Mini- Reviews of Books I read this month

The Secret Commonwealth – Book of Dust Trilogy

The Secret Commonwealth is the second book in the Book of Dust trilogy. This is a book authored by Philip Pullman, known for his work The Dark Materials Trilogy. One of his books Northern Lights from the Trilogy was also a successful movie by the name the Golden Compass.

Coming back to this book, though this is a part of another trilogy and can be slotted as an adult fantasy novel, you don’t miss much if you haven’t read the first part. This is a good thing as I hadn’t read the first part and was worried about missing important points.

The story is based in an alternate world where humans are accompanied by daemons ( an animal) The deamons and humans are like part of a soul and inseparable (mostly) If you read the book closely you will realize that it draws heavily from real-world happenings and tries of offer a different perspective to look at things.

Lyra a young college student at Oxford is forced to leave the protected world of her university when her deamon goes missing. As Lyra finds her way in the real world she comes across experiences that change her outlook towards rationality, society, Church and politics. She has to leave her idealistic world view and face some harsh realities. But is she up for it?

This is a telling rendition about various real-life situations like the exodus of refugees, influential wielding power for their personal gains, dynamics of society and how the various organizations act and work to maintain their power position. How all this has a far-reaching effect on people around the globe is what makes this an interesting read.

The one thing I did not like about the book is that it raises too many questions as the narration moves ahead, but the book in itself offers very little answers. While I could do away without reading the first book, I wonder if someone jumps to the third book, they will have the same feeling.  I am waiting for the next book to get all my answers about this alternate world. I would give it a 4.5/5

Book review of the book of dust and the big billion start-up

Big Billion Start-up

The Big Billion Start-up is the story of Flipkart. Right from its conception, to its meteoric rise and the eventual sale, this book is all about corporate politics, blunders that could cause a fortune and

The story of Flipkart is a well-researched book that gives a lot of insights about the company and its interpersonal complexities. The book follows the journey of Flipkart, how it became a torch-bearer for the Indian e-commerce segment and how it failed to achieve its real dream. A dream that the founders and India stopped short of achieving, the dream of being India’s answer to Amazon and Alibaba’s of the world.

While the book has a lot of content the narrative could have been worked on. It can be jarring at times however it is definitely something that one can read and enjoy, especially if you are someone who enjoys boardroom dramas and follows India’s start-up stories.

30 Replies to “Mini Book Reviews for Nov”

  1. I have read “The Big Billion Startup” and I find this book to be pretty inspiring. I will read the other one as well. Thanks for your honest reviews.

  2. I would like to pick Big Billion Start Up. I like to read start up stories. Somehow I find them inspiring. that how something big starts from just a small thought.

  3. I would pick up Big Billion Start-Up. Start-up stories inspire me that how a small idea becomes someone’s dreams and how it get changed into something big.

  4. Thanks for the reviewed. I wasn’t aware of the trilogies and will read a bit more about them. Story of Flipkart sounds v interesting, though it was a dampener to read that the language wasn’t as good.

  5. The book dust with an alternate world of humans and daemons sounds somewhat interesting fantasy to me . Haven’t read part 1, but basis your suggestion, would like to read this trilogy.

  6. Boo of Dust doesn’t sound like something I would want to pick up, not my cup of tea. The Flipkart story though is a must-read. A bit boring at times but interesting altogether.

  7. Thanks for the honest review Neha. I read about the review of Big Billion Startup before. I also want to read the story of Flipkart.

  8. Both books sounds intriguing. But I want to read big billion startup. To know more about Flipkart how it all get started

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