Who's reading what,when & the experience

Kingstonian

Ah - I have this ("The Last Mughal") - it's about 2 books down in my pile of books "to read".

"The Collector" - tops my personal hit list of books I would burn. It's a list of one book. And yes I have read "Mein Kampf". "Creepy" doesn't describe it ... Bring on Harry Potter, I say.

Just finished "The Kite Runner", which I found gripping. Have now embarked on Barack Obama's autobiog - good so far after 10 pages.

Aishah

Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction - the funniest book for a long time (thanks Kristin!)I couldn't put it down once started. After I went onto detective stories, two Elizabeth George's, and now one in the Rebus series 'The Hanging Garden' by Ian Rankin - a good read for a train journey at the moment.
Of all Dalrymple's writings I think I enjoyed City of Djinns the most.

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capt_mahajan

Ed McBain, "The McBain Brief". Re-reading, actually.

Like all his books bar none, enjoyable.
Pity McBain had to die.

mridula

Anyone having any idea how is Wilbur Smith's Blue Horizon?

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mridula

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Casey

I am reading The House of Blue Mangoes by David Davidar. I will put The Magus on my to read list, iwantogoback. I enjoyed The Collector despite the subject matter. I just finished Due Preparation for the Plague, which I really enjoyed.

I love the Aidrian Mole series as well as The Queen and I. Both, which when read on the bus, garner me strange looks as I am laughing out loud.

theyyamdancer

I really liked "The House of Blue Mangoes" by David Davidar. I read it before visiting India and it was a great introduction to the South. Recently I was reading his new book "The Solitude of Emperors" but I didn't finish it. It is less gripping.

A book I read last week and this has now gone straight to the top of my own personal hit parade of Indian authors: "English, August, An Indian Story" by Upamanyu Chatterjee. It is the tale of a young Indian civil servant who is posted to "the hottest town in India". It is laugh out loud funny in parts (many parts) and makes you cry in others. Altogether an amazing book. It has been compared to "Catcher in the Rye" (Nick, don't let that put you off!!!). But it is uniquely Indian. At some point the hero, or rather anti-hero, Agastya, lays into what he calls "foreign" authors about India (i.e those who live abroad and talk about their country from afar). On the other hand, he himself is given the name "English" because he has studied English Literature and because his Bengali name is considered unpronouncable. In the same way his father calls him "Ogu" instead and many of his friends and colleagues refer to him as "August". There are some great one-liners in amidst the story too. For instance "If you want to keep a great secret, put it in a novel" or words to that effect. Also, I liked the way that in his utter boredom in his back-of-beyond posting he desultorily picks up the Baghavad Gita and finds consolation in it. Altogether not to be missed.

Now I am reading (just started) "Breathless in Bombay" by Murzban F. Shroff, a book I picked up in Bombay this year - too soon to say if it is good or not.

Also recently enjoyed very much "Chowringhee" by Sankar, which I found in a bookshop in Kolkata, logically enough, since it is the story of a grand Calcuttan hotel. It is by no means new, but it is a great read.

Another one on my pile I have only glanced at so far but which looks very promising is "Banaras, City of Light" by Diana Eck, a non-fiction book which is meant to be a classic description of Kashi/Varanasi.

iwanttogoback

batistuta

re dalrymple: definitely 'city of djinns', 'white mughals' and 'age of kali'(i think that's the name). i haven't read any pico iyer, i will keep an eye out at the library for his work.

theyyamdancer

My favourite book by Dalrymple is not about India at all! It's called "From the Holy Mountain" and concerns Orthodox monasteries and communities around the Mediterranean. A fantastic read. The journey begins in Mount Athos, the Greek Orthodox community, and travels through Constantinople (sorry Istanbul), Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Egypt, visiting far flung minorities, some of them seriously oppressed. But in his irrepressible way, Dalrymple finds hope and optimism there.

iwanttogoback

thank you theyyamdancer, i had completely forgotten about 'from the holy mountain'! it's another great weaving of history and travel and personal experience. i'd thoroughly recommend it too.

Scandojazzbuff

I'll have to read something of his.

I've been trying to get through, um, what's the name, oh yeah, 'The Inheritance of Loss', Kieran Desai. It's a nice book but I've been reading it now for 3 months! I'm only 2/3 finished. Has anyone else fallen asleep with this book?

Great reads on my India list:

Son Of The Circus-John Irving
The Ground Beneath Her Feet-Salman Rushdie
The Moors Last Sigh-Rushdie
A Fine Balance-Rohinton Mistry
Shantaram should be on any India lovers list along with Kim by Rudyard Kipling. All of these books left me speechless imagining what it took to write them.

theyyamdancer

Have to concur, Scandojazzbuff, about The Inheritance of Loss being a trifle dull in parts. I kind of speed-read it looking for descriptions of Darjeeling and Kalimpong. Ashamed to say I gave it away to another tourist in Sikkim, who was mightily pleased!

Aishah

The Inheritance of Loss - not my favourite either, Theyyamdancer.
must look out for the Chatterjee you recommended, sounds good.
Scando - I'm going to re-read A son of the Circus when I get back to Jaisalmer, it's sitting in my cupboard (another copy given by a friend - I exchanged my first!)It's one of the funniest, very clever books I've read. I have with me here, 'Kipling's India' - a compilation of stories, poems with an intro. by Kushwant Singh - and this will be my next read.
Mridula - have to say I've never read any Wilbur Smith's but someone else may have..

capt_mahajan

I read some Wilbur Smith's a long time ago (not Mridula's), when I didn't mind expansive and larger than life characters.

Kind of like a male Mills and Boon, come to think of it

Scandojazzbuff

Many have recommended 'Train to Pakistan'-Kushwant Singh. I saw it in a bookshop in Kerala and should have bought it but was feeling weighted down with everything else that we had.

shashank.aggarwal

Have just started 'The Argumentative Indian'... have hardly done 20 pages, was difficult to absorb initially, but I guess I am hooked.

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