| Lord of the Rings | J.R.R.Tolkien | Well , all i can say is that this is a classic ! If you have not read this then , go and grab this at the earliest and get lost in middle earth |
| The Hobbit | J.R.R.Tolkein | The story of how Biblo came across THE ONE RING. It has parts which are better than the Lord of the Rings. Read it before reading LOTR , will whet your appetite for LOTR. I love the parts in here where there are elves. |
| The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy | Douglous Adams | Well hilarious in parts. This one is good if finished very fast , otherwise it gets on your nerves. But a very good read if finished fast. |
| Harry Potter (All five .. or should i say seven !) | J.K.Rowling | These are totally mind boggling. The amount of new stuff that she has thought up here is totally amazing. Not for no reason that the fifth book broke all records of pre-release sales ! |
| Jonathan Livingston Seagull , Illusions | Richard Bach | Generally classified as inspirational , these books totally validate their classification. Cant stop getting more out of these. |
| Bridge Across Forever , One | Richard Bach | These are basically love stories combined into inspiration. Very nice tales. I got hold of these two and the previous two when i needed them the most ! ( Do you call that self validation ?! ) |
| The Unvaniquished | Howard Fast | This is a story of the American War of Independence. It is basically the story of a ordinary man , who suddenly was put in a position of power and despair , and his staying ability... George Washington. An unforgettable book. |
| Citizen Tom Paine | Howard Fast | This is also a very nice book by the same author. This one is about Tom Paine and his personal struggles for the nation, and his plight at the end of it. A nice read. |
| Godel , Escher , Bach : an Eternal Golden Braid | Douglous Hofstadter | A book which primarily investigates the possibility of AI. This book is a masterpiece. No other words for it. I am among the cult that follows this one. Search the web for this and you will know. A masterful blend of insight and style, this is by far one of the best books ever written. |
| Fermat's Last Theorem | Simon Singh | Gives an account of the attempts made on this famous problem and the final triumph of seven years of dedicated effort. Popular science and does not involve knowing any mathematics , but a familiarity with big names makes it more enjoyable. |
| To Kill a Mocking Bird | Harper Lee | A nice account of her childhood. A good read. |
| The Alchemist | Paul Cohelo | A very inspiring book. Gives you an invitation to follow your dreams and your heart. |
| To Sir, With Love | E.R.Brathwaite | This is an excellent book about how one man fights racism and attitudes and motivates his students from a public school in London. |
| Animal Farm | George Orwell | To tell you the truth , the first time i read this book , way back , i did think that it was a normal book about an animal revolution. Only after some time did i get the real plot. |
| The Soul of a new Machine | Tracy Kidder | This is the first good novel about computers that i have read.The author takes you though a journey with the researchers at Data General to create a new 32-bit super mini-computer. The portrayal of all the people in the company and the kind of things that they have to go through is totally reminiscent of what actually happens even today. A Pulitzer Prize winner. |
| Lost Horizon | James Hilton | This book traces the strange events that Hugh Conway finds himself a part of , as the plane he is traveling through is hijacked someplace in Tibet. The passengers , four westerners then find themselves at a lamasary which is almost cut off from the rest of the world : Shangri-La. As the secret of the lamas is slowly revealed with glimpses of the beauty that surround Shangri-La , situated in the Valley of the Blue Moon. The grand finale leaves you hoping that Conway finally finds his destination. A Classic. |
| Good Bye, Mr. Chips | James Hilton | Another masterful book by the same author, this book traces the life of Mr.Chips an adorable school teacher. Set during World War I the book , goes on to become very sentimental. I loved it . |
| A Brief History of Time | Stephan Hawking | A very good book , introducing you to the beautiful world of astronomy and meta physics |
| Foundation | Issac Asimov | I am not such a big fan of Sci Fi , but this book is really good. All i can say is that Asimov is the Master |
| Fountainhead | Ayn Rand | A very very well written book. Though i do not subscribe to her philosophy , she is a very powerful writer. The book tells the tale of Howard Roark , who is an architect and who decides to make his own way and follow it. There are a very few characters and everyone is casted in meticulous detail , each one showing a different facet of characters that rand wanted to display. The book talks about the usefulness of the ego and the "duty" to do good only to yourself. And even though i do not agree , i would still recommend this book to everyone just for the reading value that it renders. |
| The Art of Computer Programming Vol. 1,2,3 | Donald Knuth |
| Introduction to Algorithms | Cormen , Leicerson , Rivest |
| Algorithmics | Brassard , Bradtley |
| The Algorithm Design Manual | Steven Skiena |
| Concrete Mathematics | Graham , Knuth , Patashnik |
| First Course in Graph Theory | Douglous West |
| Introduction to Automata, Formal Languages and Computation | Hopcroft, Ullman , Motwani |
| Theory of Information and Coding | Robert McEliece |
| First Course in Abstract Algebra | Fraleigh |
| Algebra | M. Artin |
| Topology | Munkres |
| Biological Sequence Analysis : Probabilistic models of proteins and nucleic acids | Durbin , Eddy , Krogh , Mitchison |
| Randomized Algorithms | Rajeev Motwani , Prabhakar Raghavan |
| Abstract Algebra | Dummit and Foote |
| Computational Complexity | Papadimitriou |
| Combinatorial Optimization | Papadimitriou and Steiglitz |
| Mathematical Logic | Ebbinghaus, Flum, Thomas |
| First Order Logic and Automated Theorem Proving | Melvin Fitting |
| Yayati 25 Jan 2006 |
Ve. Sa. Khandekar | My first real marathi novel :-) Alankarik bhashet lihilela he pustak, tasa tar mala avadla, pan me hyala sarvochha darja nahi denar. Maharaj yayatinchi kahiani teen lokanchya tondi sangatli ahe. Yayatai, Devayani ani Sharmishtha. Changla pustaka ahe. |
| Tuesdays with Morrie 10 Feb 2006 |
Mitch Albom | Nicely written. Makes you think about how you are living your life and what you really want from it. |
| Second Foundation 12 Jan 2006 |
Issac Asimov | The last book in the original foundation trilogy. This book tells the downfall of the mule and then the search of the second foundation by the first. Written wonderfully, just the amount of thought that has gone into writing this book is phenomenal. If you like novels with mental twists in them then this is the book for you. But read the first two foundations before that ! |
| Foundation and Empire | Issac Asimov | Pretty nice book. Almost has two distinct parts, the first in which the foundation battles a strong general of the dying empire and the second in which it battles a character called "The Mule". The best part about the foundation series is that in spite of the backdrop being Sci-Fi, the core of the story is still very much humane and related to our everyday experiences. That in my opinion makes it so much better. |
| A Storm of Swords | George RR Martin | The third in the series of "A Song of Ice and Fire". After the second novel, i thought that he wouldn't have too much more to write about. That the third will essentially be a repetition of what is already going on. I couldn't have been more wrong. You will have formed an opinion of what the story is going to go like, and every lead that you took thinking its going to become big turns in to a dead end. Totally new things are introduced. And he never fails to surprise you. The only thing is of course that its a George Martin book, but in this one the characters receive much more than their fair share of violence. |
| Name of the Rose | Umberto Eco | Its a nice book, though, i must a say bit heavy. In the sense, thats enjoyable but he uses a lot of latin which i didn't understand at all, and the author assumes that you are conversant with a whole load of things that i have absolutely no clue about. But if you are ready to ignore these details then you can have a decent book on your hands. Basically a whodunit, set in medivial ages. A Fransican monk, William of Baskerville and a novice Adso of Melk arrive at a Benedictine Monestary and are drawn into a mystery where monks keep dying in a bizarre fashion. It is upto William to reason it out, in an age where reason is just beginning to find roots. |
| Clash of Kings | George R R Martin | This is the second from the series "A Song of Ice and Fire". Finally, i did get hold of this one ... that is finally they did publish an Indian edition which i could afford to buy !! I missed quite a few lunches and dinners over this book. And now i am looking for the others in the series. Just a warning though, it is very high on violence and sex content. Definitely not for kids. But otherwise he builds up the characters and the storyline very well. The storyline revolves around westeros a continent sized land mass, in which are the seven kingdoms, and the iron throne. And with the death of the current king, a lot of people are suddenly staking claim to the throne. |
| Five point someone | Chetan Bhagat | A nice novel.Not exceptional , but quite good. Especially, if you can relate to hostel life and other stuff mentioned in the book, then you will find it quite an enjoyable read. |
| Veronika decides to die | Paul Cohelo | The plot is that a girl named Veronika, decides to commit suicide, and takes an overdose of sleeping pills. But she survives only to get to know that she has only a week of life left. The story is rather beautifully told, and serves as a reminder to live life ! A very good book. |
| The Da Vinci Code | Dan Brown | Does a take on Christianity, claiming that Jesus was married and had a child and that his bloodline actually survives today. But as a work of fiction, the pace of this book never slackens. There is always some new twist every second page. I totally loved. And the dexterity with which he has woven fact, fiction and interpretations together. |
| Hi Vaat Ektichi | Va Pu Kale | His first novel. Actually, the writing in nice ,but the novel is somehow too pessimistic. I don't like too much pessimism ... i have enough of it in myself to get any from outside ! |
| Enders Game | Orson Scott Card | Amazing story. He had me captive for 10 hours continuously. Its been a long time since i last did that. And i skipped my lunch and dinner ... Maybe my speed is getting worse , but its not become as bad as i had thought. |
| Sakhi | Va Pu Kale | A collection of short stories. My first marathi novel ... it was short stories but still. Pretty good one too. |
| The Dark Tower I : The Gunslinger | Stephen King | The first Stephen king novel that i have read. He is supposed to write horror or so i have heard. But this series is certainly not about horror. It's inspired by LOTR as he says it the preface. Certainly not comparable to LOTR , but this is just the first book. Actually, i am totally confused about this one. Dont even know if i liked it or i didnt !! |
| The Great Gatsby | Scott Fitzgerald | A nice book. I found this pretty depressing ,though. Gatsby separated from the girl he loves goes in search of the American Dream of wealth and achieves it. He makes the dream of changing the past seems so much possible , before it gets shattered to pieces. Supposed to be one of the classics. |
| The Moonstone : A Romance | Wilkie Collins | A nice mystery novel. Keeps you guessing all the time. The plot is rather good and the buildup is excellent. The romantic angle is handled rather well too and so is the end. All in all a rather nice book to spend your weekend with. |
| The Celestine Prophesy | James Redcliff | An excellent book , can be classified as alternate lifestyle or something. Borders on spirituality. The book is set as a novel in which the lead character hears about an ancient manuscript found in Peru , which tells about the human future. He decides to look for the manuscript and finds himself caught up in an adventure he did not bargain for. The nine "insights" give how the human race will go forward. A very well written book. |
| Surely you are Joking , Mr. Feynman | Richard Feynman | A very good book. Here feynman talks about various incidents in his life , right from his childhood. Offers a peek behind the life of one of the most influential and charismatic physicists of the last half the 20th century. For me it also served as an inspirational book. Gave me the message never to quit and enjoy the best that life has to offer. |
| Surreal Numbers | Donald Knuth | A nice book. Tells you about the way in which one goes about doing research in something like pure mathematics. |
1. Silmarillion - J.R.R.Tolkein (Edited by Christopher Tolkein) This is the backdrop for the more famous Lord of the Rings. 2. The Book of Numbers John Conway and Richard Guy 3. How to solve it Polya 4. Geometry Audin
1. The Magus - John Fowles The Godgame. How a young man falls into the trap of a millionaire and a magician. 2. The French Lieutenant's Woman - John Fowles 3. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov 4. Lord of the Flies - William Golding Its a classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island. And how civilization is only skin deep. 5. Go Ask Alice A teenaged girl's dark journey into the world the of drugs. 6. Necromancer - William Gibson The first "cyberpunk" book. This is the guy who coined the name cyberspace. 7. Summer of my German Soldier - Betty Greene A young girl , from Arkansas falls in love with a German POW. 8. The Earthsea Cycle - Ursula k. Le Guin 1. A Wizard of Earthsea 2. The Tombs of Atuan 3. The Farthest Shore 4. Tehanu 5. The other wind Technical : 1. A Course in Combinatorics J.H.van Lint , R.M.Wilson 2. Feynman Lectures on Computation Richard Feynman 3. How to lie with statistics Darrell Huff 4. Computers and Intractability : A Guide to the Theory of NP-Completeness Garey and Johnson