My Top Five Reads since 2019

Category – Fiction

Mental Institution has always been a stranded Island and one can’t imagine what goes on with the lives of patients in there. This book offers a whole new window to that world. It is actually setup in a psychiatric hospital, narrated by a patient in there.

It details very well, the mundane routine of patients, how they become used to the bureaucratic hospital regime and why they accept their fate in this mental asylum.
Will they ever get better? Will they be a part of normal society again? You will doubt the answers to above throughout this read.
The plot of this book takes an interesting turn when a new admit enters this psychiatric center and challenges the rules and authority.

Category – Non Fiction

Just about the time, I was reading this book, they launched an HBO series showcasing this nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. It was a five episode series and although they captured the central plot impressively, they didn’t do enough justice to “the making of Chernobyl”.

Years before the actual nuclear explosion happened (26 April, 1986), the inadequacies of this nuclear plant made it vulnerable to fail. It managed to bypass all security standards. The Soviet government was aware of this and at the same time very competitive.
The aftermath of this crisis was equally disastrous. (largely due to the fact the Soviet govt hid the disaster from its own people and the world). This severely affected the reputation of Soviet Union.
This book uncovers the whole story, detailing all events that went into the making of world’s worst nuclear disaster. (till this date)
Not to forget the character build up in this book, which is so strong that I found myself boiling in anger in many scenes.

Category : Non Fiction

I’ve read this book somewhere in Dec 2019 but I can still reckon clearly, the struggles of Tara Westover (the author of this book). I found this book remarkable coz the experiences that Tara shares in this book are very personal and extraordinary.

Tara was not registered at her birth. She didn’t exist in any government records up until she was nine.
Her family (including her parents and six siblings) was mormonic and extremely rigid. They boycotted all public amenities (including doctors, hospitals and even schools). Tara was loosely home schooled.

Category – Non Fiction

To be honest, I picked this book to understand a therapist’s perspective on his or her patients. I’ve always been intrigued about what really happens in a therapy session. I have not been to any. (not that I want to ). But this book, just gives enough insights.
It is actually a therapist’s account of her patients (disguised) as she details her sessions with those patients. She is candid in expressing her view about the situation and how she relates those to her own life.

What is interesting to see is that the author (therapist herself) consults another therapist to tackle the problems of her own life. The vulnerability with which she shares her own experience with this other therapist helps you visualize therapy in general, as a third person.

Category – Non Fiction

There never has been a simplistic view of Human history described before Sapiens. Now, I am not a fan of reading history (I find it hard to remember chronology), so I didn’t pick this one for six months.(even though I had a hard copy). But I have to admit, I was glued to this after I read its first few pages.

Sapiens is the kind of book that will help you understand why we are, the way we are. It feels like history demonstrated by someone who understands psychology. It explores the basics like why we (the homo sapiens) survived while all our ancestors became extinct? How agriculture changed our lives? How industrial and scientific revolution shaped our complex society? What challenges lay ahead of us? (and other interesting questions)