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Book 1 of 2020: Railways & The Raj by Christian Wolmar. Great read about how the British set about building the railways in India. Also, points out how it was due to their own selfish interests. Lots of interesting trivia & incidents around various lines built around the country.
Book 2 of 2020: गंजहों की गोष्ठी @saket71 लिखित. Brilliant, biting satire on India, its politics, Karnataka elections, time travel into 2024, "dance of democracy", etc. Also, featuring दिल्ली का मालिक केजरीवाल जी 
इसे खरीदे और जरूर पढे - काफी प्रशंसाजनक और मजेदार है।
इसे खरीदे और जरूर पढे - काफी प्रशंसाजनक और मजेदार है।
Book 3 of 2020: Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami, translated from Japanese by Philip Gabriel & Ted Goossen. While it's a typical Murakami, with a liberal dose of magic realism, the end seemed a bit abrupt - maybe I was looking for some additional closure! But enjoyed it 
Book 4 of 2020: Pivot To The Future by Omar Abbosh, Paul Nunes & Larry Downes. A good read about how companies have dealt, and survived, with disruption in their businesses. Mentions Amazon, Netflix, Walmart, Google, Uniqlo, Reliance Jio, AT&T, etc.
Book 5 of 2020: Finding Chika by Mitch Albom. Am a huge fan of Albom's fiction so this was a bit different for me to read. Nonetheless, his sensitivity in writing about a difficult situation is intact.
"Hope is critical. It is almost mandatory to soldier through troubled times."
"Hope is critical. It is almost mandatory to soldier through troubled times."
Book 6 of 2020: Opium and Empire by Richard J. Grace. A fascinating story of how opium grown in India, primarily Benares, Patna & Malwa, was traded by the British with the help of Parsi merchants in Bombay, and Calcutta, in China. Great perspective also on the history then. 
Book 7 of 2020: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, written way back in 1816. A typical Austen with her perfect, between-the-lines observations on class and gender in Victorian England. Of course, the love story is perfect too.
Also, don't miss my bookmark
Also, don't miss my bookmark
Book 8 of 2020: रश्मिरथी रामधारी सिंह दिनकर लिखित। A good book detailing the Mahabharata War in poetry form, with special emphasis on Karna. The book has given quite a few quotable quotes.
"क्रिया को छोड़ चिन्तन में फंसेगा,
उलट कर काल तुझको ही ग्रसेगा"
"क्रिया को छोड़ चिन्तन में फंसेगा,
उलट कर काल तुझको ही ग्रसेगा"
Book 9 of 2020: Freedom At Midnight by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. A great read about the events leading up to India's Independence and the riots that happened during Partition. It spares none - Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Jinnah. Has quite a few interesting tidbits.
Book 10 of 2020: The Untold Story of India's Partition by Narendra Singh Sarila. Talks about the behind-the-scenes pressure the USA exerted on Britain for India's independence. Also, how the threat of the USSR gaining control of the oil wells played a part. Lots of anecdotes.
Book 11 of 2020: Three Thousand Stitches by Sudha Murty. My favourites: the title story which talks about devadasis and Three Handfuls of Water which talks about Kashi Samaradhane - a celebration when one returns from Varanasi. Pick it up :)
Book 12 of 2020: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest - Millennium III by Stieg Larsson, translated from Swedish by Reg Keeland. Fantastic thriller + great insights into Swedish politics. I am a fan of the Blomkvist-Salander duo.
Book 13 of 2020: Parva by S.L. Bhyrappa, translated from Kannada by K. Raghavendra Rao. Conflicting thoughts - it's a very detailed retelling of the Mahabharata. But I found some bits meandering; some others "scandalous". There's a fair bit of discussion on Dharma also.
