CAT is one of the most sought-after Management entrance tests. Almost every popular B-school in India accepts the CAT Examination scores. Each year, lakhs of candidates apply for CAT exam which means every single candidate competes with lakhs of other candidates in order to fulfil their dream of perusing a Management degree from one among India’s best B-schools.

Best books for CAT:

   There are no books for CAT that will cover all the topics. Here are some books available for different sections of CAT:

Quantitative Aptitude: this section is a key component for unlocking a winning CAT score. This section covers the topics like numbers, average, geometry, algebra, counting, etc.

•    How to prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT written by Arun Sharma and published by Mc Graw Hill Education.
•    Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT Common Admission test into IIMs by Sarvesh k Verma and published by Arihant for Non-engineers.
•    Quantitative Aptitude for competitive exams written by RS Aggarwal. This is a popular book for entrance exam preparation.
•    The Pearson Guide to Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Nishit Sinha and published by Pearson.
•    Quantitative Aptitude for all competitive examinations by Abhijit Gupta and published by Mc Graw Education.
•    NCERT Mathematics book for class 8,9,10 by NCERT and published by NCERT.
•    Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT for admission into IIMs by Sarvesh K Verma and published by Arihant. Concepts will be clearly stated in this book and you can also have questions form easy to difficult level. Also, there are solutions provided for verifying your answers.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning:

   In order to solve the questions on Data Interpretation, knowledge of mathematics is essential. Data interpretation is usually of calculative nature. This section will consist of tables, pie-charts, graphs and so on. Logical reasoning section will focus on the problem –solving.

•    How to prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma and published by Mc Graw Hill Education.
•    How to prepare for Logical Reasoning for CAT by Arun Sharma and published by Mc Graw Hill Education.
•    Logical reasoning and Data Interpretation for Cat by Nishit K Sinha published by Pearson.
•    Puzzles to puzzle you by Shakuntala Devi.

 Online courses:    

•    CAT logical reasoning and data interpretation course which specially focuses on logical data interpretation questions.

Other recommended books for CAT:

•    Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency book were written by Ananta Ashisha. This book contains data sufficiency questions which are very popular in XAT, NMAT, CAT etc.
•    Logical Reasoning for CAT & other Management Examination by Arun Sharma and published by Mc Graw Education.
•    Analytical Reasoning & Logical Reasoning by Peeyush Bhardwaj and published by Arihant. The questions in this book will be of easy, moderate and difficult level.

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension:

   This section is to test the knowledge of candidates in the English language. It consists of grammar, vocabulary, critical reasoning and reading comprehension.

•    How to prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT by Arun Sharma, Meenakshi Upadhyay and published by Mc Graw Hill Education.
•    The Pearson Guide to Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning for CAT exam by Nishit K Sinha and published by Pearson. This book consists of a balanced coverage of verbal ability and reading comprehension.
•    A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning by Dr. R S Aggarwal and published by S Chand.
•    Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis.
•    Magazines are Business World and Frontline.
•    Newspaper Editorials like The Hindu and The Economic Times.
•    If you are a first time CAT taker, study material for CAT belonging to any of the coaching’s (TIME/CL/IMS).

Online resources:

•    Thesaurus.com
•    Aldaily.com
•    CAT Reading Comprehension
•    CAT verbal ability course

Also, there are few other books like

The complete CAT digest by Arun Sharma and published by Tata Mc Graw Hill. This is a must-have book for any MBA aspirant. It focuses on CAT mainly and covers the basics of an MBA entrance test.

How to prepare for the CAT by Muhamed Muneer and published by OM books. This book is an excellent self-study manual for CAT. Also, tips for scoring high in CAT exams are provided in this book. You can choose the best book by knowing about Common Admission Test in detail.

CAT books by Plancess is a study material designed by qualified professionals. It covers four main sections. They are Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, and Verbal Reasoning. Also, great news is that this book contains 22 years CAT questions with detailed solutions.

A good book should contain enough number of mock test and practice questions in it. If you are doing a self-study, then it is important to refer to the right books