So, I have just completed my first year with JustBooks. And
it has been a fulfilling journey, to say in the least. I read probably 5
times as much as I did in last 5 years :) ( and I was too busy
reading, too write any reviews on my blog!) I read a few books that I
have wanted to from a long time, as well as some that I "found" recently
- and this is in addition to a whole lot of Agatha Christie's(18) and
Gardener's (12). Though honestly speaking, I stopped enjoying Agatha
Christie novels after the initial few, since most of them seem so
contrived and unrealistic, and I only picked them when I couldn't fine
anything else of interest. Henceforth, I might still take up Poirot, but
I think I am going to give Miss Marple a miss. Perry Mason I still
like, despite the kitsch.
Christie and Gardener, which are easy, quick reads, I
manage to finish in 1-3 days (that goes for other thrillers too, but I
haven't read many of them in quite a long time). Others that have more
"substance", and are more rewarding as far as the satisfaction of
reading go, take me 1-3 weeks. I read mostly on my daily commute, and at
home on some lazy weekends. The thrillers and mysteries are exceptions,
as I will spend evenings and nights, because I find it difficult to put
away even the bad ones without knowing the "whodunnit" :)
After a few months, I noticed with amusement, a pattern in
my reading - I would take a serious (ok, that's a subjective term!)
book, and spend weeks with it. Then, a little wariness would set in, I'd
feel overwhelmed and bored at the same time, and switch to something
easier. So I'll take 2 or 3 of such in a succession, unable or unwilling
to find a serious one of interest. Then, frustrated with myself over
wasting time on the mundane, I'll dig out something with substance. And
thus I oscillate between this subconsciously-created divide :) (Actually this
observation is what made me classify my reads thus).
What I read (2014) ....
R K Narayan - Indian Epics Retold - Gods, Demons and Others
Sudha Murthy - Wise And Otherwise
Satyajit Ray - The Adventures of Feulda - II
Preethi Shenoy - Tea For Two And a Piece of Cake
Arthur Golden - Memoirs of a Geisha
Anita Nair - Goodnight And God Bless
R K Narayan - The Painter of Signs
Ruskin Bond - Ruskin Bond - Book of Humor
Elizabeth Gilbert - Eat, Pray, Love
Ruskin Bond - Room on the roof/Vagrants in the Valley
Alistair Maclean - Golden Rendezvous
Sankar - Chowringhee
Anita Nair - The Better Man
Indu Sunderasan - The Twentieth Wife
The Books I Bought...
Jeffery Archer - And Thereby Hangs A Tale
James Herriot - All things wise and wonderful
Chitra Banerjee Divakurni - The Palace of Illusions
M T Vasudevan Nair - Bheema - Lone Warrior
Srinath Perur - If it's Monday, it Must Be Madurai
Abandoned:
Gabriel García Márquez - Love in the Time of Cholera
Meera Syal - Anita And Me
Meera Syal - Anita And Me
What I read (2015) ....
Indu Sunderasan - Feast of Roses
Kavita Kane - Karna's Wife: The Outcast's Queen
Nevil Shute - Pied Piper
I would have liked to write a review for all, or most, of these, but I guess I can't. I'll try to add a brief note at least ....
PS (24/3/2015): With the initial enthusiasm, I have written a brief review for about one third of these. On to posting and linking.
