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Book Review- The Promise of Rain by Vasundra Tailor

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This is my second read from the author after The Secret of Elephants  . The protagonist, Anna Kotze, finds a long-buried family secret discovered in the form of an engraved necklace, “Indira” — the same name she bears as her middle one. The revelation jolts Anna into action, sending her on a quest that stretches from Zimbabwe’s storm-dark skies to the rain-soaked streets of India. As Anna chases fragile clues across continents, the necklace becomes both compass and burden, guiding her into the hidden corners of her family’s past. With every answer she uncovers, new questions surface, forcing her to confront not only who her grandmother was, but what truths have been kept from her — and whether she’s ready to face the storms they’ll unleash. The read was ‘okay’ is really the most I can say about it. The story was not epic; the characters seemed less developed, but the description of the scenes gets 100% marks. For me, the bright cover page and a few of the diary entries were the hig...
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Failure or Professionally Convenient - A reflection

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(Pic-AI Generated) Disclaimer - Read it with a light heart and retain no heaviness. Today, I am not writing a book review —today I am reflecting on the exhausting, hilarious art of being the "Reliable One", as I am experiencing it nowadays in repeated mode. I am a " doer ." I treat professional commitments like blood oaths , often at the expense of my own sanity ( Opinions!! ). Yet the last two years have forced a rethink: the world doesn’t want a problem-solver; the world wants a professional mime—someone who works hard, produces results, and remains blissfully silent when the logic falls apart. My favourite corporate game is "Ignore the Human, Embrace the Bias." Let me explain. When I point out that a workflow/plan of action has some flaws, trust me , I am not being difficult; I am asking for a crumb of logic or a little discussion. But in today’s scenario, asking why is seen as resistance. If I am not immediately convinced by an illogical mandate, my ...
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Book Review (Hindi)- Musafir Cafe by Divya Prakash Dubey

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  (Debut review) “ जिनके पास खोने के लिए कुछ नहीं होता वो फैसले जल्दी ले लिया करते हैं। जिस दिन हमको ये समझ में आता है कि यहाँ हममें से किसी के भी पास जिंदगी के अलावा खोने को कुछ नहीं है, उस दिन हम अपनी जिंदगी का पहला कदम अपनी ओर चलते हैं। बाहर चलते- चलते हम करीब- करीब भूल ही चुके होते हैं कि हमारे अंदर भी एक दुनिया है।” This is my first-ever read of a Hindi novel, and thus, my first-ever Hindi book review. As always, let me begin with an honest thought: my first experience of reading a Hindi novel was truly wholesome. Although the book is in my mother tongue, I was a bit hesitant that this read might prove “boring” or that I would not understand due to difficult Hindi grammar; however, this book surpassed all apprehension. The story is about Sudha and Chandar and their life story- together & separate. Without revealing much, the Musafir Cafe is the story of a dream, a promise, a faith, and unbounded love. It touched my heart with its simplicity and the profound beauty of the s...
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Book review- Fake It 'til You Make It by Laura Carter

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  “Smart without being a smart ass. Talented without being boastful. Not afraid to roll up their sleeves and clean a floor or cook a meal.” To recover from the hangover of my last read, which was “cold” and “brutal,” I needed something “warm” and “light.” My Goodreads list never fails me, and this time it led me to a laugh-out-loud read with a wonderfully Hollywood-style charm. It was the kind of book anyone finish in one sitting. So, the story goes like this- Abbey thinks she is about to have the best day of her life — maybe even a proposal — but everything falls apart when her boyfriend tells her he has met someone else. As if that is not bad enough, she also loses her job. In a bold attempt to reinvent herself, Abbey spends her wedding savings on an apartment in the building she is always dreamed of living in and builds a new life, complete with a wardrobe to match. But keeping up the perfect new image gets complicated when her family invites her ex, who is still a close family ...
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Book Review- The Trial by Franz Kafka

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Kafka's writing is never dull. This is my second novel after    The Metamorphosis , but the grimness and nightmarish feeling still linger. After reading this one, I see a pattern in Kafka’s novels: the main character is introduced to an unusual situation, suffers, and then gradually meets his demise. “The Trial” is about a lone man, Josef K, a senior bank clerk who is arrested on his 30th birthday for an unspecified crime by unidentified authorities and due to faceless bureaucracy. Bizarrely, he is not jailed and is told he can go about his daily life as he navigates an incomprehensible, endless judicial process. The nature of the crime is never revealed to the reader or even to Joseph himself. Joseph progresses through various stages of confusion and paranoia, trying to understand his situation as he moves from one strange situation to another. Somewhere in the middle of the novel, I felt as if Josef K. is paranoid, and that he is not on trial at all. The novel presents a co...
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Book Review- Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari

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  “Instead of dividing democracies from totalitarian regimes, a new Silicon Curtain may separate all humans from our unfathomable algorithmic overlords.” Thrilling, chilling and a shift-thinking book!! With his unique ability to unite both history and its grandest megatrends in a single view, Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI is my next read. It took me longer to read because I kept rereading certain parts. This is not because the book is difficult, quite the opposite, but because I wanted to understand the author’s point of view and let it sink into my head. It is that kind of book which direct towards many futures depending on what kind of present steps we are venturing!! The book takes a holistic viewpoint, considering the history of communication, knowledge, human networks, inorganic networks, and, finally, computer politics. This broader lens makes the book especially powerful, because it shows that today’s technological revolution is part...
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Respect your maintenance guy!! (My Old-soul Twinkle)

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Disclaimer: This series, “My Old-soul Twinkle,” is my heartfelt attempt to capture the endless stream of thoughts racing through my mind. At times, these musings may seem confusing—or even a little "out there"—but I genuinely welcome your counterpoints and insights. Dive in and share your thoughts! Whether it is the newlywed bride crushed by the invisible weight of emotional labor, the corporate employee drowning in the "next task" without room to breathe, or the quiet caretakers of our everyday world, we are burning out our maintenance crew. My old soul never understood some of the ways our systems work . Like the obsession with the starting line. We throw parties for the ribbon-cutting, “heavily” celebrate the newlywed couple, and cheer for the fresh graduate landing their first big job. Over time, we have collectively built a society that deeply appreciates, demands, and richly rewards primarily creators and builders. And look, there is absolutely no harm in tha...
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