There are many little ways to enlarge your world. Love of books is the best of all, they say. Great books don’t only help you understand but they help us feel understood as well. Such is the power that lies between those pages. We are certain everybody has felt this wonderful feeling at least once.
So The Week asked a couple readers about their experiences. We all go through periods in life where we need a good dose of inspiration to get things going. So have they come across any books that have proven to be particularly motivational? Their answers took us through various genres and a variety of writers.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
This book shares an intricate depiction of the development of a family over five generations in Latin America. Even though the story is about a fictional family’s struggles, I found it to be an important representation of the creation of a society as well as the values that define our unique culture. I was amazed by how Marquez was able to encompass a hundred years worth of developments, values and traces of rising socialism within a couple of hundred pages.
So much so, the book actually motivated me to deconstruct my own family history. It led to some rather interesting conversations with my family members. I ended up hearing all these fascinating stories from my parents and grandparents about how they grew up in a remote village in Syanjha. This story has made me want to put extra effort into creating and maintaining connections. Thus I’d call One Hundred Years of Solitude one of the most influential reads I have come across. It certainly made quite the impact on me.
— Nisrit Pandey
Trouble with a Blank Page
Outlier
by Malcolm Gladwell
Initially, it was the title of Gladwell’s book that grabbed my attention. Research brings out several data and they all tend to be linear. They adhere to certain beliefs and follow a parallel path to a large extent. But an “outlier” refers to that one data which backed a notion that was out of the ordinary context. It is such a clever and intriguing concept that it really captured my imagination. The meaning behind the title alone is very motivating.
But then I set about reading the book. It’s called the story of success. Here, the author analyzes various factors that could sum up to being successful. He basically talks of the 10,000-hour-rule where one is supposed to practice something for more than 10,000 hours in order to excel at it. To support this hypothesis he also shares some very insightful examples. I found it all to be incredibly well researched. Galdwell isn’t only presenting his suspicions, he ends up proving them as well. The book had me thoroughly convinced so I read it often to remind myself that I need to work harder.
— Shreya Joshi
THE Missing Link
by Sydney Banks
I have always been fascinated by psychology, the social mechanism, as well as philosophy. I read many books based on the topics but so far, none have put forth their arguments quite like Banks. This book illuminates and creates an appreciation for the mystical link between the psychological and spiritual nature of life. It reveals simplicity beneath the complex workings of the mind.
I found her work to be incredibly neutralized. There were no biases or any intent to manipulate the reader’s perception. She actually allows everybody to come up with their own conclusions. She actually left spaces after a couple of pages. It was sort of her way of allowing the readers to clear their minds and literally fill the page with their own interpretations. When other philosophers seem keen to lay heavy context on us, I found this to be very refreshing. It’s all about being a free thinker with Banks. Perhaps it is also the reason why this book made quite the impression. It has really helped change my life perspectives.
— Joshna Karki
Lucknow Boy: A Memoir
by Vinod Mehta
I used to be an avid fiction reader but of late, my interests have sort of shifted. These days I find myself more interested in exploring the various facets of our real society rather than the ideal world that fiction often tends to take us to. So speaking about motivational books, I just have to mention Vinod Mehta’s memoir. Vinod Mehta, journalist, founder editor-in-chief of Outlook magazine, and author of several books, presents his life through a candid and scandalous account in this autobiography. Being affiliated with media myself, I found this to be incredibly inspiring.
The book contains so many interesting anecdotes. The reader gets a genuine behind the scenes access of how South Asian media works. He isn’t afraid to take us to the dark corners and talk about the shady businesses either. In between it all, he continuously addresses the questions about integrity of the reporters as well as our duty towards the public. It has really helped me shape my own perspectives of the media and its people.
— Chandan Kumar Mandal
