Reading in August

Eat. Delete. – Puja Makhija

Curiosity made me borrow this book from the library. I had never read a diet related book and this seemed interesting. The book covers a range of topics – what is right and wrong about dieting, different types of food, exercise and its importance and a lot of pep talk to people who want to lose weight and grow fit. The author also shares an exhaustive list of What to eat and what to avoid in various cuisines while travelling.

It was interesting in parts, enlightening as well. But a lot of it is a bit preachy, which, probably is required for hardcore dieters. I did learn a few important things and overall it was a decent book to borrow.

Dark Matter – Blake Crouch

A very well written book where the protagonist is a laidback scientist-turned-teacher who gave up on the chance to become a leading name in his research field in favour of family time. One fine day, he finds himself forcibly transported to a parallel world, to one of the multiverses where the possibility of getting back to his family seems nil, unless he finds a way to get back to his world. The plot revolves around how he gets back to his own world and what are the repercussions of traversing across multiverses.

Never once did I suspect this book could disturb me at so many levels. The very concept of multiverses (infinite number of universes that parallelly exist, based on the everyday choices a human makes) seemed too fantastic and the outcome of this adventure is so bizarre that one wonders, what if, this were true!?

The writing is wonderful, never once boring, and the characters and their emotions are well crafted. The only thing that nagged me was the extent to which the protagonist was willing to go for his family – I mean, I loved it and I appreciate it as well – but then I forget, pushing their limits is what makes them heroes.

I would suggest this quirky, wonderful book to all sci-fi lovers.