Books I read during 2012 (mostly)....

These are some of the interesting (mostly) fiction books that I got a chance to read through the year 2012 (and some in 2011, as well). I have excluded some titles which I don’t think would be relevant, like text books etc.

The book list given here are mostly titles that you can just pick and read (or AVOID reading) as the case may be. You don’t usually require any significant/specific background to read these. Some of the titles like the Godfather, etc. I keep re-reading, as I always find some nuance missed earlier or just because they are too awesome to enjoy just once.

1.       The Godfather – Mario Puzo

Awesome-ness at the best!!  Personally, I am pretty naïve and always a bit of a greenhorn in interpersonal relations. So I always like something from which I can learn a few things. From this book, you can learn a LOT. For instance, the Godfather is portrayed as a fair and polite man to his friends and family and a ruthless man to his enemies. Even though he operated outside the law, one would like to have his personality and charisma, not to mention the crystal-clear thought process. A man commanding respect. It’s a classic and an absolute MUST READ.

My ratings: 4.5/5 stars

2.       Currency Wars – James Rickards

Very insightful and interesting. The book starts with a war-game simulated by the US Army to explore consequences of an economic strike against the US Dollar. Even if you are not entirely from the markets, or don’t much care about the Niftys and the Sensex, still you do your investments, whether planned or not and that fact itself makes it a worthy read. Don’t worry, there is very little jargon, if any at all, and is pretty engaging read. However, the ending is a bit of a letdown as I felt the author hurriedly finished the narrative, and also didn’t come back on the simulation’ exercise properly which had set the whole thing in motion in the first place. Barring the conclusion, the stuff in between is worth your time.  

My ratings: 3.5/5 stars

3.       The Lazarous vault – Tom Harper

A young management trainee lands up a job at a secretive Investment banking firm which is holding secrets of families since medieval times. While the premise is nice, the story is absolute mayhem. The protagonist, not only murders all and everything known as corporate ethics, nonchalantly two times her boyfriend for her geriatric boss (talk about ethics) only to do some crazy running around Europe, dodging bullets all for some worthless piece of junk. The plot and treatment is so full of holes and the narrative is confused between being a thriller and Mills & Boons. Writing style is a cocktail of 30ml of Dan Brown’s pet monkey, 10 ml of Stephenie Meyer topped up with a week-old sparkling water, kept out the window sill, beside a busy dusty highway. Need I say more? Total time waste.

My ratings: 0/5 stars

4.       Fear is the Key – Alistair Maclean

Standard Maclean fare, recommended read for the young of heart and adventurous at soul.    Always makes me go into the “Maclean hero” mindset mode (at least for a few minutes), where I am uber cool, cynical and (hopefully) incredibly smart too.

My ratings: 3/5 stars

5.       Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – JK Rowling

Once a Potter fan, always a Potter fan. But still, the narrative was a bit confusing to me. Who won whose wand? Whose wand is faithful to whom? Phew! Almost like a soap opera of wand-wizard clandestine affairs secreted in a children’s book. I know diehard fans like Vandana, Hiral & Sir, will mightily disagree and force me to see reason, but…I believed that the earlier Potter books were much more enjoyable.

My ratings: 3.5/5 stars

6.       The day of the Jackal – Fredrick Forsyth

Thriller incomparable about how a cunning & ruthless assassin Carlos, “the Jackal” is hired to bump off the President of France. It’s pretty old times stuff, but has vintage value like an old wine. One is almost nostalgic, about good old days of political intrigue and a master assassin who relies more on audacious but meticulous planning and intelligence to penetrate the target’s (here the President’s) security cordon, much unlike the present day stylized, choreographed action sequences which have ruined thriller movies to mere adrenaline rides. Here, there are no clichéd “end of the world” crises or the “world domination” scenarios. I re-read it and still found it interesting. If you haven’t read this, and claim to like thrillers, you really need to have a re-look at that claim of yours.

My ratings: 4/5 stars

7.       Three men in  a boat – Jerome K Jerome

As the name suggests, three friends decide to go on a boat ride. The result is mayhem and madness. If you like humor, this book and Catch-22, by Joseph Heller are some you MUST read, if you haven’t already.

My ratings: 3.5/5 stars

8.       The Silva Mind control Method – Jose Silva

This is my first brush with meditation techniques. And they are enumerated in a pretty easy to follow and lucid manner. Again, these are the books before Rhonda Byrone burst into the scene. But while hers in more on “having faith”, this is more on communicating with oneself and a higher consciousness.
My ratings: 3/5 stars

9.       Dork: The Incredible Adventures of Robin 'Einstein' Varghese – Sidin Vadukut

For the uninitiated, Vadukut is a renowned blogger whose blog has almost cult following. Remember that awfully funny tribute to Cricketers like Venkatesh Prasad, Anil Kumble etc. that got fwd-mailed like crazy? The book is a nice one time read, though at times I got a bit irritated by the protagonist’s predictable antics. If you have a MBA degree or are familiar with management jargons and consulting world, you will enjoy it all the more.

My ratings: 3/5 stars

10.   Mafia Queens Of Mumbai – S H Zaidi

We all know of sinister male gangsters of Mumbai. But there were a few femme fatales too, who deserve a mention of their own. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few names are picked up for a filmmaker to base a film on. The author is a renowned journalist and the stories are decently researched. Racy, spicy and thrilling. I think if you like “Satya” or “Company”, you will like this book too.
My ratings: 3.5/5 stars

11.   A prisoner of Birth – Jeffrey Archer

This is a rendition of the old classic, “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexander Dumas. The story was one of my favorites in my childhood and I believe that Archer has done reasonable justice to the tale. Apart from the escape from the jail bit, which is a bit far-fetched, the rest is pretty ok. Of course, he adds some of his own touches, but overall, pretty enjoyable.

My ratings: 3.5/5 stars

12.   Foundation – Issac Asimov

All hail the first book of the seminal Foundation series. Set in distant future, when the Human race has so far spread in the Galaxy, that they no longer even remember Earth. The center of Galactic power is at Trantor, where Psychohistorian Hari Seldon, using his mathematical models predicts the end of the Galactic Empire and foresees a thousand year long anarchy. He has to now prepare his plans to minimize the human sufferings and see to a quick establishment of new order with minimum loss. 

The book gives you an all new perspective. Paul Krugman, a nobel laureate in Economics, cited this book as his inspiration for taking up the subject. You can guess the quality of this book.

My ratings: 4/5 stars

13.   The lost symbol – Dan Brown

This is when a famous author tries to make a re-visit his earlier work and earn his gazillion dollar paycheck once again by presenting his left-over notes of previous best-sellers, copying the style and the theme, but forgetting to add a decent story line with it. The result is a million dollar headache inducing book.

Please Mr. Brown, the next book, if there is one, better be something fresh and creative or else, you may do well to look up the fate of a certain director called RGV in Indian cinema.

My ratings: 2/5 stars

14.   Swami & friends – RK Narayan

Unspoilt childhood days of those golden times. A simple but heart-warming tale set in a distant past when friendships blossomed naturally, and games were simple and fun. Of tyrannical school teachers and strict fathers who are all intent on imbibing “character” on 8 year olds. Of times when kids had open spaces to play, forests to explore and sometimes even get lost within it. Of a time when media & advertisers and pedophiles hadn’t begun attacking their vulnerable minds. I believe that Narayan, is undoubtedly the BEST and the most underrated of authors I have ever read. Almost ALL of his works are very good.

My ratings: I am too small to rate Mr. Narayan

15.   Eaters of the dead – Michael Crichton

The story is about a 10^th century Arab who travels with a group of Vikings to English countryside and joins them in a fight against  one of the last tribe of Neanderthals. The narrator is an Arab (Ahmed Ibn Fadlan, who actually did travel to Viking lands and left an account of his observations) who adds to the unique perspective. The rest of the story is essentially “Beuwulf”, but re-told in Crichton style. Interesting read.
My ratings: 3.5/5 stars

16.   Timeline – Michael Crichton

Pretty well written. The story deals with a time travelling bunch of archaeologists & scientists who go to medieval England during a simmering war between the English and the French. The treatment of parallel universe bit explained with the “diffusion of light” experiment I read in school was thrilling. This was the first book that got me interested in the medieval times of lawlessness and strife but also of clean air, water and pristine lands MINUS the noise that is all so pervasive today. The observations are so astute, you are actually transported to a different world. Little wonder then that one of the archaeologists chooses to stay behind. Good read.

My ratings: 3.5/5 stars

17.   A study in Scarlet – Arthur Connan Doyle

Got it free from the Gutenberg project and happily re-lived the bygone era of solid characters and mind-boggling deductions from the inimitable Holmes. It’s a timeless CLASSIC and I am too ordinary to try & rate something like this.

My ratings: 3.5/5 stars

18.   Pirate Latitudes – Michael Crichton

First book I read cover to cover on my Mobile phone. The teeny-weeny screen of Nokia e6. That itself should tell you that the story was one unputdownable adventure tale. It is an adventure story concerning piracy in Jamaica in the 17th century.

 Once again, Crichton, amazes you with the wide range of his subjects. I wonder how a single man can write so well on such diverse topics like Dinosaurs (Jurassic Park), Sexual Harassment (Disclosure) , Medieval history (Timeline), Neurology & Mind control (Terminal man), Neanderthals (Eaters of the Dead) and now Pirates and buccaneers.

My ratings: 3.5/5 stars

19.   Harry Potter & the half blood prince – JK Rowling

DIDN’T enjoy one bit.

My ratings: 2/5 stars

20.   She – H R Haggard

TP stuff. Fantastic beginning, but frankly after reaching the middle, it became a bit of a drag.

My ratings: 2.0/5 stars

21.   A short history of Nearly everything – Bill Bryson

Ha ha ha. Can Science be funny? Of course it can. Ask Mr. Bryson and he will tell you how. Very good stuff.

My ratings: 4/5 stars

22.   The Cobra – Fredrick Forsyth

23.   The avenger – Fredrick Forsyth

Both are good thrillers where the protagonists get about with meticulous planning and brilliant but ruthless execution. The cobra is a sort of a sequel to Avenger. If a movie is made on the Avenger, I believe Stallone would be a natural for the role.
My ratings: 3.5/5 stars

So these were some of the books that I came across last year. Whew. Would you believe that this post was due since January 2013? Was supposed to be the FIRST post of the year!!!

Some hard-working fellow I am.