SHIVA: AS I CAME TO KNOW HIM by Gunjan Kaushik

 

🌙 I didn’t just read this book. I found myself pausing between its pages.

SHIVA: AS I CAME TO KNOW HIM

by Gunjan Kaushik

There was a point while reading this book when I stopped thinking of it as a book about Shiva.

It started feeling like a book about what happens to us when everything we thought we were begins to loosen.

That idea appears very early, when an ordinary evening suddenly feels different. Nothing around the narrator has changed, yet something inside has. The worries, roles, expectations and carefully constructed identity begin to develop cracks. I especially liked the way Shiva doesn't arrive with some dramatic revelation - his presence is felt quietly, almost like a fault line opening beneath an otherwise normal life.

And then came some of my favourite passages. 🌊

The moment when the Ganga descends after destruction, described almost as a cool current moving through the weight of everything that has been carried for years, was beautifully written. Then comes the damru - not simply as a sound, but as a rhythm that seems to synchronize breath, thought and awareness. And later, the image of the crescent moon bringing a gentler kind of clarity felt completely different from the intensity of the earlier chapters.

But Kaal Bhairav was where the book really surprised me. 🔥

The writing takes fear, approval, control, jealousy and resentment and turns the mirror inward. Even the symbolism of Bhairav's dog becomes meaningful - the need to be validated, appreciated and constantly reassured. I found that section particularly relatable because the book doesn't tell you to simply get rid of these feelings. It asks you to actually look at them.

And perhaps that is what stayed with me most.

This isn't a book that constantly tells you what to believe. It keeps asking you to look closer.

At times, it is spiritual. At times, deeply psychological. And at times, surprisingly intimate.

✨ If you've ever wondered whether letting go means losing something or finally discovering what was underneath it, this is a book worth opening.

Just don't rush through it.

Some pages deserve to be read… and then quietly sat with. 🕉️📖

The Tyndall Effect: Some Things Are Not Meant to be Seen by Lewis Mustard

 

🌌 When a mystery starts changing the people who are trying to understand it....

Tyndall Effect pulled me in with a deceptively simple question: What exactly is Mara Keene seeing?

It begins with that unsettling 3 a.m. discovery - the faint blue light, strange coordinates and a pattern that refuses to make sense. Then Adrian's words, "It’s a decision", take the story in a direction I wasn't expecting. 👀

What I really enjoyed is how the mystery keeps expanding.

The phenomenon doesn't remain something that can simply be photographed, measured and explained. It starts appearing across recordings and other forms of communication, while Mara, Ravi and the others begin wondering whether attention and interpretation themselves are affecting what they're observing. 🧩

That idea kept me hooked.

But the book isn't all science and mystery. That's actually where I think it becomes much more interesting. ❤️‍🩹

The Silence Zone, the cases involving memory and recognition, and especially Tessa's reaction to something that seems kind bring a very human question into the story:

If something could take away your pain, would you really want it to?

And what would you lose in exchange for that relief?

I also found myself becoming increasingly invested in the characters. Mara's conversations with Adrian have an interesting tension, while Ravi's gradual change - even something as simple as him stopping his usual humour makes the consequences of everything happening around them feel much more personal.

Then there are the tiny details that make the larger ideas hit harder. A little memory like “Parsley first” somehow says more about identity and what we hold onto than a page of scientific explanation ever could. 🌿

✨ That balance is what made this book work for me.

It gives you mystery 🔍, science-fiction ideas 🌌, psychological tension 🧠 and underneath all of it, a surprisingly emotional exploration of memory, identity, grief, choice and the dangerous appeal of relief.

If you're looking for a science-fiction read that gives you something to think about rather than simply something to solve, this is one I'd recommend adding to your reading list. 📚✨

Ultimate Redis for High-Performance Applications by Karnish Master

📖 I didn’t expect a Redis book to feel this readable....

Some technical books make me feel like I need another book just to understand the first chapter. 😅

Ultimate Redis for High-Performance Applications by Karnish Master was a pleasant surprise in that regard.

I went into this expecting a very heavy, code-filled read but what I liked most was how the book slowly builds your understanding instead of throwing everything at you at once. I found myself enjoying the early explanations of what Redis actually does, why it is so fast and where it fits into the bigger picture. 💡

The part about Redis data structures was especially interesting to me. Strings, sets, lists, hashes, sorted sets... these could easily become dry, but the examples around things like user information, rankings, queues and real-time data made them much easier to relate to.

I also liked that the book doesn’t pretend everything goes perfectly in the real world. 😄

There are sections dealing with those frustrating moments developers eventually run into - connection problems, memory issues, configuration mistakes and performance slowdowns. That made the book feel much more practical to me. It isn’t just saying “here is how Redis works”; it also gets into “okay, what happens when something doesn't work?”

And the journey keeps getting bigger. Monitoring, RedisInsight, scripting, replication, failover, clustering, cloud platforms and more advanced use cases are all explored without losing sight of the bigger picture. 🚀

One thing I particularly appreciated was the number of practical screenshots and examples. They made the reading feel less like studying a wall of technical information and more like following someone through the process.

Would I recommend it to someone who knows nothing about technology? Probably not.

But for developers, database enthusiasts, students, or anyone who wants to genuinely understand Redis beyond the buzzwords, this feels like a book worth keeping nearby. 📚

It’s technical, yes — but thankfully, it doesn’t feel intimidating all the way through. And for me, that made all the difference.

 

DHI Alchemy by Manjula Pooja Shroff

 

📖 A little confession from my reading notes....

I went into DHI Alchemy expecting another book about mindfulness, self-care and “positive thinking”. I didn’t expect to keep stopping mid-page and thinking, “Okay.... I need to look at this differently.” 😅

What worked for me was how the book keeps connecting the mental, physical and spiritual sides of well-being instead of treating them as separate pieces.

One section I genuinely enjoyed was “The Transformative Power of Words and Silence”. The small situations - Michael, the cab driver who receives a kind word from a stranger, Aman using self-talk after failing to qualify for a sports team and the workplace disagreement between Susan and Nia - felt familiar because they weren't dramatic, extraordinary situations. They were the kind of moments that can happen on an ordinary day. And yet, the book shows how much our words can actually change. 💭

Then came “Manifesting Money”, which surprised me in a different way. I liked the story of Amit, the investment banker who becomes so consumed by work that he loses touch with his childhood friend Rajiv. That storyline made the discussion about money feel much more personal. It isn't simply about earning more; it's about what we might unknowingly sacrifice while chasing it. 💰

And I have to mention the Delete–Heal–Install concept. I found myself thinking about it even after putting the book down. The idea of deleting limiting patterns, healing what needs attention and installing healthier habits is simple, but surprisingly thought-provoking. 🌱

The quizzes and reflection prompts also made this feel less like a book I was supposed to simply finish and more like one I was supposed to work through.

✨ My takeaway?

I didn't read DHI Alchemy in one straight line.

I paused.

I questioned a few things.

I recognised a few habits.

And, honestly, that's probably what made the reading experience worthwhile. 🧠🌿

Some books give you information.

This one occasionally gives you a mirror.

Leonidas Explores The 7 Continents by Mark Leary

 

🌍 A bedtime story that became a little adventure for both of us…

I read Leonidas Explores: The 7 Continents with my niece and honestly, it was one of those books where I found myself enjoying the journey just as much as she did. 😊

We started reading it before bedtime, with Leonidas tucked into bed with Nimbus. Then that glowing portal appeared.... and suddenly, bedtime was no longer bedtime! We were off to explore the world with them.

My niece especially loved Nimbus. She kept pointing at him and asking where they were going next. And of course, the food got a lot of attention too! 😂 She loved the Croissant in Paris, the Pão de Queijo in Brazil and the Baozi in China. When Leonidas tried falafel in Egypt, she immediately wanted to know what it tasted like.

I personally enjoyed the little cultural touches throughout the story. Hearing Leonidas say Bonjour, Ni Hao, Salam and G’day mate made each stop feel a little different and I liked how naturally the book introduces children to new places, words and traditions.

Antarctica was one of our favourite stops. The penguins, snow and icy landscape really caught her attention. 🐧❄️ And then there was the Great Barrier Reef - with all those colourful fish, the turtle and the giant ray. She actually spent quite a while looking at that page.

The Grand Canyon and the little campfire scene with s’mores were another lovely touch. 🔥

What I liked most, though, is that the book never felt like we were sitting down to “learn geography”. We were simply following a curious little boy and his bunny friend on a magical trip around the world—and picking up things along the way.

By the last page, my niece asked me, “Where will Leonidas go next?”

That probably tells me more about this book than anything else I could say. 💙📚🌎

The Black Flames Series by Ishita Nigam

 

🔥 I Started With the Black Flames.... and Somehow Ended Up Chasing Answers Across All Three Books.

A plane crash. Black flames that don’t quite make sense. A mysterious box linked to Kiara’s father. And the uncomfortable feeling that someone knows far more than they’re telling her. 👀🔥

That was my entry into 'The Black Flames' and I honestly didn’t expect the story to keep expanding the way it does.

Just when I thought I was beginning to understand Kiara’s world, 'The Flames Turn White' moved the story to Geneva and AutumneCare, bringing cancer research, family secrets, hidden motives and an attack that completely changed the pace for me. 🧬⚠️

And then came 'The Ashes Are Grey'.

By this point, I wasn’t simply curious about the mystery anymore. I was invested in Kiara, Ved and what their choices were going to cost them. The search for the cure, Sanghvi’s desperation and Anushka’s situation brought an emotional side to the trilogy that I genuinely wasn’t expecting. ❤️‍🔥

What I particularly enjoyed was watching the story transform along with its titles:

BLACK 🔥 → WHITE 🤍 → GREY 🌫️

Each book reveals a little more but somehow leaves you wanting to uncover the next piece.

And that’s probably the biggest reason I’d recommend reading these as a trilogy rather than stopping at the first book. There are too many unanswered questions waiting beyond that first mystery. 👀📖

If you enjoy mystery, family secrets, science, danger, unexpected turns and relationships that become more complicated with every book, this trilogy deserves a place on your reading list. 🔥📚

Just be prepared - you may start reading to find out what happened and end up needing to know what happens next. 😅🔥

Paper Roses and Paranormal Romance by Autumn Verno-Wuenschell

 

Okay… this is the kind of book that makes you question who you’re supposed to trust. 👀🖤

Imagine meeting someone who is impossibly charming, has the most captivating emerald eyes… and is hiding a secret that could completely change everything.

That’s William.

And then there’s Cici - a woman trying to find her way back to life after losing almost everything she once knew. 💔

Somehow, these two wounded souls find each other.

It feels like fate.

It feels like healing.

It feels almost too perfect. ✨

And that’s exactly what makes me suspicious… 😏

Because William isn’t just mysterious. He’s an immortal hybrid vampire-djinn who has spent centuries making sure nobody discovers the truth.

🩸 Ancient secrets

💚 Dangerous attraction

✨ Supernatural intrigue

❤️ A connection neither of them expected

If you like your romance with mystery, danger, secrets, and a supernatural twist, I have a feeling this one might be hard to put down. 📖🌙