museman

Some one seems to be in love with me. Writers block. :- (.  It has come and decided to stay. And I am sure it wants to stay long term.< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Gives me reason enough to write a small piece that I have been wanting to write for a long long time.

I just wanted to list down all the books that I have been reading off late. I am not sure if this problem is unique to me or pertains to others too. I start off reading a book, it is interesting but when I chance upon a new book, I stop reading this interesting book and jump on to the new one, only to leave it in between for a another book. So, simultaneously, I would be reading half-a-dozen books which are at various stages of reading.

The great Indian novel-Shashi Tharoor

 If you like reading humor, you must must MUST get hold of this book.  It is by far the most unrestrained comic piece that I have read. Let me give away the storyline a little. As the title suggests, it is a not-so-subtle spoof of the great indian epic, Mahabharata.

What makes it interesting is that mahabharata is rewritten mapping characters from the epic to the real life characters of our indian freedom struggle. Bhishma, whose original name is Gangaputra, is transformed into Gangaji, an obvious reference to M.K.Gandhi. Dhruthrashtra, who yeilds power under the guidance of Bhishma, becomes Nehru. And then its fun. What makes it all the more interesting is the guessing game that becomes a part of the reading experience as you try and map the characters from the epic to real life people. Karna becomes Mohammed Ali Karna. Now, I wont give any more story line. Do read it. I give it a five star rating.

A small excerpt (rewritten though):Gangaji tells dhrurashtra at the time of marriage. "I have chosen for you one of the most beautiful girls from Afganistan. Her face is that of an angel.  Not that it matters to you but still......"  I have read three fourths of the book as of now and it is thoroughly enjoyable.

Freedom at midnight: Dominique lappiere and Larry Collins

 A little biased and patronizing towards Lord Mountbatten but a worthwhile read nevertheless. The duo is a combination of good historians and taut fiction writers. So, they pack in a punch to our freedom struggle. The book is half the size of 'A suitable Boy'. Needless to say, you need patience to read it. I have read one-fourths fo the book.

Five dollar smile-Shashi Tharoor

A collection of short stories of the early career of my new favourite author. Not a must read. Especially the play(which takes half the size of the book) is not too interesting. Some of the story lines are amusing though. For instance, the title story is that of a boy who is featured in the poster of WHO as the face of famine and how his life changes because of the campaign. Almost done with reading this book.

A piece of cake- Swathi kaushal

Hmm..about a 29 year old single girl. Fast paced. FPS fast forwarded ten years with a female protagonist. Thoroughly enjoyable. I give it a four star out of five. I can't give you the story line though. Just started reading the book.

Burial at Sea- Kushwant Singh.

Another favourite author. Not one of his best pieces. Falls just short of being called crap. The lead character is an interpretation of Jawaharlal Nehru and his vision of < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />India. Fast paced but not too much of wit or sensuality that you expect of the surd.

Fountainhead-Ayn Rand

Phew....I've been reading this book for almost four years now. Came untill the 200th page with great difficulty. Will never get back to it. I don't subscribe to any of the views of the author. I found it an agonizing affair to read the book. Fictionwise it is kind of ok. But otherwise, it is complete crap. Of course, each one has his own view and no doubt there are hundreds of Ayn Rand fans all over. What put me off the author was the first three or four pages of another book called Anthem. Lets  leave it at it that I couldn't read any further.

Tailpiece: Its not like I don't complete reading books. I do complete them. Just that I read too many books at the same time. Guess I will have a fresh stock of 5-6 books by the end of this month and hopefully the currents ones would be read to completion by then.