Wonderful Beautiful Nepal | Nepal Travel, Culture & Food

Last year I was able to read only 16 books, less than half of the initial target of 40 books.It lesser than the number of books I had read in 2011 (25 books). I guess, as you get more engulfed into your professional life, reading becomes more of a luxury than an essential part of life. But I am happy that I  was able to read some very important books during the year. Following are the Top 10 of the books I read in 2012 (Not in any particular order): 1. Steve Jobs: A Biography by Walter Issacson My first reading of 2012 was this 600-pages official biography of Steve Jobs by Water Issacson. Very few things remain to be said about this legendary but highly controversial character who wanted to “put a dent in the universe” and is among the handfuls who actually did. Famous for revolutionizing PC industry, music industry, movie industry and cell-phone industry and infamous for his condescending attitude and treatment towards  his employees, family, friends, business counterparts an...

I recently finished reading Barbara Demick's Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea . My understanding of life in North Korea hitherto was based on my interaction with a North Korean defector who was the keynote speaker on our graduation ceremony of summer course in Hong Kong and a couple of documentaries I had watched, most notably the documentary called “Inside North Korea”. This book, in which Demick follows the life of six North Koreans of various walks of life, provided me a much deeper understanding of what it's like to live as an ordinary citizen in the 'Hermit Kingdom'. Here are the 13 facts about life in North Korea that I found shocking: 1. It is compulsory for every household to have the portraits of Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Il and Kim Jong-Un. Nothing else can be hanged on the wall except the portraits, not even the family pictures. The portraits are supposed to be cleaned regularly with the special piece of cloth provided by the government. The authori...

I recently finished listening to the audio book of Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom.Friedman was indeed a great economist whose articulation skills and influence indeed provided a major contribution in reviving classical liberalism in the Western world and introducing it to the Eastern world. Although, I have found many libertarians quite critical of Friedman's for his support for government actions in some context such as education and monetary policies, I think, had it not been for him, free market economics would not have received as much recognition as it did since 1980s. In this book also he has made compelling arguments in favor of liberty and free markets. He has with enough arguments and reason (for the logical minds that is) made a very compelling case for free markets, limited government and capitalism. In my view, the most appreciable aspect of the book is the way he has simplified economic arguments and made them understandable and interesting for a layman. ...