"Never split the difference" ~ Chris Voss

"Every negotiation, every conversation, every moment of life, is a series of small conflicts that, managed well, can rise to creative beauty." I have never been one of those people who read any kind of motivational or self-improving books. But when I read the back cover of this one, I thought: "I need to buy this and read it!" At first one can think that a former FBI agent would be stuck with some really complicated and hard to follow tips and ideas on how to be a better negotiator. What we see in every american movie about all kind of agents and their negotiating techniques almost make us believe that this is a field reserved only for them and only in situations where crimes, hostages and criminals are involved. The surprise comes once you start reading. Mr Voss gives one such example with a highly tense situation and turns every aspect of it into a useful tool for your everyday experiences. At the end of every chapter, there is a list of every lesson you read in it. I found this kind of simple listing of his "lecture" so helpful and clear, that I even considered writing them down in my own notebook. You know...what you do after a day at class. This book gives you everything you need, to achieve everything you want in life through negotiating...the only catch is, that you need to be more courageous and prepare beforehand. Of course you will need some practice and yes, probably the first couple of times you will not entirely succeed (and this I say from my own experience) but if you really want it and really prepare and never doubt that you must receive what you deserve...the chances are on your side! In two sentences: If you want to apply the FBI negotiating techniques to your everyday problems, then this is the book for you. It covers everything...from family matter, through job issues, to big property deals.

"A Man Called Uwe" ~ Fredrick Backman

I am really sorry I didn't read this book earlier. It makes you smile, laugh and cry, and that is something which rarely happens to me with a book. It makes you feel as if you already know some of the characters in real life, so natural everything feels. The only reason I took one star is that at some point the book looks like one of those Sunday afternoon movies you watch just to kill the time. One of those unpretentious comedies about a grumpy old man who actually turns to be not so bad and thanks to the always happy and good-nature friends/ neighbours he has, we manage to see his soft side. Well, probably just life makes us sometimes a little more bitter,stubborn and angry (paraphrasing Mr. Backman).

"A Thousand Splendid Suns" ~ Khaled Hosseini

Picture: Goodreads

An advice: Just enjoy this book and try to get everything you can from it. "One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls." This is a book that I avoided for a long time. It's just that I am really prejudiced toward over-praised books. But this one really got me. This is a book that makes you feel like a part of the story. It makes you become part of the characters' emotions and experiences. It's almost as if you have a second life which you see through their eyes, through their thoughts and feelings. I was really surprised that in the course of reading this book, I not only got to know some of the country's story but also to find real human morals. For example the two girls (Mariam and Laila) who despite their mothers' warnings and desires do what they think right to do, although they end up hurting them. But still their mothers also do some illogical things in order to please or be accepted by men. All over the world there are many women whose thoughts, decisions, acts are influenced by men in their lives. [I would really like to give you some examples here but I don't to spoil everything for you in this labyrinth of human interactions and their (un)willing consequences]. *Narrative Spoilers* After the middle the story takes a sharp emotional turn. The two main heroins have to face great atrocities. like when Mariam and Laila are being betrayed while escaping and a little later Laila is forced to leave Aziza in an orphanage because of the constant hunger), as well as inhuman hardships, mostly from men like Rashid who locks Laila and the baby in a room for two days without food and water, while beating Mariam after trying to run away. These particular scenes are truly heart-breaking and affecting. I caught myself breathing heavily, being angry that I could not do anything to help them, to make their situation just a little better. But that is Hosseini's real talent! And I believe you will find it in every other of his books and will be surprised by the emotions he will get out of you.