One of the only novels on the list, Shantaram is less of a book on how to make decisions, but rather a fascinating case study on how the direction of our life is inextricably tied to the decisions we make. At nearly 1000 pages, this is not an afternoon read, but it is a thrilling ride that doesn’t slow down once it starts rolling. From the inside cover:

Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear. Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujahideen guerrillas—this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart. Based on the life of the author, it is by any measure the debut of an extraordinary voice in literature.