2008: Back to reading

The holidays are coming to an end, and its back to my busy routine, with no time for anything at all. Conversly, no late night movies and no partying mean that I will get to read more!

December went by in a whirl of activity. My husband's sister and family spend 10 days with us, and books took a backseat, as we went houseboat-cruising, temple-worshipping and family-visiting. They did make a brief reappearance, when my mother-in-law gifted the two cousins, girls of 11 and 15, Treasure Island and Robin Hood. To my kids, she gave a copy of Oliver Twist, which I set aside for them to read later. I hope my son, Aditya, at least, turns out to be as precocious a reader as I was. Though I think he will perhaps outstrip me. I recall being average in that department till I was about 7, and then suddenly going all out! Aditya, who is 4, is crazy about reading, and tries to read every word he sees, even brand names. Sometimes that bothers me - I don't want him to think that extra, for instance, is spelt 'xtra'.

This year we had a christmas tree for the children. Christmas was spent with my friend Nandini, over a glass of Cabernet Shiraz. I stuck to my one glass, in spite of all thier urging - but she would be happy to know that I had two full glasses at our company do!

But tomorrow its back to school for the kids, and hopefully I'll get around to finishing A.S. Byatt's The Game.

Happy New Year, all!

Peter Hoeg is back

His new novel 'The Quiet Girl' has just been reviewed by salon. See http://www.salon.com/books/review/2007/11/28/hoeg/

The premise sounds a lot like Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow. Good.

The Viking in me

A long time ago, when I was a tennis-watching, fanatic worshipper of a certain blond Swedish serve-and-volleyer, I tripped on all things Viking.

And being a very all-or-nothing type, I wasn't content with merely being a fan. No. I had to read up on Scandinavian history, read books by Swedish, Danish or Norwegian authors, own a road-map of Sweden, an English-to-Swedish dictionary, collect Swedish stamps, listen to Swedish musicians (Europe, Roxette, Abba, Ace of Base, you know...). I dreamt of doing up my home in Swedish glass, blond wood and Ikea furniture.... and my daughter would, of course, be named Annika.


My craze probably peaked with my Norse Mythology project, where I would read up on the subject and take little notes on Thor, Odin, Mjollnir, Ragnarok, Valhalla, Aesir, Vanir, and a lot more besides, that I thought I had forgotten. Part of my fascination (God, what a nerd I must've been) was because, somewhere, at the back of my mind, I planned to write a great epic . A historic, viking-era saga.

That more or less describes what I'm reading now - The Whale Road, by Robert Low. I couldn't be happier with it - I have about a quarter to go. Set in 800 - 900 AD, it is about a group of Vikings in quest of treasure. The author, Robert Low, apparently himself takes part in Viking re-enactments (more on that here at http://www.robert-low.com/about.html) and it shows in its fast pace and action-packed content. The atmosphere he evokes is almost tangible - the smells, the sounds, the emotions of it. The style is manly, yet poetic. Also, though I am no expert, I have read much shoddy historical fiction - there are no anachronisms I can point out here. This is no slim tale masquerading as an epic.

The protagonist, Orm is someone I've been able to empathise with more than any other character in recent times.

And luckily, this seems to be a trilogy - so I can plunder, pillage, and search for treasure to my heart's content.

Weekend with friends

Feels like it, certainly. Finished The man of my dreams' by 'Prep' author, Curtis Sittenfeld. Good, though not as satisfying or personal to me as Prep.

Now reading Maeve Binchy's 'Quentins'.

Also, the hubby was seen toying with my copy of 'The Deathly Hallows' (HP 7 to you non-believers). I resisted the tempation to stand over his head and insist he read the books in some kind of order. Just about. I think he got as far as chapter 2, but I am not optimistic.

Reading update

Finished Oh Play That Thing, Roddy Doyle’s second book from trilogy, The Last Round-up, last week. Eagerly awaiting the last book. I hope it’s not too long a wait. As it is, I read the first book, A Star Called Henry quite a while back, and other than the essentials, I didn’t remember much.

Like all the Roddy Doyle books I’ve read, Oh Play That Thing also gathers steam midway. You can never quite tell where one of his books is leading, or how it will end. I liked the ‘sandwich board’ parts and all the bits with Louis Armstrong (and by extension, his milieu) were fascinating. The ending went off in quite a different – though heart-rending – direction. Wonder what’s coming next. Still, I can’t help but feel that I like Roddy Doyle best when his subject matter is less vast, less epic – like in Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.

Also finished The Kiterunner by Khalid Hosseini, which is another one of those much talked about works. It was a fast, absorbing work, with a very poetic cadence, which I, with my limited reading of such books, tend to associate with Islamic writing. Very filmy though, the storyline. I wouldn’t think it out of place in a Hindi movie, albeit one of the better ones.

Coincidentally, similar threads – the Middle East, adoption - run through what I’m reading now. Which is Digging To America by my perennial favourite, Anne Tyler. Next on my list is a book I suspect is unabashedly pulp fiction – Lord Of Snow And Shadows by Sarah Ash, (Isnt that such a perfect name for fantasy writer?) which seems to be some sort of historical novel/fantasy/saga. Am I willing to be drawn into another make-believe world, replete with detailed backstories, so soon after Harry Potter?

In the meantime, I’m reading aloud Red Rackham’s Treasure to my kids, who’ve had their fill of fairy tales. It’s also a way to re-live my own Tintin reading days. That goes without saying! I do worry a bit though, will they think it worth the bother to actually read it themselves later, since they already know what the story is all about?

One more for the genre

Where the heart is - Billie Letts

Female Protagonist - check

Small Town America setting - check

Simple homegrown prose - check

Moment(s) of crises - check

Overall feeling of warmth and cosiness - check

Oprah Book Club recommendation - check

If you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about, see my earlier post.

Reading, anyone?

I was at home for the long Onam weekend, and surrounded by my mother and sister, both voracious readers, the topic inevitably turned to reading. Both consider me a less-than serious reader, since I do read more popular fiction than either of them. Strangely enough, I am also the more prolific reader these days! They, especially my sister, found it quite surprising that I find the time to read in spite of a fairly busy schedule that includes a job, and two small children to raise.

Growing up in a small town in Assam in the 80s with no television in our colony till a neighbour bought a small black and white model, reading was something we did without question. With a bookworm for a sister, it was only natural that I turned out to be something of a precocious reader. But at no time did I get a feeling that I was in any way different from my friends who all, I think, read. Tintin, Asterix, Archies and commando comics were universally loved. Enid Blyton was a staple and so was Sherlock Holmes and classics by authors like Dickens, Jules Verne etc. I thought it was perfectly normal.

Coming to Kerala, I had the good fortune to study in a wonderful school, albeit in a small town. Again, I had classmates who read. But already the percentage of readers had lessened. It was the probably the first time that I heard people actually say that reading was boring.

By the time I got to college, readers were few and far between. My sister, who had preceded me to the same institution, did not have a single friend or batchmate who read. She was considered to be something of a curiosity, with her nose always in a book. I was luckier. My two closest friends read. One introduced me to ‘To kill a mocking bird’ and the Laura Ingalls series, the other, to more populist authors like Colleen McCollough. A third friend fired my enthusiasm for impressionist painting. Those were heady days. I devoured classics, philosophy, history and biography. I read every author whom I thought it behooved me to read. I struggled through quite a few books that I didn’t enjoy. I was feeling my way then, but today, I read only for pleasure.

While reading was always my biggest and my most enduring passion I had a fierce love for music and cinema, which is why I probably didn’t get slapped with the ‘bookworm’ tag. All this and more we talked about this Onam. But I was telling my sister that there was a big change since our college days. Fewer people read, I observed; on the other hand, more people read what was fashionable to read than in our day. That meant the current booker winner; the Indian-author-writing-in-English who was the flavour of the moment; or the unexpected runaway hit. And another thing – in the age of the internet, geography is no longer crucial in connecting people of similar interests. It has been great to note, on orkut or facebook, on blogs or elsewhere, that reading is flourishing! The guy sitting next to you may not be reading, but the chick you are chatting with, is.

My close pals have all become mothers in the last decade, some twice over. Connecting with them recently, I was surprised – though I really don’t know why I should be – to discover that they had all been reading Harry Potter, and around the same time as me! It felt terrific that like me, in the midst of all their chores they too had been caught up in the same excitement.

I often tell people around me – I have to read, because that is what helps me write, and that is how I earn my living. But I also know that this is something I do more for pleasure than anything else and I know I’ll always love reading. I hope I’ll always be surrounded by people who share this love!

On my table now? Better English by Vallins. A book which reminds me to write with more coherence and regard for grammar! High time, I must say. And a book by Baroness Orczy, whom I haven’t read since school.