45th Birthday - Musings

I turned 45 yesterday.

Officially eligible to take the COVID vaccine in India. Just that we have a severe vaccine shortage and I am not able to book a slot in any of the hospitals nearby.

My generation typically does not celebrate our birthdays with cakes, parties etc. My kids do that and it has become an essential part of life since they were born. So for the past couple of years, we have been kind of celebrating my birthday since they insist and they would either make cakes or order some gifts for me. This year they did order an amazing gift for me, a beautiful plant pot for my table. I have been a sucker for plants for quite some time and adore their beauty on my work table. It is said one could benefit by looking at green plants while you are working long hours. So an apt gift! My wife got me a T-shirt, just that I'm not going anywhere this lockdown and hence it is sitting on the shelf. Not sure how long it is going to sit there!

I have been gifting myself electronics on each of my birthdays. I will find a reason to buy that expensive prime lens and call it a gift from me to me ! This year I decided to order a bunch of books instead. Real books, not the kindle version. There is a lot to read and learn in this world, time is the only constraint. If needed getting up an hour early would give me that time but I wouldn't do that. I was never a morning person. I like to go to bed late, typically 00:00 in the night and get up around 7-8 AM.

Here is a list of books I have gifted to myself.

IKI KAI is a Japanese book based on life habits and I was intrigued to get a copy for some time now. If there was a recipe book for simple life happiness this book is it and I'm told that leading a simple life is the key to happiness followed by some essential habits and behaviours.

If hygge is the art of doing nothing, ikigai is the art of doing something - and doing it with supreme focus and joy. ― New York Post

Rework is a general business book catering towards being creative and effective in simple terms. Goodreads have good review about this book and I am hopeful that I get to learn something from this book to improve my work life.

Great if you're at a fledgeling stage of business. It's a little controversial... but I find it brilliant just the same. A quick read too. ― Stylist

Very highly reviewed, I have already gone through the audio version of this book and I felt that it is a keeper as a hard copy. So I went ahead and ordered this for my bookshelf. One day I am going to persuade my teenage daughter to go through this. I do believe that cultivating good habits and avoiding bad ones can use some science, it will help her largely in her later years.

Atomic Habits is a step-by-step manual for changing routines . . . Inspiring real-life stories. -- Books of the Month ― Financial Times

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Considered to be a Bible for entrepreneurs. I still fancy having my own internet business someday and thought it would help me evaluate and understand better if I know the business nuances. So this is something I am going to follow as a textbook if you know what I mean.

‘This book delivers completely new and refreshing ideas on how to create value in the world.’ - Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook

Again, this is one of those books you would want in hardcopy for your bookshelf but the cost is high for my taste. Instead, I ordered a Kindle version and I'm probably going to start reading this one.

This is a book focusing on internet products and would fit my taste.

I consider these gifts as investments for the future and reading is one of the habits that I had cultivated earlier on in my life.

So, what are you guys reading now?