The year is coming to an end. I read 14 books this year.
Some of them were absolute classics such as Fahrenheit 451, Catch 22 and The Alchemist. Some of them like Early Indians and The Horse the Wheel and language showed me how we all come from the same roots and how we are all connected. Some of them such as Homo Deus provided a really different perspective of the world. Here are a few books that were my favorites:
Early Indians - As the name suggests, this book talks about who Indians are, where they came from, what connects all of them and how they are connected to the world. Based on archeological and DNA based evidence that were published by experts, the author Tony Joseph creates an easily understandable account of the various migrations over millennia that have shaped the population of India.
The horse the wheel and language - While Early Indians talks about groups of people who migrated from Eurasian steppes towards India, this book talks about how the same people moved and made the civilization of Europe. The book gives an account of how the proto Indo European language speaking people influenced such a vast portion of the world.
Fahrenheit 451 - This book is set in a dystopian world where the government burns books to prevent them from corrupting people. Similar to the other great book 1984, this one too makes one appreciate the value of freedom and democracy. With autocrats on the rise all around the world, the possibility of losing hard earned freedoms is such a frightening thought.
Last year, I had read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. Since reading that one, I made sure that I would develop my habits structurally. Reading books was one of those and 2023 was a really successful year for me.