i am swimming in an ocean of images, of coherent thoughts, of brilliant cliches and hardworking words… i am traveling, lunching in multiple cities, dreaming in new continents, sleeping in different beds and trying to understand life through another’s strife. i am seeing a new part of myself as i discover my own roots too! the brilliance of stories.

presenting the list of books done da na done (accompanied by the local band) by 7th march 2014!

p.s. going with capitals as the authors of these books might note share my intense love for all small-case 🙂

28. Paddy Clarke ha ha ha – Roddy Doyle. MUST – it opened my eyes to another world, much like angela’s ashes did years ago! it is a little eccentric, and reminded me of ‘the curious incident’ (aside – another fav fav book and MUST read!)
29. BJ’s Diary – MUST – quirky, funny and so true. only seen the movie, never read it so felt i needed to!
30. BJ: Edge of Reason – MAYBE – hmmm… became a bit too much. meaning it was still funny, but the style got boring after a bit. also bought the third installation, taking a break before i read it… 
31. Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens. MUST – the world he creates is brilliant and it’s not as morose as his other books. maybe because it’s just a short book and so less of sorrow, or because it ends in such a happy note! and. yes, don’t think i ever read this book – weird no?
32. Gitanjali – Rabindranath Tagore. MAYBE – ok so i’m calling it… i didn’t think it was that great, i don’t know why he won the nobel for this (as it says online) and etc etc. stray birds is lovely and thats a MUST read. gitanjali was a boring, monotonous… except for the famous poem “where knowledge is free”. i love that one!
33. The Storyteller’s Tale – Omair Ahmad – MAYBE. i think that happened because it was overhyped and so i expected a lot more. it was nice, but compared to haroun and the sea of stories which seemed so similar in setting, this book dimmed in comparison.
34. The Bone Season – Samantha Shannon – MUST. ok, let me be honest. i love, love, love fantasy books, very partial to them. so any book that creates another world, takes me far away just by superior imagination… I’m sold! having said that, comparisons are inevitable given that she is treading a path similar to j. k. rowling (with bloomsbury & a seven book series) i think the HP series as of now are infinitely superior, though these are much more grown up. and maybe judging way too soon?
35. Degree Coffee by the Yard – Nirmala Laxman. MAYBE. it was disappointing. for more read my review!
36. Tamil Pulp Fiction Vol 2 ​. MUST. haven’t read book one, but enjoyed this view into all stories tamil through this book. i am a tamilian but i cannot read tamil, so this translation works for me!
37. Island of a Thousand Mirrors – Nayomi Munaweera. MUST MUST MUST. its lyrical, evocative, beautiful and heart-wrenching. take the journey. ​
38. City Adrift – Naresh Fernandez. MUST/MAYBE. the first half is brilliant, moving and inspiring. spoiler alert: the end is really flat. i had to check a couple of times that the book was over or not! it’s a must if you are curious about bombay, it’s a maybe if you know a lot of the history of this city. it is a lovely retelling!
39. The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett MUST (yes another classic i didn’t read, but i knew the story so maybe one of those many books my mom read out to me?)
40. Wizard of Oz. MISS – i was disappointed, expected much more madness. but guess he wasn’t doped out like c.s. lewis so it’s nowhere near the wonderland! 
41. Malabar Rain – Anita Nair. MAYBE – there are a few beautiful poems like free fall, i want, you said, i agreed, the deciding day. but many others didn’t enchant me (doesn’t poetry need to enchant – move in a way that prose tries to, but doesn’t always as efficiently)

i am reading Anjum Hasan’s Difficult Pleasures now. 25% done and i am really enjoying it. a nice, simple, sweet collection of short stories – very slice of life! plan to read another non-fiction post that maybe “if its friday it must be madurai”

that’s all on the book reading front. i am sorely lagging and don’t think will manage 59 books in 5 months. for easy math, 60 books! it translates to 12 books a month, 3 books a week! i would need to do nothing else but that! but, even if i manage 70, i will be mighty kicked. it’s a good start don’t you think?

island of a thousand mirrors