10 Day You Challenge - 4 Books

I can write an entire post on the influence of books on my life but will save that for later. Choosing four books has definitely been an arduous task and since I cheated last time, I'll follow the rules this time :-) .. so here's the bookworm's list ...

Title : Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps

Author: Alan and Barbara Pease

I enjoyed reading this book - it depicts the differences between the sexes with a logical and humorous explanation for each. Though everything might not be applicable in the world today where men and women have exchanged so much of their responsibilities, its still fun to read how the brain wiring has evolved over the ages. There are some things which hit right home and give you a good laugh at peculiar things you or your partner might be doing but never gave a second thought to the why behind it. Their second book 'Why Men Don't Have a Clue and Women Always Need More Shoes' is a good read too.

Title : The Road Less Travelled

Author: M. Scott Peck

I usually don't read self help books, especially the professional ones like the One Minute Manager or How to Win People etc ... the content is just not realistic enough or is too manipulative ...I have read a lot of other books like the Alchemist, Who Moved my Cheese, The Energy bus where the author has woven a story around an informative, educational message .. they might all be best sellers but failed to influence me ... however this book has been an exception. I do not remember specifics about the content since I read it a decade ago but I was very impressed with it to the extent that I have xeroxed and saved some pages for reference. It takes a closer look at relationships, love and other related matter from a psychology point of view - a very different read for the serious bent of mind.

Title : Digital Fortress

Author: Dan Brown

I am not a fiction reader at all - I tried a lot though : have read a lot of Sidney Sheldon and other books here and there but somehow I never enjoyed reading them. The stories are thrilling and gripping but for me if there isn't anything I get to learn from it then its of no value. With an exception only for Dan Brown though - I have read and loved all his books published till date from Angels and Demons to The Lost Symbol. The amount of research done on the various controversial topics is applaudable and he and his team (am sure its not a one man effort) have woven fiction and reality so well that as a reader you can't distinguish between the two. I have studied Cryptography as part of my Engineering course and so Digital Fortress just blew my mind though all his other books are equally worthy !

Title : Disney Comics

These have been my lifeline through the adolescent years. My dad had subscribed to Disney for so many years I don't even remember, I think I can build a library of just the Disney comics. And I adored them to the extent I did not part with any of them, didn't lend it to anyone to read thinking they would fold the pages, spoil it with dog ears or scribble something on them. And every summer vacation I opened the bundles and read all of them. They were arranged and rearranged n number of times .. as I was writing this post I called up my mom to check if the comics are still there and with a frustrated voice she said yes, its occupying quarter of our storage area , phew what a relief ! Teenager was another magazine I eagerly awaited every fortnight and finished reading it cover to cover on the day it arrived. I remember an inspiring interview it had published of Sushmita Sen after she won the Miss Universe pageant, an essay on the real meaning of Diwali ... Chandamama was another fun to read magazine which carried stories inspired by Panchatantra ... I read a lot of Archies, Nancy Drew case files and other books from the library too but my Disney comics will always be close to my heart.