My good friend, Suhail has book-tagged me.
So here goes.
Total number of books I own: In the hundreds. I have to accept that I read a lot less now than I used to do in high school. Most of collection is back in India—but in US I have a growing collection of books whose steadily increasing number I am made painfully cognizant of when I have to move. Which has been quite a few times this last year.
Last book I bought: Da-Vinci Code. When the protagonist stops the flow of the narrative and starts dispensing “fundas” it is one amazing book. When the story is moving, it is a ho-hum and predictable thriller which is very been-there-done-that especially if you have read Thirty Nine Steps.
Last book I read: Lying Liars and Those Who Tell them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right by Al Franken. You may not agree with everything Mr Franken says but he is one funny guy. Racy, satirical and intensely clever (sometimes a bit too much for its own good) its scathing attacks on Anne Coulter and Bill O Reilly draw blood. Which is what I cannot say of Michael Moore’s Dude Where’s My Country?—it is pretentious, unfunny and boring.
Five books that mean a lot to me:
Mahabharata: “Jaha Nai Bharote Taha Nai Bharote”—translated in English it means whatever is not in the Mahabharata is not in the world. Epic in scope and allegorical in nature Mahabharata captures every emotion known to man. It is a kick-ass story too totally masala, total drama. And totally eternal. Have read and reread it —the full multitomed Sanskrit to Bangla translations.
Glimpses of World History: Jinnah opined that Nehru should not have been a politician but instead become a professor of English. I agree. A compilation of a series of letters to Indira Gandhi, Glimpses is a tour-de-force of world history presented in a pragmatic and balanced way, full of facts but never overbearing or dull. The English is beautiful too.
And Then There Were None: Agatha Christie at her best. Make it mystery writing at its best. An atmosphere of pure menace, an impossible puzzle and a shocking denouement.
Illusions: Great things often come in small packages. Uplifting, deeply mystical and very very moving.
A Christmas Carol: One of the most life-affirming, inspirational books ever—-even though I dont believe in God or Christ , I am a believer——–in the wonder of the book.
Now my turn to booktag. With a lot of my blog pals already booktagged, I booktag
Jatayu
Aparna
Gangadhar
Meenal
OT: I mailed this to you, but you might’ve missed that request. Why don’t you re-post your writings archived frm yr geocities webpage….They are great reads.