Book Love 2015

I wanted to start my new year (you know when the clock strikes 12) with some writing. But I spent most of the last few hours of 2015 huddled in a chair reading and finishing the book Misery by Stephen King. So I let it be and pushed the writing part to the new day.I love doing this ritual on my blog for myself. I feel huge gratitude that I live in a world where magic (also) dwells in the form of the written word and books. I also feel thankful that because of some strange wiring in my brain I ‘love’ reading books. I spent a lot of 2015 traveling. Mostly it was work related so my reading became punctuated by how much work related reading I ended up doing. If numbers were important then I read an abysmal 15 books this year. As I was going through the goodreads list, I realized I touched upon different genres, and writers from different countries and backgrounds this year. So that is a little ray of hope there! I like how I am stumbling across these writers and books. Serendipity or not.

I’ll write about some of my favorite reads of this year.Letters to a young poet by Rainer Maria Rilke – As a letter lover this book was a treat. Some of the most timeless advice for anyone who wants to write. Heck live a meaningful life. Rilke rules! Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi – KT had recommended this book long time back. That email remained in my mailbox and the book never made it to my reading list. After I came back from a work trip and was itching to read a book which wouldn’t be a 1000 page long will power test, but instead would be breeze. I picked this book and put it down only after I was finished reading it. What a book! Marjane’s humor and no-nonsense objective look at life while growing up surrounded by a conflict was an eye opener. Her journey is not only interesting and fun, its strewn with personal loss, coming of age insights and what it means to be a liberated woman in this world. I loved the book.Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda ngozi adichie – Adichie’s single story TED talk drove me to her books. I picked purple hibiscus on a random whim. My biggest revelation while reading the book was as an Indian I could relate with the social structures in Nigeria. I liked Adichie’s writing because it felt personal, had good observations about human nature and had pretty good characters. Of course I wanted to know more about what happened to Kambili.The year of magical thinking by Joan Didion – I had never read Joan Didion before. I read this book because of a random brainpickings article I read. Her tale of personal loss was so honest and immediate that it felt refreshing in an odd way. Without any layers or drama, she lays out the facts. It puts you in an extremely vulnerable frame if not brutal and makes one wonder about how losing someone you love must feel like.Eat and Run by Scott Jurek – Disclaimer- It may not be the most well written book out there about running or someone’s running journey. But Scott Jurek is awesome and any book associated with him I’ll read without judging for the inspiration quotient it brings. I have learnt so much about running and eating and life from this book. Thank you P for this amazing birthday gift!Misery by Stephen King – Pushkar sometimes suggests the most scary books. A voracious reader himself I was prodding him for some holiday reading suggestions and he suggested I should check this one out. It was more of a thriller than horror, he had assured. The reason for my aversion to Mr. King was I had tried reading IT and had failed. I knew he was one hell of a writer, but he didn’t deserve a sissy reader like me. Anyway I took Pushkar’s word and marched on. I was hooked to the book despite the horrifying things it had in store for me. I finished it in 2 days. Unputdownable. Word of caution though – Dont read it during night. Creepiness quotient doubles.I am planning to start 2016 with some non fiction with a hope to read many more genres, writers and books.


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