Prasanta Kumar Dasgupta Steward of Clarity

Reading lists

Short, curated, by topic.

Mentees often write asking 'what should I read on X?'. Over the years, the answers have settled into a few short lists. These are the ones I find myself sending the most. None of them is exhaustive. All of them are starting points.

For the first-time manager

  1. Radical Candor — Kim Scott. Two phrases that will follow you forever.
  2. The Manager's Path — Camille Fournier. The most operational guide to the early years.
  3. High Output Management — Andy Grove. Older. Wiser. Still right.
  4. Crucial Conversations — Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, Switzler. For the conversation you are avoiding.

For the first ₹10 lakh saved

  1. The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel. Read this first.
  2. Let's Talk Money — Monika Halan. The clearest Indian-context personal-finance book I know.
  3. I Will Teach You To Be Rich — Ramit Sethi. The systems and the scripts.
  4. The Simple Path to Wealth — JL Collins. Index funds, calmly explained.

For the first hard reorg

  1. Man's Search for Meaning — Viktor Frankl. The reason any of this matters.
  2. The Obstacle Is The Way — Ryan Holiday. Modern Stoicism, applied.
  3. Resilient Management — Lara Hogan. Specifically for the leader holding others through change.
  4. Tribe — Sebastian Junger. On what people lose when they lose belonging.

For the first child

  1. How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen — Faber & King. Pure operational gold.
  2. The Whole-Brain Child — Siegel & Bryson. Understanding the small brain you are now responsible for.
  3. Hunt, Gather, Parent — Michaeleen Doucleff. A good corrective to anxious modern parenting.
  4. The Bhagavad Gita — Easwaran translation. For when you need to remember why you are doing this.

For the long arc

  1. Meditations — Marcus Aurelius.
  2. The Bhagavad Gita — Easwaran translation.
  3. Man's Search for Meaning — Viktor Frankl.
  4. The Second Mountain — David Brooks.
  5. Tuesdays with Morrie — Mitch Albom.

If a list you would find useful is missing, write to me. I add to these slowly when the same question shows up three times.