In 2008-09, it were the IT czars NR Narayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekani who made news with their books; 2010 will see peers Azim Premji and S Ramadorai making their entry into the authors’ club.

More such personalities like Capt Gopinath are doing the same. The trend of Indian business leaders writing books is becoming more popular now, with readers lapping up their work and putting them on the bestseller’s list.

Nilekani’s Imagining India has sold 58,000 copies so far, Narayana Murthy’s A Better India, A Better World sold 42,000 copies, Subroto Bagchi’s books touched 71,000 (combined sales of 3 books), while 22,000 copies of The Case of the Bonsai Manager written by R Gopalakrishnan have been retailed, according to Penguin Books India, the publisher of these books.

“There is a great deal of interest right now among readers in hearing what top businessmen have to say. And happily this has coincided with a number of key individuals deciding to share their thoughts,’’ Udayan Mitra, publishing director of Penguin Books India said.

These books, published in the last couple of years, have sold better than those written by global CXOs like Bill Gates and Michael Dell, Sivaraman Balakrishnan, deputy manager – marketing, Crossword Bookstores said. Penguin’s sales head Ananth Padmanabhan, agreed and said Nandan’s and Narayana Murthy’s books outsold the global leaders mentioned in India within a year.

So what has changed? MindTree co-founder and author Subroto Bagchi said, “I think when a business leader is able to think beyond self-interest it attracts attention. And unlike in our young days, today the idea of being in business or being an entrepreneur has become aspirational.” Bagchi is presently working on a book for young adults (14-year-olds) to be delivered in 2010.

R Krishnakumar Nair, general manager – merchandising, Odyssey India said the format of business books has also evolved over the years from old boring text books to something which is light and reader friendly. “I assume that since most of the top entrepreneurs are in the news almost on a daily basis they have become a page three version of the written word. An entire generation of people who are in pursuit of their own ambitions would love to read and learn from these leaders,’’ he added.

However, Penguin’s Mitra points out that what is being authored now are not memoirs. “Nilekani’s and Narayana Murthy’s books are vision documents for India, reflecting the lessons learnt from their long and illustrious careers. Bagchi’s The Professional is also a vision document for a company, again arising out of his valuable experience. Such books go beyond the curiosity factor readers may have in what a top businessman may have to say.”