Review: Amnesty

Amnesty by Aravind Adiga
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Amnesty is a fairly decent read. There are some moments of insight that will make you think, and the larger themes are interesting. The style of writing is easy to read, if not very lucid. There is ease, but it does not flow like some other books might.

The overall structure didn't quite work for me. The suspense building lacked a sense of finesse, it didn't manage to hold me the way it needed to for the structure to do what it tries to. As a result, the story loses its pacing quite often, sometimes going around in circles.

The characters are probably the best part of the book. They have layers to them and they are all viewed through a very specific lens. They are interesting characters with complex motivations and behaviours.

The plot itself is decent, very character-driven. Some parts fall flat, but overall it isn't bad.

All in all, some finessing issues, not something I will remember for a long time, but a decent read that was still legitimately intriguing, had some visceral scenes and encouraged some thought about an important set of questions about legality, immigration and the absurd tragedy of how we treat each other as human beings.

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Review: When Breath Becomes Air

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can say very little that would express, in any meaningful way, the feelings I have towards this book.

All I will say is that I won’t forget this book. I can’t.

It has changed me in the course of a day, more than I knew I could be changed.

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Review: Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace

Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace by Matthew C. Klein
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A good book, most of it is fairly interesting and deals with relevant topics through historical and contemporary examples that make sense and are then drawn out into general theories with evidence that they are general theories. There were bits that I felt were too speculative, but the overall argument seems pretty well-phrased and worth thinking about.


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Review: How to Win Friends and Influence People

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book surprised me. It is sincere. That was almost unexpected, especially since most of these books are so focused towards the self and improvement. This one felt more genuine. There’s a part where Carnegie seems offended at the very idea that these tips are meant to gain things from people. No, this is about being an agreeable person, someone who makes people happy around them and is sincerely interested and excited by them. There is heart to this book.

It is far too long, however. There are a very limited number of tips and pages and pages of examples that are not particularly interesting or convincing. One is enough to get the gist of the principle. This book could have been a third of the length and felt like it had the same amount of content. It could have been a dozen pages long and covered everything important.

Also, it’s not enough. In terms of content, the tips themselves are decent but they try to be too universal. They are not. They are not universally applicable, they are not rules of thumb for all situations and they are definitely presented with far too much confidence despite these limitations. (To his credit, Carnegie does address the fact that not all techniques work all the time at points in the book, but it is not enough). Further, the tips are somewhat obvious at times, and too vague and general at others.

It’s also a little outdated. The language, the style, the tips, the examples, they feel a little outdated. Not difficult to read (very clear, in fact), but they feel like they would work better in a different era.

It’s got sincerity and heart, though. That has to count for something,

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Review: An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India

An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India by Shashi Tharoor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shashi Tharoor manages the impossible seeming task of writing something that is coherent, chock full of information and enjoyably eloquent. The way he writes makes Era of Darkness a clear read, something you can sit down with in any state of mind. However, there is a lack of ease despite the coherence, and I found it impossible to read the book for long periods of time at a stretch.

The content is well-researched, supported and presents a compelling argument. There were parts that appalled me, parts that surprised me, nuanced areas that made me think and even sections I disagreed with. Yet, within all of this, Tharoor is consistently logical and factual. There are minor sections of speculation, however they are supported by examples that are understandable.

It is also important content. British Imperialism may be a century past, almost, but there are lessons there. We ignore them at our own peril.

What the book lacked was strong organisation. The arguments felt a bit repetitive without a solid flow. It needed a more coherent structure to better drive the point. That would have really helped make it a more urgent piece of prose. As is, it feels like it’s meandering at points, not a good feeling for the topic or the style.

Good book.

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Review: Batman: White Knight

Batman: White Knight by Sean Gordon Murphy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

That was, by far, the best Batman graphic novel I have read thus far.

It has a depth to it, a power that derives from the way these characters operate in the moral grey. This one actually explores that grey. The issues with Batman, the snapping. The twists feel fresh and though none of them are entirely shocking, they are all pleasant and add to the reading experience.

The art is beautiful, the subplots are engaging and the story is very powerful. I loved it.

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Review: Nothing Ventured

Nothing Ventured by Jeffrey Archer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The story was fairly interesting, the prose was easy to read and the characters were okay if lacking depth. There's not much to be said about Nothing Ventured because there's not much in it. It's a decent story that will keep your attention as you are reading the book and which you will forget after you are done. It gave me a pleasant feeling because Archer is textbook in his approach. It's good, just not noteworthy.

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Review: The Princess Saves Herself in This One

The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So many things aren’t perfect about this book.

Beyond all of them, however, the book feels human. It seems to encompass a thin-slice of what it means to be human with poignancy and power. That, I think, deserves a tremendous amount of praise. The language, framing, flow and movement within the book are simple, but they use that as a tool to present emotions and thoughts that are very raw.

It is not the most eloquent poetry, nor is the most structurally sound. Some might say it isn’t even “poetry”, because of the lack of form and the very short (if punchy) verses that make up the book. (I don’t think there’s any reason to deny this as “poetry”, however. It is non-traditional and it does not experiment with form, but it is still very much poetry.) Some of the material lacks meat. In places, it is a little too brief, a little too disjointed.

Yet, none of those things can take away the fact that I had a lump in my throat as I read the book. That, if anything, is enough for me to say it’s a book worth reading.

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Review: Black Hole

Black Hole by Charles Burns
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fairly decent graphic novel. The art is unnerving, there is a pervading sense of nihilism and it's creepy all around. I really enjoyed the gothic feel of the art, it lends weight to the story. The story itself is good, but as an extended metaphor it kind of loses its edge because of how old it is. It feels less relevant today, more like a call-back to a different time.

The pacing is pretty decent, it spends a lot of time building up where nothing significant happens and then escalates. That said, I would've preferred more time to get to know the characters? Maybe more sub-plots that explored them?

The weakness here is coherence. The jumping around, the disjointedness, they don't lend themselves to a very coherent telling of the story. This meant that I was sometimes pulled out of the book because I had to step back and try to make sense of it. This happens on two levels. On one hand, sometimes the panels and story get a little lost. Maybe it's the jumping around in time, maybe it's the characters and lack of investment which means I had to think back to figure out if I'd met the character before. On the other hand, there's also this sense that I'm constantly trying to figure out what the book is trying to say. Is there a lesson here? It feels like there is, but the metaphor is lost sometimes and the emotions are a bit confused.

Still, a very well-made, highly interesting graphic novel.

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Review: The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fairly interesting read, the book made a small number of practical suggestions that seem to have good potential. The overarching structure of the book was coherent and understandable, so that I enjoyed.

On the other hand, it is unnecessarily long and dense. The case-studies are excessive, sometimes contributing to confusion in regards to the central concepts. It is dense and uses jargon. This isn’t difficult to understand jargon, just annoying when you’re trying to read. It will constantly call-back to ideas it has introduced but in convoluted ways, rehashing the same principles over and over.

The core ideas are interesting, as I said. They are somewhat actionable too. Sadly, it’s packaged in a book that is annoying to read. It wasn’t actively difficult to read, but I did not enjoy the process of poring through the pages.

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Review: The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

It's a long book with maybe a few pages of information that is actually genuinely useful.

Most of the book is testimonials and strange digressions towards people who are the "New Rich" enjoying lives. The bits that actually talk about the tips and tools usually feel highly unethical and impractical. It seizes on the concept that life and work is a game and you need to beat the game, break the system and cheat your way out.

There are a few interesting sections. On principle, they were engaging to read. Not the actual concrete tips, but the ideas. Some of them are vaguely useful. Some of them feel actively harmful (there's a section on how to become a "certified" expert very quickly. That bit left a really sour taste in my mouth. It essentially describes how you can skirt the hard work and claim yourself as an expert quickly by doing minimal research, smoothly phrasing how you describe yourself and then using that to sell products. As I said, unethical).

Here's the strange thing: I do not regret reading it. It was an experience. I got a glimpse into the mind of an individual who is...so very different from me. I got an inner look at unethical ways to conduct certain types of product based businesses. The writing style is lucid but comes off as unlikable. That is an intentional choice. It fits the message.

At the same time, it left a really bad taste in my mouth. So, therefore, the one-star rating.

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Review: Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a weird book. It starts off pretty sensibly, some interesting ideas presented in a coherent manner. I didn't agree with all of them, but the case being built was decent. Then, very rapidly, that sense of coherence deteriorated into something strange and surreal.

A very eccentric book. I don't know what to make of it, if I'm honest. Entertaining for sure, especially because you're so clearly in the head of someone with conviction who has a background founding successful companies. Within that context, I enjoyed reading it, not because there are any takeaways but because it's almost as if I read this to understand the fascinating world Peter Thiel lives in.

Not very useful in terms of tips and the like. Kind of philosophical, but some of the ideas he tries to discredit aren't discussed with nuance so it feels like a lot of strawmanning is happening. (Kind of ironic, I suppose. Which adds to the fascination).

Read with caution.

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Review: Hidden in Plain Sight

Hidden in Plain Sight by Jeffrey Archer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This felt different from the first book on two counts. First, it is slightly less easy to read. There are a lot of threads to follow, a lot of things to grasp, which makes this more difficult but more interesting. Second, the mini-mysteries and surprises within are presented better.

Again, I felt no deep connection with the characters (just as the first book), but it was interesting as I was reading it. It is a good read, it will keep you occupied and you will probably enjoy it. I just didn't find anything emotionally impactful or memorable.

Towards the very end, however, there is an interesting emotional dilemma that caught my attention. Alas, it remains unresolved till the next book.

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