Babaloobaba books!

I am, a bound bunch of papers, and some printed or handwritten group of symbols thrown in.
OR
I am the wings to your imagination, the treasure house to your knowledge, the rush of your adrenaline, the proof of your genius, and…your fairy tale, your favorite detective, your super hero…and…the guide to your culinary skills, your literature quotient, your language learning guide, your religious guru…and…phew I’m tired!!
I am the book!!!
Amazed? You better be.
Call it by any of the definitions above, but the book has been one of the simplest, profound, and absolutely indispensable forms of expression ever known to mankind. The social being that human is, there has been no better medium to emote, express, preach, preserve and transfer knowledge, and even rebel, other than through this incredible device. And while we’re wondering in amazement about this all time favorite companion, here’s a list of randomly picked 5 paperbacks from across various genres, which reflect the contributions made by the print media to the world:

‘A tale of 2 cities’ by Charles Dickens – Genre: Historical fiction
Touted as the most printed original English book, this work is considered as one of the most appreciated and popular works of fiction by this eminent author. Set in the backdrop of London and Paris, the book gives an insight into circumstances in the 2 cities in the late eighteenth century that led to the French revolution. Well, if you’re curious about history, but don’t like to turn to conventional history books, historical fiction is just for you.

‘A brief history of time’ by Stephan Hawking – Genre: Science
Subtitled ‘From Big Bang to Black Holes’, this book covers various topics related to cosmology that have been considered elusive and thus intriguing. Ranging from simple overview of concepts of the space to complex mathematical and physics formulae, the book covers a wide variety of readers.

‘Mein Kamph’ by Adolf Hitler – Genre: Autobiography
The title that literally translates to ’My struggle’ in English, has been one of the most controversial titles belonging to one of the equally controversial political leaders that history knows of. The book is said to have given an insight into Hitler’ physche, and a different perspective of the historical events that led to what we know as one of the most tragic and atrocious events in the books of history.

Sophie’s world *– philosophy fiction
Set in a fictional background, the book aims to provide an introduction to philosophy to people who want to take to take a plunge into the philosophical ocean, but do not want to delve into deep waters. That would be most of us, I guess. Again, aimed at a 15 year old fictional character, the wide range of topics covered have been illuminating without getting intimidating.

‘Ramayana’ by Vyasa – Genre – Mythology
The Ramayan, along with the ‘Mahabharata’ has been one of the most influential litrerary works from the ancient Indian treasure house. Penned by Vyasa, the book is one of its kinds because of its style of writing (poetrical). Containing 24,000 verses across 7 books, the epic has always been considered as a touchstone work representing the qualities of an ideal human being in all respects.

‘From the earth to the moon’ by Jules Verne – Genre - Science Fantasy
Considered as one of the first entries in the genre, the book is about the central fictional characters, launching a space mission to the moon. What takes by surprise about the book is that, although fictional, the author seems to have had a close understanding of the concepts governing the journey to the moon, and on introspection, it is discovered, that there are indeed a lot of striking similarities in the calculations described in the book, and the ones that were used in the actual space mission to moon.

‘Futility’ by Morgan Robertson (1898)
Relax, I haven’t lost count. As an afterthought, adding this title to the list seemed irresistible, after I read about it while browsing for books. Subtitled, ‘the wreck of the Titan’, the book seems like a striking prophecy, when it describes a ship named ‘Titan’, the largest ocean liner of its times, and unsinkable, drowns in the Atlantic ocean after being struck by an iceberg, taking claming thousands of lives with it. Apart from the striking similarity to the name ‘Titanic’, the books bears other likenesses to the tragedy which happened 14 years later, in the very same Atlantic Ocean. Could you call it coincidence?

Well, the contribution that the book has made to the very mankind is not only indescribable, but also indispensable. This best buddy has always been at our side, providing us with repositories of knowledge and much more, in the most simple and affordable manner. And we better appreciate this boon, while we last! So, when you are gifting yourself the book?