Book Review: Awaken the Leader in you

About the book:

Awaken the leader in You by Mitesh & Indu Khatri is a business related self-help book based on leadership skills for everyone. In this book the authors discuss the traits and skills required to be a successful leader. It offers a completely new perspective on leadership ,and breaks the myth that leaders are only people at the top management level. Both Mitesh & Indu Khatri have been successfully conducting leadership workshops which has had an impact on many organisations and produced great results. They have used tools and techniques which are simple to understand and implement. This book covers different approaches to leadership in the 21st century, exercises and techniques to make sure you can get something out of every chapter and multiple aspects of leadership which have been validated by some of the best leaders of our country.

About the author:

Mitesh Khatri is one of the most trusted Leadership Trainer, Firewalk Expert, Motivational Speaker & Transformation Coach. With over a decade’s experience he has trained more than 80,000 executives in more than 100 organizations worldwide.
Indu Khatri, the Co-founder of Guiding Light Consultants (GLC) has a rich experience of over 15 years in the IT Industry. She is the principle content designer for all the corporate training programs and coaching sessions of GLC and a co-facilitator of High Impact Programs like Firewalk.
Mitesh & Indu are partners in life and business, which gives them a great advantage in creating extraordinary results in their training programs.
Author website: http://www.miteshkhatri.com/

My Review:

Awaken the leader in you is a book that brings the obvious facts to fore in a way that leaves you thinking about using it in your life. It is essentially a handbook, a guide more than a self-help in its essence. It doesn't preach. only but instead gives out practical tips on surviving as a leader. For those of us who have been/are at a leadership position, it becomes even more relevant and pragmatic.



I started reading it as yet another self help and I couldn't be more wrong. I couldn't read it that way past two pages. This is one book you need to take notes from, use the tips and apply them to practical real-life situations. Hence, I sat down again with the book and post-its and pen to mark important points and do the exercises as given.
The book reads as if you are just attending one of these workshops, and effectively helps you hone your leadership skills.
Even as leaders, we have some glaring flaws, it helps to eliminate or atleast minimize those.

After Reading, this book was marked by me at so many places. 

The author goes on to explain how anyone of us can uncap and unleash our potential and take up a role of responsibility. From a position of power, it is very easy to become vain or smug or self-satisfied. This book is more beneficial to readers who already have a leadership position, is what I think. I could relate to so many instances/feelings/events because I have been working as a leader for a while. I am not sure I can say the same about the others, who are yet to become a leader.

Some of the anecdotes are truly amazing, what with examples of famous people ranging from Richard Branson toNarayan Murthy.

Then of course, the practicality of the book is evinced in the various exercises it tells us to do. That is precisely where the book becomes beyond engaging. Littered with scientific, verifiable facts to support the leadership lessons, this book was worth the time.
I believe that if self book is effective, we must be able to seek help in times of crisis. Considering this parameter, this book is an overall success.

Best lines: People have vague fancies with. no specifications. Because people are afraid to create a clear vision for fear of failure.

I received this book as a part of BecomeShakespeare.com reviewers program.

Watch the author's workshops:

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Book Review: Myriad Hues by Rachna Gupta

About the Book/Book blurb:

To me writing is a companion, a shadow that has always been there for me. In good days and bad, nothing has cheered me up as much as putting my thoughts on paper. I have cried while writing some poems and I have also smiled, thinking about the happy thoughts that bring out the words of euphoria in my writing. "Myriad Hues" is as much about me and my life as yours; the feelings that I have spoken about are universal. We all feel because our emotions are the same, despite the fact that the situation occurs at different times. My work is also about nature; this wonderful creation that we have been bestowed with! It's about nurturing our environment and caring about it. And yes, my poems are about the omnipresent God and my conversations and encounters with Him.

About the Author:

In an interview on the blog of Patridge India (the publisher), she describes herself as under, "I am Rachna Gupta, a small-town girl who moved to Pune 12 years ago. An educationist by profession, writing is something that has always interested me. While teaching English, I always encouraged the children to be creative and express their feelings through different mediums like writing, art and drama. There is nothing more magical than using words to create something new!"

My Review:

What are we looking at? Myriad Hues is a collection of sweet and simple poems by a single poet. The themes chosen are such that they delve deeper into the otherwise superficial aspects of life and living.
Poetry reading (and writing) is for those who have a way with words, and those who relish the experience of so many emotions in a few lines. Not to mention, how poetry is often open, sometimes wholly to interpretation while at others open for the reader to devour it and relate the lines to his/her own life and experiences.

Now this book, a compilation of 28 poems, is meaningful. Meaningful and intense describes it best.

Some poetry books for review in my mail. #poetry #books #bookish #bookstagram #bibliophile #instapic #shoutout #myriad...
Posted by So many books, So little time. on Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Here's a meticulous dissection:
Yay: There are some pieces I really liked for different reasons.
There is a piece called 'Innocence'. It is a sweet, succinct poetry to denote the actions of kids who are not maligned yet by the ways of the world. But again, open to interpretation, it is so many more things. It shows a girl seeking attention, so maybe the adults are not attentive enough. Maybe it is even more and deep as I make it out to be.

One very special mention goes to the poem titled 'Mood Swings'. It is a short piece, and yet it captures the theme so, so well. The abruptness, the lyrical quality and the scene created- all add up to make the poem give us emotional shivers.
Other pieces I liked were: My birthplace, Revenge, Mistake, Trepidation. My Birthplace has a reminiscent essence at its core, & Mistake is a commentary on the gender situation at the most basic level: in families. Trepidation has a charm of its own which made me like it instantly. The endearing, chirpy and enthusiastic tone also helped in the case of Trepidation.

Nay: I did find the style repetitive. It does not end the stanzas with rhyming pairs. At least not for a major part of the poem. However, I personally relish the use of rhyme as long as it isn't kiddish. Safe to say, I would have loved the poetry if I it had this element as dominantly as it had emotions interwoven.

Links:

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I thank the author for providing me with a copy in exchange of an honest review. 

Book Review: Metro Diaries by Namrata

About the book:

Love is one of the most amazing feelings on this earth, one that makes you the most powerful person or the most helpless person in a split second. These stories capture those feelings of despair, longing, love, lust, desire, want, dejection and admiration to create deja vu. Hold onto your hearts as you flip through these pages and take a walk down the memory lane as "Metro Diaries" will revive your innermost feelings and imbibe in you the magic of love. Touching, amusing and deeply moving, Metro Diaries - Love Classics are tales that will hold you from start till end.

About the Author:

Namrata is a prolific blogger known by the name Privy Trifles in the blogosphere who romances life through her writings and aspires to make love the universal language. She dons various hats between that of a contributing author to 7 anthologies a reviewer for leading publishing houses an editor to various books and a columnist. Apart from that she is also the editor for an online magazine called Writer's Ezine. Having mastered the nuances of finance till recently she also held the title of an investment banker closely to let it go to embrace her love for writing fully.

My Review:

This is a collection of some of the most heart-warming love stories. The stories are soulful to their core, and romantic through and through, and each story explores a different emotional dimension: pain, wait, delight, agony, fulfilment, et al. Because well,
"Love stories aren’t created; they are captured."

While I am not very romantic in my choice of books, I'd say this was a decent read. The stories were a giveaway:some of them eventually culminated to the most obvious end, they concluded in a very predictable manner, making romance as cliched as it can get.
However, the surprise was in a couple of the stories which were refreshingly different, and the end was astonishing, in a good way, that is.
There are so many different colors to the stories and a multitude of personalities one can never get bored. There's a vulnerable character haunted by the past, there's someone trying to come out of the closet, then there's another character
I especially liked the pieces of poetry that preceded every story. They have been beautifully written without a doubt, and are heart-rending. Here's an example:

" I want to say a lot of things,

wonder if I will be heard.

I want to hear a lot of things,

wonder if they will be said."

Links:

This book review is a part of b00k r3vi3w Tours.

Book Review: The Sales Room by Manu Ramesh

About the book:

Rajesh Iyer, a young, ambitious salesperson, returns to ñThe Sales Roomî of Oregon Software Technologies after an aborted attempt at getting into a business school in the US, only to notice the metamorphosis of the software start-up which he had earlier been an integral part of. What used to be a rat-infested hole in the midst of a vegetable market is now a swanky, state of the art facility owned by an upcoming Bollywood star. The enthusiastic and compact team firing on all cylinders is replaced by a sclerotic and bureaucratic set up. Sales review meetings, once rife with passionate discussions, are now replete with profanities. The ill tempered angel investor's scream can be heard all the way from his villa in New York.Rajesh, now shunted into an innocuous role finds every effort made to alleviate the condition of the demoralized sales team, met with resistance. As revenues dwindle and tempers rise, Rajesh realizes he is running out of time and options. He either toes the CEO, Venky's line and becomes party to a sham or quits citing a host of plausible reasons. This hilarious narrative takes the reader from plush corporate boardrooms of Bangalore to the seedy hotels in Delhi as Oregon meanders in search of illusory customer wins. Rajesh meets several interesting characters ranging from the busty Polish graphics designer to the loquacious pimp masquerading as a taxi driver. (less)

Paperback, 196 pages
Published January 30th 2014 by Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd

My Review:

Here's a very different genre of book: it is fiction blended in with as much bitter truths of sales profession as possible. It is not unknown that salespersons are the most dishonest people you'll ever come across in your life. "The Sales Room" is nothing less than a satire on the sales scene in Indian IT sector. Rajesh, our ptotagonist makes no effort to be innocent, which he obviously isnt. The software start-up, Oregon has now scaled up from the humble start-up business that it previously was.

Profanities, expletives and sexual talks are intermittently and casually invading the conversations, making the job of working there even more impossible.
It is hilarious with all these elements, but one questions how much is too much? As far as the moral compass for the book goes, the score is a negative, even for a sales department, for there are clearly more profanities than necessary.

The good part about the book is that it is very insightful. Through various instances and events, the reader gets an idea of how the things actually work in the start-up/sales/investor scene in India. How the marketing centralization delays decision-making and holds the projects in an infinite loop of approvals and rejections. How when the product has failed to deliver any purpose, but still needs to be sold to gullible customers. And how such practices ensure that the organisation shall not survive in the  long-run. As the narrator himself remarks about the customers at one point, "They would not waste money on us if they could help it and if they were blessed with even a modicum of intelligence"
Oregon is a quintessential example of how when one department lacks skills and talent, it takes away all other departments as it drowns and hence the company never progresses.
The result is predictable: not many people stay with the organization, whether as customer or as employee, and those who do stay back for lack of alternatives, suffer from a low morale. In short, there is no hope for Oregon.

All the theory you learnt in your business studies textbook is there in front of your eyes happening among the vivid characters. From HR to marketing to sales tactics to need for diversity in workplace to sexual harassment and extra-marital affairs, there is nothing this bool doesn't cover.

I might do with little less expletives and at little more appropriate places though. I don't mind them using real life slang but then there's only so much you can take.

Links to the book:

I Thank the author for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Author Spotlight and Interview: Shikha Kumar

The author joins us for an interview. Here we go!
To check our review of her debut book, read this.
Interview:

1. Congratulations on getting published. When did you decide that you'd pen down a book?

SK: Well, honestly I decided to write because I believed I had stories to tell. Writing for some reason came natural to me despite of having any formal training or education in Literature. But then not just me, there many such aberrations in publishing world. So one fine day, dream shaped up into determination and rest what followed was course of action.


2. How did you manage to get time out from your professional demands to engage in the solitary pursuit of writing?

SK: We all have an alter-ego which we at times even keep away from the world with fear of being mocked up. But I decided to embark an journey in unknown terrain with just one funda “I have nothing to lose”. Time management was certainly a challenge, but when the self-drive is so insanely lethal I think even odds starts working in your favor.

3. The novel is an easy read, yet with twists and turns, ending predictably as all love stories go. Was writing this genre your desire?

SK: Well, happy ending could be predictable but how they reached there is the USP of the story. Easy read was intentional as I wanted my story to reach all age-groups. I didn’t write to flaunt my vocabulary, I get enough opportunity at work. Yes, writing Romance was my absolute choice because unfortunately despite being most crowded Indian genre it has nothing new to offer. I feel very satisfied when I’m congratulated for my strong story and true-to-life characters.

4. Is any character inspired from real life, Kunal and Shreya are so real, we cannot help but believe that they have indeed been an alteration of some real persons!

SK: Let me put it this way, they are absolutely fictitious but they have a traits familiar to each one of us. The anguish, stubbornness, co-exists in us with unshakable belief in love and unceasing desire to work towards happy-ending.

5. You have been immensely involved in the promotion of your book on social media platforms too. What do think defines a book's success today?

SK: I very strongly believe that marketing plays a very crucial role in not only success of the books but also in author's identity amongst readers and inside publishing world. I patiently waited a month to hear early reviews; it was when I heard encouraging response of my book I thought my horse is a safe-bet. Then it was no looking back and I’m leaving no stone unturned to reach readers. Rest every book does take it due time. I can only do my best, which I will better than best of capabilities.

Author website:

Book links:

Book Review: He fixed the match, she fixed him by Shikha

About the book

Shreya – I'm a highly qualified Delhi girl earning an enviable salary. My parents are having a tough time finding a suitable groom for me. However, recently they have a proposal from this very interesting guy from Mumbai. I almost get mesmerized when he starts talking to me. I think I like him very much. Kunal – I'm owner of a textile company in Mumbai. My Mom wants me to get married. Again. She has recently suggested a suitable girl from Delhi. What my Mom doesn't know is that I've met Shreya before once in my life and I've been looking for her ever since. I have a vendetta to settle. The author takes you along on a journey via roads of revenge, agony, remorse, attraction, titillation, tantalization and romance. Do Shreya and Kunal make it, or do they fall prey to their past?
Paperback: 292 pages
Publisher: Vitasta Publishing Pvt.Ltd; 1St Edition edition (1 November 2014)
Language: English

About the author:

Shikha Kumar has a B-Tech degree in Computer Science from Bharati Vidyapeeth, Delhi. Professionally she’s as a Manager with Tata Consultancy Services. She has travelled to, and worked in different countries. She enjoys travelling, reading, writing and watching movies. This is her first attempt to present her writing abilities to the world.

 Home Town - Delhi, India

Official author website: 

My review:

I will begin with the best thing about this book: despite being a complete love story, this is a fresh plot, unlike the stale, overused plots of hatred-turns-into-love sequence of events. While this may come as a surprise considering the plot lays down this story only, the difference lies in the fact that here both the protagonists had a legitimate reason for hating each other to death. The author uses the element of surprise very well. Until the plot twisted into the love-hate story that it is, I couldn't even imagine that the simple plot will metamorphose into something so wicked, crooked and full of revenge. I liked the characters too! They were throughout just as they had been described initially.

I had feared that the vendetta settlement might get ugly, thankfully it didn't. The author has kept it a light-read, and Here i would mention how the Indian scene would benefit from such god quality chic-lit.
Having read the whole boo, I now find humour in the opening line: It's advisable to be careful about what you wish for; a cold breeze could be tornado approaching.
The cover and the title are so full of flavor and mischief, I adore these.
More on the characters: etched very carefully, they are diverse personalities with a past. the story proceeds over how their pasts intersected and landed them to the present. Both of them are broken, possessed by revenge in varying degrees, and professionally sound. Marriage seems to be the only thing offering them some solace, to mend their broken souls. Real life, as it turns out is different. the marriage that was supposed to be a panacea becomes the latest challenge in their lives. I especially loved those scenes and sequences where the families and parents were involved. For a refreshing change, the parents were not intrusive in a way that hampers or negates the love, rather propelled it.
Obviously, it had a cliched ending, but then, don't all love stories do?

Only one thing I found awkward was the forceful mention of one of the brands, time and again. While I am all for sponsorship and marketing, I am still to rethink on my idea of promoting brands for the sake of promoting them in a book! While this was done seamlessly in two cases, one of them was very misplaced.

My Judgement:

A fun, light-read, with all the idiosyncrasies of the Indian society, and love at its best, this is worth a read.

Author website:

Book links:

All images and information sourced from goodreads and/or author website

Book Review: The Poetry of a common Indian Female By Virendra Narayan Desai

About the book

Whether a manager of a multinational bank or a lady security guard outside the ladies changing room in any shopping mall- A common Indian woman (in that case, any nationality!) fights all the circumstances with head on attitude! They can go to any limit for looking after their children and family. Fate only gives them one option- FIGHT! They fought, fought hard and finally conquered the destiny. Why? - Well, some of them, just to feed their children, and some of them to defy the barriers that were put upon them. As they say - Winners have scars! All the ladies in this book are winners and they do have scars! Want to know, how did they get it? and still came out victorious with a bright and a dazzling smile? Welcome to 'The Poetry of a Common Indian Female'. Come along and witness these truly spectacular, motivational stories of Common Indian Females, which would warm your heart. Witness these women as they fight; and re-live their stories! 

About the Author:

Virendra Narayan Desai is an Indian author. Born in Mumbai, India, Virendra obtained his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science & Engineering from the Shivaji University, Kolhapur. He is equally interested in, both from the smallest of atoms to the biggest of stars. This is his first book and plans to write many more (in short, always!)

He is currently based in Mumbai and is working on his second novel.

Author Website- www.virendradesai.com 

My review:

The book is a very different approach to narration of stories. While we read the success stories of famous people, we feel a trickle of inspiration. But this book is a one of its kind, for it tells the stories which inspire to the core. They are common women like the readers, and what has set them apart from others is the fact that they have been warriors.

No wonder three cheers go for the intention and motivation behind the writing of this book.

However, the book is not a package. Somehow it lacks the expression to elicit the kind of response and empathy and praise that such a work should. The narration does appreciate the struggles of the women mentioned in each chapter, but it doesn't appeal at once. Somewhere the usage of words and expression phrases go awry. Some stories looked more awe-inspiring than others, which should not have been the case. 

I especially liked how the narrator built a rapport with some ladies in the book. But there was still scope for improvement as far as reading pleasure and bibliophilic utility was concerned.

My Judgement:

Not the best literary piece, but certainly the best humanitarian piece out there. A one time read.

Book Links:

All images and information sourced from goodreads.