How These Books Slowly Built My World
Let me tell you a small story.
A few years ago, I did not have a “collection.”
I only had a few textbooks, some curiosity, and many questions.
Then, one book led to another.
One idea pushed me to search for the next.
Sometimes I bought books for my course.
Sometimes out of interest.
Sometimes just because the title stayed in my mind.
Today, these books sit on my shelf—not as decoration, but as evidence of a journey.
I have not finished them all.
But I have opened every single one.
I have read parts, paused, returned, argued with them, and learned from them.
Each book has touched my thinking in some way.
These are the books I own in physical copy.
📚 ELT, Language & Education
Translation Studies (M.Ed. English)
ELT Material and Practices (B.Ed)
Reading in English Language Teacher Development
ELT Curriculum Materials and Management
English for Communication (B.Ed)
Advanced English Language Teaching Methodology
Fundamental Composition in English
Second Language Acquisition
English Sound and Structures (B.Ed)
Communicate English
Writing Skills in English
Creativity for Critical Thinker
Preparing for the Teaching Profession
History and Development of English in Nepal
The Study of Language
These books remind me why I chose to become a teacher.
📚 Self-Development, Psychology & Life
Atomic Habits
Eat That Frog
Power of Positive Thinking
The Art of Letting Go
Thank You for leaving.
I Don’t Love You Forever
The Science of Being Well
Schizophrenia
Midlife Montage
These are the books I turn to when I want to understand life—not just academics.
📚 Philosophy & Spiritual Thought
Siddhartha
Gitanjali
Saral Gita
The Teaching of Hindu Mystics
The Alchemist
Chanakya
Plato
Politics
Rhetoric
These books don’t give answers.
They teach me how to ask better questions.
📚 Politics, History & Ideas
Mein Kampf
The Communist Manifesto
वैदिक साम्यवाद
Joseph Stalin
The Shining Red Star
A Century of Family Autocracy in Nepal
पृथ्वी नारायण शाहको उपदेश
These works show how powerful ideas can shape societies—for better or worse.
📚 World Literature (Fiction)
The Metamorphosis
The Kite Runner
The God of Small Things
Midnight’s Children
The Old Man and the Sea
Romeo and Juliet
The Shining
Contemporary Fiction
Through stories, I meet people and worlds I would never see otherwise.
📚 Nepali Literature
अक्षरहरूको बिस्कुन
ब्युँझिएको सास
नीलो प्रेम
एक सर्को माया
लुड बिग फायरबाख
These books feel closest to home—they speak in familiar emotions and landscapes.
📚 Literary Criticism & Studies
History of Literary Criticism
Classical Literary Criticism
An Outline of English Literature
Shakespeare
Kafka
These help me understand not just what we read, but how we read.
📚 Mythology & Logic
Mahabharata Unravelled
Ramayana Unravelled
Logic
These connect ancient thought with modern understanding.
💻 And Then There Are the PDFs…
Alongside these physical books, I also read many texts in PDF form—especially academic articles, reference books, and materials I cannot always find in print. I will share that digital reading list separately. That is another part of this journey.
What I Have Learned From All This Reading
Reading has not made me “know everything.”
Instead, it has shown me how much there is to learn.
Some books inspired me.
Some challenged me.
Some confused me.
Some changed how I see teaching, language, and society.
But together, they have done one thing:
They have slowly shaped my thinking.
This Is Not a Finished Story
This shelf is not complete.
My reading is not complete.
And neither am I.
I am still reading.
Still learning.
Still being influenced by voices from different times, places, and beliefs.
These books are not trophies.
They are companions in my growth.
And this journey—page by page—is still going on.
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✍️ Author:
Lovedev Sharma
Undergraduate Student
BA (English Studies) & B.Ed. (TESOL)
Kathmandu University, School of Education
📧 Email: l@lovedev.com.np
📞 Mobile: +977-9840629598
🌐 Website: www.lovedev.com.np
🌸 "Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is." – Shree Krishna 🌸
