by Mitch Albom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My initial impressions of this book spun from its title when I assumed that the five people one would meet would be common/well-known personalities like Gandhi, Lincoln, etc. For better or worse (its hard to say) that is not the case. The story revolved around Eddie, the protagonist, meeting five characters from his life who imbibe 'behind the scene' information to him and offer him peace and five lessons (apparently these lessons are for the readers; although it is not clear).

There are post-narratives after Eddie's death which find no relevance to the main stories and desperately tries to give a dream-like impression to the entire text. Personally, categorizing this book under general philosophy would hence be an overstretch. Maybe these are the loopholes that the author tried to cover in the sequel book. Will have to read to know.

That being said, I love the simplicity of description and language in the whole book, its powerful metaphors, and the dominant ideas that have emerged out of it. Its an easy and quick read for almost anyone and works more on an ailing heart than a curious mind.

by Yuval Noah Harari
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are multiple ways to look at the history of mankind and its future. Harari chose money as the lens to peek into the past and explain how the world we know came to be and where it is headed.

In this book, which contains excerpts from Homo Sapiens and Homo Deus, Harari traced major economical events and trends across history and discusses adjacent topics like capitalism, liberalism and the role of machines in shaping us right from the agricultural era to the information era. Alongside, he discusses about consciousness and intelligence and what will man's future look along with the company of smart computers.

This book is a fun read and a crash course to the history and future of economics.

by Romila Thapar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In her thoroughly conclusive lecture note, historian Romila Thapar calls upon the hypocrisy of former colonial Indologist who discard the idea of circular notion of time in ancient Indian text.

As she argues about the notion of time and recording of history in ancient India, she touches upon the topic of dharma, Kaliyuga and philosophical aspects and implications of adopting multiple (linear and circular) frameworks of depicting time. This heavily cited book draws points from not just Hindu but also Buddhist and Jain cultures in India and Sri Lanka.

A compelling yet tough read!

by Franz Kafka
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Simple concept. Simple setup. But what a narrative. Kafka defines the meaning of the term 'alienation' as we experience it in our daily lives.

The story of coping with change, self-identity, self-esteem and family life. Kafka keen and observant eyes don't miss a single detail.

An extraordinary command in language and human perception. This is what makes this story worth reading and re-reading. A masterpiece!

Humorous, insightful and an engaging read. A must read for anyone who confuses between art and design. The author presents a viable case with respect to industrial and visual design. The chapters are not essentially list based and the book is worthy of many re-reads. Some of my best quotes are as follows:

"Anyone who uses a properly designed object feels the presence of an artist who has worked for him, bettering his living conditions and encouraging him to develop his taste and sense of beauty."

"When one studies something characteristic of a people it is wise to look at its best side, at least if one wants to learn anything."

"Errors in construction do not arise from the aesthetics aspects of a thing, but from neglect of the natural and logical techniques of construction."

"Subtract rather than add"

Kevin Lynch's thesis is a spectacular piece of research that attempted to theorise the idea of city forms. Very few researchers have managed to intervene in the abstractness that research premise offers and come up with such powerful yet simple connotations. It is no wonder that this book is helping city planners develop a better layout for the new city sectors. The book also describes the effect of a city landscape on its inhabitants.

An extract from this book was a pre-read for our course 'Narratives of a Place: Bridging Future + Past' which I enrolled as a part of International Open Elective 2018. This lead me to read the entire book.

All in all, a good read for people interested in city planning, navigation, city forms, cartography and civic policies.

Ray Bradbury's book is a fine example of a society that lacks imagination, critical thinking and memory. His text, which is less intense than George Orwell's 1984, succeeds in painting a universe which might serve as a precursor to the well known Orwellian dystopia.

Inspired from historic events like the burning of the library of Alexandria, Hitler's exploits to erase literature and others, the book raises the critical question of importance of reading and writing books in the context of digital media that has emerged in the recent decades. It is also a tale of freedom of expression and free will, of how instituitions mould the print media to realise their political agenda.

On a deeper note, it scratches the purpose of living a fulfilling and memorable life, elaborating the idea of 'touching' others with one's actions. Its poetic in that sense and reveals the frame of the author who constantly questions the role of authority and civilians in the building a community. That these events, however subtly, still exists in our society and Fahrenheit 451 is a burning reminder of the danger that looms over liberal thought and expression.