My Favourite Books

An Ottoman sultan wants to give a prince of Venice a beautiful book full of miniature paintings, but since Islam forbids painting people or animals a group of master painters work tirelessly in secrecy, not even knowing the real identities of each other. The story begins when one of the painters murders another and throws his body into a dried well.

One of the deepest novels I have ever read. It's like a mix of Dostoyevsky and some spiritual eastern film like Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring. Not only is it philosophical, but it also has religious mysticism, history and even a message about the position of modern Turkey as a mediator between the East and the West.

It's just beautiful.

This obscure fantasy novel is actually a clever satire of Soviet-era paranoia and dysfunctional thinking. You know, back in the days all kinds of weird and mysterious things like sudden mass disappearances, heads rolling down the streets, weird noises and lights happened all around the country and the government officials and the head of the state were "officially" just as baffled as the common folk.

The only rational explanation for these weird and mysterious events was magic, as if the devil himself had appeared and did all kinds of tricks to the poor Soviet citizens. Soviet Union was an atheist state and officially denounced such explanations, quite ironically. The absurdity of the situation was so fruitful for satire that Bulgakov's masterpiece basically wrote itself.

The grand epic of human drama, psychological realism and ethical thinking. Everything that is good about Dostoyevsky is present here crystallized to the absolute max.

I actually just read the book again and felt blown away by the sheer genius of it all, like the framing of the story and the characters go way beyond any other novel I've ever read. Dostoyevsky was a genius storyteller and only grew better as he got older. Too bad he died before he could finish the story the way he originally intended.

My favourite Shakespearean play. The most ironic thing here is that the Macbeth we know today isn't the original, but one variation that utilizes parts from some other sources, mainly the witches. The overall story works so well that nobody has cared about the thing for centuries and probably never will.

The story of modern Latin America compiled into one single village and family. The tempo of the story is crazy and information gets shot at you machine gun -style, but the reading feels so satisfying you won't even care. It's just so good.

The mother and father of all historical epics. It's about Egyptian times, but the grand themes are as universal and timeless as they get. I think Mika Waltari is closest to Kenji Mizoguchi as a storyteller.

The finest piece of Afro-American literature ever written. The story is full of existentialism and deep thought about the place and identity of black people and their relationship to revolutionary ideologies like socialism and liberalism. The grand themes are as universal as they come.

One of the finest graphic novels ever made. If you haven't already read it, then get it now.

Meant as a striking allegory of the rise and degeneration Stalin-era Soviet Union, Animal Farm is still one of the most powerful and depressing novels ever written.

The single best book I have ever read about music theory. Twentieth-Century Harmony is like the theory of relativity of modern music, but very easy to read and apply with even very basic understanding of the stuff. If you're like me and you're interested in musical composition and more technical side of things, then this is THE book to own.

Some say this novel is too rushed and ends too quickly, but I loved it. I think it ties all the loose ends perfectly, feels like a fully realized adventure and at least third of the novel is just the masterful epilogue that not only feels epic and adds so much to the lore itself, but also leaves room for continuation, which in this case happens to be at least six more novels. None of them surpassed this, the third one of the nine-book long series.

Lord of Flies is similar to Animal Farm in spirit, but in this case the author wants to tell a story about human spirit and loss of ideals. While many people tend to see third world folk as savages, our very own culture is just a mask to hide our own similar savagery and brutishness. The title refers to Satan.

This novel has one of the most beautiful and surprising endings I have ever read. That alone makes it worth to be mentioned here.

This is essentially a magical realist story about a rich family, the class conflict of Chile and the failed revolution that gave rise to the fascist regime and the age of terror.

An allegorical story about reason and sentimentality.

Easily the best thing John Steinbeck ever wrote. East of Eden is kind of allegorical biblical story about one sleepy rural village and the sin that lured itself in.

A man attempts to write down the oral history of his hometown, and large part of it is full of real and mythological figures and semi-fantastical parts. What a brilliant novel.

They call this book "guitarist's bible" for a reason. Ted Greene was a genius and his ideas regarding harmony and chord relations are cutting edge material and must-have even to this day. One of the best in-depth guitar-related books, must own.

Another great theory book. What makes this so good is not just the theory part, but the author has wisely understood that this will be obligatory read for many students, so he put in lots of clever ideas on how to practice and educate the stuff efficiently. Very few books have inspired me this much to learn the ways of jazz.

One of the greatest Japanese novels ever written. This one's also something of an autobiographical work with central themes such as social isolation, depression and suicide. Very easy to read, very short yet extremely powerful and subtle. No wonder so many people love this thing