Nominated by Srijon and Samrat, this is a list of the top ten books that have affected me in some way or the other. Keep in mind that Im not a voracious reader anymore, so this list will be a pretty stereotypical classic-populated one. So, here goes. 1) The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy/The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe: The first two books are the best in this already amazing series that called itself an inaccurately titled trilogy before Scary Movie tried the same shtick. While Life, the Universe and Everything had the iconic Somebody Elses Problem, Ajragag and flight, the first two books are just too perfectly constructed in comparison. Seriously, these might be the funniest books Ive ever had the pleasure of reading. 2) A Tale Of Two Cities: I might have to say that Great Expectations was an overall better novel, but imagine the impact this book had on my mind at the age of eleven. EVERYTHING was epic. Everything was connected. That opening line still sends chills through my spine, and I could go on forever about even the goddamn chapter names being so perfect. 3) Frankenstein: Imagine my puny young mind getting its mind blown by the fact that not only was Frankenstein the scientist who created the monster, but that monster itself might be one of the best sympathetic villains ever conceived. 4) Freedom at Midnight: Im sad that I havent read a lot of non-fiction, but of the very few Ive read, this one affected me the most. Im sometimes surprised at being an unironic patriot in a sea of disillusioned people these days (15th August on my Facebook wall is always dreary), so I will admit to being a little biased towards it. 5) Shalimar The Clown: This book isnt nearly as good as Midnights Children, but Im putting the books that have affected me, and by god is this an extremely memorable book. The loooong sentences that sometimes trudge on for pages, the magic sense of realism that stands out in even more contrast to the setting (I still remember that final tightrope into the skies), the weird undercurrent of anger and resentment throughout, all form a book that doesnt go down very well, but cant be put down as well. 6) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: This book has some of the best writing in the series, as well as some of the worst. A Princes Tale would have been enough to plop this book on my list, though, and thank goodness it isnt the only reason. The War Of Hogwarts is, for me, even more memorable than the battle of Minas Tirith, even if part of the reason is that the simplicity of the narrative gives breathing room for all of the characters to shine in some way or the other. 7) Watchmen: This is the most re-readable graphic novel Ive ever had the pleasure to have read. Every panel is full of details, every speech bubble corresponds to the frame like some form of in-joke, and the story is full of extremely memorable characters, like Dr Manhattan, Rorschach and Ozymandias, that only needed the twelve issues to be etched into public memory forever. 8) Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: Joss Whedon said of these six books - Scott Pilgrim is the best book ever. It is the chronicle of our time. With Kung Fu, so, yeah: perfect.” Okay, maybe I wouldnt call book 4 perfect, but the series as a whole shines. Marry the harsh realities of relationships with video-game logic - who can even think of this stuff? Amazing. 9) The Lord Of The Rings: This is a single enormous book that needs to be read from beginning to end to get the full experience. No epic has ever approached the epicness of the epic series. And, for the record, Gandalf>Dumbledore, okay? :3 10) A Storm Of Swords: The best book in the ASOIAF series, this book was incredibly ballsy, ripping apart the status quo, allowing the pieces to settle, then violently upsetting the board and making sure nothing is ever the same again. Other book series are content with on game-changing event per book - this had no lesser than four. Tightly paced, densely plotted, even the TV show couldnt adapt everything with two seasons in hand. And thats it! Thanks for reading through this incredibly long post (or skimming, which is, what youve most probably done). I nominate ten people to give a list of their ten books (can also include manga and manhwa and graphic novels). Here goes: - Arka Ghosh, Ishita Doshi, Anirban Musib, Debapriya Bhatta, Gaurav Menezes, Joy Dt, Chandrayee Basu, Masoom Rana Dewan, Arka Bhowmik, Farjad Zaman. Tag me in your posts and nominate ten other people, so that we see good books on our walls instead of the umpteenth late Alia Bhatt jokes.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 17:09:08 +0000