One of the greatest joys of my childhood days was reading, just about anything and everything that I could get my hands on. Once I crossed the threshold into +2, I somehow managed to forget the diversity of my reading interests and convinced myself that "science" is my only interest. Then, somewhere down the road, I became disillusioned by the way scientific research is pursued - and I felt lost. Fortunately, sometime last year, I remembered the breadth of my childhood interests. Since then, I have been on a quest to rediscover that forgotten joy. The only difference is that now I am trying to be more selective, considering that I don't have nearly as much reading time left as I did 40 years ago.
The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus
"To work and create 'for nothing', to sculpture in clay, to know that one's creation has no future, to see one's work being destroyed in a day and be aware that, fundamentally, this has no more importance than building for centuries - this is the difficult wisdom that absurd thought sanctions"
The Correspondence of Thomas Carlyle and Ralph Waldo Emerson: 1834-1872 (Parts 1 and 2)
The Indian Theogony: A Comparative Study of Indian Mythology from the Vedas to the Puranas, Sukumari Bhattacharji
Great scholarship and a great read on a fascinating topic. A graphic illustration of the core themes of religious mythology are common across civilizations and also how the story of the evolution of the Vedic religion is one of absorption, flexibility and synthesis
Great Dialogues of Plato, W. H. D. Rouse
Some arguments are quite dubious, serving only to illustrate that even the greatest philosopher is not infallible. As for the rest, it is The Book to understand the meaning of Virtue, Beauty and Truth.
Preparation for reading A Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant
I received sufficient warning from different sources that trying to understand anything from this book on one's own without necessary preparation is a confirmed exercise in futility. I came across very good content on YouTube which I am in the process of going through.
Kant: Critique of Pure Reason: Lecture series by Robert Paul Wolff
I admit being enamored by this magical blend of scholarship, wit and charisma. How I wish I could have met with Prof. Wolff in person. On the brighter side, I am able to listen to his lectures. I am grateful for small mercies.
Kant's Critique of Pure Reason: Lecture series by Victor Gijsbers (Leiden University in the Netherlands)
A Corner of a Foreign Field, Ramchandra Guha
Not completed yet. A fascinating read, as an Indian and lover of cricket
The Gnostic Scriptures, Bentley Layton and David Brakke
Are the striking similarities between the teachings of The School of Valentinus, The School of St. Thomas, The Foreigner and the Upanishadic teachings purely coincidental?
Cardus on Cricket, Neville Cardus
"Cricketers like Richardson ought never to know old age". Is this book about cricket, art, life? How I wish he had written about the Kolkata Test of 2001.
Beyond a Boundary, C.L.R. James
"What do they of cricket, who only cricket know?" A tutorial on what is the right thing to do, and how to do it.
Shadows of the Mind, Roger Penrose
Still reading. It is hard work!
Reflections, Swami Vivekananda
Can there be a more relevant book for India and the World, now, or ever? I have not yet come across better exposition of Vedantic concepts or a deeper well of inspiration than this.
The Light of the Modern World, Swami Bhajanananda
This helped in connecting many dots. I wish the book was better written and easier to read.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, Andrew George (Tr.)
This "original" story from 4,500 years ago is a reminder how little we have changed since
The Heathen in His Blindness, S N Balagangadhara
Not completed yet
Asimov's Guide To The Bible, Isaac Asimov
Not completed yet
Theologico-Political Treatise, Baruch Spinoza
Not completed yet
Timaeus and Critias, Plato
Timaeus changed forever the way I see Mathematics. I see now the title of Stephen Hawking's book. Up there with the Upanishads
The Best Poems of the English Language, Harold Bloom
Not completed yet
The Need for Roots, Simone Weil
This is probably the third most profound book I have read, ranking only below The Upanishads and Swami Vivekananda's Reflections.
Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of All Ages, Harold Bloom
Song of Myself (part of Leaves of Grass), Walt Whitman
How to Read and Why, Harold Bloom
জীবনান্দ দাশের শ্রেষ্ঠ কবিতা, দেবীপ্রসাদ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়
The Problems of Philosophy, Bertrand Russell
Not completed yet
The Weirdest People in the World, Joseph Henrich
Not completed yet
Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
Not completed yet
Artificial Intelligence, 4th Edition, Russell and Norwig
I am rereading after reading the 3rd edition in grad school 22 years ago!
Bhagavad Gita: The Song Celestial, Edwin Arnold
শিশু, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর
I re-read this after more than 40 years!
শিশু ভোলানাথ, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর
Zohar: The Book of Splendor, Edited by Gershom Scholem
This was a bit underwhelming, likely because of the way my expectations had been shaped from secondary knowledge
Authority and the Individual, Bertrand Russell
Soumitra Chatterjee and His World, Sanghamitra Chakraborty
History of Western Philosophy, Bertrand Russell
The Penguin Classics Book, Henry Eliot
The Penguin Modern Classics Book, Henry Eliot
The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
The Tao of Physics, Fritjof Capra
Physics and Philosophy, Werner Heisenberg
On the Meaning of Life, Will Durant
The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time, Will Durant
The Lessons of History, Will Durant
The Story of Philosophy, Will Durant
Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages and Computation, Hopcroft and Ullman
I re-read this after my 3rd year of undergrad, 27 years ago
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach
Machine Learning, Tom Mitchell
I re-read this after my 2nd year of grad school, 22 years ago
Bhagavad-Gita: The Song of God, Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood
The Upanishads, Eknath Easwaran
Religion of Man, Rabindranath Tagore
Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
Classic Poems to Read Aloud, James Berry (Ed.)
গীতবিতান, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর
God Created the Integers, Stephen Hawking
Admittedly, I read very few of the proofs :(
Last updated: July 22, 2025