Five best books? Come on, that's too damn tough to conjure up whoever you are. I'm sure I've read nearly a thousand books in my lifetime, not counting the study material which I've been(forced to) read all my life.
Mark Twain - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
An all time favourite of mine. I was introduced to children's classics through this story. Who doesn't want to be a Tom Sawyer, a village lad always upto mischief, and yet with a golden heart, a vagabond friend like Huckleberry Finn to boot, and a childhood flame as well?
Right from the fence-painting sequence where Tom's mind wanders to what he could have done instead of painting the boring fence to how he willfully cajoles his friends into painting it and the amazing collection of gifts he gets as a return, his encounters with Becky in the classrooms, and the exciting part where he and Becky are lost in a dark cave and faced with the dangerous felon, Injun Joe and how he recovers the golds hidden in the cave and becomes the toast of the town. The intricacies of the simple child are brought out so realistically you literally feel you are with him, sharing in his fears, his happiness and his adventures.
Every dramatic point in the story is extremely captivating and a figment of extraordinary imagination of the author. Hats off to Twain for creating such an epic story for children that will entertain them for generations to come. A must for any book lover, this book definitely adorns my bookshelf.
James Herriot - All Things Bright and Beautiful
James Herriot was a vet who worked in the English pastures early in the 20th century. Later on in life, he decided to pen his experiences in the British villages as a vet, and they have become super-popular ever since.
Herriot isn't your literary genius, but he writes his stories very imaginatively and you feel that he he really loved his job, the people he worked for, and especially his clients, be it cows, pigs, hens, buffaloes, dogs or cats. All these animals come to life in the very charmingly and sometimes humourously portrayed books he wrote. This is only one of his many books on his experiences with animals, and even men.
Herriot pens all his experiences with such wistful nostalgia that you do feel a pity that such times do not exist any more. The animals seem like a limb of his own body to Herriot and their well being brings much alacrity to him and their pain, agony. Sometimes he portrays how he was called upon to cure a dog who passed gas so frequently his owners had trouble keeping him indoors. In a touching story, he writes how he saved a one year old stray dog from certain death by performing a very daring operation, for in his times there was no fancy equipment/medicine, the dog belonging to an orphaned young girl to whom her dog was her sole support. Such small, sensitive stories bring to life a part of culture we know little about, and that is why Herriot's stories are so enjoyable to me.
Agatha Christie - Ten Little Niggers
The original thriller by Agatha Christie which led to many makeover stories and films. This story is indeed a classic crime novel and a must read for any detective story fan. The storyline is startlingly simple- ten strangers are stranded on an island, each with some secret to hide. One by one, every person is murdered off by one sole lunatic(?) in the group.
Unbeliveablely exciting, this story will keep you hooked to know what happens at the turn of every page, to know who gets killed next, and who and why is killing all the people one by one in different methods. A great whodunit, from one of the best exponents of crime storytelling, this book will keep you hooked till the last page, and boring is what you will not find it.
Richard Feynman - Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
Richard Feynman was a pathbreaking scientist who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965. Hold on, this book is not in the least about formulae and long bearded, bespectacled and boring people. In fact, it touches very little upon science, and yet, gives you an insight into the character of a colourful individual who was highly talented in many fields, and science was the one field he shone at. Remotely unlike any notions of scientists you ever had, this book clears you of any such misconceptions. He was extremely popular with both students, teachers and common people alike, and could explain a complex problem to both an expert in a layman it terms they could understand perfectly.
His vivacious nature and scope to experiment is well presented in this, his self-authored book. It deals with how he got interested in science, followed his ambitions, married his love, who was suffering from a fatal disease and shortly died after marriage, how he joined scientists like Oppenheimer, Dirac, Bohr and Heisenberg and Einstein and created the Atomic Bomb For the World War, and is full of humorous accounts. For instance, his experiences with handling women on dates, playin brazilian music, crackin safes, learning japanese and so on. It is so absorbing, and at times, humorous that you will feel at once in awe, respect as well as in admiration for this man.
An extremely lovable person, his attitude towards life becomes clear in this book and this attitude is one which I have tried hard to emulate and have not succeeded as of yet. Always cheerful, hungry to learn more in any field, 50 in age but 15 at heart, this man was solely responsible for my interests in science. As for this book, just go and read it and you'll understand the mechanism of a man who has given mankind much more than just a bomb.
Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man and The Sea
A very simple story about the tribulations of an old fisherman who has an young boy for company. One day, this poor fisherman sets out to sea in search of a big fish, and resolves not to return to land till he has caught one that is really big. Through his time on his sailing boat, he gets comfort from reminiscing about his young friend, the stars and drives strength from his ultimate aim-to net the fish. How he succeds in his venture is what the book is all about. All alone at sea with no one to guide him, he is an epitome of mental strength and self belief.
This book, much like The Alchemist, teaches you to follow your goals, not stir from your values, suffer hardships if required in return for being successful. A very soul-stirring book that will make you delve into your own self and ponder for quite a while. Extremely deep for a book so small in size and that is what attracts me to this epic. It's just about an old man following a large fish for days on end, and suffering miserably from hunger, thirst and physical pain. What he thinks aloud, the words which give him faith, his simplicity, honesty, detremination and dedication are a thing to behold, and Hemingway gives us much food for thought through this novel.
_
