Reading

The Gene An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee : (want to read)

The story of the gene begins in an obscure Augustinian abbey in Moravia in 1856 where a monk stumbles on the idea of a ‘unit of heredity’.

Shoe Dog A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight : (02-08-2024 – unfinished)

Shoe Dog is a memoir by Nike co-founder Phil Knight. He borrowed fifty dollars from his father and launched a company 

A Darkness Returns by Raymond E. Feist : (01-09-2024 to 15-09-2024) ***

From legendary author Raymond E. Feist, the first installment in an epic new series that will join his acclaimed Firemane Saga with his signature Riftwar Cycle in a riveting, conclusive adventure.  As worlds collide . . . Hatushaly, last scion of the Firemane dynasty; his beloved Hava, and their dubious friend Donte have been transported across space and time from their war-torn world of Garn to the relative peace of Midkemia. There, on Sorcerer’s Isle, under the guidance of the great magician Magnus and his reincarnated father Pug, Hatu

Defiant Songs of Chaos Book 3 by Michael R. Miller : (abandoned)

he great powers are stirring, and Holt and Ash are ready to return to the fight. A summons from the Life Elder sets them on a perilous mission, leading to steaming jungles and blistering islands where ancient secrets will challenge everything they know of magic and dragons.

Unbound Songs of Chaos Book 2 by Michael R. Miller : (23-07-2024 to 27-07-2024)*

Holt and Ash saved the kingdom of Feorlen against all odds. Now they are outcasts, alone on an impossible quest to unite the Elder Dragons. But they are children playing in a game of Dragon Lords. Trapped between the riders, servants of Sovereign, and the scourge, even their luck cannot last forever. Their only hope is to advance their bond by any means necessary.

Ascendant Songs of Chaos Book 1 by Michael R. Miller : (22-07-2024 to 22-07-2024) ****

Holt Cook was never meant to be a dragon rider. He has always served the Order Hall of the Crag dutifully, keeping their kitchen pots clean. Until he discovers a dark secret: dragons do not tolerate weakness among their kin, killing the young they deem flawed. Moved by pity, Holt defies the Order, rescues a doomed egg and vows to protect the blind dragon within.

Murtagh by Christopher Paolini : (20-07-2024 to 21-07-2024)

The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society.

The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan : (read 18-07-2024 to 20-07-2024) *****

Percy Jackson, modern-day son of Poseidon, is just trying to get through high school. After saving the world multiple times by battling monsters, Titans, and giants, Percy is now settling in at Alternative High School in New York, where he hopes to finally have a normal senior year. Unfortunately, the gods aren’t quite done with him yet.

How to Know a Person by David Brooks : (read 04-06-2024 to 17-07-2024) *****

A practical, heartfelt guide to the art of truly knowing another person in order to foster deeper connections at home, at work, and throughout our lives—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Road to Character and The Second Mountain

Iron Flame By Rebecca Yarros : (read 11-02-2024 to 17-02-2024) **

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

An Uncommon Love: The Early Life of Sudha and Narayana Murthy By Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni: (read 14-01-2024 to 19-01-2024) **

Sudha Kulkarni was forging a career as TELCO’s first woman engineer when she met the serious, idealistic and brilliant Narayana Murthy, and they fell in love. For the first time comes the story of their early years – from their courtship to Infosys’s founding years, from their marriage to parenthood

Sons of Darkness By Gaurav Mohanty: (read 13-04-2024 to 10-05-2024 ) *

Bled dry by violent confrontations with the Magadhan Empire, the Mathuran Republic simmers on the brink of oblivion. Krishna and Satyabhama have put their plans in motion within and beyond the Republic’s blood-soaked borders to protect it from annihilation. But they will soon discover that neither gold nor alliances last forever.

Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies by Ben Macintyre : (01-02-2023 – 26-03-2023) **

In Double Cross, Macintyre returns with the untold story of the grand final deception of the war and of the extraordinary spies who achieved it.

How Not to Be Wrong The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg (26-03-2023 – abandoned)

The Freakonomics of math—a math-world superstar unveils the hidden beauty and logic of the world and puts its power in our hands.

The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro : (21-07-2023- abandoned)

Demigods Nico di Angelo and Will Solace must endure the terrors of Tartarus to rescue an old friend in this thrilling adventure. Nico is being plagued by a voice calling out to him from Tartarus, the lowest part of the Underworld. He thinks he knows who it is. Nico’s dreams and Rachel Dare’s latest prophecy leave little doubt in Nico’s mind that Bob is in some kind of trouble. Nico has to go on this quest, whether Mr. D and Chiron like it or not. And of course Will insists on coming with. But can a being made of light survive in the darkest part of the world? and what does the prophecy mean that Nico will have to “leave something of equal value behind?”

Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan : (15-05-2023 – 19-05-2023)

Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a five-year high school that graduates the best marine scientists, naval warriors, navigators, and underwater explorers in the world. Ana’s parents died while on a scientific expedition two years ago, and the only family she’s got left is her older brother, Dev, also a student at HP. Ana’s freshman year culminates with the class’s weekend trial at sea, the details of which have been kept secret. She only hopes she has what it’ll take to succeed. All her worries are blown out of the water when, on the bus ride to the ship, Ana and her schoolmates witness a terrible tragedy that will change the trajectory of their lives. read the review here

Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath by Bill Browder (19-01-2023 – 31-01-2023) ****

As Freezing Order reveals, it was Browder’s campaign to expose Putin’s corruption that prompted Russia’s intervention in the 2016 US presidential election. At once a financial caper, an international adventure, and a passionate plea for justice

Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice by Bill Browder : (09-01-2023 – 18-01-2023) *****

A real-life political thriller about an American financier in the Wild East of Russia, the murder of his principled young tax attorney, and his dangerous mission to expose the Kremlin’s corruption.

War of Lanka Ram Chandra Series Book 4 by Amish : (24-10-2022 to 01-11-2022)

Will Ram defeat the ruthless and fiendish Raavan? Will Lanka burn to a cinder or fight back like a cornered tiger? Will the terrible costs of war be worth the victory? Most importantly, will the Vishnu rise? And will the real enemies of the land fear the Vishnu? For fear is the mother of love.

Inglorious Empire What the British did to India by Shashi Tharoor : (21-08-2022 – 11-09-2022 abandoned)

Inglorious Empire tells the real story of the British in India — from the arrival of the East India Company to the end of the Raj and reveals how Britain’s rise was built upon its plunder of India..

The Wrath of HellFires Vikramaditya Veergatha book 4 by Shatrujeeth Nath : (21-08-2022 – 11-09-2022)*

Inglorious Empire tells the real story of the British in India — from the arrival of the East India Company to the end of the Raj and reveals how Britain’s rise was built upon its plunder of India..

Lone Fox Dancing by Ruskin Bond : (06-07-2022 – 20-08-2022)*****

Over sixty years, for numerous readers—of all ages; in big cities, small towns and little hamlets—Ruskin Bond has been the best kind of companion. Now, in this brilliantly readable autobiography—his book of books—one of India’s greatest writers shows us the roots of everything he has written.

Master of Furies (The Firemane Saga Book 3) by Raymond E. Feist (19-07-2022 to 30-07-2022) ***

Master of Furies is the third book in the Firemane Saga series. It is a great read with well-thought-out characters and a satisfying conclusion. It may be helpful to refresh yourself with the previous book if you are able, it will help the story flow. It was nice to read more about Hatu and their magical abilities.

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson (12-05-2022 – 04-07-2022) *****

After helping to discover CRISPR, Doudna became a leader in wrestling with these moral issues and, with her collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier, won the Nobel Prize in 2020. Read my Review here

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance (24-03-2022 – 10-05-2022) *****

Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius’s life and work Read my review here

The Fowl Twins get what They Deserve by Eoin Colfer (10-03-2022 – 24-03-2022) *****

Irish Twins Myles and Beckett, Artemis Fowl’s younger brothers, return in their third and most bizarre adventure yet. Read my review here

The Belgariad Book 1 – Pawn of prophecy by David Eddings (11-02-2022 – 28-02-2022) ******

epic set against a history of seven thousand years of the struggles of Gods and Kings and men – of strange lands and events – of fate and a prophecy that must be fulfilled! THE BELGARIAD. Read my review here

The Osterman Weekend By Robert Ludlum (03-01-2022 – 29-01-2022) *

The machinery was already set in motion, while in a quiet suburb an odd assortment of men and women gathered for a momentous weekend. At stake was the very existence of the United States of America. Read my review here