I thought of sharing my preferred books. The list includes the books I read, re read, enjoyed and even cried after reading. There were few I sneaked into bed with me, coz I was scared of dad (what if he catches me reading ‘lolita’ or ‘starry nights’) lol. Some books were all-nighters, some flipped me out, bummed me, some I wanted up for grabs olwz (satanic verses is one I cud never get) ;)
This is a trite list for the usual readers and also avid readers like me!!!
1.ATLUS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand. One of my favorite and an amazing concept of rugged individualism, personified in John Galt. ‘Who is John Galt’ keeps you hooked to the concept of rational self interest and how can one forget- ‘reason is my absolute-whether or not one agrees’. If you ask me I’ll say read any n everything by ayn rand, she is the best. I completely went gaga over her work in ‘WE THE LIVING’. The story is touching and you will see rand’s knowledge and intellect all over.
2.ANNA KARENINA by Tolstoy. If you r living in the literary ghetto thinking Tolstoy is ancient, go and read this one which shows terrifying and dramatic effect of change in human psyche. Whether it is anna, Levin or count Alexey there is sooo much to prod on.
3.THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by Salinger is a mature concept dealing with childhood and adulthood. I found it bit groggy but I loved the way various psychological elements are molded together. Holden’s hypocrisy, denying the inevitable fact of growing up, resentment, idea of ‘phonies’ weaves it into a nice thought provoking tale.
4.A SUITABLE BOY by Vikram seth or you read SUCH A LONG JOURNEY by Rohinton Mistry. I really miss the books of Vikram Seth, it’s been really long and he has not written anything after TWO LIVES, which was a gripping tale.
5.SEA OF POPPIES by amitav ghosh. Lush poppy fields at ganges, high tides with vexed colonial history…gosh I almost forgot reading ghosh after school till I found sea of poppies and the hungry tide. Sea of poppies is little drawn out but it keeps you engrossed because of the tolostoian touch in the book. When I read Calcutta chromosome by him, I felt it to be deceptively similar to work of robin cook…
6.THE INSCRUTABLE AMERICANS by Anurag Mathur is hilarious! Gawd its rib tickling n u will roll. The protagonist, Gopal from Jajau is a naïve simpleton country lad; the theme is hackneyed but u will enjoy the yank life which is not stereotyped and Mathur cleverly digs at Bushishms !!
7.ELEVEN MINUTES, VERONICA DECIDES TO DIE & THE WITCH OF PORTOBELLO by Paulo Coelho is excellent. The Brazilian author is gifted. I was amazed to see a man’s thought and ideas similar to a woman…no no gotta be biting wit but yeah Coelho knows what woman wants/thinks/reads. Covert issues, contemporary motifs, philosophies, fleeting nature of desires coalesce so well to depict woman….its incredible!
8.THE KITE RUNNER by Khalid Hosseini is amazing, splendid, and just superb…I remember I finished it in just two days and that too in my office. I did no work; I was so deep into it. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS is again an amazing work by the same author. The candid elemental emotions, gut wrenching plight of afghan women and the lovely metaphors (titanic’s jack to rescue from disaster; man’s accusing finger like compass needle) is splendid.
9.LAST SONG OF DUSK, boy I fell in love with the characters, mansion, and lovely poetic descriptions (which were connected seamlessly) and over and above I am utterly besotted with Siddartha Sanghvi’s work. I witnessed an enthralling magical realism in this dark fairytale.
