Books to Read. Or Not. And Why

OPEN BOOK
Manjira Dutta

My son recently gifted me a Kindle because I enjoy reading. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I love the feel, smell and look of a physical book too much to shift to a ‘sterile’ presentation of the written word.

I also like to judge a book by its cover, the physical cover – not the image reproduced on a digital screen. Yes, I know, this is a strange fetish, but there it is.

Often, I find myself standing in front of the latest display at my favourite bookstore, studying the cover of a book to decide whether I should turn it over to read the back blurb. The name of the book, and how it appears on the cover counts too. It has to call out to me.

All of this may not have a bearing on the actual content but for me, these factors are deeply significant. I don’t feel like reading the book, or taking it to bed with me (I do most of my ‘fun-reading’ in bed) if these things don’t fall in place. Actually, reading in bed, is no longer just fun. It has become a dependency: I find it difficult to fall asleep without reading. Even a few pages will do.

So what do I like reading? I find it easier to define the negative. I do not like reading for academic purposes. Sure, learning happens – but it has to be organic, knowledge that seeps into the brain, almost insidiously. I have no pretensions to intellectualism, and am happy to declare my love for ‘lowly’ thrillers as well as the ‘highbrow’ literary work simply because I found the story engaging, and interestingly told.

Then, there’s the divide between fiction and non-fiction. While I generally enjoy the latter, preferring to get a glimpse of the writer’s imagination, one of the books I enjoyed skimming through recently was called the Gut by Giulia Enders, and told the detailed story of how our gut functions. I say skimmed, because I am also not a purist. I take what I find enjoyable, and that’s okay by me.

Do join me, in my monthly rambles about books I have read recently and enjoyed, or not. And why so. Please write in with what you may have read and enjoyed, as well, and we can compare notes. Right now I am reading Sweet Sweet Revenge Limited by Swedish author, Jonas Jonasson. Enjoying it so far, but not as much as his earlier outings.

More next time.

(The writer is Founder Director of leading content creating firm Don’t Be Content)