Best Books for CAT Preparation 2023 Recommended by MBA

Experts

Vipra Shrivastava
Senio r Manager - Co ntent

Updated on Jun 29, 2023 18:53 IST

Get here the list of top 32 CAT books for preparation recommended by MBA experts. The list
includes sections wise best books for CAT 2023 by Arun Sharma, Sarvesh Verma and other
authors. Study from these books to prepare for CAT 2023.

CAT books are the most essential items f or exam preparation. T hose plan to appear f or
CAT 2023 must ref er to the books that are recommended by experts only. Any good book
f or CAT preparation should serve dual purpose - theory and practice. T hus candidates
should ref er to only those CAT preparation books which have detailed explanation of
every topic as well as sample questions f or practice.

Best books for CAT preparation are available online and of f line but choosing the right
ones can be a challenge. T o help candidates choose the best CAT books f or exam
preparation, we have prepared section-wise lists. But bef ore shortlisting the books, we

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suggest that you have a CAT preparation strategy.

Best Books f or CAT Preparation and Other Study Material

Your CAT exam preparation should include a comprehensive study plan, relevant books and
study material, a workable timetable and CAT mock test series. Some students opt f or self -
study with the help of CAT preparation books while others choose to study at coaching
centres which provide complete guidance and best study material. Whichever approach you
choose, the most important thing is to ref er study material which inlcudes sample test
papers and best books for CAT exam. T here is a range of CAT preparation books available
in the market but the question is – which CAT books to refer?

CAT 2023 will be held on November 26. Equipped with a well-planned strategy and best
books for CAT , candidates can crack the exam with high scores. Apart f rom coaching
classes, f ocus on self -study to crack the CAT 2023 exam. Check out the lists of best
books for CAT preparation in this article.

Also Read:

CAT question papers f or practice- Free PDF

Section wise CAT syllabus 2023

CAT 2023 preparation: T op T ips and Strategy

CAT 2023: Preparation by Self Study or Coaching?

Best CAT Books f or Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) is an analytical section that require
candidates to have a keen eye f or detail and the skill of reading complicated graphs or
unravelling jumbled patterns. Check the list of best books for CAT DILR:

CAT Books Author/Publisher Name

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Gautam Puri

Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation f or the CAT Nishit K. Sinha

Data Interpretation & Data Suf f iciency Ananta Ashisha

How to Prepare f or Data Interpretation f or CAT Arun Sharma

Best CAT Books f or Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) of ten turns out to be a tough section with
dense RC passages and conf using para jumbles. Verbal Ability questions of the CAT are

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comparatively easier. Check the list of best books for CAT VARC:

CAT Books Author/Publisher Name

How to Prepare f or Verbal Ability and Reading Arun Sharma and Meenakshi
Comprehension f or CAT Upadhyay/Arihant

30 Days to a More Powerf ul Vocabulary Mass Wilf red Funk & Norman Lewis/
Market Paperback Simon & Schuster

How to Prepare f or Verbal Ability and Reading

Sharma and Upadhyay
Comprehension f or the CAT

PSC f or VA f or CAT Nishit Sinha

Best CAT Books f or Quantitative Aptitude

Quantitative Aptitude (QA) is the last section of the CAT question paper are require mental
stamina to go through calculation intensive questions. T he more you practice the better it is.
Check the list of CAT books for QA:

CAT Books Author/Publisher Name

CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Gautam Puri

Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation f or the

Nishit K. Sinha
CAT

Data Interpretation & Data Suf f iciency Ananta Ashisha

How to Prepare f or Data Interpretation f or CAT Arun Sharma

Download:

CAT 2017 Question Paper PDF with Answer Key & Solutions, Download Now

CAT 2018 Question Paper PDF with Answer Key and Solutions: Download PDF

CAT 2019 Question Paper; Download Free PDF with Answer Key & Solutions

CAT 2020 Question Paper, Download Free PDF with Answer Key & Solutions

CAT 2021 Question Paper, Download Free PDF with Answer Key & Solutions

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 CAT 2022 Question Paper, Download Free PDF with Answer Key & Solutions

Shiksha spoke to a f ew experts f rom top MBA coaching institutes across the country to
know which are the best books for CAT preparation. T hey shared with Shiksha their list of
highly recommended CAT books:

T arun Malik

So, the very f irst thing the CAT takers need to make sure is
that their f undamentals should be in place. T he next very
important aspect to crack CAT is 'test taking strategy'. So,
an aspirant must understand the importance of taking tests
because only by testing, one can create a strategy to crack
CAT . T he strategy will include 'selection of questions',
'sequence of questions to attempt', 'Speed with accuracy'
and most importantly 'pressure handling'.

Although the material and mocks distributed by coaching

institutes are more than suf f icient. We can recommend
these CAT books if a student has f inished all the course material given by the institute.

Best Books for CAT Preparation Recommended by T arun Malik

CAT Books Author/Publisher Name

Quantum CAT Arihant Publications

High School English Grammar and Composition Book Wren and Martin

Word Power Made Easy Norman Lewis

Past Years' CAT Questions G.K. Publications

Newspapers and magazines recommended by T arun Malik for CAT preparation:

T he Hindu

T ime

Business Week

Newsweek

T he Economist

National Geographic

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 Fortune

Business World

Pratik Gour

CAT Preparation 2023 will not be complete without going

through a f ew CAT books like the IMS T heoretical Books of
Verbal & Quant. T his is a set of books that would not only
clear concepts but would also consist of questions to solve
which helps to practice.

CAT 500 is another special book f rom IMS consisting of

'500 Must Solve Questions'. If you can solve these
questions correctly and in the target time (average 2.5
minutes) then you can be assured that you are on the right
path.

Acing the CAT exam and getting the GD-PI calls f rom
targeted B-Schools is just the f irst step. Beyond that every
student needs to build their skills on communication f or acing f urther rounds. T here are a
f ew CAT books that we would recommend in dif f erent areas which could be a good read like:

CAT Books Recommended by Pratik Gour:

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 CAT Books Author Genre

Seven Habits of Highly Ef f ective

People Stephen Covey Management

A Brief History of time Stephen Hawking Science

Cosmos Carl Sagan Science

An Illustrated Retelling of Mythology &

Mahabharta – Jaya Devdutt Patnaik Management

India in Slow Motions Mark T ully Politics

Capitalism & Freedom Milton Friedman Economics

Maximum City Suketu Mehta City Lif e - Mumbai

Long Walk to Freedom Nelson Mandela Autobiography - Politics

Wings of Fire APJ Abdul Kalam Autobiography

Autobiography – City
Shantaram David Gregory Roberts Lif e

Other Books Recommends for CAT Preparation by Pratik Gour

Pratik suggests that CAT aspirants must also read non-f iction novels so that they have an
incentive to keep reading. For example:

CAT Books Author Genre

Around the world in Eighty Days Jules Verne Adventure

T he T ime Machine H G Wells Science Fiction

Caves of Steel Isaac Asimov Science Fiction

T he Hunger Games Suzanne Collins Dystopian Fiction

T hree Men in a Boat Jerome K Jerome Humour

Something Fresh P G Wodehouse Humour

Where Eagles Dare Alistair McLean Fiction

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Best Books for CAT Preparation Recommended by Deekshant Sehrawat

Deekshant Sehrawat, MBAguru, recommends the f ollowing

books for CAT preparation 2023:

• Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Kumar Verma

• Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Nishit Sinha
• RS Aggarwal’s Quantitative Aptitude For Competitive
Examinations
• Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension by Ajay Singh

Free: VARC Questions

Free: DILR Questions Free: QA Questions with
with Answers for
with Answers for Practice Answers f or Practice
Practice

Read most popular articles on Shiksha for CAT Preparation 2023:

CAT Preparation 2023

How to crack CAT 2023: Prep tips f rom 100 How to prepare f or CAT 2023: T ips f rom
percentilers experts

CAT : Preparation Plan f or Verbal Ability CAT : Preparation Plan f or Data

Interpretation & Logical Reasoning

Quantitative Aptitude preparation plan f or CAT 2023 preparation: Your love f or

CAT 2023 reading can get you the desired result

CAT exam 2023: How to prepare without CAT Preparation 2023: Simple tips to
quitting your job optimize exam preparation

CAT Topper Int erviews: Exam Tips and St rat egy

Know which CAT books previous year's CAT toppers studied to crack the exam. Also get
key exam day tips f rom CAT toppers to optimise your perf ormance.

CAT T oppers CAT T opper Interviews

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 CAT T oppers CAT T opper Interviews

Mocks play a crucial role while preparing f or

Risshi Agrawal
CAT . It helps you determine the strategy
CAT 2022, 99.99 percentile
which suits you the best.
Read Risshi’s f ull interview

I started preparing f or CAT in April. My

preparation strategy f or CAT was to clear
Parul Arora
my basic concepts in all topics and then
CAT 2022, 99.93 percentile
maximum practice.
Read Parul’s f ull interview

For my f irst attempt I attended of f line

coaching classes, post which I only took
the online test series. T his year I took the
Aditya Singh
test series f rom two of the most renowned
CAT 2022, 99.90 percentile
coaching institutes. Coaching really helps a
lot.
Read Aditya’s f ull interview

I started my CAT preparation back in

January 2022. I set a daily target f or all 3
sections that included daily 3-4 RCs daily
Atish Naskar 3-4 LRDI sets 20-30 QA questions or some
CAT 2022, 99.81 percentile QA concept understanding. T he last 2-3
Months gave mocks and analyzed them
properly.
Read Atish’s f ull interview

My serious preparation started in the

month of June 2022. My overall strategy
T ushar Sarkar
had three parts: Diagnosing my problems,
CAT 2022, 99.80 percentile
guiding policy f or improving and actions.
Read T ushar’s f ull interview

I started preparing in March 2021. I f ocused

mainly on giving mock tests and analysing
Chirag Gupta them. I used to work on my weaknesses by
CAT 2021, 100 percentile watching various CAT preparation YouT ube
videos on various topics.
Read: Chirag's f ull interview

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 I started preparing in April 2021. I solved
Arun Sharma sir's CAT books f or VARC,
LR, DI and Quant. I attempted as many past
Bir Anmol Singh year CAT questions papers (timed attempt)
CAT 2021, 99.94 percentile that I could attempt, on weekends. I used to
analyse my shortcomings to improve
f urther.
Read: Bir Anmol's f ull interview

I started preparing around the end of June

this year and went into the f ull-throttle
mode by end of August. My overall strategy
Sagar Sengar
was to f irst complete the theory end to end
CAT 2021, 99.48 percentile
and then practice dif f erent kinds of
problems across all the sections.
Read: Sagar's f ull interview

It is not at all important to join a coaching

Ved Vineet institute f or CAT preparation. You just
CAT 2021, 99.40 percentile need to prepare in a disciplined manner.
Read: Ved's f ull interview

Don't delay your prep. Start as early as

possible. Solve as many questions as you
Sareen Shah can. Understand RCs and DILR sets
CAT 2021, 99.35 percentile properly. Quality over Quantity should be
your aim.
Read: Sareen's f ull interview

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Take CAT Mock Test by Shiksha
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FAQs Related to CAT Books and Study Material

Q: Which are the best books for CAT preparation?
A: For CAT 2023 preparation, books by Arun Sharma, Sarvesh Varma, Nishit K Sinha, Wren &
Martin and Word Power Made Easy are highly recommended. T hey are very helpf ul in building
a strong base in Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning and Verbal
Ability as they have large number and large variety of sample questions f or practice.

Q: What should be the CAT preparation strategy for freshers?

A: Freshers should start CAT preparation with brushing up basics of Maths and English
grammar. T hen, move to studying topics of each CAT section. T hey must also keep solving
sample questions to know if they have understood the topic or not. Once, they have
completed the CAT syllabus and gained conf idence, they must move to solving f ull length
CAT mock tests.

Q: Is studying from recommended CAT books enough to score well in exam?

A: Apart f rom CAT books, aspirants should practice CAT mock tests, sample papers,
previous years CAT question papers and secondary study material f or complete preparation.
It is very important to understand and practice the application of concepts to be able to
solve questions quickly in a speed-based test. For VARC, reading newspapers, books and
magazines are a must. f or DILR and QA candidates must practice mathematical and pattern

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based puzzles to develop reasoning and analytical skills. T hey should also practice mental
math f or f aster calculation.

Q: Can I prepare for CAT 2023 exam in six months?

A: Yes, many previous CAT toppers prepared f or the exam in six or less months. However,
mostly candidates f rom Science and T echnology background stand a chance of successf ully
preparing f or CAT in six months as they do not have to study Maths topics f rom the scratch,
unlike candidates f rom Arts background. So, those who had not studied Maths in HSc or
Graduation must start CAT preparation much earlier, pref erably by March-April.

Q: Which book should I refer for English grammar section of CAT ?

A: High School English Grammar by Wren and Martin is highly recommended f or
strengthening English grammar. Candidates must ref er to this book f or strengthening
f undamentals of English Grammar. It is quite helpf ul in understanding the rules of English
language and usage of words in dif f erent context. Sample questions and practice exercises
also help in understanding rules of English grammar better.

Q: Are Arun Sharma’s books enough for CAT preparation?

A: Books by Arun Sharma are comprehensive and explains concepts in a simple manner,
which is easy to understand. T he books also contain test papers having questions of low to
high dif f iculty level which can be immensely helpf ul in preparing f or CAT 2023.

Q: Do CAT preparation books that are available in the market have sample
questions?
A: Yes, CAT preparation books have sample questions with solutions f or candidates to
prepare well. Most of the CAT books have 100s of sample questions of a wide variety and
dif f erent dif f iculty levels - easy, moderate and high. T hese sample questions are f or practice
purpose and highly helpf ul in mastering application of theorems and f ormulas.

Q: How many CAT mock tests should I attempt?

A: About 35-40 CAT mock tests should be enough to prepare you f or cracking CAT with 99
plus percentile. However, some 100 percentilers of previous years have practiced more than
50-60 mock tests. Candidates must solve mock tests as per their preparation level, because
it is quality not quantity that matters in CAT . If they have started scoring 99 percentile in their
mock tests, then they must stop and f ocus on keeping the preparation level high with
revision.

Q: From where can I buy CAT books?

A: CAT books are available at bookshops as well as at online stores such as Amazon,
Flipkart, etc. Coaching institutes also provide CAT books and study material to registered
candidates. Candidates can buy hardcopies as well as get PDFs f rom various of f line and

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online platf orms.

Q: Is study material provided by coaching centres enough for CAT preparation?

A: Coaching centres provide comprehensive study material f or CAT preparation such as
notes, sample tests, problem solving notes, video explanations, etc. and many students
have cracked CAT with high percentile by studying that study material only. However, if one
f eels they need to look at a f ew more ref erence books on CAT , they should do that.

Q: What should be my last month CAT preparation strategy?

A: In the last month of CAT preparation, f ocus on practicing mock tests and working on your
weakness. Keep revising important topics and your strong areas. Once you've achieved
maximum score in the mock test stop practicing more questions. Focus more on revision.

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