After reading the reviews of several people on this site (which really helped me) I thought of sharing my own experience here. The 5 best books that I have read so far are
The Alchemist-Paulo Coelho
This book is a wonderful work of fiction about a shepherd boy named Santiago who sets out in search of worldly treasure that he sees in his dreams. Along his journey he has a fateful encounter with a Alchemist who changes his life forever. And guess what? He does fulfill his dream & finds the treasure. It teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our heart & following our dreams no matter how bad the circumstances maybe. An unabashed inspirational delight. It also teaches us to read the omens strewn along life’s path. It tells you to see the world through your own eyes & not somebody else’s. A rare gem of a book!
Illusions-Richard Bach
’You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true’.This is one of the wonderful quotes that are present in the book. It gives you the real essence of the book.The book is based on a pilot named Donald Shimoda who has some extraordinary powers. Due to this the people think that he is a Messiah who has come to save them. He does help them but is tired of people coming to him for freeing them of their misery. He tells them that they are free to live the life they want. Its not necessary that you believe every doctrine that you read. God has sent you to be happy on this earth but very few people understand that. You are free to do what you want live the life you have imagined. You can do almost anything & get anything on this earth (that does not hamper others). You just create an ILLLUSION of what you want in your mind & it will be soon transformed into reality strictly in the way you had imagined it. A great piece of work with excellent quotes. A great way of looking at life.
The Fountainhead- Ayn R and
When this book was first published in 1943 it faced a great deal of controversy due to its somewhat different subject-Objectivism.It gave a totally new way of looking at selfishness which aides the human progress. Its a story of an intransigent young architect Howard Roark and his desperate battle against conventional standards and an enraged society that tries to destroy him. Its written beautifully & bitterly. Its a great piece of audacious work. The character Howard Roark is created beautifully. The way the author has taken subtlety in describing her characters is elegant. Its an inelucatble piece of work.Its theme is one of the most challenging ideas presented in a work of fiction- that man’s ego is the FOUNTAINHEAD of human progress.
Don Quixote-Miguel De Cervantes
This book enjoys a peculiar place among the world’s books, as the only well known representative of a considerable literature. It is by far the best book known in spanish literature. Its been one of the worlds bestsellers for over three centuries and exists in EIGHT different english versions. The best and raciest version, Shelton’s, being almost contemporary with original. It was originally intended by Cervantes as a skit on traditional popular ballads. As a result he created one of the most entertaining adventure stories of all time and created in Don Quixote and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, two of the greatest character in fiction. It was created in the sixteenth century & still hasn’t lost its flavour. Its a story about the adventures of Don Quixote who leaves his home with just one horse with him. The rest that follows is an excellent adventure that you will rarely read. A must read for literary genre.
Animal Farm- George Orwell
A brilliant satire on communism, using the analogy of an animal farm. The animals chase the farmer off the land and elect a pig Snowball as their ruler. Snowball is subsequently overthrown by his rival Napoleaon who establishes a communist regime in the farm. A story about a great revolution that went haywire. An indirect reference to the soviet revolution. A great work of fiction on how power can corrupt a few people and change the life course of the people they govern. Orwell visualized that a society based purely on communism cannot survive which is evident from the soviet debacle of the 1990’s. Overall a great read from entertainment point of view also.
Although these are some of the best contemporary works on fiction(according to me) other books that I would reccomend are:
Zen & the Art of Motor cycle Maintenance- Robert M.Pisrsig.(A book on extraordinary story of a man’s quest for truth )
Ulysses-James Joyce
The Old Man & the Sea-Ernest Hemingway
1984-George Orwell
Catch-22-Joseph Heller
Catch in the Rye-J.D Salinger
One Hundred Years of Solitude- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Grapes of Wrath- John Steinbeck
Trainspotting- Irvine Welsh
Jurrassic Park- Michael Crichton
These books have been featured on top 10 lists of various publications & have appeared in the list of top 50 books of 20th century by India Today book club.
I have written reviews of 2-3 pages on some of them & going ahead with others for a private magazine.
In case anyone needs any piece of information on any good books feel free to contact me.