“Main jahaan rahoon, main kahin bhi hoon,
teri yaad saaath hai..
kisi se kahoon ke nahi kahoon,
ye jo dil ki baat hai.. “
– Namaste London
I am pretty much in India and love being here. But I have had a couple of friends who did move out due to job opportunities or post-marriage, or for higher studies. And I always wondered about the thoughts in the mind of these new immigrants who relocated to some other country leaving their people and country behind. Would it be filled with nostalgia of their native country or the eagerness to embrace the new beginnings or maybe both? This was one of the prime reasons behind reading ‘Just US Things’ by Sushmita Malakar, out of so many interesting books published as a part of the coveted BlogChatter’s E-Book Carnival 2020.
The book is written by a well-known Indian lifestyle & travel blogger, Sushmita Malakar. It is aimed to take the reader through various aspects of this magnanimous geographical & cultural transformation of relocating from India to the United States of America. There are precisely 26 short chapters that are title sequenced to follow the A to Z pattern.
Book Title – Just US Things
Authors – Sushmita Malakar
Genre – Non- Fiction
Publisher – BlogChatter
Published in – (May 2020)
Pages – 58
Available Formats – e-Book Edition
Price – Available for Free Download
Download Link: Blogchatter
As it is a rather small book, I finished the book in one straight go.
List of Contents
About the Book – ‘Just US Things’ by Sushmita Malakar:
‘Just US Things’ by Sushmita Malakar is for those who are planning or are in the process of settling in America. It is, of course, also for the already settled NRIs. It is a potpourri of important aspects that a new immigrant has to deal with after arriving in the U.S. Apart from the cultural shock which is imminent, there are many other practical day-to-day basis topics that have been taken up in his book.
What Worked for Me:
- Each chapter in this book addresses a topic that is quite relevant to anyone who has the U.S. dream.
- I quite like the writing style of the author in this book. It is a combination of pertinent facts from authentic sources, author’s personal experiences after living for about a year and some humourous views of how to deal with the everyday situations.
- The book finds the right balance as the author does not indulge in overtly drawing a comparison between living in India & the US.
- Topics addressed in the book present a straightforward picture of life in America like work v/s salary, racism, guns, food & more.
- The writing pattern is simple & relatable for the NRI Indians or the U.S. returned. Never for a moment, the book seems to be a lot of ‘Gyaan‘ that is difficult to process. In fact, one trivia pointer is given at the end of each chapter to keep the reader hooked.
- The editing is good barring a few instances.
- I love the cover page. It is minimalistic yet elegant.
- My Favourite Chapter in the Book: The one in which the author describes a few beautiful destinations worth visiting in the U.S. I couldn’t restraint myself from googling pictures of San Francisco salt lakes which are actually mesmerizing in the aerial view.
What Didn’t Work for Me:
Purely my opinion, in the book title, instead of writing ‘US’, it could have been written as ‘U.S.’ or U.S.A. Nothing wrong with the usage though. However, it did bother me because I twice or thrice read it as ‘Us’ (You & me together, kind of us.)
Verdict:
Without a doubt, this book is a good read. The notes mentioned in the book are worth remembering if you ever plan to settle in the U.S. All the topics are neat and simply put down in black and white with honesty. A fairly good attempt by the author in her debut book.
I give it a rating of 4.5/5 as it succeeds in clearing many initial settling-in doubts of a newbie in the U.S. It also presents a first-hand account of the systems and life in the U.S.
Before you leave..
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Indians who have moved out of India for work or due to any other reasons have to accept the USA culture keeping their Indian roots intact. I have been in the USA for 14 years and have experienced every bit of it. I will check out this book as I feel I can connect to it on many grounds. BTW my theme for A2Z was also life in USA.
Seems like a great book, even my cousin’s are in abroad and that also make me think ,they must have miss their country and what challenge faced.
I had participated in this year’s A2Z challenge and published e book too but somehow I had missed this one. Topic seems really interesting and for me it is more relatable as I m in USA since last 5 year. Your review was interesting and I agree it should be USA…us is little confusing.
Thank you so for such an honest book review it sounds promising will definitely check this out, also would love to read what does Author want to say about USA immigrants and their experiences.
This seems like quite an interesting subject for a book, though I have no plans of ever moving and settling in that part of the world. However, your review makes me want to read it regardless.
this looks like a really helpful and informative book. people who are already staying or planning to move should surely give this a read.
Would love to grab a copy of this book. Just to check out the places to visit in the US. And it seems really good for people who are planning to settle down there.
You got me hooked to this one through your review buddy> I am on it at the earliest for sure.
I’m assuming that Sushmita has written this book by drawing on her own personal experiences and it sure makes it special. No comparisons between India and U.S, that’s a good thing. I feel that I’ll enjoy reading it too.
Never been, never would. My husband worked in the US while I was studying and working in the UK. We often think of one country where we’d like to move (if at any point) Feel like this book might help change my mind!
I can totally relate to this topic, even when I moved for my higher studies to UK I had so many emotionally overwhelming feeling considering the differences and everyday changes.
This sounds like a nice and quick read for people moving there, or as you rightly mentioned, those interested in the USA life.
I initially thought it was a love story until i read your review! lol!
This book seems a very interesting read for those who are planning to settle in US or have just settled. There are a lot of cultural and day to day differences, which one must be aware of!
Looks like my weekend read is sorted, I am definitely picking this one up soon as your review has made me intrigued to read this.
This book would really help Indians who are settled or trying to settle down. My sis is there for a couple of years and this book will surely offer her a lot to know more about the new lifestyle.
This seems like an interesting subject for a book, though there is no plans to move and settle in that part of the world. But I want to read this book .
Thanks for pointing out that the title means USA and not US. I too read it as us not USA. I have heard good thing about things about this book. It’s on my TBR already.
For an instance even I read it as us(we). I like your reviewing style crisp and to the point. It is also important that the author gave out views while sounding less gyanni