Wednesday, April 15, 2009

5 Must Reads...Before You Die

They say there is a Novel inside all of us waiting to take birth someday... Everybody dreams about it through a protagonist (like a mirror to themselves) and look at the world through their eyes...Everyone writes a story ...a hundred times in their minds..(and only some of them see the light of the publishers day..but then thats a separate story)
As for me..I have a story too..But I don’t know how old would I be before I could write it...Someday...Someway..I will...I hope.Till then I will read..if not write.Thats my promise to myself.Yes I am a voracious reader...and as my friends will vouch for, I have a very bad habit of begging, borrowing and stealing books ( I steal only when denied).
But what if I was to select my favorite 5 books? Books which I would give my life for..Books which will fill my cloudy sundays full of sunshine...tough to think of...but then as Rahul’s email signature sometime used to say ’’When the going gets tough the tough get going’’..so here I am ..trying to figure out the best 5 books I ever read -
1) Whats the name of this Book - by Raymond Smullyan - If I have ever got a good thing from my roommate, its a sneak peak to this wonderfully provocative and insanely intelligent book on paradoxes and puzzles which can open the brains of a even a certified moron to the zanny world of Logic. Believe me ..just the first page of the book can hook you for a lifetime.
2) The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy - Thanks Subbu for introducing me to Mr Douglas Adams . I have never ever felt like being taken for such a roller coaster ride - thru a world of imagination and satire...I bet you would never have thought of the universe and our green planet with such an eye .Pure 22 carat gold. Go for the Omnibus version which contains 5 volumes in 1.
3) The Alchemist - I always wondered how could a 100 page book make you think so much and feel so much. I have a bad habit of underlining lines in my books and when I ended this one...almost the whole book had pencil lines below it.I will never ever read any other book by Paulho Coelho ( It wont satisfy my expectations)
4) India Unbound - Some books change the world ( Das Capital)..some change civilizations (Arthashastra)..some make heroes ..But there is only one book which can make all the bunch of pessimistic indians of the universe change themselves and their view of their ’’wretched ’’ country called India and start believing in it .
5) You Must Be Joking Mr Feynman - If you hated the damn physicists you’ll love it....If you are crazy about physics you’ll love it..If you never knew the difference between physicists and physicians , you’ll love it...if you were the science topper in school you’ll love it...need I say more? - Summary : Richard Feynman makes his story the funniest one I have ever read which involved science...apart from those horrible science projects in school from which we used to copy every year.
So there they are..Be sure that you have read atleast 3 of them before you die..or else you won’t get entry pass to heaven

No comments: