Skip to main content

11 Rules for Life - Review




This is a spoiler-free post. Read on safely :)


A few weeks ago, I was on a call with a classmate of mine to work on a course project. We were working pretty late, and for a brief while, his cousin joined us. It was fun to talk to someone who is a few years into your stream. Gives you a brief overview of the future you think you want. When the conversation drifted towards books, he told me about this recent book he read. It was the 11 rules for life, by Chetan Bhagat. I told him I had seen it on the author’s Instagram page, and he proceeded to talk about the book, and how he found it different. At first, I asked if he found any resemblance between this and “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” by Robin Sharma. He hadn’t read the book, apparently. I joked about it and mentioned it kinda was the same but presented the ideas in a different narrative. Our conversation ended on a good note, and so did my project. 


One day at the final exam of my fourth semester, the very subject for which I was doing that project, I saw the book go on sale. I quickly ordered a hard copy of it. It arrived as soon as I completed my exam, and I picked it up later that night. Over the next two days, I binge-read as frequently as I could, and I finished it.


Was the book life-changing? Probably not for me. But there were two things about the book that got me hooked. One, it was well-suited for a quick read. For someone who had to take a sabbatical from intensive reading due to exam prep and somehow witnessed the habit wither away, the book was well-paced and not so boring in terms of advice (since it’s a self-help book, I was expecting a lot of “Do this, do that”. They were there, but not in an open-ended way.) Second, I really admired how the author had been candid in certain instances. It made the reading experience realistic. 


I’ve read other Chetan Bhagat books. And I’ve read quite a few self-help books too. Not a huge fan, but I do need my “in my productive era” sessions once in a while. But this book pointed out where I could find a few missing pieces in my puzzle. So overall, if you’re looking for an actionable read, you should definitely give this a try. 


Comments

  1. Thanks for your actionable review :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. is this Mr chetan bhagat? ;)))

      Delete
  2. Short and sweet

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for reviewing the book in a way I've never seen anyone do it. It was nice reading where the episodes of your life lead to the actual review.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saturdays with BK Uncle

Edit 1 : This is something I wrote a long time ago. repurposing for entertainment purposes. any harm thus caused isn't intentional; it happens to be a byproduct. Nobody knows how old BK Uncle is. Some say he's 60; some say he's awaiting his 80th birthday next month. He's been around for a long time. "Long time" might not seem so long, but for this young flat, it feels like an eternity. Old BK seemed nice; he'd converse with anyone he encountered. The four W's never mattered until they came out of him. People got used to his habits, like any obedient student would in an assembly. Well, most people. My interactions with BK Uncle have been quite amusing on my end and irritating on his. Incidentally, most of my interactions with BK Uncle happen on Saturdays. Probably because that's when I'm home, and I take a stroll in the lobby. Not so long ago, I'd play with my friends in the same lobby—it didn't matter what day of the week it was. Times...

பௌ பௌ… ரெண்டு டீ

டீக்கடை கலாசாரத்தில் தீப்பிடித்து வளர்ந்தவை இரண்டு விஷயங்கள். ஒன்று வீட்டுக்குத் தெரியாமல் பஜ்ஜி சாப்பிடுவது, மற்றொன்று நாய்கள் மேய்வது. போண்டா பஜ்ஜி முதல் போர்பான் பிஸ்கட் வரை பல்சுவைக்கு அடிமையாகிய நாய்கள், நம்மைப் போலவே டீக்கடை நிழலே சொர்க்கம் என்று வாழத்தொடங்கிவிட்டன. “நாயே” என்ற சொல்லுக்கு பொருள்கள் பல என்றாலும், அனைத்தும் திட்டும் அர்த்தங்களே. இன்றோ, ஒரு நாயை “நாய்” என்று சொல்வதே கங்கையில் கரைக்கவேண்டிய பாவம் ஆகிவிட்டது. அதற்குப் பெயர் வைத்து பிறந்த நாள் கொண்டாடியது போக, “ஸ்பா டே” என்று அமர்க்களம் செய்து இன்ஸ்டாக்ராமில் பதிவிடுகிறார்கள். அதைப் பார்த்து கருத்து சொல்பவன் கொடூரமானவனாகிறான். பதில் சொல்லாதவன் மனிதத் தன்மையை இழந்தவனாகிறான். இதையொட்டி, பக்கத்துத் தெருவில் உள்ள டீக்கடையைச் சார்ந்த குறுக்கு சந்து நாய்கள் கட்சியின் தலைவர் பௌ-பௌ வுடன் ஒரு சிறிய உரையாடல். பௌ: பௌ பௌ… அர மணி நேரத்துல மோட்டார் நாய்கள் வந்தால் துரத்த வேண்டிய வேல இருக்கு, கொஞ்சம் சீக்கிரம் முடிச்சிக்கலாமா? ந: ஓ ரைட்டு. கடந்த பத்து வருஷத்துல உங்க ஆளுங்க இந்த ஏரியால இவ்ளோ பழகிட்டாங்களே, நீங்க உங்க வீட்ட மிஸ் பண்ண...

My experience with Murakami - 1

Before we begin, I am in no way qualified to review this book. However, I might not be able to move on with life if I don't give this the closure it deserves. I thought my first encounter with Murakami would be through Norwegian Wood. Like everybody else. It could've been through Kafka on the shore too, I saw that book on my dad's desk for almost three months. But no. Maybe this book landed at the right time. Or there is no right time. Sometimes you find the book, and in most cases, it is the book that finds you. With the wind-up bird chronicle, it definitely has to be the second one for me.  The Wind-up bird chronicle - Haruki Murakami I love it when narratives are non-linear. Life, as I've lived it in the last 20 years, or for most of the part that I can remember has not been linear. I've seen people around me leading a linear life.  School->College->job/grad school/get married -> become an adult -> have kids -> realise at 40 you are your parent a...