Flashback 2013 – Top 10 Books of the year

As Jane Austen once said, “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid,” I truly agree with her. Books are not only our best friend, it also enlighten our lives. In books we find dreams, lessons, challenges, and above all we revive and relive our lives.

Here is my pick for top 10 national and international titles for 2013 which have influenced, touched and entertain us in 2013.

Top 10 Indian Books of 2013:-

1. The Oath of the Vayuputras by Amish Tripathi:

The final book of the ShivaTrilogy, the Oath of the Vayuputras is undoubtedly the most popular book of 2013. In this concluding book of the trilogy, Shiva reaches Panchavati, the capital of Naga where he faces his greatest enemy. In The Oath of the Vayuputras Amish Tripathi has revealed the reason of Shiva’s close friend Brahaspati’s disappearance and reappearance at the end of the second book, The Secret of the Nagas. In this last installment Shiva seeks helps from the Vayuputras in the quest to conquer all evil.

2. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri:

Man Booker shortlisted novel, The Lowland is an extraordinary attempt by Jhumpa Lahiri. The story revolves around two brothers leap by tragedy in 1960s in the background of Naxalite movement in Calcutta. The author beautifully portrays an emotional, thrilling and intimate yet complex family saga on the backdrop of political turbulent time with eternal love and compassion.

3. Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana by Devdutt Pattanaik:

India’s noted mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik is re-telling the story of epic Ramayana and its female protagonist Sita. In the book, the author tried to explore humane side of all its central characters and especially Sita. The story is about Rama and Sita and about faith, dharma, honesty and being righteous. As Devdutt Pattanaik said, “And in this storm of ideas stands steadfast the quiet Sita, very different from the fiery and vengeful Draupadi. Her silence has been taken to mean submission by those who forget she is the daughter of Janaka who was the patron of the Upanishads, the body of work that captures the essence of Vedic thought. Through her silence she conveyed her serenity and sagacity, unflustered by the restraints of culture, demands of morality and the rage of villains,” indeed Sita is a fascinating story to read and absorbed within.

4. Follow Every Rainbow by Rashmi Bansal:

Rashmi Bansal’s fifth book ‘Follow Every Rainbow’ features 25 amazing stories of 25 women entrepreneurs across the country (and world). Follow Every Rainbow is the story of entrepreneurship journey of 25 women who took up a challenge. Along with their company they raised a family, with love, laugher and patience. They face many challenges but never giving in or giving up. These twenty-five stories say clearly that although women think and act differently than men, but they can be just as successful as men.

5. Bankerupt by Ravi Subramanian:

Ravi Subramanian’s latest thriller ‘Bankerupt’ is surely one of his best. It is a kind of book which you cannot put down till you read the last page. This is also one of the best suspense thrillers of 2013. This is a story of how Cirisha Narayanan, a professor at MIT and her husband Aditya Raisinghania, an investment banker, unexpectedly got involved in a crime which led to series of murders, deceit, lies and treachery on a backdrop of US elections and gun control debate. This is also a story of bitter rivalry between university researchers and how ego clash can lead to a disaster. Bankerupt is an easy and quick read and useful to carry when you are travelling alone.

6. The Mirror of Beauty by Shamsur Rahman Faruqi :

This is a story of beautiful Wazir Khanam; This a story of courage, passion and love; This is a story of ending the regime of Mughal Empire; This is a story of rising of East India Company in India, but above all this is a story of mesmerizing journey of a painter through the deserts of Rajputana, through the lush valley of Kashmir and the heart of Delhi. Author Shamsur Rahman Faruqi painted an era which is now known as one of the most mysterious, powerful, wealthy, stylish, radical, alluring as well as heart-broken period of our history. A love story between a young daughter of a craftsman and an East India Company officer, the romantic sides of a Navab and a Mughal prince and above all those compelling Mughal era – ‘The Mirror of Beauty’ is a nostalgic journey and re-looking at that breathtaking era.

7. Those Pricey Thakur Girls by Anuja Chauhan:

Modern day’s Pride and Prejudice set against Delhi in the 80s is one liner for Anuja Chauhan’s Those Pricey Thakur Girls. Funny, witty, sexy and romantic, this fiction is one of the most popular titles of 2013. Those who born in late 70s and 80s can find it bit nostalgic as Anuja Chauhan touches on the political and social issues of those times. The Thakur family – Justice Laxmi Narayan Thakur, his wife Mamta Thakur and their five daughters named alphabetically are incredible to read.

8. My Journey by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam:

If you want to read a real-life fairytale driven by astonishing determination, courage, dream and hardworking then former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s autobiography ‘My Journey: Transforming Dreams Into Actions’ is a must read. Very few people in the contemporary time have the ability to influence lives positively. Dr. Kalam is one of them. The captivating journey of a small boy from Rameswaram to becoming India’s eleventh President – is a story to read and re-read and gift to others. The book is a ‘nostalgic, honest, and deeply personal’ account of Kalam’s life which marks with beautiful stories from his life and offers valuable lessons to be learnt from it.

9. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid:

After reading “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”, I was eager to read Mohsin Hamid’s latest book ‘How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia’, which is written in second person narrative. The book shows how to escape from poverty and what it means to get rich in rising Asia. The protagonist, whom is directly addressed as “you”, is a poor boy from any Asian developing country (Mohsin avoided mentioning Pakistan), has been giving out twelve easy steps which if followed can help peasant to get rid of poverty. The protagonist soon realises in his life that the system is very corrupt and to become a successful man he decides to become a part of it. Some of his cynical advices are: Get an Education, Befriend a Bureaucrat, Move to the City, and Avoid Idealists. The story is fresh and interesting and one has to have some sarcasm in mind when it is to be read.

10. Gandhi Before India by Ramachandra Guha:

Renowned historian and popular author Ramachandra Guha’s latest book ‘Gandhi Before India’ presents a vivid description of Pre-Gandhian era in India and insight the life of Mohandas Gandhi before he became the Mahatma. In “Gandhi Before India,” the author explores his 20 years in South Africa which according to the author shaped his idea of non-violence. The book accounts from 23-year-old Mohandas Gandhi’s departure to South Africa in 1893 as a briefless lawyer to his return to India after 20 years in 1915. In this remarkable biography Guha said that the two decades that Gandhi spent in South Africa, actually shaped the ‘Mahatma’. To understand ‘Mahatma Gandhi: Father Of The Nation’, this is the book.

Top 10 international Titles of 2013:-

1. Inferno by Dan Brown:

Bestselling author Dan Brown is back with symbol specialist Robert Langdon in his new thriller. The protagonist Langdon wakes up from a head injury in a Florence hospital with no memory of the past few days. He only remembers he was in Harvard campus, but how he landed here injured –well, he has no clue. Significantly he holds a book Dante’s poem, The Divine Comedy with him. The thrilling journey begins when discovered a female assassin wants kill him and only way to save himself from the situation is by solving complex codes encrypted on Dante’s Inferno.

2. And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini:

Set in Afghanistan, in 1952, where Abdullah and his sister reside with their father and foster mother, ‘And The Mountains Echoed’ revolves around the relationships among family members, which are accompanied with honor and sacrifice for one another. This book also look into into the fact that people are often left dumbstruck by the actions of those who matter the most to them. It is explained to the readers that the decisions made by them can resonate through several generations. This is a story of an insignificant journey made by the family dares to alter the course of their lives and those of hundreds of others, through the next 60 years.

3. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman:

This is a delightful and captivating thriller set in Sussex County in England. Neil Gaiman portrays an enigmatic dream – something mysterious, something dark – just like ocean. The story begins when the narrator, then a seven-year-old boy, found out a neighboring family’s secret. He watched a resident stole a car and committed suicide in it followed by supernatural adventure. Forty years later when he still remembers those time, his troubles begin and he gets caught in the imaginary of the unknown. The Ocean at the End of the Lane takes you to a fantasy world and will leave you spellbound.

4. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson:

Winner of Costa Book Awards 2013, Kate Atkinson’s ‘Life After Life’ is a poignant and a beautiful story. Set in 1900s England the book is a journey of Ursula Todd who was born on a cold and snowy night in to an English family. She got infinite number of chances to live since the moment she born. She was saved by Dr. Fellowes who arrives in time to save Ursula from dying at birth when her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Ursula’s blooming life ended in June 1914, when she drowns at the beach. Ursula grows and dies repeatedly as the world marching towards its second disastrous world war. Touching, original and remarkable story of Ursula Todd is surely Kate Atkinson’s best work till date.

5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt:

The Goldfinch is a story of 13-year-old Theo Decker who lost his beloved mother in an accident and later landed in a wealthy foster house and later living with his father and his mean wife. Emotionally broken Theo connected himself with only one thing which reminds him of his mother – a Dutch masterwork, called ‘The Goldfinch’. Donna Tartt narrates an extraordinary journey of Theo Decker who ultimately goes into the underworld of art. It is a beautiful story of love, friendship, survival and self-invention.

6. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton:

Winner of the 2013 Man Booker Prize and Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award, Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries is a breathtaking murder mystery novel. The Luminaries is also the longest winning novel with 852 pages but one thing is guaranteed, readers cannot able to put down the book till the last page. Set in the New Zealand goldfields of the late 19 century, The Luminaries is a story of young Walter Moody who arrived in a new town to make his fortune. Upon his arrival, he unexpectedly came to know a series of unexplained events happening in the localities. After hearing events like – a rich man’s disappearance, a prostitute’s alleged trying to commit suicide and an unlucky drunken discovered wealth in his house made Moody to examine the mystery. This is really an extraordinary murder mystery to read.

7. Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling):

The Cuckoo’s Calling is written by J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith is a mystery novel. In this crime thriller Rowling introduced detective Cormoran Strike who investigates a famous supermodel Lula Landry’s suicide. Her brother John Bristow did not believe that Lula who fondly known as Cuckoo committed suicide and asked private investigator Strike to prove into the case. This gritty, absorbing and interesting book is a definite fun to read. This book will also remind us why we like crime novels. A sure-shot thumbs up for the Cuckoo’s Calling.

8. Sycamore Row by John Grisham:

With Sycamore Row John Grisham brings back his first hero Jake Brigance from his debut novel A Time to Kill. Set in fictional town of Mississippi, three years after the breathtaking incidents in the trial of Carl Lee Hailey, another incident took place in Ford County. Wealthy Seth Hubbard who was suffering from lung cancer, instructed his one employee to meet him by a Sycamore tree at 2PM on a Sunday. Arrival upon the employee found out Hubbard’s dead body, hanged from a tree with leaving a one new, handwritten will. The Sycamore Row is a typical John Grisham thriller which is marvelous and exciting to read.

9. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert:

Elizabeth Gilbert’s fascinating fictional tale ‘In The Signature of All Things’ is a story of love, adventure and discovery. This is Gilbert’s second full length fiction and is undoubtedly one of the best novels of last year. This is a story of rich and brilliant Alma Whittaker who born in Philadelphia in 1800. Her father Henry Whittaker was a self-made richest man of the town. The story revolves around the love story of two completely different personas of Alma Whittaker and Ambrose Pike. While botanist Alma’s research focus on the mysteries of evolution, Pike’s paintings and beliefs talk about the spirituality and magical devotion. Gilbert painted an intriguing tale of this unlikely couple.

10. Manuscript Found in Accra by Paulo Coelho:

Manuscript Found in Accra takes the readers back in 1099, where the people of Jerusalem are eagerly waiting for the crusader to invade as they have blocked the city. All the men, women and children have gathered to listen to a mysterious man in the city with the ancient walls. This one man had taught these people many ways to live without worrying about the future. He just said one thing that live today better to make your future the best. His extraordinary insights on courage, solitude, loyalty and loss were transcribed and passed on.

• About the Author

About Sprightly Spirit

“I dare do all that may become a man. Who dares more is none”. And all, may be. It may be the vigor. Or the spirit. Or the courage to avoid being “politically correct” or bent. And, ban all averse with immaculate overture of graciously fathomable words firm in views. Subtle. Justifying the undying conscience. Values. Knowledge. And, dares to stay true. True to own. True to the world. And, to the words. With a dream in eyes it exists. In you. In me. In all. The sprite that never shies away. The spirit that never dies!