Books & Authors for Government Exams: Complete Static GK Guide for Aspirants
Books & Authors for Government Exams: Complete Static GK Guide for Aspirants
Static General Knowledge is a high-scoring yet often neglected section in most government recruitment exams. Among all Static GK topics, “Books & Authors” holds a special place, as questions are frequently asked in UPSC, BPSC, UPSSSC, SSC, Railways, and other state-level exams.
In this blog, iSathi brings you a clean, exam-ready, and carefully curated list of important Books & Authors, categorized for easy revision and long-term retention.
Why “Books & Authors” Is Important for Exams?
- Questions are direct and factual
- No calculations, no lengthy concepts
- Often asked in Prelims and One-Day Exams
- Can fetch guaranteed marks with proper revision
👉 Example Questions:
- Who wrote Arthashastra?
- The book Gitanjali is written by whom?
- Baburnama is related to which Mughal ruler?
Ancient & Classical Works (Very Important)
These books are frequently asked in History + Culture sections.
- Ashtadhyayi — Panini
- Ramayana — Valmiki
- Mahabharata — Ved Vyasa
- Bhagavad Gita — Ved Vyasa
- Panchatantra — Vishnu Sharma
- Arthashastra — Kautilya (Chanakya / Vishnugupta)
- Buddhacharita — Ashvaghosha
- Kama Sutra — Vatsyayana
- Meghadutam (Meghaduta) — Kalidasa
- Abhigyan Shakuntalam — Kalidasa
- Harshacharita — Banabhatta
- Amarakosha — Amarasimha
- Akbarnama — Abul Fazl
- Baburnama / Tuzk-e-Babri — Babur
📌 Exam Insight:
Kalidasa and Mughal-period books are repeat favorites in competitive exams.
Sanskrit & Medieval Literature
Highly useful for culture-based questions in state PSC exams.
- Kadambari — Banabhatta
- Rajatarangini — Kalhana
- Malavikagnimitram — Kalidasa
- Raghuvansham — Kalidasa
- Vikramorvashiyam — Kalidasa
- Padmavat — Malik Muhammad Jayasi
- Mudrarakshasa — Vishakhadatta
- Tuzk-i-Jahangiri — Jahangir
- Humayun-nama — Gulbadan Begum
Foreign Accounts & Modern Classics
These books are important for Modern History, Sociology, and Literature-based GK.
- Indica — Megasthenes
- Gitanjali — Rabindranath Tagore
- The Guide — R. K. Narayan
- Two Lives — Vikram Seth
- A Brief History of Time — Stephen Hawking
- Economy and Society — Max Weber
- Midnight’s Children — Salman Rushdie
- The Shadow Lines — Amitav Ghosh
- The Great Indian Novel — Shashi Tharoor
Biographies & Autobiographies (High-Probability Area)
Exams love personalities + books combinations.
- The Audacity of Hope — Barack Obama
- My Experiments with Truth — Mahatma Gandhi
- Wings of Fire — A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
- An Autobiography — Jawaharlal Nehru
- Playing It My Way — Sachin Tendulkar
- Straight from the Heart — Kapil Dev
- Why I Am an Atheist — Bhagat Singh
- The Bandit Queen of India / A Passage to England — Phoolan Devi
History, Society & Fiction
- A History of the Sikhs — Khushwant Singh
- Pinjar — Amrita Pritam
- Delhi Is Not Far — Ruskin Bond
- Target 3 Billion — A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
- Becoming — Michelle Obama
- My Life, My Mission — Baba Ramdev
- Unbreakable — Mary Kom
- Kerala: God’s Own Country — Shashi Tharoor
- A Century Is Not Enough — Sourav Ganguly
Popular Novels & Contemporary Works
- 2 States — Chetan Bhagat
- 400 Days — Chetan Bhagat
- The 3 Mistakes of My Life — Chetan Bhagat
- Gulamgiri — Jyotiba Phule
- The Origin of Species — Charles Darwin
- The Google Story — David A. Vise
- Every Child Matters — Kailash Satyarthi
- Thoughts on Pakistan — Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
- Anandamath — Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
📌 Expert Exam Tips from iSathi
- 🔹 Focus on Ancient + Modern books together
- 🔹 Revise Kalidasa, Abdul Kalam, Chetan Bhagat, Mughal autobiographies
- 🔹 Practice one-liner MCQs regularly
- 🔹 Make short notes and revise weekly
👉 Use iSathi’s Mock Tests & Static GK PDFs to strengthen this topic effectively.
Final Words
If mastered properly, Books & Authors can become your scoring weapon in any government exam. Save this list, revise it multiple times, and test yourself through mock questions.
📲 Stay connected with iSathi.com for more exam-oriented Static GK, Current Affairs, and smart preparation strategies.