F?@K KNOWS by Shailendra Singh

F?@K KNOWS

Author: Shailendra Singh

ISBN: 9788129123886

Binding: Paperback

Publisher: Rupa

Number of Pages: 234

Genre: Non-Fiction / Self- help

Language: English

Price: Rs. 195 (I received my copy from www.blogadda.com)

About the Book: 

What do you want from life? Are you on the right track? Are you truly happy? If your answer to these questions is ‘F?@k knows!’, then this book is for you. Find the answers to life’s most important questions with the help of uber-successful entrepreneur, Shailendra Singh, co-founder of Percept and inceptor of Sunburn. Told with sparkling, flavourful and in-your-face humour, this book will advise you on how to:

*Find yourself (Because you’re probably lost. Admit it.)

*Follow your heart (Because if you don’t then you’ll die unhappy, you stupid f?@ker.)

*Achieve your goals (You know you want to.)

*Live life like you give a f?@k (Because…why not?)

Candid and thoughtful, F?@k Knows will show you how to really live life on your own terms, to do what you want to do and not what you have to do just because your father said so!

Nimue Says :

I rarely pick self help books. I have read my share of books when in college and when I began working , and though I did not like many or could understand it all , the lessons make more sense now. Be it career , life , spirituality , relationships or other phase of life , there is always a book about it. I can recommend a few to some one who genuinely wants to read such books But I will think thrice before suggesting this one. and here is why :

I am not a fan of the word *fuck* ! however you write it , you will say it like that. And the maximum number of times i use this word is once a week to say "wtf"  ! And I do not know many people who say it either any more frequently.

I do not like anecdotes / incidents that refer to sex and related stuff. Neither do i gain any insight from such analogies .  Like the chapter : Orgasm as character study where the author tells about watching 2 of his friends having sex ( with some stranger ) and finding a character analogy based on way they f?@k. As much it is amusing as title , I was not impressed. This was not according to my taste. Plus , such mentions make sure I am not giving this book to anyone below 18.

The author did everything according to his dad , struggled to make an empire , earned millions , suffered a heart attack and that's when he realizes he has not actually lived his life. That he has been doing it all wrong. It happens. But any way you tell this story , It remains the same. The story ( or parts of it) are mentioned many times in the book which kind of become a contrast to the stuff you want or hope to gain from this book. If other's stories inspired , we don't need such books at all. We all need to be convinced that we can make our own success stories.

Having said this , I will still tell you to try this books for some parts like - "And then ? and then and then" ; "Few of my favorite things" ; The cheesecake experiment ( If that can keep few people away from casual sex) ; Mind as technology ; Stop thinking , start doing ..

The author has some really nice ideas and some easy to digest philosophies. Some of the analogies , the examples and the incidents he sketches in the book are funny and wise beyond my age for sure. He has a good flow in his narration and doesn't sound preachy but he does sound some one *trying* too hard to be casual. The overdose of F?@K as a verb ( or adverb) might put you off. Not to mention you can not pass this book to just anyone. Not to my bro or mother for sure I know.

Confession : I read 120+ pages complete and then 7-8 chapters in random but then I was turned off by the one of chapter. . And then I only finished the chapter name and the subtitles ; which are good enough to get the context and gyaan in straightforward manner.

I rate this 2.5/5

Swarnali Speaks :

I am not into non-fiction books, especially self help ones. Never been a fan of them. But when Shailendra Singh's  F?@K Knows came in for Blogadda's reviews, the title (very obviously) and the excerpt really intrigued me and I decided to give it a shot. Well, the book didn't change anything (if at all self help stuff are meant to do so) but reading it sure was fun.

For starters, the cover isn't quite interesting as I would have liked it. But the red lettering on the yellow cover pretty much stand out for themselves (the title is an attraction magnet in itself and instantly piques the readers' interest :P).Imagine my condition when I get the book from my dad who had opened the package and is handing me the book with a very curious and doubtful expression. :P

If you are somebody who is not comfortable using the "F" word or hearing people use it liberally, then you might consider staying away from it. The book is generously doused with the word and the author makes it a point that it serves the purpose it is being used for, to keep the readers' interest alive. Using expletives,simple words and a colloquial tone in the first person instantly draws the readers attention as the narrator takes them into his trust as he narrates his journey and how he failed and then succeeded. 

Listening to somebody's real story is more believable than hear people preaching about things. I think that is what makes this book different. The author does not tell you anything more than what you might already know. But it is the presentation of the book, the narration that makes the read really enjoyable. The tongue in cheek humor coupled with witty refrains and epigrams are what make the book.

The ideas get a little repetitive after a while but I think it is because the author does it to drive the idea deeper into the readers head (remember the repetitive lines of nursery rhymes? the author does the same here, in a funnier manner). The book might not transform you view of the world or switch on that bulb in your head (like those Mentos ads say "dimag ki batti jala de") but it sure will keep you entertained as you flip through the pages.

Rating : 3/5

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Who will cry when you die? by Robin Sharma

About the author:

Robin Sharma is one of the world’s most highly respected leadership experts. He is devoted the mission of helping organizations to develop people who “lead without a title” so that they win in period of intense change. His books such as “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” and “The Greatness Guide” have topped bestseller charts across the globe.

My thoughts on the book:

I sometimes think “self-help” books aren’t that necessary. After all, we are the ones who have to help ourselves, right? But there are times when a little push is needed. Times when we question about why we exist and what the meaning of life is. I think this is a book to give that push.

“When you were born, you cried while the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die, the world cries while you rejoice.” – I think the book is somewhat built around that.

What I liked:

Like I said earlier, this is a book to give a push when you need to regain some perspective on life, in those times when you question if it has one. You could say this is the 101 on life. Some things I liked are:

1. Connect with nature: It says to go out of just admiring nature from an image on the computer and admire nature where it is.
2. Discover your calling: Do what you love to do and what you are meant to pursue.
3. Live a life: Forget judging each day as good or bad, just live it.

What I didn’t like:

It’s preachy. Do this, and do that. Kind of like a checklist to happiness. But life doesn’t quite work that way does it? Read it when you are feeling low and you get a push, but if you read it and try to contemplate if you are going that way, you’ll just end up doubting yourself more.

Closing thoughts:

It’s a book to get you a little motivated when you are feeling down, and not a checklist to happiness. 

Rating: 3 on 5

Book details:
Title: Who will cry when you die?
Author: Robin Sharma
ISBN: 9788179922323
Genre: Non-fiction/Self-help
Publishers: Jaico books
Price: Rs. 175

Reviewed by: Leo
Also shared with: First Reads & IQRC.

The Bottom Line - Sonu V C

I am not much of a fan of self help and philosophy books to be honest. I would not pick a self help book if given a choice, but if a book of this genre comes for review, I never say no to it. Sonu V C got in touch with me through a common friend and asked me if I can read and review his book and in no time I said yes. He gave me a brief about the book over phone and sent the book in a couple of days. 

The Bottom Line, is not a guidebook or it is not going to help you in any way. The book is written to understand the mere existence of your life and "Why" you should do things and "Why" you shouldn't. A lot of self help books tell people how and what about life and various other things but The Bottom Line focuses on "Why" part of things which most of us miss out on pondering over. This is the debut book of the author and Sonu being a novice has focussed on the key points of basic philosophies of life in a short, simple and straight forward way. 

The book is of 104 pages and is divided into 4 sections. My favourite part of the book is section 3 and section 4 namely Practical Line and Bottom Line respectively. People often say that they are practical, they know how things work, they have seen the world, but trust me those who say this, they have no clue what they are talking about. The author has kind of managed to give you an insight about what practicality is all about. 

Section 4 of the book, Bottom Line, is further divided into four parts namely, what is in our control ?, love and forgiveness, strong value system and selfless life. Each of the four sections give you a lot of food for thought. The book has been written keeping in mind that it won't solve your problems related to life. Life is a concept that one cannot understand on the whole but there are tits and bits of it, if you introspect can be resolved and broken down into various small things which can be resolved easily.

Overall, I liked the book. I felt that there could have been more examples to explain things mentioned in the book, but considering the fact that it is author's first book, I would not highlight more things. Give it a shot.

Book Source : Author
Publisher : World Book Company
Genre : Self Help/Philosophy
ISBN : 978-93-82417-19-4