms of its publishing process. Let me just intrigue you by saying that you can read it front to back or back to front.

The daily practices mentioned in the book are simple and easy to include in our life.

In fact, I changed my tongue cleaner immediately after reading the book to a copper one:P

📚𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝗯𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗮 𝗥 𝗞𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮

Watch Class on Netflix and devour this book on the side or should I say vice-versa. A truly fun read!

📚𝙂𝙖𝙧𝙪𝙙𝙖 𝙋𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙊𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪 𝙄𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙨 𝙊𝙛 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝, 𝙍𝙚𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝗯𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗱𝘂𝘁𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗸

My first impression was why read about death, why would I wanna do that? Devdutt has proven me wrong again by making knowing about death, rebirth, immortality and the rituals around it super interesting!

📚𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙞: 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙑𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙒𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝗯𝘆 𝗡𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗜𝘆𝗲𝗿

Move over Instagram Food accounts, this book takes the cake and yes the cherry on top are the amazing seasonal vegetarian recipes. An amazing immersive experience!

Book Quote of the Fortnight

“My family had declared me a nullity. The Spare. I didn’t complain about it, but I didn’t need to dwell on it either. Far better, in my mind, not to think about certain facts, such as the cardinal rule for royal travel: Pa and William could never be on the same flight together, because there must be no chance of the first and second in line to the throne being wiped out. But no one gave a damn whom I traveled with; the Spare could always be spared.”
― Prince Harry, Spare

Bookstores visited

On my recent visit to Delhi, it was a conscious effort to visit some bookstores which strangely I never had the chance of visiting despite living just 250 Km away in Doon!

And boy was it some bookstore tour!

Kunzum Jorbagh Lounge

First up was the amazing Kunzum Jorbagh Lounge which within a span of 1 year has become the benchmark for all bookstores in terms of aesthetics, book curation and the book-buying experience.

I was amazed by the hospitality and the book curation chops possessed by the Kunzum team.

Bought four books by recommendation from the staff, the highlight for me though was the amazing Phantom and Mandrake comic books which made me feel so nostalgic!

Tomb of Sand, the Booker Prize-winning phenomenon is a book I was looking to buy for a while but I was in for a surprise when I found a personally signed edition by the author and translator at Kunzum.Serendipity.

Bahrisons Bookstore

My next stop was Khan Market where I was welcomed by the legendary Bahrisons Bookstore where I found the book which I couldn’t find in Bangalore, Hyderabad and elsewhere Building a Second Brain.

The bookstore has an old-world charm which is hard to find in most contemporary bookstores.

They have a really eclectic collection, do venture up the stairs and explore the loft which has loads of carefully curated classics.

Faqir Chand and Sons Book Shop

Got out of Bahrisons and entered the beautiful chaos that Faqir Chand and Sons Book Shop is!

Packed to the rafters with books, an absolutely incredible collection of Urdu poetry books was what captivated me.

The history is extremely palpable.

Full Circle Bookstore and Cafe Turtle

A man gotta eat and my plan was to conclude my bookstore tour at Full Circle Bookstore , browsing books and reading along with a cup of Latte.

The only encounter I have previously had with Full Circle is at Jaipur Literature Festival where they have a humongous bookstore every year.

I was a bit let down by the cafe though the bookstore has the best children's books section ever!

Looking forward to going again with my daughters.

Audiobook Recommendation

Kobe Bryant and the Mamba Mentality

Kobe Bryant was a former NBA basketball player known for his intense work ethic and his mindset, which he referred to as the "Mamba Mentality." The Mamba Mentality is about constantly striving to be the best, pushing oneself to the limits, and having a fierce competitive drive.

Bryant believed in the power of hard work, dedication, and focus, and he applied these principles to all aspects of his life, not just basketball.

Some key takeaways from the Mamba Mentality include:

1. Embracing challenges: Bryant believed in seeking out and embracing difficult challenges as a way to grow and improve.

2. Focusing on the process: Rather than being solely focused on the end result, Bryant emphasized the importance of focusing on the process and putting in the work every day.

3. Practicing with purpose: Bryant believed in the importance of intentional practice, with a focus on mastering specific skills and techniques.

4. Constantly learning: Despite his success, Bryant remained humble and committed to learning and improving.

Overall, the Mamba Mentality is a mindset focused on achieving excellence through hard work, dedication, and a willingness to take on challenges and push oneself to the limits.

Booknerds Newsletter by Rohan Raj

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