Books, books, books!

My mother is re-doing the study at home, and wanted me to go through my books and figure out which ones I wanted to keep and which ones I wanted to get rid off. I love my books (the ones pictured here are probably less than half my entire collection) and I treasure each and every one. I have a strange quirk where I’d rather buy a book for someone than lend them my own, or even buy my own rather than borrow someone else’s.

Here are my favourites and the ones I love more than the others-

1)   A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth- Vikram Seth to me is GOD of the writing world, and “A Suitable Boy,” the best book ever written. I’ve read the book twice, once when I was in boarding school and the second time when I was in college. Both times I finished it in around 4 to 5 days, and given the size of the book, that meant very little sleep during that period. You don’t read his book- you live his world! If it means anything, he is the only person in the world I’ve ever written fan mail to, and his response was framed and hung proudly on my wall through college. I also carried his photograph in my wallet, but that’s a story for another day! If you know ANYONE who knows ANYONE who knows him and can make me meet him, you will help make a longstanding dream of mine come true!!

2)   Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert- I chanced upon the book without hearing any of the hype surrounding it, and was drawn to it given its title- three of my favourite subjects! It is about a woman’s search for peace (and herself) through Italy, India and Indonesia, written with wit, compassion, love and pain. I was so taken aback as I felt the author’s “voice” was so much like my own, and always say that this was the book I was meant to have written. Her sequel to E,P,L is “Committed,” easily one of the most pointless books I’ve ever read, so steer clear of that one.

3)   Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch- Rings truer than any religious scripture I’ve ever read. Simply a must read for everyone!

Some of my other favourites-

-       Art of War by Sun Tzu- Translated and edited by James Clavell. Make sure you get the one with this cover.

-       Golden Gate by Vikram Seth- An entire novel written in verse, including the title. Flows so well, the rhyme part of it, seems effortless.

-       Paulo Coelho: A Warrior’s Life by Fernando Morais- While Coelho’s books are great reads and very thought provoking, none of them come close to the story of his life.

-       Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup- A thoroughly enjoyable read. I liked it much better than the Booker Prize winner, White Tiger.