Book Review: The Bed of Procrustes by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Introduction

ISBN : 978-1-4000-6997-2
Genre: Non Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Price: $10.95 (This book has been given by the publisher requesting for a review))
Pages: 113 pages

Quotes and aphorisms is something I simply love for I believe they have secrets hidden in them. I thoroughly enjoy reading them and always keep one such book handy with me just incase life throws up some surprise and I am unable to decipher it, I might need it. Such books have never failed to surprise me, however many I read I still feel there are many secrets out there waiting to be read and experienced.

Behind The book

Source: Google Images

The most prophetic voice of all- GQ

About the author

Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a Lebanese American essayist and scholar whose work focuses on problems of randomness, probability and uncertainty.His 2007 book The Black Swan was described in a review by Sunday Times as one of the twelve most influential books since World War II. (source: Wikipedia) To know more about the author read HERE.

Me thinks

The author’s previous work The Black Swan is critically acclaimed hence making me want to read this author at the next opportune moment. Random House gave me this opportunity by offering this book for review and was I blessed – I surely was!

What a book! Is the first thought that comes to my mind as I finish reading The Bed of Procrustes by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. This book is a collection of philosophical and practical aphorisms by the author on everything under the sun. And most of them take you by surprise as they make you feel Oh! That was so obvious, how come I never noticed it. I loved the segregation the author has done under various heads and provided quotes based on them. More so, his thoughts seem so practical and logical that at the end of reading it all, you chuckle to yourself smiling at his wittiness and consider yourself lucky as if he has just whispered some age old secret in your ear.

Though the language of the book is not a day to day language and not something I can call easy to connect but it surely makes a good interesting read for an intelligent mind as it challenges your wittiness to no extent. Recommended for people who enjoy reading such quotes which add grace to the already beautiful language of English.

Foodie Verdict

Source: Google Images

This book is like Kitkat - crunchy, chocolately and worth taking a break from the real world for!

P.S: This book has been received from Random House for review

Movie Review: If by Tathagata Ghosh – A Tender Portrait of Love, Loss, and Possibility

If , a 26-minute short film by acclaimed Bengali filmmaker Tathagata Ghosh, is a sensitive, evocative piece of storytelling that lingers long after the credits roll. Set against the everyday rhythm of life in Kolkata, the film delicately unpacks the story of a lesbian couple torn apart by the weight of societal expectations and dares to imagine a different future, one where a mother's love might just change everything. What struck me first was the film’s raw, grounded realism. The characters feel like people we know, middle-class families navigating a complex world with quiet resilience. The world of If is filled with silences, glances, and stills, rather than heavy dialogue. Ghosh masterfully uses these moments to speak volumes, allowing viewers to sit with discomfort, interpret the unspoken, and feel deeply.

Book Review: The Story of Eve: Selected Poems by Zehra Nigah

Few voices in Urdu poetry have carried the weight of history, resistance, and deep personal introspection quite like Zehra Nigah. One of the first women to break into the traditionally male-dominated world of Urdu poetry, Nigah’s work stands as a testament to the power of words to illuminate, question, and challenge. The Story of Eve: Selected Poems, translated by Rakshanda Jalil, brings together some of her most powerful nazms and ghazals, showcasing both her literary elegance and her unflinching gaze at the human condition, particularly through the lens of gender, social injustice, and political turmoil.

The Urban Gaze : Reimagining the Village in Contemporary Indian Cinema

Indian cinema has long been fascinated with the village. From the earthy, socialist realism of Do Bigha Zamin (1953) to the melodramatic lament of Mother India (1957), the village once stood as both heartland and hinterland — a space of moral clarity, rustic struggle, and often unyielding fate. But as the urban middle class began to dominate cinematic production and consumption, the depiction of the village increasingly came to reflect an urban gaze, that is, a perspective shaped by distance, nostalgia, condescension, or even outright fantasy. In recent years, this urban gaze has taken on new shades, evident in the way mainstream and indie filmmakers alike have re-engaged with rural India. While some have tried to explore the village as a site of resistance, authenticity, or even horror, others continue to reproduce sanitized or exaggerated versions of village life that serve urban sensibilities more than rural realities.

Reviews & Musings

Search This Blog