Is it necessary to read books?

Well! The ideal answer to this question would be YES and a NO! 

For some individuals, reading books is of utmost importance while for some, it's merely some pieces of paper with loads of information written in a font size of 11 or maybe 10 sometimes. The latter ones are those who give a high five to movies, web series, and other reality shows. These people are like, "Why would I read that many pages when I can easily run through the movie based on that particular novel in just 2 hours?"

Stop there, my friend! First of all, not all novels are converted into movies and not all movies represent the same plot. So, here the answer is YES! YOU SHOULD READ (For the NO part, you'll find the answer till the end of this article :)

So, if you want to read and not able to gauge where you should start from, here are few tips which you can follow and be a voracious reader!

#1 Pick up Novellas

Don't rush in the beginning and go for fatty books. They will eventually overburden you with sentences. Novellas are small novels with 100-150 pages that are so easy to grasp.

#2 Watch YouTube Videos

Watch videos related to books, like books for beginners, top fictional books, etc. This will create an urge to start reading within yourself and boosts your confidence.

#3 Find different Genres

Do not stick to one genre, instead browse through different categories of genres like thriller, romance, fantasy, horror, psychotic thrillers, non-fictional, etc. It will elevate your reading skills and you'll be able to focus more.

#4 Reward yourself

Don't read for the sake of showing it off. Read for leisure and gaining knowledge. And it's always great to reward yourself in the beginning with a treat after the completion of the book.

#5 Go for Audiobooks

Here comes the answer to the "NO" part. If you don't want to read the book, then listen to the book. There are numerous platforms available that provide unlimited audiobooks at affordable prices. 

Happy Reading & Happy Listening!

 

The Rudest Book Ever by Shwetabh Gangwar

                                       The Rudest Book Ever by Shwetabh Gangwar is an easy read and relatable guide for people who are into some kind of trouble. The book will make you embrace yourself as you reach the end. The author has tried to make a reality check for us making us realize what kind of stuff we are putting ourselves into and the most important question, 'WHY SO?'.

As the name suggests, the language of the book is slightly rude which is fine as the book is written by a problem solver, a person who knows how to deal with people and their issues and who's remarkable at his work. Shwetabh Gangwar has tried to raise the fact that we creatures don't have any idea about our lives and still, we try to poke our nose into the matter of others and their lifestyle. Instead of taking charge of our lives, we try to control others, sometimes we even try to change the thought process of that person just because he/she doesn't seem to fit in our category because of their ideologies.

What we need to understand is every person is different, and so is their perception, their way of taking things, their response to troubles, and their methods to achieve the goals. Shwetabh Gangwar has deliberately tried to hurt your feelings by using a harsh tone in this book. His views are straightforward and blunt. 

In this book, you will find several life-changing points, some of them are;

• Dealing with rejections
• Why people see others as good or dumb
• Why do we always need to search for happiness
• Is there anything like perfect parenting
• What do you think of other people and why so
• And last but not the least, the author wants the audience to focus on 'how to think' instead of 'what to think'

If we can understand this concept, there is no need to pile up various self-helping books and watching videos related to that. But usually, it is way more difficult to apply practically than it is said. We people then focus on 'LEARNING HOW TO THINK'. It creates a notion in our mind that we should first learn how to think and then everything is sorted. We all create a fantasy of having higher intelligence. For this, we join certain cults, become followers, and use our brains in a manner that we don't want to.

Gangwar says that we live in a world where people celebrate knowledge and not intelligence. Some say that these two are the same concepts, some say that knowledge is much important than intelligence. And we people are one of those who prevail these ideas. So, all we need is to make ourselves capable of being worthy of and to others as well. This book will make you confront your alter ego and in ways that you can explore yourself truly.

In the introduction part of the book, the author himself mentions that this book is not going to teach you guys anything, it is only written to make you think. He also talks about freeing your mind from all the craps and bullshits you have been facing lately. Well, I am not sure if this book can 'FREE' you from the burden and trouble you are facing but definitely, it could be of great help if you want to learn ' HOW TO DEAL WITH YOURSELF' rather than ' HOW TO DEAL WITH OTHERS'.

So, I think it's worth giving a shot to this book.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Book: The Rudest Book Ever

Genre: Non-Fiction

Author: Shwetabh Gangwar

Publisher: Westland Publications

Price: 299/-

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

                

                                         A Thousand Splendid Suns is a plot set in Afghanistan during the 1960s. The story reflects a pure and pious form of love between two women who weren't related by blood but united by their hearts. Without even having any acquaintance of each other, they share an everlasting bond of a mother-daughter relationship.

Khaled Hosseini has beautifully put the journey of these two strangers into 4 parts considering 51 chapters. This book is gripping and heartbreaking at the same time. You feel happy, sad, disappointed, pathetic and all at the same time. Yes! It's actually complicated to explain what kind of emotion you are into at a particular point in time. And that's the beauty of Khaled Hosseini's writing. He can make you experience mixed emotions at the same time making the scenario indistinguishable. Now, Let's jump to the plot of the novel. Mariam, an illegitimate child of Jalil and Nana used to live near Herat, a small town in Afghanistan along with her mother. Jalil was a successful businessman who lived in Herat along with his three wives and children and Nana used to work there. Jalil used to visit Mariam once a week and told her stories and played with her. He occupied a special place in Mariam's heart, she wanted to go with him to his place and live with him. Since her mother was a spiteful and stubborn one and this made Mariam more eager to live with her father. 
But life isn't what it seems. Unfortunate events took place and Nana committed suicide. Jalil took Mariam to his place, not with the intention of keeping her or educating her but to marry her. Mariam was married to Rasheed, a widowed shoemaker in Kabul who was way older than her. Her life seemed normal and quietly passing on busy with her chores until she suffered several miscarriages. Rasheed started abusing her both physically and emotionally. 
Down the street where Mariam and Rasheed lived, a lovely, intelligent little girl was growing up fast with all the privileges. She admired her best friend, Tariq who was a sensible boy who used to live nearby Laila's house. Laila's brothers lost their lives in a war between Afghanis and the Soviets. It was just a matter of time when the war reached Kabul and the city was facing several bombardments. Tariq and his family left for Pakistan after these events. Several lives were destroyed and among those, Laila's parents also died and she herself was badly injured.
Mariam and Rasheed took care of her until she was fine enough to walk. She was dumbstruck by the news of her parents and meanwhile a man showed up saying that Tariq and his family were no more. Rasheed tried to make hay while the sun shines and thus offered a marriage proposal to Laila. Upon discovering that she was pregnant with Tariq's child and being in an unfortunate situation and dilemma of nowhere else to go, she agreed. She gave birth to a daughter, Aziza. Rasheed abused her and neglected her of being a girl. Mariam and Laila became close friends and confidants, their bond grew stronger and stronger. They decided to flew away from Kabul but got caught and faced the wrath of Rasheed where he almost killed Laila and Aziza.
After some time, the Taliban grew full on its Power and Laila gave birth to her son, Zalmai. Rasheed couldn't make up to his sentiments that how happy he was. All of his love was for Zalmai. Due to the scarcity of food and other things in Kabul, Rasheed sent Aziza to an orphanage, and her mother, Laila had to face the Taliban each and every time she used to visit her daughter followed by the beatings of the Taliban.
One day Tariq showed up and they both were united again realizing that Rasheed filled her up with wrong information by hiring that person who showed up that day. When Rasheed came back from his work and got to know about Tariq's visit, he badly beats her up with his leather belt tearing her body parts and spreading blood everywhere. When he was about to kill her, Mariam killed him with a shovel. She asked Laila to run away with Tariq and the kids. They left.
Mariam spent her rest of the days in the prison along with other women whom the Taliban had captured and when found guilty, she was hanged up in front of the people of Kabul for killing his 'Shohar'. Laila went to Herat in order to find anything about Mariam and his family and returned with a videotape, a sack of money, and a letter written by Jalil for Mariam which clearly states the misery he caused to Mariam and her mother and how remorseful he was. 
After the Taliban vanquished, Laila and Tariq along with Aziza and Zalmai returned to Kabul. They used the money for the restoration of the orphanage where Aziza stayed in and Laila worked there as a teacher. Meanwhile, they debated for the name of their third child but deep down Laila knew what's that gonna be!