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There are just names that when you hear, you instantly start laughing. Their humour is witty, their jokes are relevant and timely and you connect with them at a personal level. Trevor Noah is one such individual. You can never go wrong with him. He will make you laugh, cry, and be emotionally-charged at the same time. And this is exactly what he brings in his 2016 novel, Born a Crime. More like an autobiographical novel, Born a Crime leaves you in apartheid South Africa living out the life of coloured Trevor Noah. His comical nature of handling hard truths is not left behind in this book. This indeed is one of the greatest books you will ever read.

Trevor grows from aboy into a restless young man struggling to find himself in a world where he was ‘forbidden’. This is the story of Trevor’s relationship with his strict and severely religious mother- a woman ready to give it all for him. Whether they were surviving on caterpillars as a meal during hard times or being thrown out of a moving car during as someone attempt to kidnap him, or even just the intricacies of high school dating, Trevor’s stories come together to form a hilariously engaging story of a boy trying to live in a damaged world at a bad time, with only his witty sense of humour and the unshakable love of a mother.

So, 3 reasons why Born a Crime will remain in your heart for a very long time.

It is super comical

If you have ever watched ‘The Daily Show’ then you just know how comical Trevor Noah is. You can be sure you will laugh through almost all the pages of this beautiful book. As you peruse through these pages you will be presented with such a funny view of almost everything you read.

It handles very serious life issues

Even to this day, Trevor Noah handles the most serious of issues in a very funny way. From all his projects including stand-up comedy and talk shows, he comically talks about race, discrimination, corruption, disease, and poverty. So, even as you laugh your heart out, he will plough into your conscious the most key things that will cause you to reexamine the trivial, but often overlooked aspects of your life.

It is raw and honest

Being that it is the life story of Trevor Noah as he wades through his life, born and raised in an apartheid environment, he simply says it as it is. The struggles, challenges, victories, and lessons that he learned together with his family are what makes this one of the rawest autobiographies you will ever read.

It immerses you in a new experience

When you start this book, you officially become a South African. There is no doubt about that. Trevor immerses you so much into his world, his experiences, his struggles, and everything he does so much it becomes almost impossible to fail to fit into his shoes. You know people say you get consumed into the author’s imagination when you are reading their book but this is more than that. When you read Born a crime you enter Trevor Noah’s life and live it through his words understanding all that he is going through as though you were right there with him.

If you have never believed in the beauty of autobiographies, then this is a good place to start. It is not only a witty and humorous story, but it is also a book that pulls you into a hopeful story in a messed up world.

‘The goal is to be rich, not to look rich.’ This was my ‘aha’ moment when I was reading this book. What a deep revelation this was! Very many of us have been consumed into the abyss of wanting to look rich, rather than being rich. This is the reason more and more Americans, and the world in general, is surviving on debts that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. This book, right here, debunks that myth and reminds us that the wealthiest people often do not necessarily look rich, but are financially free. On the other hand, the middle-class population is the biggest spenders on external traits that make people appear rich yet in actual sense they are enslaved financially! Here are 3 memorable lessons I learned from this beautiful book from Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko.

·        Live below your means

Anyone can decide to live from hand to mouth, but it takes a brave person to live below their means. It genuinely takes courage to not spend your money on fancy things like fashion and the latest phones because you are thinking about tomorrow. The truth, however, is that if you do not live below your means- especially when you are starting your wealth-building journey- you will probably never achieve the financial explorations you set out to do. This takes a lot of courage as it includes overcoming peer pressure in a world where peer pressure rules. 

·        Do not be overdependent- take risks

It is good to have parental support to kickstart your life, but research reveals that this support can at times be counterproductive to an individual who is seeking to kickstart his journey to wealth. Necessity is the mother of invention- therefore, not taking the first primary risk of fending for yourself will result in an overall low wealth accumulation track record. Also, this encourages people from getting out of their comfort zones and taking risks. The greater the risk, the greater the reward. The book emphasized that financial independence is the first step in a long journey of achieving wealth accumulation.

·        Use your time well

We all know just how vital time is and that we all have a limited allocated portion of it. This could not be emphasized enough in this book. In an average lifetime of a human being, spanning 70 years, or 80 if one is lucky, very few people achieve true financial independence or even accumulate wealth. Most people go through life not planning or strategizing for the future. Millionaire Mindset insists that you need to use your time well, especially for personal growth. The study, read books and take care of your body. Spend time with people that you love for even in wealth, human love is very core and the most vital aspect of human life. In simple terms, let go of anything that takes up your time and limits your wealth building and focus on what is important and helps build your financial independence.

There are tones of lessons learned in the pursuit of wealth accumulation from a typical American example as revealed in this book. The authors reveal the secrets that make the pursuit of wealth seem somewhat challenging but in real sense is quite simple. Employing strategies and disciplines such as the ones above, and a tone of other lessons from the book will leave you with financial independence and wealth-building mentality that will last you throughout your lifetime- and into several generations to come. I would say this is a conclusive synopsis of the book, but books such as this need individuals to read it for themselves, from the first page to last, to explore the intricacies of true wealth accumulation.

Becoming is a twenty-four chapter memoir of former US first lady Michelle Obama. It broke the record by selling more copies in 15 days than any other book in the US. The book is all about her deeply personal experience. She has described her life in the White House, her roots, how she found her voice, campaign moments and her role as a mum. The book is published by Crown which was released with more than twenty-four languages. The book is reported to have been published in November 2018.
When She was four years old Michelle Obama started learning her piano lessons with her aunt. The book captures her memories as a teenager with her friend Jesse. The best moments perhaps the book captures is with her alliance with her husband Barrack Obama. The relationship first does not seems to develop first since they are opposing forces. How the relationship started is something you can read again and again and smile to yourself. Michelle does think they fit and Obama is full of anxiety.
Their manners make the relationship develop and they now seem to match. Michelle now sees him as a unicorn and they have their first date. She described the moment of the events of their first date just like it was yesterday and how she dressed. During their courtship, Obama Writes letters While she insists on making phone calls. After getting married, Obama starts committing in politics which keeps him busy most of the time which makes her a bit more comfortable but she tries to adapt.
After a campaign, Obama wins and the power installs them as Potus and Flotus with their Secret Service code names Renegade and Renaissance. She does not like the heaviness the presidency comes with including heavy security, a limo equipped with many safety weapons and security measures which can help it withstand chemical attacks. Sometimes she ignores the protocol and gives the queen a hug when they meet for the first time, she does her dance moves, do some rapping with Jay Pharoah and have Karaoke with James Corden. She dint have direct power like Obama but she practiced soft powers. Unlike Hillary Clinton who didn’t stay at home, Michelle spent some more time in the garden and the house.
When you read the book you will feel how she treasures her young daughters and their presidential pet. Sometimes it turns emotional when you read about her father’s death from multiple sclerosis and sometimes it is fun when she describes how she is adapting to her new Washington home which creates a scene that makes you feel like you are there.

When I opened the first page of the book and start reading the book, you can feel the presence of the former first lady at the moment. When reading you can hear her voice back in your mind. You can reflect and get into her world through her mesmerizing storytelling technique. You walk with her from her childhood in the southern side of Chicago. You get to learn how she was trying to balance motherhood and her career. She narrates her disappointments and triumphs both in private and in public with kind honesty. She does tell her full life story without in the best interesting way I have never experienced.
She has done a couple of many interviews trying to explain how she came with the title becoming. On one interview with Oprah Winfrey, they discuss the book she explains why that, the word “becoming” summirizes, her evolving life. When you read the book from her young age to being the first lady and a mother you truly get to see how her life is evolving.

Many self-help books have been written in the modern and even ancient days but nothing quite stands out like Ryan Holiday’s Ego is the Enemy. Scholars and basic literates have likewise admonished self-help books as being basic cash crunches but many agree that Ego is the Enemy is indeed a masterpiece in calling out an age-old ‘disease’ inflicting every modern-day man called ‘EGO’.

Written by a man who had the first-hand experience in dealing with ego itself, the book was published in 2016 and still stands as one of the author’s greatest books to this day. After going through spirals of massive success and unforeseen failure, the author finally realized that the biggest issue he was facing was his ego. He even gives a story of how he had earlier on though he had conquered his ego only to realize later on, that at the pinnacle of his success, ego came back and almost took over his entire life. That’s when he realized that fighting the ego is an everyday battle that must be conquered at each passing moment.

Drawing inspirations from all spheres of life, the book is divided into three phases of each human’s probable life experiences and how to tackle the ego at each phase. During each of these phases, the author draws examples from different historical figures, fables, and personal experiences to depict exactly how ego is everyone’s enemy. This not only makes the book an interesting read in terms of self-help but also makes it an entirely exciting and relatable read as it draws experiences that every reader can personally relate to.

Phase 1: Aspiration                                                                              

As every man aspires, he is faced with a major challenge of a likewise aspiring ego. In his book, Ryan explains how ego is a very dangerous force and why it can turn your aspirations upside down and leave you never achieving what you had intended. This is a crucial stage to overcome ego as this will set a precept for handling ego even the consequent phases.

Phase 2: Success

Drawing quotes from different authors and philosophers, Ryan insurmountably reiterates the fact that it is very easy for success to explode your ego, despite having conquered it in the past. This phase of life often reveals someone’s character as they believe that they have nothing to lose. Ryan’s book guides you through the very murky waters of overcoming ego at such a dangerous stage of life as this.

Phase 3: Failure

Most of the time, this is the phase that passion and ego have a very thin line in someone’s understanding. Often, an individual insists on going on with a project bound to fail out of ego or in the need to ‘prove others wrong’. This is where most people call it passion, but Ryan calls it ego. This phase is often overlooked but it can lead to paralysis of an individual and retrogressive progress for a big chunk of their lives.

This is a very tiny, almost microscopic, look at this masterpiece of a book. The knowledge, insight, warnings, lessons, and experiences in this book are beyond comparison. If you want a quick and easy way to deal with ego, often a close cousin of pride, then this is a book for you. Whether you are a small business owner, a student, a CEO of a multi conglomerate, or even the President of your country, the ego will always want to creep into your life and take the steering wheel. You must be able to always conquer it for the ego is not your friend and it does not want what is best for you. Ego is your enemy!