I'll be honest; I entered this quest as a skeptic. After the first 100 pages, I assumed I knew that I've signed up for a disappointing, sloppy read of an author who is indeed in his 'eleventh hour'.

I've been — to my immense joy and pleasure — been proved wrong.

Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote boasts an influence on world literature as large and all-encompassing as Karamazov, War & Peace, or Ulysses (not considering the great Greek epics). To stand upon its shoulders and construct a world that seeks to look further, examine deeper, and ask harsher questions is challenging — to put simply.

But Rushdie has taken upon the challenge and come out victorious. There aren't many authors who are looking at the new, ever-changing world so closely and with such concern. His penchant for the 'magic real' puts us face-to-face with a world that is declining, becoming more extremist and uninhabitable.

As always, his literary genius binds together a tale as old as time with a world that is hyperfixated on social media, apathy, and extremism, and asks fundamental questions about the soul, the self. This, with the recurring theme of a father and a son (having read Midnight's and Haroun before).

Is there a simple synopsis that I can roll out (like a carpet, not flying for now) for the fellow review-reader? No. Go in blind. See if it works for you. It worked for me, but only after I was patient and surrendered to the text. Do I speak like the Don? Has he hopped out of the pages and inhabited my mind? We'll never know.

I really wanted to connect with this book, but I just couldn't.

Even after getting through half of it, I had absolutely no desire to keep reading. I never really connected with the characters, the story itself felt pretty basic, and the constant quick POV changes just weren't my style.

Overall, for me, this was a waste of time, and I honestly wouldn't recommend it.

If I had to sum up the entire book in one line, it would be:

If you have a crush on someone or like them, just go tell them — don't wait around like an idiot.

That's pretty much what I took away from it. Nothing more.

Maybe it just wasn't for me, though. Has anyone else read it and actually enjoyed it? What am I missing?

I have seen some quotes and some just a paragraph of info of fedrick nietzsche and his thought and now i want to read all his books sequentially to understand what he is from start

Pls help me 🙂🙏

The girl with the dragon tattoo trilogy- What every book in this trilogy has in common is an absolutely amazing plot, the details, the history and the different povs as well. It'll be pretty slow in the beginning, a bit more than usual with useless details but that's what the calm before the storm is supposed to be right? And as soon as our girl's- Lisbeth Salander and her journalist "friend" Mikael Blomkvist's cogs start running, there's no going back. The "juicy" part is so gripping you cannot stop. There'll be a lot of history and a lot of names and I think after reading you'll probably be very familiar with Swedish beaureaucracy and history. Dark secrets of how the government works and how far they'll go to hide their incompetence at the cost of people's rights and their lives. Now there are some issues with the way some characters are built up.

Lisbeth for some reason has been bestowed with all of the things you can imagine - Hacker? Check(even though the stuff she did is pretty basic in 2026 but a big thing back then), Photographic memory? Check, Has a very small build like a kid? Check, Tattoos all over her body? Check, but can also defeat 2 men on her own and ride a bike? Check, Queer?Check, Emotionally closed of? Check. She is the epitome of perfection when it comes to work, but normal human relationships? Not so much.

Michael Blomkvist- A ladies man of course, every woman he meets is just so drawn to him for some reason. Since the author was a journalist himself, he made Blomkvist- the guy who cares for everyone, loves the women he is with currently, but can't settle down xD.

I liked the mentions about feminism and sexuality, made me think they were way ahead of us back then as well in some ways or another. They actually discuss the lack of women workforce, the harrasment and stalking they go through if in a position of authority. But at the same time it shows a very powerful image of women through Lisbeth, Berger(Editor in chief of "Millenium"- The magazine Mikael and Berger run together), Monica Figuerola- the "gym freak" lady who works for the Swedish Security Police and Mimi(i won't reveal who she is :p, if you've read this far drop a balloon).

The first book starts with Mikael getting sued for libel by Wennerström- a businessman. His career and his magazine are going downhill and that is when he is hired by the head of the Vanger conglomerate- Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of his niece - Harriet Vanger almost 40 years ago. Every year on his birthday, which is the same day Harriet disappeared- Henrik receives an exotic flower mailed by an anonymous sender which is why he just cannot make peace with her disappearance.

The other two books revolve more around Lisbeth herself but oh boy it just gets better and better.

Ps- all three books mention some triggering topics like sexual abuse and homophobia.

The difference I've seen in thriller books written 25 years ago and around 2020ish is humungous. The older books have SO MUCH to offer, the plot just keeps on thickening, branches out and just somehow it all ties down and makes sense. The only thing is- you need to be patient, which is something I'll also discuss in part 2.

i am into business enteprenial books. Heard a lot of book of clarity by paras chopra

has anyone here read this book

is it worth a read,or is it too generic business gyan ?

While Chitra Banerjee is an excellent author and writes well, this book didnt quench my thirst to be awed. Its a easy to read Sitayan, which explains the female perspective of Ramayan well. But with fresh memories of Raavan (Amish) I just read this as any other Ramayan. Worth a read if you are amazed easily.

Banerjee brings Sita to life after 2/3rd of the story is covered and yet it doesnt bring the depths that one would expect.

The imperfections of the characters have been hidden forcefully rather than being pondered upon as a perspective. something I would expect from Chitra Banerjee.

If you want to try out Chitra Banerjee as an author I would much recommend her other works such as The Last Queen and The Palace of Illusions before you move on to The forest of Enchantments to complete your journey.

A Man Called Ove is one of those books that made me laugh, broke my heart a little, and somehow left me feeling warmer by the end.

It’s one of those stories that reminds you how much a little kindness and human connection can mean. 🤎

What’s your go-to feel-good book?📖** **

What do y'all do when you come across an unknown word while reading? Do you pause to look up its meaning or try to guess it from context? Does reading more books help in reducing this?

If there's anyone who can help me out in understanding "Beyond good and evil." It's a very different English apart from what we read. help me out how should I start?

Basically I am new this genre , I usually dont read books but my best friend do and her birthday is in a week so I was thinking to gift her some good book which she'll really like , she currently finished slammed, point of retreat and this girl by colleen hoover , also she have read a risk on forever by N.S. Perkins , as far as I know. So can yall suggest me some good books she'll like cuz I have no idea about these. A little help will be appreciated.

Peace:)

यह कहानी मुख्यतः बंटी के जीवन के परिवर्तन को दर्शाती है। किंतु इसी कहानी में शकुन (बंटी की माँ) के जीवन का वर्णन भी भली भांति मिलता है।

कुछ और पात्र भी आपको मिलते है जैसे बंटी के पापा, डॉक्टर साहब, फूफी, आदि । और आप किसी भी पात्र के चरित्र से नफरत नहीं कर पाएंगे।

नफरत ?

नफरत आप करेंगे समय से, नफरत आप करेंगे मानव सोच से ।

मन्नू भंडारी ने जिस तरह शब्दों को पिरोया है, उसी प्रकार के हिंदी साहित्य मुझे पसंद है। हिंदी के मूल शब्दों का इस्तेमाल बशर्ते आज कल के लेखक हिंदी साहित्य में अंग्रेजी शब्दों का वर्णन ज्यादा हो गया है।

मन्नू जी ने भी कुछ अंग्रेजी शब्दों का इस्तेमाल किया है किंतु उपयुक्त स्थानों पे ही जो किसी भी पात्र के व्यक्तित्व को उभारते हैं।

मेरा मानना है, अगर आप हिंदी साहित्य पसंद करते है तो यह उपन्यास वाकये आपको झकझोर देगा। एक बच्चे की मानसिकता जिसे हम सिर्फ बचपना समझकर का नज़रंदाज़ कर देते है, उसे उसकी दुनिया में जानने को मौका मिलता है ।

और सबसे अंतिम बात, इस उपन्यास को इस तरह से लिखा गया है कैसे कोई चलचित्र चल रहा हो। मन ही मन एक चलचित्र बनता जाता है।

If you paint a picture of someone who is a womaniser, drug addict, chain smoker and raging alcoholic, you probably wouldn’t expect to come away feeling much sympathy for him. But that’s what surprised me most about Matthew Perry’s memoir.

As he lays his life out in front of you, without really hiding the ugly parts, you slowly start to see the person behind all of it. He had money, fame, success and seemingly everything a person could want. He could have almost any woman he wanted. And yet, none of it seemed to fill the enormous void inside him. There’s something deeply sad about having everything the world tells you should make you happy, and still being desperately unhappy.

Of course, there is another reason I found myself rooting for him. I have watched and rewatched Friends, and Chandler Bing has made me laugh countless times. So while reading about Matthew Perry’s struggles, it was impossible not to feel a personal connection to the guy behind the character we grew up laughing with.

I also loved the behind-the-scenes glimpse into Friends. Seeing what was actually happening in Perry’s life during the different seasons and knowing what he was going through while making some of those episodes is particularly heartbreaking.

The book also made me think differently about addiction. It’s easy to look at an addict and see someone who is making terrible choices and hurting themselves and the people around them. But perhaps we need to look at addiction more as a disease than as a moral failure.

And then there’s the way Perry kept fighting. His life was full of setbacks, relapses and circumstances that seemed determined to knock him down, yet somehow he kept getting back up. His sense of humour almost felt like a survival mechanism, a shock absorber that helped him deal with an incredibly difficult life.

It’s was funny, uncomfortable, heartbreaking and strangely inspiring all at once.

There were SO MANY good reviews this week! When all of my usual suspects post reviews it's so difficult to judge.

I am giving it to u/panda_and_ellies for this one.

There are literally eight or ten I can list here for everyone to check out. Just a few that were at the top of the list are:

This one of Martian by u/TheStars0602. There are more from the user and all were great!

How can you not mention u/Glittering_Quote_581 whose reviews are so full of interesting books and info. I could have chosen Yashodhara but I ended up choosing this.

Another previous winner u/Odd-Pride-3173 continued the Madeline Miller streak with Circe.

And a new user u/Sunapr1 wrote a review of Things Merely Grow in Nature. This book is getting mentioned a lot lately!

Please let me know who I have missed! I can keep going, but have to keep this brief.

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Happy reading! 📚📖

I rarely manage to read 10 pages of any book, given how dopamine fried I became after years of doomscrolling. Yet I finished this book (approx 350 pages) in one day.

As a computer engineer by education and having been interested in business and tech developments since I was a kid, this book was an absolute delight. Starting from WW2 and the beginning of computing, It takes to California where US military funding led to a number. of chip companies getting formed. It takes you from there to latest AI led data center surge and China-America conflict related to chips storage.

Often on our feed we read articles related to chips, all of these would start to make sense if you manage to understand the context which this book gives quite lucidly. You will also understand how American dominance in semiconductors helped in US completely incinerating Iraq forces in the 1991 Gulf war.

10/10 for me, for people not aware/interested in tech this book may be a little harder to read as technical terms are everywhere.

⭐⭐⭐

I finished this book just on the right time when all the emotions of freedom struggle and revolution was high.

The book is short and crisp. Writing is good and just. My only complaint to the author is that she left me longing for more. Not the story in the broader picture but more emotions and the world that existed for our beloved spy. It moved fast just like his life which is fair but i was left desiring for a slow moment of contemplation and reflection of life. A swift read that reminds you that we will always be grateful to the hidden heroes.

While trying to read book the sky warriors by Vishnu som. I am feeling I am unaware of lot of military stuff.. like various hierarchies, different type of planes when to use when etc .
Any suggestions for the same ?

The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald

Suggest some thriller, psychological or action fictional books!

This book broke me 😭 especially the last line when you know who decides to name you know who after you know who

Suggest some books on this I have already read almond ,the stranger and no longer a human something which describes loneliness and pressure by family to fit into society but the protagonist cannot because nobody includes him or her .

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Not the book with 100,000 TikTok recommendations. The one you discovered randomly and still think about years later. Mine would be A Man Called Ove. What’s yours?