Some Fiction and Inspiration

 

In the past few days, I really haven’t done anything of substance. I have been a reading some fiction  though. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was one of the highest rated books on Goodreads. Austen’s commentary and satire of nineteenth century British gentry is considered one of the all time favorites of literature. Unfortunately, I cannot say I relate with the opinions of two centuries of readers on the novel. The writing was impeccable, yes, but the book on the whole was a bore. I cannot simply fathom why any reader would be interested in knowing the household affairs of upper class Englishmen. It was like watching an Indian soap with absolutely no plot. Austen’s writing style, though, enabled me to finish the book.

O.Henry’s The Gift of the Magi reminded me as to why this legend was one of my favorite authors in high school. The story of Della and Jim and the sacrifices they make to provide for their significant other is a welcome reminiscence of how wonderful and loving relationships couples were willing to sacrifice even a little for their better halves. And the most poignant message the story gives out is that money, status and power really dwarf in comparison to loving, nurturing relationships.

The Last Lecture was definitely on the emotionally charged side. And that is not very surprising considering the fact that the author wrote the book in the last few months of his life whilst dying of cancer. Rausch’s swan song serves to remind everyone how valuable and ephemeral our lives are. In his last days, this what he seeks to preach. Love everyone to the fullest. Live to the fullest. And let people around you know how much you mean to them. This is one book I’d certainly look up to whenever I find myself in distress or in need of advice.

 

Summer Reading II: Non-Fiction

 

In the previous post, I had listed down books which predominantly fell into the fiction genre. In contrast, this post will focus primarily on non-fiction. However, before I start listing down my favorites of the genre, I’ll be doing a short section on contemporary fiction first for the sake of achieving a sense of completion.

Contemporary Fiction

To be honest, I haven’t read a lot of contemporary fiction. I haven’t all the books listed over here. I’ve included them purely on the basis of the recommendations of the online community as well as a few credible friends.

• The Fault in Our Stars- John Green
  Two terminally ill teenagers meet and fall in love. This books is an absolute favorite among my female friends. Get ready to get all teary eyed.
• The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseni
  Set in modern Afghanistan, The Kite Runner chronicles the lives of two young Afghan boys as they witness the fall of the Afghan monarchy, the Soviet intervention and the rise of the Taliban regime.
• Q&A- Vikas Swarup
  The book on which the Oscar winning movie Slumdog Millionaire is based on, Q&A offers us a glimpse into the dark, macabre lives of children in Mumbai’s slums. After reading the book, you’ll genuinely happy and content with the quality of life you’ve got.
• The Book Thief- Markus Zusak
  Few books have left me in such a maelstrom of emotions as The Book Thief. Set in Nazi Germany and narrated by Death Himself, it is the story of 13 year old Liesel Meminger as she struggles to find happiness and meaning through books.
• Midnight’s Children- Salman Rushdie
  When a book wins the ‘Booker of Bookers’ in both the 25th and the 40th anniversary of the prize, you know it has to be something spectacularly good. Set in post-colonial India, with its magical realism, Midnight’s Children is just that. A must read for every literature aficionado.

Poetry

• The Prophet-Khalil Gibran
  The magnum opus of my favorite poet, The Prophet is filled with timeless advice on everything imaginable: love, work, family, children, relationships, hate. And the lines are so beautiful that they are bound to strike a chord with your heart.
• Gitanjali- Rabindranath Tagore
  This work by Tagore made him the first non-European in history to win a Nobel Prize. And it wasn’t without good reason. Even though I read the translated version, I found his verses to be overwhelmingly euphonious.
• 20 Love Songs and a Song of Despair– Pablo Neruda
  The champion of passion and unrequited love, Pablo Neruda has given words to the ardor of countless lovers across the globe. This is a collection of some of his very best (See Twin Geniuses: Tagore and Neruda).
• Essential Rumi- Coleman Barks
  The translated works of 13th century Sufi mystic poet Rumi, Essential Rumi is a treasure trove of wisdom imparted by the mystic almost over a millennium ago. Like Gibran, Rumi’s lines will definitely manage to reach the deepest centers of your heart.

I realize that the poetry I’ve listed are all translated works. If you want to read ‘pure’ English poetry, look for the works of William Blake (Songs of Innocence and Experience), Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass), Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, T.S.Eliot, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Edgar Allen Poe.

Biography

• Steve Jobs- Walter Isaacson
  What sets Walter Isaacson’s biography apart is its unapologetic honesty of the man who founded the most valuable company on the planet. Halfway through the book, I hated and loved Jobs at the same time. Very few books will give you such honesty.
• The Man Who Knew Infinity- Robert Kanigel
  My favorite biography, Kanigel’s account of Indian genius Ramanujan is probably the most comprehensive account you will get of the great mathematician’s life.
• The Accidental Billionaires- Ben Mezrich
  Although not a biography per se, Mezrich’s tale of the rise of Facebook and a bitter legal battle that ensued shortly after its launch makes it an exhilarating read.
• Surely you’re joking, Mr. Feynman!- Richard Feynmann
  The autobiography of one of the most eccentric physicists of the twentieth century, this book is an account of the craziest adventures and discussions undertaken by Feynmann.

Art, Culture and History

• Natasha’s Dance- Orlando Figes
  Russia has given some of the greatest authors in history. Russian novels and stories can pierce your heart like no other. This book is an account of the cultural history of Russia that gives us an insight into the kinds of developments that took place that led to the rise of the Russian arts.
• The Story of Art- E.M.Gombrich
  This introduction to art gives us an account of its history from cave paintings to experimental art of the 1960s.
• On Writing- Stephen King
  This semi-autobiography of King is an ode to the art of writing and the struggles and delights of being a writer.
• The Diary of a Young Girl- Anne Frank
  The unintentional autobiography of Holocaust’s most famous victim, The Diary of a Young Girl gives us a surreal glimpse into the lives of the Jews hiding in Nazi Germany.
• Unbroken- Laura Hillenbrand
  This collection of stories from World War 2 gives us accounts of survival, resilience and redemption showcased by civilians and armies alike.

Technology, Math and Startups

• Zero to One- Peter Thiel
  A collection of the notes of the class taught by founder of Paypal and Palantir, Peter Thiel, Zero to One is widely regarded as the bible of starting up.
• The $100 Startup– Chris Guillebeau
  This book is about micro-businesses and roaming entrepreneurs and how it is actually feasible making a living out of doing something that you love (See Microbusiness and Travel)
• The Code Book- Simon Singh
  One of my favorite non-fiction books of all time, The Code Book narrates the little told story of the art of security and secret writing.
• Fermat’s Last Theorem- Simon Singh
  This book is an account of a three centuries long struggle to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem; a proof which Fermat claimed not to have put on paper because it required too much space.
• God Created The Integers- Stephen Hawking
  With commentary from Hawking, God Created the Integers highlights the biggest mathematical breakthroughs in the history of mankind which went to shape human civilization as we know it.

Science

• A Brief History of Time- Stephen Hawking
  Arguably the most famous science book of all time, A Brief History of Time gives the layman a glimpse into the wonderfully complicated universe that we live in and our struggle to understand it.
• A Short History of Nearly Everything- Bill Bryson
  This book on Big History gives us an account of the history of the Universe, from the Big Bang to the present day (See Big History)
• Chariot of the Gods- Erich von Daniken
  A bold hypothesis of how human civilization was shaped by extra terrestrial beings who visited Earth a long time ago, Chariot of the Gods is the quintessential account (and possibly proof) of panspermia and intelligent extra-terrestrial life.
• What If- Randall Munroe
  In this book, former NASA scientist and founder of xkcd comics Randall Munroe answers absurd questions regarding the world and the universe (See Of Science and Comic Books)

Philosophy and Religion

• The God Delusion- Richard Dawkins
  The bible of atheism, The God Delusion argues how the probability of a supernatural being existing is almost zero if the theory of evolution is to be believed.
• The Dhammapada- Anonymous
  The Dhammapada is a collection of the Buddha’s teachings and gives us a glimpse into the teachings and principles of Buddhism.
• History of Western Philosophy- Bertrand Russell
  History of Western Philosophy is an account of every major philosophical thought from the time of the ancient Greeks to the present

Economics and Psychology

• Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics- Steven Leviit and Stephen Dubner
  The craziest economics books you can find, Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics tell us about the hidden side of everything. Why do drug dealers live with their moms? Why should suicide bombers buy life insurance? How did legalization of abortion lead to a drop in crime rate in the US? Read the books to find out.
• Thinking Fast and Slow- Daniel Kahneman
  The bible of Behavioral Economics, Thinking Fast and Slow is one of the best books you’ll read on the subject (See Revisiting Psychology)
• Predictably Irrational- Dan Ariely
  Like the previous book, this too gives us an insight into the anomalies and idiosyncrasies of human behavior. A must read for anyone who plans on starting a business or is in marketing or public relations (See Human Behavior and Irrationality)
• Economics in One Lesson- Henry Hazlitt
  A champion of the Austrian School of Economic Thought, Hazlitt tries to explain the problems with traditional economic principles through a series of well known historical cases.
• The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat- Oliver Sacks
  A brilliant account of the strangest cases encountered by Sacks in his medical career, this book is a must read for anyone with the slightest interest in Clinical Psychology.
• Interpretation of Dreams- Sigmund Freud
  One of the pioneers of the field of Psychology, Freud sets out to explain how our dreams can tell us much about our deepest desire, passion, pain and ambition.

And I shall stop here. I think I have covered a majority of the major fields of interest. Yet, I understand that one person’s experience with books leads to the creation of a relatively skewed list. Again as before, this list is in no ways exhaustive of any kind. There are plenty of amazing books I haven’t listed or have missed out on. Please feel free to list them in the comments.

The Secret of Success

 

Apologies for what is probably the most cliched title ever. But I couldn’t think of anything more apt. Often I’ve wondered about what is that sets apart successful people and corporations. Why is it that almost most multinational companies we know of are American? Why do Jews form such a disproportionate portion of Nobel Prize Winners? Is the fact that Steve Jobs got interested in electronics and computers have to do with the fact that he was born in the heart of Silicon Valley at the time of the electronics boom?

Hard work and talent begets success is something that has been preached to us countless number of times. But is there something more that’s required? For instance, the people in my college are generally regarded as being among the smartest on the planet. Yet the number of people from my alma mater who have excelled to the level of say a Bill Gates or a Mark Zuckerberg is almost non-existent.

Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: Stories of Success gives an answer to all the aforementioned questions. Turns out the world isn’t a fair playing ground after all. The ones who turn out to be hugely successful, the outliers, have to be extremely lucky. They need to have a series of fortunate events rolling out at just the right points in their lives. It isn’t coincidence that Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt and Paul Allen, the biggest stalwarts of Silicon Valley, were all born within a year of each other. They were born just at the right time to take advantage of the rise of the personal computer. Their education, their upbringing was just right to give them the kind of skills and motivation required to create something revolutionary.

Your chances of succeeding are exponentially higher if you’re an upper class American born and brought up in New York than if you’re a middle class Indian, even if your base IQ is higher. This is kind of disheartening but it is how things are. It would require extraordinary courage, talent and skill to overcome a disadvantaged upbringing. And even so, you’ll need plenty of luck. Hard work and smartness may not be the secret of success after all. In stark contrast, it may be being born at the right place at the right time.

French Classical Literature

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I’ll be honest. I never intended on studying or even going through French classical literature. I was just randomly surfing through the Kindle Store looking for French books to learn the language from. I came across this one book called Classic French Course in English by William Cleaver Wilkinson and assumed that the book was an elementary textbook for the French language. I was hugely mistaken.

What the book actually is, is an account of French geniuses who shaped the history of French literature and the sciences from the fourteenth century to the present. This was certainly not the book I was looking for. However, after going through its lengthy preface, I decided to go ahead and read the book. It had an impressive set of people for its chapters. Voltaire, Rousseau and Pascal, to name a few.

The book is highly academic in nature and provides a descriptive criticism of every person it takes into consideration in a single chapter. Frankly, I found the first couple of chapters boring. It spoke of French historians Froissart and Rabelais respectively. I would have put the book away had it not been for the chapters on La Montaigne and La Rochefoucald.

This were the chapters were the book actually began to feed you information and facts that were interesting. I had never heard of the two aforementioned people before. However, their philosophies had a extremely critical impact in the history of the French school of thought. Montaigne’s solitary work Essays literally shaped the views of French thinkers for centuries and continue to do so. I was personally deeply moved by the schools of thought the two propagated, especially the latter. La Rochefoucald’s Maxim is an extremely small book of a collection of over 700 verses. In most of his verses, he speaks of his concept of self-love being the major driving force of every human activity, including apparently contradictory acts such as altruism. The book gave a glimpse into a few of his verses and I was hooked. I think I’ve stated this before in my posts but there is a certain romance in being able to relate to words written centuries ago. It is a beautiful, humbling feeling to fully grasp the might of the pen.

I’m only a third through the book. I will probably devote two more posts to update my progress with it, along with A Short History of Everything. In other news, End Semesters are approaching and I really, desperately need to get on with studying. Now.

The Kindle Effect

 

It was in an Edit Meet of the magazine I’m a part of that one my seniors stated: Everyone ought to have a Kindle. It’s the best device on the planet.

Although not that much of a reader myself, I decided to go ahead and order one. I used to be a voracious reader back in my middle school days. My weekends were usually occupied by books, mostly of the fantasy genre: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Hunger Games, Goosebumps etc. I loved reading Enid Blyton. Famous Five still remains one of my all time favorite series of books.

But as I entered high school, my tendency to read ceased. I just wasn’t attracted to books any more. The only ‘books’ I read outside the ones prescribed by my school and coaching classes were Tinkle, Horrible Science and Asterix. In other words, I ceased picking up any literature that presented itself in more than a hundred pages. I had quite pathetically restricted my reading habits to comic books.

But all this changed when my Kindle came packaged from home. I developed an instant liking to the device. It was small. It was sleek. It was light. I don’t why but when I had it in my hand for the first time, I had this sudden urge to read something in it. Maybe it was a sort of escapism from the ongoing Mid Semester Examinations.

Still not completely over my developed aversion towards long books, I decided to settle for the novellas; books I could complete in a couple of sittings. I discovered Goodreads and started going through its lists of the highest rated novellas. I decided to settle for Animal Farm.

And it was then that it completely took over me. Cozily wrapped in my blanket, the lights off, the world silent, I lay on my bed reading. It was so peaceful, so serene. It was magic.

I completed the book in one sitting. And then, I immediately wanted to start off something new. It was like I had developed an addiction. I was reverting back to my pre-high school days of avid reading.

I browsed for more novellas. And each one had me wanting for more. I don’t know if it was the Kindle effect or because by incredible good luck, I was picking up all the amazing books: Animal Farm, The Metamorphosis, The Body in the Library, And Then There Were None, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (all 5 books), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Manuscripts found in Accra, The Alchemist, The Chronicles of Narnia etc. I started reading at a rate of more than one book a day.

At the beginning of the year, I had pledged to read a hundred books as part of the Goodreads challenge. When I got my Kindle, according to the website, I was about 15 books behind schedule. As of today, I stand 19 books ahead despite the fact that to keep up with the challenge, I have to read up at the rate of two books a week.

From the novellas, I transitioned to the longer, traditional novels. Some of them like The Book Thief blew my mind. When I was with my Kindle, I got transported into a different world, a new dimension where everything was so vivid, so fantastic. Earlier, I always had the urge to go outside everyday and hang out with people. It was no longer the case. I had found bliss in solitude.

I have over 300 books uploaded in my Kindle. And that’s where one of its greatest potency lies. I had books on every subject fathomable. As a result, I saw myself shifting from novellas to novels to poetry. The transitions were seamless and elegant. I wanted to read up everything I could get my hands on.

From the world of fiction, I have now turned to the opposite genre. Over the last few days, I have read books ranging from Web Development to Designing Principles to Economics to Clinical Psychology. Presently, I’m reading a book on Behavioral Economics, a subject which combines the fields of psychology, economics and mathematics. And I’m pretty sure that once I’m done writing this post, I’ll be in my bed reading again.

True, Kindle doesn’t have some qualities that we so enjoy in books: the smell, the feeling of pages etc. But it is a device that had taught me to read again. And for that, I’ll forever be indebted to it. It had reintroduced me to the magnificent world of books. It has harnessed the power of literature to its fullest. So, if there is a few thousand bucks you can spare, think no more and order yourself a Kindle. Trust me, it will change your life.