Week 3 Round Up of Books Read in 2019

Week 3: Jan 14 - Jan 20, 2019

Books Read : 2

1. Being Buddha At Work by Franz Metcalf and BJ Gallagher - A wonderful book beyond comparison. Calling this book a mini-manual on applying Buddha's advice at workplace won't be an extrapolation at all. It's amazing to note as to how such a short book could contain so much practical wisdom on the application of Mindfulness and Buddhism. The book does great job in distilling the relevant and applicable pieces from the tenets of Buddhism and then presenting them in an easily digestible form for the readers. There are 15 themes divided into 3 parts/ sections of  Self, Others(Relationships) and Organisation. The 15 themes are further divided into various pertinent chapters, where each chapter deals with a relevant topic of interest related to the theme. Each chapter is just about the right length and deal with a particular aspect of a potential workplace issue/ problem. Presenting the ground realities at work by way of various examples/ situations / scenarios, the book then suggest ways and strategies (derived from the teaching of Buddha and Buddhism) to address them in a mindful way. For me, the highlight of the book was the depth and the insight contained in each of the "sutras" at the beginning of each chapter. Becoming Mindful at Work made easy by "Being Buddha at Work" !
2. Mind Platter by Najwa Zebian - An amazing collection of reflections on life and covering so many different aspects of our life. Written as single page paragraphs, the entries are quite insightful and definitely touch the heart and soul of the reader. Drawing from her personal life, the author does an excellent job of providing the readers with ample of opportunities for self-introspection and seeing life from different perspectives. A great companion book, for all phases of our life, providing strength during times of despair to help deal effectively with vicissitudes of life. The reflections are short and crisp (about 200 single page entries) but still so effective, as if the words directly flow from the soul of the author. The list of the topics addressed is very exhaustive - love, education, friendship, change, simplicity, soul, dreams and  happiness being just few of those. Except for few repetitions and contradictions, the book turns out to be a highly inspiring, refreshing and delightful read.