99 Books To Make Us Wise
A CEREBRAL AFFAIR…
They say “a Reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only once!”
My B-school dean at IIM Lucknow, Rocky, introduced us to a list of ‘must-read’ books: not part of the regular curriculum, but very helpful in our eternal quest to be ‘wise’. Impressed with his advice, I have tried to read at least one book every week for two decades now. Some friends started asking for a compilation and recommendation, so here is a humble attempt. 99 Books To Make Us Wise
To make sure the readers do not suffer due to my ignorance, I have referred to other Top book lists (Time magazine, Guardian, greatestbooks.org, goodreads, esquire etc.) and read the missing ones to form a personal opinion. The list below (with all the biases and limitations of an individual) covers wide-ranging genres like Management, Philosophy, Popular Science, Fiction, and History. Classics like Animal Farm are here and so are controversial ones like Lolita too. There are Spanish ones (One Hundred Years of Solitude) and Russian Ones (War & Peace). There is fiction (God of Small Things) and there are books raising ultimate questions on God (The God Delusion), the Universe (Physics of the Impossible), and the Human mind (Incognito).
Choosing few must-reads is not easy (±130 million books have been written!), so let’s decide how we will choose:
- Life-changing: Will make us wiser. That can bring fundamental changes in our thinking and attitude, and answers the big Why questions.
- Engaging and Fun: We want to grow, but also enjoy the journey. We may not have the patience (yet!) to go through deep but boring books.
There will hardly be a universal set of Must-read books, since part of what makes a book memorable is our own life experiences that can relate to it. So, choose your chalice! A short summary/review, generally done by yours truly, is included too.
The younger audience may want to start with the ones marked Easy and then go to the Heavy ones at your own pace.
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- Curator (NS)
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My biggest dilemma when I think of reading is selection of book and your site is answer to my dilemma.
Wonderfully diverse and interesting list.. Nishant ji.. This is truly inspiring.. Congrats..
An very well sought out list.. Great!!
Excellent effort Nishant. Reading a book and summarising it as a review is not an easy task. While I am not much of a reader I am sure many others would find it very fascinating. Wishing you the very best .
This makes life so easy for people who want to read but struggle figuring out if its worth investing time on a particular book..Thank you this is amazing! Guess we have a ready list now! ?
Great list. 23 of the 100 – check. Keep the reviews coming 🙂
A great resource. I come here often as its clearly well written and informative. As a war history buff, it would be great to see more reviews of that topic, particularly when they are infused with your own philosophy. Keen also to read your review of Kite Runner. It spoke to me in a way few books have….
“…there is a God, there always has been. I see him here, in the eys of the people in this [hospital] corridor of desperation. This is the real house of God, this is where those who have lost God will find Him… there is a God, there has to be, and now I will pray, I will pray that He will forgive that I have neglected Him all of these years, forgive that I have betrayed, lied, and sinned with impunity only to turn to Him now in my hour of need. I pray that He is as merciful, benevolent, and gracious as His book says He is.”
Hi Nishant, my first visit “here”, and it was like “perfect kind of pleasure…that leaves one slightly dissatisfied”, dissatisfied enough to make one crave for more (original quote is from Oscar Wilde), the opening quote from Françis Bacon (here) evoked Wilde-esque thoughts…
Amazing collection Nishant. In past also you used to inspire me to read books and once again I am inspired due to your brilliant work and collection.
Recently I was reading Mindset by Carol S. Dweck. This books is about Growth Mindset and one of top picks of Microsoft’s executives. I hope you enjoying reading it too.
https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322
Wow….Powerful list there on the Self-help books, I actually read a few and I have to say they really help!
Great reasource…I will be refering to it as I shop…I like it…
This is awesome I definitely go for this idea
Nice info, thanks.
Well written, food for the thought. Keep at it!
Of all the books I have ever read, I would like to suggest that people read “The Secret Terrorists” written by: Bill Hughe, Published by Truth Triumphant in USA. This is the message written on the back of the book. ” The United States is in more danger today that she has ever been. A secrete terrorist organisation has been working within to destroy America, it’s Constitution, and everything for which she stands. This book gives all the details, and shows how far this terrorist organisation has been able to progress in the deastruction of America.
Get a copy and thank me later
This is great read. Keep it up
What fascinates me is the diversity of the subjects that you have covered. Most avid readers i know are usually biased towards one or two particular kinds of genre.This is a great collection which will prompt many like me to explore books of new genres based on the concise reviews you have written. From me (and a lot of others, I’m sure), thanks Nishant and kudos!
I want the eleven volume A story of civilization by Will Durant , i have looked everywhere but in vain , Amazon India has listed it but price is 35k for the set which is beyond my reach , any idea where i can buy them second hand at a reasonable price ?
Thank you Mr. nishant saxena to introduce us great 100 books change to change my self 100 positives ways.
Dear Nishant,
I recently had the good fortune of reading your reviews and advice on books. It is well-written and contains sound, practical advice. In fact, I have already benefited from your reviews and recommendations. You pointed out several things that I will remember for years to come and it is real treasure for the young generation. I look forward to reading your next review and book recommendation. Thank you for this brilliant collection.Your collection is beautiful.I wish I could write reviews like you.You write reviews exactly how I feel a review should be written, even if I can’t express it, I can relate to your ideas.Your writing inspires me. Congratulation and thanks.
Thanks for suggesting different Genres of books which every one needs to become wise in their life.
Just completed summary of ‘Freakonomics’ written by you and have got very excited to catch up with this book. Really liked the collections of books you have gone through, must say good taste.
Good job. The site is intresting and creative.
Would love to see more reviews…
Wonderfully
Nice reads.
This is a great read ! Thanks
This is a great read !
The way you defined or covered the topics is really impressive. Anyone can easily pickup the book based upon their interest.
I genuinely appreciate your help in coming up with such good stories and presenting them in such a great sequence.
Thank you