Review- She Walks, She Leads by Gunjan Jain

She Walks, She Leads on Goodreads

 BOOK SUMMARY:

• Nita Ambani launched the Indian Super League, on the lines of FIFA, to boost football in India 
• Sudha Murty gave her savings to her husband, Narayana Murthy, to help start Infosys 
• Naina Lal Kidwai was the first Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School 
• Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw started Biocon with a seed capital of Rs10,000 
• At the age of sixteen, Sania Mirza became the youngest and the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam 

These are some snippets from She Walks, She Leads which profiles twenty-six iconic women in modern India. These leaders tell their stories, up close and personal. Their relentless ambition to shatter the glass ceiling, their pursuit for excellence and the challenges that came their way – all of this is captured vividly in this exclusive anthology. Each chapter is based on extensive research and has never-seen-before photographs of these luminaries. The chapters are followed by interviews with their companions and close confidants who have seen them grow over the years. The women leaders profiled in the book come from different fields like banking, media, cinema, sports, fashion, philanthropy and industry.

Release date: July 27th 2016

Published by: Penguin Random House India

Page numbers: 584

REVIEW: 

While I was very much looking forward to reading She Walks, She Leads because I have previously studied and written a paper on feminism and do not miss an opportunity to read about inspiring women, I was apprehensive because it had been a long time since I read a non-fiction work and the sheer length of this book had me questioning everything. But thankfully, this book turned out to be very interesting and packed with information, inspiration and impact.

Clearly author Gunjan Jain has done heaps of research because while she has written about well-known women, there are many facts that are new and interesting to know. So while I was worried that this book wouldn't tell me anything more than what Google would be able to, there were so many aspects and points that me go "oh, is it?" And that means it was new, fresh and informative, which was the biggest plus point.

An eclectic mix of women from various fields, Gunjan Jain has interviewed and written about women in business, movies, sports and what not, so we go from Nita Ambani to Sudha Murthy to Saina Nehwal to Priyanka Chopra and the stories of each of these women and all the others are truly inspiring and nicely told. That fact that the author even interviewed people close to these women was really lovely because it gave another perspective entirely on the life of these powerful women.

In spite of its length which was the biggest problem for me, She Walks, She Leads was a nice read, both because of the structured and meticulous way in which it was written and Gunjan Jain's crisp and to the point writing. I also felt that the book focused only on well-known women, while people around you and I do their own little inspiting bit in their own way. Nevertheless, I would definitely recommend this book to those who wish to be inspired. 

*Note: A copy of this book was provided by author Gunjan Jain in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.

Buy the book: AMAZON

DNF Review- Twelve Years A Slave by Solomon Northup

Goodreads Summary:

This unforgettable memoir was the basis for the Academy Award-winning film 12 Years a Slave. This is the true story of Solomon Northup, who was born and raised as a freeman in New York. He lived the American dream, with a house and a loving family - a wife and two kids. Then one day he was drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in the deep south. These are the true accounts of his twelve hard years as a slave - many believe this memoir is even more graphic and disturbing than the film. His extraordinary journey proves the resiliency of hope and the human spirit despite the most grueling and formidable of circumstances.

REVIEW:

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of Twelve Years A Slave by Solomon Northup from Pirates in exchange for an honest review. We thank the publishing house for the book! 

When we first received an email about Twelve Years A Slave, I was extremely intrigued by the book since at that time, I was reading Edward Said's Orientalism for my literature class and studying the theory as well. So this book seemed like the perfect way to apply the theory to a literary work that isn't fiction. For some reason or the other- and the reason being studies mostly- I kept putting the book aside although ideally, I would have loved to read it while doing orientalism. When I finally picked up the book to read, it was too late, I guess. 

When I went to Quebec for an exchange programme, the in-flight services provided by our airlines had the movie Twelve Years A Slave and I decided to watch it after having watched actors from the film go receive their Oscars for the same. I didn't like the movie much but I did find it interesting. It was sad and devastating, and I wouldn't really know how much of the book was taken to the big screen. I had the book with me at that time as well, but I already said, I never got to it since I had other stuff to do. 

ANYWAY. I guess I've gone off topic enough and it's time I finally get to the review instead of just blabbering about random stuff that no one even cares about. 

So, the book. Well, first off, I did not like the pace of it. It was way too slow for my liking without much happening. I understand why there was a lack of dialogue and a heavy dose of description, but for me, it was too boring. I admit that the binary opposition of master/ slave has been the most interesting relationship since it's nothing but a human thinking another human as savage and using him for his own benefit. But all that aside, the problem I have is not with the story. I don't want to talk about it since I'm not really sure I am capable of doing it. 

I was under the impression that I was reading Twelve Years A Slave when I received an email from Goodreads asking me to update my progress on the book and telling me that it's been 50 days since I started reading it. 50 days. Can you imagine that? 50 days is almost a month and a half. And I read only 90 pages of the book. And in that time, I didn't even read any other paperback since I knew I was reading Twelve Years A Slave and it's better to finish one book before getting on to the next. Honestly, it's not the book's fault. It is mine. I did not read it on time and when I was in the mood for it. So if anyone is to be blamed, it's me. I would have liked to just sit down one day and finish off the book, but somewhere, I know it's not going to happen and I don't want to waste time reading something that I won't exactly prefer to read otherwise. What should be noted is that whatever I read, I found alright. It was profound and I learnt a lot of stuff here and there. But it's taking too long and I've lost interest, honestly.  

I know there are people who will love this book, and I would have as well, but no. It's too time consuming (as if my current pile of books doesn't haunt me enough) and I must close one door to open the next. Sorry, book. 

RATING: