It's been a long time since I have last updated my blog. At the start I had planned to update it regularly but things do not go as planned. And I have also stopped filling the pages of my diary where I had planed to write about at least one thing everyday. Anyway planning is one thing and following through that plan is another thing.
These days I am reading Robin Sharma's "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari". It is an account of a highly suceessful but highly stresed lawyer who had everything going his way as far as his career is concerned but eventually broke down in Court one day. It is his quest for happiness and personal meaning to his life, his journey to India in pursuit of these. Robin has blended the ancient wisdom of the sages with the wisdom contained in modern inspirational books into his novel. It is a must read for all those who want to improve the quality of their lives. The book contains many thought-provoking theories which are aptly backed up by examples.
I have not yet finished reading the book but I would rate this among the best books available today in its genre. You can have access to his blogs and many other things at www.robinsharma.com
Friday, April 21, 2006
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
John Grisham
I could not remember the first time I read a Grisham novel. I probably must have been in Class VIII when I read "The Partner" the first Grisham novel that I read. I enjoyed reading the novel so much that I started reading every Grisham novel that I could lay my hands upon.
His style of writing is impeccable and his name today has become synonymous with the modern legal thriller. He is the one who kindles my interest in legal cases and introduces me to the exciting world of courtroom dramas. The Partner and the Firm are his best novels to date in my view.
Graham, born on February 8,1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. But life has other plans for him. He majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.
He is now in the process of writing his first nonfiction book which is as yet untitled. It is the story of Ronald Keith Williamson who was convicted, sent to death row, and came within five days of being executed by lethal injection fora murder he did not commit. After twelve years in prison , he was freed in 1999 but continued to struggle with psychiatric disorders.He died at the age of 51 on December 4, 2004.
Mr Grisham read his obituary in The New York Times , and found it impossible to forget. As he says, "Not in my most creative hour could I imagine a story as compelling as Ron Williamson's." With the full cooperation of the Williamson family, Mr Grisham will recount the murder, its aftermath, the trial, the imprisonment, and the exoneration.
The novel will be published by Doubleday in the US and Canada in 2006 and as a Dell paperback the following year.
His style of writing is impeccable and his name today has become synonymous with the modern legal thriller. He is the one who kindles my interest in legal cases and introduces me to the exciting world of courtroom dramas. The Partner and the Firm are his best novels to date in my view.
Graham, born on February 8,1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. But life has other plans for him. He majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.
He is now in the process of writing his first nonfiction book which is as yet untitled. It is the story of Ronald Keith Williamson who was convicted, sent to death row, and came within five days of being executed by lethal injection fora murder he did not commit. After twelve years in prison , he was freed in 1999 but continued to struggle with psychiatric disorders.He died at the age of 51 on December 4, 2004.
Mr Grisham read his obituary in The New York Times , and found it impossible to forget. As he says, "Not in my most creative hour could I imagine a story as compelling as Ron Williamson's." With the full cooperation of the Williamson family, Mr Grisham will recount the murder, its aftermath, the trial, the imprisonment, and the exoneration.
The novel will be published by Doubleday in the US and Canada in 2006 and as a Dell paperback the following year.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
One Night at The Call Centre
I had just finished reading ON@TCC.
To begin with, I find Indian authors boring. Even though I had read numerous foreign authors I could not finish reading even a single Indian novel till the very end. It is with this mindset that I started reading ON@TCC as I was too bored and too lazy to do any other thing.
ON@TCC is a magnificiently well written book. There are not many writers (or none in my opinion) at the Indian writing scene at present who is on the same pedestal as Chetan for the sheer quality of his work and his focus on issues and problems which the present generation faces and relates to.
The book is about six people working in a call centre-their hopes, dreams and problems set in a single night. The book touches upon every issue which is faced by the youth of today-from broken relationships to career frustrations to confused moral, the book has it all. Chetan's genius is in setting the story in one night yet in being able to bring out all these issues clearly.
All in all, a joy to read.
After reading this novel I headed straight for the book store to buy his other novel, Five Point Someone, the national bestseller that is being made into a movie.
To begin with, I find Indian authors boring. Even though I had read numerous foreign authors I could not finish reading even a single Indian novel till the very end. It is with this mindset that I started reading ON@TCC as I was too bored and too lazy to do any other thing.
ON@TCC is a magnificiently well written book. There are not many writers (or none in my opinion) at the Indian writing scene at present who is on the same pedestal as Chetan for the sheer quality of his work and his focus on issues and problems which the present generation faces and relates to.
The book is about six people working in a call centre-their hopes, dreams and problems set in a single night. The book touches upon every issue which is faced by the youth of today-from broken relationships to career frustrations to confused moral, the book has it all. Chetan's genius is in setting the story in one night yet in being able to bring out all these issues clearly.
All in all, a joy to read.
After reading this novel I headed straight for the book store to buy his other novel, Five Point Someone, the national bestseller that is being made into a movie.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Overcoming Writer's Block
Have you ever really felt the need to write about something and started writing about it but give up in the middle of it?
You feel you have great ideas and started writing but after sometime realises that you do not have so much idea about it anymore and just give it up. Dont' worry, you are not alone. This is a condition faced by many budding and up and coming writers in theri initial stages of their journey into the world of writing.
I myself have also always been interested in writing since my high school days but never seem to find the time or the courage to write. Books have always been my passion and I read everything that I could lay my hands upon. When I read great authors I just want to be like them some day. I have started writing several times but always give up never completing what I had written. I started wrting and after soemtime I feel that I don't have the passion or the drive to write anymore give it up saying or thinking that writing is not my cup of tea. But this desire to write refuses to die down even after all these years. Perhaps I am a victim of a condition called writer's block.
The dictionary defines writer's block as "a usually temporary psychological inability to begin or continue work on a piece of writing."
I have tried to overcome this by writing blogs. It has always been my dream to be a writer in my own right someday and writing these blogs is an initial step in that direction. Even if I ain't in the league of the likes of Salman Rushdie or Vikram Seth, I just enjoy writing and that is all that matters in the end.
So all you budding writers out there, stop procrastinating and start writing. Maybe you are a Salman Rushdie or a Vikram Seth yet to be unleashed. Let the creative juices in you start flowing.
You feel you have great ideas and started writing but after sometime realises that you do not have so much idea about it anymore and just give it up. Dont' worry, you are not alone. This is a condition faced by many budding and up and coming writers in theri initial stages of their journey into the world of writing.
I myself have also always been interested in writing since my high school days but never seem to find the time or the courage to write. Books have always been my passion and I read everything that I could lay my hands upon. When I read great authors I just want to be like them some day. I have started writing several times but always give up never completing what I had written. I started wrting and after soemtime I feel that I don't have the passion or the drive to write anymore give it up saying or thinking that writing is not my cup of tea. But this desire to write refuses to die down even after all these years. Perhaps I am a victim of a condition called writer's block.
The dictionary defines writer's block as "a usually temporary psychological inability to begin or continue work on a piece of writing."
I have tried to overcome this by writing blogs. It has always been my dream to be a writer in my own right someday and writing these blogs is an initial step in that direction. Even if I ain't in the league of the likes of Salman Rushdie or Vikram Seth, I just enjoy writing and that is all that matters in the end.
So all you budding writers out there, stop procrastinating and start writing. Maybe you are a Salman Rushdie or a Vikram Seth yet to be unleashed. Let the creative juices in you start flowing.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Pursuit of Perfection
The dictionary defines perfection as "the state of being without a flaw or defect". No doubt perfection is a state which cannot be attained by us. But it is in the fitness of things to say that we should always aim for perfection in whatever we do. Perfection should be our life-long pursuit.
As human beings we have the tendency of choosing mediocrity over perfectionism. This may be the by-product of sheer laziness or a sense of irresponsibility. We, human beings, tend to subscribe to an ethos of being content with mediocrity. As ubiquitous as it sounds, we do. Albeit in varying levels, there are innumerable times in the day where we choose convenience over commitment and let ourselves be overcome by the ‘easier path’. .
In every job that we fulfil each day, it is critical that we approach it with the will to be the best at it. Be it in our professional work or in doing simple day-to-day work it is not sufficient that we merely achieve it—we need to be zealous about achieving it. We should be sticklers for detail and punctuality. We so enjoy dealing with these types of people. In this day of cutthroat competition, we need to take more cognisance of this than ever. The world around us is moving toward ever-higher levels of perfection. And the world certainly isn’t lenient toward those that fall short. It should be our endeavour to eternally chase that 'mirage' called perfectionism.
As human beings we have the tendency of choosing mediocrity over perfectionism. This may be the by-product of sheer laziness or a sense of irresponsibility. We, human beings, tend to subscribe to an ethos of being content with mediocrity. As ubiquitous as it sounds, we do. Albeit in varying levels, there are innumerable times in the day where we choose convenience over commitment and let ourselves be overcome by the ‘easier path’. .
In every job that we fulfil each day, it is critical that we approach it with the will to be the best at it. Be it in our professional work or in doing simple day-to-day work it is not sufficient that we merely achieve it—we need to be zealous about achieving it. We should be sticklers for detail and punctuality. We so enjoy dealing with these types of people. In this day of cutthroat competition, we need to take more cognisance of this than ever. The world around us is moving toward ever-higher levels of perfection. And the world certainly isn’t lenient toward those that fall short. It should be our endeavour to eternally chase that 'mirage' called perfectionism.
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