while i worked at cerner, my biggest indulgence (much to the shock of parents, colleagues and friends) was an insatiable thirst for books.. not from the footpath mind you!! had to be a quick stop at gangarams or blossoms to check the latest list of best sellers and splurge the month's salary on crisp new books..
my partner in crime was mostly bb.. and we sometimes ate our lunch early so that we had enough time to leisurely see through books.. and man! watta way to spend money.. now, did i read everythin i bought.. no...!! but did i try? yes!! 08 was THE year when i took to reading like my life depended on it.. no tv show was as important as gettin my daily dose of reading.. the most rewarding thing to do..
i dunno if there is any such thing as 'the art of owning a book'.. but owning a book you love is essential.. not now, but after 30 yrs, and im retired, these books would always bring back all the memories associated with it.. and well, it wud be a kinda legacy..
i have been to kp's dad's lib.. and he has some of the most amazing books i have seen.. kp has gotten into the habit of reading coz of the books that she is surrounded by.. :) omg.. i wud do anythin to have a book collection that is probably 1/4th of what uncle has!!!
ow, my obsession to own my fav books started coz of a gift tat bro got from a patient.. gregory david roberts' shantaram.. a whole 900+ pages that took me three months to finish.. (cuz some days i read jus one paragraph and start thinking of what the author meant or how profound the sentence in the book was!!!)
in this age of ebooks, hardbound an paperbacks still rule.. for quite a number of reasons...
a) the smell of the book... old or new, all books have a characteristic smell to it.. and it lingers on for a few hours..
b) u can use bookmarks!! (silly reason but im equally obsessed with bookmarks)..
c) some books just WERE NOT meant to read online.. like nelson and cox or bruce alberts!!!
d) books are more portable than comps.. no battery hassles, no concern about viruses while gettin the book.. and most importantly, i can present a book to some1 special and write a personal message on it..!!
my books are right now scattered among family and friends.. :( i have no clue how to add more books to my collection while im here.. but will try my best to..
here is a list of my fav books:
non-fiction:
1) India: From midnight to millennium - Shashi Tharoor.. a fantastic book covering aspects of the indentity of our country.. explained in an absorbing manner, the author's patriotism screams out of the pages..
2) every second counts - lance armstrong: prefered this over the 1st book.. my cousin summed up the book in a single sentence 'after reading a few pages, i can push myself to run a few more miles'.. guess tat is how inspirational a book can get!!
3) romancing with life -dev anand: funny, sweet and just a hint of megalomania.. but the book is a breezy read.. and its quintessential dev anand!! his story in his own words.. nothin more that a fan could ask for..
4) marley and me: dont own this book.. but is definitely on top of my buying list..
5) a short history of nearly everything: watta gr8 book.. :) i wanna read it again and again..
6) a long way gone: eeery.. but enough to shake u up to wake up to the world of violence and how children are affected by war..
fiction:
1) shantaram: enough said about it.. worth every bit of time spent on readin it..
2) riot: tharoor's genius take on communal violence.. written so well, that it cud define un-put-down-able!!!
3) the hungry tide - amitav ghosh: hats off to him! sheer genius.. i dunno what he has described better.. the locales where the story is set.. or the unsaid love that exists between the main protagonists.. (i prefer this over the glass palace cuz that book lost it towards the end)
4) the reluctant fundamentalist: wow!!!
5) the kite runner: its a best-seller for a reason!!! absolutely love this one..
owning and reading books is so addictive.. hope that people will discover the joys of reading... even with playstation, youtube etc etc etc.. and grad school... :D
1 comment:
Man... u've got style!
But temme somethin.... wat exactly does an author write for.... rewards or expression of his idea...? Does the author decide how much to price a book....? while having a book published... doesn an author ever think tat only 1/5th of whoever should read this book can own this book.... tats why i somehow support the footpath books... go to a good shop.. get a feel of the best books... read the prologue and first chapter... come out... buy it on the footpath...
U don have to follow this dictum... if u think u can buy it @ the shop, go ahead, buy, but if u think u cannot, dont wail! come out and find a footpath guy. He'll get some money, and the author who wrote the book wont even have a clue. Ure anyways doin him good, ure spreading his work! Agreed tat ure not adding to his royalty, I don think he'd written the book lookin for royalty... they'd anyways get lots a money wid their million copy best sellers... and they'd also be happy their work is cuttin thru echelons and reachin EVERYONE who want and can read... even the publishin industry has been capitalised and is full of middle men... even socialist books have been capitalised..! I m not against capitalism... its the way of the new era ... neither am I supporting it... it makes the new era available only to the 'haves'.. anyway... lets not digress.... owning a book is actually difficult. I'm talkin on behalf of the 4/5ths who should have access but cannot.
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