For all mystery fans, Conan Doyle is a favorite. If Sherlock Holmes is not enough, there are many spin-offs of the Conan Doyle series out there. For Ramesh, one of the readers at the BYOB Party, Exit Sherlock Holmes by Robert Lee Hall is by far the most special. The book has retained the London fog and cab flavor and is loyal to the original. It gives answers about the elusive equation that Holmes and Moriarty shares and ends it with a massive twist in the ending.
Sunny got a book that he felt was a light read, a book called The Shot by Philip Kerr. The story revolves around an assassin called Tom Jefferson. His mission? The assassination of Fidel Castro. The book carries a 60s flavor with all the political elements of the day. Light is thrown on the mental preparation an assassin needs to make to gun his target. This pseudo-historical thriller is a fun read.
Manjari brought along a book by Malcolm Gladwell called David and Goliath. Gladwell is a compelling writer and he starts this book with the story of a shepherd boy who defeats the enormous Goliath against perceivable odds. Gladwell roots for challenges and calls some challenges desirable as opposed to some which are undesirable. So disability, being an orphan, being at the brunt of mediocrity could actually be the scripts for success stories. The conversation veered to the number of successful people who have dyslexia and the problems with getting an accurate diagnosis of ADHD.
Can dyselxia be a formula for success?, a question arose.
“Gladwell is a genius at storification,” Jaya said, “but we all know how business books whitewash nuances and build stories without taking into account the whole picture. This doesn’t take away the fact that Gladwell is a good writer.”
More from the BYOB Part in May in Part 3.