Let’s accept the fact that we scour the internet for information every day; well most of us do. If you are into reading and books, you probably came across a lot of lists on the internet that talk about all these famous books that according to them are a must read before one dies. I find that a little stupid. True enough, the talk about some really great titles, but what is the point of reading something that will give you a different and interesting insight into life ‘before’ you die? I say, we should read books or at least know about books that give you an insight into how life can be before we actually start living. So I am going to go ahead and call this one a list of books that you must read before you really grow up.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Ten Books to Read Before Actually Growing Up
Let’s accept the fact that we scour the internet for information every day; well most of us do. If you are into reading and books, you probably came across a lot of lists on the internet that talk about all these famous books that according to them are a must read before one dies. I find that a little stupid. True enough, the talk about some really great titles, but what is the point of reading something that will give you a different and interesting insight into life ‘before’ you die? I say, we should read books or at least know about books that give you an insight into how life can be before we actually start living. So I am going to go ahead and call this one a list of books that you must read before you really grow up.
10. LIFE AND DEATH OF HARRIETT FREAN
Author May Sinclair wrote this book. Harriet’s affection towards her parents ultimately drives her to misery. This book contains an important lesson; that one must break free from the chains that bound you and develop one’s own identity. If you want to be an individual, you must, at some point, rebel against your parents. If you fail to do that, you will destroy any chances of you being happy and you will lose your self-respect. So if life gets tough, try dealing with it yourself before running off to your parents.
9. ANIMAL FARM
This particular book is written by George Orwell. It doesn’t matter what political party is leading your country. It does not matter how good they were or are. What matters is the fact that it will take only a second for them to turn from the good you thought them to be to the ‘really bad’ you never thought they would become. It contains an important lesson and that is that liberty and equality must be guarded with one’s life.
8. GOLDEN BOOK OF CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENTS
These experiments are written by Robert Brent. The book was taken out of press a long time ago but if you are lucky enough to get your hands on it, but it. It talks about the basic elements that make up our world. How do you collect Hydrogen in a test tube or create Carbon Dioxide? This book will tell you exactly how to do that. This book will guide you into finally understanding whether science is the right thing for you to pursue.
7. A COMMON SENSE GUIDE TO THE ECONOMY
This book is written by Thomas Sowell. Please forget about his political affiliations while you read this book. This book actually makes economy a little easy to understand. No matter what political affiliation you have the rule of economics remain neutral. Many different economic concepts are discussed in a very easy language. The most important aspect is that you will be familiar to a lot of economic terms used by the big shots.
6. PARIS IN THE FIFTIES
Paris in the Fifties is defined by Stanley Karnow. It doesn’t matter if you love or hate the French; there is something magical about them. The book is a collection of memories of the author in the 1950s. He talks about many aspects of French culture and rich history. You should know that France has actually changed a lot in the past fifty years and you will get a fair idea of that when you read this book. The book gives you a chance to admire exactly how difficult a culture can be in many wondrous ways.
5. BEL AMI
Bel Ami is written by Guy de Maupassant. The book is about a soldier that turned into a journalist in the late 19th century. He is a person who would use absolutely any means to get ahead. The book was quite scandalous back in those days but it looks really tame compared to the text we have available these days (if you know what I mean). What this book tells you is that we will come across these sort of people throughout our lives and that we must be prepared.
4. THE HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE
The book is written by Michael Talbot. He investigates into nature and it is very thought-provoking and it blows your mind. The book talks about what reality is how our brain interprets the reality around us. Doesn’t matter if you are a skeptic or a mystic, the book has something or the other for everyone. It is not a very easy book to grasp at first, but you will enjoy it nonetheless. The book goes beyond the boundaries of religion and science so all in all it is pretty interesting.
3. CANDIDE: OR OPTIMISM
The book is by Voltaire. If we consider that God made a perfect world with everything in perfect sync, can you settle your mind on the fact that everything that happens in this world from violence to love is part of his ‘perfect plan’? The book talks about hardships that were faced in the events of 18th century. The story is really detailed. Imagine a story about WTCs, War on Terror, AIDS, Rwandan Genocide and Japanese Tsunami combined with humor and relevance.
2. THE ALCHEMIST
This book is written by Paulo Coelho and I am sure you have heard of this one. The story talks about a young shepherd in Andalusia. He embarks upon a journey with many struggles. The universe wants you to succeed and will provide you with clues in order to do so at every step of your life however, those clues are not easy to decipher or find. If you really want to grow up and be successful you must learn from every twist and turn in your life because that will tell you who you are and where you belong.
1. THE COMPLETE BOOK OF SAUCES
The book is written by Sallie Y. Williams. There have been many debates by greatest of people about what exactly makes us ‘human’. Why are we different from the rest of the animals in the world? There is a very simple answer to that. Humans can cook their food while animals cannot. That is exactly why every human should have a know-how into basic cooking; cooking beyond just boiling water and warming milk. If you are able to master a few sauces in this book, you will have the ability to make literally any food taste ‘oh so awesome’.
