From revisiting Animal Farm to taking a deep dive into history and finance, here are some of the books these newsmakers spent time on in 2024

“I must admit that I spent a large part of 2024 writing my book, 2024: The Election That Surprised India, so I had less time to read as many books as I wanted. I enjoyed reading ‘An Uncommon Love: The Early Life of Sudha and Narayana Murthy’ by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. The way it wove a real-life love story onto the broader canvas of building an iconic start-up company stood out for me. It’s a feel-good middle-class success story that’s easily relatable to those who grew up in pre-liberalization India.”

“As I browsed through my collection, I instinctively picked up Amartya Sen’s ‘Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny’ (2008). My concern about the narrow view of India prompted me to re-read this excellent analysis of India and a world alienated from religious identity. Sen addresses these issues with the facility of logic and rationality that comes naturally to him. This is a book that all youth should read to combat the misconceptions present in public discourse today.

“This year, I read a lot of beautiful books. If I had to pick two I think no. 1 Chitra Banerjee will be Divakaruni’s ‘last queen’. I’ve loved everything I’ve read by her before. I remember very clearly, when I finished reading the book, I was sitting in my living room and my tears were not stopping for about 10 minutes. That book stayed with me this whole year. I’m also a big fan of romance, so I don’t think so. 2 There will be ‘Play Along’ by Liz Tomford. I love how she writes about women in her books. “They are beautifully connected but also aspirational, which is a wonderful paradox.”

“’How the World Made the Waste’ (Josephine Quinn) is one of the most fascinating works of global history on display for many years. Incredibly comprehensive, it completely changes our concept of the Western classical world and its influences and inspirations. ‘The Great Flap of 1942’ is another great book. Mukund Padmanabhan, long considered one of India’s most admired journalists and editors, has now emerged from that situation to reveal himself as the new superstar of Indian fiction. In the upcoming ‘The World After Gaza’, Pankaj Mishra sheds light on a very dark scenario. It is as thoughtful, scholarly and nuanced as it is courageous and original. Eugene Rogan is arguably the greatest living historian of the Middle East. His new book, ‘The Damascus Events’, is a deeply humanitarian work that provides a much-needed example of how deeply divided societies can step back from the brink. It shows how they can overcome the trauma of genocidal violence and find their way back to tolerant coexistence. It is difficult to think of a more timely or important history book published this year.”

“’What I Learned About Investing from Darwin’ by Pulak Prasad is an interesting story of how Darwinian theory explains a lot about the mindset of the determined investor. Then there’s Alok Sama’s ‘The Money Trap’, a witty, insightful and entertaining look at the world’s most daring tech investor through the autobiographical story of the firm’s CFO. Another book was ‘Bad Therapy’ by Abigail Shrier, which was a hard-hitting book looking at the state of mental health of the younger generation.”

“I read George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ a long time ago and had forgotten most of it, but I read it again because my daughter discovered it recently. I used to marvel at writers like Orwell, Isaac Asimov and HG Wells Who wrote things far ahead of his time. I also read a very interesting book called ‘The Vegetarian’, which was the most popular book of that time in a very original style. Written realistically, but beyond the dimensions of reality, representing the fragility of society and human existence. Another book I read was ‘The Hotel Years’ (written by Joseph Roth), a remarkable story of a journalist who. Wrote about Germany during the two world wars, using true stories about the people he met in the years between.(As told to Preeti Zakaria)

“Salman Rushdie’s ‘Knife’ was, from my point of view, one of the most anticipated books of 2024. I’m a huge admirer of Rushdie and what he survived is something no one in the world should have to go through – paying such a heavy price for their personal beliefs. I was waiting for the book. The way it started, I liked parts of it. To me, it felt less like a book about the actual stabbing and more like a medical journal of his time spent in the hospital and a love letter to his current wife. So, there were two books in one, but both were fascinating because nothing Rushdie writes can ever be boring.(As told to Amarjot Kaur)

“Ferdia Lennon’s ‘Glorious Exploits’ has at times divided me and at times deeply unsettled me – a rare feat for a novel set in Syracuse, 412 BC, after the Athenian invasion of Sicily. As two local potters stage Euripides’ Medea with enslaved soldiers in a mine, you are left to marvel at the incredible power of poetry even in the darkest of times.(As told to Radhika Santhanam)

“The book of the year for me is undoubtedly Bob Woodward’s ‘War’. The main thing is that America knew that Russia was going to attack Ukraine a year before it happened. The main question as to why he did not find a solution remains unanswered. Great book, wonderful insights. A masterclass on how journalism should be.”(As told to Sandeep Phukan)

“The death of writer Gabriel García Márquez in 2014 was a big blow to me because he was my all-time favorite. After reading all his works, there was nothing left but to read them again. This year I was pleasantly surprised when his last novel ‘Until August’ was published. I set it aside to read on the long flight to Kolkata. Published posthumously by Marquez’s sons, the book is beautifully written, but it leaves behind a sadness, being the last work of a great storyteller.(As told to S Anandan)

“Andre Agassi’s autobiography ‘Open’ which I read earlier this year comes to my mind for various reasons. One, my daughter has now started playing tennis seriously. I was a big fan of both Agassi and Steffi Graf, and I loved the way he was world No. 1, slipped down to ranking 100 and then came back to the top. Furthermore, the fact that he won a Career Slam and an Olympic gold medal (Atlanta 1996) shows that his game was adaptable to the demands of different surfaces.(As told to N. Sudarshan)

“I really enjoyed Daniel Kahneman’s last book ‘Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment’ (he died this year). His ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ is a real masterpiece, but I learned a lot from ‘Noise’ too. This raises some very important questions. We all make wrong decisions but how hard is it to make the right decision? Why do our ministers and politicians make mistakes? The main lesson I learned from the book is that we all need to be very humble and not jump to any conclusions before taking the right decision.(As told to PK Ajit Kumar)

“My book of the year is ‘Chilekothar Sepai’ by Akhtaruzzaman Elias. This is a Bengali book. And this is a political book. The author has written it with a strange political indifference, which is quite remarkable. And he has this great commentary – funny, insightful, and not cynical in a way. I have noticed that Bangladeshi writers and Pakistani writers also adopt a light-hearted approach when it comes to politics. Writers like Ilyas or Syed Shamshul Haq have a brilliant ability to tell stories with politics in the background. It’s great to read something like this in a hyper-conscious society where people are constantly walking on eggshells.”