General Knowledge
Intermediate Level
Books and Authors
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Jul 11, 2026
About This Cheat Sheet
Hey there! Welcome to your complete guide to Books and Authors for competitive exams. I've put together everything you need to know in one place — from Famous Books and their Authors (Indian and International) to Literary Awards, Autobiographies, Biographies, and more. Whether you're preparing for SSC, Banking, Railways, UPSC, or State PSC exams, this cheat sheet covers book-author pairs, years, and shortcut techniques to help you score better.
📚 Indian Authors
- Rabindranath Tagore - Gitanjali
- Premchand - Godaan
- Arundhati Roy - The God of Small Things
- Salman Rushdie - Midnight's Children
- Vikram Seth - A Suitable Boy
- R.K. Narayan - Malgudi Days, The Guide
- Aravind Adiga - The White Tiger
- Kiran Desai - The Inheritance of Loss
🌍 International Authors
- Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist
- Dan Brown - The Da Vinci Code
- J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter Series
- J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings
- Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner
- George Orwell - 1984, Animal Farm
- Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
- Markus Zusak - The Book Thief
📜 Indian Epics
- Ramayana - Valmiki (Sanskrit)
- Mahabharata - Ved Vyas (Sanskrit)
- Bhagavad Gita - Vyasa
- Upanishads - Various Sages
- Rigveda - Ancient Sages
- Meghadootam - Kalidasa
- Shakuntala - Kalidasa
- Raghuvamsha - Kalidasa
📖 Autobiographies
- My Experiments with Truth - Mahatma Gandhi
- Wings of Fire - A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
- An Autobiography - Jawaharlal Nehru
- The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
- Autobiography of a Yogi - Yogananda
- Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela
- Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama
- Bossypants - Tina Fey
🏆 Literary Awards
- Jnanpith Award - India (1961)
- Sahitya Akademi Award - India (1954)
- Booker Prize - UK (1969)
- Nobel Prize Literature - Sweden (1901)
- Pulitzer Prize - USA (1917)
- Commonwealth Prize - UK (1987)
- Bharatiya Jnanpith - India
- Mysore State Award - India
🏅 Booker Prize Winners
- Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie (1981)
- The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy (1997)
- The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai (2006)
- The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga (2008)
- The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
- Life of Pi - Yann Martel
- The Sellout - Paul Beatty
- Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo
📚 Gitanjali
Rabindranath Tagore
Nobel 1913📚 Godaan
Premchand
Best Hindi Novel📚 Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling
7 Volumes📚 1984
George Orwell
Dystopian Classic📚 Famous Indian Books & Authors
📖 Gitanjali
- Author: Rabindranath Tagore
- Year: 1910
- Significance: Nobel Prize 1913
- Language: Bengali/English
📖 Godaan
- Author: Premchand
- Year: 1936
- Significance: Best Hindi Novel
- Language: Hindi
📖 The God of Small Things
- Author: Arundhati Roy
- Year: 1997
- Significance: Booker Prize 1997
- Language: English
📖 Midnight's Children
- Author: Salman Rushdie
- Year: 1981
- Significance: Booker Prize 1981
- Language: English
📚 More Indian Books & Authors
📖 A Suitable Boy
- Author: Vikram Seth
- Year: 1993
- Significance: Longest novel in English
- Language: English
📖 Malgudi Days
- Author: R.K. Narayan
- Year: 1943
- Significance: Collection of short stories
- Language: English
📖 The White Tiger
- Author: Aravind Adiga
- Year: 2008
- Significance: Booker Prize 2008
- Language: English
📖 The Inheritance of Loss
- Author: Kiran Desai
- Year: 2006
- Significance: Booker Prize 2006
- Language: English
🌍 International Books & Authors
The Alchemist (1988): Paulo Coelho — International Bestseller
The Da Vinci Code (2003): Dan Brown — Bestseller
Harry Potter Series (1997-2007): J.K. Rowling — 7 volumes
The Lord of the Rings (1954-55): J.R.R. Tolkien — Fantasy epic
The Hobbit (1937): J.R.R. Tolkien — Prequel to LOTR
The Kite Runner (2003): Khaled Hosseini — Bestseller
A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007): Khaled Hosseini — Bestseller
The Book Thief (2005): Markus Zusak — Historical fiction
The Catcher in the Rye (1951): J.D. Salinger — Classic novel
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960): Harper Lee — Pulitzer Prize
1984 (1949): George Orwell — Dystopian classic
Animal Farm (1945): George Orwell — Satirical allegory
The Great Gatsby (1925): F. Scott Fitzgerald — American classic
📜 Indian Epics & Literature
Ramayana: Valmiki (Sanskrit) — Hindu epic
Mahabharata: Ved Vyas (Sanskrit) — Hindu epic
Bhagavad Gita: Vyasa (Sanskrit) — Philosophical text
Upanishads: Various Sages — Philosophical texts
Rigveda: Ancient Sages — Vedic text
Meghadootam: Kalidasa (Sanskrit) — Classical poetry
Shakuntala: Kalidasa (Sanskrit) — Classical drama
Raghuvamsha: Kalidasa (Sanskrit) — Classical poetry
The Odyssey: Homer (8th century BC) — Greek epic
The Iliad: Homer (8th century BC) — Greek epic
📖 Autobiographies & Biographies
📖 My Experiments with Truth
- Author/Subject: Mahatma Gandhi
- Year: 1927
- Key: Gandhi's autobiography
- Language: Gujarati/English
📖 Wings of Fire
- Author/Subject: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
- Year: 1999
- Key: Kalam's autobiography
- Language: English
📖 An Autobiography
- Author/Subject: Jawaharlal Nehru
- Year: 1936
- Key: Nehru's autobiography
- Language: English
📖 The Diary of a Young Girl
- Author: Anne Frank
- Year: 1947
- Key: WWII diary
- Language: Dutch/English
📖 More Autobiographies & Biographies
📖 The Autobiography of a Yogi
- Author: Paramahansa Yogananda
- Year: 1946
- Key: Spiritual autobiography
- Language: English
📖 Long Walk to Freedom
- Author: Nelson Mandela
- Year: 1994
- Key: Mandela's autobiography
- Language: English
📖 Dreams from My Father
- Author: Barack Obama
- Year: 1995
- Key: Obama's autobiography
- Language: English
📖 Bossypants
- Author: Tina Fey
- Year: 2011
- Key: Comedic autobiography
- Language: English
🏆 Important Literary Awards
🏆 Indian Awards
- Jnanpith Award: 1961 — Highest literary award in India
- Sahitya Akademi Award: 1954 — National literary award
- Bharatiya Jnanpith: 1961 — Literary excellence
- Mysore State Award: State-level recognition
- Odisha Sahitya Akademi: Odia literature
🏆 International Awards
- Nobel Prize in Literature: 1901 — Highest global award
- Booker Prize: 1969 — Best novel in English
- Pulitzer Prize: 1917 — American literary award
- Commonwealth Writers Prize: 1987 — Commonwealth writers
- International Booker Prize: 2005 — Translated fiction
🏆 Indian Nobel Winners
- Rabindranath Tagore: 1913 — Gitanjali
- Nobel Prize Literature: 1913
- First Indian: Rabindranath Tagore
- Only Indian: Rabindranath Tagore (Literature)
- Key: Gitanjali
📚 Booker Prize Winners
🏆 1981
- Book: Midnight's Children
- Author: Salman Rushdie
- Key: Indian author
🏆 1997
- Book: The God of Small Things
- Author: Arundhati Roy
- Key: Indian author
🏆 2006
- Book: The Inheritance of Loss
- Author: Kiran Desai
- Key: Indian author
🏆 2008
- Book: The White Tiger
- Author: Aravind Adiga
- Key: Indian author
📚 More Booker Prize Winners
🏆 1989
- Book: The Remains of the Day
- Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
- Key: Nobel 2017
🏆 2002
- Book: Life of Pi
- Author: Yann Martel
- Key: Canadian author
🏆 2016
- Book: The Sellout
- Author: Paul Beatty
- Key: American author
🏆 2019
- Book: Girl, Woman, Other
- Author: Bernardine Evaristo
- Key: British author
🎯 Books & Authors Quick Revision
The Golden Rule: Focus on matching books with their authors and key awards. Most competitive exam questions test your ability to recall which author wrote which book and which book won which award.
Quick Memory Tricks:
- 📌 Indian Authors: "Tagore = Gitanjali, Premchand = Godaan, Roy = God of Small Things, Rushdie = Midnight's Children"
- 📌 Booker Winners: "Rushdie (1981), Roy (1997), Desai (2006), Adiga (2008)"
- 📌 International: "Rowling = Harry Potter, Tolkien = LOTR, Coelho = Alchemist, Orwell = 1984"
- 📌 Autobiographies: "Gandhi = My Experiments with Truth, Kalam = Wings of Fire"
Exam Strategy:
- Step 1: Read the question — identify if it's about Indian or International literature
- Step 2: Match the book with the correct author
- Step 3: Check the year and award if mentioned
- Step 4: For autobiographies, know the subject
- Step 5: Use elimination to remove wrong options
💡 Pro Tips for Books & Authors
✅ Book-Author Pairs
Focus on matching books with authors: Tagore-Gitanjali, Premchand-Godaan, Roy-God of Small Things.
✅ Award Winners
Booker Prize: Rushdie (1981), Roy (1997), Desai (2006), Adiga (2008). Nobel: Tagore (1913).
✅ Autobiographies
Gandhi = My Experiments with Truth, Kalam = Wings of Fire, Nehru = An Autobiography.
✅ Indian Epics
Ramayana = Valmiki, Mahabharata = Ved Vyas, Bhagavad Gita = Vyasa.
✅ International Classics
Orwell = 1984/Animal Farm, Lee = To Kill a Mockingbird, Salinger = Catcher in the Rye.
✅ Bestsellers
Rowling = Harry Potter, Tolkien = LOTR, Coelho = The Alchemist, Brown = Da Vinci Code.
📚 Quick Reference: Indian Books Summary
📖 Book
- Gitanjali
- Godaan
- The God of Small Things
- Midnight's Children
- A Suitable Boy
- Malgudi Days
- The Guide
- The White Tiger
- The Inheritance of Loss
- The Namesake
- The Palace of Illusions
- Shiva Trilogy
✍️ Author
- Rabindranath Tagore
- Premchand
- Arundhati Roy
- Salman Rushdie
- Vikram Seth
- R.K. Narayan
- R.K. Narayan
- Aravind Adiga
- Kiran Desai
- Jhumpa Lahiri
- Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Amish Tripathi
📅 Year
- 1910
- 1936
- 1997
- 1981
- 1993
- 1943
- 1958
- 2008
- 2006
- 2003
- 2008
- 2010-13
🏆 Award/Key
- Nobel 1913
- Best Hindi Novel
- Booker 1997
- Booker 1981
- Longest novel
- Short stories
- Film adaptation
- Booker 2008
- Booker 2006
- Pulitzer
- Mahabharata retelling
- Bestselling
🌍 Quick Reference: International Books Summary
📖 Book
- The Alchemist
- The Da Vinci Code
- Harry Potter Series
- The Lord of the Rings
- The Hobbit
- The Kite Runner
- A Thousand Splendid Suns
- The Book Thief
- The Catcher in the Rye
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- 1984
- Animal Farm
- The Great Gatsby
✍️ Author
- Paulo Coelho
- Dan Brown
- J.K. Rowling
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- Khaled Hosseini
- Khaled Hosseini
- Markus Zusak
- J.D. Salinger
- Harper Lee
- George Orwell
- George Orwell
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
📅 Year
- 1988
- 2003
- 1997-2007
- 1954-55
- 1937
- 2003
- 2007
- 2005
- 1951
- 1960
- 1949
- 1945
- 1925
🏆 Key
- Bestseller
- Bestseller
- 7 volumes
- Fantasy epic
- Prequel to LOTR
- Bestseller
- Bestseller
- Historical fiction
- Classic novel
- Pulitzer
- Dystopian
- Satirical
- American classic
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