Monday, May 21, 2012

The Reading List

After posting a review (if you can call that a review) of Polyester Prince, there were more than few mails and questions on suggestion for good books.

It also reminded me of the personal book list shared by a gentle man and reply sent by me as well as a reading list shared by one awesome guy.

So here is the list. Except for the first ten,the reco is from the folks above mentioned. Remember, I havent read all the books or authors mentioned here.Most of the authors are not even my type. Still, their 2 cents are worth it. If you like the list, say thanks to them. :)

My Ten:

Ten just happened to be a number. Again in no particular order. I have included only my non-fiction books.
In fiction, To name a few, Jeffery Archer, Sidney Sheldon, Robert Ludlum, David Baldacci, Tom Clancy and of course Harold Robins ;)

1) Barbarians at the Gate
Though it is a business book, far better than any of the thrillers that one could come across and more especially what the greed for money could do.

2)Straight from the gut
Jack Welch, at least for his competititive spirit

3) Who says Elephants cant dance
How IBM made a turn around

4) Made in Japan -Akio Morita

5) How to get what you want- Kopmeyer [ I have found the techniques mentioned here really works]

6) Think and grow rich- Napolean Hill [I am halfway through it but still i love it so far]

7)Competing for the future -C.K Prahlad [My all time favourite]

8)Future Shock-Alvin Toeffler [I still find this so relevant]

9)World is Flat [Thomas Friedman]

10) 7 Habits of Highly effective people -Stephen Covey [ This is one book i havent crossed more than 100 pages and i would say if you had read this all other self development books are unnecessary :)]

From the awesome guy a.k.a Gary
  1. Khaled Hosseini - Till data Kite Runner is the best book I've read
  2. Douglas Adams - Hilarious
  3. Thomas Kennealy - Vivid images of Schindler's Arc (not seen the movie yet)
  4. George Orwell - Could still taste the satire
  5. Karan Bajaj - Big fan after Johnny Gone Down
  6. Jeffrey Archer - The English wit and a master storyteller
  7. Michael Crichton - Philosophy and Technology floored me
  8. Simon Winchester - Story telling of true events
  9. JRR Tolkein - The master of imagination
  10. Joseph Heller - God level in Satire
  11. Orhan Pharmuk - Brings words to lives
  12. Leon Uris - Recommendation that I liked
  13. Vikas Swarup - Indian - more than the others
  14. Salman Rushdie - Impeccable but mostly too much work;For the dream scapes & for 'unbelonging'
  15. Jhumpa Lahiri - Although namesake was not as good, brings images
  16. Albert Camus: For the fall, & prose that hits like splashes of ice cold water
  17. Arundhati Roy:For God of Small Things,& the shape shifting hole in the universe that its absence would've left behind
  18. John Banville: For that striking mixture of cold, lyrical prose and dark, self conscious wit
  19. Jorge Luis borges: For redefining poetry & recreating allusions
  20. Gulzar:For those evocative word pictures and haunting 'trivenis'
  21. J.K Rowling: For humor and imagination
  22. Pico Iyer: For finding beauty in the banal
  23. Wodehouse: For incomparable wit & adorable characters
  24. Charles Schulz,Bill Waterson: For saying so much in so little words
  25. Margaret Atwood: For her subversive & clever word plays
  26. Fitzgerald: For the Great Gatsby
  27. Jack London: For wonder, wilderness and wonderful winters long ago
  28. Graham Greene: For deep dives into faith and doubt, and that stripped down, yet gripping style
  29. Ayn Rand: For that incomparably heady conviction (one must rise before one Falls?)
Honorable mentions of Gary :)
  1. The Great Indian Novel - Shashi Tharoor  (Mahabharatha of Indian Political History - Satire)
  2. The Palace of Illusions - Chitra Bannerjee Divakuruni (Feminist Mahabharat - thru the eyes of Draupadi)
  3. Wheels - Arthur Hailey (Heart of Car Industry) Any book of him for that matter :)
  4. Hitchhikers guide to Galaxy - Douglas Adams (Pure unadulterated fun)
  5. Open - Andre Agassi (Best Sports Autobio possible)
  6. Cold Steel - Byron Odyssey (Business Thriller of Mittal Arcelor Deal)
  7. Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid (Brilliance of a narrative)
From the Gentleman :)

1)The McKinsey Way-( Rasiel)  -
Taught me the insider view of Fortune 100 corporate and the MECE way of problem solving

2) What the customer wants you to know - (Ram Charn)
Ram Charn the First Indian to become Harvard Phd, Who served GE for more than 30 years advises the business acumen that every one needs today, this book is an Enabler of my success at Honeywell

3) High -Impact Interview Questions - (AMACOM)-
All these 701 questions are really tough but good enough for one’s life

4)Tony Busan - Study skills handbook –
It is a must one to read for every one in school / college.. I have read it late and enabled me to read faster and grasp quicker

5) Param Vir Our Heroes in Battle - (Maj.Gen.Ian Cardozo) –
This is a biography of 21 people honored with Param Vir Chakra by government of India…It teaches every reader about the great purpose of life

6) Light the Fire in your Heart you can dare to lead - (Debashish Chatterjee) –
This book enlightens the reader to feel rather than think about whatever he or she do. Shares the experiences of Author’s Interaction with personalities such as Lee Kuan Yew, J.R.D.Tata, Mother Therasa, Richard Baranson,Kim Cambell,Anita Roddick, Dee Hock

7) Secretes of self made Millionaires – (Adam Khoo) –
Book Exhibits the mind of Asian millionaires. Learnt the power of compounding interest

8) The Story of Escorts (H.P.Nanda) –
The Most Terrific and inspiring biography I have ever read. It paints the picture of Lahoor, Simla, and Faridabad before and after freedom.

9)100 ways to improve your writing (Gary Provost) –
It seems it works because often people appreciate my mails :)

10)The Thank You Book (Robyn Freedman Spizman) – Saying Thank you to the author is not enough

11) Love Letters in the Sand – (Poems of Khalil Gibran) –
 Love is the language of leadership

12)The Circle of Love - (Debashis Chatterjee) –
It takes us to a dreamy world. If any one want to score top in Literature they must read it

13)Leadership Sutras - (Debashis Chatterjee) - It waves together the many strands of leadership wisdom in to a book that is both timely and timeless.

14)48 Laws of Power – (Robert Greene) - Jewish author explains 48 Political concepts with historical evidences. Though some concepts seem ruthless, the story narration is so nice.

15)INDIA 2039 – An affluent Society (Various Authors )- It is a book by authored by firms that offer financial support to governments.

16) Living the 80/20 Way (Richard Koch) –It is a very positive book exhibits author’s experiences on managing crises and how the 20% masters the skills that the 80% does not follow.

17) The millionaire next door –( Thomas J.Stanley ) - This book is a compilation of research done by the two authors about the saving and spending behaviors of more than 200 self made millionaires

18) The Entrepreneur book of Check Lists –( Robert Ashton ) – It is an excellent book compiling a 1000 over points that an entrepreneur must have a focus

Another recommended reading exclusively for Tamil books :))

4 comments:

Ramesh said...

My recommended reading list comprises of one entry

Steve Jobs by Appu !

Deepa said...

Aah! Love this post. I LOVE books. Every time I've moved out of a city, books have been the most heavy luggage I've paid for! :D

Its a great list, has many of my favourites on it! :)

Venkat said...

ishapaa, lista patichathukke kanna katuthe!

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