This list consists of the usual comfort and light reading (read crime fiction and thrillers). Yet, this year I tried to explore a few new authors and read a couple of Hindi books. There were two failed attempts at War and Peace and I managed to finish a couple of chapters of My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaurd but really could not sustain the interest and enthusiasm for long in both the books. But they are still on my list for future. Someday! On the other front, I failed to go beyond my kindle and several books awaiting on my bookshelf remained untouched. Although, I did manage to read 3-4 books in their real form.

• After the Crash by Michel Bussi: I spotted this book in Delhi World Book Fair. I had never read Michel Bussi but the glowing reviews made me pick it. The book did not disappoint. As the title suggest, the story revolves around a plane crash which left only one survivor: a baby girl. No body could ascertain the identity of this miracle baby but suddenly after 18 years of the crash the story took a very different turn. A good one time read with some good twists.
• Hellbent by Gregg Hurwitz: The Orphan X saga continues. My childhood love of action comics got rekindled with Orphan X series. This is fast, hyperbolic and action packed series where you know that you have an invincible hero; yet I love this series. I rate Orphan X better than Mitch Repp, Scot Harvath and other of that ilks. Looking to pick the next one as well in this series.
• Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly: A typical Harry Bosch affair. Harry Bosch is undercover fighting ‘pill mills’. Harry Bosch and Michael Connelly do not disappoint usually. This one too did not.
• Sanskaar by UR Ananthmurthy: This classic, originally written in Kannada, is thought provoking commentary on our traditions, rituals, moral and a society in transition. A Brahmin majority village struggles to deal with the death and last rites of a reprobate, rogue Brahmin who lived his life in complete opposition of what Brahmins preached.
• The Whispering Room and The Crooked Staircase both by Dean Koontz: Both these books, part of the Jane Hawk series which started with a bang. The suspense and the plot got me hooked and I picked up one book after another. I am usually a character person so when I love a great character I often stick to the series. But in this case despite a good character like Jane Hawk I left the series midway. In The Crooked Staircase, when I came across two Indian characters Sanjay and Tanuja using dialogues such as “dear baap ji” some real gibberish Hindi sentences .. I was puzzled. Who talks like that! A little bit of research and feedback from any Indian would have given much more credibility. This puts a serious question mark on the research Dean did for his characters.
• The Fallen by David Baldacci: The Amos Decker (Memory Man) series’s new instalment. Another pick just because I liked the character and had read all the previous books. Amos Decker series is turning out to be the best series by David Baldacci.
• The Outsider by Stephen King: The latest from the master of horror and suspense, a police procedural with a super-natural angle to it. There is not much that goes wrong with a Stephen King book and this is no exception. A police procedural with kicking suspense.
• A Killer’s Mind by Mike Omer: A new author and a new series. This is an okay read. I am not waiting for the next one.
• The Escape by David Baldacci: My introduction to John Puller series. Cliched a bit but engaging. Average read.
• Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent: This story of a possessive mother has a twist in the end that is worth the wait.
• Perfect People by Peter James: This was an average sci-fi suspense (published in 2011) that I read this year. It was a strange coincidence because just a few weeks after this whole issue of gene-editing (gene-editing Chinese scientist) got the global attention. A rogue scientist creating Perfect People by gene-editing, this was the plot of this book! The book was quiet ahead of its time.

This post is almost a couple of months late. It was begging attention in my draft folder for at least six weeks. Finally here is the list of books that I manage to finish last year.

• Conflicts of Interest by Sunita Narain : One of the most engaging and informative book that I read last year! Sunita Narain gave first person account of her fight against the corporate lobbies for better air quality, for saving environment and for our health. I would recommend everyone to read this book. Here is an interview that she gave about the book for more information. This book is also my favourite because it talks about many of the things that I have been working in different capacities in my professional life and I could connect very well with what she achieved and challenges she overcame.
• Skin in the Game by Nicholas Nassim Taleb: This one is really hard hitting and showed mirror to experts and consultant in us. In one line, it told us to not give a hoot to anyone who does not have any skin in the game. This books if full of quotable quotes and can change the way you deal with your life and people around you. He also touched some controversial topics. For example, he minced no words in warning us agains the minority appeasement and how whole population is forced to submit to preferences of a tiny minority.
• Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker: Taleb attacked Steven Pinker in his latest book “Skin in the Game” and I read these two books back to back. In fact, I read this one before Taleb’s. Taleb made some strong arguments and was brutal in his criticism of Pinker but this book is a rare achievement in scope and relevancy in today’s time. However, there is =a word of caution, Pinker has used his intellectual muscle power (and often questionable quantitative data) to give sanctity to some shitty rhetoric on pressing topics. He presents a very optimistic view of the world, yet misses some key concerns and challenges. For example, in is view we should be optimistic (and not feel guilty) that we would be able to solve climate change problem by geo-engineering.
• Nine Alogrithms That Changed the Future by John MacCormick: Those who work on computer programming or are technology enthusiast will find the book very informative. I enjoyed reading about how search engine indexing, page ranking and public-key cryptography algos were developed.
• Now: The Physics of Time by Richard Muller: One of those books that require attention and effort to justice to authors efforts and erudition. Richard Muller gives us the basics of space-time and then goes on to unfurl many topics from quantum physics, different space-time theories and then proposes his own theory of space-time. Highly recommended for anyone looking to get a more detailed understanding of space-time, physical theory of universe, blackholes..etc.