Who Is Reading What Books

 Have you ever gone into someone's home or office and looked upon their library to see what kind of books are on the shelf? You can tell much about a person by what books they read. You can also tell a lot about a person by how they dress, how they eat, who they associate with, what they do for a living, etc. Without deliberately trying to find out information, we learn more about people just by observing. In essence, that is how we get to know someone, or get to know someone better. That is also how people are drawn to one another as friends, business associates, etc. When you discover what books they read, that is when you find out what they are thinking.

When I look upon someone's book collection, I can tell if they like to read the same kind of books I read. Maybe they have read the same book. I think, more than anything else, that I can tell more about a person just by seeing what books they read. If there is someone I want to learn from, I will try to find out what books they are reading. I would love to have seen the library of Thomas Edison, Napoleon Hill, and Donald Trump, just to name a few. Sometimes, the best books we read were books that were recommended by someone. I would love to find out what books everyone on the Forbes 400 has read in the past year. Or I would like to know what books others in my industry are reading.

If you want to be successful at something, look at others who are successful, and do what they are doing. It sounds simple, but here is another way to look at it. Find out what books they are reading, and you will learn what is in their head, what they are thinking about. If you want to learn how to invest, find out what the Wall Street pros are reading. If you want to learn how to invest in real estate, find out what real estate investors are reading. If you want to be inspired to start a business, find out what other business people read. You can even read biographies of people in similar businesses or industries. You will find that successful people in any calling are usually reading biographies, self-help books, and anything else that would inspire motivate and educate.

If someone is looking to lose weight or just get in shape, they would ask people at the gym what books they would recommend. My personal favorite is Live Young Forever by Jack LaLanne. I think a great conversation would be among sports fans discussing some of the best books they have read. I would love to be in that conversation with my pen and pad ready. How great would it be to have Magic Johnson's top ten recommended books? You would get a double bonus there, since he was an all-star basketball player, as well as a great businessman. With all of this in mind, here is a new conversation starter? "Read any good books lately."

The BestSeller She Wrote - Book Review

 Ravi Subramanian has been in my favorite authors list for very long. And with The Best Seller She Wrote, he just managed to bag a lifetime membership there. Though The BestSeller She Wrote was significantly different from his earlier works in terms of plot and mildly predictable at certain points, it does not miss the thrill, the twists and superlative storytelling which are Subramanian's trademark. There is also an uncanny similarity between the lead character and famed author Chetan Bhagat. At some point during the first few pages, I had to stop and check that I wasn't reading his bio. However, the character developed on its own as the story progressed.

Aditya, is a successful banker and an illustrious author. He has had a near perfect personal and professional life till Shreya Kaushik comes into picture. This vibrant, aggressive and aspiring author initially criticizes Aditya for considering books as product that need to be marketed. Later on, she falls in love(?) with the banker cum author. Now the feeling mentioned here is genuine or derived out of the prospective benefits that this relationship could bring to Shreya is for the reader to decide. Aditya, completely in awe of Shreya's youth and beauty finds himself falling for her almost instantly. The thrill of this illicit relationship soon overtakes the guilt of cheating on his wife. The story takes amazing turns as the manipulative character of Shreya slowly over-shadows Aditya's life so much that he risks everything. The turning point was where you find out that it was someone else who was playing the master here and cashing in on the vulnerabilities of Shreya, Aditya and his wife. This twist was the high point of the plot.

The BestSeller She Wrote for me was a notch lesser than any of his older works. At many points I felt that the story was highly predictable. Now this may also be due to the reason that when you read an author over and over again, you start thinking on the same lines. But all credit to the author to maintain the thrill and brownie points for the pace at which the story gushes forward. Love,betrayal, redemption at its best.

I think that I as reader I have come at a level where I prefer profound and meaningful books rather than thrillers. But I confess here unabashedly that I will never be too old for Ravi Subramanian's works.