From the time I’ve written the last set of book reviews, I have mostly read fictional books and one on leadership.  This article reviews 4 amazing books:

• Krishnavatara 1/The Magic Flute – K.M Munshi
• And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie
• The Ant & The Elephant – Vince Poscente
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy – Douglas Adams

1. Krishnavatara 1/The Magic Flute

My Rating: 5/5, Goodreads Rating: 4.44/5

An extraordinary tale of Krishna and the prophecy that he had to fulfill. I remember my grandparents telling me bits and pieces of Krishna’s and Balaram’s adventures but I had never got the full story up until now when I got a chance to read this book.

It is beautifully written offering a second, more realistic perspective to the other magical versions of this same story. This book took me straight to that era where Krishna was born and I could easily imagine and experience their life, their surrounding, their difficulties with vividity. This is one of those books where you know that certain events would happen but it wouldn’t change the excitement of getting to read those parts nonetheless.

The description of historical places like Gokul, Vrindavan, Mathura with their lush landscapes, palaces and the lives of people are breathtaking. I felt as if I was transported back in time to those places living with those people.

The book is written in a simplistic yet gripping style. I recommend it to anyone who wants to forget everything temporarily and go on an incredible adventure with Krishna and Balaram.

2. And Then There Were None

My Rating:  5/5, Goodreads Rating: 4.22/5

An enthralling book with a gripping storyline. Once I had started reading it, I couldn’t get myself to stop. The book teleported me straight to Soldier Island, the place where the story is set.

With multiple murders happening on the island, The reader’s mind races to conclude who the killer could be. Each conclusion made will be proved false soon after. It’s an amazing book written in a way where the events are presented as it is so the reader can make deductions. Vivid descriptions of the events and the surrounding give the reader’s imagination fuel to visualize the eerie surrounding and the morose atmosphere. The thoughts running through the minds of people on the island builds the suspense and tension.

The characters in the story are very well picked. We get to experience each one of them trying to best utilize their skill just to survive. Their instincts of self-preservation are completely based on their experiences in their chosen field of work. Whether it’s the doctor, the policeman, the army man or the judge, each one of their contribution to keeping everyone alive is noteworthy.

Murder mysteries have always fascinated me and this one is truly a masterpiece. I can very well relate to the author when she says ” I know how hard it was to write this book”. There are innumerable things that had to be set right for this story to be woven out perfectly and that is exactly what has been done. Loved this book from the start to the end.

3. The Ant & The Elephant

My Rating: 5/5, Goodreads Rating: 4.21/5

A brilliant book that talks about the working of our conscious and subconscious mind. I loved the analogy of the ant being the conscious mind and the elephant being the subconscious mind as it describes in clarity the potential that we have as humans.

This book is written as a story of an ant and an elephant in a desert with a wise teacher preaching the ant to learn and work with the elephant, guiding it in the process. I loved the simple way in which the author has conveyed the 5 important steps to tune and work with both your minds to reach your goals and become a better leader. The things to learn from it are direct and each lesson is accompanied by the excitement, hard work, and frustrations that we face in daily life and how we can apply the teachings to change our way of thinking and handle situations in a better way.

I felt as if is this book was written for me because the situations and reasoning were exactly what I was facing or had faced before ( turns out, a lot of people feel that this book was specifically written with them in mind) and it showed what I was doing wrong. I could experience changes early on by applying the steps mentioned in the book. Anyone reading this book will have at least one new thing to learn from.

Two quotes I liked the most in this book:
1) Gratitude is the magic ingredient in the recipe for a fulfilling life.
2) No two thoughts can occupy the mind at the same time ( think about something positive when negative thoughts come to your mind) 

4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy

My Rating: 4/5, Goodreads Rating: 4.2

When I read that this was a sci-fi book about the galaxy and beyond, it immediately caught my attention. I started reading it and I loved it. It combines two genres ( sci-fi and comedy) seamlessly to bring out a wonderful story of these few people from various galaxies who embark on an adventure around the universe.

This is a book about a book. “The hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy”  is a guide/book that helps space travelers to survive and know about new planets/ start or a solar system, and how to travel throughout the universe. The best thing about this book is the ability to bring out perspective on how a far more advanced life form than ours in the universe can still have the same mentality of people we meet or see every day and what kind of chaos it can create.

Humour is present everywhere. Right from the way different life forms are portrayed to giving consciousness to robots, it’s hilarious ( I just love Marvin.. he’s funny in his own depressed ways). Some of the scientific explanation of what we feel as impossible things are hysterical. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

So, these were the 4  books I recently finished reading and all of them were awesome. Share your thoughts and recommendations in the comments below.