Last fifteen Books I read ....

The most recent one is at number fifteen ......


1. Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist. He wrote critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy, and science, using a distinctive German language style and displaying a fondness for metaphor and aphorism.
All in all, I started reading this book for only one reason: Jim Morrison was highly influenced by his writings.... But as I read along, I loved the way he blasts every convention out of the way; moral or philosophical. The book is a sequel to " Thus Spoke Zarathustra", which I intend to read pretty soon.

2. The Client by John Grisham
This was my first John Grisham book. Prior to reading, all I knew was that he wrote novels related to law ... He is one of the few writers quite a lot of whose books have been made into movies. After reading this, I got so taken by his style of setting thrillers in a legal backdrop (always in the state of Memphis) that I ended up reading back to back three of his novels ...

3. The Firm by John Grisham

4. The Chamber by John Grisham


5. God's Debris by Scott Adams
Now, I knew Scott Adams is a name quite familiar with people, even those who aren't avid book readers, because of an ensemble of toon characters from his strip DILBERT ...
Adams' fame as the author of the Dilbert comics made publishers wary of this new book without Dilbert, so they refused to publish. Adam went ahead and released it as an e-book. Word-of-mouth publicity then ensured it's quick release in hardcover format as well ....
It tells why would God want to live at all, if he is omnipotent and omnipresent ?
Thanks to boredom at office and Chetan, who gave me the eBook ...




6. The Religion War by Scott Adams
A sequel to the previous book, where the man carrying the parcel in God's Debris is now the Avatar ... A brilliantly simplistic view depicting a future clash of civilizations between Christians and Muslims ...

7. 3 Mistakes of my Life by Chetan Bhagat

Well, his 5 point someone has ensured that I will always read any of his books; and thanks to him, many first time readers are starting of with his works rather than Sidney Sheldon. His simle language, small size of the book and low price has ensured a niche market for him. As for the book; a major improvement over the last one, One night @ the Call Center.

8. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

Now, this book was heavy stuff... I wanted to read it simply because there are always questions in any quiz related to this book (Quizzing is my part-time hobby as well)
It describes the two extremes in the kind of people around us ... perfectionists and believers in destiny ... all in the backdrop of a motorcycle ...

9. Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend by Stephen Davis

No words for this person. I mean, how could it be that such a vulnerable, clueless, self destructive person end up creating a persona that inspired many; and unleashed a phenomenon ...

His poems were way ahead of his time; he was the prominent catalyst of the counterculture of the 1960s and early 1970s in the United States; a reaction against the conservative government and social norms; further intensified by the Cold war and Vietnam. He was the icon of the confused and restless Baby Boomer generation ..

Just too sad that he died at 27 ...

10. Dragon Rising: An Inside Look at China Today by Jasper Becker

I picked up this one out of curiosity, not knowing the author either. I was attracted by two things; a dazzling array of glossy pictures from allover China and the publication by National Geographic. After reading it, I know of China, or rather, I understand the phenomenon called China much better now ... Qing Dynasty, Opium Wars, Chiang Kai Shek, The Great Leap from 1958 - 1962, Mao Zedong, Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping, Tiananmen Square, SOEs, SEZs, China's military appetite, it's territoial claims from Vietman to Tibet ...

All in All, it made me glad I live in a shitty noisy clumsy democracy ... made me feel proud of India

11. Joker in the Pack : An Irreverent View of Life at IIMs by Neeraj Pahlajani (IIM B) and Ritesh Sharma (IIM L)

I read it when my roommate Nishant gave it to me; and later i learned from others that it was to IIMs what 5 point someone was to the IITs. Now, being an aspiring IIM student (this will be my 4th straight CAT), I had to read it .... to be succint, it was entertaining and enlightening. What goes inside one of the biggest educational brands acriss corporates.

12. The Black Cross by Greg Iles

I started reading it simply because I had no other book available. But it turned out to be quite an entertainer ... set in the backdrop of World War II in Germany, full of commando action, mass killing of Jews, Chemical weapons (Sarin and Soman), covert operations .... it's a good thriller.

13. It happened in India by Kishore Biyani
I've read plenty of stuff on retail , most notably being Made in America by Sam Walton and other stuff by Jack Trout; but India is India .... and that is what this book really brings to the table; that retaling in India is an alltogether new ball game. Also was nice to know about Kishore Biyani.

14. The McKinsey Way by Ethan M. Rasiel

McKinsey ... the name rings bells. Dream job out of colleges belong to this firm. McKinsy represents something for everyone; especially to every outsider aspiring to become a McKinsey insider...

A truely delightful account of what is done at McKinsey, How it is done at McKinsey and Why it is done at McKinsey .... full of real examples ...

15. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
I am totally taken in by the Fantasy-Adventure genre. So, an ardent follower of Lord of the Ring and Harry Potter, I had to go for the 3rd offering of the Inheritance trilogy (not anymore, a fourth one will be coming). Maybe not in the same league as those mentioned above, but certainly engaging and worth reading. Basically, according to me, the very genre rocks !!!