reading-list on S Anand

Books in 2023

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 11:01:40 +0000

I read 52 books in 2023 (about the same as in 2022, 2021 and 2020.) Here’s what I read (best books first).

Fiction

The Kingkiller Chronicle. I picked it up before a flight to London in 2014. Read it through the flight. Read it late into the night at our AirBnB. Skipped my workshop prep. Read it during the workshop breaks. Read it on the flight back. And I re-read it every year or two. The language is beautiful and the story gripping. I feel miserable this series isn’t complete.
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Stormlight Archive. Another series I re-read regularly. Brandon Sanderson takes the scale of the story up a notch in every book.
- Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Andy Weir’s books. Since my daughter re-reads The Martian (laughing loudly), I picked up Project Hail Mary. It’s a brilliant depiction of alien physiology and communication, with a weird kind of humour I love.
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The Egg by Andy Weir ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The Martian by Andy Weir ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Red Rising Saga. A pleasant discovery of a new series. Somewhat like The Hunger Games and Divergent.
- Red Rising by Pierce Brown ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Golden Son by Pierce Brown ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Morning Star by Pierce Brown ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Blake Crouch’s books. The two I read were both time-travel related and I love that genre. These do a great job of exploring some of the deeper implications of time-travel.
- Recursion by Blake Crouch ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch ⭐⭐⭐
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline ⭐⭐⭐. It’s as good as the movie with slightly different scenes.
The Reckoners by Brandon Sanderson. Another series I re-read.
- Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Firefight by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐
- Calamity by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐
The Year of Sanderson. Brandon Sanderson’s kickstarter raised $41m for 4 books this year (mostly Cosmere). The stories themselves were OK but the hints they drop about the Cosmere are invaluable.
- Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐
- The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa. After Death Note, it felt like a let-down when it started. A mundane story. Then it grew funny. Showed shades of a much deeper story. I’m mid-way through the series and I’m hooked.
- Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa ⭐⭐⭐
- Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 2 by Hiromu Arakawa ⭐⭐⭐
- Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 3 by Hiromu Arakawa ⭐⭐⭐
- Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 4 by Hiromu Arakawa ⭐⭐⭐
- Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 5 by Hiromu Arakawa ⭐⭐⭐
- Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 6 by Hiromu Arakawa ⭐⭐⭐
- Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 7 by Hiromu Arakawa ⭐⭐⭐
- Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 8 by Hiromu Arakawa ⭐⭐⭐
- Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 9 by Hiromu Arakawa ⭐⭐⭐
- Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 10 by Hiromu Arakawa ⭐⭐⭐
- Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 11 by Hiromu Arakawa ⭐⭐⭐
Mono no Aware e altre storie by Ken Liu ⭐⭐⭐. A nice short story
Traitors Gate by Jeffrey Archer ⭐⭐⭐. A well-writter fast-paced average story.
Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐. Average story but with lots of “secrets” about the Cosmere.
Asterix and the Griffin by Jean-Yves Ferri ⭐⭐. Some good jokes but not as good as the original series.

Non-fiction

The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. I took more notes for this book than most other books combined. It’s a hard read but worth it. Each chapter can be read independently. I particularly love how he uses “As a student of human nature…” and truly becomes one.
Learn Like a Pro by Barbara Oakley ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. The best book for practical tactics on how to learn better, with excellent tips such as active recall which helps you remember what you learned. I’ve been applying parts of this for a year now.
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes ⭐⭐⭐⭐. An epic story of the atom bomb. Part of the inspiration behind Oppenheimer. It covers the science in the first half and the engineering in the second half with equal depth.
What If? 2 by Randall Munroe ⭐⭐⭐⭐. A continuation of Randall Munroe’s brilliant answers to absurd scientific questions, ranging from riding helicopter blades to lava lava-lamps.
No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings ⭐⭐⭐⭐. A systematic approach to the principles behind the Netflix culture – and how the elements fit together.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Very practical lessons on running a business, drawn from hard experiences.
The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick ⭐⭐⭐⭐. A must-read book on how to get honest feedback from customers.
Chip War by Chris Miller ⭐⭐⭐. An excellent overview of the semiconductor industry, right from it’s origin to the US-China trade war.
On the Shortness of Life by Seneca ⭐⭐⭐. Ancient, timeless wisdom on how to live a good life.
The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby ⭐⭐⭐. A good history of venture capital.
The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger ⭐⭐⭐. An honest, down-to-earth, view of Bob Iger’s career at Disney.
The Big Short by Michael Lewis ⭐⭐⭐. The story of the 2008 financial crisis, told through the eyes of the people who saw it coming.
The Second Kind of Impossible by Paul J. Steinhardt ⭐⭐⭐. A story of the discovery of quasicrystals, which are crystals that break the rules of crystallography.
The Premonition by Michael Lewis ⭐⭐⭐. A story of the people who saw the pandemic coming and tried to warn the world.
The Lighter Side of Teaching by Aaron Bacall ⭐⭐⭐. A collection of funny stories from a teacher.
Has Anyone Seen the President? by Michael Lewis ⭐⭐⭐. A collection of stories from the Trump presidency.
Sridevi by Amborish Roychoudhury ⭐⭐⭐. A outsider’s biography of Sridevi (from a Bengali who hadn’t watched Tamil films).
Spare by Prince Harry ⭐⭐⭐. A royal biography. Great content but not well written.

How I read books

Select. I add book recommendations to my GoodReads - To-read list. Then I sort by rating and pick the first one I like to read.

Listen. I listen to non-fiction audiobooks during walks.
Read: I read fiction as ePUBs on my laptop or phone.
Stop: I stop reading books that are boring, with no guilt. I’ve better things to do.

Comments

Books in 2024 - S Anand 31 Dec 2024 3:03 pm (pingback): […] read 51 new books in 2024 (about the same as in 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020.) But slightly […]

Books in 2022

Sun, 08 Jan 2023 04:45:06 +0000

I read 52 books in 2022 (about the same as in 2021 and 2020.) Here’s what I read (best books first).

Mind-blowing

Man’s Search for Meaning. Viktor Frankl. It’s 75 years old and timeless. Who we are is independent of what’s around us. This book shows us why. This story is a great example. My best book of 2022.
The Paper Menagerie. Ken Liu. I cried all the way from the beach to home. The skies joined me. It’s short. Touching. It healed a wound I can’t speak about. The most touching book of 2022.
The Data Detective. Tim Harford. 10 powerful, down-to-earth rules for how to make sense of data, and avoid being fooled. I plan to incorporate every one of these into my talks. The most useful guide to working with data in 2022.
The Extended Mind. Annie Murphy Paul. Explains how we think not just inside our brains, but in our bodies, in our physical environment, and in the people around us. The most effective guide to transforming my thinking in 2022.

Life-changing

Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens, Homo Deus and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. Covers the past, present, and future of humanity, weaving the shared beliefs we’ve crafted – God, money, equality, property rights, happiness, and much more.
Four Thousand Weeks. Oliver Burkeman. We live just 4,000 weeks. When you realize that, time management takes a new meaning. This is the most different time management book I’ve read, and I’ve started writing down stories of what I’ve done with my 4,000 weeks – each week.
The Motive. Patrick Lencioni. Why do you want to stay a CEO? That’s the question this book answers, and in a sentence, it’s about doing the most important stuff that no one else will do. Not the stuff you like, or are good at.
Team of Rivals. Doris Kearns Goodwin. The life of Lincoln and his cabinet. It’s extraordinary to see the path 4 eminent politicians took and the day-to-day decisions each made during the American Civil War.
This is Water. David Foster Wallace. A commencement speech about the importance and power of noticing our blindspots, and making a habit of it.
The Unknown Unknown. Mark Forsyth. A short, witty defense of bookshops. But it’s actually about blindspots and the power of randomness.
Messy. Tim Harford. Explains how messiness is good for creativity and efficiency, with dozens of stories that prove the point.

Interesting

The Conquerer series. Conn Iggulden. The life of Genghis Khan. Factual, but interpolated with imagination. Gripping.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. Mark Manson. A direct nudge to face our fears and choose our pains (not pleasures) actively.
Talking to Strangers. Malcolm Gladwell.
Bad Blood. John Carreyrou. The story of Therenos. It shows how thin the line to cross is.
Land of the Seven Rivers. Sanjeev Sanyal. A history of India.
The Ocean of Churn. Sanjeev Sanyal. A history of the Indian ocean.
On Writing Well. William Zinsser. Teaches you to write with clarity, simplicity, brevity, and humanity.
Superforecasting. Philip Tetlock, Dan Gardner. Techniques to consistently forecast better.
Oathbringer. Brandon Sanderson.
What the Dog Saw. Malcolm Gladwell.
Humble Pi. Matt Parker.
David and Goliath. Malcolm Gladwell.
Next in Line. Jeffrey Archer.
The Bomber Mafia. Malcolm Gladwell.
Emperor series. Conn Iggulden.
Flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
When Breath Becomes Air. Paul Kalanithi.
The Lost Metal. Brandon Sanderson
The Assassin’s Blade. Sarah J Maas.
Skyward. Brandon Sanderson. Sunreach, ReDawn, Cytonic, Evershore

Readable

War of Lanka. Amish Tripathi.
A Court of Thorns and Roses. Sarah J Maas. Part 1, 2 and 3.
Asterix and the Magic Carpet.
Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life. Bryan Lee O’Malley.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Bryan Lee O’Malley.
Daughter of the Deep. Rick Riordan.

How I read books

Select. I add book recommendations to my GoodReads – To-read list. Then I sort by rating and pick the first one I like to read.
Listen. I listen to non-fiction audiobooks during walks.
Read: I read fiction as ePUBs on my laptop or phone.
Stop: I stop reading books that are boring, with no guilt. I’ve better things to do.

Comments

My Year in 2023 - S Anand 1 Jan 2024 4:34 pm (pingback): […] 50 books a year, like in 2023, 2022, 2021, and […]
Books in 2023 - S Anand 1 Jan 2024 4:31 pm (pingback): […] read 52 books in 2022 (about the same as in 2022, 2021 and 2020.) Here’s what I read (best books […]
Books in 2024 - S Anand 31 Dec 2024 3:03 pm (pingback): […] read 51 new books in 2024 (about the same as in 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020.) But slightly […]

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 07:03:53 +0000

I read 52 #books in 2021.

The best #nonfiction was The Almanack of Naval Ravikant. Succinct & deep. I can spend a decade practicing every sentence.

The best #fiction was Brandon Sanderson’s Rhythm of War. A brilliantly rich magic system, and what a plot, what an ending!

My one-line #reviews of the books are below.

http://www.s-anand.net/blog/books-in-2021/

Books in 2021

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 06:23:19 +0000

On my Goodreads 2021 reading challenge, I read 52/50 books in 2021. I managed 47/50 in 2020 (see 2020 reviews) and 26/24 in 2019.

Here’s what I read (best books first).

Mind-blowing

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant. It’s the best non-fiction I’ve read in 5 years. It focuses Wealth and Happiness. It’s short. I finished it in a day. But it’s deep. I can spend a decade practicing just a single sentence. It’s available at navalmanack.com as a free e-book and audio book.
Rhythm of War. The 4th book of the Stormlight Archives is an action-packed fantasy. A great gift for teenagers. In an extra-ordinary magic system, Brandon Sanderson builds up to the greatest climax I’ve read. What an ending!
Death Note #1-#12. Light Yagami gets hold of a “death note”. If he writes a name on it, they die. “L” is out to catch him. In a cat-and-mouse psychological thriller, Light and L work next to each other, share their plans, and still try to outwit the other. It’s like chess. The pieces are visible. But it’s the strategy that counts. A brilliant comic series.

Life-changing

Atomic Habits. A systematic, well-researched approach to creating (and stopping) habits that last. It’s the best “Habits” book in the market right now..
Being Mortal. A thoughtful, practical guide on dealing with old age. Must read for those with aging parents. It helps that Atul Gawande is a great storyteller and draws from his personal experiences.
Originals. Teaches you how to be more creative and take risks safely. If Creativity Inc inspired you, this book is a way to build Pixar’s magic into your teams. An easy-to-read piece by Adam Grant, backed by solid research.
Combatting Cult Mind Control. The gold-standard in knowing when someone’s in a cult, and how to escape the cult. Opened up a whole new world for me.
Rich Dad Poor Dad. Teaches you to make money work for you rather than you working for money. I was shocked when I realized that the middle class buys liabilities (a house to live in) while the rich buy assets (a house to rent out).
Think Again. Teaches you how to stop fooling yourself and avoid blindspots by checking your assumptions, enjoy learning from mistakes, and open up people’s minds – especially your own. Yet another easy-to-read piece by Adam Grant, backed by solid research.
Influence. A research-backed guide on the science of influencing people subconsciously. Reciprocity, consistency, social proof, authority, scarcity – these are signals we react to unknowingly.
Dawnshard. Book #3.5 of the Stormlight Archives. A handicapped shipowner and her winged reptile pet travel to a mysterious island that no one returns from. With a typical Brandon Sanderson climax that moves this from “interesting” to “life changing”.
From Data to Stories. The first & only comic data story book, with step-by-step cricket analysis explained by comic characters. This was written by Gramener’s Story Labs team using Comicgen characters.

Interesting

The First Law #1-#3. Joe Abercrombie. A wizard assembles 3 flawed heroes for a quest.
Shoe Dog. The Nike founder story.
Skin In The Game. On accountability & commitment.
That Will Never Work. The Netflix co-founder story.
Sycamore Row. John Grisham. An old man’s will leaves everything to his servant.
A Time To Kill. John Grisham. An African American’s on trial for murdering his daughter’s rapists.
The Psychology of Money. How to make money work for you than the other way around.
Detective William Warwick #2-#4. Jeffrey Archer. More adventures from Dt. Warwick.
Zoom. A wordless book that zooms out on every successive page, and nothing is what it appears.

Readable

The Goblin Emperor. Katherine Addison. A Goblin half-son inherits the throne and political intrigue.
A Time for Mercy. John Grisham. An African American kid’s on trial for shooting a cop.
The Rithmatist. Brandon Sanderson. In a world where chalk drawings come to life, a student investigates murders.
Karna: The King of Anga. Kevin Missal. A fictionalized story of how Karna re-takes the kingdom of Anga against Jarasandha.
Asterix #34-#38. The latest adventures of Asterix & Obelix, the gauls.
Infinity Blade #1-#2. Brandon Sanderson. Deathless immortals battle each other, and discover their origins.
Old Man’s War. John Scalzi. Senior citizens are given a physical boost and sent to fight aliens.
Measure What Matters. The definitive guide on how to use OKRs (Objectives & Key Results).
The Maze Runner #1-#3. Kids escape from a maze prison and discover why they were there.

How I read books

Select. I add book recommendations on my GoodReads - to read list. Then I sort by rating and pick the first one I like to read.
Listen. I listen to non-fiction audiobooks during walks.
Read: I read fiction as ePUBs on my laptop or phone.
Stop: I stop reading books that are boring, with no guilt. I’ve better things to do.

Comments

Puja Pathak 31 Dec 2021 9:28 am: Greetings Anand sir .. I was a student at upGrad and have seen your lecture videos. I was impressed by the way you communicate and share your knowledge. I started following you on LinkedIn and twitter. Working at Gramener is one of my ambitions. Reading is my hobby too and currently I am reading the Atomic Habits by James Clear. When I saw your post and the books choices, especially the way you pick up a book, I so identified with it. So writing this message. Thanks for sharing.
Sandipan 30 Dec 2021 1:51 pm: This is extremely inspiring Anand. I am putting this into my habit. Just finished reading “The Richest Man in Babylon”.
Nisheeta 2 Jan 2022 9:40 am: Atomic Habits was my favorite too! And I suspect Sleep Your Way to Success (being published soon) will be my favorite this year :)
Balki 7 Jan 2022 7:49 pm: You continue to be a legend with all the time in the world for useful things!!
Mukul 13 Jan 2022 5:10 pm: I start my non-fiction journey because of this list. Starting it with The Alma…. and Atomic …. Thank you Anand for this list and sharing your reviews.
My Year in 2023 - S Anand 1 Jan 2024 4:35 pm (pingback): […] 50 books a year, like in 2023, 2022, 2021, and […]
Books in 2023 - S Anand 1 Jan 2024 4:32 pm (pingback): […] read 52 books in 2022 (about the same as in 2022, 2021 and 2020.) Here’s what I read (best books […]
Seema Gopal 3 Jan 2022 11:32 am: Great to read your blog. Especially liked the part where you said you leave the boring books midway without guilt :) The book i loved best this year was Sapiens. Its so popular that you have probably read it, but it changed my perspective to life forever!
krishna 3 Jan 2022 10:21 am: I was planning on reading 12 books in the year 2022, and there you are reading a book a week with your busy schedule. Post reading your takeaways on the books and given that it’s possible. I have upped my target to 25 in an year.
I tested the best ways to mail people - S Anand 6 Jan 2022 11:31 am (pingback): […] Book reviews did 30% worse at #6 than #1 (62% down to 43%) […]
Sachidananda Aithal 2 Jan 2022 6:47 pm: Very impressive Anand…will pick up some books from your list..
My Year in 2021 - S Anand 2 Jan 2022 1:37 pm (pingback): […] 50 books. I read 52. Here are my reviews. (Which did you like? What would you […]
Ayush Mandowara 5 Jan 2022 7:12 pm: great blog. thanks for sharing your insights related to the books along with sharing the list. Just a small suggestion, please change the link on LinkedIn from HTTP to HTTPS :)
Sunil sharma 31 Dec 2021 6:45 pm: Picking some from this to my read list. Have a great reading challenge in 2022 :)
Books in 2024 - S Anand 31 Dec 2024 6:28 pm (pingback): […] read 51 new books in 2024 (about the same as in 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020.) But slightly […]

Books in 2020

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 03:56:14 +0000

My Goodreads 2020 Reading Challenge target is 50 books. I’m at 45/50, with little hope of getting to 50. (I managed 25/24 in 2019.)

The 10 non-fiction books I read (most useful first) are below.

The Lean Startup by Eric Reis.
The principle of Build - Measure - Learn is useful everywhere in life too, not just in startups.
Never Split The Difference by Chriss Voss.
Shares principle-driven strategies to convince people.
The 4 Disciplines of Execution by McChesney, Covey & Huling.
Teaches how to build execution rigor in an organization. A bit long at the end, but the first section is excellent.
Sprint by Jake Knapp.
A detailed step-by-step guide to running product development sprints that you can follow blindly.
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams.
Dilbert’s author shares his strategies for life. Very readable, intelligent, and slightly provocative, but always interesting.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni.
Written as a story (like The Goal). Talks about the 5 problems in teams and how to overcome them.
The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle.
Explains the elements of strong cultures - belongingness, shared vulnerability, and shared purpose.
Data-Driven Storytelling by Nathalie Henry Riche et al.
Shares the latest points of view on telling data stories. My team and I read these chapters as a group.
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek.
Inspiring when I read it, but I don’t remember what it said.
Deep Work by Cal Newport.
Shares tactics to focus. Practical and useful.

I also started, by haven’t finished these four:

Hacking Growth by Sean Ellis & Morgan Brown
The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams
Stories at Work by Indranil Chakraborty

I read these 25 works of fiction – mostly by Brandon Sanderson (my current favorite author) and Brent Weeks.

Lightbringer (Books 1-5) by Brent Weeks.
In a world where color is woven as magic, the most powerful man is caught in politics. This series had enough twists and turns to keep me hooked till the end.
Skyward (Books 1-2) by Brandon Sanderson.
An outcast girl on an outcast planet becomes a fighter pilot with an alien spaceship. I love the way this is developing.
The Wheel of Time (Books 1-6) by Robert Jordan.
I picked it up again mainly because Brandon Sanderson wrote the last 3 books. It was great up to book 4 but has started dragging.
Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians (Books 1-4) by Brandon Sanderson.
The author lies to you. Literally. And tells you that he will, in almost every other paragraph. Great book for kids to laugh over.
Night Angel (Books 1-3) by Brent Weeks.
An assassin in a story that spans centuries of the history of magic.
Legion (Books 1-3) by Brandon Sanderson.
A detective who has multiple split-personalities in him – that help him solve cases.
Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson.
What if you could create a snapshot of the world, enter it, interact with it, and solve crimes?
The Art of Letting Go: Poetry for the Seekers by Sanhita Baruah.
It’s my first poetry book. (I hate poetry.) I took this up to see if I could survive it, and get a fresh perspective. I survived.

… and these 10 comic books/series.

At the moment, I’m at 45 books, with little hope of completing 5 more this month unless I pick up comics. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do 😉

Comments

Kalpana Behara 5 Dec 2020 6:10 pm: I am so glad you are still writing. I stumbled upon your site some 15 odd years ago and read your Illayaraja articles. They were very technical for me to understand but I remember completely being mesmerized by the technicalities. I come back every few years to read those articles and listen to the songs you reference. I did that again today and realized you continue to blog! This is one of my favorite blogs on Internet. Thanks for sharing.
Deepan Chithambaranadhan 6 Jun 2021 1:32 pm: Please also read the Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman ;if you havenot read. Very happy to See your updated website it was down for a few weeks some time ago. I recommend to my mentees your website for insights on interviews and your popular analysis on birth dates and 12th standard grades. I wish you could write more on Object oriented programming and Clean code.
Samrat Sen 28 Dec 2020 6:58 am: I have read some of these - The Lean Startup, Stories At Work and quite a few of the Batman comics (Superman - The Red Son is now on Prime). Hadn’t heard of Brandon Sanderson but looks promising. Currently reading Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. Inspiring!
Books in 2023 - S Anand 4 Jan 2024 4:46 pm (pingback): […] read 52 books in 2023 (about the same as in 2022, 2021 and 2020.) Here’s what I read (best books […]
S Anand 8 Dec 2020 3:52 pm: Thanks, Kalpana! I’ve been away for many years now, but am back regularly 😊
Books in 2024 - S Anand 31 Dec 2024 6:31 pm (pingback): […] read 51 new books in 2024 (about the same as in 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020.) But slightly […]

Pulitzer Prize non-fiction

Thu, 30 Mar 2006 12:00:00 +0000

These are the Pulitzer prize winning non-fiction books. I’ve read only two: Godel, Escher, Bach and Guns, Germs and Steel. These were the very best books I have EVER read. If that’s any indication to go by, I want to finish this whole list.

Comments

Jayant 30 Mar 2006 2:12 pm: Thanks a ton for the list. Pulitzer books in non-fiction are just gems!
Arun 31 Mar 2006 8:08 am: Ouch, haven’t read even one of these. And i thought i read more non-fiction than most!!!
S Anand 31 Mar 2006 9:45 am: Next on my reading list are Ants (don’t be fooled: though it’s really about ants, it’s apparantly a fascinating read), Annals of the Former World (which I developed a liking for since I read A Short History of Everything), and Carl Sagan’s Dragons of Eden.
Sanchaari 31 Mar 2006 2:14 pm: Hi Anand, I liked your Bolg style, can I take some ideas from here? Which blogging site you are using?
S Anand 31 Mar 2006 4:47 pm: Feel free to pull ideas. But I don’t use any blogging software. I write entries in Excel, and my Perl program converts that to HTML, which I then I FTP. Not much help, I’m afraid…

Amazon Best of 2004

Wed, 02 Feb 2005 12:00:00 +0000

Amazon’s Best books of 2004, All consuming, and Daypop Amazon Wishlist are good places to look for books to read.

Asterix comics

Mon, 27 Sep 2004 12:00:00 +0000

Comic Central offers comics downloads via eMule. This includes an Asterix collection (which is best read annotated.

Comments

rajesh 17 Jan 2007 9:22 am: great man thanks a lot
niketha 27 Sep 2004 12:00 pm: Nice to see this website.
Nahush Chaturvedi 27 Sep 2004 12:00 pm: Good job !!

Zen stories

Fri, 30 Aug 2002 12:00:00 +0000

Zen stories. Read some of these first in Douglas Hofstader’s Godel, Escher, Bach. Searched for a collection for a long time. This looks like quite a comprehensive one. If you want a flavour of these, Zen Master Gutei’s story is one of those bizarre ones.