Review: Hit Refresh

Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: Satya Nadella's view of Microsoft journey from his perspective in the driving seat looking forward.

While the initial part tracks Satya's personal journey from India to the US, his family and the mixed feelings an immigrant can have moving about, it then moves into him taking reins of Microsoft and the thought process behind the decisions he took. This could be an extremely long memo for Microsoft employees wondering why certain things are happening in a certain way, gives some insights on what defines Microsoft culture from Satya's perspective and some fire fighting examples.

He does try to share his thinking process on why he decided to steer course for the company - hoping to justify it to the reader and the wider public. It doesn't try to inspire, doesnt deep dive into a technical vision but meanders in between with leadership challenges, regulatory hurdles and dealing with trust issues.

This book is a glimpse into his thought process and pretty much that. Maybe a better read for Microsoft employees. Though the title finally makes it at the end as he gives takeaways asking everyone to hit refresh and take bigger strides just like how he has managed to bring MIcrosoft back into the big leagues from the pessimism of its future around the time he got onboard as CEO.

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Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Life through the eyes of a fifteen year old with Asperger syndrome, high-functioning autism

Done from a first person perspective, the entire story structure is hence different from the norm as Christopher shares about himself, his surroundings and his love for math. Ignorant of social protocols, he logically breaks down problems in front of him triggered by the murder of the neighbour's dog as he goes about investigating. Turns out that isn't the focal point of the story but Christopher is dealing with day to day from his own perspective. Christopher could totally have been Young Sheldon from Big Bang Theory in terms of his love for logic and math, even justifying illogical traits through ingenious logic like defining a good day and bad day by the colored cars he sees on his way to school.

There is so much math geekery on display with monty hall problem making an appearance and all the chapters numbered as prime numbers. Never once in the book is the syndrome mentioned except in the blurb. He can figure everything out like his idol Sherlock Holmes and specifically not Sir Arthur Conan Doyle but has trouble understanding human emotions.

This book is probably more Young Adult than mainstream but nonetheless makes for a good read. Not a murder mystery as marketed but understanding the mysterious ways of our society through a completely different perspectice.

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Review: Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book: The Mowgli Stories

Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book: The Mowgli Stories by Rudyard Kipling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: An audio dramatization of Mowgli and the Jungle Book

A lot of us have grown up with "Jungle jungle baat chali hai pata chala hai ki chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai" or the Doodarshan TV mornings with Jungle book in hindi. That obviously has created a certain image of Jungle book. The recent Disney movie adaptation added a visual dimension to it but this audio series was a good refresher with some great vocal variety.

This is also a pretty quick one - about 140 minutes of good drama and energy, The story no doubt is well etched in everyone's mind about a man cub growing up with the pack of wolves taught by a panther Bagheera and a bear Baloo with a strong friend in a python called Kaa as he deals with his nemesis Sher Khan and the irritating Bander log.

I rated this higher primarily for the nostalgia component along with some great audio production which doesn't try to go over the top or stereotype accents and voices.

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Review: The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Stories of how empowering women can truly change the world through Melinda Gates Foundation's perspective.

The book follows three threads - the evolution of Melinda Gates as a person, Melinda Gates foundation and fifty percent of this world. While there has been a lot of awareness around gender diversity since this book was published, this is a great insight into some of the innovative initiatives around the world that the foundation has helped with in empowering women across various life events - pregnancy, safety, marriage, education and the corporate world.

Maybe because it is dated or maybe the audience is folks in ivory towers the way Melinda talks about extreme poverty as if it is a novelty did feel odd but sharing the reality of how many obstacles face women in day to day life even up to the level of legalese and corporate sexism with examples is a good reality check for folks who feel it doesnt exist.

"Love is the most powerful and underused force for change in the world. ... For me, love is the effort to help others flourish — and it often begins with lifting up a person's self image."

She looks at this intersectionality of challenges from various lenses and prisms and that's what I liked about the diversity she includes on one theme and totally resonate with her aim towards equality for every human being.






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Review: The Real Sherlock

The Real Sherlock by Lucinda Hawksley
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Hooter: A series of conversations to understand Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Talking to various individuals who have studied or interacted with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to recreate his thought process and journey beyond his journals and his writings. While there are some interesting facts about the esteemed company he had in school and later in life, his wonderful journey to the Arctic on a whim and his near death experiences add some color to an otherwise monotonous rendition filled with ample repetition of thoughts and interviewers.

Honestly, it doesn't do enough to whet my appetite about Arthur Conan Doyle or his inspirations behind Sherlock and it's journey. If you are a hard core ACD fan, you might get through this to ensure you can fill up some checklist somewhere.

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Review: Operation Black Thunder: An Eyewitness Account Of Terrorism In Punjab

Operation Black Thunder: An Eyewitness Account Of Terrorism In Punjab by Sarab Jit Singh
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: A first hand account of the Amritsar DC handling militancy in Punjab right after Operation Blue Star in the 80s and 90s.

Sarabjit Singh shares a first hand perspective of the climate during his tenure, the events prior that led to that situation and all the players involved. He focuses on the operational aspects of Operation Black Thunder, the tantamount tension and pressure from various stakeholders in a very charged environment, dealing with probabilities at every step. He also talks of the political set up amongst the panthic committees, the central government playing its role, a series of public disappointments and how a potpourri of all of this led to the rise of militancy. He breaks out the various groups that had their own motives and how it all played out.

The book is a collection of his thoughts so isn't very fluid and does come back with repetition at times but rather than aiming for a Pulitzer, this book does well to document one of the darkest phases Punjab has had to see in it's recent history and what was the thinking behind the government machinery in trying to tackle the same.

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