This article contains a list of my favourite books.

Cloud Atlas

This highly creative novel rekindled my love of fiction. Cloud Atlas is a collection of six tales linked across time. As the novel unfolds, each story riffles over the previous ones, like a pack of playing cards.

Ender’s Game

In this sci-fi novel, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, a young boy, is drafted to lead a squad of young children in an offensive against an alien race. It’s a complex story that touches upon various political and philosophical issues. Those perceived as gifted by others (and alienated for it) will likely connect with Ender.

Flowers for Algernon

This novel, written as a series of progress reports, tells the story of Charlie Gordon, a developmentally disabled man who acquires superhuman cognitive abilities through an experimental medical procedure. For some reason, I felt a deep connection with Charlie. If I had to pick a favourite book on this list, that would be this.

Dead Souls

Nikolai Gogol is one of the most original authors I’ve read. Dead Souls is the story of Ivanovich Chichikov, a traveling merchant who trades dead serfs. Instead of simply describing them, Gogol develops realistic characters in minute detail by employing theatrical clashes between them.

The Overcoat

Gogol’s The Overcoat is one of the finest short stories I’ve read. Akaky Akakievich, an impoverished government clerk, must buy a new overcoat. I recommend reading Gogol before Dostoyevsky. What Gogol invented, Dostoyevsky perfected.

Demons

After reading Demons, a story about an attempted revolution, I realized that Dostoevsky’s reputation is well-deserved. Dostoyevsky was a great observer of the human psyche. The depth with which he depicts his characters is unparalleled. Demons is a book that anyone aspiring to bring about change through revolution must read.

The Outsider

Camus’s quote, “In our society, any man who doesn’t cry at his mother’s funeral is liable to be condemned to death,” summarizes the book quite well. To appreciate the philosophical elements of this absurdist novel, you may also want to check out The Myth of Sisyphus.

Frankenstein

I’m not sure why I found this story so charming. Perhaps it’s a deep-felt empathy for Victor Frankenstein. Maybe it’s the rustic descriptions of places I’d never seen. After reading the book, I traveled Frankenstein’s trail from Germany through Lucerne, Geneva, and Scotland.

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

The story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde needs no introduction. I’m drawn to Stevenson’s writing style the same way I am to Mary Shelley’s. Both writers evoke deep feelings and paint vivid images using simple language. The economy of their language lacks neither precision nor power. If I could write like any author, I would choose Mary Shelley or Stevenson.

Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four

Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984 are inseparable, visionary novels that depict dystopian futures from two extremes. For some reason, I felt Brave New World lacked something despite being the more prescient of the two. It may be Orwell’s eloquence overshadowing Huxley’s brilliance. In any event, these two books are more relevant today than they’ve ever been.

Memoirs of a Madman

Another one of Gogol’s brilliant short stories. Presented in the form of Aksenty Ivanovich’s diary, the story documents the government clerk’s descent into madness. His obsession with social status and self-aggrandizement leads him on a trajectory of envy, wounded pride, and outright insanity.