Currently Reading:

Colin Powell’s biographical book, It Worked For Me, was interesting to read during the backdrop of the current political situation in America after the unjust murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Elijah McClain, and so many other African Americans unfairly killed in a system that is not designed for them.

Reading a book on Colin Powell, a man who made it in this system provided insights into how he achieved success. He did so by taking the job that he could get, often times meaning he would have to take jobs that white people wouldn’t do, and then making himself invaluable towards not only that role, but the whole team. Then he would leverage his importance into a gaining a more respectable position (mainly taken from his analogy working at a factory).

Black Americans are and have been putting up with this caste system in America that never has fully gone away, and to read Colin Powell’s story of working within that flawed system to break glass ceilings is romantic. That romance, however, has been used to allow for the continuation of injustice that disproportionately affect black and other minority citizens (like myself). With this 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, perhaps the cry that young people are saying is that BIPOC shouldn’t have to jump several hoops, like Sec. Powell did at that factory, just to start at the same level as their white counterparts. Is it so radical to demand for everyone to “start the race at the same time?”

This is my dad’s favorite book, he gives it to everyone he works with as well as to younger members of our extended family. The book talks  about the mental process behind a Carnegie Mellon professor, who was diagnosed with cancer, is getting ready to give a final lecture. As a gifted speaker, though he is in the computer science department, Randy Pausch would give a lecture once a year. After getting his cancer diagnosis, Randy decides to give one more speech, as a kind of legacy to both his family, career, and life.

The book is overall a sort of Forrest Gump type story where Pausch talks about the different ways he was able to fulfill some of his childhood dreams. He couples this with anecdotes about how he was able to meet his wife, general obstacles he has overcome, and leadership advice. Overall he comes across as likeable, accomplished, and, though very boomerish, a good mentor who has lived a rich life.

I thought of the interview Bill Gates gave talking about Steve Jobs when I read this book. Gates mentions how even when Jobs was on his deathbed, he was planning out designs for a new boat. Gates’ point in bringing this up is that Jobs never believed that knowing one’s own death was imminent was a good enough reason to be inactive. Pausch is quite similar, the most impressive part of this book is that he did choose to spend his last few months giving a great speech, one that will last forever, and that I know is meaningful for his children. 

“Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt” is the first book I have read from Michael Lewis, the author of the “Big Short,” and from what I gather is probably the top writer on Wall Street culture. The book is centered around two things: Greed, as most every book on finance culture seems to be, and speed: the value that a millisecond provides in today’s society. 

The book overall is well written for what it is, a book on technical financial concepts and the emergence of high frequency trading. I like how Lewis uses personal profiles of the characters who he writes about. This creates a level of general interest in the people who he goes through these events. They seem human. For example, the main character Brad Katsuyama  is built up through the novel as the kind of guy, who do to his Asian heritage and upbringing in Canada is shown to have lived a life where he puts his personal values over career success. He isn’t just a random guy who chooses to do the right thing, but a guy who acts in accordance with his nature. 

I think that Lewis writes this narrative well. He explains the changing nature of stock trading, slow market arbitrage and dark pools, how big banks and hedge funds make money off of margins when investing. He also portrays the grim nature of modern finance, how these big banks and hedge funds are not the friend of the average investor, nor the people who work for them. His story of the only Goldman Sachs investor who was put in prison for the 2008 financial crisis is highkey sad.

Overall it was a good read, understandable for someone who doesn’t know who isn’t in the financial industry, but I am just not super interested in the subject.

This is a case study by Sashi Tharoor on the life of the controversial Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He talks about the cryptic rise of his youth, and his rise to power. Tharoor talks about the opportunistic and ideological mindset of “chai-walla” (tea server) who became the most powerful man in India. 

Tharoor gives specific examples of how Modi has been either “incompetent” with his demontization policy of 2016 or intentionally offensive, with his increasing nationalism, and support of the Hinduvita movement. Tharoor specifically cites his policies ranging from creating more holidays celebrating the government, increasing the importance of cows, and ignoring women’s rights movements.

Tharoor is a gifted writer, but I feel as though he comes across as partisan and pretentious in this book. That said, Tharoor helps create a compelling case for increased global attention towards Modi and his government. A good read that is understandable for a reader like me who doesn’t know too much of Indian politics, but be prepared to google some terms. 

This is one of the best books I have read. While George Orwell is known for his books that you read in high school, 1984 and Animal Farm, but I think that his best work is without a doubt the stuff he writes about his personal reflections. The essays “Why I Write,” “Marrakesh” and “To Shoot an Elephant” come to mind. Each gives a glimpse into the weird mind of Orwell and his over analysis of everything.

This book describes Orwell’s life in Paris, and his flirtation and eventual descent into poverty. This is where Orwell is so talented, for he is able to describe the loss of dignity that occurs when one loses their job. His tales of pawning his clothes and eating garlic in order to capture the lingering flavor in efforts to trick his mind that he was full. He also gives a brilliant account into the behind the scenes working of a restaurant in Paris, how gross the actual setting was.

He then proceeds to talk about moving back to London, and lives a life in penury. This is particularly haunting as Orwell talks about the sadness and loneliness of life as a London vagabond. Tales of starvation, forced homosexuality, and invisibility are the jarring parts of this half of the book.

Overall, the book is by far the best description of the humiliation that one faces as a homeless person. Orwell’s overthinking becomes critical, for in this personal account he was unable to just become numb to his pain, but rather used his writing as his outlet for soothe his anxiety. A great book to read if you want to gain an understanding of the experience of poverty through the words of one of the most articulate and erudite writers.

This is one of my favorite books, though it is a cliche. I don’t know if there is any value in giving a plot summary for the book, since most people who read this have heard of the plight of old Holden Caulfield, and his Peter Pan mentality. Did you know that the man who assassinated John Lennon claimed that this book was his manifesto for why?

I guess I want to include this book here because I think that if you are in college this is such a great book to reread. Salinger is able to speak to an unrest within all of us that happens during this bildungsroman period of our life, there’s a reason why it has lasted so long. 

I particularly want to focus on one interesting part of the novel, the part where Mr. Antolini both gives Holden a great piece of advice, right before he breaks his trust. My brother’s roommate’s mom (three circles of removal, haha) explained the significance of this moment. In life, sometimes the most helpful advice, or even the best of mentors of friends can end up breaking that trust, but what is important is to take the good that you can from people and to keep moving forward with your life. 

The book is a classic, and you should, if you haven’t already, reread the book, this time take extra effort to empathize with the Holden.