I am back after a hiatus. This is going to be my first post in months. When I thought of writing on the best book I have read I could not get hold of one single book. So here are 5 of the best books I have read, in no particular order.
HARRY POTTER SERIES
J.K. Rowling is now the richest woman in Britain. Just few years back she was a single mother who had no takers for her eccentric story. When she did, she captivated the whole world with her amazing creativity.
One thing every Potter fan wondered about, once he completed reading the series, was “How the hell did she think about this intricate storyline full of labyrinthine twists and turns when she started with the first part itself?”
Her characterization was impeccable. The Surprise element was unbelievable. I am proud to have been born in the Harry Potter era.
PONNIYIN SELVAN (TAMIL)- KALKI. KRISHNAMOORTHY
Kalki mesmerized the whole of Tamil Nadu in the 1950s with his mind-blowing magnum opus “Ponniyin Selvan”. The detailed depiction of the historic chola heartland hypnotized every reader. The book, with the greatest Tamil ruler Raja Raja Chozhan as its protagonist, is based on history. It actually fills up the mystery surrounding the death of a Prince , Aaditha Karikalan , in the 12th century. The characters Vanthiya Thevan , Vaanathi and Nandhini are now eternal here. The fact that the book has Third generation fanatics stands testimony to its greatness.
ATLAS SHRUGGED
This is the greatest creation of Ayn Rand based on her philosophy of objectivism. She depicts how an ideal world should exist by demonstrating the problem with the world as it really is. This is not a book on action, comedy, horror, thriller, sex, romance nor is it fast paced . To know what exactly it is, one has to experience the world rather than just read it. The following two excerpts aptly sum the core of the book. “JOHN GALT is Prometheus who changed his mind. After centuries of being torn by vultures in payment for having brought to men the fire of gods, he broke his chain and he withdrew his fire until the day when men withdraw their vultures.” “I swear by my name and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for me”.
FOUNTAIN HEAD
This is the first masterpiece from Ayn Rand. If Atlas Shrugged was about the ideal world, this was about the ideal man, in the form of the eternal character Howard Roark. Here, the whole world conspires against the hero. The ordeals faced by him as he overcomes the world are told in typical Ayn Rand style.
ITS NOT ABOUT THE BIKE, ITS ABOUT THE JOURNEY OF MY LIFE- LANCE ARMSTRONG
Speak of resilience and determination, its Lance Armstrong everyone thinks of. Such is his grit and resolve. The modesty with which he has narrated his story in a matter-of-fact tone is admirable. Diagnosed with testicular cancer, he rose through his unimaginable willpower to win the 2000+ km Tour de France, through the tedious mountainous terrain not once or twice but an astonishing seven consecutive times. Three years after retiring from cycling, he is raring to go once again. He is truly my most inspiring role model.
