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Books and Authors
About 6 min · General Knowledge · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 382 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
Books and Authors is a staple topic in the General Knowledge section of MPESB exams. Questions typically test your ability to match a book title with its author, identify the author of a recently released book, or recognize books written by prominent personalities (politicians, sports figures, economists). This topic rewards consistent reading of current affairs rather than rote memorization of ancient lists.
Key ideas
- Autobiographies vs Biographies: An autobiography is written by the person themselves (e.g., APJ Abdul Kalam's Wings of Fire). A biography is written by someone else about the subject (e.g., Narendra Modi: A Political Biography by Andy Marino).
- Award-winning books: Sahitya Akademi Award, Jnanpith Award, Booker Prize, and Pulitzer Prize winners.
- Political memoirs: Books by Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Cabinet Ministers.
- Sports autobiographies surge around major events: Books by cricketers, Olympians, and sports administrators often coincide with World Cups or Olympics.
- Madhya Pradesh connection: Books about MP's history, culture, tribal life, or books by MP-born authors deserve special attention for state-level exams.
Watch out for
- Confusing autobiography with biography: Students mark The Accidental Prime Minister as Manmohan Singh's autobiography. Correction: It is written by Sanjaya Baru about Manmohan Singh — a biography.
- Mixing up Nehru's books: Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History, and Letters from a Father to His Daughter are all by Nehru. Students often attribute India After Gandhi to Nehru. Correction: India After Gandhi is by Ramachandra Guha.
- Confusing Arundhati Roy's books: The God of Small Things (fiction) vs The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (also fiction) — both by her. Students sometimes confuse with An Era of Darkness. Correction: An Era of Darkness is by Shashi Tharoor.
Quick reference
- Arundhati Roy → The God of Small Things (Booker 1997)
- APJ Abdul Kalam → Wings of Fire, India 2020, Ignited Minds
- Shashi Tharoor → An Era of Darkness, Why I Am a Hindu
- Raghuram Rajan → I Do What I Do
- S. Jaishankar → The India Way
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. Who is the author of the book 'The God of Small Things', which won the Booker Prize in 1997?
2. Which Indian author wrote the autobiography 'Wings of Fire'?
3. Who authored the book 'India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy'?
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 17 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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