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Bookshelf - 2018

Like my mid-year post, this is my end of the year log of how much I was able to follow up on my resolution to read more. Here is a complete list of what all books I finished and which ones were my favorites.

Books -

  1. Delhi: A novel
  2. The modern architecture of New Delhi
  3. Train to Pakistan
  4. Maximum City: Bombay Lost & Found
  5. City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi
  6. Bauhaus
  7. The Making of the Atomic Bomb
  8. Twilight in Delhi


Audio books -

  1. The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of The Ring
  2. Harry Potter and the The Philosopher’s Stone
  3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  5. Harry Potter and the Triwizard tournament
  6. Mafia Queens of Mumbai


Bauhaus was a strange one for me. I love minimalistic design and for the longest time I thought Bauhaus and Ulm were the pinnacle of design in every aspect; I’m talking about “everything should be Bauhaus or Ulm inspired” kind of thinking. But after reading the book and going through the pictures and illustrations I realised that the design language looked good only in the cases of industrial design and architecture. The furniture, in my opinion, looked quite ugly and really bland in most cases - geomatric, monotone furniture did not appeal to me. The book did change my view on design by challenging my previosuly held belief. That said, I’m still a huge fan of Vitsoe’s offerings and aspire to buy all of those someday.

Books I would recommend -

  1. Delhi: A Novel by Khushwant Singh. If you’re a person who was brought up in Delhi during or before the 90s this book will be a nostalgic ride. It’s humorous, entertaining and full of history (Not accurate - it is historical fiction). I would still recommend this book even if you have nothing to do with the city. It is just an overall good book to read unless you’re turned off by excessive sex and violence.

  2. The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes The longest and most information dense book I have ever read. I had not imagined that the author would go into such deep details about how the first nuclear bomb came into being. It is an encyclopaedia and does not shy away from getting technical. It’ll take more than a single read to grasp every details presented in the book but a thrilling and must read nevertheless.

Incidentally, these were the first and the last books, respectfully, which I read last year.