Top 10 Books in Contemporary Fiction
1) The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho
Like the one-time bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation. And though we may sniff a bestselling formula, it is certainly not a new one: even the ancient tribal storytellers knew that this is the most successful method of entertaining an audience while slipping in a lesson or two. Brazilian storyteller Paulo Coehlo introduces Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. And so he's off: leaving Spain to literally follow his dream.
Along the way he meets many spiritual messengers, who come in unassuming forms such as a camel driver and a well-read Englishman. In one of the Englishman's books, Santiago first learns about the alchemists--men who believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the "Soul of the World." Of course he does eventually meet an alchemist, and the ensuing student-teacher relationship clarifies much of the boy's misguided agenda, while also emboldening him to stay true to his dreams. "My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night.
2) Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta (Ram-Chandra Series-Book 3)
by Amish Tripathi
2) Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta (Ram-Chandra Series-Book 3)
by Amish Tripathi
A land in tumult, poverty and chaos. Most people suffer quietly. A few rebel. Some fight for a better world. Some for themselves. Some don’t give a damn. Raavan. Fathered by one of the most illustrious sages of the time. Blessed by the Gods with talents beyond all. Cursed by fate to be tested to the extremes.
A formidable teenage pirate, he is filled with equal parts courage, cruelty and fearsome resolve. A resolve to be a giant among men, to conquer, plunder, and seize the greatness that he thinks is his right.
A man of contrasts, of brutal violence and scholarly knowledge. A man who will love without reward and kill without remorse.
This exhilarating third book of the Ram Chandra series sheds light on Raavan, the king of Lanka. And the light shines on darkness of the darkest kind. Is he the greatest villain in history or just a man in a dark place, all the time?
Read the epic tale of one of the most complex, violent, passionate and accomplished men of all time.
3) Life is what you make it
by Preeti Shenoy
Read the epic tale of one of the most complex, violent, passionate and accomplished men of all time.
3) Life is what you make it
by Preeti Shenoy
you can also buy this book from amazon-https://amzn.to/2RVPY3X
Life Is What You Make It is based on a love story that has been set in India in the 90s. It has been described by the readers as a book portraying how love, hope and determination can together win over even the destiny. It is a gripping tale of few significant years of the protagonist’s life.
Life Is What You Make It is based on a love story that has been set in India in the 90s. It has been described by the readers as a book portraying how love, hope and determination can together win over even the destiny. It is a gripping tale of few significant years of the protagonist’s life.
The novel revolves around a woman in her 20s, Ankita, who has a past haunting her like a nightmare. As she grows up from adolescence to a woman in her mid-20s, she wades through different situations, engages in affairs with a couple of guys and is set-back by her parents’ refusal to accept her situation. As a result of non-stop upheavals in her life, Ankita develops bipolar disorder at one point in time.
The story revolves around Ankita’s struggles, determination, her decisions and her faith in self. The book beautifully describes how she gets acquainted with her bipolar disorder, how she decides to help her own self and how she battles these situations all by herself. The title of the book in a way describes the central theme of the book but the manner in which Preeti drove home the point through an interesting story, is delightful.
4) Wish I Could Tell You
by Durjoy Datta
you can also buy this book from amazon-https://amzn.to/2Rzrcb1
Can you find yourself after you have lost that special someone?
A disillusioned and heartbroken Anusha finds herself in the small world of WeDonate.com. Struggling to cope with her feelings and the job of raising money for charity, she reluctantly searches for a worthwhile cause to support.
For Ananth, who has been on the opposite side, no life is less worthy, no cause too small to support.
Behind them are teams for whom going to extraordinary lengths to save lives is more than a full-time occupation. In front of them is the virtual world of social media-watching, interacting, judging, making choices, and sometimes, saving lives.
From the virtual to the real, their lives and that of their families, entangle in a way that moving together is the only solution. They can't escape each other.
In this world of complicated relationships, should love be such a difficult ride?
Can you find yourself after you have lost that special someone?
A disillusioned and heartbroken Anusha finds herself in the small world of WeDonate.com. Struggling to cope with her feelings and the job of raising money for charity, she reluctantly searches for a worthwhile cause to support.
For Ananth, who has been on the opposite side, no life is less worthy, no cause too small to support.
Behind them are teams for whom going to extraordinary lengths to save lives is more than a full-time occupation. In front of them is the virtual world of social media-watching, interacting, judging, making choices, and sometimes, saving lives.
From the virtual to the real, their lives and that of their families, entangle in a way that moving together is the only solution. They can't escape each other.
In this world of complicated relationships, should love be such a difficult ride?
5) The Immortals of Meluha (Shiva Trilogy)
by Amish
you can also buy this book from amazon-https://amzn.to/2RWK8zq
1900 BC. In what modern Indians mistakenly call the Indus Valley Civilisation.
The inhabitants of that period called it the land of Meluha – a near perfect empire created many centuries earlier by Lord Ram, one of the greatest monarchs that ever lived.
This once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers face severe perils as its primary river, the revered Saraswati, is slowly drying to extinction. They also face devastating terrorist attacks from the east, the land of the Chandravanshis. To make matters worse, the Chandravanshis appear to have allied with the Nagas, an ostracised and sinister race of deformed humans with astonishing martial skills.
The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an ancient legend: ‘When evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge.’
Is the rough-hewn Tibetan immigrant Shiva, really that hero?
And does he want to be that hero at all?
Drawn suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love, will Shiva lead the Suryavanshi vengeance and destroy evil?
This is the first book in a trilogy on Shiva, the simple man whose karma re-cast him as our Mahadev, the God of Gods.
6) To Kill a Mocking Bird
by Harper Lee
you can also buy this book from amazon-https://amzn.to/36yj2DZ
A novel that explores the tragedy of racism in the 1930s and the dramatics of the 'Great Depression', Harper Lee’s 'To Kill A Mockingbird' is a tale that infuses humour and sorrow into a touching story that lives on eternally in the minds of the readers. Set in a town that has its roots in a history of prejudice, violence and hypocrisy, the story follows the lives of Scout and Jem Finch as they come of age and experience the discrimination that floods their society. They watch their father (a lawyer) struggle for the justice of a black man who is charged with the rape of a white girl.
A novel that explores the tragedy of racism in the 1930s and the dramatics of the 'Great Depression', Harper Lee’s 'To Kill A Mockingbird' is a tale that infuses humour and sorrow into a touching story that lives on eternally in the minds of the readers. Set in a town that has its roots in a history of prejudice, violence and hypocrisy, the story follows the lives of Scout and Jem Finch as they come of age and experience the discrimination that floods their society. They watch their father (a lawyer) struggle for the justice of a black man who is charged with the rape of a white girl.
'Shoot all the bjuejays you want, if you can hit’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’, is the lawyer’s advice to his children as he fights for justice for an innocent. The mockingbird is synonymous with the real life black man. His father is trying to prove his innocence to the people who are heavily steeped in race and class discriminations. This anti-racist novel deals with the harsh truths of the prejudiced minds of Deep South in the 1930s while incorporating genuine good-natured humour that gives the readers a lot to laugh about. A true epitome of southern writing, Harper Lee’s 'To Kill A Mockingbird' is testimony to the true struggles of those who were discriminated racially, through the eyes of two teenagers witnessing their father’s struggle against it all.
Lee focuses on several aspects of the racism that was rampant in the time of the story and the effects of 'The Great Depression' and its impact on the southern people. The combination of a genuine storyline, intricately woven characters, blunt truths and the warmest humour makes this novel a one-of-a-kind experience.
7) The Fault in our Stars
by John Green
The book is about two teenagers, Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, who are also the protagonists and follows their lives when they are diagnosed with terminal cancer. Their lives change completely post diagnosis. Hazel meets Augustus for the very first time at a, support centre for cancer patients and survivors, which she had started to attend. Augustus is there for a remission. This is when they meet each other and their lives see some light again and they feel alive and better. This is a book that has it all be it love, emotion, drama, humour, pain, fear and even death.
For the Reader
As the book progresses, the readers are unwittingly brought into the lives of the characters and start feeling and thinking about them as one of their own. The various turns that Hazel and Augustus go through, the tragic moments, the funny moments and the times when the readers are left teary eyed, is what makes this book worth a read. The readers gain an insight into the lives of people who are diagnosed by terminal cancer, the struggles they go through, their daily lives and how cancer disrupts the lives of the other people involved as well. However, the story also leaves a message of courage, true happiness and how to live life. This book through its protagonists try to tell that one should not feel pity for themselves, rather embrace life or what’s precious is left of it. It touches the chords of the readers’ hearts through its emotional appeal.
8) The Prophet
by Kahlin Gibran
A book of twenty-six poetic essays written in English, Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet is full of religious inspirations. With the twelve illustrations drawn by the author himself, the book took more than eleven years to be formulated and perfected and is Gibran’s best-known work. It represents the height of his literary career as he came to be noted as 'the Bard of Washington Street.' Captivating and vivified with feeling, The Prophet has been translated into forty languages throughout the world and is considered the most widely read book of the twentieth century.
9) Wake Up, Life is Calling
by Preeti Shenoy
you can also buy this book from amazon-https://amzn.to/316JzqP
What if your mind is your greatest enemy?
What if your mind is your greatest enemy?
What if you were living your worst nightmare?
How would you cope?
Ankita has fought a mental disorder, been through hell, and survived two suicide attempts. Now in Mumbai, surrounded by her loving and supportive parents, everything seems idyllic. She is not on medication. She is in a college she loves, studying her dream subject: Creative Writing. At last leading a ‘normal life’, she immerses herself in every bit of it.
Underneath the surface, however, there is trouble brewing. A book she discovers in her college library draws her in, consumes her and sends her into a terrifying darkness that twists and tears her apart. To make matters worse, a past boyfriend resurfaces, throwing her into further turmoil.
Can she escape her thoughts? Will Ankita survive the ordeal a second time around? What does life have in store for her?
Preeti Shenoy’s compelling sequel to the iconic bestseller Life is What You Make It chronicles the resilience of the human mind and the immense power of positive thinking. The gripping narrative demonstrates with gentle wisdom how by changing our thoughts, we can change our life itself.
10) The Oath of the Vayuputras (Shiva Trilogy)
by Amish Tripathy
Only a God can stop it.
Shiva is gathering his forces. He reaches the Naga capital, Panchavati, and Evil is finally revealed. The Neelkanth prepares for a holy war against his true enemy, a man whose name instils dread in the fiercest of warriors.
India convulses under the onslaught of a series of brutal battles. It’s a war for the very soul of the nation. Many will die. But Shiva must not fail, no matter what the cost. In his desperation, he reaches out to the ones who have never offered any help to him: the Vayuputras.
Will he succeed? And what will be the real cost of battling Evil? To India? And to Shiva’s soul? Discover the answer to these mysteries in this concluding part of the bestselling Shiva Trilogy.
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