Review: The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World

The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World by S. Jaishankar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Coffee Table conversations of how India should navigate the world

Rarely do you see someone in a position of power writing about current affairs - generally tend to be memoirs so this collection of essays / thoughts by S. Jaishankar provide a probe into his thoughts on contemporary affairs that India needs to navigate.

Relating it with Indian scriptures / concepts , he does take a stab at storytelling but most of the writing are thoughts spouted out without giving us - the reader- the background, the research or the story to explain the why. This is where it becomes dry like a press release on contemporary affairs without too much of context. Maybe thats the reason why we find memoirs more fulfilling and enlightening for people have a lot more freedom on what they can share and say rather than being on the driving wheel still.

I am looking forward to this memoirs when he possibly gets to open up a lot more.

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Review: Death's End

Death's End by Liu Cixin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: An extra terrestrial grand canvas for the wrap of the Three Body Problem trilogy

I loved the trilogy and Death's End brings a finality to the series hence the three stars (insert trisolaran joke). Liu Cixin takes the adage that no person is bigger than the greater cause because none of the characters stand out against the vast canvas in terms of space and time continuum. Death's End switches centuries and takes in many leaps of civilisation through the Deterrant era, Bunker era and the times and rribulations of humanity at the grandest scale in the science fiction domain. Death's end is more of a science fiction thesis than a story , and that is where the left and right side of my brain have clashed going through this space odyssey.

The stage is a wonderful masterpiece, the director of the play and the acrors could have done a better job with my expectations set high with the previous two books.

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Review: The Lion Women of Tehran

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: The story of an unlikely friendship of two girls holding true through the annals of time.

A relatable Bollywood trope of poor girl and rich girl becoming best friends is probably the only similarity. In unlikely circumstances, the two met and bond even though they are so very different in their outlook and personalities. The trials and tribulations of a society in utmost change and turmoil primarily Iran in that phase of 1950s to 80s where numerous political switches happened which directly impact our protagonists as they grow of age through those times. From innocent friendships to teenage romances to political activism, there is a flavor of it all and whilst Stationery shop of Tehran still remains my best Marjan read, the Lion Women of Tehran is a heartfelt ode to friendships against all odds - a common place for the lion women of Tehran whether it is Ellie's mother, Ellie herself, her best friend Homa and her daughter. The men for a change play pivotal supporting roles in this narrative.

A strong narrative on women's rights, friendships that stretch on the last frayed thread of a rope yet thrive are couple of take aways this book gives you.

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Review: Mein Kampf

Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: The recipe that created a diabolical movement when marinated in power

Visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau was a stark reminder of how inhumane humanity can be and got me curious of how does one justify that insanity. Time machines don't exist in 2024 yet so the next best option was to read Mein Kampf - and get a glimpse into his mind.

Should I be glad it didn't resonate with me? His oratory skills, clarity of thought and ability to crisply communicate are probably reasons why he got a sizeable audience and related power to do what he did and that comes across in his writing - the seeds in his childhood that sow into the grim reaper he becomes. It is weirdly similar to some of the situations in current day and makes me wonder - are we creating fertile grounds for another repeat or will humankind be smarter this time?

Obviously I have hindsight color each step he takes but for a second if I do take that away, you realise the slippery slope is very difficult to discern until its too late and that is where civilisation failed itself. Being aware will hopefully help us identify such signs in the future and stop future instances.

The author seems to be able to justify to themselves through information / propaganda, instilling discipline to untethered youth and focusing on economy and then going off on a tangent towards his unjustifiable hatered against Jews who he saw as the power centres that were preventing the glory of German fatherland from regaining its true place.

The book is not an easy read neither is it meant to be. If there is one message you do take away - power corrupts all.

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Review: The Dark Forest

The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: A sci fi where humanity needs to plan long term for survival against an imminent extraterrestrial threat

Building up on the 3 body problem, Liu continues to explore a complex web of aspects - human nature, science, economy. psychology, humanity, philosophy and a myriad range of topics under the covers of this science fiction. Honestly gets complex at time where you need to recap to get back to the groove on what all is happening across the various threads and how the story darts around each sub story. A group of wall facers - 4 selected humans whose job is protect humanity by secretly working on a project individually against a superior enemy that cannot enter the recesses of the human brain.

Without putting out the spoilers, Liu tackles a lot of subjects through this second book of the trilogy and makes for focused reading but rewarding at the end of it as he explores a lot of areas in this vast expanse of space at all planes though you need to trudge through parts as it gets chaotic at times.

Overall a good solid science fiction, builds on part 1 and keeps you going on figuring out the next book in the series.

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Review: A Nest of Vipers

A Nest of Vipers by Harini Nagendra
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Our lady detective stumbles onto a case of a disappearing magician.

Harini Nagendra continues to build on her Bangalore Detectives Club series at consistent pace with the third book out in the series. Sticking to the premise of early 20th century Bengaluru with our protagonist Kaveri and her regular crew that grow on you, the book continues to give you a flavour of Indian history and cultural nuances of the yester year. Well researched, the author does let you know when she has taken civil liberties with history for the storyline.

Coming back to the main theme of mysteries and crime capers - this wouldn't stand out as the most exciting mystery you have stumbled onto just as the protagonist stumbles onto the plotline helped by the author as things coincidentally line up. That said, Harini is trying to drive multiple storylines (introducing the freedom movement) in her current offering which is a bold attempt and a decent one at that. I'll leave it to the reader so I don't ruin it with any potential spoilers.

For me, its like Swami and friends from Malgudi Days - PG version of adventure set in historical Bengaluru.

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Review: Kamal Haasan: A Cinematic Journey

Kamal Haasan: A Cinematic Journey by K. Hariharan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Unraveling Kamal through his movies

The author through stories and anecdotes around the movies along with the portrayal in the movies and paints a picture of Kamal Haasan's journey in the real and reel life. He also provides the context to political undercurrents being portrayed in the movies keeping in mind the current affairs of the time. Whilst he points most of it as speculation to prevent any controversies erupting from the book, it provides a unique insight which Kamal - who is known to be extremely bold, risk taking and innovative film maker who has always pushed the limits of creativity and impact in the various roles he has played could have been appealing to his intelligentsia and elite audiences whilst being loved by the masses.

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Review: City as Memory: A Short Biography of Srinagar

City as Memory: A Short Biography of Srinagar by Sadaf Wani
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: Journal of Sirinagar residents' relationship with the city

A short look at the life and times of Srinagar from conversations with various folks who have stayed in Srinagar in their childhood or later as the author shares her experiences and the contrast the city has seen over the years. Starting off with the history of the region , the challenges with local dynasties and the upheaval and pains the citizens have gone through.

She adds the lens of the women in Srinagar in the public spaces is a unique perspective we dont see a lot in written literature. The book is dusty but it helps remove some of the cobwebs from the living history of Srinagar the rest of the world has buried under political and macro factors.

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Review: Elon Musk

Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hooter: An intimate inside look into the madly chaotic world called Elon Musk

The five ratings is for Walter Isaacson - having firmed up the art of writing biographies that don't become hagiographies. They celebrate the flaws and finesse of the individual in question and you can sense the amount of research that has gone in when there are moments - you feel you are sitting in the room when that monumental moment is playing out. I have been a fan since I read Leonardo Da Vinci by him - because there were no interviews just copious amounts of notes that he shaped into a beautiful biography.

Moving back to the protagonist of this book - Elon Musk. From a troubled childhood and its shadows playing into his adulting days , we move on to the numerous projects and initiatives he has run often bordering on the impossible. He is not in the race to win most popular manager award but as an innovator who dares to dream, he has helped pushed the envelop amongst everyone around him.

His approach to question everything man made (regulations as an example) and only believing in the law of physics, high calculated risk taking attitude and a vision for multi-planet species called the humans tie all his initiatives into that big picture. His penchant to court drama and attention is visible through his reach in Twitter and the drama around its acquisition.

You tend to believe between Tesla and Twitter - he has positioned himself with a massive data repository that sets him up well for the AI revolution happening around us. Without spelling it out, you know Walter leaves you hanging with the knowledge that a lot more rabbits are waiting in the magician's hat that Elon holds.

For a man who has proven his business acumen multiple times - he has led 5+ huge companies in a time where we celebrate doyens of one, he has matched business with science - generally considered two parallel swim lanes and changed the approach to working.

Concept of having designers, engineers, product working together is common place today but a rarity when he inculcated that culture back in Tesla and SpaceX. Solarcity was an interesting segue working with family before buying it and integrating into Tesla.

I had no clue the downtime we noticed on X right after Elon coming onboard around Christmas had to do with him actually switching off servers and porting them over to another location. Whilst I still am not a fan of Elon, I respect him more as a human having read his journey from Walter's perspective.

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Review: How Prime Ministers Decide

How Prime Ministers Decide by Neerja Chowdhury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hooter; Sharing the inner workings of every Indian PM till Manmohan Singh on the biggest challenges / wins attributed to them

The book is a pretty well researched collective of every Prime Minister till Manmohan Singh - the prevailing circumstances in which they came to power, the other players in the field, the run up to a major decision / event / win they had that has sorta defined them in the annals of history. This could have been extremely dry but she does a good job of setting the narrative through conversations and interviews which make you feel you are part of the conversation as the historical situation unravels in front of you. From Manmohan's camaraderie with George Bush and the tensions with Sonia Gandhi to Vajpayee's relationship with Narasimha Rao and L K Advani to the Pokhran tests and the fight for peace with Pakistan including how V P Singh's Mandal move and its impact that continues to resonate in India. The Gandhian family gets most of the coverage in this book from Nehru, Indira, Sonia, Rajiv, Sanjay and Rahul getting time as major movers and shakers in a lot of political decisions that took place whether in power or not.

History often gets painted black and white in our books but when viewed through the lens of the present - there are a lot more shades at play that lead to those outcomes and Neerja does a great job at delivering the same.

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Review: A Tale for the Time Being

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: A philosophical existential view shared through the life of two protagonists separated by an ocean.

From a Japanese American writer Ruth living in British Columbia who stumbles onto a bag that has washed ashore from Japan across the ocean, possibly after the earthquake. The owner of the bag and the letters is a 16 year old Nao who moved to Tokyo from America after her father was caught up in the dot com bubble and had to head back home to make ends meet. Not fitting in, she moves to her grandmother's - a nun turning 104 who is her rock of wisdom and guidance. Through these parallel storylines - the author tries to capture so much - Zen buddhism, quantum physics, kamikaze pilots and the chaos of Tokyo juxtaposed with the calmness of Vancouver island. Finally it is an ode to living in the present but knowing the past is going to stick around forever.

Overall the blandness of Ruth's story adds more flavour to Nao's and thats the balance I had to toil through at times especially the ending leaves the book on a low after the brilliant expectations it set at the start.



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Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Coming of age story of 2 boys understanding life in their unique ways

Aristotles and Dante - the title itself is super catchy and makes it sounds like a PhD thesis but that is where you never judge a book by its cover or title. Ari and Dante are two teenage boys - probably misfits in their community which lets them bond and make a deep friendship as their contrasting personalities make chalk and cheese best of friends. They each help the other evolve into their understanding of the world around them.

The typeface makes this a very young adult genre and easy reading - rhythmic writing to an extent. It does tug at nostalgia as you put yourselves into the shoes of a teenage you losing your innocence as you come to terms with the realities of life. It is also a rare perspective of a queer teenage romance in contemporary literature.

That said, it still feels like a YA and doesn't have the breadth or depth of writing to fascinate broader spectrum of readers.

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Review: The Gift of Rain

The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: The complexity of human relationships in the face of adversity against the backdrop of WWII in Penang

The complexity of human relationships especially when made adverse by the situation is an area the author navigates through brilliantly in this novel - war, opposing nations, different backgrounds growing up - the author pushes the protagonist through varying relationships that are easy to be black and white but the humanity in each one of the characters pushes it to gray.

Born to an English business man and his Chinese wife, the protagonist navigates life as a local in Penang whilst World War II looms. His friendship and training under a Japanese stranger Endo-san raises a lot of suspicions, whilst reconnecting with his estranged grandfather who had disowned his daughter when she married an Englishman to making friends with the son of a Chinese triad leader - there are many human emotions he has to tackle with. Mixed with prevalent times of Malay peninsula, the horrors of war as the Japanese cycled across the peninsula , he stands conflicted at every point of his life and the rains being metaphorical as they wash away any hopes he has at each turn.

The historical and cultural context of the 1930s-1940s of Penang along with the intricacies and complexities of human relationships make for a good read, even if it can be simmeringly slow in parts like a light drizzle on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The pot pourri of Chinese, Japanese, Malay and a squeeze of British cultures make for an unique delicacy .

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Review: The Covenant of Water

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: Multi generational epic with the common thread of the fear of drowning

If Malayalees and Medicine are your go to, this book combines the cultural echoes of Kerala with a pinch of Madras (currently Chennai) through the journey India itself has as a country from pre-independence to post Independence. In the mix of that historical and cultural context come a mix of multiple characters - most related to one family across generations as they deal with coming of age and coming of death and everything in between.

The book tries to capture a lot - medical procedures, religious customs, societal relations , health pandemics (not the covid kind) and makes for a good read but you need helluva patience to get through it all as it slowly grinds through the western ghats with its sharp descents and sharper ascents as you trek through similar sceneries for a while to suddenly have a breath taking moment that seems worth it and you toil even further.

Big shout out to my favourite character - Big Ammachi who is the backbone of the family through generations.

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Review: The Little Liar

The Little Liar by Mitch Albom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hooter: "Sometimes a lie is merely truth that is yet to happen."

Holocaust is a heavy topic and there is a lot of material around it but what stands out once again for Mitch is his writing narrative which is easy on the eyes yet heavy on the heart. From the boy who reminds of the tiny protagonist of the movie "Life is beautiful", extremely innocent and pure as snow in his outlook of life as he convinces the trains filled with Jews about the better life they can expect at the destination.

Like the Book thief had death, truth is the narrator of this story as four parallel stories with a few intersections over time take place as we pace through World War 2 and how it impacts each of the protagonists in their own way. Based in Salonika which had the highest number of Jews in Greece pre World War, Mitch makes them to life with human emotions of envy, competition and love.

His usage of parables like the white tower and how "A man, to be forgiven, will do anything." is a quote that drives Nico's life through out , Sebastian's envy for the attention his brother always got to Fannie having to fight life to live her choices and the characteristic villain in the garb of an officer face conflicting choices through out - yet live through life in a mix of heart warming and heart wrecking decisions.

While we turn through the pages of history, it is the wide array of evergreen human emotions that we stumble onto through this pageturner of a book.

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Review: Murder Under a Red Moon

Murder Under a Red Moon by Harini Nagendra
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Yet another murder mystery in Bengaluru circa 1920s

Kaveri has made her name in Bengaluru as a detective after stumbling onto solving a murder mystery in the first book and now expands on it as she finds another one. As a murder mystery, you smell the plot twist from miles but you don't mind darting around with the misdirections the author throws at you - only because it captures more of the sights and sounds of Bengaluru of the yore. For someone who loves understanding the history of Bengaluru, Harini's research has always been a strong facet of her writing and that shows as you breeze through Bengaluru a century ago. Every newer generation has rebelled and pushed against the conservativeness of the prior generation and Harini plays on that with Kaveri's character - a woman with privilege who looks to leverage it for change from the status quo of society - whether it is befriending individuals from diverse backgrounds, driving a car or solving murder mysteries.

In this particular episode, her mother in law's cousin calls for help to solve an embezzlement case only to have her husband murdered and everyone closest to him is a suspect especially his daughter and his wife.



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Review: H-Pop : The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars

H-Pop : The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars by Kunal Purohit
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: An essay on 3 different artistes in Hindi belt riding the Hindutva wave.

I am not sure if it is secretive or a bigger gameplan at large, the author takes a unique angle of covering the current political climate by capturing the story of 3 artistes who have pivoted to catering to the needs of the Hindutva audiences with catchy songs, poems and books that earn them a sizeable side income apart from the clout and the micro celeb status they owe to this movement.

From Kavi Singh's singing, Kamal Agneya's poetry to Sandeep Deo's publications, Kunal does provide a simple essay on each one's journey and challenges they face/ faced and how they aligned to the political climate and patronage that all artistes through centuries have looked for.

Whilst an innovative take on a sub-altern culture I am far removed from, I felt an article could have summarised the novelty of this take from my perspective.

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Review: The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Why do we do what we do? A butler asks himself that question

An old school butler - working towards excellence in his chosen field around the World War I in England often sacrifices self over the greater good of the profession - a propriety he emulates from his father though emotionally detached in that quest. Don't we often do the same with our careers - picking those long nights over other engagements because there is a professional code we adhere to and the extremely high standards we may have set for ourselves.

The book brilliantly captures the era and you live through the life of the butler and the ongoings around him in an extremely descriptive manner. The author manages to keep you interested in the monotony of life whilst switching tracks into the deeper philosophical questions troubling our protagonist Stevens through his motoring trip interspersed with flashbacks.

Regret is one of the heaviest things one can carry into the future.

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Review: The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: A Children's book that questions adulting

A utopian world where uniformity and sameness is paramount. Just like how five star food is consistent even though bland compared to street food and their riot of flavours, people don't celebrate birthdays - there are rules for every year of your birth till 12 and then you are an adult and forget age. Similarly devoid of colors, occupations decided based on your passion and skills as decided by the council (who also got their roles through a similar process) in an apprenticeship type of culture.

Our protagonist thinks he is going to get the same mundane till he is picked to the "receiver" - a role filled with pain and given to one person in decades when the previous "receiver" decides to become a giver for the chosen one. As he shares years of wisdom and memories to Jonas, Jonas opens up to feeling emotions - a concept he had no clue about neither did his entire community.

A very black and white take with no greys on individuality v/s uniformity and evolution of efficiency in society over humanity. An interesting premise on the type of society it is, the outcomes probably extremely naive but then the target audience is youngsters though adults would find it a fresh perspective unburdened by maturity and age.

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Review: Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality

Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality by Christopher Ryan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: A documentary view of correlating the evolution of sexuality with modern age march of mankind

A unique take on how monogamy is a modern day concept and how a lot of our concepts associated to it today are probably more Victorian (tying in with English colonialisation in that timeframe across the world). The hunter gatherer group shared it all is the bottom line. They try to also compare and contrast wirh our fellow Bonobos on genital sizes and habits to push their point across.

The narrative picks examples from civilisations around the world and adds a new spin to the "it takes a village to raise a child" because of shared paternity as a concept to keep a warring village healthy in the go forward. Monogamy and its safety net could be considered counter intuitive to Darwinian theory of evolution and the survival of the fittest for the given conditions.

I would call this opinions backed with confirmational biased scientific facts rather than a rigorous academic paper that it is fronted as.

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Review: Red Seas Under Red Skies

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Adventure fantasy with a large squeeze of naval piracy.

The two con-men move on to bigger and better things from the first book in the series as they try to reinvent themselves in the new world. Always landing between the devil and the deep blue sea, this book continues to put them into that spot and you wonder how they are going to pull themselves out of each spot. Jean continues to be man Friday for Locke through his schemes. This edition involves them onto naval piracy - a la pirates of the Caribbean as the Bondsmagi continue to play spoilsport and draw them into the political matters of their current disposition.

A mix of Tom Sawyer and Captain Jack Sparrow, Locke continues to attract adventure in a medieval setting. The challenge with the second book always remains that it always seems to act as a bridge to the next editon and the first and I do feel a little underwhelmed from that perspective. Though staying to the storyline, after the chaos of one, this book focuses on rebuilding for the main characters. I ended up reading the third book before this so had rated that higher and now with that hindsight, while the action seems a little toned down, the protagonists do get out of their skin on the seas and so does the direction of the book. Oh! did I miss out the cats? Never forget the cats.

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Review: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: A prostitute sees her entire life in a flashback after being murdered in Istanbul.

Elif Shafak has a way with picturising Turkiye and she contiues to romanticise beautifully the country and its vibe by intricately painting a kaleidoscope of the culture and flavours of the country. Against that backdrop, we go through the life of Tequila Layla who has been served lemons by life and she just served it with her moniker. From a tough childhood to rough adulthood, she has suffered through a lot but made the most of it , thanks to friends who became family. The book is a flashback to the moment of her death introducing the various turning points in her life including the entry of each of her friends through that journey. You root for the characters, no matter how flawed they are, because they are human and humans aren't flawless. Whilst the narrative does slow down and doesn't seem to go anywhere, you enjoy the slow rhythm to savour the rich cultural context coming out of it.

Friendship is the strongest element that evokes emotions in this book and whilst a binding agent to the storyline, it is the foundations on which this story stands.

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Review: The Silent Patient

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: A criminal psychotherapist journals his experience dealing with the toughest patient he has come across.

Being a thriller, I'll stay away from any spoilers but Alex sticks to revealing a layer after a layer in each chapter adding characters and angles as we dig deeper into the past of Alicia Berenson - a famous painter married to a famous photographer who is found murdered. She stops speaking after that. Theo Faber narrates his journey as a psychotherapist as he aims to have her open up and sync in with reality on her part to recovery. Skeletons out of the closet come tumbling down with each chapter.

While the build up is well done, I don't believe the author may have actual mental health professional experience for there are jarring aspects to treatment and character development that don't sit right but if you ignore facts in this fiction , you'll find it an easier read.

Overall a good thriller, a commute read for most of the characters remain uni-dimensional , added to keep the storyline going and giving the reader more loose ends to grapple with. The ending pieces together towards the end and reveals itself to you before the author wanted you to.

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Review: Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors

Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors by Matt Parker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: Anecdotes where Math and Engineering mistakes have let to a lot unintended consequences.

Starting on a high with the Pepsi and the Harrier fighter jet story to meandering through some not so fascinating ordeals with math, Matt Parker manages to pack in a wide assortment of errors and outcomes that can be attributed to math and engineering. From a miscalculated drilling zone leading to an entire freshwater lake disappearing and turning the flow of a tributary, to space disasters, there is a wide range of stories he covers leveraging the theme of calendars, Microsoft Excel and construction engineering gotchas. Some anecdotes seem forced into the narrative , others make for an ahaa moment so stay tuned for a lucky roll of dice as you get through them.

Any problem solver would love this light yet mindful read especially as an engineer because its often the molehill of errors that bring down a mountain.

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Review: Acts of God

Acts of God by Kanan Gill
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: ChatGPT- write a sci fi if Neil Gaiman was an established Bangalorean stand up comic

Ambitious undertaking by Kanan Gill to add satire , sarcasm, intelligent wit , dry humour and everything an average Bangalorean kid would have grown up on and this is his ode to that. Unfortunately if you read between the glimpses of brilliance, there isn't much else to bind this book by and the story comes to life as structured as an amoeba.

Outlandish yet realistic, lot of potential in the premise but meandered away at some point in all the shock and awe histrionics he applies as an author.

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Review: The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution

The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution by Gregory Zuckerman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: The story behind the men of RenTech - the company that probably led the banner of Quant trading

The title is a misnomer as it isn't so much about Jim Simons nor what he did to launch the Quant Revolution except the highs and lows of Renaissance Tech (RenTec) and the people behind it and their politics. The development of the models get their cameo but maybe I was expecting more.

I guess the NDAs probably played a spoiler in going in deeper on what made RenTec tick but we surely get an idea of the whos helped it tick. If you enjoy a good biography, then this is that.

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Review: No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram

No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram by Sarah Frier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hooter: A look into the journey of Instagram as a business till the exit of the original founders.

Having won multiple awards for her "no filter" look into Instagram and its journey and the constant friction of being a company within a company after the acquisition in 2010, Sarah does a brilliant job at presenting a narrative of the evolution of Instagram as it dealt with challenges within and outside the organisation whilst trying to stay close to its guiding principles of curating beautiful perspectives and expressions of the average user. Having used instagram since 2013, I could relate with the evolution of the features and the driving forces around them - both from a data driven Facebook and radical Snap and other smaller players.

The focus of community over technology has served them strong which is now a practice lot of other technology companies have picked up on since then. Trying to marry art and technology in its initial phases played out with the filters being their mainstay but as camera phones improved, the community came to the fore.

Easily adaptable for a movie script, she captures the people behind Instagram being the centre piece of online expression today along with the challenges of revenue making engine without offsetting their user base and dealing with other challenges that the parent firm had faced.

Instagram leadership sat at a unique position to leverage from the mistakes of Facebook and be too successful for its own parent leading to cutting down off resources due to cannibalisation of the parent company's userbase.

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Review: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: How Apple figured its WHY and so should you.

Pretty obvious that Apple is the centre of the piece with multiple callbacks to it and how they figured their WHY and when Steve wasnt around, they didn't. Walmart and Microsoft probably fight for second place at a distance but that is basically the core essence of the book of understanding the WHY.

The author does a great job at simplifying and distilling that message for the average reader to help drive that message home. There are multiple examples where the why is forgotten for the what and the how and a correlation is created to track the downfall of the brand in that scenario. Some of it may be conjecture but this book would have been a brilliant long form article.

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Review: India that is Bharat: Coloniality, Civilisation, Constitution

India that is Bharat: Coloniality, Civilisation, Constitution by J. Sai Deepak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: An academically rigorous Indic view of the notion of Bharat / India

Coming from a non academic research background, this felt like what people write for their thesis with the amount of factual structure and supporting evidence that Sai adds to put his point forth with the rigor of a lawyer. Starting from the history and context of the European notion of nation, civilisation and secularism in line with the power of the Church, he then moves on to explain how those notions were retro fitted into colonies of these European powers and how his research of Indic authors provides another view of Bharat that existed long before the country united as India against the British colonialisation. A lot of us have gotten our English based education based on British based values and systems and hence he tries to clarify the baseline it has created which we need to be cognisant of before we derive any interpretations around it.

He brings forth the premise of decolonialising the mindset but explaining the reason why the template was first set up to allow for cognitive dissonance around such fundamental concepts that we have been brought up with and taken for granted.

There aren't really any narratives that he seems to be closing out on except putting across his perspective backed by a lot of research and rigor. Honestly this is a very heavy read, aimed at those seriously trying to understand the same from an academic pursuit especially in the current climate.

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Review: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: The case for specialisation versus generalisation in terms of skills

Starting with Tiger Woods who was born to be a golfer to Roger Federer who dabbled around before going down the path of tennis and both are very much legends in their domains. The author sets the case for generalists being equally successful if not more to specialists who meet the philosophy of 10,000 hours which Outliers had promoted years earlier. Whilst there are some interesting stories, the book doesn't grab my attention through out and key takeaways for anyone planning to skip the book is - It is never too late to go down a path you are interested in (and I feel we have enough examples in today's world) and that if we treated careers like dating - we wouldn't settle down so easily.

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Review: No More Mr. Nice Guy

No More Mr. Nice Guy by Robert A. Glover
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: A self help on the detoxing from the toxicity of "Mr Nice Guy" syndrome

Honestly - the description and behaviour of "Mr. Nice Guy" felt too real and very close to home. I was like the book is really talking to me. Unfortunately that is where it stopped. Going through the examples gets extremely tedious and the generic action / exercises feel contrived in terms of defining impactful change. The examples are placed to make you feel you can relate to people with similar situations as you, but I felt that pushed me away from the book as I couldn't relate to the examples.

If there was one summary you'd take without even reading the book is - continue working on a better version of yourself and communicate your thoughts clearly in any type of relationship - whether love or work.

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Review: The Cases that India Forgot

The Cases that India Forgot by Chintan Chandrachud
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: A cross section of unique cases fought in the Supreme Court that have played a role in history of the country

Targeted at the non legal beagle so as to say, C. Chandrachud picks ten cases he feels didnt get the public discourse in today's time compared to the far reaching impact they created in their times. Divided amongst religion, gender and politics as a cross section, it makes for a quick read on some interesting cases that hit the grey area of even the Supreme Court.

From the Mathura ( Nirbhaya of the yesteryears) case which just highlights not much has changed in decades and definition of consent including "a girl not saying no" to how the anti terror hero KPS Gill got away with outraging a senior IAS officer's modesty showcasing how much still needs to be done on the gender front.

National Security makes for interesting reading especially North East specifically around AFSPA and the Naga movement to the armed civilian movement against Naxalism in Chattisgarh.

In terms of records, the Keshav Singh case ended up with 28 judges sitting on it to prevent Executive singling out any one judge as the battle lines got drawn between the independent pillars of our democracy.

If there is a semblance of a black mark on Dr. Kalam's record as a President, it probably might be the case related to Rameshwar Prasad vs Union of India where he offered to resign for unwittingly being part of UPA's power play in Bihar.

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Review: The Greatest Bengali Stories Ever Told

The Greatest Bengali Stories Ever Told by Arunava Sinha
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hooter: Compilation of 21 Bengali short stories translated and curated by Arunava Sinha

An eclectic mix of short stories - some that hit the mark, many that don't. The cultural nuances might have been stripped through in the translations of those that didn't hit the mark to being dated of a bygone time that doesn't resonate in today's day and age irrespective of language.

"Einstein and Indubala" was the highlight for me, Kabuliwala is obviously famous as a classic and stands on its own. "Death of Swapan" was an interesting tale whilst Mahesh had a heart wrenching take, second only to Johnny. Two magicians and Raja felt like stories Id probably found more poetic in their original language than the translation where I felt some of the character didnt make it through.

Overall a dip if you want to get your feet wet in the treasure trove of Bengali literature and identifying the household names.

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Review: Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World

Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: Ringside view of the run up to upto the aftermath of the Great Depression of 1929

Converting a history lesson into a gripping financial potboiler requires talent and Liaquat manages to do that to a great extent. Revolving around who he calls the four main characters - central bankers of that era, he pieces together their backgrounds, the economic and political backdrop highly centred on the World War I helps explain the entire episode that we saw. The detailed research makes this feel like a ringside view of the events that happen even capturing the public mood across continents.

Often as happens in history, in retrospect , feels like these titans missed so many red flags and how could such smart people surrounded by equally smart people make such a mistake. Well, our future generations will probably say the same after roaring 30s for all you know.

Whilst the book can be tough to digest for the regular reader and can take a lot of effort to get through, if you are clued into the financial markets and sparing knowledge of economics, this makes for an insightful read especially since the market situations always tend to rhyme.

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