Top Books To Read - Recommended by Experts

Discover a world of wisdom with these top books to read! Recommended by experts, they promise adventure and knowledge. From "The Namesake" to "The Golden Gate," dive into stories that captivate and teach. "What School Doesn't Teach You" and "The Shotgun Wedding" add spice to your reading journey. The novels by Shubhan Balvally are the ones where you will truly enjoy the magic of words!

Top Books To Read are

• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
• What School Doesn't Teach You by Nihit Mohan
• Novels by Shubhan Balvally
• The Shotgun Wedding by Suchandra Roychowdhury
• The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri | Top books to read

The Namesake is a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri that explores the lives of a Bengali immigrant family in America. The novel spans over three decades, from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, and follows the journey of Gogol Ganguli, the son of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, who are originally from Calcutta, India. Gogol is named after the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, whose book saved Ashoke's life in a train accident. However, Gogol grows up feeling alienated by his name, which he finds odd and meaningless. He struggles to reconcile his dual identity as an Indian-American, and to find his place in the world.

The Namesake is a novel that examines the themes of identity, culture, immigration, family, love, and loss. It portrays the challenges and opportunities that immigrants and their children face in America, as they try to balance their traditions and values with their aspirations and desires. It also shows the importance of names, and how they shape our sense of self and our connection to others. The novel is a moving and realistic portrait of a family that spans two continents, two cultures, and two generations.

Jhumpa Lahiri is a British-American author who writes in English and Italian. She is known for her novels and short stories that explore the themes of identity, culture, and immigration. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2000 for her debut collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies. She also wrote The Namesake, The Lowland, and Dove mi trovo, among other works. She is currently a professor of English and director of creative writing at Barnard College of Columbia University.

What's School Doesn't Teach You by Nihit Mohan | Top Books to read

What School Doesn't Teach You by Nihit Mohan is a self-help book aimed at bringing into focus what human life is capable of and what its purpose on earth is. Many of us are unsure of what our purpose is or what our passion is. The book serves as a guide for our ever-confused minds.

The book begins by stating the importance of having imagination and intelligence that act as building blocks of inventions and innovations. It explains the importance of practicing gratitude, time management, stress management, and focusing on spiritual advancement. It talks briefly about how failures can often lead to success.

The book contains conversations, anecdotes and experiences from my mentors and gurus, who have helped me in multiple facets of my life for weathering the worldly vicissitudes. Without their nurturing thoughts, It would have been unbearable and would have definitely led to performance and confidence issues. The book encompasses inferential learning based on personal experiences and multiple interactions with my mentors, gurus, friends, family and colleagues.

Nihit is an unique individual who wears two hats with equal expertise and passion. By day, He is a stress testing professional, utilizing their deep understanding of financial systems and risk analysis to evaluate the resilience of large institutions and an author by the night. With his unique blend of analytical acumen and creative prowess, he stands out in both realms.

His talents extend far beyond the world of finance. In their spare time, he transforms into a captivating non-fiction author, captivating readers with their ability to distill complex concepts into engaging narratives. Through meticulously researched books, he sheds light on topics ranging from psychology and self-improvement. Recently, he published his first book titled ‘What School Doesn’t Teach You’. His eloquent prose and ability to communicate ideas clearly make his works reachable to various strata of readers, which made him feature in a TEDx talk in Feb-2022.

The duality of his professional and creative pursuits provides a unique balance in his life. The challenges faced in the stress testing field fuel his analytical mind, while the writing process offers an outlet for creative expression and intellectual curiosity. Both roles require dedication, discipline, and a hunger for knowledge, qualities that define his unwavering commitment to his craft.

Novels by Shubhan Balvally | Top Books to read

After spending 35 splendid years being associated with Audio & Visual medium, a journey that took Author Shubhan Balvally from Feature Films, Documentaries, Audio Visuals, Television Commercials and Music Videos, he made a successful foray as a Novelist in 2019. His debut novel titled ARIHANT – REVENGE PAR EXCELLENCE which was based on the genre of Science Fiction won him the BEST PLOT CREATION Award. After publishing the sequel and threequel of ARIHANT, Shubhan continued to push his limits and explore new horizons.

And that’s how he wrote his fourth Novel which was a murder mystery, a completely different genre from his earlier three science fiction novels. This particular novel was based on a subject which was rarely written about in any films, T.V Serials or even books. This was based on a topic known as ‘HOMICIDAL NOCTAMBULISM’ or simply, ‘SLEEPWALKING MURDERS’. And Shubhan created a taut and nail-biting story around this rarely heard of concept, which was unputdownable right till the very end! This murder mystery was titled as NOCTAMBULISM – FLOOD OF BLOOD which again won him ‘AUTHOR OF THE YEAR’ Award from Ukiyoto Publishing and also the CHERRY BOOK AWARD for the Best Book to Read. Post that, he published a sequel to this unique, one-of-a-kind murder mystery which was titled FLOOD OF BLOOD 2 – BLOODHOUNDS RISING which got him rave reviews from the literary world.

Shubhan Balvally is definitely a crackerjack novelist with nifty ideas to watch out for, whose only aim in life is to hold the undivided attention of readers by opening up new frontiers in storytelling infused with unparalleled narratives.

The Shotgun Wedding by Suchandra Roychowdhury | Top books to read

“The Shotgun Wedding” is Suchandra Roychowdhury’s first attempt in essaying a novel, inhabited by characters caught in an outlandish satire in a remote village in West Bengal, India. The bizarre socio-political dynamics unfolding between a newly appointed young lecturer hailing from cosmopolitan Calcutta and the inhabitants of rural Bengal make way for a rather comic narrative, interspersed with romance and mistaken identities. Currently, her debut novel is on the Best Seller List of Aleph Book Company, as well as being shortlisted Women Author Awards 2023 by the Times of India Group.

You will find The Shotgun Wedding quite easily on Amazon and Flipkart.

Life is full of stories, some known and some hidden. The journey of life is like a big adventure, filled with different feelings and emotions like love, ambition, and betrayal. These elements come together to create a complex and interesting tale. This is exactly what happened with "The Shotgun Wedding," a story about Dita Roy, a woman from the city who becomes an English Lecturer in a small rural college in Bengal.

In this story, Dita meets a variety of interesting characters in the village, each with their own unique backgrounds and motives. These characters include politicians, businessmen, students, and even a mysterious man named Raja. The story moves between the village and the city, exploring the differences between urban and rural life.

The story is inspired by the author's own experiences working in a college in West Bengal. The author combines real experiences with imagination to create a narrative that humorously delves into the world of education and politics.

At the heart of the story is the relationship between Raja and Dita, which develops despite challenges and deceptions. It all begins when Dita mistakes Raja for a tea server, and their bond grows over time. This bond leads them to a surprising situation—the infamous shotgun wedding.

In summary, "The Shotgun Wedding" is a story that captures the ups and downs of life's journey, explores the dynamics between different characters, and focuses on the unexpected connection between Raja and Dita.

Incorrigible bibliophile, travel enthusiast and art aficionado, Suchandra Roychowdhury lives with her husband and son in Bayshore, Singapore.  Suchandra has been a student of English Literature and obtained the degree of Master of Arts from Presidency College, Calcutta and pursued MPhil in the University of Calcutta.

The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth | Top books to read

The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth is a masterpiece of literary innovation and imagination, combining the elegance and complexity of the sonnet form with the vibrancy and diversity of modern life. Vikram Seth creates a captivating and moving portrait of a group of young professionals in San Francisco, who face the joys and sorrows of love, friendship, and identity in a rapidly changing world. The novel is full of humour, insight, and emotion, and showcases Seth's remarkable skill and versatility as a writer. The Golden Gate is a novel that defies expectations and conventions, and offers a unique and unforgettable reading experience.

It is inspired by Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, a classic Russian poem that also uses the same sonnet form and rhyme scheme. The Golden Gate follows the lives and loves of a group of young professionals in San Francisco in the 1980s, as they deal with issues such as career, marriage, sexuality, religion, and death.

The novel consists of 13 books, or chapters, each containing 45 sonnets, except for the last one, which has 50. The sonnets are written in iambic tetrameter, with an extra unstressed syllable added to some lines to create feminine rhymes. The novel also includes a dedication, acknowledgements, contents, and about the author sections, all written in verse.

It explores various themes, such as love, friendship, identity, meaning, and mortality, through the perspectives of these characters. It also portrays the social and cultural milieu of San Francisco in the 1980s, with references to the AIDS epidemic, the Cold War, the Reagan administration, the Silicon Valley boom, and the counterculture. This top book to read is praised for its witty and elegant language, its complex and realistic characters, its engaging and poignant plot, and its innovative and daring use of the verse form. It is considered one of the most influential and original works of contemporary literature.

Vikram Seth is an Indian poet, novelist, and travel writer. He is best known for his epic novel A Suitable Boy, which was adapted into a BBC television drama miniseries in 2020. He has also written several other books of poetry and prose, such as The Golden Gate, An Equal Music, and Two Lives. He has won many awards and honours, including the Padma Shri, the Sahitya Akademi Award, and the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman. He is regarded as one of the most influential writers of the modern era.