Books required for JEE preparation

The most important book required for JEE is your board books, because if you are not conversant with the theory you stand no chance. After practicing the problems from your board books, move on to the next level. For some books the names of the authors are mentioned.

Standard JEE books
(Contains questions similar to JEE standards. Do all the problems)
Physics: Concepts of Physics (Part 1 and 2)

Chemistry : P. Bahadur(Physical Chemistry) , R.K.Gupta(Organic and Inorganic)

Mathematics : IIT Plus Mathematics - A.Dasgupta.

Advanced JEE books
(Questions are a bit higher than JEE standards - do selected problems. Take help of your mentor/teacher)
Physics: Problems in General Physics - I.E.Irodov.

Chemistry : IIT Chemistry - Tata McGraw Hill.

Mathematics: Complete Course IIT Mathematics - Tata McGraw Hill.

For theory you can go through Resnick-Halliday in Physics, Morrison-Boyd in Organic Chemistry, and O.P.Tandon in Inorganic Chemistry.

Starting Preparation For IIT JEE

The best time to start preparation is at the beginning of 11th class. Students are fresh after the break after boards and a lot more can be learnt. Students who start late often end up leaving some key topics of 11th class JEE syllabus. Also, if you start your preparation in 12th class then the amount of hard work is increased manifold due to additional pressure of 12th boards, so chances of getting a high rank in JEE are decreased. There is a big transition from the mugging up study of 10th class to more understanding based study of 11th class. So you shouldn't get bogged down by seeing the level of complexity in JEE exam.
The first two or three months should be spent in revising your basic concepts (topics like algebra, mechanics) which had been taught in 9th class. Concepts in topics like algebra, mechanics and stoichiometry should be studied in great detail as they also form the basis for other topics and are very scoring. There should be no doubt in your mind about these concepts. For these, develop the habit of inquisition. Clear all your doubts so that mentally you feel confident tackling any concept. A key in this area is problem-solving. Regular problem solving not only strengthens the concepts, but also increases your mental sharpness which is must for JEE.Initially problems of low level should be tried and only when you have mastered them, you should go on to solving intricate JEE type problems. You should have systematic plan for the preparation of JEE. Regular hours should be allotted to mastering concepts and problem-solving. It is not necessary to memorise the lessons and formulae. Understand the derivations of formulae and apply the formulae to solving problems. Slowly these formulae will settle down in your brain and you will be able to recall them under any situation. What is required is a clear understanding and an easy familiarity with the concepts and laws. Maximum attention should be paid to solving problems.Try to be analytical rather than being intutive. Remember that hardwork pays! You should first take up a problem and try to solve it yourself. You should understand what is given and what is required, recall what principles, laws, equations are involved. Don't hurry to see the solution as it doesn't help you to learn. Only when you've pondered over it over a long time and unable to see any light, should you see the solutions. You would be insulting yourself and seriously hurting your chances of success if you skip these problems or make half-hearted attempts in solving them.

Joint Entrance Examination - How to prepare for it ?

The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) which is annually organised by the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)(Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Roorkee) is considered as one of the most fiercest competitive examination in India, and the toughest one at the school level, with a success rate of about 2% ( only 3500 candidates out of 1.5 Lakhs get through). This article, however tries to make this competitive exam look far easier than the way you think it is.Although JEE is written by about 1.5 Lakh candidates, it can be easily comprehended that the majority of them ( about 60%) are not having a preparation that can make it to the IITs. Most of them dream of getting into IITs as soon as they complete there class X board examinations, buy a hell lot of study materials ( thereby making the various coaching centres all over the country rich and increasing the GDP), and instead of studying, continue to dream for the next 2 years and in the end wait for a miracle to happen and finally fail to qualify even the screening test .
Out of the remaining 60000 candidates, 40 thousand students who write the JEE, try hard for the exam but in the end cannot reach the desired level of JEE understanding because they lack one of the following two, viz merit or hardwork. The final 20000 candidates are actually the real competitors for JEE. They work hard through out the two years and write the JEE with full confidence. Hence it can be well understood that the JEE Screening Test has a success percentage of 75% ( 15000 out of 20000) and your first target is to be among this top 75%. However, keep in mind that screening test is only the first hurdle. For JEE Screening Test keep the following in mind :It is common among all the students to practice an enormous quantity of multiple choice questions (mcqs) throughout the year. This is however a wrong way to do it. This is because, the mcqs that are present in most of the study materials and magazines do not reflect the exact nature of mcqs that appear in the Screening Paper. Hence these mcqs helps a student in no way. Your first job should be to keep away from this practice. JEE Screening test demands clarity of each and every concept. Hence, from the beginning of the year, try to assimilate the theory of each and every chapter given in the JEE syllabus ( JEE syllabus is available at www.iitd.ac.in/jee or www.jee.iitb.ac.in or at JEE sites at other IITs). One month before the screening test, get hold of each and every formula you know, so that if you are not clear with the concept you can still reach the answer with a derived formula. Also get hold of a few good practice screening papers (old JEE papers can be a good choice) and attempt those tests in strict examination conditions. This actually helps you simulate the JEE Screening Test and helps you learn the aspects of time management. About one month after the screening test comes the JEE Main Examination, where all the 15000 candidates selected in JEE Screening Tests fight with their maximum power. Hence this is the ultimate challenge. The key to success in JEE Mains is extensive practice of subjective problems. You will have to excel your self at pattern recognition along with developing the concepts. Between the Screening and Mains, practice lots of subjective problems available in the books. Time management is also important. If you have not subscribed for any test series programme (and even if you have done so) you must practice a lot of test papers at home simulating the JEE day. Please donot go in for absurd problems as they are never asked in JEE. Also JEE problems do not require a 3 page long solution, so if you are next to recreating the Mahabharata, you can surely guess that your solution is wrong.JEE mains nowadays gives limited place for working out the solutions ( 1 page for 2 marks and 2 page for 4 marks questions). Hence work on this aspect of space management.