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Best Books Read in 2024

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  2024 was the year I finally got into a steady reading rhythm, finishing around 60 novels and short stories (audiobooks included). It feels appropriate to compile a list—not just as a reflection but also to remind myself of the ones that truly stood out. Yes, it’s late for a 2024 list, but considering 2025 hasn’t been the strongest reading year for me, this is also my attempt at rekindling that reading momentum. For variety, I’ve limited myself to one title per author . And a disclaimer: this is a subjective list—and yes, I clearly gravitate more towards horror books. Honourable Mentions The Surgeon – Tess Gerritsen The Surgeon is the first book in the Rizzoli & Isles book series which later turned into a TV show (which I have never seen by the way). This is your typical unknown serial killer type novel but done so expertly well that you’ll be hooked in until the end. What I found interesting was the surprisingly accurate description of a trauma resusci...
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Verum PG

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It was around 10 years ago and I was in final year MBBS. To be perfectly honest, even after almost 4 years as a medical student, I still barely had much of an idea about how the actual practice of medicine was like.  It is only really during internship that we truly begin to understand about the different aspects of practicing medicine that you won't find in textbooks. One of those is how to counsel a person that he/she will require surgery.  Crash So one of my batchmates' father got into a road traffic crash and sustained an intraarticular distal radius fracture. This means the fracture is going into the joint and usually will require surgery. This was communicated to the family by the senior resident of Orthopaedics on duty that day.  While this was explained in calm and detailed manner on multiple occasions to multiple family members, there was a group sense of denial which was expressed in a range of insults to the doctor, referring to him as "Just a PG". This sen...
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Delusions & Dialysis Machines

 From the little experience I've had over the years, one thing has become clear: politicians and doctors in charge of hospitals share a uniquely complex relationship. Doctors often complain—sometimes justifiably—about the lack of political support or the inability of politicians to understand the nuances of healthcare. Yet, every now and then, a politician does help keep things honest. Like it or not, meaningful progress in peripheral hospitals doesn't come from medical staff alone. It often takes a committed local leader—someone who genuinely wants to improve healthcare for their constituents—to drive change. This becomes especially important when the medical officer in charge is slow to act, which, to be fair, isn't uncommon—particularly when the doctor isn't from the community they serve. That said, not all politicians are driven by public welfare. Some are more interested in headlines than health outcomes, especially when elections are around the corner. These ind...
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Symmetry

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  Rewatching the shows you used to watch as a teenager almost two decades later can sometimes be quite underwhelming. Few weeks back, I randomly came across a video review of Phil of the Future , one of my regular watches during my Disney phase in the mid 00s. And good lord, it was definitely much nuttier than I remember. It is quite noteworthy that my mother tolerated me watching such stuff all the time. Regardless of what people might think now, I was very much considered a problem child by most of the extended family. My marks were often in the average to below average range and every Tom, Dick and Harry believed I watched too much TV. Or perhaps the bigger problem was that I rarely used to watch things other people would consider watching. To watch anything that wasn’t in Malayalam was considered downright sinful by a few.  To Be Understood Back in school days, I was a very restrictive person. If there was some event I didn’t feel like attending or some show that I...
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