Krishna Dhungana
Online
Mahapragya ko Aatmakatha
The book was first written in Nepal Bhasa and was later translated into Nepali. It has three parts and I had read part two, which I found to be very interesting, a long time back. So when I found the first part, I couldn’t miss a chance to read it. Mahapragya is a rishi, a meditator, and the book is set at a time period of almost 100 years ago. While part two talks about his meditation techniques and condition, part one deals with things and series of events that attracted him towards the path of meditation and how he ended up devoting his life to it. Even though the content was different than the second book, I found it to be equally engaging as there are instances which will help you overcome problems in your own personal life. There are lessons for all kinds of people and I’d recommend people to read this book, at least once in their lifetime.
Prashant Lamichhane
Online
Helping children enjoy reading
Capital in Twenty-First Century
by Thomas Piketty
I have always been interested in matters of economy, history and social issues among others. I came to know about the book after reading a review and it has been keeping me occupied ever since. The content of this book is somewhat based on ‘The Communist Manifesto’ by Karl Marx. His writings on the capitalistic ideology have affected how we see the workings of society, and this book has its own argument to present, adding on what Marx had to say. It also deals with how Europe has evolved over the years –politically, economically and socially – there have been many factors changing the face of Europe like the two World Wars, and the almost fluctuating economic status, which has a deep effect in the lives of people. I thought it was important to read this book as it is relevant in the present context and I’m finding it to be very intriguing.
Mahabir Paudyal
Op-ed
Panchtantra
by Visnu Sharma
I was doing some research for work when I came across this book and I thought of reading it as I hadn’t really read a lot of Sanskrit texts but had always wanted to do so. You could call this book a Sanskrit literature as it teaches philosophy through stories of animals, and as readers, it’s sort of important to extract the lessons. As a kid, I remember my parents telling me stories that I used to enjoy listening to. Now that I’m revisiting the same stories in this book, there are so many things that I hadn’t previously paid attention to that I understand a lot better now. However, I think a lot of readers now would find some stories sexist, and rightly so, because this book was written a long time ago, when there was patriarchal dominance. Nevertheless, it’s an important text as it gives useful advices.
Lirona Joshi
Intern, Social Bureau
A Game of Thrones
by George RR Martin
There is a lot of hype surrounding A Game of Thrones because of the series. I wanted to read the book instead of watching the series because I’ve heard this series is one of greatest works in fantasy fiction and I wanted to live it through the written word. I’ve recently started reading it and I haven’t been disappointed so far. I’m halfway through the book, and each page gets more intense than the last. That is not something I had expected. I love the fact that the writer has presented narrations of important characters and given them a voice. It makes reading more tasteful and alive. I love Arya Stark the most as she is a girl who doesn’t confirm to the society’s definition of how a girl should be. She is a rebel who goes for sword fighting and defies the norms of ‘being a girl’. That’s something I can relate to. This book transports you to a whole new world that’s very enticing.
Bindesh Dahal
Op-ed
The Big Truck That
Went By: by Jonathan M. Katz
I came to know about this book via a discussion in a Facebook page and thought of reading it as our country is dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake. The book is about what happened to Haiti and its people after the disastrous earthquake there. As the book is written by a former Associated Press correspondent who lived and worked in Haiti, I think this book holds authentic narratives. He writes about how the NGO/INGOs who came to help the country from the ruins left more problems behind, about how they blamed the government for its slow action but misused its weakness for their own benefit. The writer expresses his sympathy for the country and the people, as he is a witness to the post-earthquake reconstruction phase. He has mentioned Nepal as well. Overall, this book is good and deserves to be paid attention to.
Prashanti Poudyal
GenNext
Unleashing Nepal
by Sujeev Shakya
My teacher recommended this book to us as it is relevant to the subject we’re studying. I don’t know Nepalis history that well, so I was interested when I found out that it also talks about the history and the society besides discussing about the country’s economy. It basically talks about how the events – political and social – have contributed in shaping the economy, something of importance to the author, who works in the field of finance. My friends, who read this book, weren’t that happy with it, but I’m finding it to be quite a good read. I love reading more about the country I live in, especially as I’m trying to switch from fiction, which I often read, to non-fiction. The book is a good one, and is a lot better than I expected it to be.