I asked a 150 people across the world to recommend a book that they think everyone must read. Then, I made a list.

As a local artist at Columbus, Ohio, I am involved in different curated art projects in the city as and when I have time and the shows come on. I did one mid-2023 that is very close to my heart which essentially was in celebration of the Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) turning a 150 years old. With “150” as the theme, the fantastic American street artist and painter, Stephanie Rond, curated an art show at the Main library’s Carnegie Gallery (she’s also its director).

This project lies at the perfect intersection of all my interest: art, culture, community, books and the libraries as the solid foundation of any public society. As a part of this exhibit, I decided to create an interactive art piece through which people can enjoy the art but also go home with a recommendation for a book they may not have read before. I reached out to all my contacts, friends, families, teachers, co-artists and writers…everyone I knew on my list across the United States, India, and the other parts of the world. Then, I made this master list to go off of. Here are people’s recommendations: The name of the book and the author is listed with the name of the person who recommended it… and where they’re from (because I think it’s important to see where this has travelled from). See the end of this list to see how this information was displayed during the show itself. Everyone got a card! :) Jump to the exhibit pictures by clicking here

1. The Fifth Season (Broken Earth Trilogy #1) by N. K. Jemisin (Surya V., Seattle, USA/ Madras, India)
2. Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton (Swetha K., Bangalore, India)
3. Laughing Gas by P.G. Wodehouse (K.S. Yashaswini, Madras, India)
4. Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant (Rekha R., Vancouver, Canada/ Madras, India)
5. Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor (Dr. Augusta I.A., Columbus, USA)
6. Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (Christina B., Nashville transplant currently living in Columbus, Ohio, USA)
7. East of Eden by John Steinback (Dr. Brennan S., California and NY native currently in Columbus, Ohio, USA)
8. The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Smrithi A., Madras, India)
9. Because You Are Allah by Ali Bin Jabel Alfifi (Dr. Besma A., State of Kuwait)
10. Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie (Dr. Preeti S., Lucknow, India/ New Hampshire, USA)
11. Neuromancer by William Gibson (Dr. Elizabeth B.-N Sanders, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
12. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Marquez Garcia (Dr. Anagha M., A moving soul—from Dubai to Madras to London to California to Australia, now living in Bangalore, India)
13. Goblet of Fire (#5, Harry Potter Series) by J.K. Rowling (Dr. Namratha S., Bombay, India)
14. Loonshits by Safi Bahcall (Sapna S., Bombay, India/ Columbus, Ohio, USA)
15. Caste by Isabel Wilkerson (Aishwarya K.I., Bombay, India/ San Francisco, USA)
16. The God of Small Things by Arundathi Roy (Dr. Pranav Jani, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
17. The Brief and Wonderful Life on Oscar by WaoJunot Diaz (Velvette D., A California transplant now in Columbus, Ohio, USA)
18. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (Erika B., A Texan transplant now in Columbus, Ohio, USA)
19. The Alphabet Versus the Goddess by Leonard Shlain (Stephanie Rond, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
20. Hour of the Hunter by J. A. Jance (Karen S., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
21. Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut (Ed P., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
22. The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston (Sayuri A., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
23. All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Louise R., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
24. The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh (Dr. Susan D. S., Goa, India)
25. Ki Ra Kadhaigail by Ki. Rajanarayanan (T.S. Sevvel, Madras, India)
26. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster (Scott Woods, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
27. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (Krista A., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
28. Funeral Nights by Kynpham Singh Nongkynrih (Nidharshana R., Madras, India)
29. The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley (Ankita A., Bangalore, India)
30. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Ishita V., Madras, India)
31. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (JC Cantor., location unknown)
32. Hard Times by Charles Dickens (Jack J., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
33. Beloved by Toni Morrison (Zoe J., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
34. In The Distance by Hernan Diaz (Gary Lovely, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
35. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Dr. Sylvian Patrick, England, UK)
36. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Ramya G., Delhi, India/San Diego, USA)
37. Sivagamiyin Sabadham by Kalki Krishnamoorthy (Divya G., Delhi, India/ Phoenix, Arizona, USA); Language: Tamizh
38. Sivagamiyin Sabadham by Kalki Krishnamoorthy (Dr. Subashinee V., Madras, India/Seattle, USA); Language: Tamizh
39. Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (Aparna G., Bombay, India)
40. Imagine Us, The Swarm by Muriel Leung (Ruth Awad, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
41. Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag (Anaghaa V., Bombay, India)
42. Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna (Saritha R. R., Madras, India)
43. “Damballah” (Homewood Trilogy) by John Edgar Wideman (Aaron A., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
44. Meendum Jeeno by Sujatha (Bhanumathi V., Madras, India); Language: Tamizh
45. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Su F., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
46. Wheels by Arthur Hailey (Venkataraman D., Madras, India)
47. The Gift of Imperfection by Brene Brown (Kylie H., New York, USA)
48. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Lauren E., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
49. Galatea 2.2 by Richard Powers (Dr. David Staley, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
50. Tributaries by Laura Da’ (Ty W., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
51. The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera (Erik Jon Slangerup, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
52. Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (Geeta R., Delhi, India)
53. When the World was Ours Liz Kessler (Advaita V., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
54. Yuga Sandhi by Jayakanthan (Niranjani V., Columbus, Ohio, USA) Language: Tamizh
55. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace (Akshaya R., New York, USA)
56. Winter Girls by Laurie Halse Anderson (Uthra R., New York, USA)
57. Dare to Lead by Brene Brown (Ramachandran V., New York, USA)
58. The Prophet by Khalil Gibran (Aishwarya M., Madras, India)
59. They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib (Sara J. T., Cleveland, Ohio, USA)
60. Selected Poems of Su Tung-Po by Su Shi/Su Tung-P’o (Geoff A., A Philly native now in Columbus, Ohio, USA)
61. Fledging (or) Wild Seed by Octavia Butler (Lisa M., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
62. The Mastery of Love by don Miguel Ruiz (Stephanee K., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
63. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (Vernell B., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
64. The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Steve Abbott, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
65. Deep Work by Cal Newport (Lauren V., Ann Arbor, MI, USA)
66. All About Love by bell hooks (Jordan S., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
67. All About Love by bell hooks (Dr. Sonia BasSheva Manjon, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
68. The Third Policeman by Brian O’ Nolan/Flann O’Brien (Zach H., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
69. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Rachael S., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
70. Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh (Dr. Joy Ellison, Chicago, USA)
71. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel, Blake Masters (Vaidy V., Madras, India)
72. Maverick by Ricardo Semler (Ramaswamy N., Madras, India)
73. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Archanaa R., location unknown)
74. The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst (Pavithra S-K., Goa, India)
75. Autobiography of a Yogi by Parahansa Yogananda (John R., unknown location)
76. The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata (Sravana C.K., location unknown)
77. Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Khushi, India)
78. The Jasmine Throne (The Burning Kingdoms, #1) by Tasha Suri (Shreekari T., USA)
79. Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C Gibson (Ammrutha, India/USA)
80. American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin (Salihdeen R.M., India/USA)
81. Most and More by Mahatria Ra (Rahul K.B., India)
82. Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust by Allan Zullo and Mara Bosvsun (Dinesh V., Dallas, USA and Madras, India)
83. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Eric T., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
84. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Samanvitha B., USA/India)
85. The Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (Tim O’ N., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
86. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (Dr. Sidney Jones Jr., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
87. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (Erica Thompson, Chicago, USA)
88. The Magicians (The Magicians Trilogy, #1) by Lev Grossman (Ben B., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
89. The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time Book Series, #2) by Robert Jordan (Jeremy M., Seattle, USA)
90. I am Not a Dinosaur by Willach, illustrated by Jonny Lambert (Hugh M., (an adorable 4-year-old’s recommendation here:))
91. Proverbios y Cantares (Proverbs and Songs) by Antonio Machado (Merce G., Columbus, Ohio, USA and Barcelona, Spain); Language: Spanish
92. Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia (Kshanika P., Seattle, USA/ Bombay, India)
93. Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia (Paula B., location unknown)
94. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Shanna R., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
95. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (Noah K., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
96. Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Non-monogamy by Jessica Fern (Aura P. E., Milwaukee, USA/Venezuela)
97. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby (Dr. Debra A. Hardy, Milwaukee, USA)
98. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (Sowmya S., Madras, India)
99. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya (Dr. Alejandro H. California, USA)
100. Favole el telefono (Telephone Tales) Gianno Rodari (Sofia M., South Sudan)
101. The Book of Ichigo Ichie: The Art of Making the Most of Every Moment, the Japanese Way by Héctor García, Francesc Miralles (Prashanth Marimuthu, India)
102. Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community: Eight Essays by Wendell Berry (Betsy R., Portland, Oregon, USA)
103. Duma Key by Stephen King (Dianne F., Columbus, Ohio native now in Atlanta, Georgia, USA)
104. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (Clayton N., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
105. Fear of Flying by Erica Jong (Emma Y., Columbus, Ohio, USA/ Scotland)
106. The Lies of Locke Lamora (The Bastard Series, #1) by Scott Lynch (Cecily K., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
107. Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett (Anonymous submission under the name “Don Kuixote”, unknown location)
108. The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker (Debra James Tucker, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
109. Becoming by Michelle Obama (Malini V., Seattle, USA/Coimbatore, India)
110. Oru Cup Coffee: A Short Story on “Azhiyachudargal” by H. Ram Prasath (Vimal R., Seattle, USA/ Madras, India); Language: Tamizh
111. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Bre J., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
112. Salt by Nayyirah Waheed (Keisha S., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
113. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (David M., Columbus, Ohio, USA/Edinburg, Scotland)
114. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Ravi A., Madras, India)
115. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach (Vilasini M., Madras, India)
116. Nanmaaran Kottai Kadhai by Imaiyam (Charles B., Madras, India); Language: Tamizh
117. Freedom from the Known by Jiddu Krishnamurthi (Vidya C., Bangalore, India)
118. Looking for Innocence: A Memoir by Paisha Thomas (Paisha Thomas, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
119. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (Sumathi C., Madras, India)
120. Van Gogh, The Complete Paintings by Ingo F. Walther, Rainer Metzger, Ingo Walther (Thiru, Madras, India)
121. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl (Mahesh I., Madras, India)
122. The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton (Stan Smith, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
123. The Contortionist’s Handbook by Craig Clevenger (Roger Kent Grosswiler Jr., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
124. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (Breanne M., California, USA)
125. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (Danielle K., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
126. Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon (Valérie Kler-Lafargue, Luxemborg, Europe)
127. Croc and Ally, Fun! Fun! Fun! by Derek Aderson (Vyas V., Columbus, Ohio, USA) (A 6-year-old’s recommendation)
128. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Asmani S., location unknown)
129. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (Vivek R., San Francisco, USA/ Bombay, India)
130. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (Divya T., location unknown)
131. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (Max O., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
132. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Abhiram V., California, USA)
133. Mara: Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (Meera N., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
134. Anbe Arule (Sage of Love and Grace) by T.S. Sridharan alias Bharanitharan (Lalitha V., Madras, India); Language: Tamizh
135. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak (Srishti, Frankfurt, Germany, Madras& Bombay, India, and Istanbul, Turkiye)
136. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (Chitra K., location unknown)
137. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell (Tiffany Smith, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
138. Jurassic Park (or) Prey by Michael Crichton (Divya V., Ontario, Canada/ Madras, India)
139. You Made A Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Ekweki Amezi (Izetta N.S., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
140. The Hidden Messages in Water by Masuro Emoto (Richard Duarte, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
141. Brown Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (Glen K., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
142. The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Brown (Cat S., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
143. Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim (Douglas C., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
144. Vyakti Ani Valli by Pu La Deshpande (Dr. Mandar K., Columbus, Ohio, USA/ Bombay, India) Language: Marati
145. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (Priyanka S., location unknown)
146. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (Lawrene H., Columbus, Ohio, USA)
147. The Greatest: My Own Story by Muhammad Ali (Vijayharihar B., Columbus, Ohio, USA/ Madras, India)
148. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (K.G. Sriram, Atlanta, Georgia/Madras, India)
149. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein (Adithya R., San Diego, USA/ Madras, India)
150. Collected Poems by A.K. Ramanujan (Hemalatha Venkataraman, Madras, India/ Columbus, Ohio, USA)

The Exhibit

“CML 150”: Watercolors, gouache, and ink on Aquarelle Board (sold)

This piece features an old-time library catalogue (with a 150 slots) resting on top of the Main Columbus Metropolitan Library’s front entrance. With the different “people” jumping from the different storeys (stories), this piece addresses the function of library as one of the last physical public spaces that supports people from all walks and classes of life, how it provides education, and an open space for learning, interaction, and public exchange/discourse.

Official flyer for the art show

I created detailed cards with book recommendtions from the 150 people and a little context about where the recommendation came from! All folks were able to interact with the piece and take a recommendation home!