The Break-Up Clinic by Dr. Govind Sharma (Book Review: 2.75*/5) !!!

I shall always remember the author, Dr. Govind Sharma, for writing short books of less than 200 pages. “The Break-Up Clinic” is the 3^rd book I have read written by him and like the last two books, this book is also a very short story which can be read and completed in a single sitting. This book comes with a tagline “You only live once, but if you do it right Once is Enough”. I didn’t understand why this quote has been given a place on its cover page considering the book is more about a dark topic based on certain situations few youths end up in rather than a motivational/inspirational book.

The book is based on few characters such as Ajay, Karan and Nisha where all of them have been ditched by someone in the love relationship some or the other way. All of them are either heartbroken or turned into an aggressive person or wishes to take revenge. The two doctors who play the important part in this book, Doctor Dev and Shweta, are the ones who apply different kinds of therapies on these characters and ensure that they come out of their current victimhood situation and get back to their life in a very powerful manner.

The book has discussed about the psychotherapy and behaviour therapy implementing which the people who have been affected by the end of their love relationship can be treated in a very safe and familiar way. Hence, you shall go through many related words such as psychoanalysis, cognitive behaviour therapy, Freud, Transactional analysis, Gestalt Psychology, Non-directive Therapy etc. The book definitely gives many information that I wasn’t aware before this. This book is an awareness for these kinds of therapies which can be used on depressed people who are impacted by their love relationships.

Talking about the drawbacks of the book, the book is not written in a very exciting manner the way author has written his last two books. The book is quite straight where either the therapies are discussed or the case history of each of the characters are narrated rather than building a great plot keeping the whole play of story in the front with these elements of therapies in the background. Also I felt that author could have played wonderfully with the characters which he missed in his motive of writing this book. Overall, I shall give this book 2.75* out of 5 only for the awareness that it provides with its short read which can be finished within 2 hours.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA!!! 

The End Of Romance by Amitabh Satyam (Book Review: 4.5*/5) !!!

There are rarely books which hits you hard because of its gutsy representation of the issues it wants to discuss with its readers. One such book that I have just ended up reading is “The End Of Romance” written by the 2^nd time author, Amitabh Satyam. The book also stages a tagline: - “Lessons in Patriarchy, Feminism, Rights and Privileges”. The cover-page of the book is all black with an image of a person having tears in eyes which essays that the book is on a very dark subject which might be depressing or discouraging for some. To protect you from not picking up this book in case you can’t handle it, author has very widely mentioned the segment of people for whom the book is written for.

As the title of the book says, this book can seriously lead to the end of many romances if things are actually thought the way author has discussed this debatable topic with such confidence and fearlessness. The book basically talks about the injustice and extreme take women have on men these days because of which they either start abusing them directly/indirectly, asks for certain privileges which is completely invalid considering society as one, blackmails men just because they know they have an upper hand considering the kind of laws implemented in India where the men are directly accused without any kind of witness or proof.

The accountability of feminism is questioned so severely that while reading the book, you would want to share every page with so-called feminists and tell them what exactly this wrong class is doing in the name of feminism rather than the things that should actually be done to embrace the right to equality. In the name of feminism, how women have forgotten that it’s about equality and not getting privileges just for the sake of what happened with women years and centuries back. Right from the 1^st page author has started discussing incidents where men have been treated badly, violently or aggressively just because he did something which women thought is not as per their expectations.

Author starts the book very well describing how the two genders kept getting far from each other up to the mark where one of them have started hating the another up to such an extent that they are ready to kill and accuse even the gender lying in their direct relationship. Author has done an extensive research and mentioned many reasons why women turn abusive towards men. Author has also given examples of different types of abuses women does upon men. Author has also given references and statistics to prove his words. Even the privileges and entitlements are mentioned in one of the chapters while reading which I was completely shocked to know the kind of laws India have got submerged into that has made achieving this gender-equality almost an impossible thing.

This is one of the most hard-hitting books I have ever read. There has been many articles, blogs and books about women suffering but there was none about men as per my limited knowledge. The new perspective that this book gives is a surprise and a new angle through which you can see the same scenario. The way the whole thought process and psychology of women are changing due to this thing called Feminism is only been touched upon from an Eagle’s height by these ladies is very well covered in this book. The good part about the book is the way author has written it:- Section-wise, chapter-wise, pointer-wise to make it more specific to prove his points.

After saying all the good things about the book, there are certain things I would like to talk as the drawback of the book: - The book obviously is quite biased as author never talks about the ill that some men also perform to make the resolve of women stronger of getting more emotionless towards men. After some point, it feels that author is cribbing against women way too much. Though the book is surely very well researched but at some places, author has for certainly made generic statements. And then there are certain crimes against women which has been justified which looks wrong if you read the book neutrally. The only biggest problem this book can cause is either making the men too hateful towards women or making women think that men actually don’t think good about them as it is already said everywhere.

Overall, this book will either be completely loved by the readers or completely thrashed. There is no middle-way as it has been written in such a challenging manner. This book is a great read post which you would enjoy debating on this topic as you get to learn a lot. I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5. It’s recommended if you want to read something very different and straight-forward.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA!!! 

Upside Down Fitness by Manisha Israni (Book Review: 4.75*/5) !!!

The books on fitness are hit these days in the bookshelves because of new inclination towards health and lifestyle of the new generation. Since last ten years, I have come across many fitness books but not much of them have stayed in my mind for the sole reason that they suggested something following which is so difficult and impractical that you would want to live the way you are than making any changes to your daily routine. But surely there are few fitness books which makes things easy for you by giving you practical and simple solutions to be healthy, cutting your fats, getting rid of the unwanted belly etc. that you actually end up noting down and implementing it in your day-to-day life. One of such fitness books which has already taken place in my favorite shelf is first-time author, Manisha Israni’s “Upside Down Fitness”.  The greatest confidence shown by the author is that her name is not mentioned on the Cover page at all but completely focuses on the topic.

The cover page and the title of the book shall make you little resistance in picking it up as you might presume the book to be displaying the impossible postures as the way to be healthy but this is not the case at all. Authoress is just trying to tell us that her version is completely different from others which is practical, doable and manageable. Manisha Israni’s book is very interactive. You can easily complete this book within a single sitting because of the way it has been written where you feel someone has actually understood your nerves and telling you only things which are specifically meant and customized for you. Right from the 1^st chapter to the last chapter, author has shown wonderful display of experiments, researches, knowledge and practices that she has herself gone through to understand the benefits of certain lifestyle and activities in our lives.

The book talks about how to create SMART goals with the same explanation of SMART as we are taught in our MBA books. In the very next chapter, she has introduced us with some interesting facts about how we can instantly replace certain unhealthy foods with the healthy foods without actually cutting down our appetite but enforcing ourselves in eating more healthy stuffs. Author then talks about how we should make our exercise routine interesting rather than making it a TASK for us. She has introduced some great exercising methods, meditation techniques etc. with tips on how to exercise in a shorter time to gain maximum effect rather than scheduling it for an hour and never ending up accomplishing it.

In one of the other chapters, she has given us the list of supplements that we should have as per our bodily needs. In yet another chapter, she has given list of multiple recipes for every type of people- vegans, vegetarians, non-vegetarians etc for all types of eating time- breakfast, lunch, dinner, tiffin, snacks etc. One of the chapters similarly comprises of the Workout Plans for the whole week again for different reasons for why you would like to exercise:- Losing fats, gaining weight, maintaining weight, want of flat tummy etc. My favorite chapter is the one which is written about redefining happiness. The wonderful tips given and explained in this chapter for always being happy assures me that author can end up writing another book only on happiness, self-help, motivational topics.

This book is one of the best books on fitness but let me also talk about certain things which did not go well with me:- In the chapter where author has explained Workout Plans, some jargons are used for the Workout activity which a general person would not understand and shall have to google which takes away the charm from the chapter. Similarly, in the chapter where smart meals are discussed, there are no images for the recipes discussed which makes it difficult for anyone to try preparing it without knowing how it should end up like. Author could have at least given some QR code or Youtube link where she could have shown the whole preparation method. Similarly, some ingredients are totally unheard of. Their Hindi names could have also been mentioned for ease of understanding. Other than these petty points, there is nothing else which stops this book from surprising you. I give this book 4.75* out of 5. Yes!

It's a great co-incident that on this Women’s day, I have ended up reading a book by a female author and giving one of the highest ratings. Waiting for 2^nd book by Manisha Israni now.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA!!!