The Booker Award: Books I Love

Tanmay Vora
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Michael Wade is one of my favorite bloggers who is just amazing. Daily and consistently, he ships goodness on his blog Execupundit where topics range from self-development, great quotes and book reviews to management insights. Michael Wade has nominated me for the “The Booker Award”. This award requires me to list my five favorite books of all time and mention at least five other bloggers who deserve this award.

If you choose to participate, the rules of the award are to: 1) Nominate 5-10 bloggers and let your recipients know. (2) Post The Booker Award picture. (3) Share your top 5 books of all time.

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I read a lot and wish I could read a lot more. I cultivated the habit of reading observing my dad who is a voracious reader and a very fine writer. I want to cultivate the love for reading in my kids and I think the only way to do that is to model that behavior.

With all the books that I read, it is incredibly hard to keep this list to just 5 books, but here I try. These books have shaped up a lot of my perspectives and practices. I have included snippets from these books to make it a little more interesting. So, here they go (in no particular order) :

1) The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma

“You will recall that in the middle of the garden stood a magnificent lighthouse. This symbol will remind you of yet another ancient principle for enlightened living: the purpose of life is a life of purpose.

2) On Writing by Stephen King

“It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn’t in the middle of the room. Life isn’t a support system for art. It’s the other way around.

3) The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge

“We need to cultivate ‘a discipline to see the wholes’, a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of change rather than snapshots. Reality is made up of circles, but we see straight lines.

4) Linchpin by Seth Godin (Read my review of Linchpin and Seth’s Interview here)

“You get paid to go to work and do something of value. But your job is also a platform for generosity, for expression, for art. Every interaction you have with a coworker or customer is an opportunity to practice the art of interaction. Every product you make represents an opportunity to design something that has never been designed, to create an interaction like any other.”

5) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top.”

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So, who will I tag? I would love to know what books have been all time favorites for: Rajesh Setty (I know he loves great books), Lisa Haneberg, Jesse Lyn Stoner, Becky Robinson and Utpal Vaishnav.

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Join in the conversation: What are you reading? What are your favorite books of all time? Tell us in the comments.

1 Comment

The Booker Award: My 5 Favorite Books | Self Help Zen January 4, 2013

[…] in that continuation, recently Tanmay tagged me for “The Booker Award”. It requires me to share five of my favorite books and mention 5-10 other bloggers who deserve […]