“All the rows on my right, speak in support of sci-fi for leadership. And the rows on the left, oppose this claim,” I said.

The students are quick to take up the challenge.

“It is better for leaders to read actual science,” points out a young man on the left. The students around him nod their heads in agreement.

“And there is so much to read and so little time, leaders have to be selective,” says a curly-haired young lady seated next to him. More people are nodding.

The right-hand side of the class stays silent. Then suddenly a bearded backbencher, a student who has never spoken in class, now starts to speak, in a rush, almost as if he can no longer stay quiet.

“If you read Asimov there are so many inventions he talks about, things like video conferencing and space travel, that were just figments of imagination back then. As leaders we need to read this, to go beyond the science we know, to dream about the science we don’t yet know,” he says.

People in front of him are now paying attention, angling their heads towards the backbencher.

“Like crypto-currency in Neal Stephenson novels, communication and conflict in The Three-Body Problem” he adds.

A student in the first row raises his hand to speak - “And to think, what are the qualities people look for in a leader? We need more than technical knowledge- we need boldness and vision and imagination”

People talk of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk and their favourite sci-fi novels. We are all leaders in our own small ways — whether it is being head of a marketing club or a study group, they say.

The mood of the class has changed - their scepticism replaced by an openness to read sci-fi. From there, it is a short distance to a book list of these three books for beginners.

Book 1 of 3: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card: Three siblings compete in this page-turner of a novel - Peter wants to be a ruler, Valentine to influence the belief systems of the people with her writing, and Ender, the youngest, is training to be a general since he was six years old. This is crucially important because Earth is at war with the Buggers, an alien race who lives in space. Read this book to understand the kinds of power and conflict better.

Book 2 of 3: The Chaos Agent by Mark Greaney: Fans of the Gray Man thrillers will have seen Court Gentry fighting terrorists and rogue intelligence agencies in Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan and even India. In this one, he gets embroiled in a plot where someone is killing the world’s leading experts on robotics. Is it a tech company eliminating the competition, a country intent on military superiority, or something else? Read this book to understand the military landscape of the world, with a look at how weapons manufacturers and their buyers interact and how AI supplies anonymity and chilling efficiency.

Book 3 of 3: The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu: If I was stranded on a desert island, I would carry everything Ken Liu has written, he is that compelling. I love the amazing way Liu brings in the particulars of Chinese history, culture, and art into a Western context, and how he sets out everything at a galaxy level as well. Many of his protagonists are young people — he shows how subtle racism affects them, and he weaves these into the larger stories of human consciousness and identity. My favourite stories in this book are Singularity and Staying Behind, both on the subject of human minds becoming digitised, and no longer requiring physical bodies. Read these stories to understand the advances in biological sciences and how they might affect our psyches, our emotions and our world.

Besides these, I have been reading a lot of sci-fi this year. It’s helped me understand the science of communication, learn about the human body and brain and re-look at social systems and structures. And also venture into the fourth dimension of time. But that is a whole other story, one which I will save for another day.

Until next week, happy reading.

Sonya Dutta Choudhury is a Mumbai-based journalist and the founder of Sonya’s Book Box, a bespoke book service. Each week, she brings you specially curated books to give you an immersive understanding of people and places. If you have any reading recommendations or suggestions, write to her at sonyasbookbox@gmail.com

The views expressed are personal

Books referred to in this edition of Book Box

How Great Science Fiction Works by Gary K Wolfe

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu translated by Ken Liu

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

The Chaos Agent by Mark Greaney

The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu