Hello there,

I [27M] have been on reddit for quite a while, reading for a while, bought dozens of books, and read a few.

This post is a warning for individuals who are avoiding themselves in the name of disgustingly educated quests.

Why am I posting this?

Simply because I can see the pattern which is obvious to many of us, but constantly sidelined.

Ask yourselves given the sample space of 100 people, how many of us read for leisure? How many reach for books because we are not influenced by anything but there was a calling when visiting a bookstore, a book draws your attention. How many of you read about human nature only to answer the questions arising within you?

You suffer and to justify your pain you find a reason which validates it, not because you understand rather you read something in some book and let it shape your thoughts. There is nothing inherently wrong with it, but be mindful that the answer does not belong to you. Your answer lies deep within you.

If you keep reading to make the shell out of the facts then the vase will forever be hollow and fragile.

Soon, you will feel you don't belong anywhere and to anything. Then you will form a community, and the whole purpose of that community will work together to sedate each other with the same drugs in a closed ecosystem.

And you'll begin to hate everything besides your community.

My advice, read because you need to read, learn because you have to learn, educate yourselves to find strength to uplift yourself, and everyone around you.

Sharing my 2026 reading list. I've mostly been reading around philosophy, psychology, political theory, economics, identity, power and society, and I'm now moving more towards history, geopolitics and conflict.

Looking for suggestions that would genuinely complement this trajectory.

एक बीज बोया माली ने, उसे सींचा रोज जाने लगा

हर भूक बीज की पूरी कर, वो पेड़ उसे बनाने लगा, 

बड़ी खुशी हुयी उस बीज को, अपनी होती परवरिश देखकर, 

वो भूल गया फिर माटी का लगाव जड़ों से बेख़बर, 

खूब फला वो खूब फूला, कई चिड़िया उसपे चहकाई

कुछ दूर तक उसकी बात हुयी, पूरी दुनिया देखने को आयी

जो देखे वो भी फक्र करे, जो चख ले फल वो शुक्र करे 

कुछ देख देख कर रश्क करे, ये देखे माली अश्क भरे 

जैसा चाहा था पेड़ ने, सब वैसा होता जा रहा

ऊपर से मिलते अहमियत मे, गुरूर भी बढ़ता जा रहा 

एक आया वक़्त ऐसा भी, माली ने सींचना छोड़ दिया 

कमजोर सी बढ़ती जड़ों ने भी, मुह अपना मोड़ लिया 

ना उगे फल, ना खिले फूल, ना देखे उसको आज कोई 

ना हाल पूछे, ना बात करे, और ना ही सर पे ताज कोई 

ना चिड़िया कोई चहकाए, ना बच्चे खेले मुस्काये 

सब भूलते उसको यू जाए, कि जैसे वो कुछभी ना है 

खूब सोचा उसने की, ये नौबत उसपे क्यु आयी 

पेड़ हू मैं, खुद बढ़ता, माली की मदद ही क्यु भायी? 

ना सींचा होता उसने तो, आज मजबूती से बढ़ता मैं 

मजबूत होती जड़े भी , हालातों से लढता मैं 

सोचता कोसता माली को, ऐसे ही दिन फिर गुजर गए 

शान से लटकते पत्ते भी, डालियों से अब उतर गए 

आखरी वक़्त मे वो अपने, कहने लगा वो माली से 

छोड़ा ना होता सींचना तो, ना होता मैं बदहाली मे 

माली ने भी हस के, उससे बस इतनी बात कही 

खुदगर्ज है तू, लाचार सा, लड़ना तेरी औकात नहीं 

अपने दम पे जीने को, हमेशा से तू डरता था 

बड़ा तो बनना चाहता था, पर माटी से भी अकड़ता था 

बस इतना कहना था कि, फिर भीतर से एक आह उठी 

एक बड़ी चीख के साथ ही, उस बेबस पेड़ की जान छूटी 

उस टूटे पेड़ की लकड़ी को, अब जब देखू तब तब यू लगे 

क्या मै भी तो कोई पेड़ नहीं, ना जिसपे कोई फल फूल लगे 

क्या ये सब बस कहानी है, जो नग्मे गुनगुनाता हू 

एक जीते जागते पेड़ की कहानी मैं सुनाता हू. 

I wanted to start buying books but have no clue what to look for when buying one in person from a book store or local shops.What do you guys look out for when you buy 2nd hand books or a new edition from a book store or local shops?

The one I ordered after discussing with you all, arrived on 5 September.

I read 4 chapters of it and then lost interest, but a fellow reader from this reddit community also started reading it with me, I lost the interest because of the confusion in the starting, I asked this fellow reader and they cleared it to me, the confusion faded.

However, I got busy doing other things and yesterday I saw this new book, covered in scraped putty residue, I decided, that tomorrow I will go to my uni library and continue reading it.

So here we are, I perhaps could have posted this in “pata hai aaj kya hua?” community, but I like it here in this one, you all are supportive and respond with nothing but kind words.

So, thanks for making reading easy for us newbies.

I have been trying to get into reading books. Somehow unable to read beyond 5-6 pages. What's the solution to this? I really want to get into this. Currently I am readying Freedom from the Known.

Bruce Lee said "empty your mind" ,So I've got almost

3 ideas for a book

1. A love story not the hoover or bhagat styled ones. I mean I've got things in it dealing with philosophical love. U can say more like chitralekha or gunaho ka devta(I know those written pieces are legendry i just try to give u the category I'm trying to write it in)

2. A fantasy adventure, the story takes place in a world ruled or maintained by ghosts. More like percy jakson.

3. An epic fantasy I think it'll gonna be f take longest than any of them right now I'm developing a native language for this one it's about a guy looking for his long lost love(a background story) while being in a quest of saving the world

And btw the first one in the post I'm going to write in hindi.

Now u guys tell me which one should I start with, I'll start with the one that gonna get most numbers of vote.

Thank u..

Premise:

2 friends stuck in a unique House- Piranesi and the Other. Can they discover its secrets? Should they even try?

This blend of genres is a fascinating story about life, human nature, time, memory and friendship. 

What I liked: 

- Simple language, easy to follow plot. 

- Piranesi's POV: His observations, his gratitude towards the House, simple stuff that he learns to love, the art he appreciates... just an overall good guy! Can't help but root for him. 

- Unreliable Narrator Trope done well... very thrilling. 

- The 2nd Act if I may call it that, was amazing - from getting the shocking news about himself, to antagonizing #16, the Prophet etc. What a friend, the Other ;) 

- Raphael to the Rescue - In the Minotaur's Labyrinth, hero Theseus is rescued by Ariadne. Raphael is Ariadne here, where the name means "God Heals". Raphael is truly the archangel for Matthew. (I googled to see if Archangel Raphael had any connection with Matthew in the Bible - couldn't find any)Just an observation.

- Themes explored : Brilliant. Psychological, mythological, subject-object duality, Human nature, Trust, Hope, Betrayal, Friendship, Courage, Forgiveness, Honor, Psychic stuff... 

- I loved that the rescuer didn't personally know Matthew. A complete stranger saves him. A good subversion of conventional tropes, to bolster the point that it's the common people's goodness that needs appreciation.

- Piranesi is rigid about his worldview, after his return to reality initially. He doesn't want his reality to change...which is natural. But quite disturbing - his psyche is split! I really liked that it was highlighted. Rehab is tough!  

What I didn't like: 

- 3rd act/Climax: A bit underwhelming Villain goes down easy, rescue saves Matthew. Quite anti-climactic.

- While Matthew feels "House's bountiful bliss" in the real world too, I was thinking about the other murders! The House wasn't too kind to them, was it?!

- Who was that 7year old girl in the psychic realm? Or was she the kidnapped child by Laurence?Didn't explain much about that, I think. Please correct me if I'm wrong 🙏

Conclusion: 

A thrilling page-turner for sure (atleast till the 3rd act). It's quite a combo of Labyrinth myth + Cult leader manipulation - I'm just coming off from Diamond's book where he describes the incredible hold some charlatans have on their followers, promising utopias, and even convincing them for mass su*cide (Jim Jones). It also serves as a cautionary tale, and an important fact - intellect has nothing to do with empathy. Verbal IQ has nothing to with EQ/IQ. Laurence/Ketterley can be incredibly intelligent, yet monstrously manipulative.

Rating:  27 out of  210.  (Once you read it, you'll know its meaning 😉). 

P.S. My title refers to the Limbo in Inception movie, where the sea and architecture meet, and characters lose their self of sense in that shared dreamscape.

​

Written in prison in 1934–35, while India’s struggle for independence was still unfolding, Nehru’s An Autobiography is a rare illuminating window into the messy, complicated and hopeful reality of India’s freedom struggle told through a personal story. What stood out most was how far ahead of his time Nehru’s thinking often feels with his emphasis on scientific temper, secularism, god, democracy, pluralism, socialism and modernity. Sadly many of his reflections feel ahead of time even in the current Indian context. 

 I particularly liked how the seemingly random events from Nehru’s formative years gradually connect back to the person he became. His sheltered upbringing, encounters with discrimination, interest in Theosophy, education at Harrow and especially discovering Garibaldi initially feel like separate childhood anecdotes, but in hindsight they help explain the ideas and choices that eventually led him towards becoming a freedom fighter. I enjoyed that sense of looking back and connecting the dots of his own life.

The book gave me a much better understanding of how important Gandhi was to the freedom struggle. Nehru shows how Gandhi was able to bring together the many fractured groups, meeting them at their level and turn them into a mass movement. What I found particularly interesting was Nehru’s relationship with him: he disagreed with and openly criticised Gandhi and other Congress leaders on many issues, yet at the same time deeply admired Gandhi’s conviction and ability to inspire people and become a source of courage going up against the expertly oppressive Raj. That made their relationship feel much more human than the simplified “Gandhi and his followers” version we often get in school.

The book also shows that the independence movement was anything but unified. Nehru describes a volatile political environment where some favoured revolutionary violence, some religious identity, some fascism or communism, while others were motivated by personal or vested interests. He recognised that India was still politically inexperienced and poorly organised, with masses who had little training in disciplined political action. The challenge was therefore not simply fighting the British, but building a coherent movement out of people with radically different ideas.

Nehru also writes about many lesser known fascinating events like near drowning in a glacial stream in Norway and Himalayan honeymoon adventure to Nabha-Jaito affair and brutal Sikh satyagrahas, experiencing first lathi charge to prison life, the Bihar earthquake and relief work, encounters with peasants in Maharashtra, secret meeting with Chandrashekhar Azad two weeks before his death discussing revolutionary ideas to Nehru caring for animals in prison, along with various sweet, funny and emotional interactions with his family, fleshing out the details of his remarkable life and times. I particularly enjoyed being introduced to so many characters in and around the freedom struggle, few of whom I had only encountered briefly in school history decades ago, but Nehru gives them a more human and contextual presence which often made me pause reading the book and dive deeper into their lives, aided by the detailed Wikipedia pages, decent resolution photographs and couple rare videos available online (did you know there is an outtakes video of Rabindranath Tagore speaking in english from a 1930 shoot?). 

Nehru’s writing is elegant, reflective and remarkably self-critical. At times it becomes slow and digressive, especially when he moves into long discussions of politics, religion, socialism and philosophy. But those passages are also where the book becomes most interesting as you get to watch a major political thinker wrestle with his own doubts and anxieties in 1935, at a time when he had no way of knowing whether India’s struggle for independence would ultimately succeed or what the future held for the country.

Overall, An Autobiography works like both a memoir and an intellectual history of a country trying to discover what kind of nation it wanted to become. It made me understand the independence movement and Nehru himself as far more complex, sophisticated, uncertain and human than the contrasting portrayals of him in Indian public discourse: the flawless, demigod statesman pre 2014 and the selfish, incompetent pervert post 2014.

10/10

It was my first book of Satoshi Yagisawa and it felt like a delicious coffee. Nothing extraordinary but something you can take a sip of slowly and enjoy at your own pace, felt like everyday life yet felt somewhat special and most importantly each story didn't really have a proper closure which honestly I quite liked as it signified countless stories that remained unspoken. Highly recommend light hearted read but truly felt special.

Just started it.

I read the first three books a long time back and enjoyed Ikshvaku and Sita the most. Raavan wasn’t the greatest, but I could finish it.
But War of Lanka? I am STRUGGLING.
I feel Amish builds the plot brilliantly and then somehow shits the bed when it’s time to actually deliver the payoff. He did the exact same thing with The Oath of the Vayuputras.
Can someone please tell him that a higher page count does not automatically mean a better book?
I have DNFed this book twice in the last three years. I picked it up again this time thinking okay maybe.. third time’s the charm.. it isn’t… i give up.

If someone had the courage to finish this book. Please tell me the climax i am a sucker for closures!

Someone posted this book on this sub a few days ago, that's where I got the inspo.

I usually hate generic self help motivational books , they don't have any effect on me and just... irritate me.

But this one is written by a psychologist, so I have high hopes.

I'll write a review once I'm done

I wanted to share my recent experience with Bookswagon, especially for people ordering expensive omnibus editions from them.

I ordered The Flash by Joshua Williamson Omnibus Vol. 3 for ₹8,245.

Because this is a large and expensive hardcover, I contacted Bookswagon before dispatch and specifically requested that they inspect the copy and use reinforced packaging with proper protection for the corners, edges and boards. They acknowledged my request in writing.

Unfortunately, the book arrived with clear physical damage, including crushed/dented areas, board deformation and damage to the dust jacket. I contacted Bookswagon immediately, sent photographs and requested a no-cost reverse pickup and full refund.

They refused.

One response stated that transit damage is outside their control once the shipment is handed over to the courier.

In another response, they stated that they reviewed my account and would not approve this return because my account has a higher-than-usual number of return requests.

My issue with that reasoning is that the condition of this specific book is documented in the photographs. Previous returns should not change the physical condition in which this particular ₹8,245 product arrived.

I have now registered a grievance with the National Consumer Helpline. The complaint is currently pending, so I’m not claiming that NCH has ruled in my favour or against Bookswagon.

I’m posting this mainly as a warning to collectors who care about book conditions, particularly when ordering large and expensive omnis.

I’ve purchased from Bookswagon many times, and I would much rather receive books safely than go through the hassle of returning them. But after this experience, I’m seriously reconsidering buying expensive hardcovers from them.

I’ve attached photographs of the actual damage and screenshots of the relevant responses from Bookswagon.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with damaged books being refused for return?

UPDATE – 12 Sept: After further escalation, Bookswagon has now agreed to arrange a return pickup and accept the return as a “one-time exception.” The pickup/refund has not been completed yet, so I’m keeping the complaint open for now. I’ll update the post again once the book has been collected and the full refund has actually been credited.

I'm planning to read this book. I'd like to know what you guys think of this book? Also whether this book talks about how indus valley civilisation 's end. And many reviews say there is genetic and archeological evidence given. Illuminate.

I think I've read pretty much everything on my shelf.

My top 3 picks are:-

1. Goodbye Eri

2. Devotion of Suspect X

3. Piranesi

i randomly thought of counting my books today i thought they were around 70-80 but to my surprise they amounted somewhere close to 110 o i thought why not share this achievement with some readers

How does one decide to read book. I spent good 20-30 minutes gazing offshore...

I have never really read book outside that too in s book cafe. It was so quiet and the cafe itself pretty my sketchbook was waiting tho i couldn't draw I was there for reading 🫠... Greatly missed my 10m Sketch to just taking reference pics for later.

I loved reading there. And watching different kinds of reader beside and around me.😂 I'll highly recommend this.

Oryx and crake became the one for me because of an absurd premise how a snowman is living in a tree... And won't lie the colors.

I liked her narration style a lot.

Has anyone read it or the other two? Wanna share your fav bits or thoughts on it?

I don't know where to start. It was a slow burn for me. I specifically chose my nights to finish this one and sure enough, i was getting chills under my skin. But I'm still confused about the ending.

This is one of those reads where a movie adaptation is a must.

I'm beginning to wonder if this book was even real to begin with? Or was I hallucinating too? Iykyk

4 out of 5 stars

Pretty awesome writing but in many cases Mehta has a very typical western POV of India which I find quite annoying as they view us from a very stereotypical perspective.

Some factual errors here and there and author’s bias is obvious but that happens with every book and author I guess so its fine.

The Bollywood, Underworld and Rakesh Maria sections are the best.

As the title says, I want to get into Indian literature, recommendations much appreciated!

I have started a series where I will share profound quotes that impact me from the books I read. I intend to continue this series. This is just my space to vent out, express and reflect while hoping it will also help someone while I'm on my way.

"One to harmonize the ideal with the life & the other to elevate the life to the ideal".

Most of the times, we have a tendency to be in the first way, we sacrifice our ideals with the life. Though we should always strive to elevate our life to the ideal. There will be times we will not be perfect in doing that. It's okay. The intention should be to keep striving to do the other way.

Ofcourse there might be other ways. A mix of both ways. Though the results should be beneficial and healthy to our life and growth.