HOW TO HAVE A BEAUTIFUL MIND, EDWARD DE BONO

Edward De Bono was a Maltese Physician, psychologist, and commentator who wrote over 60 books. He invented the term ‘Lateral Thinking.’ According to him, a lack of zinc or zinc deficiency leads to irritability or aggression.

How to Have a Beautiful Mind is a self-help book published in 2004.

Some people can awespire you. They talk and tell you things that just make you listen to them like you are listening to your grandma's fairy tales. They can grab your attention, and keep you enthralled by their conversation. They are just beautiful from within which makes them appealing from the outside despite their outward appearance, it didn’t matter whether they looked good or bad, as per the definition of good-looking! My father used to say “HAVE A BEAUTIFUL OUTLOOK RATHER THAN A BEAUTIFUL OUTFIT! “ I strongly believe in it.

This book is all about being that attractive person, who can attract not because of his/her outward appearance but because of his/her ability to talk due to the mind this person possesses. It is not the brain of a person with a super high IQ, or an erudite or knowledgeable. It is a person with a mind that is attractive to others as well as themselves, a beautiful mind in action, who talks yet doesn’t dominate the conversation or argues but at the same time isn’t reticent.

“RODIN, IN HIS FAMOUS STATUE ‘THE THINKER’, DID THINKING A GREAT DISSERVICE BY SHOWING THINKING AS HEAVY AND SOLEMN. IT CAN ALSO BE LIGHT AND FUN!”

According to the author, a good conversation shouldn’t involve one-upmanship or losing-winning battles. You may agree, disagree, enjoy, or get bored. Listening, understanding the concepts, responding in the right manner, taking interest, presenting alternatives while keeping the emotions under control and not showing off are some of the key ingredients to having a good conversation or a simple chat. He emphasises that the ability to listen is a key part of developing a beautiful mind. Strong feelings and emotions control our perceptions. He warns us about selective perception.

The author has explained every point using interesting anecdotes. While emphasising how concepts are a key component of a beautiful mind he gives an example:
“YOU DO NOT GO OUT INTO THE STREET IN YOUR UNDERWEAR, ALTHOUGH USUALLY YOU ARE WEARING UNDERWEAR. THE UNDERWEAR IS NOT VISIBLE BUT IS THERE ALL THE TIME. IT IS THE SAME WITH CONCEPTS. THEY ARE THERE.”

Humour is an integral part of having a beautiful mind, says the author. I think everybody is drawn towards a person who is funny and adds colour to every conversation.

This is a book worth a visit and a revisit and more!

“ DO NOT NEED A HIGH IQ. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE WELL EDUCATED. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE FULL OF INFORMATION. ANYONE CAN DEVELOP A BEAUTIFUL MIND IF HE OR SHE SETS OUT TO DO SO.”

HERCULE POIROT’S CHRISTMAS, AGATHA CHRISTIE, PUBLISHED: DECEMBER 19, 1938
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!

“Agatha Christie’s love of literature began at the age of five when she taught herself to read. Growing up she enjoyed reading Conan Doyle’s early Sherlock Holmes stories with her sister Madge, who later challenged her to write her own detective story.”- As quoted on her website.

"WHY NOT MAKE MY DETECTIVE A BELGIAN? THERE WERE ALL TYPES OF REFUGEES. HOW ABOUT A REFUGEE POLICE OFFICER? A RETIRED POLICE OFFICER. "
-AGATHA CHRISTIE, AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
Thus, was born, Hercule Poirot out of the imaginations of Agatha Christie.
A seven-part book, it begins on 22nd December and finishes on 28th December.
A family reunion, wherein a filthy rich father, Simeon Lee requests all his children to come home for Christmas. A locked room murder mystery, it felt like playing the board game Cluedo (devised by Anthony E. Pratt in 1943 motivated by Agatha Christie’s novels): ‘Colonel Mustard killed with a dagger in the Billiard room.’

I felt bad for Hercule Poirot, instead of enjoying his Christmas, he was forced to investigate a murder. I’m sure there are many nurses, doctors, policemen etc. who are working today without getting a holiday for Christmas.
The novel is simple yet gripping, fast-paced and I was clueless till the end. There is something brilliant about the build-up that kept me enthralled throughout. Every character is described so vividly that one can imagine all of them. The investigation is so detailed that there is no room for confusion or questions. Every time Poirot suspects somebody, he gives out clear reasons as to why he isn’t the murderer, making it a multilayered misleading whodunnit. Unravelling the history, and the character of every individual slowly, while building excitement, is what Agatha does in all her mysteries.
“THE CHARACTER OF THE VICTIM HAS ALWAYS SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIS OR HER MURDER.” HERCULE POIROT

FIRE BIRD, PERUMAL MURUGAN, WINNER OF @THEJCBPRIZE 2023

Many years ago my father had asked me to read Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck and I loved it. Fire Bird somewhat reads like Good Earth. The protagonist, Wang Lung in Good Earth and Muthu in Fire Bird, both toil in the soil, dig in the earth and find endless happiness in the land they own.  Fire Bird has similar settings but in villages of Tamil Nadu. Fire Bird, written by Perumal Murugan in Tamil has been excellently translated into English by Janani Kannan.
Land causes problems, and rifts in the family, and Muthu is ostracised from his own family, land, and village. The story is a journey undertaken by Muthu and his right-hand -man Kuppan. The author has beautifully captured the fear, apprehensions, and doubts a person has when he leaves his place of birth and moves to an unknown land in search of better prospects. It’s a poignant tale which talks about love, hatred, family ties, friendship, patriarchy, misogyny and the wonders of the good earth.
What causes rifts in families?
Is it better to have a joint family or a nuclear family?
Do people do well when they migrate?
Do people who stay put in their village for generations succeed in life?
The titular Fire Bird or Aalanthaapatchi is what Muthu's mother called her daughter-in-law or Muthu's wife Peruma. The firebird or mythical Phoenix is capable of reemerging/being reborn from its ashes. So the author is talking about getting a new life?
I could sense the strangeness felt by Muthu when he steps into a village which is not his where the people speak in a different dialect. An example from the book is, that in the new village, people call the coconut shell Kottaankuchi whereas in Muthu's village, they call it Tengai thotti. I'm sure that while reading it in English we are missing out on all the dialogues spoken in different dialects of Tamil. I think it would be fantastic to read it in Tamil (I wish I knew how to read or write). I was enamoured by the rustic setting, the liberal use of Tamil words like Nattamai, Veshti, Kothu, Manvetti, Kadaparai...
India is rich in so many languages and all languages have dialects. People can identify each other just by their dialect. The same goes for cuisines too. 
In this simple and brilliant read, the author captures the rural settings so beautifully, that one can picturise it while reading it!

Katy loses her mother and is not able to come to terms with it. Mother, Carol Almea Silver was a pillar of the community and is portrayed as an all-rounder. Katy goes on a vacation to Positano, Italy (which she was supposed to go with her mom), all alone leaving her husband behind.
What started like the ‘Eat’ part of the EAT PRAY LOVE book(ELIZABETH GILBERT), took a completely different turn.
The story moves at a fast pace and is a light read. It covers topics like love, belonging, grief, and majorly vacationing, eating and drinking.
Katie goes on tours and meets many people. She devours many pizzas and varieties of pasta while consuming various alcoholic beverages. This part was very tempting as I started feeling hungry while reading. So finally I had to order pizzas just because she kept eating so many Italian cuisines. Positrano was a catalyst in the book and the author vividly captures the essence of the place through brilliant descriptions. which I completely fell for. The picturesque description was also very luring but I couldn't leave for a holiday immediately, unlike buying a pizza.

She goes on a vacation because she is depressed, misses her mom and is confused about her relationship with her hubby as she was married at the young age of 22 and is now 30. Katy had an intense relationship with her mom. I found her husband  Eric very understanding. He didn’t complain much although Katy hardly decides anything for herself and is shown as being dependent on her mom for almost everything. Was it because she was an only child?! Or was the mother overpowering?!
There are portions of the book I felt could have done without but the pen is in the hand of the author and not mine.
This is quite a happy, fun read that I would recommend to everybody.

BOOK 13: ALL THE LITTLE BIRD-HEARTS, VIKTORIA LLOYD-BARLOW #BOOKERPRIZE2023

I really enjoyed reading this book, my last book from the 2023 Booker longlist. It delves deep into human relations in general and is an insightful exploration of motherhood, particularly navigating through the turbulent waters of dealing with a teenager.

Sunday is a divorcee who lives with her 16-year-old daughter Dolly.  A couple moves in next door, Vita and Rollo. The blurb made me skeptical of Vita. From the moment she was introduced, I had a preconceived image of her as though she was the white witch of Narnia, although she is portrayed as a sweet lady who is social, amicable, and very fashionable.

Sunday is neurodivergent. She loves her daughter Dolly a lot and enjoys spending time with her. She tries to imitate people’s accents in her mind and is often seen referring to a Book of Etiquette before any social situation. She is also fond of the Sicilian book of quotes from which she is often seen quoting. She observes people and questions every interaction in her mind, thinking about it over and over, reasoning it or trying to rationalise it. All the Little Bird- hearts is a great novel and I'm sure all mothers (of similar teenagers) will relate to Sunday, the protagonist. Though Sunday faces a lot of challenges, she comes across as a patient human.

Why are some teenagers incorrigibly stubborn, moody, or difficult to communicate with?
“I WISHED HER UNCHANGED AND UNCHANGING, AND SOLEMNLY MINE IN ALL THAT ONCE-TINY PERFECTION.”  The novel brilliantly depicts the love of a mother for her child and her helplessness at being the mom of a teenager. It is a dark tale that will linger in my memory for days.

Sunday loses her sister and her parents at a young age and continues to live in the same house. She talks about her hurtful relationship with her mother. For all the difficulties that Sunday faced bringing up her daughter, the daughter seemed rather heartless and indifferent towards her mother and made me hate her. The author is brilliant at bringing out these qualities.  Though it is slow-paced, it is a powerful read.
“...IN A PAINTING, THE ARTIST INTENDS ALL THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH HE HAS PUT THERE, SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE BEAUTIFUL IMAGE, TO BE READ. IN LIFE, THE OPPOSITE IS MORE OFTEN TRUE.”

BOOK 11: IF I SURVIVE YOU, JONATHAN ESCOFFERY #BOOKERPRIZE2023

It is a nonchronological collection of eight interconnected short stories with no clear ending as such and narrated mostly from a second-person point of view. It talks about racial and cultural identity, family problems, financial crisis and more.
It is mostly about Trelawny, a Jamaican-American, who feels he is black but not black enough to be accepted by the blacks and not white enough to be accepted by the whites. He suffers from existential angsts trying to fit into various groups or communities. He suffers from an identity crisis and tries to make a niche for himself by listening to a set of songs or dressing up in a particular way. Trewany finds it difficult to find a place for himself mentally and physically.
Is it necessary that a person should always belong to a racial group? Can't she/he be unique?
I read an article a few days back that “even two people not related but belonging to the same community stand the risk of transmitting genetic defects in their DNA.”
Despite this fact, people believe in finding out or associating people with a community?!
I enjoyed the story INDEPENDENT LIVING. I was quite intrigued by the opening lines of the story which goes: “IF YOU ASKED ME, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING? I MIGHT ADMIT I HUNT ELDERLY PEOPLE.”
It’s a story about this building manager (Trelawny) and the residents, mostly old or disabled, with an interesting tenant called Carlos. It had a very knotted and unique ending.
“IT MIGHT BE A HYPERBOLE TO SAY I IDENTIFY WITH ANY TENANTS. MOST OF WHOM ARE ASYLUM SEEKERS AND REFUGEES, BUT I CAN EMPATHISE WELL ENOUGH”
All the stories are easy to read except for ‘Under the Ackee Tree’ which has a different lingo, but one gets used to it as one reads on. This can be seen whenever Trelawny’s dad is narrating. Trelawny’s parents fled Jamaica in the 70s, to escape the violence and hoping to give their children a better education and future. The father is biased and loves his elder son more than Trewany.
How does it matter where a person is from or what his roots are?
Though it’s a debut novel, the author has uniquely woven the stories together depicting the feeling of helplessness in proving one's identity, particularly if the person has roots in so many cultures or communities.

BOOK 10: WESTERN LANE, CHETNA MAROO #BOOKERPRIZE2023

Personally, to be honest, I've never been interested in sports. Back when I was in school, I used to hate going to Physical Education (PE ) classes. I was bad at any sport. Once our PE teacher asked me to take part in shot-put competition and I missed him by a few inches. I’m not a person who actively cheers for a cricket or football match. I won a Pepsi crate when the opposing team was winning( the challenge was to call Pepsi when any player hit a sixer, irrespectively) and irritated everybody in the house.

This book being part of the Booker dozen and having been shortlisted too, forced me to read a book on squash, which I might not have read otherwise.

Western Lane is a small book (100+ pages), which talks about this family of three girls, who have recently lost their mom and are being taken care of by their father. They love playing squash and play at Western Lane, the sports centre. The father shows them videos of famous squash players and discusses the ins and outs of the game. The girls manage their chores responsibly while attending school and squash classes.

This is yet another book this year that talks about a family missing the mom.

Though the story, like the squash ball, reverberates with the loss, it has been beautifully woven depicting the Gujarati community, eating simple meals of Dal-chawal, portraying the struggle weighed down by the loss of the family member. The Gujarati girls who are under the surveillance of the community still go ahead with their rigorous training under the love and care of their father. I find it rather odd that, when people move to a new country, they force their children to follow the old traditions and customs of the land they come from.

I was apprehensive to read this book for obvious reasons but I was glad I read it. The ending was absolutely fantastic and I loved it.