25 Books that I read in 2024

It has become my annul ritual to post a review and rating for the books I had read in the year that just got concluded. I read 25 books last year and here is my review and rating for each. If you have read any of these, have any perspective to add or have any recommendation for me, please feel free to drop a comment!

My goal for 2025 - to read 26 books and with a specific aim of reading at least 10 books in the set of paperback books that are already with me, many bought on impulse, catching dust somewhere.

1. A Shot at History by Abhinav Bindra

   What is the book about: Everyone knows the unprecedented achievement of the great Abhinav Bindra – winning the first ever individual gold medal at the Olympic games. But do you know what goes through the mind of this Olympian during his/her journey? Abhinav has written this book so well that you literally feel his emotion as he grinds his way up - shot by shot, day by day for years together towards the epitome of excellence. We understand how lonely it is, how you plays mental games with yourself all the time, how sportspersons achieve in India despite the government and not because of it. A book that truly makes you want to push yourself just a little bit more everyday

   Rating: 5/5

   

2. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

   What is the book about: If there is ever a book that amazes you without an end, it’s this one. You might think of Trevor Noah as a world-famous comedian and TV host but his childhood in South Africa is a stuff of legends and he has countless amusing stories to tell. Beyond his own stories, his vivid description of post-Apartheid South Africa, an extremely heterogenous country trying to find some shape and sanity, is something that delights you. You can’t help but compare it to the diversity you see in India as well which is a both –a boon and a bane

   Rating: 5/5

   

3. Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton

   
   What is the book about: It gives you an idea of how it used to be like in the world of Harry Potter movies, be it the sets, the legendary cast and the complex movie making. However, Tom Felton also goes beyond the movies to give you an honest reflection of his life, both in the spotlight and beyond it, with typical British wit sprinkled throughout.

   Rating: 4.5/5

   

4. City of Djinns by William Dalrymple

   
   What is the book about: This is Dalrymple’s love letter to the city of Delhi and it’s glorious but lost history. He writes about his year in Delhi more than 2 decades ago where he makes that extra effort to dig into the hidden history that is buried somewhere in bits and pieces across Delhi. Unlike some other books, Dalrymple knows how to add amusing characters and anecdotes from his experiences in Delhi into a larger picture that he is trying to portray

   Rating: 4.5/5

   

5. This Divided Island by Samanth Subramanian
   

   What is the book about: Some books are slow burners that need some patience to get through but once you read it fully, it lingers in your mind and created a near permanent impression. This Divided Island is one such book and throws well researched first-hand insights into how civil war tore Sri Lanka apart and how after-effects still linger today through trauma and physical devastation. Despite being written by a Tamilian from TN, it does not hold back from being equally critical of the LTTE as he is of the Sri Lankan government. The vivid visualisations were a treat for the mind

   Rating: 4.5/5

   

6. Chasing Hope by Nicholas D. Kristof
   

   What is the book about: I didn’t know who this author is and what his claim to fame was but picked this book up anyway. Kristof happens to be a Pulitzer Prize winning long time journalist at the New York Times and this book was his adventurous memoir. He describes his early days and his east European background and his crazy experiences at warzones like Congo, Afghanistan, Lebanon and also in China, Japan and of course, the USA. His insight and wisdom about the roles of journalists makes you “chase hope” that the dystopian news channels today, can change for the better

   Rating: 4.5/5

   

7. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
   

   What is the book about: The Anxious Generation is on top of almost all non-fiction best sellers lists this year and is one of the most relevant reads in modern human history. Haidt dives into the world of cells phones and social media and how it has made an entire generations of Gen Zs and Gen Alphas into anxious being who seems to live every moment, just to portray themselves to be better than they really are, thereby perpetuating an alarming epidemic even more. Kids used to be more used to the outdoors and learnt things on their own but now, parents' have become so over-protective that kids now are under supervised in the online world but over supervised in the offline world. Amongst his other suggestions, Haidt advocates for limiting the access to social media for all under 16 - something that is already in play in Australia now

   Rating: 4.5/5

   

8. Smokes and Ashes by Amitav Ghosh
   

   What is the book about: A wonderful book if you want to understand how both India and China were shaped and got worse off by the insatiable demand for Opium where the British milked India for all its production demands and how it coerced China to purchase it and shape its local laws accordingly. We understand how Bombay became a great city of trade, how Bihar and UP became so impoverished and why China feels so angry at the West in the modern through it’s “Century of Humiliation”. This is a piece of history you wont easily come across in textbooks

   Rating: 4.5/5

   

9. The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
   

   What is the book about: A book that was more complicated to read than I thought where Haidt, now popular for his new book The Anxious Generation, explains how polarized people behave through his 6 Foundations of Morality theory. It explains why liberals or conservatives behave the way they do through different prisms such as disgust, group loyalty, deference to authority, justice/equality and so on. Great for someone who likes the world of morality

   Rating: 4.5/5

   

10. How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner
    

    What is the book about: Another unique book that you must read if you are in a managerial decision-making role in the corporate world. The author, himself vastly experienced with larger than life projects, shows how so many large projects (like the Sydney Opera House or the Montreal Olympics) can turn out to be disastrous financially or functionally because it was poorly thought through and executed and are often pet projects of those in power. He gives examples of projects that were well executed (London Heathrow Airport T5 or the Guggenheim, Bilbao) the factors that led to them being successfully executed. I wish the makes of the Ejipura Flyover had read this book, back in the day. Sigh

    Rating: 4.5/5

    

11. Another Sort of Freedom by Gurucharan Das
    

    What is the book about: Gurcharan Das’ latest book, his memoir Another Sort of Freedom”. I had read his magnum opus “India Unbound” back in the last few months of my undergrad days and was blown away by the book so I picked this one immediately. The book covers his journey from being born in Lahore, witnessing the brutal partition while moving eastwards to India, moving to the US, coming back to India (and other countries) to become a CEO of P&G and finally retiring early to become a full-time writer for the last 2+ decades. Das shows plenty of flaws and can appear to be unlikeable in his later years but I am also influenced by his journey, his reflections on philosophy and modern India, his belief in open market liberalism and scepticism of both the INC and BJP and most importantly, his brutal honesty about his journey and all his flaws. I am also inspired by the fact that he had made writing a life-long habit which helped in transform into a full-time writer years later.

    Rating: 4.5/5

    

12. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
    

    What is the book about: This is a memoir in disguise where the author, who is a therapist, explains the stories of various patients that come to her and how each of them have some hidden trauma or experience that had led them to be in this predicament. The author’s interaction with her patients are a treat to read and makes you sympathetic towards those who go through tough times. The only weak link in the book for me was the reason for the author’s own mental troubles for which she visited another, more experiences therapist

    Rating: 4.5/5

    

13. Em and the Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto
    

    What is the book about: High quality fiction from India is not that easy to come by and this book fit the bill about nicely. We get a glimpse of simpler times more than 40 years ago where a job as a typist or a secretary were given a thumbs up by society. Most importantly, this book is about family and their tryst with a mental health ordeal and tough love

    Rating: 4/5

    

14. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
    

    What is the book about: Abraham Verghese is a star author now and even has a seven piece series with Oprah on this very book (that you can catch on YouTube). The Covenant of Water is an epic that describes the journey of 3 generations of a Malayali family, right from the early 20^th century to the 1970s and how an underlying theme of a particular disease links all these stories together. What I liked about the book was the fantastic visualisation of the India of the yesteryears, especially Kerala and Madras. Some of the characters were really well portrayed as well. However, the book is at least 100 pages too long and you get a little tired towards the end. A good read nonetheless.

    Rating: 4/5

    

15. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnies Garmus
    

    What is the book about: A gripping best-seller book that describes a woman’s journey through tough times, tragedy and needing to navigate patriarchy and how she evolves from becoming a chemistry lecturer to a TV star.

    Rating: 4/5

    

16. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
    

    What is the book about: The slow burning story of a single and asocial young woman in Glasgow who lives by herself, with vivid characters such as a toxic mother, a bumbling IT repair man and an old man who both of them end of saving. My main takeaway from the book, apart from the mental troubles faced by certain characters, is to trust in the sheer kindness of strangers and believing that people can be good, without any ulterior motivation hidden from sight

    Rating: 4/5

    

17. A little History of Economics by Niall Kishtainy
    

    What is the book about: An easy breezy book that does exactly what the title states – gives you a nice snapshot of how the field of economics has evolved over the years from the philosophers of Ancient Greece to the new thinking during the enlightenment to Keynes, Milton and modern economics. It does not get lost in jargon which is its key strength

    Rating: 4/5

    

18. Educated by Tara Westover
    

    What is the book about: Tara Westover describes her extraordinary childhood and adolescence in rural mid-west America which is deeply orthodox Mormon Christian and her family takes this to the extreme extent. Her father, in particular, seemed like a lunatic who justified anything and everything in the name of preparing for the Last Judgement. While this books keeps you engaged, it’s also wants you to make you pull your hair out at various times

    Rating: 4/5

    

19. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
    

    What is the book about: I have a knack of re-visiting World War 2 from time to time via books, shows or movies. This book describes the lives of 2 sisters based in France and their world during the brutal Nazi occupation of France in the early 1940s. The characters are well developed, and the visualization is vivid. Having said that, the book does not live up to its crazy high rating. I’ve seen/read better – Band of Brothers is easily better.

    Rating: 4/5

    

20. The Culture Maps by Erin Mayers
    

    What is the book about: If you’ve worked in a multi national company where you have colleagues in different geographies, you must be aware that people from different countries have their won ways of working – someone from the US can be very indirect in their feedback whereas someone in northern Europe can be brutally honest. The French may believe in strict work hours but the Japanese can literally work till death. This book helps you appreciate and understand cultural nuances a little better, which is an asset if you job makes you cross paths with stakeholders from different cultures

    Rating: 4/5

    

21. Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
    

    What is the book about: Taleb is known for his arrogance and devil may care attitude and I wanted to understand why he is such a polarising figure. This book perfectly explains the same where Taleb explains, with a lot of pomp, on how fools may get away making a fortune, thanks largely to luck, till one day – they don’t and things blow up. He gives plenty of anecdotes of how people confuse co-incidence/happenstance with causation and make erroneous judgements using this as a justification. It’s a good read if you can tolerate Taleb’s non-stop dissing and arrogance!

    Rating: 3.5/5

    

22. Kathmandu by Thomas Bell
    

    What is the book about: A slightly difficult book to read and I would not recommend it unless you’ve visited Nepal. Bell is a journalist who is deputed in Kathmandu for more than a decade and this book is all about his time there and his dissection of Nepal and its people, especially during the tumultuous 2000s with its silent civil war and a great regicide. What makes this book a little difficult to read, despite all the insights, is that Bell goes too detailed about trivial things in his daily life which don’t necessarily add to up to a larger picture. He does not show any love towards Nepal which also shows in his writing to some extent

    Rating: 3.5/5

    

23. Nawabs Nudes and Noodles by Ambi Parameshwaran
    

    What is the book about: This book was written nearly 10 years ago, and I would have given it a 4/5 if I had read this a few years ago. However, in the last few years, I've come to realize that most of the advertising world promotes crappy products ranging from junky foods like Maggi or chocolates or chips to "fairness creams". Vehicle companies promote ads with their car and bikes vrooming through streets and rugged terrains and have subconsciously made generations of people in India behave the same way on the roads of India. Ads targeting children are especially the worst. I admire the writer's ode to the cultural impact of these ads and make you nostalgic when it recalls so many legendary and cult ads of yesteryear. It gives details on how the advertising scene developed in India and used various media innovatively.
    Having said that, the author's tone is too reverential towards advertising and understandingly so because he was an ad man all his life.
    Rating: 3/5

    

24. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
    

    What is the book about: Anthony Bourdain is a celeb chef with his own cult fan following so I wanted to know what the hype was all about. This books describes his pre-celebrity days through his early years working in Portugal and New York. The honesty from Bourdain turns into a crude vomit of how messy the world of a kitchen is. The workings of a restaurant kitchen was something good to read about but the excessive cussing and esoteric American/European dishes he keeps describing was a pain to get through

    Rating: 3/5

    

25. Sanghi Who Never Went to A Shakha by Rahul Roushan
    

    What is the book about: Rahul’s claim to fame was that he was the brains behind the viral “Faking News” website and page. In an age where there is enough literature written by the liberal/woke side, I want to read a little more about how the right wing in India thinks. Unfortunately, this book was as clumsy as the name of the title and I had to give up on it after 55% of it. A few insights into his life in Bihar or during his media days in Delhi were nice but the book really dragged on otherwise

    Rating: 2.5/5