Anxious People

 

Author: Feredrick Bachman

I'm sort of a fan of Frederick Bachman. Love his humor - think "A man called Ove". And he didn't disappoint with "Anxious People" either! Love every bit about this book!

The story is set at an open house which is hijacked by a bank robber, who is robbing a bank for the first time. In fact they are robbing anything for the first time. Everybody who's at the open house is a hostage and every one is a hostage for the first time. There';s a wide variety of people who are at the open house - an old woman, a lesbian couple, an old couple and so on. Each has a story of their own. As they spend time together being hostages, stories start unravelling. There is a lot each has to share with the others and there's a lot of practical advice they get from other's life and experience. While listening to other's stories and offering advice, many realize what's going on in their lives. A very engrossing story with wit, humor and compassion.

Bottomline: Definitely read this book!

(Vegan) gulab jamun

 Gulab jamuns are a favorite at our house across all ages! When we became vegan we were all sad to say goodbye to these delicious little balls dipped in sugar syrup. Somehow I felt any veganized version would not even come close and avoided trying any vegan recipe for it. I couldn't resist for long and finally gave this recipe a try. They came pretty close to the original! I do want to try a few other variations as well. That said, I would say this is a simple recipe and good enough. Good ROI :)

Ingredients:

For the Jamuns:-

• 2.5 cups white bread (I used as simple a white bread as possible - from a bakery rather than the commercial ones because they have too many ingredients. If you're confused just go with an organic option)
• 1/2 cup cashews 
• 1/2 cup water
• Oil for deep frying

For the sugar syrup:-

• 1.5 cup water
• 1.5 cup sugar

Method:

1. Heat the sugar and water together till the sugar has dissolved. Continue heating till the mixture forms a one string consistency (I do not do the string test, just ball park. The syrup should have changed the color a little and not become too sticky).
2. Break apart the bread into fine crumbs.
3. Blend the cashews with water in a grinder to make a smooth cream. Couple of options here:
1. If you've a powerful blender like Vitamix you don't need to soak the cashews
2. If you don't have one then soak the cashews in the water (from the recipe) for 4 hours or so. Or heat the water a little and then soak the cashews for an hour or so
4. Mix the cashew cream with the bread and knead into a soft dough.
5. Heat the oil to medium-low heat.
6. Take a small portion of the dough and roll into a ball in your hand. If the dough is sticky, put some oil on your hands.
7. Once you've formed balls for all the dough, start frying the balls 3-4 at a time.
8. After frying a batch, put it on a plate to absorb all the oil. Try to poke a few hole using a needle (for better absorption of the sugar syrup).
9. Then put them in the sugar syrup. The sugar syrup should be warm.
10. Let them soak for a few hours (they will get a little bigger in size as compared to what they were after frying).

(Vegan, Gluten-free) Peanut and sesame laddoo

 

I got this recipe from a friend. Not only are these laddoos delicious, they are healthy and easy to make with minimal ingredients!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup, dry roasted peanuts
• 1 cup, dry roasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup Almond flour
• 1 tbsp Cashew flour (you can make your own or even substitute with almond flour)
• Pinch of cardamom powder
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (you can also use jaggery powder)

Method:

1. Process peanuts and sesame seeds in food processor so that they leave enough oil to clump together.
2. In a bowl add the peanut sesame mixture and the rest of the ingredients.
3. Mix well with your hand.
4. Take a handful in your hand and press it together to form round balls.

A gentleman in Moscow

 Author: Amor Towles

Love love love this book! It has so many elements in it that it would be hard to list them all. What I loved the most about the book is the expression of the author. Had me laughing half the time. The book does get serious after sometime and at that point you're so invested in the story that you anyway want to read it. The vivid description by the author makes you feel as if you are right there.

The story is about a Count Alexander Rostov who, as his title suggests was a count and hence used to all the luxuries, is now sentenced to house arrest in a hotel. When a Count, he would stay in a suite in the same hotel and now he must live in a 1-room attic. Count is a man of wit and humor; and not one to self-pity. While you feel sad that he is relegated to such a state, his attitude towards it inspires you. He believes in "when life gives you lemon, make lemonade". It is so heartening to see how he lives his life from there on. He comes to a meet a little girl and they become good friends. There is much he learns from this girl. The story also wraps around the events that were happening in Russia around that time (1922).

As I said there are so many aspects to love about the book! I would highly recommend reading it especially if you like to read humor.

In Five Years

 Author: Rebecca Serle

The saddest part of this book was that within the first few pages itself I found out that this book is not up my alley! It is based on a premonition - just not something I believe in :( 

Dannie Kohan always has a plan for the next 5 years. She knows exactly where she will be, what she will be doing. She has the job that she was aiming for, she is engaged about to be married, they know after marriage where they want to live, how many kids they will have and so on. One day she has a dream where she's intimate with a different man. After she wakes up from the dream, she is unable to shake off the picture of the man. She has fallen in love with man in her dreams. That one dream will change the rest of her life. 

Normal People

 Author: Sally Rooney

It was anything but a normal story! I can't believe the high ratings this book had on Amazon and GoodReads! It reminded of hundreds of Bollywood movies that are based on exactly the same skeleton - boy meets girl, they are "only friends" but somehow can never find any partner they can live happily with, they are their true selves only with each other, they do coming back to each other but can never decide to stay together for the rest of their life.

That pretty much sums it up.

Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

 Author: Daniel H Pink

Loved reading this book! Very well written and really liked the content!

As the name suggests, the book is about what motivates most people. The author talks about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic true to it's name, comes from within and end of the day, it is what leads to the best work! Extrinsic is when we are motivated by external rewards; also called if-then rewards by the author. In such a case, the doer already knows that "if" they do this, "then" they will get that. The focus in such a case is on finishing the job and not so much on how the job is done. As a result, the doer will try to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal - trying unethical means, lower quality work and so on. Extrinsic motivation can work for routine jobs.

On the other hand, creative work requires intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation comes when an individual has autonomy be it over the task, the time, the technique and/or the team, they can see the purpose for what they're doing and can hope to achieve mastery.

Towards the end of the book, there are specific suggestions for individuals in various roles as well as organizations.