Its the time for annual book fair in city i am currently living. my last post on books already read or to be read was this . have i been able to read all of them ?

nocturnes - kazuo ishiguro - a charming collection of short stories. reminds me to add "remains of the day" to my list of books to read/buy.

short stories by franz kafka - i need to give him some time to grow on me. i will give him a few more chances. i am not so accommodating with writers. my simple theory is - there are so many books to read in this world. why waste time on one writer if he/she isnt able to fascinate you in their first shot ?

note: An embarassing confession - my "fascination" with kafka was with his personal life, especially his last few years with his partner Dora Diamant and her daughter Franziska Marianne (who wasnt fathered by Kafka but named after him).

papillion - henry charriere - not even halfway through the book. i blame it on the fact that i own the book. i always think i will have enough time to read my own books.

the world is flat - thomas friedman - not the most interesting book on the changing world and globalization.

thousand splendid suns - khalid hosseini - read it, mulled over it and dedicated a blogpost on it.

the white tiger - arvind adiga - another casualty of "i own the book, so will have enough time to read it". i have lost my copy now. hmpf.

In my defense of this tiny list, i have also read a lot more that i hadnt included in the list. they would be:

Ramchandra Guha's India After Gandhi

Anjum Hassan's Lunatic in my head

Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road - Whattey book ! i saw the movie much before reading the book. i dont have words to say about sam mendes and his brilliance at casting winslet. it felt like yates had winslet in mind when he wrote the character of april wheeler. normally i dont have too much faith in books being made into movies, but this one was certainly among the few exceptions. (now now...am i raving about the book or the movie ? err...)

Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale

Homer's Illiad - just to give a pat on my back, that i too can read this book.

Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Little Women - read these books again and again and again. 


Here goes my next list.

M.J.Akbar's Have Pen, Will Travel.
Ishiguro's remains of the day
Rushdie's Luka and the Fire of life
Ian McEwan's Atonement
Rohinton Mistry's A fine balance, family matters
Nehru's Discovery of India
Vikram Seth's (non fiction) Two Lives
Obama's The Audacity of Hope - the title is reason enough to read the book.

these are some from the top of my head.

i have the strongest urge to write when i am really really caught-up with work and when i really really shouldnt be doing anything else, forget blogging. but i have to write it out before i can concentrate on my work

so, for now, i am done and i can rest in peace and get back to work.