1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo

The Alchemist is a book about a boy named Santiago who dreams about a treasure, which is worth a shot! So goes on an awe­inspiring quest of conquering his dreams! The alchemist is a book about dreams, Magic, Treasures, Excitement and what not? All clubbed under one roof, which we seek everywhere but to our bombshell we end up on our own doorsteps! This book is about chasing or running behind your dreams! No matter what they are, no matter how small or big! It is a book which enhearten every person to dream and not being afraid of it because all our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

2. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

The davinci code by dan brown is the story of the history­changing secret that Jesus was not divine, was married to Mary Magdalene, had children, that the Christian church altered the Bible, that it invented Jesus’ divinity as it demonized the sacred­feminine in order to gain power and influence, and that the secret is held by a sect of the Catholic Church that goes to extreme lengths to preserve the secret lest it lose its power and influence.This masterpiece should be mandatory reading. Brown solidifies his reputation as one of the most skilled thriller writers on the planet with his best book yet, a compelling blend of history and page­turning suspense. So grab this book, sit back, and prepare to be entertained and educated. It’s well­written, it’s intelligent, and best of all, it’s fun.

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Set in the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, in the 1930s, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is simply about black and white. It is a gentle portrayal of the extremes of racism suffered by black people, and the way that white liberals like lawyer Atticus Finch negotiate the criss­cross of fine lines through their society. Scout and Jem, the children of Finch, episodically live through three years during which their father takes on the case of his lifetime: defending Tom Robinson against a rape charge brought by Mayella Ewell. Lee’s writing style, the characters, the story all combine to create a true masterpiece. If you’ve never read it till now, then move this to the top of your list and dive in. Hopefully you’ll love it.

4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

In Afghanistan, young Amir’s earliest memories of life in Kabul are blessed with a cultural heritage that values tradition, blood ties and a deeply rooted cultural identity. Upper class Pashtuns, Amir enjoys the luxury of education, material comfort and a constant playmate, the son of his father’s longtime Hazara servant, Hassan. Khaled Hosseini’s quietly powerful debut novel The Kite Runner fulfills the promise of fiction, awakening curiosity about the world around us, speaking truth as the lessons of history echo down the years. The themes are universal: familial relationships, particularly father and son; the price of disloyalty; the inhumanity of a rigid class system; and the horrific realities of war. The kite runner is a book to look out for!

5. The Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Considered by many to be Charles Dickens’s finest novel, Great Expectations traces the growth of the book’s narrator, the orphan Philip Pirrip (Pip), from a boy of shallow dreams to a man with depth of character. As Pip unravels the truth behind his own “great expectations” in his quest to become a gentleman, the mysteries of the past and the convolutions of fate through a series of thrilling adventures serve to steer him toward maturity and his most important discovery of all ­ the truth about himself. Great Expectations is creepy in places, which is probably why so many people like it, and the bittersweet ending (Dickens actually wrote two endings) is perfectly consistent with the story. This book is a good “starter” Dickens, and also perfectly satisfying for Dickens’ fans.

6. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank details approximately two years of the life of a Jewish teenager during World War II. During much of the time period covered by her journal, Anne and her family are in hiding in an attempt to escape Hitler’s anti­Jewish laws and genocidal desires. Anne’s diary ends abruptly in August, 1944. On that day, she and her family are taken into custody by the Germans and transported to concentration camps. She states several times in her journal, even when the family is in hiding from those who want to kill them, that she still believes that people are inherently good. Perhaps, it is the resiliency of Anne’s positive nature that is the most memorable theme in her writing.

7. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler’s Wife is a lyrical love story between Henry and Clare, albeit an unusual one suffused with vivid images of the past and the future. Henry has a rare genetic condition: he time­travels within his own lifetime, into his own past and future, yet dwells in the present. Henry and Clare develop a bond that transcends time and logic, bound to memory and promise. Since Henry’s traveling is involuntary, they learn to deal with life’s ambiguity in a deeper sense than most couples. Within this strange constraint, Clare’s affection assumes a mystical tone and she accepts their situation unconditionally, year after year committing her heart into Henry’s keeping. This is an extraordinary novel with a unique premise, an exploration of the unknown in this expanding century, where the impossible becomes possible, if not routine.

8. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

On the morning of their fifth anniversary, Nick Dunne’s wife, Amy, disappears from their North Carthage, Missouri home. A few years before, they moved there from New York to take care of Nick’s mother, who was dying of cancer. Their marriage hasn’t exactly been an all ­American love story, but as tough as things have been, it’s about to get worse. Gone Girl does an excellent job at having us scrutinize the gender roles in the modern family, picking apart the aspects that make our society progressive.or not so progressive. Flynn does an excellent job at getting us into the heads of the quintessential dysfunctional family, one that slides down into ruin because the characters are never quite honest with each other.

9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

A novel set in Nazi Germany and narrated by the grim reaper doesn’t sound particularly whimsical, but Markus Zusak makes the task seem natural, if not easy, in his novel The Book Thief. While not exactly light reading, the young adult story has proved its near universal appeal, spending over 230 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, causing some booksellers to reconsider the “young” label, re­shelving it under “fiction.”

10. The Memories of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Memoirs of a Geisha is a work of fiction — a romance, really — which has been dressed in the kimono of an autobiography of sorts. Golden creates a fictional interviewer and translator at the beginning, and then offers us a work composed from ‘recorded interviews’ with his fictitious lead character, the geisha Sayuri. The book is fully of interesting titbits and details, elements of the culture and the times, and particularly the location within Japan wherein the book is set. And yet, were it purely a biography I would find it very hard to believe, for it’s wrapped around what is really a very mundane, very conventional ‘love at first sight is finally requited’ tale with Sayuri at its center.

­Moksha Mathpal | Content Writer

DU Times

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Here is a list of life-altering books that you should definitely add to your reading list:

1. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari – Robin Sharma

A fable about self-help, Robin Sharma shows his reader the path of figuring out life and its meaning. He shows this path of enlightenment through seven virtues, each of which he discusses in separate chapters of his book.

2. Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki

Considered to be the number one finance book of all time, Rich Dad, Poor Dad highlights the importance of being financially literate. This book would change the way you look at money and wealth.

3. How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie

This book will completely change your mind about the opinion you have of people and relationships. It teaches the reader the importance of becoming influential in order to be successful and build a life.

4. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

Released in the year 1998, this tale of self-discovery was initially published in Portuguese. This book can easily be classified as a masterpiece which does not only enable the reader to understand reality but also to escape it. It is a book like this which inspires its readers to chase their dreams and pursue their adventures.

5. Sapiens – Yuval Noah Hariri

First published in the year 2011 in Hebrew, Sapiens is a great book for studying human history and evolutionary psychology. Yuval Noah Hariri provides sources for his remarks as spans through the human evolution.

6. Start With Why – Simon Sinek

A book that helps the readers to seek a purpose in life, Start With Why enables the reader to question and to reason. This is a great book to design a purpose-driven business and a full life.

7. The 10x Rule – Grant Cardone

This book’s main theme revolves around the fact that the only way to build more wealth and do more is to do ten times more than it is being done now. It is a simple principle to get effective results and noticeable change in life.

8. The Millionaire Fastlane – M.J. DeMarco

Creating quick wealth is not easy, but it can be simple if certain rules are followed. This book shows the distractions and barriers coming in between an individual and his potential wealth.

9. Oversubscribed – Daniel Priestley

This book focuses on a particular way to sell products and services before putting them up in the market without struggling to get clients and customers. It is a book for ensuring demand of your product and getting a productive business going on.

10. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill

A life-changing book, Think and Grow Rich pushes its reader to the path of self-improvement. It is considered to be a personal development book that can help one get better at doing anything

11. The Art of Thinking Clearly – Rolf Dobelli

Rolf Dobelli brings together 99 thinking errors which come in the way of an individual’s rational decision-making.  By the end of this book, the reader would have a clearer vision and a more rational decision-making abili

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• Ivy and Bean

Situated in Shahpur Jat, this café with a quirky ambience, provides WiFi and just the right atmosphere to read books. Together with the common types of coffee and snacks, this place serves authentic Australian dishes to its customers.

• T’Pot Café

As the name goes, T’Pot Café serves a great variety of teas, alongwith books, newspapers and board games. It is located in Malviya Nagar,near Sri Aurobindo College, and is a hot favorite among the localites.

• Barista Lavazza

Barista Lavazza is basically a colab between Barista and Penguin Books. You may either take a book of your own or choose one among the Penguin Books available here. This too is located in Malviya Nagar.

• Fursat Se

A combination of an unconventional setup and “pay what you like” policy is what makes Fursat Se stand apart in the list. Situated in Shahpur Jat, this café organises various live events and workshops, and gives its customers the discretion of ordering anything from other restaurants and cafes.

• Cha Bar

Connected to the Oxford Bookstore in Connaught Place, Cha Bar stands among the most sought after place by the book lovers. Its speciality is that it serves over 100 types of tea to the customers. It also hosts some literary events every now and then.

• May Day Café and Bookstore

This is an off-beat cafe cum bookstore, with ‘pay as you like’ policy. Located in Shadipur, this café has the coolest staff, who are always open for a healthy discussion upon various debate topics.

• Serendipity
  

A lobby with a bakery in the Claridges Hotel, is what makes Serendipity a classy place to visit. The quirky bakery named ‘Ye Old Bakery’ serves some really delicious cakes and coffee. The hotel is located on the Aurangzeb Road.

• Little Yodakin

Famous for organic food, this place in HKV offers the option of barter in books(exchange your book with the one available here), together with borrowing one from its library over a cup of tea or coffee. It also organises various events and workshops on a frequent basis.

• Café Turtle

Situated on the upper level of Full Circle Bookstore in Khan Market, this cute little place serves tea, coffee, snacks and cakes. The peaceful and soothing ambience is what attracts book lovers here the most.

• Sakley’s Mountain Café

This café located in GK-1 has almost everything to give you the feels of a mountain. Some lip smacking food and hot chocolate is the bonus part here. You may either bring your own book or borrow one from the library and enjoy the beautiful atmosphere of this place.

Happy reading guys.

Shreya Srivastava | Content Writer | DU Times

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Worried whether you’d be able to fit in here,as per your interests and mood or not? Don’t worry. Within a few weeks in Delhi,you’ll get to know that you’ve already fallen for this place and how its a package of all in one. Here’s to you, Delhi – a place for all moods.

 For the travelers breed

If you’re a traveler by heart, Delhi won’t disappoint you as you’d have the option of exploring many offbeat locations and places to delight your eager soul,both inside and outside the city. The city has a lot to offer in the form of monuments,royal gardens,forts etc. In fact, Delhi’s proximity and connectivity to other cities,like- Jaipur, Shimla, Manali, Kasol, Agra,etc will always make you to travel and explore more and more places.

For the Partyholics

Delhi never fails to surprise a party animal. With Hauz Khas Village,or HKV, as the hub,Connaught Place,Hudson Lane and Satya Niketan, stand as the top choices for the partyholics. Restro bars,disco,bars of these places with such catchy and funky interiors, and that too,so many in number that it’ll be an exciting challenge for you to visit them all!

For the Shopaholics

Even a visit to Delhi is incomplete if you did not go shopping here. There’s Sarojini Nagar,Lajpat Nagar,Kamla Nagar,Karol Bagh,Chandini Chowk,Janpath for street shopping,whereas numerous malls with almost all stores of top brands in them,for those who prioritize brands and quality. Whatever be your budget,you’ll always return home with heart full of satisfaction.

For those who are more into religion

If you are a religion oriented person and love spending your time at religious places finding inner peace, you’ll be mesmerized after visiting Jama Masjid, Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, Sheesh Ganj Gurudwara, Akshardhaam Temple(Noida), Kalkaji and  Iskon Temple,among others. Moreover, no matter what religion you belong to, you’ll equally love going to the Gurudwara, Mosques, Temples and Churches.

 For Book Lovers

From natinal library to book fairs, and even book cafes, Delhi has it all. If reading a book and sipping tea is your thing,go to Oxford Bookstores,which has Cha bar in it,serving different kinds of tea to the people. Besides, there is a Kitaab Bazaar in Daryaganj,organized every Sunday,when books are sold by kilo rates! You may love to visit Yodakin,which is like a heaven to every literature enthusiast,where students can read books for free and even have a healthy debate on various topics.

 For the Foodie Soul

Delhi doesn’t need an introduction for this. Be it street food or Indian and Foreign dishes, spicy or hygienic, or even royal indian dishes, there’s everything for a foodie. The places famous for its food,right from royal indian veg and non-veg dishes of Purani Dilli, Karim’s, to Bittoo Tikki Wala(BTW), Andhra Bhavan, Khan Chacha and the various food stalls at Dilli Haat. People also love eating at dhabas in Murthal, 40 kms away from Delhi, Amrik Sukhdev being the most famous dhaba there.

For an Adrenaline Rush!

Water parks, Amusement parks, Go Karting, Paint ball, Ice Skating, Rock climbing, Air Safari and what not. To break the monotony and create an adrenaline rush,you may try any of these activities and have an adventurous experience of a lifetime. Out of all these, Air Safari is surely going to blow your mind and ensure a memorable day of your life!

Shreya Srivastava| Content Writer | DU Times

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Catering to  the unbridled love of book-lovers for literature and poetry, Delhi played host to the Literature Festival for the fourth time. The Delhi Literature Festival was held from January 8 – January 10 this year. Organized at Delhi Haat, the hub of rich Indian culture, the festival attracted lovers of literature across all age groups. It witnessed many prominent personalities ranging from politicians and journalists to budding authors.

Inaugurated by Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, the festival opened with the performance by Sufi fusion band ‘ Aanch’ of  Jamia Millia Islamia University on the opening night. On January 8, the revered personalities who enlightened the festival with their presence were Aushutosh Rachna (vision 2021), Kapil Mishra (Minister of Art, Culture & Language & Tourism Government of Delhi), Rama Pandey (actor, producer, writer) and Supriya Ramaji (writer, producer, director). Speaking on the event , Kapil Mishra of AAP said “ The government would take all the necessary steps to make books more accessible to the people and to make writing unconstrained”.

The second day, too, witnessed some more esteemed personalities to be a part of the festival.  In the first discussion on the second day, Omair Ahmad, an Indian writer, told about his published work ‘The Storyteller’s Tale’.  Quoting him “ A story is good because of its story only”.  He said that words should not come in the way of your story. The over-hyped use of high vocabulary makes a story complicated instead. He also added that the length shouldn’t be unnecessarily long. In this context, he very artistically reproduced the words of his English teacher at school – “Your skirt should be long enough to cover the subject and short enough to make it look interesting”.  The next session was by Rakshandha Jalil  an Indian writer whose works are devoted towards popularization of lost Urdu literature. She got nostalgic  about the times where whole conversation between two people used to be in ‘Shayaris’ and how such a scenario has passed into complete oblivion today.

Adding to the strand, the next session had Kumar Vishwas from AAP, post which the audience witnessed a Hindi-language performance by  poet  Richa Anirudh, who is an Indian Prime Time News Anchor with IBN7 Hindi news.  In this session, they deliberated over ‘Populism of Poetry’.

On the last day, amongst the many guests, there was writer Shujoy Dutta.  Shujoy also had a message for aspiring writers- “Read a lot.” He also suggested that one should not only read what one is writing about, but many different things as well. The much looked forward to session on books versus blogs in the flash fiction age took place on the third day.

All in all, the whole festival was very insightful and brought out different facets of writing to the forth. For all the literature-freaks, the intellectual discussions that took place, were extremely enriching as well as engaging.

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