Here is my Reading list for 2011 -

Nonfiction Books

1. The Winning Way: Learnings From Sport For Managers by Harsha Bhogle and Anita Bhogle 

A book that correlates sportsmen and managers, examples from sports that can benefit managers in their organizations.

2. Mother Pious lady by Santosh Desai 

The book is an examination of the Indian way of life as it has changed over the last couple of decades.  A book that Prof. Govindrajan strongly recommended for budding marketeers and that meant I had to grab this one as soon as I could.

3.  The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford

While I may have not totally understood the complexities of economics, MBA has certainly ignited in me an interest to learn more. This book is supposed to be an interesting take on economics and is filled with examples to explain complex things in a simple manner.

4. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J 

Have heard so much about this book and how it had transformed economics from a boring subject to something that was fun and had made economists look “cool”, that I had to read this soon.

5. Fooled By Randomness: The Hidden Role Of Chance In Life And in Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb  

Luck, something that everybody believes they have less of it and  others have more. This book explores this very crucial life changing factor  “luck” and how we perceive and deal with luck in life and business.  The book was selected amongst the top 75 “Smartest Books Of All Times“.

6. Go Kiss The World: Life Lessons For The Young Professional by Subroto Bagchi

Have always enjoyed reading success stories of individuals. But more often than not have read only non- Indian success books. Looking forward to be inspired by this  book by Subroto Bagchi, co-founder of Mind Tree.

7. Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! - by Richard Feynman

Quite different from the management non fiction books I generally read, this is an edited collection of reminiscences by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman.

8.  The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

Having seen the highly inspiring and emotional last lecture video by Randy Pausch, I had always wanted to read more about him. Do watch the video, the way a man who is about to die soon can be so humorous and happy about life is inspiring indeed. This book should definitely make for a good read.

9. Myth = Mithya by Devdutt Pattanaik 

Devduut Pattanaik is the best Indian mythological writers and amongst the best speakers I have heard. Devdutt Pattanaik’s articles in which he takes tales from mythology and imparts valuable life and management lessons have impressed me a lot. Constructed over generations, Hindu myths serve as windows to the soul, and provide an understanding of the world around us and the book is an attempt to retell those tales and what lessons they serve to provide us.

10. Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography by Walter Isaacson

The story of a man who forced management thinkers to re-write their theories with his unconventional leadership try, this biography of Steve Jobs is right on top of my reading list.

11. The Emperor Of All Maladies: A Biography Of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The reason for picking up this book was because I wondered how could a book on Cancer become a best seller and get so much of praise from across the world. I thought perhaps only doctors would be interested in reading this book. Lets see what this book is all about.

12. The Best Thing About You Is You! by Anupam Kher 

The book came for a lot of praise by many of my friends.  Using examples from his own life and experiences, Anupam Kher’s book is supposed to be a  motivating and inspiring read that provides a handy guide to discovering your real self .

13. Snapshots From Hell by Peter Robinson

A candid tale of his MBA experience at Stanford University, the book is supposed to be one of the best takes on life @ a B School. Now that I am done with an MBA, lets see how much I can relate to this?

14.  What They Do Not Teach You At Harvard Business School by Mark McCormack

Surely a business school does not teach you quite a few things about what it takes to be a successful manager.  This book looks at the secrets of what it takes to be a successful manager that a Business school would not teach you.

 15. Confessions Of A Serial Dieter by Kalli Purie

A book that came for some praise by Rashmi Bansal on her blog. Kalli’s confessions span the 3 years and 43 diets it took her to  to slim down from a peak of 103 kilos to 59 kgs. And the journey was not a pleasant one at all.

Fiction Books

1. The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor 

A satirical novel, that takes characters from the Mahabharata and puts them in the Indian Independence moment. Seems interesting. Never read anything by Shashi Tharoor and have heard quite a bit about his books. Lets see how they turn out to be.

2. The Average Indian Male by Cyrus Broacha 

The fact that Cyrus Broacha had written a book, I had to pick this one up and have a shot at it. Should make for a light read.

3. The Mine – Arnab Sen 

Arnab Sen  popular for his satirical and humorous blog - is out with his second book – The Mine. The book is a horror psychological-thriller, quite different from the genre of writing that Arnab’s blogs are. Lets see if it turns out to be as interesting like them.

4. The Goat, The Sofa And Mr Swami by R. Chandrasekar

The rather unusual and  interesting title had me attracted to this book and made me add this book  in my shopping cart . Lets see if my gut instinct was right.

5. Life Of Pi by Yann Martel 

Haven’t read too many Booker prize winning books (most of them spend too much time showing off their literary skills than in story telling) . But a lot of friends recommended me to try this one out. I promise I am going to get back at you guys, if the book puts me off to sleep.

6. The Immortals Of Meluha and The Secret Of The Nagas by Amish Tripathi 

Amish Tripathi can be well called the J.K. Rowling of the Indian book industry. His books that have managed to mix mythology and fiction to tell the story of Shiva from a fearless warrior to a God have been amongst the best selling Indian books for quite a while.

7. Madhouse : True Stories Of The Inmates Of Hostel 4 by Urmilla Deshpande

A mix of fact and fiction, more of fact than fiction. The book is supposed to be much more interesting than Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone. Lets see how it turns out to be.

8. The Five Dollar Smile by Shashi Tharoor 

Another one of Shashi Tharoor’s books that I plan to read this year. The book deals with such subjects as the traumas of youth, deceit, death, and more told through a series of short stories.

9. May I Hebb Your Attention Please by Arnab Sen

Another one of Arnab Sen’s books in my reading list. This is his debut book and true to his blog articles is more in the intelligent humor and satire genre.

10. Just Friends by Sumrit Shahi

I got this one free from landmark, so can not really complain. Cannot be that bad.

11. 34 Bubblegums And Candies by Preeti Shenoy 

Again got this one free from landmark. Have read her book, “Life Is What You Make Of It” , was a decent enough read. This book is a collection of short stories, that should make for a light read.

With 10′s of online book stores, can one seriously start comparing books across all book stores just to save a few bucks. I believe after spending 30 minutes in selecting a book, you will end up losing all the interest in buying a book. But when you buy a book and then realise you were getting the same book at a lower price someplace else, your post buyer cognitive dissonance is going to be pretty much high. So how do you save time and also get the best book deals online, that would help you save enough to buy a sea facing Marine Drive apartment. Here’s the solution : India Book Store . This website helps you compare prices across all major online book stores in India and helps you choose the best deal. So happy reading and happy saving to all my readers

Thanks to Aseem for the information.

Even that is rare. People mostly just go by word of mouth or reviews on Amazon.com for deciding which are the best books in the market and which satisfy their literary desires. While movies are marketed with a lot of pomp and grandeur, why does one discriminate when it comes to marketing books?  In fact the money spent on books, the time consumed for reading a book, is far greater than that of watching a movie. And, yes there are even far more competitors to compete with for books than there are for movies. So, it definitely is surprising why marketing books has not innovated and not changed to an aggressive push strategy.

But things are definitely looking to change. Why should movies have all the fun says the author of Engage, Brian Solis. Brian Solis has started promoting his book by using a movie like trailer for the book.

Engage The Book Trailer

Video Trailer Of Brian Solis Engage Book

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This surely is amongst the first of its kind, and I believe this ought to be tried out by other writers and publishing houses as well. Its simple right? And not too costly too.

Create an animated video or even better hire a few actors to give your readers a glimpse about what your book is all about. This would surely help to differentiate your book from the rest and create sufficient buzz about it in the market.

There surely are many great stories hidden out there, waiting to be read. Trailer promotions for books will surely help generate interest in readers and increasing book sales. Cannot wait to see this form of marketing to hit the book industry.

Just bought this book a few days back and ended up debiting my account by a good 295 bucks. But half way into the novel, and it definitely seems worth the price.

AnujaChauhan picks upon the superstitious and cricket nausea that has infected our country and weaves  quite a creative story around it.

Zoya, a 27 year old ad agency worker, has suddenly got cult status after the Indian cricket team believes that she is their lucky charm. Having a breakfast with Zoya, is all that it would take to get over their bad form, after all Zoya was born on 25th June 1983, the very day India had won the World Cup. So off goes Zoya  with the Indian Cricket Team to Australia, to bless India with all the luck they need to win the coveted World Cup. Will Zoya prove lucky for the team and help them win the World Cup? There’s also romance brewing between Indian skipper, Nikhil Khoda ( if u cann’ t fig. out this to be Dhoni..u ain’t no any cricket) and Zoya.

While it can be predicted to where the book is headed for, it’s Anuja’s casual writing style that makes this one perfect, if you are looking for a light weight fun read.

Anuja the brain behind the Oye Bubbly and Yeh Dil Maange More campaigns for Pepsi is in full form with cheeky one liners, wicked jokes and an interesting bunch of characters.

Apart from a quiet little page which says that, “All characters in this book are fictional”..and all that crap, the entire book screams real life characters, be it cricketers, celebrities or the board executives. Anuja has a dig at all of them and invokes much humor.

The first 200 pages have been a breezy read and here’s hoping that the entire journey would be equally enjoyable. But, whatever be the outcome, Zoya Factor definitely needs to be recreated on celluloid. It’s a book that screams loudly, “I AM A BOLLYWOOD MOVIE“. Surely it won’t be a surprise to find it hitting the screens soon.

On a parallel note, the Men In Blue seem to be squashing and thwarting everything that seems to come their way. Sri Lanka has been tamed on their home soil. Four consecutive victories in a row. Surely the Zoya factor seems to have clinged onto our team

Currently Listening To : Wake Me Up When September Ends