My Reads : 2022

 

      2022 wasn’t my best year when it came to reading. I wasn’t too prolific and to make matters worse, I picked up the “wrong one” fairly often. Sports occupied a higher-than-usual share in my list. Some biographies (Vajpayee and McEnroe) were outstanding . My fiction selection could have been a lot better. The good news is we are already in a new year so one can make amends.

      My top picks for the year :

      Non Fiction : Kishore Kumar (Anirudha Bhattacharjee/ParthivDhar)

      Fiction : Murder at the Mushaira (Raza Mir)

Non – Fiction :

1.       Think Again (Adam Grant) 8/10 : a powerful work on keeping an open mind to continuously re-examine one’s own beliefs and retaining the curiosity to question widely accepted assumptions. 

2.       The Flaneur (Edmund White) 7/10 : “Flaneur” (means “stroller” or “saunterer”) is a nuanced description of Paris, arguably the world’s most fascinating city. The writer captures them all- the chic Avenue Foch, flea marketsof Cligancourt, literary importance of St Germain etc etc. Nuanced and humorous.  

3.       That Will Be England Gone (Michael Henderson)  5/10 :  a paean to English living. The central theme is cricket but the emphasis is also on culture, music and the overall landscape. The narrative is delivered via school, club and county games. I didn’t have enough context to appreciate much of what is written. 

4.       Aftermath (Harald Jahner) 7/10 :  a portrait of post WW II Germany. Informative and insightful. Covers gender equality, evolution of father-son relationships post return from war and cultural awakening from the rubble of defeat. 

5.       Atal Behari Vajpayee (Sagarika Ghose) 8/10 : a comprehensive and balanced biography. Lucid yet tight writing. Doesn’t meander into needless detail. Brings the man to (larger than) life. Chronicles an important, less documented dimension of post independence India . Could have relied on a more extensive range of interviews and sources of anecdotes. 

6.       Hitting Against The Spin (Nathan Leamon and Ben Jones) 7/10 :  Explains patterns in cricket using data as a powerful tool. Covers a range of thought-provoking dimensions. Reasons for Indians not batting left handed , zen and fast bowling, Tendulkar’s “helping hand” etc. Does away with softer stuff like grit, perseverance etc and clinically analyses aspects of the game using analytics. Often, the data is curated to fit the hypothesis but then, that’s par for the course. 

7.       HBR at 100: 7/10 :  A compilation of the most influential articles from the Harvard Business Review. Some essays are dated but relevant. Others, topical and insightful. Only a few can be given a miss. Dispiriting to see negligible references to Financial Services. 

8.       Serious (John McEnroe)  7/10 : The enfant terrible of international tennis writes with endearing frankness and none of the pretentious self deprecation that characterizes many memoirs. He is unapologetic for his on-court behaviour and unabashed respect is reserved only for Borg. 

9.       The Metaverse (Matthew Ball) 7/10: An excellent primer on the Metaverse. Captures its cast of current and potential characters. Dives into into the all-pervasive  nature of the beast and its deep-rooted impact on our future lives. Slightly “heavy” in parts making it difficult for the uninitiated. 

10.   Primates of Park Avenue (Wednesday Martin) 7/10 : A snide, funny take on the residents of Upper East Manhattan. Covers the snooty condominiums, social hierarchy driven play dates, must-have ocean front homes and numerous other competitive symbols of having arrived. South Delhi pales and how. The writer is an anthropologist and some of those parallels make for dreary reading. 

11.   Kishore Kumar (Aniruddha Bhattacharjee and Parthiv Dhar) 8/10 :An incredibly detailed memoir about the “God of music”. Tells the story behind the eccentric genius, friend, father, benefactor and myriad other avatars. There are facets to him that seem unbelievable and some of his pranks seem too wicked to be true.

 

Fiction:

1.       Silverview (John le Carre) 6/10 : this was the master’s swan song. The king of the spy genre’s last novel before he kicked the bucket (published posthumously). Set in a small British town with a young bookseller and a polish agent being key characters. Not his best. 

2.       Murder At The Mushaira (Raza Mir)  8/10 : An enchanting piece of historical fiction. Woven around a murder committed at a mushaira in 1857 that is subsequently investigated by Mirza Ghalib, the poet laureate of the day (ahem!). Recreates the ambience of 19^th century Delhi with all its flourish and drama. 

3.       Making Nice (Ferdinand Mount)  6/10 : a satirical take on the deceitful world of the Public Relations industry. The spin and skullduggery that lies beneath the hype is covered with amusing cynicism. The author delves into diplomacy, politics and campaign trails to come up with a somewhat readable story .

4.       The Plot (Jean Hanff Korelitz) 6/10 : Diabolical mystery thriller . A has-been professor is accused of plagiarizing a story-idea developed by one of his students. This subsequently goes onto become a bestseller but not without consequences. 

5.       Harsh Times (Mario Vargas Llosa)  5/10 : the true story of Guatemala’s political turmoil masquerading as a novel. A villainous set of politicians and self-styled revolutionaries, copybook CIA maneuvers, and a predictable specter of violence. Not exactly up my street.  

6.       Ants Among Elephants (Sujatha Gidla): 5/10 :  Dark narration of the sharp caste-divide in Andhra/Telangana. Unidimensional and lacks perspective . Avoidable. 

7.       Pereira Maintains (Antonio Tabucchi) 6/10 :  the story of a culture columnist in a Lisbon newspaper who has moral struggles during the period of Salazar’s dictatorship. Humorous and well-written. This an excellent travel guide to Lisbon if one is keen to explore its must-visit cafes and listening posts. 

8.       Other Names For Love (Tagmour Soomro) 5/10: yet another novel that flits between London and Pakistan with a flurry of Oxbridge educated, conflicted Pakistanis thrown in. I have enjoyed many other novels dealing with this diaspora. This one however, was a complete letdown. 

9.       Olga Dies Dreaming (Xochitl Gonlez) 7/10: A story about Americans of Puerto Rican origin. A high-end wedding planner, her Congressman brother, and their mother (a resistance leader). Straddles seamlessly between posh NYC society, The Capitol and an impoverished but determined Puerto Rico. 

10.   Midnight at Malabar House (Vaseem Khan) 8/10: A gripping murder mystery set in (south) Bombay just after independence. Has all the ingredients of a classic thriller. The author also touches upon the post-partition psyche from numerous angles whist providing the odd glimpse into spicy SoBo razzmatazz.

My Reads :2021

 2021 was a high-opportunity year with restricted activity thanks to a continuing pandemic. One began the year well but got distracted as it progressed. I managed to read more on Sports than I usually do. Could certainly have done better on History and Technology. This wasn't my best year on choosing novels. I did manage to cover some celebrated writers : Tolstoy, Jhumpa Lahiri and Coetzee but most works flattered to deceive. A couple of translations were brilliant. 

My picks of the year:

Non Fiction: 

The Master (Christopher Clarey)

The Piano Shop On The Left Bank (T E Carhart)

Fiction: 

Disgrace (J M Coetzee) 

There Is Gunpowder In The Air (Manoranjan Byapari)

The List:

Non Fiction: 

- No Filter (Sarah Frier) : The story behind Instagram . Reads like most bay area stories. Starts well but loses its way largely by obsessing over pointless detail. Worth a read only if one has keen interest in startups. 6/10 

- Harold Larwood (Duncan Hamilton) : Excellent biography of one of the best fast bowlers ever. "Bodyline" was a Australian TV series one watched when in school. This is an excellent account of that series from the other end of the lens. The pronounced social divide and its consequences on the working class sportsmen is captured articulately. 7/10 

- How To Be A Dictator: (Frank Di Kotter) : Topical narrative around the personality cult in the twentieth century. Takes one through some of the more despotic leaders of the time. Slightly unidimensional. Given the personalities selected, the writer could have added a lot more colour. 6/10. 

- Hot Seat (Jeffrey Immelt): this was a much awaited business biography in 2021. Largely flattered to deceive . Remarkably low on introspection or strategic perspective. 6/10 

- The World For Sale (Javier Blas & Jack Farchy) : tells the story of little known commodities traders. Covers their modus operandi and significant (but low visibility) impact on geopolitics. Very well-written and highly recommended if one follows global trade. 8/10

- The Piano Shop On The Left Bank (T E Carhart): Memoirs of a piano-obsessed American writer courtesy a chance visit to an "atelier" in Paris. The writers personal journey largely via a strong bond with an expert repairman who also doubles up as a "music philospher". Myriad elements of piano making are narrated with romantic flourish. One also learns about moods of a piano and idiosyncracies of western composers. Highly engrossing. 8/10

- Killing Rommel (Steven Pressfield) : An anticlimactic description of the British Long Range Desert Group's failed attempt to hunt and kill Field Marshal Rommel aka "The Desert Fox". Offers little or no portraiture of the chivalrous military general. Comes short on promise. 5/10 

-  AI Superpowers (Kai-Fu Lee) : Cogently explains the AI big picture albeit with disproportionate best on China. Insightful perspective on the market-driven entrepreneurial spirit of the Chinese. Brings out the sharp contrast with the mission driven spirit that American institutions seek to be (or purport). 8/10

- Bjorn Borg And The Super Swedes (Matts Holm and Ulf Roosvald): Delves into history and background of the Swedish tennis system that churned many a superstar with assembly line frequency. Covers many idiosyncratic personalities who played in arguably the most colourful era of modern tennis 8/10

- The Tatas, Freddie Mercury And Other Bawas (Coomi Kapoor): Brilliant chronicle of the "sui generis" Parsi community who have impacted significant cross sections of society: industry, music, science, law, philanthropy etc. Has an optimal mix of history, perspective and anecdotes. Disproportionate focus on the Tatas but there is advance warning. 8/10

- The Master ((Christopher Clarey): an absolutely masterful biography of Roger Federer. Supremely balanced and very comprehensive. Covers his game, personal habits and philosophy in equal measure. A great tutorial for anyone seeking to understand the perspiration behind a seemingly effortless genius. 9/10

- Talking To Strangers (Malcolm Gladwell): a typical Gladwellian work . Cross-section of counter-intuitive data points stitched together with brilliant storytelling. 6/10

-  Premonition (Michael Lewis): detailed research and racy writing on the exhaustive body of work in the American medical system toward pandemic control. The context doesnt begin with Covid but leads well into the disaster and its aftermath. 7/10 

Fiction : 

-  The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Leo Tolstoy) : a dark short tale narrating the suffering of a judge in his final days. Morose and dark. 4/10 

- Homeland Elegies (Ayad Akhtar) : Poignant autobiographical essay of a Pakistani American playwright. Deals with the impact of post 9/11 America on Muslims. The plot is avoidably convoluted. Apologies to Barrack Obama who seems to have rated this one way higher than I did. 6/10

- Whereabouts (Jhumpa Lahiri) : Reads like an autobiographical compilation of diary entries or blogs. One half reads like a travelogue while the other is largely psychobabble. The prose is effortless and languorous. 5/10 

- There's Gunpowder In The Air (Manoranjan Byapari): Heart rending, incisive novel set in Naxal Bengal. A group of Naxals plotting a jail break to send an anti establishment message. Offers a thought provoking glimpse into the ethos of the (misplaced) movement. The author was a rickshaw puller who came into contact with naxals in prison. He was encouraged to take the pen by Mahasweta Devi. 7/10

- Home Fire (Kamila Shamsie): deals with the complex existence of Pakistani immigrants in London. The conflict between "blending in" and "retaining roots" that grips successful 2nd generation immigrants is brought out lucidly. 7/10 

- The Bookshop (Penelope Fitzgerald) : An ageing, single lady decides to solve for the palpable absence of a bookshop in the fictitious British town of Hardborough. The municipality has all-conspiring naysayers, a smattering of literary nobility and opposed commercial interests masquerading as art patrons. The writer has an easy quaint style with periodic bursts of sophisticated humour. The novel has a damp tone and that isnt exactly up my street. 6/10 

- A Week In December (Sebastian Faulks): a vivid , comprehensive portrait of London. Brings together very diverse characters and situations into a suspenseful and intriguing plot. 7/10 

-  Disgrace (J M Coetzee): This classic deserves all the literary acclaim it has received. Powerful portrait of apartheid from an unconventional viewpoint. Racial tensions, class dynamics and politics are smoothly interwoven. 7/10 

-  The Moon And Sixpence (Somerset Maugham) : A glimpse into Charles Strickland a middle-aged stockbroker who mysteriously abandons his family to pursue his artist ambitions. Maugham breathes life and soul into London and Paris of that era. The end is a bit morbid . 7/10

-  The Lincoln Highway (Amor Towles) : the story of 3 juvenile convicts after their release. The narrative is set in Americana of the 50s and has occasional bits of the writer's trademark punch. Meanders a fair bit as seemingly needless characters get introduced with periodic frequency. The novel could have been much tighter. 6/10 

-  Cakes and Ale (Somerset Maugham) : a tongue-in-cheek take at London's literary elite. It is one of Maugham's most celebrated works. Alas, went completely over my head. 5/10

My Reads: 2020

 As 2020 makes its way to the rear-view mirror, I share most people’s relief and hope that 2021 marks a return to brighter times. The virus ensured most of us stayed homebound for a large part of the year, often for months at a stretch. While many pursued new interests or rekindled old ones, I went through doing more of the same. The initial weeks of the lockdown  made for prolific reading. As the weeks went by, I experienced periodic bouts of “reader’s block” and could not do full justice to the opportunity that extended seclusion provides.

 

My list this year had a disproportionate share of Sports and World-War II (non-fiction and historical fiction) .  I discovered some brilliant new writers (Erik Larson, Kazuo Ishigoro, Mark Sullivan) and also revisited some of my old favourites (Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, John le Carre).

 

My picks of the year:

 

Non Fiction : Fire in Babylon (Simon Lister)  

Fiction: Beneath a scarlet sky (Mark Sullivan)

 

 

Non-Fiction:

 

1. Good Economics for Hard Times (Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo): A data-rich body of work.  Helps observe a few thought provoking dimensions especially in developing economies. Reads more like an aggregate of research papers than a single volume publication. One or two central themes could have made it more cohesive. 6/10

 

2. The Cases that India Forgot (Chintan Chandrachud) : An excellent read for a non-lawyer with interest in legal affairs. Broken up into 4 sections- Politics, Gender, Religion and National Security. Shorn of much analysis or needless pontification. The evolution of constitutional interpretation is lucidly explained. 7/10

 

 

3. Narconomics (Tom Wainwright) : A very readable account of the world of narcotics with telling parallels and analogies with the corporate world. The author is a columnist for The Economist and one is treated to the trademark pithy style. I found a co-passenger on a flight reading this and was intrigued by the title. Decent google reviews helped and I ordered this one while taxiing. The initiative was well worth it. 8/10

 

4. Martin Luther King- A Life (Marshall Frady) : Early 2020 seemed like an opportune time to read up about the civil rights movement and leaders like Martin Luther King. Clearly inspired by Gandhi but without the unwavering execution ability. Had more defeats than victories and yet left a legacy that only grew exponentially post his death. The writer could have used less extravagant language. “Brobdingnagian” for instance isn’t a word I follow. (it means “gigantic” btw). 7/10

 

5. Fire in Babylon (Simon Lister) : An unputdownable account of West Indian cricket. Deals a lot with the Clive Lloyd era which was perhaps the most glorious phase of the nation’s cricketing journey. Fleshes out several key players, their struggles, value systems and idiosyncrasies. Captures the cavalier calypso spirit alongside the grit and toil required to be a champion side. The writer also captures the deep rooted impact of the colonial apparatus on the West Indian psyche. This is a must-read. 9/10

 

6. The Art of Thinking Clearly (Rolf Dobelli) This is a compilation of thinking errors that most of us make owing to biases and the power of habit. Compiles a bunch of widely publicized experiments on behavioural science to make his points. If one has read Taleb, Daniel Kahneman or Malcolm Gladwell, a lot will seem familiar. If not, this is a useful summary of their combined works. 6/10. 

 

7. A River in Darkness (Masaji Ishikawa): a  wretched tale of an impoverished Japanese family of Korean origin. Describes their woeful journey to North Korea and the tyrannical misery from there on. 2/10

 

8. Catch and Kill: (Ron Farrow): This is a journalists account of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual predation and the nefarious linkages between Hollywood and the media. 5/10

 

9. The Ride of a Lifetime: (Robert Iger): The memoirs of a hugely successful Disney CEO who rose through the ranks to achieve unparalleled success. Bill Gates put it on his list of highly recommended reads. First time I went wrong with something I picked from that list. Hugely prescriptive and largely self aggrandizing. 5/10

 

10. Commander-in-cheat (Rick Reilly): a shocking string of anecdotes describing Donald Trump’s “tricks” on a golf course. The celebrated writer from Sports Illustrated tries to draw comparisons between his golf course demeanour and business/presidential dealings. 6/10

 

11. The Splendid and the Vile (Erik Larson):  An account of Winston Churchill and his leadership during the German “blitz” in WWII. Exceptional courage, tactful diplomacy and masterful public communication ensured Britain endured the crisis and fought back. Brings out several interesting and endearing quirks in Churchill. 8/10

 

12. The Circuit (Rowan Ricardo Philips): a peek into 4 great tennis stars- Federer/Nadal/Djokovic/Murray. Their styles, strengths and the mental toughness to overcome their respective tribulations. Narrated via anecdotes and a blow by blow account of the crazy 2017 ATP tour. The writing is a bit flowery at times and the writer flits between tournaments a bit too often. Possesses exceptional technical understanding of the sport. 6/10

 

13. Three Days in Moscow: (Bret Baier) : Concise, informative account of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. The narrative primarily focuses on his dealing with the USSR, especially Gorbachev. Anecdotes are used effectively to give a peek into Reagan’s persona. 7/10

 

14. The India Way (S Jaishankar) : Incisive, sharply-written primer on foreign policy in a changing world order. The author has a remarkable strategic bent. Can convey deep, meaningful perspectives in crisp sentences. Mahabharata allegories add an interesting flavour. Scholarship quotient would have been much higher if written purely as a foreign policy expert. A BJP foreign minister makes unwarranted appearances a bit too often. 7/10

 

15. Never Too Big to Fail (Sandeep Hasurkar) : Comprehensive saga of the IL&FS blowup.  Reads like a white collar crime thriller at times. This is an effective tutorial on how not to run a financial services enterprise. The 2008 crisis inspired many great accounts from American writers with detailed analysis and lessons for future. This is a much needed serious body of work on events closer home. 8/10
16. The Commonwealth of Cricket (Ramachandra Guha) : a part-memoir narrated through a series of cleverly woven cricketing tales. From his alma mater(s) to now-forgotten Ranji Trophy games, the writer brings them all alive with some vivid writing. 7/10

 

 

Fiction:

 

1. Quichotte (Salman Rushdie): Deals with the story of an Indian origin salesman who works for his cousin. Transitions fuzzily between reality and fantasy. Rushdie, one of my all-time favouriteauthors seems to be on a steady, irreversible decline. The once smooth, evocative writing has made way for laborious, convoluted prose. The autobiographical obsession with Warden Road has worn painfully thin. 4/10

 

2. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck): a painfully morose and vivid account of post depressionAmerica. Deals with the tribulations of the Joad family as they painstakingly move from Oklahamato California in pursuit of that elusive pot of gold. The visuals are gripping but I struggled to make sense of the message. 5/10

 

3. The Remains of the Day (Kazuo Ishigoro) : a brilliantly written tale of Stevens , a butler with Lord Darlington. Deals with the all-important British concept of “dignity” from many dimensions. Skillful use of language and wit. 7/10

 

4. The Foreign Correspondent (Alan Furst): an espionage novel set in Paris. Revolves around an Italian journalist spying against the fascist forces during WWII.  Portrays inter-country dynamics between UK, Germany and Italy through the pen of a columnist. 6/10

 

5. Beneath a Scarlet Sky (Mark Sullivan): Unputdownable! The real life story of Pino Lella, a Milanese lad during the final years of WWII. Crossed over and got drafted with the Nazis . A curious tale of events led to his appointment as a driver to General Leyers, the point man in Italy for Adolf Hitler. And then unwinds a tale of adventure, macabre war sights, complex emotion and (an overdose of) tragedy. Young Pino gets to sit in as a translator for meetings with Mussolini and also eavesdrop on telephonic conversations with the Fuhrer. My read of the year. 9/10

 

6. An Agent Running in the Field (John le Carre): At age 89, the spy novel king hasn’t lost his touch at all. Her Majesty’s enemies now reflect on contemporary reality. Narrated with the trademark subtlety and wit. (Alas, the author died in December 2020)  7/10

 

7. A Burning (MeghaMajumdar): Debut novel by a highly talented writer. The central character is a young student living in the slums who gets inextricable linked to a terrorist attack. Draws a very authentic sketch of the Kolkata slum life. Characters are authentic and highly relatable. Elegantly framed sentences intermingle comfortably with “bonglish”. 6/10

 

8. A Long Night in Paris (DovAflon): a modern-day spy novel on Israeli counter-intelligence. Covers the complex control-and-command structure with all its skulduggery. The intrigue filled plot is set in Paris and Tel Aviv. 7/10

 

9. The Shadow Lines (Amitav Ghosh): an intricate web of memories that flit between Kolkata, London and Dhaka with smatterings of Delhi thrown in. Deals with some powerful perspectives albeit with a narrative that is at times cumbersome. The prose is spectacular. Sometimes a bit much. 7/10. 

 

10. Netherland (Joseph O’Neill): Tale of a Dutchbanker and Trinidadian wheeler-dealer brought together by the New York cricket club circuit . (You read that right!). Covers a labyrinth of relationships and unconnected insights. Very occasional moments of thought provoking brilliance. The landscape traverses between New York, London and The Hague with ease. 5/10
11. Three Hours in Paris (Carla Black): Hitler spent all of three hours in Paris throughout the German occupation of France. This was apparently due to an assassination attempt by an amateur American lady sniper who came terrifyingly close to success. This novel is a fictional account of that hypothetical event and the gripping hunt for an elusive shooter. 6/10

      

     

 

     Happy Reading!

My Reads 2019

Happy New Year (and Decade)! In 2019, I managed to jot down a brief review and score for each of my reads real-time. The year wasn’t as prolific as I hoped for it to be. In an unfortunate reversal of preferences, slumber consistently took precedence over reading during air-travel. As an upside though I finally succeeded in upping my novel count. I got introduced to V S Naipaul. Somerset Maugham and Dostoevsky. My fascination for Hemingway continued to grow to a point of influencing my travel destinations more than once. Truth be told I could have chosen my non-fiction reads better. Here  goes…. Happy Reading!

Fiction:

-A Bend In The River (V S Naipaul):My first exposure to this highly accomplished writer. The novel set in post-colonial Africa uses simple, muscular prose to deliver a vivid, hard-hitting picture via an un-named country. 7/10

-A Movable Feast (Ernest Hemingway):Hemingway's notes of his days in Paris detailing experiences with writers , painters , critics and even mean drunks . One could read it as a novel and enjoy it just as much. The story behind the book is as fascinating as the book itself. 7/10

- Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky): This Russian classic was a bit too dark and abstract for my liking. The compelling narrative ensured this long novel stayed gripping throughout. 7/10

-The Quiet American (Graham Greene):  Considered one of Greene's all-time great works, this novel lives up to its  reputation. Set in Vietnam (pre US intervention) he weaves a complex tale of war, love and deceit narrated with trademark wit. 7/10

-The Sun Also Rises (Ernest Hemingway): Evocative and romantic descriptions of Spanish countryside woven around complex relationships. Hemingway's passion for bullfighting comes through with some vivid wordplay. 7/10

-Gun Island (Amitav Ghosh) : Gripping novel set in Sundarbans and Venice . Deals with a series of topical issues including migration and environment conservation. Ghosh is brilliant as always . 8/10

-A Golden Age (Tahmima Anam) : Debut novel by a highly gifted Bangladeshi author. Historical fiction. Tells the 1971 story from a Bangladeshi lens . Very engaging writing style albeit with a tendency to use one metaphor too many. 7/10

- Dubliners (James Joyce) : A classic compilation of short stories by a celebrated writer who has inspired a whole generation of great writers. Each of the accounts are set in Dublin and they bring numerous dimensions alive- societal rules, class divide, religion et al. Rich use of (often) archaic vocabulary. 8/10

-     A House For Mr Biswas (V S Naipaul): The novel that helped Naipaul earn his stripes. A maudlin portrait of an unhappy joint family. Clever use of dark humour. Despite the unfamiliar Trinidad  setting, one can relate to many relationship complexities and regressive stereotypes. 6/10 

• Men Without Women (Ernest Hemingway): An assortment of diverse short stories set across the world. Bull-fighters in Spain, sharpshooters and boxers in America with the odd trip to other parts of Europe thrown in. One of Hemingway's earliest works. He certainly got better with time. 5/10 
• Razor's Edge (Somerset Maugham) : A curious tale of Larry whose life takes numerous twists and turns after his return from WW1. The storyline shifts effortlessly between Chicago, Paris and London. The writer brings out the best of each city’s spirit while cocking a  sociesnook at societal superficiality. Pity I took so long to discover this writer. 8/10
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain) : Read this classic a bit late in life . Few can match Twain’s fluid writing style or clever use ofhumour. Would have appreciated this work a lot better had I read in my late school years 6/10
• From Whom The Bell Tolls (Ernest Hemingway): Easily the finest by Hemingway. The main protagonist is an American who fights with the guerillas in the Spanish civil war. Nobody can perhaps write about wars as well as the author. Depicts the heart-wrenching build-ups that typically lead to civil movements in graphic (and moving) detail. 8/10

Non-Fiction:

-What Is Populism (Jan-werner Muller): Part political science and part philosophy. This short work defines populists as those who believe (and make believe) that only they represent the will of the people. Alternate ideas, independent institutions and even constitutions are positioned as irrelevant. Draws on examples from world leaders across. 6/10

-Flavour (Bob Holmes): Why do salted peanuts and beer go well together? Can food and music be paired ? What makes white chocolate and caviar such a perfect combination? Does decanting red wine help? If you are a foodie and any of these questions have piqued your curiosity, this is a recommended read. Gets a bit too technical and hence off-putting at times. 5/10

-The Future Is Asian (Parag Khanna) : This informative and data-rich work details the expanding Asian influence on various aspects of geo-politics, economy and culture. A bit exaggerated especially while describing Chinese machismo 7/10 

-Napoleon: A Concise Biography (David Bell): Sketchy but informative work on the powerful emperor. Ideal introductory piece. 6/10

- The Unquiet Ones (Osman Samiuddin): A history of Pakistan cricket with telling glimpses into Pakistani society, class dividecolourful cricketers, interplay with politicians and the unmatched passion for the sport despite severe financial odds at times. 8/10

-Autonomy (Lawrence Burns) : A peek into the quest for a driverless car. From initiatives by the US military to Google, Uber, Tesla and who-have-you. 50-60 pages too long. 7/10

-This Time Is Different (Kenneth Rogoff & Reinhart): Well-researched analysis of the common circumstances andbehaviours leading to financial crises across centuries. Data rich and bit too technical for comfort at times. 6/10

-Army And Nation (Steven Wilkinson): My quest for a well-chronicled history of the Indian Army ended with this finely compiled account. Apart frombelabouring the class-recruitment practice, the author barely gets a step wrong. 7/10

-The Hard Thing About Hard Things (Ben Horowitz) Quasi-memoir of a successful tech entrepreneur now turned venture capitalist. After a promising start, degenerates into overly simplified self-help stuff. 5/10

- Animal Spirits (Akerloff & Shiller):  A sober account reiterating the everlasting applicability of basic macroeconomic theory. Striking and coherent arguments. Deals less with the psychological elements than the title promised. Since it was published just after the 2008 crisis, the muted tones are occasionally overstated. 7/10 

- Range (David Epstein) :  Exhaustive body of work advocating the merits ofgeneralisation. Criss crosses the worlds of sport, science, disaster management and space research to reinforce the point . The author perhaps goes overboard and in the bargain ends up with a message that is diffused . 5/10 

- Nehru: (Walter Crocker) : This balanced life account of Nehru is one of the more balanced biographies one will read. Written by an Australia diplomat who served in India twice. Deals largely with Nehru’s tenure as Prime Minister. A topical read too given how Nehru is back to being in the cynosure (for the wrongeasons!) 8/10

My Reads: 2018

2018 marks the 2^nd year in a row when I had the discipline to compile my list of reads alongwith my personal rating . As I opened my blog page I realized the blogger in me had turned immensely lazy. Fortunately, reading habits didn’t follow the same path. My goals for the year were to brush up my knowledge of history and step-up the quota of novels in my reading list. While I did satisfactorily on the former, I could have certainly packed in a few more works of fiction last year.

My picks of the year:

Fiction:

A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles) : A masterful piece of historical fiction set in Bolshevik-run Russia. Rare to find an American novelist use British humour so effectively. 9/10.

Non-fiction:

21 lessons for the 21^st century –(Yuval Noah Harari): The title is self-explanatory. Most works deal with 1 or maybe 2 central ideas. Seldom does one come across an author who provokes the mind through such a range of ideas. 8/10

And here come the rest with my self-rating:

Non-Fiction:

• The J-Curve (Ian Bremmer) : The author attempts to co-relate a nation’s openness with its stability measured through a “J-curve”. Worth a read only if one has deep interest in international relations. The theory while interesting, seems force-fitted a few times 6/10

• The Golden Passport (Duff McDonald) : A cynical account of the Harvard Business School and its Machiavellian impact on American business. Have read better from this author. Deep biases with not enough substance to prove hypothesis. 5/10

• The Undoing Project (Michael Lewis) : A quasi-bio of the genius writers- Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. Michael Lewis with trademark punch and wit makes this a fascinating read. Recommended if one has read some of Kahneman’s own work. 7/10

• Imperfect (Sanjay Manjrekar) : This was my pick for the first sports book of the year. Disappointing. Reads like a loser’s account of his career and doesn’t gel with the smart commentator that Manjrekar normally is. 5/10

• The Storm of War (Andrew Roberts) : A war-illiterate like me found this single volume account of WW-II very useful. Fact-filled and shorn of rhetoric. The writing style is simple and direct. 8/10

• China’s Great Wall of Debt (Dinny McMahon) : Well-written account of China’s economic system and some of the unflattering truths that lie beneath. Offers original perspective but could have done better on balance. 7/10

• Anita gets Bail (Arun Shourie): One is seldom disappointed by Arun Shourie. This one is refreshingly light and unbiased for a change. The research is just as exhaustive and the opinions delivered sharply with supporting facts. 7/10

• The Culture Code (Daniel Coyle) : An excellent analysis of the culture tools that create inspired and high-performance teams. The range spans from navy seals to restaurant chains to daring jewellery robbers. 7/10

• Setting the Table (Danny Meyer) : The previous book had numerous references to this memoir by one of America’s most successful restaurateurs . A delightful story of gastronomical passion and business smarts. Could have gone easy on cliched management lingo though. 6/10

• Playing for Keeps (David Halberstam): This Michael Jordan biography sums up all that it takes to be (and stay) a sports champion. Grit, discipline, emotional balance and business savvy. Read if a biography or basketball buff. One can pick up any of this author’s many works and get educated on one of the many streams he has expertise on. 6/10

• The Great Mughals and their India (Dirk Collier) : My google search “Mughal history for beginners” threw this one up with positive reviews. Provides a little more than thumbnail sketches of each of the Mughal rulers. A useful introduction. 6/10

• Naveen Patnaik (Reuben Banerjee) : A disappointing attempt at describing the political life and times of a canny leader. Has almost nothing that isn’t available in the public domain. Avoidable. 5/10 (being generous).

• Talking to my Daughter about the Economy (Yanis Varoufakis) : A former finance minister of Greece writes a lucid primer on economics. A must-read across age groups and gender. (despite Greece’s underwhelming track record). 7/10

• Stress Test (Timothy Geithner) : The author, a former US Treasury Secretary writes a detailed account on the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis. Does not sound boastful and provides diverse insights. His varying roles during and post the crisis make for an interesting combination. 7/10

• Hit Refresh (Satya Nadella) : A shoddy memoir by one of the greatest business leaders in recent times. Delves on too many irrelevant details and loses the plot while attempting to simplify ( a bit much). 5/10

• Start-up Nation (Dan Sensor and Saul Singer) : The story of Israel’s economic growth told from the prism of innovation. Provides numerous examples of the risk-taking and meritocratic ecosystem in Israel. Leaves the reader with a curiosity to dig for more. 7/10

• Factfulness (Hans Rosling) : Rave reviews built unreasonable expectations. Extensive research does not compensate for the repetitiveness around a single idea . 6/10

• The Prodigal Tongue (Lynne Murphy) : A linguist’s funny account of the relationship between British and American English. Murphy doesn’t end up taking sides while pointing out humorous origins and misconceptions alike. This was a strong contender for my best non-fiction read of the year. Highly recommend. 8/10

Fiction:

• Slaughterhouse Five (Kurt Vonnegut) : A dark world-war novel wasn’t the best novel to start the year with. Must say this largely went over my head. One of those novels that seemed fashionable to like just for the sake of it. 5/10

• Hillbilly Elegy (J D Vance) : This was considered recommended reading to understand why Americans voted Trump. While my understanding is no better, this is a powerful portrait of an important socio-economic strata in the U.S. A small-towner (from any country) can arguably relate to much of this book. 6/10

• The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway): My first classic by this celebrated author. I was underwhelmed while I was reading this picturesque story. The prose-inspired visuals bizarrely lingered for weeks after I had concluded reading. Hooked me to the writer. 6/10

• Rules of Civility (Amor Towles) : Given how much I loved “A Gentleman in Moscow”, I just had to read this one by the same author. Set in New York City, its eminently readable but alas nowhere in the same league. 6/10

• Shalimar the Clown (Salman Rushdie) : Kashmir brought alive by the only man who can bring it alive with such passionate imagery. This is Rushdie at his best, or at least very near his best. (we have to grant “Midnight’s Children” its rightful status). 8/10

• Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway) : A semi-autobiographical work by the author during his WW-I days in Europe. Simple, elegant writing that combines the pain of war seamlessly with the charm of continental Europe. 7/10

• A Passage to India ( E M Forster) : A gripping tale set in the days of the Raj. It is near unimaginable that a British author could paint such an authentic and nuanced portrait of colonial India. A must-read.8/10

Happy Reading