What do you do in a reference library filled with century old dust covered technical literature? You read books. I read loads of them during my intern in the R&D department of a company. Only problem was, I couldn’t finish any of them.
‘Maximum City’ by Suketu Mehta seemed like a repetition of what I knew already. ‘A turn in the South’ by V S Naipaul is painfully slow. Although there are delightful (but scarce) moments where you begin to realize why he’s a Nobel laureate.
Joseph Heller’s ‘Catch 22’ was funny enough in the beginning. But it gradually turned monotonous. Some quotes:
The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous and likable. In three days no one could stand him.
Doc Daneeka was Yossarin’s friend and would do just about nothing in his power to help him.
Next was ‘Made in Japan’ by Akio Morita. Autobiographical book by the Sony co-founder. The problem with this book is that it is too detailed! Well, for me at least. Nevertheless I completed one third of it.
Anita Desai’s ‘In custody’ managed to lose my attention on the fourth page. Flowery language, elaborate description. The physical description of a yesteryear’s poet can not span a whole page. :P In any case, its too much to take for me.
I never came close to opening ‘Mother’ by Maxim Gorky. Something about the title, I don’t know. Its too basic.
‘Unaccustomed Earth’ by Jhumpa Lahiri also happened. Her previous book ‘Interpreter of Maladies’ is a must read. I did not finish this one though. I didn’t find it as extra-ordinary as the first one. Also, the theme of Indians settled in America gets repetitive after a while, especially when you can’t relate to it.
Now I have started ‘Candy is Dandy’ by Odgen Nash. I don’t think I will finish it. But its really good.
I have been reading loads of books these holidays too! I started off with reading all the 5 books of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Then I went on to read Love in the time of cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. After that I finally managed to read both of Khaled Hosseini’s books (A thousand splendid suns was not as good as The Kite Runner). Then came along a compilation of translated Tamil poetry. And finally, Harry Potter and the Deathly hallows (the last chapter of which ruined it all!). Good bunch of holidays its been.. :) Can’t wait to catch up once back in Insti! ;)
:D Yeah. I have your Ludlum novel with me too. Have finally begun reading it. Was too lazy to read Kite Runner, saw the movie instead. That’s what the insti does to you :D Nice.. Good holidays and all. Catch you in insti.
Lol on ‘Mother’! Basic, sure!
@ Josh: :D I shouldn’t have probably said that.
Anyway, I just finished a novel! After a long long time. ‘The Cry of the Halidon’ by Ludlum. Next I will read Mother..
[…] interpretations of events. Of course his opinion is reverberant throughout the work. I have had some troubles finishing books in the past, but this one was truly a page turner, as they […]