Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Considering this novel was written in the 1700s, it is fantastic. Much like the 20000 Leagues, this book has intricate details of different parts of the world and it is a wonder how folks of that era visited so many places just by ship and yet could make such wonderful journals. Added to the geographical details, is the fascinating novel itself where a man is cast away on an island and how he makes a life for himself literally from scratch. Not to mention, the loyalty of Friday, his servant after he saved his life miraculously. The literary language used is unique and fresh to read. At times, it gets boring but one can skip through those parts. Some sections suddenly become very religious and it seems rightly so, since the cast away kind of surrenders to the Will of the Almighty. Understandably some people might have gone through those situations in real-life, and this book provides the details of the hardships faced. It is a good read indeed.

Ella Diaries: Friendship SOS by Meredith Costain (Illustration - Danielle McDonald)

This one was being read by my daughter and I started flipping through it but then got gripped by it! The illustrations, the graphics, the font, the language, the deliberate spelling mistakes, the tale itself is all FANTABULOUSLY FABULOUS (to use the book's lingo!). It truly is one of a kind and a perfect book for pre-teen girls. The illustrations definitely deserve a separate shout-out, and the author has done wonders putting herself in the shoes of a young girl on her adventure in a cruise ship.

What the Heck do I do with My Life? by Ravi Venkatesan

My manager gifted me this book, making it the second occurrence (previously, one of my Infosys managers had gifted me Autobiography of a Yogi). The book is very well-written, honest, straight-from-the-heart talk. Ravi is an excellent orator, a man of clear thoughts, so his points are all well-worded. The book cites humongous number of other books, shows, videos, interactions with several famous (and even next-door-neighbor/vendor personalities) which shows the length and breadth of his knowledge. He also seems to be like any of us who try to do well in school, try o get good grades, keep parents & bosses happy, etc.. But then he starts telling that is not all that matters because you need to be happy too, by doing what you like instead of constantly making others happy. This is just one such quotation but there are several more in the book, which is all worth giving a thought. Definitely recommend reading this book. 

Srimad Bhagavad Gita (Swami Chinmayananda Publication)

Well, finally I read the Gita! At age 43!! The most sacred Hindu scripture. Although, I was approached a lot by ISKCON folks to buy and read, I chose Swami Chinmayananda's publication since it seemed to give more of an unbiased commentary (vs ISKCON's which is more 'Krishna, Krishna'!). Coming to the content itself, its mesmerizing at times and at other times it is neutral and very abstract. One has to read and re-read to get the gist. Coming to the publication, it is very user-friendly. More of a pocketbook-ish, very clean and nice English and good font, good transliteration and translation. No lengthy explanations, commentaries, just the words as-is from Lord Krishna. Definitely should be read once to understand aspects of Life as defined by Lord Himself! Below are some of the important verses that I noted down as I was reading (it felt like I was studying, like in college days when I was noting down from text books!):

Chapter 2

• Verse 22: Moving from one body to other like casting off worn out clothes
• Verse 47: Karmanye Vaadhikarasthe Let not the fruit of action be the motive for working.
• Verse 62-65: Object > Attachment > desire > anger > delusion > memory loss > discrimination destruction > perish. Hence self-control to achieve peace > destroy of pain > steady mind.

Chapter 3

• Verse 14: Sacrifice born of action leads to rain which leads to food which leads to Beings. 

Chapter 4

• Verse 7: Yada yada hi Dharmasya Whenever there is rise in unrighteousness then I manifest myself.

Chapter 5

• Verse 27: Shut out external contacts and fix gaze between eyebrows, equalizing outgoing and incoming breath.

Chapter 6

• Verse 6-8: Self is friend or foe based on what is conquered. Self-controlled, balanced in cold/heat, pleasure/pain, stone/gold, unshaken > nirvikalpa samadhi.
• Verse 29-30: When mind is harmonized by yoga, he sees Self in all and all in Self, same everywhere, Me everywhere and everything in Me.
• Verse 33-47: Mind is uncontrollable but by practice and dispassion. But with right intent, if still fails in controlling mind, then what? Fear not, will be reborn in pure and wealthy house or with wise yogis and then will strive even more. He who merges in Me, worships Me is the most devout.

Chapter 7

• Verse 7-10: I am sapidity (in water), light (in moon & Sun), Om, sound, sweet fragrance, brilliance (in fire), splendour, etc.

Chapter 8

• Verse 5-15: At the time of leaving body, if he remembers Me alone, he attains My being. If thinking of something else, then will attain that Being. Hence remember me at all times. At time of death, with unshaken mind full of devotion, fix breath between two eyebrows to reach Me & utter 'Om'. No rebirth for those.
• Verse 23-26: If one dies during daytime, bright fortnight, northern solstice > no rebirth.

Chapter 9

• Verse 16-28: I am father, mother, sacrifice, offering, mantra, butter, fire, oblation, purifiers, goal, supporter, Lord, witness, abode, friend, foundation, seed, Sun, Rain, death, Vedas, etc. Those who worship Me, come to Me. Whoever offers Me with devotion anything (even a leaf), I will accept. Whatever you do, eat, sacrifice, charity, do it as an offering to me (Krishnarpanamasthu), then you will be free from bondage.

Chapter 10

• Verse 20-39: I am the Beginning, End, middle, I am Vishnu, Sun, Moon, Sama Veda (among Vedas), Mind, Intelligence, Sankara, Kubera (Wealth Lord), Fire, Meru mountain, Ocean (among lakes), Om (among wrds), Himalayas, Asvattha tree, Airavatha, King, thunderbolt, Vasuki (among serpents), Yama, Lion (among animals), Wind, shark (among fishes), Ganges, Victory, Vyasa, silence, seed of all beings, etc. There is no end to My divine glories. Anything that is glorious, prosperous, powerful, then it is a manifestation of My splendour.

Chapter 11: Vishwa Roopa Darshan

Chapter 12

• Verse 8-20: Fix your mind on Me. If unable, then practice yoga. If unable, then perform actions for Me. If unable, take refuge in Me, renounce fruits of all actions. Knowledge better than practice. Meditation better than Knowledge. Renunciation of fruit of actions better than Meditation. Peace follows renunciation. He who hates no creature, compassionate, balanced in pain/pleasure, cold/heat, censure/praise, steady in meditation, dedicated to Me, he by whom world is not agitated & who cannot be agitated by the world, who is freed from joy, envy, fear, anxiety, wants, is pure, unconcerned, nor rejoices nor grieves, nor desires, homeless, silent, faith regarding Me as supreme goal - they follow immortal dharma are dear to Me.

Chapter 13

• Verse 11-15: Distaste for society of me; With hands, feet, eyes, heads, mouths, ears everywhere, He exists in the world, enveloping all; Unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of qualities yet experiencer, Shining by functions of all senses yet without senses.
• Verse 21-31: Effect & Cause are due to Prakriti and pleasure & pain are caused due to Purusha who is seated in prakriti. Attachment to qualities is cause of birth in good/evil wombs. Some behold Self in self by self, others by yoga of knowledge and others by karma yoga, others by worship. A being is born from the union between field an knower of field. He who sees that all actions are performed by prakriti alone and Self is actionless, he who sees same Lord in everyone, everywhere dwelling, as nesting in the 'One' and spreading from That One alone, then he becomes Brahman.

Chapter 14

• Verse 5-18: Sathvam (Purity), Rajas (Passion), Tamas (Inertia) are gunas (qualities) bind embodied one. Sathvam is luminous and healthy, attaches to happiness. Rajas is source of attachment, binds to action. Tamas is born of ignorance, binds to heedlessness. If at death, sattva is predominant, then he attains worlds of knowers of the highest. If rajas is predominant, then he is born among those attached to action; Tamas - born in womb of senseless. Fruit of good action is pure, rajas is pain and tamas is ignorance. Those abiding sattva go up, rajas dwell in the middle and tamasikas go down. 

Chapter 15

• Verse 14: Becoming fire (Vaisvanara), I abide in beings and associated with prana and apana, digest food.

Chapter 16

• Verse 13-24: "This is mine, this wealth is also mine in future. That enemy is slain by me, I am Lord, I am enjoyer, I am perfect and happy. I am rich, I will give alms & money" - they are all deluded. These egoistic, haughty are hurled into demons wombs. The three gates of hell are lust, anger and greed - one should abandon these. A man who is liberated from these will go to supreme goal. Let scriptures be your authority in determining what ought and ought not to be done. 

Chapter 17

• Verse 8-10: Foods which increase life, purity, strength, health, joy are savoury, substantial and agreeable. Bitter, sour, salines, hot, pungent, burning are rajasika and produces pain, grief and desire. Stale, tasteless, putrid and rotten are tamasik food.

Chapter 18

• Verse 36-45: Poison at first but nectar in end - this pleasure is sattvika. Pleasure which arises from sense organs contact which seems like nectar at first and poison in the end is rajasika. Pleasure arising from sleep is tamasika. Brahman's nature is serenity, austerity, purity, forgiveness, uprightness, knowledge, etc. Kshatriya's is prowess, firmess, dexterity, lordliness and sudra's is agriculture, cattle-rearing, trade. Each devoted to their duty, man attains perfection. Better is each one's duty than duty of another well performed. 
• Verse 55-56: By devotion he knows Me, then he forthwith enters into Me. During all actions, take refuge in Me.
• Verse 65-70: Be devoted to Me, sacrifice for Me, bow down to Me, you will surely come to Me. Take refuge in Me and I will liberate from all sins. He who studies & hears this sacred dialogue of ours (Bhagavad Gita), that Man shall attain happy worlds and is liberated since its akin to worshipping Me. 

Himalayan Lust (Q&A between Sadhguru & Seekers during Himalayan sojourn)

Started off very powerfully but it ended up being another book of general Q&A between Sadhguru and Seekers. I assumed the book to be tangentially attached to Himalayas and although it is so, it is only to certain extent. Of course, nothing can be taken away from the potent of those Q&A in itself - those are powerful in it's own realm, as with all conversations with Sadhguru. So, definitely worth a read.

I Came Upon a Lighthouse by Shantanu Naidu

 A very clean and neat memoir of Shantanu Naidu's interactions with Mr Ratan Tata. The book is beautifully crafted with nice, colourful illustrations and the choice of language is of the purest. It never gets boring or disinteresting. Although not a biography of Mr Ratan Tata, the book puts him under great spotlight and showcases portions of his life which the general public would not be made easily aware. It is almost as if Shantanu's purpose in life was just to put forth the great Mr Ratan Tata under spotlight albeit in a very different way. And that, is something Shantanu has accomplished very well indeed!! 

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma

Robin Sharma has done a phenomenal work of bringing Spirituality to the masses via a simple fable. If he had written the book just as paragraphs and teachings with a title as "How to be Young & Happy Forever", the takers would have been very less, yours truly included. By making it as a dialog between two buddies, by adding catchy phrases like Monk and Ferrari, by creating a tale out of nowhere - he has packaged it all so superbly and subtly that one hardly gets the feeling that it is a non fiction book which is fictionalized! And even in the fiction, he has nicely crafted the listener's character as every "normal" human being on Earth being "busy with work" and "building a retirement fund" (as he puts it so well) and being a critic. The dialog is simple and natural, the tale progresses very fluidly. A great read. In fact a book that should not just be read but principles mentioned need to be practiced. I could relate a lot of the principles mentioned to great many sages's teachings as well.

Tales of St. Austin by P G Wodehouse

 Apparently this was Wodehouse's first collection of short stories. Written more than a century ago, wow. As I had expected, not much of humor (like many of his first few years of books) when compared to his latter more, matured books. But the form, the style, the underlying humor all is very evident of what was due from Wodehouse later on! Most of the short stories are based on either cricket or football held in the St. Austin's educational institution, and there are 3-4 tales which are just like documentary without any fiction based characters or dialog. 

For a big fan of Wodehouse like me, I had to read this book but for those who are starting off with Wodehouse, this is not meant for them since they will miss it entirely. This is my 71st book that I have read of his! And the last Wodehouse book I had read was 5 years ago!

Death by Sadhguru

This one's a must-read for, as Sadhguru says, everyone who dies! There are so many intricate details about how life ebbs out of the body, embodies vs disembodied beings, natural vs unnatural death, rituals for the dead, Sadhuguru's own lifetimes, details about karma, etc. that this book is not just a must-read but a must-own.  

Sadhguru, More Than a Life by Arundhathi Subramaniam

 I don't remember the last time when I read a book in under 3 days! To confess, I hadn't planned on reading this book, and it was wife's choice and she liked it a lot. I happened to glance hither and thither inside and found random pages riveting. So decided then and there that I too will read it. Although there was no reason to hasten and finish the book early, I still went all in and read it before the library due date. But then, this I felt is a book - like all of Sadhguru's - to own, not borrow. While the author seems to be extremely literate and has used many words which needs a layman to open dictionary to understand the meaning, there are instances when the choice of words and the language is just perfect and ideal to explain the intricate parts - for not everything is logical when it comes to the mystic's world. Added to this, one can sense the author's outpouring (as well as its esteemed suppression) of the grudged-ness for Sadhguru and all that he is. Overall, a beautiful narration. But more importantly - Sadhguru's life story is even more fascinating and this combination makes this book "unputdownable"!!

The Sea of Adventure by Enid Blyton

Thanks to my daughter, read an Enid Blyton book after almost 3 decades! The Adventure series always captivated me as a young boy and I wanted to see if the flame was still alive even after 3 decades but no, the book didn't seem the same! But I must appreciate the author's ingenious way of writing to capture young children's imagination and the sense of adventure which is most common only at that age! 

Body The Greatest Gadget / Mind Is Your Business by Sadhguru

 A two-books-in-one edition, with the Body book from one side and the Mind book from the other side. An eye-opener of sorts, as is with most Sadhguru's books & talks, speaking of which, this book is more of a Q&A - Questions from seekers and Answers from Sadhguru, compiled in such a way that all Body related Q&A is in the Body book and all Mind related Q&A is in the Mind book. Gives a great perspective of how to treat the body and mind so as to attain the Ultimate. Definitely worth a read - hardly 200 pages.

Life and Death in One Breath by Sadhguru

A very insightful book about death and thereafter. It is a compilation of question and answers from Sadhuguru's discourses. Opens up dimensions about life that one has no clue about. Well worth a read. A short 160-odd page book.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

OMG. What a book. What characterization. What dialog. This one is superlative in all respects. I had heard about this book (& Atlas Shrugged) all my life but kept postponing reading it only because it was voluminous. But when I was reading the novel, I wanted more and more of it & in fact, was actually dismayed that it came to an end. Howard Roark - The Man! A Hero depicted in a way like how a Hero should be depicted - like Russell Crowe in Gladiator. You just cant get enough of him. And Dominique - his cohort-of-sorts. The novel, at times, one feels is just a tale set in an introductory manner for the author's actual message which lies in characterizations and how the society has succumbed to the powers of what Ayn mentions as 'The Second-Hand Man' (which apparently was the original thought-out title of this book). Her philosophy of Objectivism is thought provoking. This one's a must-read & I will go further to state this book's a must-own!

Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

To be fair to the book, it needs to be read first before undergoing the course of Inner Engineering offered by Sadhguru's Isha Foundation. In my case, I underwent the course first and then read the book and hence some parts of the book seemed repeated (as I had already watched the corresponding videos). In any case, a beautifully written prose with extreme fluidity and it is as if Sadhguru is talking and not as if you are reading a book. Some parts of the book are extremely invaluable like when he talks about the chakras, the Kundalini, rebirth, karma, etc. Definitely worth a read and a book to own.

The Journey Within by Radhanath Swami

Well, I had this very good friend of mine who pinged me on FB messenger one day asking me to buy this book because she is a great fan of Radhanath Swami, and also because the prequel The Journey Home was exceptional. I mentioned that I will only read it after reading the prequel but the prequel seemed very elusive: I couldnt find it anywhere - not even in libraries. So, this friend ended up gifting this book to me. At about the same time, I heard about this Swami from my colleague's wife. Added to this, my wife was watching some videos of Gaur Gopal Das who is a direct disciple of Radhanath Swami. So, all of a sudden, the stars were aligned for me to get acquainted by this Swami who happens to be a native of Chicago! 

Coming to the book - it is a very interesting read. Some of the passages are mind-blowing while some of them are not so much. I liked the part about how the 'I' is the owner-passenger, the 'charioteer' is the mind and the 'chariot' is the body - and how the chariot goes where the charioteer takes but not where the owner wants to, unless instructed/practiced. Well, read the book to understand it - and many more such concepts - better!

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

Well, a real dark book about mental patients in mental hospital. Sometimes the prose is really interesting - giving views about the sane mind talking to and about the insane mind. Other times, it is real gross, like how she wants to know if she really has bones or not! Glad it is a short book. Not a great read but it is very different. Something like Lolita.

Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell (with Patrick Robinson)

When I started reading the book, somehow I didn't like the tone of it. It seemed like it was extremely amateurish. So much so that I almost felt like stopping reading the whole book because I just couldn't handle the way it was written. So I moved forward a few pages and the BUDS training notes began. I am very familiar with it having read so many other books of similar genre. Here are the narration was better. Then story became very interested when the battle ensued. It became a thriller suddenly when Marcus became the lone survivor but yet hunted by hundred or so Taliban fighters in the middle of Afghanistan. I remember reading Sidney Sheldon's The Doomsday Conspiracy when the Hunter becomes the Hunted and this was a true story of the hunter becoming the hunted. I liked the fiction itself so much - and this being a true story piqued my interest even more. The battle scenes are extremely well portrayed, the escape is good too. Thank god for the Lokhay and the little Afghan village and villagers who saved Marcus and who let the world know what happened out there - otherwise it would have been buried along with him in the Hindu Kush mountain range. It truly is a remarkable story of survival against all odds - and is even miraculous what all he went through. It was as of God had made him a messiah of sorts to live through death and narrate his story. I pity those who died during that Operation Redwing as well as those who came to rescue the SOS callers. The narration of the book ended in the same note as how it began - amateurish, but the story more than makes up for it. Definitely worth the read. Now, waiting to watch the movie!

Very Good, Jeeves by P G Wodehouse

My 70th Wodehouse book! A classic Jeeves and Wooster short stories collection - complete with Aunt Dahlia and cook Anatole and friend Tuppy and the Wickhams, etc. set in serene London country houses. Some of the tales are now almost predictable, and the language - although as good as it can be - doesn't cause mirth, maybe because I have read so many of them now. Still, it is fun to read. Some of the scenes were real Laugh Out Louds! Reading this book, just like any other Wodehouse book, is time well spent!

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

A powerful yet witty novel about author's dismantled life due to divorce and how she re-constructed herself from suicidal depths to extreme happiness by indulging herself in eating in Italy, praying at an Ashram in India and finding loving in Indonesia. This book is all about these three - divided very cleverly in equal parts using 108 as a base number Italy was really boring for me since Italian and food (Italian or otherwise) are not my greatest topics but India and Indonesia were very interesting since she narrates a lot about Yoga, meditation, finding balance, spirituality, etc. A fairy-tale except more so since it is a true story - and thankfully for us readers, the story of a gifted writer who has jotted it all superbly. Considering the spiritual quotient in this book, it looks like she was destined for all of this - her divorce, her experiences, her being an author, her writing this book, etc. - so that the message can be spread across the World about Spirituality and how to find peace. The humor is good, the writing style is excellent and the connections and interconnections within the book are all very well written. Movie is so-so but book is a definitely a must-read...nah, a must-own book.