Books I loved and still love

1. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
2. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
3. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
4. Tale of two cities by Charles Dickens
5. The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
6. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
7. Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
8. The Prince and the pauper by Mark Twain
9. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
10. PS I Love You by Cecilia Ahern
11. Sir Nigel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
12. Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
13. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
14. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
15. Treasure Island by RL Stevenson
16. Kidnapped by RL Stevenson
17. The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas
18. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
19. Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy
20. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
21. The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
22. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
23. Twenty thousand leagues under the sea by Jules Verne
24. Around the world in eighty days by Jules Verne
25. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
26. The witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho
27. Like the flowing river by Paulo Coelho
28. By the river Pidera I sat down and wept by Paulo Coelho
29. Veronika decides to die by Paulo Coelho
30. The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho
31. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
32. The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
33. The Illiad by Homer
34. The Odyssey by Homer
35. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
36. The Merry adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
37. Thumbelina by HC Anderson
38. The Ugly Duckling by HC Anderson
39. The Little Mermaid by HC Anderson
40. The Emperor's new clothes by HC Anderson
41. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
42. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
43. The Fruitseller from Kabul by Rabindranath Tagore
44. The Broken Nest by Rabindranath Tagore
45. The white Tiger by Aravind Adiga
46. The God of Small Things by Arundathi Roy
47. The monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma
48. Right fit wrong shoe by Varsha Dixit

Paulo Coelho - a master storyteller

Having read four of this man's books, namely, The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello, By the river Pidera I wept and The Devil and Miss Prym, I am struck by his storytelling capacity. The way he drives the plot is amazing. Even more amazing is the message the stories convey. Recently, I came to know that he even advocates P2P sharing of his own books, what those demmed publishers often term as piracy. In my thesaurus Coelho is a free culture advocate.

Well, his free culture apart, optimism blossoms on every page he's penned. Though most of the stories initially take a tragic twist, in an attempt to capture all the irony and injustice in this world, Coelho then turns the plot towards the hidden strength in mankind - the will to go on, inspite of the odds, despite losses and overwhelming circumstances. Coelho also adds a spicy mix of spiritual thought into his well designed plot that makes it more interesting for people with a religious inclination.

His books have never ceased to fascinate his millions of fans across the world, and needless to say, I'm one of them. What is more interesting is his feminist approach to the plot, which in fact, is not so common. Four of his books are to be read this week, Brida, The Winner stands alone, Like a flowing river and Veronica decides to die.

Books always transfer us to imaginary worlds that are never interrupted by the hustle and din of the office or work. They allow us to glimpse at the ideal face of mankind, something we may never really see in our lifetime. But something, that does give us the courage to go ahead, the will to strive, the passion to thrive and above all, the passion to believe in dreams!