Winter Reads Series I

Many of you may not know that I enjoy reading immensely. As a child, I was constantly lectured on how reading helps your vocabulary, increases reading speed, and improves your writing ability.  While these reasons are valid for how reading can help you, they aren’t good enough to make one want to start reading. Naturally, these reasons may differ from person to person. But, for anyone interested in reading and literature, these books would make a good starting point.

 1. Good Omens (by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett):

This anecdote-filled story about angels and demons cooperating to solve an age-old inevitability is a comical take on the Armageddon concept. Good Omens is recommended to anyone interested in Fantasy and Fiction. Those interested in film adaptations can watch the movie on Amazon Prime Video. It might not seem like it from the plot, but Good Omens is an optimistic, simple and a happy book.

 2.  The Diary Of A Young Girl (by Anne Frank, Eleanor Roosevelt [Introduction])

You may have already read chapters from this historic biography in your school textbooks, and thus you already know this literary work is truly beautiful. Anne Frank captures the raw, inhumane essence of Holland in the Holocaust years in her diary. She fills it with her experiences and her struggles. There were seven other people with Anne including her family. She even named the diary, to add more sentience. Her diary was her closest confidante like it is for a lot of 13-year-old girls.

Overall, this book is a good fit for anyone interested in Biographies and History, and open to reading it from the perspective of a young Jewish girl. In addition to these historical insights, we learn that even when we feel we have no choice but to accept the unfairness of life, there are still ways to remain hopeful.

 3. Rich Dad Poor Dad (by Robert T Kiyosaki with Sharon L Letcher)

As the book’s name suggests, the story of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” follows the lives of two fathers. One who’s highly educated but works a menial job with regular wage. Whereas, the other father although a high school dropout sets out to be one of the richest men in the city. In each chapter, this book examines a different aspect of finance and deals with the stereotype that you need to earn more money to be wealthy while teaching one to be responsible and make wise choices while investing. Anybody looking for Financial Guidance, from high school students to working adults, can benefit from this book. Its key focus is to expand knowledge beyond that which is taught explicitly at school. Additionally, you will explore new habits and techniques for gaining financial wisdom and succeeding in the world of business.

 4. Sherlock Holmes: Series of 7 books (by Arthur Conan Doyle)

Sir Arthur Doyle is the creator of the Sherlock Holmes series, known to have inspired various other adaptations. His books inspired the creation of various movies based on the protagonist Detective Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. John Watson. Most of you would have heard of this century old detective series or even seen it. However one of the less known facts about the character, is that Sir Doyle took his inspiration from professor Joseph Bell. His deduction and observation skills impressed Doyle. So much so, that he dedicated the first 12 stories to him. This book is recommended to anyone who is interested in the Mystery genre, or curious about the writing style of the 19th and early 20th century. They were made into a novel series after being introduced as short stories. The seven books in the series are (in chronological order):

  1.  The Return of Sherlock Holmes
  2.  The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
  3.  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
  4.  The Valley of Fear & His Last Bow
  5.  The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
  6.  The Hound of the Baskervilles
  7.  A Study in Scarlet & The Sign of Four

 5. The Fault In Our Stars (John Green)

For all the romantic hearts out there, The Fault In Our Stars is a #1 New York Times Bestseller and TIME Magazine’s #1 Fiction Book of 2012. This Romance book was described by New York times as “more romantic than any sunset on the beach.” The story revolves around Hazel Grace who unexpectedly meets Agustus Waters and has her life take unexpected turns as both realize there’s more to life than they thought. Little did either know that their story was about to be completely rewritten. And they’d come across emotions they never thought they could. A beautiful and inspirational story with mild Comedy and adventurous surprises along the way. The movie adaptation is also available on Disney+ Hotsar for those who would like to see the characters come to life on a screen.

Each of these books belongs to a unique genre and would make an excellent first book for the new readers out there. Hope you enjoy these reads!

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