CAT Preparation Books

CAT 2022 Preparation Books: Best Books, Section-Wise CAT Books

If you are preparing for CAT 2022 exam with an aim of getting admission in 2023 in one of the top 3-4 IIMs, FMS or other top MBA colleges accepting CAT, the best time to prepare for the exam is now. Reading the CAT preparation books could be one of the best preparation strategy for you.

However, with so many CAT preparation books flooding the market, it is not only difficult but also confusing to choose the best and most relevant preparation books for CAT exam. Making the right choice of subject wise CAT preparation books to crack CAT 2022 is the first step in your CAT preparation journey. 

Pursuing MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow and other IIMs by scoring high in CAT exam needs a good preparation strategy through best CAT preparation books.  So, you have to pick out most relevant and updated books for CAT preparation which are as per the current CAT pattern, syllabus and are comprehensive and contain all the key topics section wise with the anticipated solved question types. MBAUniverse.com comes to help you with the guidelines how to choose the best CAT preparation books as recommended by CAT toppers and experts. 

Best Books for CAT Recommended by Toppers

Choosing the best books for CAT carefully, during your preparation journey is very important. CAT toppers have recommended the subject wise best books for CAT preparation.

CAT toppers at IIM Ahmedabad like Akshay Mehndiratta, Pranjal Agarwal with 100 percentile and at IIM Calcutta with 99+ percentile like Anjali Sam, Nikita Choudhary, Shivam Shrivastava  have recommended section wise CAT preparation books by Arun Sharma and Nishith K Sinha.

Tanuj Ruia, IIM Bangalore student of MBA 2020-22 batch recommends CAT preparation books by Arun Sharma. Nandan Goel, IIM Calcutta student of MBA 2021-23 batch said, “I believed that the books were self-explanatory and if I stay motivated throughout, then I’ll be able to make it without any extra help.” 

So, as stated by CAT toppers, CAT preparation books are the best preparation support.  However, they suggest to have only one or two very good CAT preparation Books. We have reviewed these CAT books by popular authors and publishers, for example Arun Sharma CAT books, Arihant Reasoning books and other best books for CAT recommended by toppers. In this article, we will share the detailed review of the best CAT books for CAT preparation 2022 section wise. 

CAT Preparation Books by Arun Sharma

CAT toppers like Tanuj Ruia have recommended books by Arun Sharma. These books by Arun Sharma for CAT exam preparation are available for all the test sections and the topics that appear in CAT exam. Some of the key features of these CAT preparation books authored by Arun Sharma are:

• Each book on CAT preparation by Arun Sharma consists of past and present pattern of CAT exam with the key changes in CAT pattern
• The book is updated with new chapters, exercises, replica CAT questions and the approach how to answer
• Conceptual clarity and fundamentals with formula in each part of the CAT Preparation book by Arun Sharma on each topic is well explained followed by sectional quizzes and practice questions as well as past CAT questions on the topic.
• The books to prepare on VARC, DILR, Quant for CAT written by Arun Sharma are separately available so as to focus on the topic in which the CAT aspirant is weak.

Let us review Arun Sharma’s CAT Books section wise

Section-1: VARC Preparation Book by Arun Sharma 

Book by Arun Sharma on VARC preparation are:

• How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT’– by Arun Sharma & Meenakshi Upadhyay
• Alongwith it, other CAT preparation material on VARC by Arun Sharma like practice questions, solved test papers, Mock tests can also be obtained

How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT
Authored by: Arun Sharma & Meenakshi Upadhyay

Other Good Books for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

1. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
2. Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension by Ajay Singh
3. Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT
Authored by: Nishit K. Sinha

Review of Best VARC Preparation Books for CAT

Below is shared the review of these VARC preparation books for CAT

1. Book Title: ‘How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT’

• Authored by: Arun Sharma & Meenakshi Upadhyay
• Publisher: Mc Graw Hill Education
• MRP: Rs. 860 (7^th Edition)
• Buy this book on Amazon at lowest price

Book Highlights

• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension by Arun Sharma is considered as one of the best CAT preparation books for VARC preparation
• Book is divided into four parts – Reading Comprehension, Verbal Ability, Verbal Reasoning and CAT Papers (Real and Sample)
• Part-1 on Reading Comprehension deals with the approach to improve reading skills, strategy how to tackle different type of RC questions, solved RC passages from past CAT exams and number of sample tests on RC passages of different difficulty level  
• Part-2 on Verbal Ability consists of chapters, exercises and tips on Vocabulary usage, word formation, phrases, sample questions; Fill in the Blanks; Sentence Completion; Jumbled Paragraphs; Sentence Correction-Grammar usage; Fact-Inference-Judgement; questions from past CAT papers and sample questions with different difficulty level.
• Part-3 of the book clarifies the concept of Verbal and Critical reasoning followed by different question types and previous years’ questions from CAT exam. Other chapters with questions in this part are on Syllogisms, Binary Logic and Logical Deductions.
• Part-4 of the Book comprises past CAT papers and Model Test Papers on CAT.

Where this Book Scores High

• This book is one stop solution to VARC Preparation for not just CAT but other exams like XAT, IIFT, CMAT, MAT, IRMA
• Book is updated regularly and written with latest CAT pattern in mind.
• The book is full of exercises and practice tests with answers and detailed solutions

What you will miss in the Book

• Previous Test Papers are limited to CAT 2008. No actual test paper is present from CAT 2009 onwards.
• The text in the book covers major portion but the most recent types of questions which appear in Verbal Ability section like Para Summary, Picking the Odd Sentence Out from a Jumbled Para etc are not placed with suitable sub-title. As such reader has to look for it in Verbal Reasoning section.
• With the revamped CAT exam pattern, the book can be re-organized with the reader’s perspective who is preparing for the exam. The question types which have stopped appearing in CAT since 2015, can be rearranged and the relevant topics can be placed in the beginning of the Verbal Ability section.
• RC based questions in CAT have also changed. The book requires a few more such questions following each RC passage.
• CAT exam now has 25 to 28% of Non-MCQ type questions. More exercises on Non-MCQ, no penalty questions in the book are required.  

2. Book Title: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT’ 

• Authored by: Nishit K Sinha
• Publisher: Pearson
• MRP: Rs.595 (3^rd Edition)
• Buy this book on Amazon at lowest price

Book Highlights:

• Authored by CAT Topper Nishit K. Sinha, an IIM Lucknow alumnus.
•  The book is divided into 6 parts on Verbal Ability, Verbal Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, CAT papers, Sectional Tests
• Book contains section wise presentation on Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension topics with practice exercises, model test questions.
• There are 5 simulated CAT online tests in CD attached to the book
• There are 2000 solved questions in Book
• The Book contains new topics and exercises as per the recent pattern of CAT including Non- MCQ based questions
• There are 7 years’ solved CAT papers in the Book

Where this Book Scores High

•  It is one of the recommended books for CAT exam Preparation by experts.
• Practice exercises are provided in hierarchical order of difficulty to enable the candidate to test himself of his preparation and recognize sectors of comfort and those that need particular attention
• Counted among the CAT Prep Best Books, the book is comprehensive one for the aspirants preparing for CAT and other similar examinations like XAT, SNAP, IIFT
• The book is compact and is presented in crisp, clear and comprehensive manner 

What you will Miss in this Book

• Part 1 and 2 in the book have fewer questions relevant to revamped VARC section of CAT exam
• Although the Questions on paragraphs and para summary are included in sectional tests, they need to be included in Verbal Ability section also. 
• RC based questions as asked during last 2-3 years of CAT exam have changed. More such questions need to be included in RC Section.
• Past CAT papers are limited to the year 2008. 

3. Book Title: ‘Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension’

• Authored by: Ajay Singh
• Publisher: Arihant
• MRP: Rs.475
• Buy this book on Amazon at lowest price

Book Highlights

• Arihant book on Verbal Ability is considered as one the CAT prep best books and is one of the recommended books on RC preparation for CAT Exam
• The book contains more than 450 pages divided in Verbal Ability, Verbal Reasoning, Reading comprehension parts
• While many other CAT preparation books on RC passages have fewer and not so many updated exercises, this book has more than 200 reading passages of different difficulty level.
• The questions in the book are graded in the order of rising complexity to guide the students from the basic level to higher difficulty level and it could be reason that it is one of the CAT preparation books suggested by toppers.
• Latest solved test papers for different MBA entrance exams are included in the book

Where this Book Scores High:

• Author has taken care to include all types of questions with detailed solutions in the book as per latest exam pattern of different MBA entrance tests
• Management Entrances Solved Papers from years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 MAT, CAT, XAT, IIFT, SNAP and other examinations are included
• It is a comprehensive book to improve your performance in English Language section in all MBA entrance exams.

What you will miss in this Book

• Despite being one of the best books for CAT, the book needs to include greater conceptual clarity on how to approach the questions like para Summary, picking odd sentence out of the jumbled paragraph.
• More practice questions on revamped CAT pattern in Verbal Ability part need to be included.
• RC Passages need to include latest type of CAT questions which are more of Critical Reasoning type.

4. Book Title: ‘Word Power Made Easy’ 

• Authored by: Norman Lewis
• Publisher: Penguin (2018 Edition)
• MRP: Rs.175
• Buy this book on Amazon at lowest price

Book Highlights

• Among the CAT preparation books for Vocabulary usage, this is the best book for CAT recommended by toppers
• Word Power Made Easy teaches simple, step-by-step method to improve Vocabulary
• The book is divided in hundreds of contextual usage of vocabulary words 
• The book helps you to learn how the each word is pronounced, how it should be correctly used without making grammatical mistake
• It is a small book which can be easily carried while you are travelling
• This book is a favorite among the CAT aspirants and is considered among the best books for CAT to improve vocabulary and reading speed

Where this Book Scores High:

• An interesting book which inspires you to read more. The more you read the more you learn. It will increase your knowledge and mastery of written and spoken English. 
• Word Power Made Easy teaches ideas and a method of broadening your knowledge as an integral part of the vocabulary building process. 
• The book to avoid illiterate expressions and helps you to use the vocabulary word correctly, without making embarrassing mistakes.
• Word Power Made Easy is written in a lively, accessible, and timeless style.
• The book has progress checks and quizzes to reinforce the material.
• Unlike the large volume CAT preparation books by Arun Sharma, the size of this book is smaller and can be carried easily

What you will Miss in the Book

• One part is learnt and other is forgotten. Candidates preparing their vocabulary with this book give up even before crossing half of the book.
• Despite the thousands of contextual vocabulary usage available in the book, it is very difficult to complete it even in many months due to its wide coverage

Another good book which can help you to build your basics, strengthen your fundamentals and bring conceptual clarity, is High School English Grammar & Composition authored by P C Wren & H Martin, published in India by S.Chand. The book with MRP of Rs.400 is available at 15 to 30% discount online on Amazon, Flipkart.  

Section-2: DILR Preparation Book by Arun Sharma
More than one CAT preparation books by Arun Sharma is available to prepare for DILR:

• ‘How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT’ – by Arun Sharma (Published by McGraw Hill)
• ‘How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for the CAT’ – by Arun Sharma (Published by McGraw Hill)
• Other Material for CAT preparation on DILR by Arun Sharma like practice questions, solved test papers, Mock tests are also available

How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for CAT  
Authored by: Arun Sharma      

How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT
Authored by: Arun Sharma

Other Good Books for CAT DILR Preparation
Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K. Sinha

Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT
Authored by: Nishit K. Sinha

Review of Best Books for CAT on Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

Review of the best books for Reasoning and Data Interpretation for CAT exam preparation is shared below: 

Book Title: How to prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT

• Authored by: Arun Sharma
• Publisher: McGraw Hill Education
• MRP:  Rs.775 (4^th Edition)
• Buy this book on Amazon at lowest price

Book Highlights

• Data Interpretation by Arun Sharma is one of the best books for Data Interpretation preparation for CAT. The book covers key aspects on fundamentals of Data Interpretation.
• One of the recommended books for CAT exam preparation, the book contains conceptual clarity with break-up of concepts in DI preparation
• The book has different difficulty level questions on each type of Data Interpretation Topic
• It is one of the CAT preparation books suggested by toppers and covers all the past and probable DI topics and offers right approach to solve these questions
• New Edition of this Best CAT book by Arun Sharma, contains ‘Challenges in DI’ to help the aspirants how to solve tough questions
• Questions on Data Sufficiency are also included in this CAT preparation book by Arun Sharma
• The mathematical formation pattern of questions is also discussed in the book to help the test takers to crack the problem easily
• Tips, shortcut tricks to crack DI questions quickly are included for each type of questions
• The book contains 45 test papers with fully solved Mock tests on latest CAT pattern. The book also contains past papers of XAT, SNAP and IIFT. 

Book Title: How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for CAT

• Authored by: Arun Sharma
• Publisher: McGraw Hill Education
• Book Price: Rs.565 (3^rd Edition)
• Buy this book on Amazon at lowest price

Book Highlights

• Arun Sharma Logical Reasoning book is one of the best books for Reasoning preparation. It offers a simple and well defined approach to understand the LR topics
• It is one of the best CAT prep books consisting more exercises and type of questions included on each topic.
• This CAT preparation Book by Arun Sharma comprises the concept of Reaction tracker which guides how to solve the LR question
• Practice questions on varying difficulty level have been included with more number of difficult questions as per revised CAT exam pattern
• Reasoning questions from XAT and from IIFT are included with detailed solutions

Book Title: Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT

• Authored by: Nishit K. Sinha
• Publisher: Pearson
• MRP: Rs. NA (5^th Edition)
• Buy this book on Amazon at lowest price

Book Highlights

• It is a combined book covering both the DI and LR parts of CAT preparation and is one of the books suggested by toppers
• The Book covers all the major fundamental and advanced DI topics, with worked out examples and case lets
• Each chapter is followed by exercises to provide clarity and knowledge of the concepts and questions
• The book contains useful topics and questions for various MBA entrance examinations like CAT, XAT, SNAP, IIFT, IRMA, MAT, NMAT among others
• The book has 5 section tests in a CD
• There are 2500+ solved DILR questions in the book
• There are new practice tests for self assessment and more practice tests of varying difficulty level. Model test papers for SNAP, XAT and IIFT are also included

Book Title: CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning

• Authored by: Gautam Puri
• Publisher: Career Launcher
• MRP: Rs.545 (2017 Edition)
• Buy this book on Amazon at lowest price

Book Highlights

• If you are thinking of how to prepare CAT exam at home, this could be one of the CAT prep best books on DILR
• Himself a CAT expert Gautam Puri has authored this CAT prep book which is full of exercises and sample questions for CAT. However, CAT preparation books free download is not available for this book.
•  It is an advanced level book to handle the difficulty level of LR/DI section in current CAT pattern
• The DI part of the book contains solved problems on Tables, Bar Charts, Pie Chart, Graphs, Caselet, Combination
• There are 5 Mock Tests and topic wise solved papers from 1990 to 2015

What you will Miss in the Book

• The book is not recommended for the beginners. Once your concepts are a little clear, it could prove to be a very good book   

Apart from these books, the Arihant Reasoning books and the Verbal and NonVerbal Reasoning by R S Aggarwal are also some of the best books for Reasoning for CAT preparation and are suggested by toppers. These books on Reasoning for CAT preparation are available in a price range of Rs.150 to 450 on Amazon and Flipkart. 

Section-3: Quantitative Ability (QA) Preparation Book by Arun Sharma
Following book  by Arun Sharma has remained a good CAT preparation tool for Quant for past many years:

• ‘How to prepare for Quantitative for the CAT’ – by Arun Sharma, published by MGH Education
• Quant study modules by Arun Sharma
• Quant Test papers, Mock Tests, Practice questions, Replica test questions on Quant are also available to prepare for QA in CAT. 

How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT
Authored by: Arun Sharma

Other Good Books for CAT Preparation on Quantitative Ability

• Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
• Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT by  Sarvesh K Verma

Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT 
Authored by: Nishit K. Sinha                       

Quantitative Aptitude Quantum Cat
Authored by: Sarvesh K. Verma

Review of Best Books for CAT on Quantitative Ability
Quantitative Aptitude in CAT is a high scoring section but some of the questions are of higher difficulty level. Accordingly, to crack this section, you need the best book for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT for example Arun Sharma Quantitative Aptitude book is one of the best books for quantitative aptitude preparation. 

Book Title: How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT

• Authored by: Arun Sharma
• Publisher: McGraw Hill Education
• MRP: Rs.865 (7^th Edition)
• Buy this book on Amazon at lowest price

Book Highlights

• Arun Sharma Quantitative Aptitude book is rated as the best book for quantitative aptitude. The book covers all topics, including Numbers, Average and Mixtures, Arithmetic and Word-based Problems, Geometry, Algebra, Counting among others
• Arun Sharma Quantitative Aptitude latest edition book is divided into 19 chapters and 5 test papers and each chapter is further divided into three broad parts namely – Theory with concepts and fundamentals; Solved examples and exercises of different difficulty level
• The book according to the author has been written keeping in mind 3 types of candidates preparing for the exam- name the candidates who are weak in Mathematics, who are average and who are strong.
• The book has Non-MCQ type of questions which have recently been introduced in CAT exam
• In the end, there are Model Test papers and solved papers. The solved papers include the past test papers of IIFT, SNAP, XAT apart from the model papers which are useful for CAT and other entrance exams. 

Where this Book Scores High:

• Among the CAT Preparation Books by Arun Sharma, this is the best book for Quantitative Aptitude and is recommended by toppers  
• This CAT preparation book on Quant clarifies on fundamentals first and then guides you how to approach questions of different difficulty level
• The book follows the latest trends and question patterns for CAT and is also useful for other management entrance exams like XAT, SNAP, IIFT, NMAT, CMAT among others.
• Detailed explanations are easy to understand. The Arun Sharma Quantitative Aptitude book 7th edition  also instructs the reader what strategy to adopt, how to manage time.
• The author also guides how to make the most of time and use the elimination process for quick answer.
• Mock test papers are good for CAT exam day rehearsal with the availability of varying difficulty levels. 

What you will miss in the Book
The book does not have past CAT test papers. The test papers for other exams are also not latest ones.

Book Title: Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT

• Authored by: Sarvesh K Verma
• Publisher: Arihant
• MRP:  Rs.815
• Buy this book on Amazon at lowest price

Book Highlights

• Among the Arihant CAT books, Quantum CAT is one of the best Quant books for CAT and is among the CAT preparation books suggested by toppers. This book contains more than 300 concepts on Quant duly discussed in detail.
• Rated as one of the best books for Quantitative Aptitude, the latest edition has 4000+  solved questions on various quant topics
• With an easy to understand approach adopted, it is one of the best books for CAT recommended by toppers  
• The book has the tips with shortcut techniques and analytical methods to approach CAT exam are included for the topics

What you will miss in the Book
Production quality of this Arihant CAT book needs improvement. Paper quality is not good, and pages come off. So, you need to handle it with care. 

Book Title: Quantitative Aptitude

• Authored by: R.S. Aggarwal
• Publisher: S. Chand
• MRP: Rs.725 (2017 Edition)
• Buy this book on Amazon at lowest price

Book Highlights

• One of the oldest and the best books for Quantitative Aptitude available in market since 1989, this CAT Quant Book has remained consistent with the changing exam pattern of entrance tests
• Quantitative Aptitude is one of the CAT preparation books suggested by toppers. The book chapters and explanations are easy to understand
• The book covers all the major topics on Quantitative section.
• There are more than 5500 questions followed by answers and detailed solutions making it one of the best Quant books for CAT
• Memory based questions upto 2016 from different examinations are included in the revised edition. It helps the candidates to understand the latest exam pattern of CAT, IIFT, XAT, MAT and other exams.

Book Title: Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT

• Authored by: Nishit Sinha
• Publisher: Pearson
• MRP: Rs.775 (4^th Edition)
• Buy this book on Amazon at lowest price

Book Highlights

• The book contains all the major topics discussed in detail as per CAT syllabus with tips and strategies alongwith analysis. The Book is one of the best books for CAT recommended by toppers
• While other CAT Preparation Books have fewer exercises, this book has 4000+  solved questions
• Practice tests of varying difficulty level and benchmarking tests are included in the new edition making it one of the best books for CAT
• The book contains a CD with 5 Online tests on CAT exam
• More Model papers are designed specifically for IIFT, SNAP, XAT exams

Why Important to select the Best Books for CAT?
IIMs’CAT has changed its pattern and every year different types of questions appear in the exam. During the last few years, the Common Admission Test (CAT) has been modified completely.  Most of the CAT preparation books in the market are based on the CAT exam pattern of last year but the best CAT books reviewed here have updated changes with the anticipated question type in CAT exam. 

Accordingly, while choosing the best books for CAT, it should be kept in mind that books which are conversant with the changed exam pattern and difficulty level are the best books for CAT preparation. Key benefits of choosing the best books for CAT preparation are:

• Provides conceptual clarity on the relevant CAT topic
• You can attempt well the exercises, practice questions and Mocks given after each topic of the CAT preparation book
• Easily focus more on the weak areas and attempt variety of practice questions on them but also the other CAT preparation strategy to prepare well for CAT exam.
• Latest edition of CAT preparation Book offers the updated exam pattern and syllabus also