Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (2005)

The plot is a bit complex for my taste. There is a runaway teenager who sets out in search of his mother and sister. His father used to curse that his son would end up in an incestuous relationship with both and would be the reason for his death. The son ends up meeting an old lady and her assistant in a distant land. With many assumptions and claims, he established them as his lost mother and sister. In the meantime, an old mentally challenged person kills his father and follows the same trail as the young boy. The old man kills the man under the influence of Johny Walker. Not sure if the author means to use the Johny Walker whisky metaphorically. There is also a reference to Col. Sanders of KFC fame working as a pimp. One would wonder if this metaphor for the consumption of junk food affects libido. In the end, the old characters die, the young realize their follies, and some experience near-death experiences and decide to reset their lives. 

The book will keep you on it. You may end up thinking about how these parallel threads will merge. There is no clear ending as such. You are left to make your interpretations. Recommended if you have time in reading for pleasure and no knowledge-oriented gains. 

What the CEO wants you to know - Ram Charan (2001)

By the year of publication, one may say the book has lived its life. I will beg to differ. I think the book has a lifetime shelf life for a management practitioner. Although I read this book as part of a management training coverage almost a decade back, I had not written a review. I will like to rectify that omission. In a few words, Du-Pont analysis of the 60s has a strong influence on this book. That is the reason I like this book most. Product growth is an important aspect, and understanding it through Du-Pont analysis is the easiest.   It has numbers and a mechanism to locate the areas of focus from the model. This book gives a simplistic commoner's language without adding the MBA jargon. So anyone can understand the book, while MBAs can see through the theoretical foundations of the book. 

It's a breeze to read, and one can complete it within an hour or two. One can bring it to use in one's day-to-day professional life. I recommend everyone to read this book to understand business. 

Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking - Daniel Dennet (2013)

The book is hard to read. The tools described are simple. Yet, identifying and establishing a meaningful association with day-to-day life can be difficult. Some of the tools are relatively easy. For example, sorta. You can colloquially get it, yet some need significant thought-provoking mind exercises. The book is for philosophers. However, it contains little something for biologists, engineers, mathematicians, and computer scientists. The chapter groups are - 

Tools for:

• General Thinking
• Content
• Computers
• Meaning
• Evolution
• Consciousness
• Free Will

The book is for serious readers. But, it's best not to try reading multiple chapters in one go. Try to read a few chapters a day and establish a meaningful connection to how to apply such tools. One should reread the book after a few months for maximum effect. 

I recommend the book only for thinkers and readers and not coffee table conversations.