Teacher's Day Remembrance: How I Became a Reader

The first book I ever read!

This is the story of how I became a reader. And, when you read it, you will understand that it was all so full of co-incidences, a little bit of luck and some pushing- the end result was something I still cherish- being a reader and picking a book after another: the greatest joy only a reader can understand.

A Promise Not Kept

Book Title: Keeping Faith

Author: Jodi Picoult

I picked Jodi Picoult for the first time. All I knew about this author was, that she had a pattern in her novels: protagonists are women, issues concerning women, courtroom drama, and some spice of thrills. I particularly picked "Keeping Faith" due to this tagline: "You believe in God. But your daughter is talking to angels. What would you do?". 

A Thriller with Lots of Twists

Book Title: The Kind Worth Killing

Author: Peter Swanson

I have always loved reading Psychological Thrillers and Mystery genres. I can't help but pick at least one mystery novel between 2-3 reads. This time it was- "The Kind Worth Killing" by Peter Swanson. The novel did satisfy my taste buds and if not the best, certainly it is something that comes in the top 5! 

A Magnum Opus! A Must Read.

Book Title: Age of Frenzy (Translated from original Konkani Novel, Yug Sanwar)

Author: Mahabaleshwar Sail

Translator: Vidhya Pai

Off late, I have read works of some celebrated author's like- Amish Tripathi, Ashwin Sanghi, Neel Mukherjee, Arvind Adiga, and the like. "Age of Frenzy" by a lesser-known regional author Mahabaleshwar Sail, somehow stood apart from all these and it was like finding a precious pearl from an oyster deep in the ocean. This novel is the English translation of the original Konkani novel "Yug Sanwar", and is fiction based on historical facts.

Conformity, Community and Liberty

As I deep-dived into my Sunday afternoon musings today, I was caught up in a spiral of strange thoughts. I realized that for the most part of my life I have dealt with 2 major taboos, as a result, was told by people the prescribed way of doing the “right” things and as a result, ended up being a conformist all along. At 6, I realized that I didn’t talk like other kids in the school. I had involuntary repetitions and blocks in my speech which I later discovered was called stammering. I was told to talk slowly, not to be nervous, and that I needed to consult a Speech Therapist who equipped me with loads of techniques on how to talk fluently. In other words, how not to be “me”. I tried and failed. 

Mythology, Serial Killings and History Lectures

Title: The Krishna Key
Author: Ashwin Sanghi

After reading the Shiva Trilogy, my first from the genre of Mythological Fiction, I began to like it and explore more authors like Amish Tripathi. Thanks to Google, I found Ashwin Sanghi. He has a series of novel called the "Bharat Series" which is based on a common theme- an amalgamation of mythology with contemporary thrillers. I thought it was an interesting combination. The first book in the series, The Rozabal Line was based on a premise on which I have already read another novel (The Scroll, by our very own Dr. Sachin) and I didn't want to sour the taste by reading another novel on the same premise. The second one, Chanakya's Chant is award-winning, but I skipped it because I don't enjoy political thrillers and tussle to power. Hence, I zeroed down on the third- The Krishna Key. Here's my review of the experience and what I think about the author.

Painful Stories with Writing Genius

Book Title: A State of Freedom

Author: Neel Mukherjee

I bumped into this novel called “A State of Freedom” by Neel Mukherjee when I was looking for offbeat novels to read. Since many readers recommended it on the internet and the author seemed to have a good track-record of awards for his past novels, I thought of grabbing a copy and getting a first hand experience. Here is what I think about this novel.