Books I've read recently..

Firstly a very Happy New Year!! to my blog and blog readers(if any?!)

The life-changing magic of tidying up - Marie Kondo

New Year always is like pressing a reset button, trying to figure our what the past year has summed up to and to welcome with an open mind whatever is instored for the coming year. Unlike the past years, I have goals set out for myself this year. Goals that need me to persevere, focus and go after with a gusto. Among the many goals I have, getting organizing seems to rank high up on the list. With two kids and an active household you cannot "wing it" any longer. Any particular day is like an assembly line where making tiny tweaks to your approach will improve your productivity for the day. Working towards this goal, I read Marie Kondo's book 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up'. Honestly, the book itself was not life changing for me, as it put everything I mostly knew in a structured way but I agree on the life changing effects tidying can have on your life. It could have been life changing if say I read it in my 20's when I was completely lost for ideas at getting things sorted.

Image Courtesy: Amazon via Google images

Nevertheless, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to bring a positive change to their surroundings by getting rid of unwanted things that they have been holding onto, physically and emotionally from the past, in a way that it becomes a hurdle to their present and future. Its all about taking baby steps towards a big change.

The Architect's Apprentice - Elif Shafak

The second book I read is called 'The Architect's Apprentice' a novel by Elif Shafak. Browsing through the new books isle at the library, this book caught my eye for its mesmerizing cover(the image below does not do it justice) and also the word Architect in the title. Any book that promised architectural details while time traveling into the Ottoman's Empire during the 16th century sounded like a treat, a treat that lasted 400 odd pages, perfect read for the holidays. 

Image Courtesy: Amazon via Google Images

The story is about a white elephant Chota and its mahout Jahan, their journey through a lifetime in Istanbul, Jahan's transition from being a mahout to becoming an apprentice under the Chief Ottoman Architect Sinan. I loved Elif Shafak's writing style and how she intertwined her story into the chronological order of the actual historical people and events of the Ottoman's Empire. It gave me a glimpse into how life would have been for a commoner and a king during that period. The element of mystery kept me going and Shafak rounded all the loose ends nicely.

For a more detailed review on this book you can read the New York Times review here.