Dear Readers,
Would you stand by Bill Gates in his disgrace ?
Melinda Gates has charged him with being friends with Harvey Weinstein, among other things. You can read the shocking story of Harvey Weinstein here and here, in truth- is- stranger- than- fiction books , one from Ronan Farrow, writer at the New Yorker & Woody Allen’s son , the other from two New York Times journalists.
But back to Bill Gates - one thing we stand by are his book lists .
Readers are Leaders, no doubt about that. Read Churchill, Jawaharlal Nehru, Obama for extraordinary ideas & the perfect way to express them.
As an MBA , I have been obsessed with this linkage, between Literature and Leadership, and have been devouring research papers and books that explain these connections.
How Reading the Right Books Can Make you a Great Leader is a masterclass where I explain these amazing linkages. I also share insights on how to choose the right book for leadership learnings, how to glean the wisdom a book has and how to read more. The session is on June 19 at 4 pm at the Lean In Mumbai chapter on Zoom.
How Reading the Right Books Can Make you a Great Leader is also on Saturday, July 3 10 am -1 pm. It’s free for Sonya’s Book Box subscribers, all others must pay a small amount of Rs.499. The session will have lots of book recommendations and practical advice on how to read more and how to choose the right books to read to be a better leader.
As I write this in early June, I am back in Mumbai, and like Alexander Frater in his excellent book , am waiting for the monsoon rains.
But before returning to Mumbai and the promise of the monsoon, I spent the last few weeks sending off your books, from a sleepy little post office in Manali, where the I spent last month, in the house my grandfather built. Many of your books were bought at Book Worm, the local book store, in an effort to support local bookstores whenever possible. The books are now making their way across the country , and should be arriving at your houses any day, dear subscribers. Happy Reading !
Last month we had a mix of book events - discussing The Liberation of Sita by Volga at an IIM Book Club, Declan Walsh’s Nine Lives of Pakistan stories at the Juhu Book Club on Zoom and debating career dilemmas , with many fun stories on The Right Choice with author Shiv Shivakumar.
June events , like all the others, are open to all , please do reply, comment , email or ping Sonya’s Book Box on Instagram , FB , LinkedIn for updates & RSVP to receive links.
June 12 Conversation with Children’s Author Vaishali Shroff Sita’s Chitwan Journey ages 7- 12 at 12 noon
June 12 Book Discussion at an IIM Book Club: Jorasankho the story of Tagore by Aruna Chakravarti at 4 pm
June 12 Book Discussion at the Juhu Book Club : Seven Sacred Rivers by Bill Aitken at 6 pm
June 25 Conversation with Author Kabir Bedi Stories I Must Tell at 6 pm
June 26 What We Are Reading & Prize Distribution for Young Writers Writing Contest at 10 am ages 7-15
And in conclusion, may I ask a favour ? If you enjoy reading this letter & its book events & recommendations, please do share this.
And if you’d like to give yourself or someone else the perfect present of reading more, sign up at Sonya's Book Box for a subscription- 3 months, 6 months or a year.
Till next month then, Happy Reading !
Warm regards,
Sonya