[nukkad] A list of some of my favourite books

["indian rediff" <>]

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Tip of the day:  If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape
a hundred days of sorrow.  - Chinese Proverb
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My list of favourite books:


Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig.

If there is one book I would pick, it is this one. It is an earth 
shattering book about a man in search of himself. Words cannot 
describe how beautifully this book is written. Not literary 
content - but intellectually. I would place  this under 
philosophy.

Swami and Friends - R. K. Narayanan

Fiction. The beatific village/town os Malgudi is created before
us with fascinating brush strokes. Swami's life is 
simple. And his interactions with his father, his friends and
his limited foray into the independence movement - brilliant
writing. Unforgettable. One part comes to mind. When Swami is 
forced by father to solve an arithmetic problem involving
price of mangoes and fractions, his mind goes off into 
several tangential areas such as the quality of the mangoes,
who sold it in the first place etc. Finally he gets it.

Godel, Escher, Bach - An Eternal Golden Braid - Douglas Hofstadter

A non-fiction book. If anyone wishes to learn anything about 
Godel's theorem and how it shook the very foundations of the 
world of Mathematics (particularly Sir Bertrand Russel whose 
Principia Mathematica was intended to once-and-for-all define 
Mathematics so that it could be derived from first principles and 
proved to be a complete and consistent system).

Autobiography of a Yogi - Swami Yogananda Paramahansa

Biography. A divine book about a young boy who becomes a mystic. 
Non-fiction. It is his own biography written in his own words. 
Spell-binding.

Hatter's Castle - A J Cronin

Fiction. I liked this book so much that I had nightmares for a 
few days after reading it. The very thought of having to interact 
with such a person, let alone have him as a father, made me 
shiver. Chilling.

Glimpses of World History - Jawaharlal Nehru

History. When you read this book, you realise that it is a 
collection of letters from a father in jail to his daughter to 
keep her educated. You see how great was Nehru's grip on World 
History that historians agree his dates in about 90% of the cases 
were on the dot - and he was writing from jail with NO reference 
books. Is it any wonder that Indira Gandhi became such a world 
leader?

Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth

Story about an assasination plot in France. Le Chacal is a real 
life character now in jail in France. Ilyich Ramirez Sanchez was 
also known as the Carlos the Jackal. He is the master mind in the 
book and you enter his head as he plots the killing of the French 
President.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Trilogy) - Douglas Adams

Science Fiction. A book that is hilarious in its conception, 
plot, imagination and conclusion. A must read for any serious 
reader. Science fiction is almost by-the-way. 

Dune - Frank Herbert 

Science Fiction. Fascinating story about a planet where water is 
so precious that people recycle personal water. Mind blowing 
concept.

Foundation Series, I Robot and other Robot books - Isaac Asimov

Science Fiction. Glactic in scope, the story is almost mind 
boggling in complexity - except that Asimov tells it so well. The 
Robot series stories are incredibly simple in concept - and yet 
give rise to a rich set of possibilities in exploring the 
conflicts inherent in the three laws of Robotics viz.

   1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through 
inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

   2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings 
except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

   3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such 
protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.



Indian (Sai)

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