5 Must Read Books During the Pandemic Lock Down

There are few things that most of us are doing during the lock down. Taking regular naps, streaming a lot and trying to read. (Okay, probably it is just me!) Thought would make must read recommendations of a book list that might make a lot of sense to read during this lock down!

1.The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb How many of us ever thought, there would be pandemic and there will not be any air travel and work from home will be the norm? Do any of us really know the impact of all of these? This book talks about how such events occur and how to deal with them. Sometimes, I think Taleb is also fundamentally wrong in an aspect. Black Swans are supposed to be rare, strangely, Black Swans are not rare anymore.

To buy: https://amzn.to/3dNX1pG

2. Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb If you read the above, one, this one is the natural second choice, like cause and effect, action and reaction. It talks about how to survive or even thrive in the Black Swan world. To paraphrase, it is not the strongest that will survive but the antifragile.

To buy: https://amzn.to/2R3alg7

3. Sometimes Brilliant: The Impossible Adventure of a Spiritual Seeker and Visionary Physician Who Helped Conquer the Worst Disease in History by Larry Brilliant Ideally, this should be the first book to read. If I ever want to live a life of someone, it would be the life of Larry. While most of us were discussing about Dean Koontz wrote about it, Sylvia Browne predicted about it, Bill Gates spoke about it, there was Larry who asked help me to stop pandemics. He is the man who has been there to see the effects of pandemic and been there to win it. He also gave an exact simulation of pandemic and even called for a transparent non-governmental, not owned by any country and even made suggestions. (Hello, WHO is listening?) Alas, we were all fascinated by Dean Koontz and Bill Gates. However, with or without pandemic as well, it is a good inspiring read.

To buy: https://amzn.to/3aAXTf6

 4.Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling.   One of the amazing and insightful books I read in recent times.  It is a toolkit, a framework for us to look at the world, understand, appreciate and cherish it. He is also a global health professional who has fought Ebola and has warned about pandemic. This book is antidote even in non-pandemic times to all the news frenzy, fake news and all the negativity that is ever pervasive.

To buy: https://amzn.to/3dNHhmr

5. Poor Economics: Rethinking Poverty & the Ways to End it by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo. I am not recommending them because it was written by Nobel Laurettes. I have tried reading books by Nobel Laurettes and I have no shame in admitting that I didn’t understand them. I couldn’t even read them. However, for a book written by an economist, it was a breeze to read and understand. Probably, because it resonated a lot to me. (Hopefully, more on this, sometime in future) Why during a pandemic? Due to pandemic, we are already in economic crisis, poor would be hurt more than any of us, more people would become poor. If we have to help them, it is essential for us to understand the anatomy and drivers of poverty and how we could contribute to end the darn thing!

To buy: https://amzn.to/2R4kGrQ