2020 in Books

I was fortunate to be able to read many books in 2020. This is list of the books I read in 2020 along with a brief review of them.

-> Cosmos

Best book I have read in 2020. For anyone interested in science, this one is a must read. Though not up to date with recent scientific findings as it is written few decades back, still makes an enlightening read with its scientific philosophy, breadth of knowledge and excellent writing style.

*Detailed Review at https://neerajmadisetty.blogspot.com/2020/03/book-review-cosmos-by-carl-sagan.html

Rating: 5/5

-> Elon Musk

This is biography of the most famous entrepreneur of our generation. His personal life, early business ventures and eventual success are covered in great detail. His story is inspiring to say the least. I believe this has potential to inspire many young people to become ambitious and take risks. If you are interested in either business or engineering, this one is a must read.

Rating: 5/5

-> Gandhi - years that changed the world

I have read several books about Gandhi before this one. This was definitely best of the lot because of its comprehensiveness and engaging narrative style of Ramachandra Guha. Fact that is nearly 1000 pages could be the only concern.

Rating: 5/5

*Detailed Review at https://neerajmadisetty.blogspot.com/2020/10/book-review-gandhi-years-that-changed.html

-> Selected Writings of Mahatma Gandhi

This is a collection of letters of Gandhi from his correspondence with various people including Tagore, Nehru, Patel, Mountbatten. Free from trivial stuff, letters are full of intellectual debates which is an absolute treat to read.

Rating: 5/5

-> Discovery of India

This covers history of India starting from ancient period up till modern time. Nehru's approach is one that is rational and scientific, and his knowledge has great breadth and depth. This makes the book a very enjoyable and also entertaining read.

*Detailed Review at https://neerajmadisetty.blogspot.com/2020/07/book-review-discovery-of-india-by.html

Rating: 5/5

-> I am Malala

Malala is recipient of Nobel prize at age of 17 for her efforts towards girls education. This is her biography. Her story against many odds is very inspiring. Even more inspiring is her father who is big source of support for her.

Rating: 4/5

*Detailed Review at https://neerajmadisetty.blogspot.com/2020/06/book-review-i-am-malala-by-malala.html

-> A Brief History of Time

This is a popular work of the great Stephen Hawking. It's a good read to know many latest scientific theories about Universe and its origin . But the writing style is not easy to comprehend and takes some effort.

Rating: 4/5


-> India After Gandhi

This is history of Independent India from 1947 to 1990s. As usual, narrative style of Guha is beautiful and interesting. Politics is covered in great detail but social and economic issues are not addressed at length. So, this is a good book for political history of Independent India. For those interested in politics, this is a good read.

Rating: 4/5

-> Theory of Everything

This one is a collection of essays by Stephen Hawking. Though there is some overlap between this one and 'A Brief History of Time', there are many new and exciting things for those interested to read about science.

Rating: 4/5


-> We are Displaced

This book is a compilation of refugee stories by Malala Yousafzai. Most of the stories are heart wrenching. Listening to stories directly from refugees instead of from news reports helps understand their plight lot better.

Rating: 4/5

-> Adventures of HuckleBerry Finn

This is a novel by Mark Twain about the story of HuckleBerry Finn who during journey transforms as a person challenging the bias that society has imbibed in him when he was a child. Though carrying a deeper message, Mark Twain manages to keep the story as a simple and easy one to understand.

Rating: 4/5

-> After Dark

This a story from Murakami. It is easily the most gripping writing style I have ever come across. It keeps you engaged throughout. But it becomes abstract in some parts and you are left with the feeling that ending is incomplete.

Rating: 3/5

-> When Breath Becomes Air

This is a true story of a person about his final days when he was battling death. His story evokes lot of emotions and also pushes us to think about the bigger questions about life and its meaning.

Rating: 3/5

-> Blue Umbrella

This is a very very short story about how a small act of kindness from a person can bring change of heart in other people. Short but beautiful and powerful.

Rating: 4/5

-> From Tyrst to Tendulkar

I have been Balaji Viswanathan in quora since a long time and picked this book as I knew his breadth of knowledge was very huge. This is history of India from Independence till recent times. But it hardly qualifies as a book of history as it seems more like a series of blogs about political events.

Rating: 3/5

-> P.S.I Love You



This is a love story which is a good casual read. It's about a lady who loses her loved one and how she copes up with it.

Rating: 3/5

-> Everyone has a story

                                          
I picked the book as the title seemed interesting. But the story was so bland and boring that it wouldn't even make for a decent bollywood movie.

Rating: 1/5

-> Freakonomics

Rating: 2/5

-> Start with Why

                                       

If you want to find the reason why some people hate self-help books so much, you can read this one. This book seemed very nonsensical and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Rating: 0/5

-> He

I picked this book as I wanted to explore the area of psychology. But the book was abstract, vague and not at all scientific. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.


Rating: 0/5


Telugu Books:

-> Vimuktha

This is a book of fictious short stories based on female mythological characters of Ramayana. Volga has feminist views and uses hers stories to educate the readers. These are very interesting and though provoking.
 
Rating: 5/5

*Detailed Review at https://neerajmadisetty.blogspot.com/2020/09/book-review-vimukha-by-volga.html

-> Gopichand Kathalu

                                         

This collection of short stories by Gopichand. Most of them are extremely well written and very enjoyable.

Rating: 5/5

-> Nisarga

                                           

This book discusses works of famous Telugu poetry. Its a good one to know about good books and poets of Telugu, and also understand literary criticism.

Rating: 5/5

-> Charithra Rachana Pai Balagopal

                                      

Balagopal is a human rights activist and a well respected intellectual. This is a collection of essays about history as a discipline by him. Though left inclination of the author seems to obstruct his objectivity sometimes, overall this is a enlightening read. I was left in amazement at the author's intellect and knowledge.

Rating: 4/5

-> Avineeti
                                        

This is a collection of news paper articles about corruption written by Jayaprakash Narayan. As most of the times, JP makes sure you will leave a better informed person after listening to him. It has very good information about politics and scandals of India though the articles are from 15 years back.

Rating: 4/5

-> Vishwambhara

                                          
This is a book of poetry by the great poet C. Narayana Reddy, usually referred as 'Sinare'. This is one of the best Telugu poetry I have come across. But the writing style is bit complex and its not a easy one to understand.

Rating: 5/5

->Kanneeti Keratala Vennela

                                       

This is a story of two people who attend a Film appreciation course. This has good information about film history and film criticism. Story is a casual read.

Rating: 3/5

->Obama

This is a biography of Obama using information in  public domain. So, it has limited information about his life. His story is interesting nonetheless.

Rating: 3/5

-> Vemana Vedam

                                          

These are a collection of poems by the poet Vemana and commentary on them by Arudra. Vemana is respected as a poet who defied orthodox thinking. But overall, his poems are not very deep in meaning.

Rating: 3/5

Business and Technical books:

-> Clean Code

This one is about best coding practices. It's a very useful to read to anyone who wants to improve their coding skill and learn how to build enterprise applications.

Rating: 5/5

-> Lean Startup

                                           

Lean startup is a methodology for startups. This one is a good read to understand about startups and their challenges.

Rating: 5/5

-> Startup Nation

                                           
Israel is a nation which has immense tech talent and produces startups whose number is a lot considering its tiny population. This book discusses culture of Israel and the impact it has on the people motivating them to be risk takers.

Rating: 4/5