Libraries Of Leaders: What Banker-Author Ravi Subramanian Reads

If you thought that the most thrilling thing that could happen at a bank was a Reservoir Dogs-style robbery, then you haven't spoken to Ravi Subramanian.

Dubbed the John Grisham of banking by The Wall Street Journal, Subramanian says all elements crucial for a gripping thriller – relationships, money, crime, fraud, and investigations, to name a few – can be found at a bank.

But his latest book In The Name of God, which hit the stands last week, is a departure from the world of banking. It's a thriller set in the precincts of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple which became the worlds richest shrine recently when an incredible $20 billion treasure was discovered in one of its two secret vaults.

Given his literary success, it's surprising that Subramanian is not a full-time author. The executive director at Shriram City Union Finance Ltd. has found a way to indulge his passion for writing though.

Here are the three books the banker-author would take with him if he was in solitary confinement, he tells BloombergQuint in an interview.

1. Swami And Friends by RK Narayan

This 1935 novel set in the fictional town of Malgudi chronicles the life of a young boy and his relationships at home and school. The colourful characters range from Swami's grandmother to his baby brother, the school bully-turned-friend to his overbearing lawyer father. It is full of enchanting little anecdotes of how the Malgudi Cricket Club came to be and the many conspiracies Swami and his friends hatch to prank teachers.

2. Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer

A classic from the Archer stable, the book tells the tale of two men – one from a privileged American family and the other a poor Polish immigrant. Their paths cross resulting in a rivalry of epic proportions bordering on mania.

3. The Perfect Murder by Shakuntala Devi

A slim book by a genius mathematician referred to as the human computer, the book tells the story of a man bent on committing the perfect murder. The beauty of the book, Subramanian says, is that it reveals the murder and the murderer's motives at the beginning but still holds the reader's attention as the plot descends into the way it is planned and executed.