Importance of organizational reforms

Cooperative housing societies are very popular in urban areas in India. Legal importance of these societies is growing day-by-day.
I was one of the first office-bearers of our society. I worked, along with 2 other members for 3 years and then handed over charge to another team. A lot of apathy to society matters was shown by most members as time went by.
Then one enthusiastic member took over and streamlined the work. He got the building painted and beautified. His work motivated the current secretary to become active and wipe out his image of a no-doer. However, others were skeptical and the previous secretary was apt to meddle.
This is when I decided to support the secretary. I suggested some very simple things such as a managing committee meeting on the last Sunday of every month and circulating printed copies of the minutes of all these meetings. I insisted that these ideas be implemented. After two years, we are seeing the results.
Attendance at monthly meetings fluctuates but the office-bearers take that in their stride. Word has spread that the new team works in a transparent fashion because we discuss everything before acting. Lively discussions take place in many of the meetings. Because of them, the importance of the general body meeting has eroded. Previously, people would plot and rival factions used to have a field day in the meeting. It is not necessary to do that anymore. The secretary, who has worked hard with dedication but is short-tempered and weak in languages and communication is becoming secure and strong. 

Room by Emma Donoghue, Picador 2010

I saw the movie, made in 2015 first. (There is another movie by the same name in 2005 but the two are very different.) It was absorbing, disturbing.
Then I read the novel recently. I have read it two, three times and have found it engrossing each time.
The plot has a 26 year old woman living with her son of 5 years in a room in the backyard of a house. A man kidnapped her 7 years ago and has kept her there all the time. He rapes her regularly and the result is a stillborn daughter and now this son. When the woman realizes that the kidnapper has become unemployed and might just abandon them one day, she makes an escape plan. She pretends her son is dead, wraps him in a rug and makes the kidnapper take him away. 
The plan succeeds and the boy and later, the woman are rescued by the police and the kidnapper arrested. The woman and the boy are brought to a psychiatric clinic where the woman is surrounded by media people. Their questions make her doubt the efficacy of what she did and she attempts suicide. The boy, extra alert to his mother's moods, senses this in time and she is rescued. The boy meets his grandparents, uncle and his family. His socialization begins. He and his mother start living separately. At his insistence, they visit the room once to say goodbye.
The narrative  is the boy's. His mother has breast-fed him all these years.There are many more details of what such a life entails. The boy has watched TV everyday and has thought what it shows to be real. Outside world is unreal to him.
The novel works at different levels. The film presented a rather sanitized version. At a deeper level, it is erotic. 
The boy Jack, his intelligence, his understanding, his questions, his obedience - the way it is portrayed is simply arresting.
The book has made a deep impression on me.

Perseverance

In all handicraft projects, patience is required. My rule is to devote half an hour to them everyday without thinking about the whole project. That way, I do not feel daunted.
In each project, the first burst of enthusiasm makes way for boredom pretty soon. One must not give up. Then comes a turning point. Something clicks; something works; something new suggests itself and then you carry on without feeling bored. Perseverance till the turning point - that is the secret of each completed project.