The pleasure of finding things out

In April 2003 the BBC's Big Read began the search for the nation's best-loved novel, and we asked you to nominate your favourite books.

Below and on the next page are all the results from number 1 to 100 in numerical order! [from BBC - The Big Read]

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien [Check]
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling [Check]
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee [Check]
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger [Check]
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling [Check]
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling [Check]
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling [Check]
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson [Check]
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas [Check]
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell [Check]
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer [Check]
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding [Check]
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo [Check]
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho [Check]
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie [Check]

I am currently reading Straight from the Gut by Welch. It's one hell of a book, and talks about various personal and mostly professional aspects of being a good leader.

I've also been reading Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin religiously. They do make sense, and are truly independent thinkers.

Title: Hotel Pastis: A Novel of Provence
Author: Peter Mayle
Publisher: Vintage Books
Pages: 389 (softcover)
Rating: 3 out of 5

Simon Shaw is a successful advertising magnate, with a string of unhappy marriages behind him. His confidante, Ernest, orders him to take a few days off from work and relax. Recently out of a bad marriage, he agrees and decides to go spend time in France. A friend in Paris recommends spending the weekend in Provence, stating that he had the best time he's had ever, in Provence.

The rest, as they say, is the story *grin*. There is some insight into advertising and running a hotel, but only on the surface. Simon meets a French lady he likes, in Provence, and decides to start a hotel in a little town there along with her and Ernest. He counts on a simple and quiet life in France, after his hectic days in the advertising business where holidays are rare. In short, he is counting on life becoming one long holiday.

What he doesn't count on are bank robbers in the area, the local mafia using threats in the guise of providing security, and the local journalist who hypocritically hates change and progress.

The book makes for good humor, and essentially takes digs at marriage, the English and the French :)

I give it 3 stars because it started dragging out at the end.. and somehow I felt I had lost the story in the last 80 pages.

I have been a fan of Alex Delaware for over 10 years now. Who is he, you may ask?

Well, he's a fictional psychologist made famous in a series of novels by Jonathan Kellerman. Kellerman's Delaware series rocks! They are mostly psycho-thrillers with serial killers, rapists, drgu-dealers, etc and set in California.

I enjoy them because though it's told from Alex's first person perspective, it's not a one man show. The other protagonist sharing stage with Alex is Milo [Sturgis], a gay cop.

The stories are tight, with some really good suspense, the kind that wants to make me read the last few pages to know the killer and then go back to reading how it unfolds. Don't worry, I've done that kind of juvenile stuff with a few Hardy Boys, but not with such amazing books :)

I can only say one thing, read one Kellerman novel and be hooked for life! :)

I'm currently reading Gone by Jonathan Kellerman.

I just googled up Alex Delaware and realised the character is a huge hit and has his own Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Delaware.

Happy reading!

Title: Go Kiss the World
Author: Subroto Bagchi
Publisher: Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd.
Pages: 256 (softcover)
Rating: 5 out of 5

I read this beautiful read by Subroto Bagchi sometime last week. The book was un-put-down-able. It is a must read for every professional.

The title of the book derives from the words of the author's dying blind mother, who when kissed by him, is told to "Go Kiss the World".

It talks about the lessons the author learned over his lifetime, through experiences, people and luck.

It takes us through the life of Surboto, and the various people he encounters - his family, friends, well wishers, not so well wishers, etc. The thing I like about the book [and the author] is that the story takes lessons from even those who are your detractors. We follow his life from his earliest memories of age 5 all the way through his 40s. He talks about growing up, education, work ethics and his experiences at the various places he was employed [this includes Wipro and Bell Labs India].

It talks how life throws you both lemons and laddus, and how it shapes not only your future [fate], but also your character [choice].

Towards the end, Subroto talks about his company MindTree, his mid-life crisis [of sorts], and finally disseminates his views on what makes a great leader and entrepreneur.

I liked the fact that the book has some really good quotes taken from the author's broad reads, which I found really interesting. But Subroto doesn't stop at that. No he doesn't. At the end of the book he provides a list of about 16-20 books which he recommends everyone to read, especially if they liked this book.

The reason why I refuse to give away more is because I believe that certain books are to be read, and not read about. :)

I just finished reading "The Great Escape" by Paul Brickhill, and what a book it is. Don't miss it if you want some real life excitement. It's a living example of how necessity is the mother of invention. The ideas in the book are truly inspiring!

That aside, the wifey has been gone for 2 weeks, and is back tomorrow. Just can't wait :) The rains are yet to begin in Pune, and I can think of various small trips that are worth making in the monsoons. I truly want to chase the monsoons this time around :)

Currently ready "Go Kiss the World" by Subroto Bagchi and also "No Fullstops in India" by Mark Tully.

I will soon post a review of The Great Escape.

Title: Dateline Islamabad
Author: Amit Barua
Publisher: Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd. (2007)
Pages: 296 (softcover)
Rating: 3 out of 5

Amit Barua was The Hindu's foreign correspondent in Pakistan between it's tumultous years of 1997 and 2000.

He was one of only 2 Indian journalists stationed in the country during those times. His writing style is quite fluent, and lacks taking sides for the most part. It's mostly facts and figures, without the "he said, she said" drama and mudslinging.

The book is worth a read to understand the social and political atmosphere in Pakistan in the times of Nawaz Sharif and Musharraf, as well as the intricate (yet openly flaunted) workings of various terrorist outfits.

Barua also covers the Kandahar kidnapping (using phones only, as he wasn't allowed out of Pakistan and into Afghanistan due to his 3 entry, 3 exit visa that only covered Islamabad and Karachi).

The fact that every day of his three years in Islamabad were filled with an ISI agent following him around as an espionage suspect only add to the whole atmosphere that he recreates using words.

I gave it a 3 out of 5 as I'm not a political enthusiast. But the book makes good reading if you want to understand what Musharraf and his cohorts are all about, and how he came into being the President of Pakistan.

Title: 90 minutes at Entebbe
Author: William Stevenson
Publisher: Bantam Books (1976)
Pages: 216 (softcover)
Rating: 3 out of 5

This book encapsulates the true story of the hijacking of an Air France flight 139 having over a 100 Jews, on 27th June 1976. The flight was commandeered to Uganda via Libya and the hostages were secured in the old terminal building at Entebbe under the guardianship of the terrorists with full support from Idi Amin (self proclaimed president of Uganda).

The terrorists had links to the PLO, and wanted Israel to release various high profile terrorists in exchange for the Jews from the flight.

Israel deliberated whether to release hostages and do an exchange (Plan A) or to go in and get the hostages via a long range rescue mission (Plan B). A bit of luck along with lots of excellent planning and some gutsy decisions by the men and women in charge led to a successful execution of plan B with just 1 military casualty.

The story covers not only what ensued after the hijacking, but also captures in depth the workings, machinations, conscience and response of the Israeli government and individuals for the situation they were in.

The only reason I gave this book a 3 on 5 is because the writing style is pathetic. William Stevenson does his research well, but his presentation has a lot lacking. I had to keep forcing myself to finish the book as the writing in many places was almost unbearable.

(You can read more about the operation at Operation Entebbe page at wikipedia.org.)

Title: a long way gone (memoirs of a boy soldier)
Author: ishmael beah
Publisher: harper perennial
Pages: 229 (softcover)
Rating: 5 out of 5

Ishmael Beah's story of surviving war torn Sierra Leone isn't heart-wrenching, but heart-warming. It is the story of a boy who passes through stages in life unheard of to most of us: it starts with innocence, moves on to fright and fear for dear life, on to fight for life and country (he is recruited as child soldier into the army) and finally salvation through rehabilitation.

There is the main story told in chronological order, which talks about his childhood and how it is torn apart by the war (the army versus the Revelutionary United Front (RUF)). His introduction to the war begins by running away from the RUF, and ends with him working side by side with the army in attacking and clearing RUF bases at the tender age of 13.

Most of the soldiers in these wars are children, recruited for their speed, small size and easy conversion to inhumane killing machines. These children run guns and other dangerous weapons and do a variety of drugs while killing people (innocent or otherwise).

As the story progresses he intersperses the main story line with stories from his childhood, culture, and tribe, told in flashback. He is lucky to escape the war when UNICEF forces arrive to select child soldiers for rehabilitation and life away from war.

The book details out not only the war and Ishmael's part in it, but also how many deep mental scars a war leaves behind. Rehabilitation for these kids is not as easy as it sounds, and takes months (maybe even years) of slow and careful love and attention, both for the physical and mental aspects of their well being. Trust is a big issue, as these children have been through so much that they refuse to trust another human being.

Ishmeal is one of the lucky few who makes it out of the war. Today he is a human rights activist and works for the rights of people in war torn regions of the world. He lives with his mother Laura in New York, whom he met when he went to the US in 1996 to talk at a UN conference.

(According to this wikipedia article, some facets of Beah's story have undergone scrutiny for their veracity. Read the page on Ishmael Beah at wikipedia for more information.)

I am adding this book to Orbis Terrarum challenge. The author was born in Sierra Leone. (Thank you Violet for introducing me to this challenge through your last post).

I had picked this up on a whim while shopping at Landmark one evening with my lovely wife. We were in the area attending some pre-wedding ceremonies for a cousin of mine. We had some free time and decided to go browse :).

The book is interesting, but not as gripping as I'd expect travelogues to be. Let me correct that. It's not as gripping because I've set my bar to expect travelogues to be like Chasing the Monsoons and Butter Chicken in Ludhiana.

That said, it's a fun book. The guy has a sense of humour (even for a 54 year old) and a thirst for adventure. A patient who shares his thirst for riding bikes (but cannot any more after a semi-paralyzing stroke) is what gets Ajit back on the bike for a ride of his lifetime, over a decade after his last one.

He goes all the way from Pune to Shrinagar via Leh and Ladakh, and meets an ensemble of interesting characters along the way. The scenic beauty, though not best expressed in words, is well captured by Ajit who knows how to get a mind to see the right picture :)

He has luck all the way through, with no major mechanical issues along the way. It's more of a running diary of courage and stupidity it takes to partake such a ride. :)

All said and done, I'd give it a 3 on 5. Do read it once.