My Love of Reading : 10 books For the Top Shelf by the Fireplace

Apart from oft quoted lines that liken the 'book' to the doorway or portal to another realm, to a different conscience, to dreams and nightmares alike - I take the liberty to add my definition regarding them - ' Books are nothing but manifestations of our deepest unspoken desires, for what cannot be said can be scribbled in a shaded corner and still be professed' 

Here is a list of some books whose words have stayed with me long after I had perused the book. Some because, they represent movements and creations unprecedented and some plainly because they leave subtle messages entangled in their stories.

1.  Long Walk to Freedom. One of the most moving narratives of the anti-apartheid movement. As I have said earlier, I do not regard this text to be an autobiography of an individual, rather, it represents the struggle as a whole often sidelining the protagonist. It has important lessons to teach - some which come to us naturally and others which are hard to justify till one has experienced them individually.
2. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. This book though small in length tells the extraordinary journey of one of the most brilliant men in history. His life as a writer, inventor, politician, planner, diplomat among others is narrated in his own words. Ben Franklin sets an example to the enormous possibilities of accomplishments and achievements that one can aspire for in this short span of mortal existence.
3. Shantaram. A radical departure from all such tales ever told. I remember being stuck to the book for hours. (Considering the length they were plenty). A masterpiece of a tale.
4. Unbroken. The heroic tale of an Olympian who served in the War and later suffered as a POW in Japan. The tale is more touching because of the careful listing of individual feelings and thoughts of each person involved, even the camp officer who reserved the protagonist as a special outlet for his hate.
5. Train to Pakistan. We won our independence but at costs much greater than could have been imagined at the time. The tales of horror and of inhuman actions are scars that are still fresh in our hearts as a nation. This book departed from the traditional political reporting to touch upon the lives of the lakhs that were slaughtered in the name of nation and religion.
6. Three Men in a Boat. Some may wonder that this book is in striking contrast with its predecessors on the list. But, I shall be too reserved in the matter and take immediate offence as this text happens to be my favorite and has been ever since I read a small piece of it in my literature classes in school. The piece was titled " Uncle Podger Hangs a Picture". The comic narrative that it turns out to be is unmatched even by the likes of Wodehouse. This ladies and gentlemen is a masterpiece.
7. Ajaya-I. Having completed this book only recently in the summers, I have come to realize that there is a completely different way to approach the Great Epics. In deeper sense, it takes a crack at the rigid caste system deeply rooted in Indian society of ancient times (And as is prevalent in the modern era). It is a personal recommendation to all who come by it.
8. LOTR Trilogy + The Hobbit. There isn't much to say. The magical world of the middle-earth is more than a fantasy. It is by far the finest creation in the world of fiction and fantasy and a tale that inspires courage, determination and brotherhood. To get so much from a piece that was written as one for fantasy is an achievement that has no contenders.
9. Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A timeless classic. 
10. A Christmas Carol. The story of Ebenzer Scrooge is one of the most popular tales narrated in times of Christmas. It embodies the importance of sharing and compassion. A soft story with a long message.

There are many others that I would recommend to readers like The Godfather, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Kite Runner, Harry Potter series, A Prisoner of Birth, Murder on the Orient Express, The Mousetrap among tens of others. These are some names that I could remember and have hence mentioned.

Looking forward to continuing with my journey of the Russian Classics, of which I have completed but one small leg in the form of Anna Karenina. Going back to Karamazov Brothers now!

A fight for humanity : Long Walk to Freedom

I believe that if and when a person is asked as to "what is our greatest inheritance?", the perfect response would be "it is the written content" - the books containing prose and poetry of long gone generations which give flight to our imagination as we walk the footsteps of our ancestors. By ancestors, I do not wish to limit myself to the narrow definition of a blood family but the entire human race. For we are one big family surviving on an infinitesimal grain of dust in the vastness of the universe.

From this family, I have discovered yet another gem in the annals of history - Long Walk To Freedom. To say it is Nelson Mandela's autobiography is an understatement. The book is a document of the aspirations and the struggles of the peoples of South Africa. True, it is written by Mandela. But, strikingly in contrast and  in similarity with other such texts, the book tends to detail the sacrifices not only of the protagonist but the entire nation - from the hinterland to the largest cities. South Africa has come a long way since then. The days of the cruellest of social segregation schemes in modern history - apartheid are long gone. But, this transformation wasn't achieved in a single battle or war. It came as the result of a protracted struggle by the oppressed to show the oppressor the wrong of his ways. The severe repression of the non-white majority in their own native land by a foreign settled people was something the African people had fought for since the early years of the twentieth century and change could only be brought about in the last decade of the same. It was not a set of concessions by the government that finally culminated in the abolition of apartheid, but a prolonged delay, denial and extreme suppression by the state authorities of the people who never stopped fighting for what is right. I salute the anti-apartheid fighters of that era, ones who helped create a new nation and a more humane world.

Being an autobiography,surprisingly it focussed a lot on other characters of the movement - all ANC leaders especially Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Chief Luthili among others. I believe that it wasn't a deliberate attempt by the protagonist to seem modest. For, in his own words, the life of a freedom fighter is not his own but of the struggle and the people. It recounted ANC meetings, discussions with its leaders, his wife who herself was a freedom fighter and many such political events and instances. The account that is most moving is from the time spent in Robben Island prison wherein the prisoners were able to retain and continue some form of struggle against the authorities and apartheid.

One essential learning that I personally take away from the text is that determination and faith in the cause/goal is the most important thing that a person must have to succeed. Mandela had to spend 27 years in prison following his arrest and trial for high treason. It was the same man that walked out and began negotiations with the government. His demands , and that of the entire movement, hadn't changed and stayed the same till the goal was realized in 1994. Very few people in history have shown such resilience in the face of exploitation and persecution.

While Mandela now rests in his eternal abode, his teachings in the form of his life experiences continue to remain with all of us to this day and ahead.

I look forward to more inspiring words and lessons from my next read, The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. , I go now reminiscing my experiences from this moving tale.

Long Walk To Freedom

Pic courtesy : @NelsonMandela : Officer Twitter Account

To Read Or Not To Read : A Battle Between Print and Machine

The big procrastinating machine that I am, I seem to have arrived a tad too late with my opinion on the ‘print vs. e-reader’ debate. Without much ado, I will proceed to lay my views on the same.

After having acquired a Kindle Paperwhite (try saying that with an air of boastfulness!) in June, I have had to question my own beliefs regarding the sanctity of printed books. The PW (as it shall be addressed hereafter) has surprisingly been a good substitute to books. Statistically, my average of books/month has again picked up considerably after the arrival of the PW. To top it off, I have even set a personal goal of completing 50 books in the year of 2014 (or I might have just accepted it out of curiosity and competitiveness on Goodreads). Anyway, I am not advertising for PW, so I’ll get straight to my opinion on the advantages (I wish Amazon pays me something for this advertisement). Well, here goes:

1. When I have to carry a laptop, other gadgets and loads of books in my backpack, the use of an e-reader sheds tons off my back earning me blessings from the upper torso. More than a 1000 books for 300 gms – the PW weighs 206 gms (approx.) This I feel is the best trade-off.
2. For the die-hard print fans, trust me with better technologies, the feel is closer to pages. The only downside being that there is no ‘fresh-smell of the pages’ that readers want. Considering how user friendly Amazon is (just a few hundred dollars), I bet they’ll introduce the ‘smell/fragrance’ in the next version of Amazon PW
3. Additional features like the backlight! I remember holding a torch in my mouth or balancing it on the bed to read books in the dead of the night. The technology of today eliminates all the troubles.
4. While I agree, that a bookstore is a beautiful sight for the eyes, travelling to and fro from one takes a lot of time and infinitely more effort. For the ideal procrastinator, an online store, like Amazon with direct delivery to the device is in simple words, heaven.
5. As far as pocket economics is concerned, while the e-reader eats into the weekly dinner expenditure, the books are cheaper and if you keep the e-reader in good condition (treasure it as if you would a puppy) I bet it will prove to be a comfort to the ol' money bin! For example, I compared the prices of the books I have on Kindle to the same editions (or cheaper ones!) in print and the price difference was staggering. For the 37 books on my PW the Kindle edition cost INR 5493.95 while the same in print would have been more than twice the paid amount at INR 11789.5! At this rate I will have recovered the cost of the Kindle by the turn of the year.
6. Personally, the best thing about the e-reader is that there is no print material involved (d’uh!). I have spent hours in agony, crying over books that have been returned to me with twisted ends, folded pages, torn pages and other malaises. To me, it has always marked the end of the book (not that I disown it!). The e-reader bypasses all such torturous inflictions and keeps my heart and mind at peace.

The writer has opined. You are free to follow your own thoughts (and wallets) in decisions in this war. To me the PW has proved to be a good option to change my loyalties (I am a heartless b*****d). Will you follow next?

Post Script : In light of the above discussion, I should thank N. on whose advice I got a Kindle PW. I had initially been planning to get a 'Dremel which costs about 8K INR. But I guess the PW has been a good bargain and that the Dremel can wait!