“In order to find the treasure, you will have to follow the omens. God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to read the omens that he left for you.” reads the lines from The Alchemist. The book whose English edition was first published in 1993, was surprisingly the most popular pick in 2021 to Penguin India’s poll on Instagram, “What is the best book you read this year?”

I believe in coincidences or omens as they are referred to in The Alchemist; not recognisable in the passing, but looking back, the dots always seems to connect paving the most enriching path from the present onto the future.

Out of sheer curiosity, I spent an entire Sunday afternoon compiling the seven hundred plus responses to that question on Instagram to see which are the books people found interesting. The top ten picks were all works of fiction/philosophy and from the list, I have read only The Alchemist and that too several years back; still have the book and do enjoy re-reading it. I have seen the other book covers on display at the bookstores, but have never been tempted to pick them up; my current affinity has been towards non-fiction and philosophy.

So what were the top ten picks in my compilation…they are as follow 👇

1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

2. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini

3. Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

5. The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini

6. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

7. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

8. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

9. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

10. A Man called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Top 10 reads

It is worth mentioning the next ten too; and that list also has only one book that I have read📖. It was The God of Small Things and that too ages ago. It was a borrowed book; I do not own a copy of the 1997 Booker prize winner.

1. Ikigai by  Héctor García & Francesc Miralles

2. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Harari

3. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

4. The Song of Achilles by by Madeline Miller

5. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

6. Whisper To Me Your Lies by Novoneel Chakraborty

7. Atomic Habits by James Clear

8. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

9. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

10. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

The Next 10 reads

It’s already past mid of Feb and reading list compilation of the previous year happens in Jan itself. I never planned on making such a list📚. But now am motivated to do so. Here it is👇

A Forgotten Empire (Vjayanagar) by Robert Sewell

Hampi Vijayanagara by John M Fritz & George Michell

 Raya by Srinivas Reddy 

A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind by Shoukei Matsumoto

The Code of the Woosters by P G Wodehouse

Goodnight and God Bless by Anita Nair

The Art of Travel by Alain De Botton

Discovering Bengaluru by Meera Iyer

Landour Days by Ruskin Bond

Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri

Salt & Sawdust by R K Narayan

Mindset by Dr Carol S Dweck

My Husband & Other Animals by Janaki Lenin

How Proust Can Change Your LIfe by Alain De Botton

2021 Reads

It’s difficult to believe that I managed to read fourteen books; three were about Hampi; you have to read a bit before visiting the historic monuments. And now looking forward to the company of books this year too !!

Till next post, take care !!!