Out of the host of Top 10 lists I got nominated to post this morning, here goes the first one- the one Ive been most eagerly waiting to get to be a part of.Thanks to Tridivraj Bhattacharyya for nominating me. Here goes the top 10 books list that have had a huge impact on me, till date- in no particular order. These mostly are fictions (Barring no. 4), so people who expect an intellectual collection of titles will be disappointed 1) Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone: The beginning of a magical journey. Nothing will ever, ever really come close. 2) A Study in Scarlet: More than a Holmes novel, this was a story about a man traversing oceans, traveling thousands of Kilometers to seek vengeance for his love. Perhaps my introduction to such journeys. And thats not to mention the incredible imagery of the 19th century Salt Lake City- this was a masterpiece by Conan Doyle, something only The Hound of the Baskervilles would ever come close to. 3) The Doomsday Conspiracy: Sidney Sheldon is a master in his art, but this book will perhaps be his crown jewel. The characters he develops are so real, so incredibly vulnerable to their own personal demons and yet, so methodical and efficient in their own professional skills- its an incredible journey, rather, an incredible race that leads up to perhaps the weirdest of endings of all Sheldon novels, but whats a good fiction without proper fiction? 4) The Toyota Way: This is the book that inspired me to take up what I do as my career, and not only career, this book taught me to apply Kaizen to my life, because the crux of the book is to encourage readers to apply the principles of continuous improvement to not just manufacturing operations, but to imbibe in the culture- of yourself as well as your organization. Perhaps the only non- fiction Ive ever read and loved. 5) The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After: Two of Dumas masterpieces. My first tete-a-tete with a femme fatale, a la Milady, and the haunting last words of King Charles I: Remember. 6) HaJaBaRaLa and Abol Tabol: Nonsense has never been funnier and more gripping. MY whole childhood was built around these books. :) 7) The Three Mistakes of My Life: Perhaps the best of the Chetan Bhagat novels, his descriptions of the buildup to the Godhra massacre and the riots that followed will never truly leave me. Hauntingly beautiful. Much as his other novels are crass, this one, however, is one to remember. 8) All of the Feluda books: What to say? You are never truly a bong kid if you ever grow up without Satyajit Rays immortal creations. 9) The entire Byomkesh Bakshi series: Likewise, you havent grown up in Kolkata without having read the exploits of the Satyanweshi. 10) The Jules Verne omnibus and especially Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea: Science fiction never was, and never will, meet such a genius as Jules Verne. I can name twenty other stories from the huge, 1000+ page collection of the life works of the Genius that Verne was, but perhaps the first novel in the book will remain a little more enchanting than everything else in it. In the end, an honorary mention for the Mortal Coils series by Eric Nylund, all of the Tintin books, and The Stars Shine Down by Sheldon again. And also, Stopper by Mati Nandi simply HAS to be there. And I hereby nominate Sayoni GuhaThakurata, Souvik Mandal and Pathikrit Modak to share their lists.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 08:15:15 +0000
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