Best Ten Books read by me in 2013!!!

1005th BLOG POST -->>

          Friends, I know how much irritated all of you get when you ask me to name some good books that you can purchase blindly and I send you the link of my Book Review's blog, "DNA of Books". Actually it's hard to remember the name of some specific books out of plethora that I read. This year I had an objective of reading 75 books and I have completed it just today. I am quite happy with the books that I read this year. Now I am getting away from those college-romance-and-love-stories book and reading something really worthy and knowledgeable. Hence, I thought of mentioning the best 10 books according to me that I read specifically in the year 2013. And yes, it has nothing to do with the order in which I am mentioning the book. 

1. Headley and I by S. Hussain Zaidi (HarperCollins Publisher)

For most of his childhood, Rahul Bhatt did not know a father's unconditional love a vacuum that the advent of David Coleman Headley filled for a while. David Headley: the dashing, intriguing Pakistani with one brown eye and a green one, a man who could pass himself off as American quite easily, a charmer of men and women alike. 

Headley inveigled his way into Rahul's simple world and, in no time, swept him off his feet. It is only when ten men made a mockery of Mumbai in a well-planned act of terrorism, that Rahul realized how close he had come to being a part of the careful plotting and the innumerable recces that Headley carried out. 

This is a complex tale of human relationships and the deceit therein. It is the story of Rahul Bhatt, an aspiring Bollywood actor, and his encounter with David Coleman Headley, the man who was responsible for a ruthlessly executed carnage, in which 166 people were killed and over 300 injured in the fifty-nine hours that brought Mumbai to heel and shook India. A pulse-racing narrative, told in the voices of Bhatt and Headley, Headley and I traces the months leading up to the horrors of 26/11 and the long months of interrogation that followed.

2. Manuscript Found in Accra by Paulo Coelho (HarperCollins Publisher)

There is nothing wrong with anxiety.

Although we cannot control God's time, it is part of the human condition to want to receive the thing we are waiting for as quickly as possible.

Or to drive away whatever is causing our fear....

Anxiety was born in the very same moment as mankind. And since we will never be able to master it, we will have to learn to live with it-just as we have learned to live with storms.

* * *

July 14, 1099. Jerusalem awaits the invasion of the crusaders who have surrounded the city's gates. There, inside the ancient city's walls, men and women of every age and every faith have gathered to hear the wise words of a mysterious man known only as the Copt. He has summoned the townspeople to address their fears with truth:

"Tomorrow, harmony will become discord. Joy will be replaced by grief. Peace will give way to war.... None of us can know what tomorrow will hold, because each day has its good and its bad moments. So, when you ask your questions, forget about the troops outside and the fear inside. Our task is not to leave a record of what happened on this date for those who will inherit the Earth; history will take care of that. Therefore, we will speak about our daily lives, about the difficulties we have had to face."

The people begin with questions about defeat, struggle, and the nature of their enemies; they contemplate the will to change and the virtues of loyalty and solitude; and they ultimately turn to questions of beauty, love, wisdom, sex, elegance, and what the future holds. "What is success?" poses the Copt. "It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace."

* * *

Now, these many centuries later, the wise man's answers are a record of the human values that have endured throughout time. And, in Paulo Coelho's hands, The Manuscript Found in Accra reveals that who we are, what we fear, and what we hope for the future come from the knowledge and belief that can be found within us, and not from the adversity that surrounds us.

3. Bankerupt by Ravi Subramanian (Penguin Publisher)

A university is an institution for higher education and research. It can also be a place where academic brilliance leads to overinflated egos, bitter politics and finally, murder. Cirisha Narayanan, a professor at MIT Boston, who has risen meteorically, stumbles upon a cryptic message. Aditya Raisinghania, her banker husband, sets up a highly innovative financial hoax. Her profiteering father harvests Australia's largest bird, the emu in India. The US elections are on and the debate on gun control has reached a fever pitch. Set in Mumbai, Coimbatore and Boston, Ravi Subramanian creates an impeccably researched world where everyone has a motive to kill. Nothing is as it seems in this cunningly vicious thriller where the plot turns on a dime.

4. A Survival Guide for Life by Bear Grylls (Random House)

From the world-famous survival expert,learn how to make everyday an unforgettable adventure

Life in the outdoors teaches us invaluable lessons. Encountering the wild forces us to plan and execute goals, face danger, push our "limits," and sharpen our instincts. But our most important adventures don't always happen in nature's extremes. Living a purpose-driven, meaningful life can often be an even greater challenge. . . .

In A Survival Guide for Life, Bear Grylls, globally renowned adventurer and television host, shares the hard-earned wisdom he's gained in the harshest environments on earth, from the summit of Mt. Everest to the boot camps of the British Special Forces:

What are the most important skills to learn if you really want to achieve your maximum potential? How do you keep going when all the oddsare stacked against you? How can you motivate a team to follow youin spite of apparent risks?

Filled with exclusive, never-before-told tales from Bear's globe-trekking expeditions, A Survival Guide for Life teaches every reader—no matter your age or experience—that we're all capable of living life more boldly, of achieving our most daring dreams, and of having more fun along the way. Here's to your own great adventure!

5. The Homing Pigeons by Sid Bahri (Srishti Publisher)

In the middle of the catastrophic 2008 recession, Aditya, a jobless, penniless man meets an attractive stranger in a bar, little does he know that his life will change forever…..

When Radhika, a young, rich widow, marries off her stepdaughter, little does she know that the freedom that she has yearned for is not exactly how she had envisioned it…..

They say Homing Pigeons always come back to their mate, no matter where you leave them on the face of this earth. Homing Pigeons is the story of love between these two unsuspecting characters as it is of lust, greed, separations, prejudices and crumbling spines.

6. The Test Of My Life by Yuvraj Singh (Random House)

A personal account of Yuvraj Singh’s journey through cancer with the 2011 World Cup victory in the background‘

That day I cried like a baby not because I feared what cancer would do but because I didn’t want the disease. I wanted my life to be normal, which it could not be.’

For the first time Yuvraj Singh tells the real story behind the 2011 World Cup when on-the-field triumph hid his increasingly puzzling health problems and worrying illnesses. In his debut book The test of my life, he reveals how—plagued with insomnia, coughing fits that left him vomiting blood, and an inability to eat—he made a deal with God. On the night before the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final, Yuvraj prayed for the World Cup in return for anything God wanted. In this book, he lays bare his fears, doubts, and the lows he experienced during chemotherapy— when he lost his energy, his appetite, and his hair—and his battle to find the will to survive. Poignant, personal, and moving—The test of my life—is about cancer and cricket; but more importantly, it is about the human will to fight adversity and triumph despite all odds

7. Someone Like You by Durjoy Datta/Nikita Singh (Penguin Publisher)

The hum of a motorbike.

The uproar of the crowd in the stadium.

The cheering and clapping.

All fell silent…

Just the thumping of their hearts remained and a question—were they going to lose him?

Thanks to the makeover by her sister’s friends, the nerdy Niharika entered college more confident, more attractive. She meets the sweet, shy Tanmay, and the spoilt but lovely Pia and they become best friends. And when Akshat and she began dating, life finally seemed to be falling in place. Except that it wasn’t… Tanmay’s success in football had begun to change him. Akshat’s perfection seemed like a front for something dark and sinister. And their college senior Karthik? His aggressiveness was a cover for his mysterious past. Someone Like You is a powerful and touching story of friendship, love and betrayal.

8. Amidst the tides lies a beautiful island by Mangala Nagarajan

Life is full of surprises and struggles. It is the positive attitude and hope that makes life successful. This story is about life and struggles of two single mothers. We generally accept blindness and physical handicap as problems, but when it comes to illness in the mind, we do not understand or try to understand the people afflicted. If I have to tell what the story is about, I will say it's life as I see it. My husband, after reading the chapters, said that there isn't any suspense or thrill. That's why I said, "I call it life-it happens. It isn't a story."

9. Mafia Queens of Mumbai by S. Hussain Zaidi (Tranquebar Press)

Smuggling, gun-running, drugs, terrorism for many decades, Mumbai has lived under the shadow of the Underworld. Dawood Ibrahim, Karim Lala, Varadara- jan Mudaliar: these are names that any Indian would recognise. Analysed in print, immortalised on film, their lives, their gangs, their 'businesses' are out there for anyone who wants the information. But there have been women, too, who have been part of this murky side of the city, walking along side, sometimes leading and manipulating men in the Underworld to run their own illegal businesses. Here, for the first time, crime journal- ists S. Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges explore the lives of some of these women, and how, in cold blood, they were able to make their way up in what was certainly a man's world. From Kamathipura to Dongri, from assassins to molls, this is a collection that tells the stories of women who have become legend in Mumbai's streets, lanes and back-alleys. Absorbingly told, impeccably researched, Mafia Queens of Mumbai reveals a side of Mumbai's Underworld that has never been seen before.

10. Faster Than Lightning: My Autobiography by Usain Bolt (HarperCollins Publisher)

The autobiography of the fastest man of all time and a superstar whose talent and charisma have made him one of the most famous people on the planet.

Whether you know Athletics or not, and even whether you know sport or not, chances are you know Usain Bolt. The fastest man on the planet, not just now but ever, Usain has won the hearts of people everywhere with his mind-blowing performances and his infectious charisma – uniting supporters around the world.

In this, his full autobiography, Usain tells his story in his own words: from humble beginnings in Jamaica, to international stardom at Beijing and on to the new heights of superstardom he has reached since lighting up London 2012.

Full of the charm and charisma that has made him the most popular sporting figure of our time and a universal celebrity, this is a book that Usain’s millions of fans will love.

   And I would like to specifically mention nothing but Amish Tripathi's The Shiva Trilogy comprising of The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of Nagas and The Oath of Vayuputras. It was an amazing experience getting into that story because I read all the three books in continuity. I actually felt that I was at Mount Kailash in those moment.

 I hope the post would have helped you.

 Thanks a lot.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!