Category Archives: Non-fiction

Book Recommendations, Book Review, Non-fiction

An Elegant Defense by Matt Richtel Book Review

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An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System

Intricately crafted and deeply informative, “An Elegant Defense” by Pulitzer Prize Winner and New York Times Best-Selling Author Matt Richtel, is a must-read.

Bacteria and viruses have been regarded as villains throughout history. Among these so-called villains are E.coli, salmonella, HIV, and Ebola. These deadly bacteria and viruses have claimed the lives of millions of people.

But in his book “An Elegant Defense,” Matt Richtel talks about bacteria and viruses and how some of these “villains” are actually crucial for our survival. According to him, only a mere 1% is likely to cause illness.

The miraculous recovery of his dear friend from cancer with the help of a drug that utilizes the powers of the immune system has inspired Matt Richtel to write about our built-in defense system, the immune system.

In “An Elegant Defense,” you will come to learn what viruses are crucial to survival, what T-cells and B-cells are, and how they fight off intruders to the human body.

Matt Richtel delves into the immune system. He describes the immune system as an “elegant defense” against these deadly diseases which is where he got the title of his book from.

“If the immune system is not aggressive enough, it leaves us vulnerable to malignant pathogens. If it’s too aggressive, it can kill us.”

He touches on the history of the discovery of immunology and how, with the help of a starfish larvae, a white-blooded dog, and a chicken’s purse has given rise to immunology.

Matt Richtel explains scientific terminologies and the processes very simply that after reading “An Elegant Defense,” you’ll come to know your body more and will make you feel like an expert in immunology.

A must-read for those seeking to understand their own bodies and the wonders that happen within, for those who are curious about the history of the discovery of immunology, and for people who are interested in immunology but don’t want to read those boring scientific books.

Overall, “An Elegant Defense” by Matt Richtel is an enjoyable and informative, and a sad yet hopeful read.

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Book Review, Non-fiction

The Advice Trap by Michael Bungay Stanier Book Review

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“Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever”

From the Bestselling author of The Coaching Habit

In his book, The Advice Trap, Michael Bungay Stanier teaches about changing the way you lead so you change your team and your organization, and most importantly, yourself.

We love to pounce on anything that shows up even when it’s not the actual thing that needs to be figured out. We’re keen on giving insights and solutions but fail to take time in realizing the real problem at hand. This is when Michael Bungay Stanier’s new book, The Advice Trap comes in.

The Advice Trap is all about taming your “advice monster,” and staying curious a little longer, to get to the root of the problem in order to be able to solve the right problem. Because more often than not, we’re addressing the wrong problem without even realizing it.

It takes on the concept of “less is more.”

Giving less advice is encouraged.

However, the definition of coaching doesn’t say “never give advice” or “only ask questions” according to Michael. That would be deeply impractical. Rather, it implies that advice-giving is usually an overdeveloped muscle. What you’re trying to do is train an underdeveloped muscle: CURIOSITY.

Michael talks about intellectual curiosity and being more coach-like instead of becoming a coach. Curiosity leads to questions, leading to answers.

According to Michael, in order to be more coach-like, one of the qualities one needs to have is humility. In his book, he defines being humble as knowing that your voice isn’t the only voice, and may not be the best voice.

What I realized after reading The Advice Trap is that the secret to advice-giving is actually in the questions you ask rather than in the insights you offer.

“Learning doesn’t happen when you tell them something, it happens when they figure it out themselves.”

The 7 essential questions introduced in The Advice Trap is a gem such as the kickstart question, the strategy question, the lazy question, and more. These questions serve as a guide in finding solutions to your problem.

Oftentimes, we only look at the surface of the problem when it’s actually deeper than we thought. It’s like peeling an onion. You have to get through the layers of questions before finding out the real problem at hand and dealing with it.

The Advice Trap also introduces the 8 ways to ask a question well. Yes, there is a right way to ask a question, and there’s 8 ways to do it well!

“Practice,

Get feedback,

Adapt,

Repeat”

In this book, you will also come to know what “coaching the ghost” mean, what the “TERA Quotient” is and how to increase it.

At the end of every chapter, there is a space for you to write down the most useful insight that you got from the chapter to help you remember the important points of the book.

Overall, The Advice Trap is an insightful read. A treasure trove of infinite value.

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Book Recommendations, Non-fiction

Smart Moves by Sam Deep & Lyle Sussman

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“Smart Moves” is a compilation of checklists to bring out the best out of an individual. I wish I’d met this book earlier, but it’s never too late to improve oneself. To become a better version of yourself and be proud of who you are.

Smart Moves by Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman is a real gem. First published in 1990 with editions after, the lessons in this book are timeless.

Communication is vital for survival. Infants cry when they are hungry or hurt. They laugh when happy and smile when they see something pleasant. Crying is how infants communicate before they learn how to weave words together and create intelligible sentences.

We’ve been communicating since early childhood. Yet, way into adulthood, we still haven’t mastered this skill. This skill of communication.

It can be frustrating sometimes when we mean something and the listener takes a different meaning. This happens because of our lack of communication skills.

That’s when Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman’s book, “Smart Moves” comes to the rescue.

From learning more about yourself as a communicator to delivering powerful presentations, this book teaches how to communicate effectively.

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