Books of 2021

In continuation of my earlier posts of Books of 2019 & Books of 2020 , here is the list and synopsis of the books I read in 2021.

One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for a 1000 years or someone from the future. To read is to voyage through time

- Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan knew what he was talking about. Books have always held that fascination for me giving me an opportunity to travel through time and walks the paths with different people. It has helped me to expand my mind to new ideas and re-write some of my beliefs.

This year I've been in the White House listening in to strategy decisions, travelled to different galaxies and conversed with aliens, fought with Greeks and travelled with the earliest Indians - and so much more.

And Yes, I read the books - I'm not a great believer in listening to books.

Here are my learnings, journeys and travels through the pages of 17 books in 2021.

1. A Promised Land - Barack Obama: (4.5/5) A masterpiece of a book that shows you behind the scene action, discussions, compromises, thoughts, decisions that POTUS has to make in his term. As you live the halls with the President, you realise that the crab-in-the-bucket mentality is not just restricted to India and that politics, by and large, seems to be about one party trying to bring down the other with no interest in the larger good. The one thing that stays with you is Obama's ability to question himself and his intentions. A good read to understand the pressures of the 'leader of the free world'.
2. Unfinished - Priyanka Chopra Jonas: (5/5) I'm a huge and unabashed fan of Priyanka Chopra so its no wonder that her memoir gets a 5-star from me. But on a serious note, I have always been amazed by her ability to push the envelope - be it with her movies or her music or her foray into US or her community work - and was keen to know what motivates her. In a simple language, PC takes you on her journey talking about her joys, her fears, her grief, her challenges, her love and her future. If you want to know what drives a global superstar, this is a book to read. If you want gossip, avoid this book.
3. Omana, a collection of short stories - Vanaja Pillai: (4/5) Vanaja is an acquaintance and sister of a friend - so when she penned this book, it had to be read. Needless to say, it does not disappoint. Vanaja's stories are like peeling an onion. As you read each story, you uncover another facet of what women go through on a daily basis - frustrations, struggles, dreams and roadblocks - and how they overcome them. I would say that her books should be a must read for all women and men.
4. Fearless Leadership - Carey D Lohrenz: (3/5) Carey Lohrenz was US Navy's first female aviator to fly the F14 from the deck of an aircraft carrier - a career that required fearlessness and leadership skills. In her book, she brings together her learning's across her career to advice on how one can develop fearless leadership. In my opinion, this is a good book to read early in your work life and gives one some good frameworks to model one's leadership.
5. No Rules Rules, Netflix and the culture of reinvention - Reed Hastings & Eric Meyer: (5/5) Once in a while you come across a management book that makes you think and wonder. This is one such book that gives you some frameworks to manage a new age creative company. While they worked very well for Netflix, they are difficult to implement and may not work for all. But reading this book will definitely expand your mind and make you think about using some of all in your own organisation.
6. Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir: (5/5) I am a huge sci-fi fan and this book ticked all my boxes on what I love about science fiction. I breezed through this 400 page book in two days constantly wanting to know what happens next. With science weaved in beautifully, Andy Weir takes you on a journey where our Sun has been infected with an alien virus and is losing its power, an astronaut wakes up in a different start system and realises he's all alone, meets with an alien who has come for the same purpose to find a solution and......well - go ahead and read the book.
7. Alchemy - Rory Sutherland: (4/5) Alchemy, as the author says, is not about turning iron to gold but rather about making people believe that iron as valuable, if not more, than gold. If you think about out-of-the-box solutions to problems or have a creative bent of mind, this book will appeal to you. Throughout the book, Rory Sutherland uses his advertising experience to give us stories on how human emotions, mostly subconscious, govern a lot of decision making and how one should appeal to that aspect rather than the rational part. Emotions control perception and Perception drives decisions.
8. Troy - Stephen Fry: (4/5) If you wanted to know about the real story of Helen of Troy or "the face that launched a thousand ships" then this is the book for you. Written in his inimitable witty style, Stephen Fry brings the whole conflict to life. From the story of Paris to kidnapping of Helen, from the Greeks coming together to the siege of Troy, from the bloody battle and victors and losers to the Trojan Horse and the sack of Troy; Stephen Fry details each bit and makes you feel as if you are right there.
9. The Psychology of Money - Morgan Housel: (3.5/5) If there is a book on money management that I wish I had read when I was younger, this would have been it. Filled with 19 lessons on how to manage money and its implications, the book takes you on a journey - through stories - on what you could do to manage your money. Not what you should - but what you could.
10. Valmiki's Women - Anand Neelakantan: (4/5) If a women's perspective to Ramayana interests you, read this book. Why don't we hear about Shanta - Dashrata's first born - whose sacrifices led to Rama's birth? Was Manthara really wrong and evil? Was Tataka only protecting her land and family from the advances of Vishwamitra destroying the forest cover? What was Meenakshi's fault other than loving Lakshmana? Did it justify his actions?
11. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig: (5/5) This book is a beautifully written philosophical prose on life. What if between life and death, there is a midnight library that gives you the choice to live the lives if you had chosen differently? We all have regrets in life - love, work, decisions, studies. What would your life be if you had a chance to undo your regrets? The book starts bleakly, excites in the middle, makes you wonder on the futility of it all towards the end and ends on a beautiful note about life. As the book says - You don't have to understand life. You just have to live it.
12. Subscribed - Tien Tzou: (4/5) If you want to know the SaaS business and what makes it tick, this is a must read. The author has split the book into two parts - first he tells you why subscription model is the future with enough examples across multiple industries & then he tells you how to cast your organisation to become an as-a-service company.
13. Early Indian - Tony Joseph: (5/5) This is a must read for all. If you have wondered about our origins, our similarities and differences, the so called divide between North and South, our caste system and language - read this book. Covering a journey across 65,000 years from Africa to First Indians to Harappa civilisation to Arya and Vedas and caste system, this book makes just one profound statement - We are all Indian, We are all migrants, We are all mixed. Read it to understand India.
14. Aurora - Kim Stanley Robinson: (4/5) This is a masterpiece of science fiction but only if you have the patience to read it. This is not an easy read as it takes you on a journey from Earth to the stars with a group of humans. The author takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions - angst, joy, trepidation, fear, anger, acceptance - beautifully weaving a story of politics and philosophy, of differing viewpoints and compromises, of anger and acceptance into the larger picture of human civilisation.
15. The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman: (4/5) After a very long time, I read a breezy, relaxed murder mystery akin to Agatha Christie. A ragtag bunch of four octogenarians - a spy, a nurse, a psychiatrist and a unionist - are the 'detectives' in this wonderful book. Richard Osman's murder mystery is more of a gentle canoe ride over calm waters towards a destination rather than the characteristic river rafting expedition over swirling waters with a big reveal that most murder mysteries are - and that's what sets it apart.
16. His Voice - Rima Pande: (2.5/5) The book is more of a tribute to her father than a first time author penning a debut book. Rima Pande tells us a story of her father after he has suffered two strokes rendering him completely immobile from neck down. She takes us on his life story and is in turn delightful, in turn dramatic and in turn poignant.
17. The Man who died twice - Richard Osman: (4/5) The second edition of the Thursday Murder Club, this book is as delightful as the first. In fact, it almost feels as if the author has enjoyed writing this book more than the first. A murder mystery is supposed to keep you hooked wanting to know more as you keep guessing the murderers - and this book definitely manages to do that. A great read for a relaxed weekend.

If you've read this here, Thank you for your patience and wanting to know about the books I read. As I've said before, I tend to oscillate between fiction and non-fiction and I hope my short reviews have helped you identify some of the books you want to read this year.

Hope you have a great 2022 and go on many journeys through the pages of some amazing books.