Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (for series)
by Douglas Adams

On completing "Last Chance to See" by Douglas Adams, I picked up "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" (H2G2). At first, I thought I was too grown up to read the novel as the utter nonsense and adventure were almost too unrealistic. But the book grew on me, and the comedy was just top-notch. In a book that is merely 210 pages long, I am astonished by how much Douglas Adams could pack in and moreover, how well he was able to connect the various events.

One of my favorite moments: Mice on Earth, were in actuality "hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings" that were putting on an act in order to conduct an experiment to answer the ultimate question of "Life, the Universe, and Everything". However, they failed to do so as planet Earth was destroyed just before the experiment ended. Two mice that escaped the destruction met Arthur Dent, a human, on another planet called Magrathea. Instead of rebuilding Earth and undertaking another 10 million year experiment, the two mice attempt to buy Arthur Dent's brain from him. The exchange was hilarious as Arthur is surprised when the mice offer to replace his brain with a simple electronic brain. During this exchange, another character blurts out, "you’d just have to program it to say What? and I don’t understand and Where’s the tea? – who’d know the difference?" to which Arthur responds "WHAT?".

I would consider H2G2 a philosophical novel, one that portrays Absurdism.

The Andromeda Strain
by Micheal Crichton 

I am convinced that nobody can write thrillers like Micheal Crichton. Unlike Jurassic Park, however, this time the threat comes from an alien virus.

One of my favorite moments: The Andromeda strain mutates and penetrates through the rubber-sealed hatches, triggering a countdown of the self-destruct nuclear detonation at the medical facility (Wildfire Installation). The scientists who've just figured out that the virus can generate matter directly from energy, realize their precautionary measures can result in the virus feeding off the explosion and growing into a large biofilm. The situation is ironic in that it was made to believe from the beginning that these scientists took extreme caution to make sure that the virus does not escape the facility and an ultimate solution to such an event would be a nuclear explosion wiping "all life". 

What I like so much about this book is how the author employs scientific investigation to deduce information about the contagion. During the investigation process, the four scientists often make quick conclusions or let biases affect their results and the author takes great care to highlight such errors. After Jurassic Park, I wanted to be a paleontologist, after the Andromeda Strain I wanted to be a microbiologist.

The Fountainhead
by Ayn Rand

Howard Roark, the protagonist, is an unapologetic character completely devoted to his own morals and beliefs. A tribute to true egoism, Ayn Rand uses his personality and struggles to oppose what she calls "second-handers" (people who value conformity or resort to power over other individuals). 

One of my favorite moments: A temple that Roark architects is eventually altered after he is sued for the unusual design. After the redesign, Toohey, a critic, who had intentionally persuaded the public to believe that Roark was an arrogant and selfish person, asks Roark, "what do you think of me?", to which Roark responds "But I do not think of you". Roark is entirely unaffected by the opinions or doings of others and the attitude is seen as contributing to his happiness. 

The book is unnecessarily long and some of the characters are bizarre but otherwise, this is a great read. I disagree with Ayn Rand's stance on individualism especially since humans have evolved to be social creatures that coexist in a shared space. However, this book had a powerful effect on me when I read it and I'm glad it did not fail to do so. 

The Metamorphosis (for more!)
by Frank Kafka

Gregor Sansa is the main protagonist of  ‘The Metamorphosis’, he works hard and takes responsibility for managing all the finances of his family. One day he wakes up to realize that he's transformed into a “monstrous verminous bug” and from there on his condition leads to his demise. During his isolation/alienation from his job and his regular way of life, we see that the worst feature of his life now is not his metamorphosis but the ignorance with which people treat his transformation. 

It is quite evident that Gregor is an observational character and one that would not harm anyone or come in their way of life (eg: when he hides under the bed in order to not make it awkward for his sister or when he didn’t want to make it hard on his father while trying to get back to his room). But now he is the reason for his family’s struggle to take on the burden of being breadwinners while they try to accept the situation.

Frank Kafka makes the reader really feel for Gregor especially when the manager, who thinks of Gregor as a calm and reasonable man leaves the apartment after checking on him and not understanding a word he speaks from behind the door. Gregor who is helplessly hopeless still tries hard to convey the importance of the job for him and how seriously he takes it. With all this, Gregor loses the foundation upon which his existence is built and he goes into a state of self-criticism and isolation, eventually dying of starvation.

This is one of the saddest stories I've read, and I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone.