The Reading List - 6

I have been slow...
Completed:
18. A for Alibi - Sue Grafton (Fiction:Crime/detective)

One Does Get Lucky, Sometimes

I have been meaning to compile a list of books that I chanced upon, without any prior idea about the author or the story and found them to be absolute marvel.
Well, I found many that way, so I guess, this list will definitely make sense. I am sure many of us do it - pick up a random book and love it to death. It could be the cover page, or the colour, or the title, or the name of the author that sounded good, or the price or even the size. OR ANYTHING.

Here goes the list:

1. The Shipping News - Annie E Proulx. Didn't know the book or the author at the time of buying.
Two reasons: This one was a super duper deal in a second hand book seller on the road side; at 10 bucks, I would have picked up anything. Lucky, I picked this. Second, the magic words on the front cover - Pulitzer prize winner (now, I know not all winners are the same)

2. We Weren't Lovers Like That - Navtej Sarna. Didn't know the book or the author while buying.
I liked the cover page - A flight of stairs with leading some place, may be to an old grand fort. The contrast of the blackened steps with the bright green creeper with tendrils and well-spaced leaves was quite impressive. The story on the book cover was interesting. Thank God I bought this book.

3. On Beauty - Zadie Smith. Had heard the name of the author but not read anything by her before; didn't know about the book either.
This book was huge. I don't know why picked it up. Since it was a library book, I just thought I would try it out. Simply brilliant writing. I LOVED it.

4. Mosquito and Other Stories - Premendra Mitra. Didn't have a clue about the author or the book.
This was an impulse pick up from the library. The unusual title was the clincher. Superb book. This definitely goes into my book collection (not the library book, I plan to buy one copy for myself!!)

5. The Pat Hobby Stories - F Scott Fitzgerald. Although, I knew about the author, and read one of his novels, I had no idea about this book.
Simply beautiful. The humour hits you when you least expect it. Every now and then I was aware of how much of fun I was having due to a sudden chuckle or a burst of laughter; I was so lost in the book.

For now, this list will stop here. I will go ahead with the list as and when I come across these gems on the river side.

The Reading List - 5

Completed:

14. The Bar on the Seine - Georges Simenon (Fiction: murder mystery)
15. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (Fiction: literary classic)
16. The Pat Hobby Stories - F Scott Fitzgerald (Themed short stories)
17. We Weren't Lovers Like That - Navtej Sarna (Fiction: literary)

Not looking forward to reading anything for the time being now...

The Reading List - 4

Completed:
11. Tales from Firozsha Baag by Rohinton Mistry (collection of Short Stories)
12. Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul by Mark Victor Hansen/Bud Gardner (non-fiction: collection of motivating essays on writer's lives)
13. The Age of Kali by William Dalrymple (Collection of travel essays on the Indian subcontinent)

Currently reading:
1. The Bar on the Seine

The Age of Kali - William Dalrymple

Although I had heard quite a lot about William Dalrymple - his travelogues, his love for India etc, I didn't have a chance earlier to read his books.

I had borrowed 'The Age of Kali' from the library little suspecting that I would be hooked on to this book for the next three weeks. Apparently this is his fourth book - a collection of essays on his travels in and around the subcontinent.

He touches a wide array of social issues such as caste system in India, regilion, politics, education and the changing lifestyles in India . He also covers Pakistan (Interviews with Imran Khan and Benazir Bhutto), Srilanka (coverage on LTTE), Afghanistan (on ghandara culture, Pathans and their heritage) and the remote St.Denis Reunion island in the Indian ocean (a French colony). The essays are well researched, to the point and the writing style is just right - neither too verbose nor too dry. Although all these essays are slightly dated (between 1990 - 1999), they are worth every minute that one spends on them.
Extremely entertaining, his talent shines through the articles.

I am not a fan of non-fiction but I just could not put it down. I remember reading in a book that reading good books spoils your appetite for bad ones. Luckily, I have many thousands more to go so I may never have to face a disappointment.

Alphabet Challenge Update

On the challenge - 9 completed; 17 more to go!!
Since I cannot keep reposting the challenge, I will just update the status once a while..

An unusual way of finding treasures

Recently I went to Blossoms - a wonderful bookshop on Church Street that sells new as well as second hand books. I had been looking around to pick up Zadie Smith's 'White Teeth' and these pretentious Landmarks of the world didnt have it. I thought I would give it a try in Blossoms - I was delighted to find a clean copy of White Teeth in their second hand book section.

Now that is what i call luck.
I have been getting a wee bit lucky with books - touch wood.
I had never heard of Annie Proulx or The Shipping News before I picked it up on an impulse in a road side second book sale; it was more like a garage sale - piles of books worth 10 bucks, 25, 50 and so on.

Even today, I cannot believe I got The Shipping News for just 10 rupees. It was like buying a box of tissue papers only to find diamonds in there when you opened it at home. I will never ever part with the book, ever. It is like a goodluck charm. I dont think anyone else has ever had a better experience in 'discovering' a brilliant author. Ah, the joy!!

The Alphabet Challenge

Found an interesting post in one of the book blogs "Can I Borrow Your Book?"
I meant to follow it up and post one on my own blog, but never happened thanks to my work and other worries of the world..

Quite interesting challenge -

Rules:

1. 26 books!

Runs January 1st 2011 –December 31, 2011. For each letter, read a book that has a main character or key supporting character (not some random minor character mentioned twice!) whose name starts with that letter. It doesn’t have to be the title of the book, just the name. Ex: Alice (in wonderland), Bella (twilight), Cathy (Wuthering Heights), Dracula (Dracula) Estella (Great Expectations), etc.

2. only one letter per book!

3. Crossovers are fine

4. audio, e-book, bound book, someone reading it out loud to you, reading a book to your little brother or sister, it all counts.

5. any length—short stories, books of the Bible, etc. they all count for this one.

Levels:
Level 1: 10 Letters
Level 2: 20 Letters
Level 3: Completes all 26 letters (yes, that means X and Z and Q!!)

Here is my list: (I shall update as and when I can)
A: Aftab Chandra from "We Weren't Lovers Like That" by Navtej Sarna
B: Bud Gardner from 'Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul' by Mark Victor Hansen/Bud Gardner
C:
D:
E:
F:
G: Ghanashyam Das, aka, Ghana Da from 'Mosquito and Other Stories' by Premendra Mitra (April)
H:
I:
J: Juliet Ashton from 'The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' by Mary Ann Shaffer (February)
K: Kiki Belsey from 'On Beauty' by Zadie Smith (March)
L: Lalu Prasad Yadav from 'The Age of Kali' by William Dalrymple
M: Moyna from the story 'Rooftop Dwellers' in Anita Desai's short story collection Diamond Dust
N:
O:
P: Pat Hobby from "The Pat Hobby Stories" by F Scott Fitzgerald (July)
Q: Quoyle from 'The Shipping News' by Annie. E. Proulx (March)
R: Rustomji from 'Tales from Firozsha Baag' by Rohinton Mistry
S:
T: Trisha from 'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordan' by Stephen King (February)
U:
V:
W:
X:
Y:
Z:

Mosquito and Other Stories

Mosquito and Other Stories by Premendra Mitra was a surprise find in the library. I didnt know anything about the author but the blurb sounded very interesting so I held on it.
I am glad I picked it up - otherwise I would have lost such an opportunity to read some brilliant writing by this Bengali author.
The original short stories are in Bengali; however, the translated stories give us a glimpse of how and why the protagonist "Ghana-da" was a cult hero in Bengali literature.

Ghanashyam Dass, known as Ghana-da to his friends in the hostel, lives in the hostel, where he mysteriously disappears during the end of the month when it comes to paying food bills and, borrows countless number of cigarettes from his friends. As the book clearly says, every story is a tall-tale so brilliantly narrated by Ghana-da to his friends who double up as listeners. Although we as readers and them as listeners are clearly aware of the reality, it does not stop us from enjoying these stories and looking forward to more of them.

I loved the book. It is surprisingly interesting and later I found out, factually accurate. The book is made-for-the-young-minds. I hope that the future generation gets hold of this amazing book and enjoys it as much as I did.

The Reading List - 3

Completed:
7. The Shipping News - Annie E. Proulx (literary)
8. Birthday Stories - Selected By Haruki Murakami (Short stories by various authors)
9. Diamond Dust - Anita Desai (Short stories)
10. Mosquito and Other Stories - Premendru Mitra (Short stories)

Another good thing that has happened to me is that I have come across a wonderful library 'Just Books' - I relish borrowing books; reading them at a nomical cost - this way I can separate the wheat from chaff (except the first one in the above list, all were borrowed from the library). I get to choose from a wide variety; I can afford not to complete a book although I dont use that option much (I usually HATE not finishing a book no matter how horrible it is). If I get lucky, as I did with 'On Beauty', I will go and buy a copy for my bookshelf. What a wonderful arrangement!
I know, this is what is supposed to be with libraries. And it is no secret by any stretch of imagination, yet, I feel good about it.

The Shipping News

Why do we love losers who turn out be unlikely heroes, who, will finally get what they deserve, find happiness, love and peace? I should not generalize, but I certainly love one - probably because the journey is so often hopeful - and holds some kind of a message to the large community of ordinary citizens out there. And, I have learned enough about self and to consider myself one.

The Shipping News - An unbelievably beautiful and touching tale of loss, grief, unrequited love and hope - this one makes you want to believe that somewhere, someone out there is looking out for you. If I had to choose only three books out of this entire planet, 'The Shipping News' would be one of them. Which are the other two? I don't know, I have not come across them yet.

The book makes me wish these were real people - so that I could meet them and tell them how much they inspire me. It makes me want to go to Newfoundland, although I am certain I dont have the mental strength to withstand the harsh conditions of the land. The stark, harsh beauty of Newfoundland so effectively described in the book makes me wonder - it is nothing like whatever little I have seen or heard about.

It makes me want to reach out to Quoyle and console him when he is hurt and upset, struggling to find meaning in his existence; rejoice with him over the little accomplishments in his life - his slow, yet emerging career as a newspaper man, his bonding with his aunt. I feel so happy that he found 'real, solid friends' who are actually the pillars of his new life in Newfoundland. I want to scold him about his reluctance to let go of his 'love' for the dead Petal, which is not really love at all. I wonder about Aunt Agnis - how she is instrumental in changing Quoyle's life, whether she herself knows it or not. I enjoy every bit of the delicate romance between Wavey Prowse and Quoyle; I am so happy for them. I love the solid marriage of Denis and Beety - their unspoken love for each other, respect and their uncomplaining nature to endure hardships. I wish mine would be something like that.

I wanted this book to go on and on. It was as if I was reading a chronicle of lives of my own friends whom I had no way of contacting in real life. I want to know what will happen to Quoyle and Wavey, how do they lead their lives; Quoyle's daughters and them growing up. I want to know if the newspaper survives; what happens to Nutbeem - will he love his new life in Brazil? I want Aunt Agnis to flourish and be happy. Will Jack ever allow Denis, his son, to get back to fishing? How blissful would it be, to grow old amongst a bunch of friends who you are comfortable with? Oh, there is so much that I want to know.

I am dying to see the movie that was made based on this book, but I am scared. I am worried that the threads of affection and the fabric of happiness that is woven around the book by my imagination might just fray. Yet, I have vowed one of these days I will go ahead and watch the movie. I cannot really resist the temptation.

I would rate this 5/5.

The Reading List - 2

I have managed to read some more :)
6. On Beauty - Zadie Smith
A brilliant book.
I am a fan of Zadie Smith now; I never thought that a story of two families could be "so" very interesting, absorbing, could have so many layers, could make me think about the characters long after I completed the book.
The story spans between England and the U.S., and speaks of two families - the Belseys and the Kippses - whose rivalry has sprung up due to seemingly stupid reason such as academic differences between the heads of the family - Howard Belsey and Monty Kipps, two leading (apparently) professors. Adding to this, Jerome Belsey, the eldest falls in love with Veronica, 'Vee' only to be left heart-broken. The Belseys already have enough issues on their hands and Kippses move to the same university and their neighborhood doesn't help matters anymore.
The tense, somewhat hilarious interactions between the family leads to many twists and turns in the plot.

Well, to be honest, the plot outline I have provied does not do any justice to the beautiful story woven inside this 400+ pager. (If I could write as beautifully as she did, I would be writing a story instead of this!)

The relationships, their mundane-ness, their beauty, the human nature of taking things for granted, and infidelity: all feature in this poignant tale. The beauty lies in the way Smith has dissected each characters, the grey shades - we cannot hate any character; each his/her own weaknesses that is so real and so human. One can not but empathize with them. Smith's writing is also extremely witty and hilarious; I could not help laughing out aloud in many places.
I adore this book; I had borrowed it from the library. Now, I plan to buy this. This is certainly worth owning.

Currently reading: The Shipping News - Annie E. Proulx (another FAVOURITE author)
I must confess this is a re-read and I love every bit of it.

The Reading List - 1

New Year has new resolutions - as usual. Without any illusion of chasing grand dreams, I plan to read 100 books. Yes, ONE HUNDRED. I also noticed that my previous blog post was exactly attempting the same, last year. And I can also see that it died a premature death.

I plan to Survive.

My Completed Books list include:

1. The Film Club by David Gilmour (Memoir)

2. The Gaze by Elif Shafak (Literary Fiction)

3. The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (Genre fiction - drama/romance)

4. The Balloonists by Rajarshi Charkavarthy (Literary fiction)

5. The Girl who loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King (Genre fiction - Horror)