This is a collection of my reflections on some of the books that I've read. I also wrote detailed reviews so that you may decide whether to read them or not.

Titles with :cat: are my favourites!

  1. Humankind: This is my favorite book. It changed my outlook on how I view people around me. It also greatly influenced how I treat other people, friends or strangers. Please read it. :cat: :cat: :cat: :cat:
  2. The Stationery Shop of Tehran: One of the best books I read recently. The author describes events in vivid detail, connecting the lives of so many characters to create a compelling story. I was completely shook by the end. :cat:
  3. India After Gandhi: India After Gandhi is an account of the events that took place in independent India after Gandhi's assassination. It is a lengthy read but worth reading. Every page had some detail that I did not know about. The author had pieced together the various chapters beautifully. :cat:
  4. My Life in Full: Indra Nooyi recounts her life from her childhood to the present in this book. The book is a frank recollection of various events throughout her life, with some corporate jargon and pitches mixed in.
  5. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: Well, no surprises here. I knew I would like the book, and I did. What I did not expect was how much I'll learn from the book. Like a true nerd, Bill Gates does a great job of making nerdy puns, and putting back-stories in parentheses. The book is not too long either, so go ahead and read the book if you care about the planet and your future generations.
  6. Utopia for Realists: The book mainly deals with Universal Basic Income, Open Borders, and a 15-hour workweek. If your political leaning is toward the right, then the author would be someone they call the "radical left." The views presented are by far the most progressive that I've read about anywhere. :cat: :cat:
  7. The Perfect Wife (Jessie Hunt #1): I picked up the book for free during Amazon Kindle eBooks giveaway or something. I don't recall what it was exactly, but the point is that I got it for free. That said, I should say the book was an exciting read. The book narrates a husband and wife's story and how things can go horribly wrong if not attended to properly.
  8. Elon Musk: I read the book in three or four days, one of the fastest. I remember staying up one night and feeling all pumped up by the morning. Elon Musk's story is amazing. If the book cannot inspire you to take risks then I don't kno what could.
  9. The Palace of Illusions: The book essentially narrates the Mahabharata but from Draupadi's point-of-view. That's what makes the book unique and truly intriguing. As a child, I have watched and listened to the Mahabharata.
  10. A Gentleman in Moscow: Find me a gentleman as honorific as Count Alexander Rostov, I'll wait. The stories of people in it is heart warming or heart breaking, however you prefer it. I took a long time to finish the book, partly because it was lengthy, and because the stories made me feel strange emotions. :cat:
  11. Shiksha: It is a fact that education has not been in focus in political discourse. I firmly believe that the 21st century will be India's but we need to invest in our youth, especially in education for that to happen. Manish does a great job of outlining the problems in the current way education is being handled around the country, and offers some objective solutions through the Delhi-model.
  12. Born A Crime: This is one of the most emotional yet funny novels that I've read in a long time. I'm a big fan of Trevor, no doubt, but my respect for the man has only increased after reading the book. If you can genuinely say that someone is living the American Dream, it is him. :cat:
  13. The Fault in Our Stars: The book is one of my favorite books of all time. I hate the author, though; he always kills one of the protagonists in his novels. But that's probably okay. Many people fall in love and manage to find their significant others at various points in their lives. I would call them the lucky ones because there is a considerable chunk of us who aren't that lucky.
  14. A Man Called Ove: Truly an eye-opener in many senses. Ove is a man who prides himself on being able to do things on his own. Starting from fixing broken roofs and floors to the old car that broke down, Ove could fix them all himself. :cat:
  15. Educated: Probably the best book I read in 2020. Tara talks about the crucial skill of learning things on our own. Stories like hers are what keeps me at night. From self-teaching herself, calculus to getting a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge is genuinely inspiring. :cat:
  16. Ikigai: Everything that the book has to say can be distilled down to a page or two. Reading just the last few pages of the book will do you more good than reading through the boring text. But, I read through the book. I guess I took one for the team.
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