Last year I kept track of what books I read. Considering I was jobless for a whole quarter, whatever I read played a huge role in keeping me motivated about a tangible goal i.e. finishing the book. Also by the end of the year I had read a good 35 books. And I maintain numbers do not matter. But I had become a regular sincere reader and I did not rather do not want to lose that.
Hence I took up a challenge of reading 60 books this year. Why 60 because 50 is boring and 70 too much :P
Anyway so the plan was, rather is to read 5 books per month, spread over 12 months. Which makes it a pretty comfortable journey. But I have fallen behind by 5 books already. And its only halfway! hmmpf!
So to motivate myself to get rid of the lethargy, I am doing a review of the stuff I read/am reading over the past 6 (almost!) months!
* I have become a huge fan of Neil Gaiman. Finished reading American Gods. Loved how it made me think about America from a totally quirky perspective. Love his writing and imagination overall. Period.
* I read Milan Kundera's 'the unbearable lightness of being'. Philosophy cannot get any more trickier. Also a friend says he is the only Indian sounding guy in the writing world! ;-)
* I read Jaya by Devdutt Pattanik! And I loved it!
* I also read Stephen Hawking's 'A brief history of time'. Felt like a wide eyed little girl who was learning about the fascinating cosmos.
* Ernesto Che Guevera's 'Motorcycle diaries'. I have a totally different perspective about South America now. And I want to travel there!
* I also read Kathryn Stockett's 'The help', Emma Donoghue's 'Room' and Margaret Atwood's 'Bodily Harm'. Got introduced to a few Atwood fans and on their recommendation am going to read more of her work.
* Read Meenaxi Madhavan Reddy's 'You are here'. Learnt the most awesome recipe for achari potato and some kickass cocktails. ;-)
* Apart from Asimov I have not read much serious science fiction. So started reading Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Red Mars'. Astounding details. Much better than many sci-fi movies I have watched.
* Last year I also got drawn to Rumi and his poetry. So after gifting KT one poetry book, I could hardly resist the temptation. So bought myself a copy of Essential Rumi. Have not managed to assimilate a lot, but whatever I have read has been very evocative!
* And have ordered Ashok Banker's 'Prince of Ayodhya' from library. So with some good old Indian mythology hopefully the reading pace will be back.
Also read a few crappy books which I will not mention here.
I very badly want to read Teju Cole's 'Open City', Jonathan Safran Foer's 'Everything is illuminated', Patrick Rothfuss's 'Kingkiller Chronicles' and Haruki Murakami's '1Q84'.
To improve on the serious reading time, I have decided to let go of some clutter in the form of random links I end up clicking on twitter. Though most are knowledgeable, after serious consideration I am going to dedicate 30-45 minutes everyday to go through zite or flipboard. And not fall for anything outside that.
Also I have stopped reading on bus journey to and from work. I am going to try to dedicate one hour before sleep everyday. Lets see how that works.
Wow doing such self assessment is a feel good and motivation booster!
So even if I may not finish 60 books by the year end, I will know how much I tried.
What are you reading btw ?
Recommendations welcome :)
~nightflier
Hence I took up a challenge of reading 60 books this year. Why 60 because 50 is boring and 70 too much :P
Anyway so the plan was, rather is to read 5 books per month, spread over 12 months. Which makes it a pretty comfortable journey. But I have fallen behind by 5 books already. And its only halfway! hmmpf!
So to motivate myself to get rid of the lethargy, I am doing a review of the stuff I read/am reading over the past 6 (almost!) months!
* I have become a huge fan of Neil Gaiman. Finished reading American Gods. Loved how it made me think about America from a totally quirky perspective. Love his writing and imagination overall. Period.
* I read Milan Kundera's 'the unbearable lightness of being'. Philosophy cannot get any more trickier. Also a friend says he is the only Indian sounding guy in the writing world! ;-)
* I read Jaya by Devdutt Pattanik! And I loved it!
* I also read Stephen Hawking's 'A brief history of time'. Felt like a wide eyed little girl who was learning about the fascinating cosmos.
* Ernesto Che Guevera's 'Motorcycle diaries'. I have a totally different perspective about South America now. And I want to travel there!
* I also read Kathryn Stockett's 'The help', Emma Donoghue's 'Room' and Margaret Atwood's 'Bodily Harm'. Got introduced to a few Atwood fans and on their recommendation am going to read more of her work.
* Read Meenaxi Madhavan Reddy's 'You are here'. Learnt the most awesome recipe for achari potato and some kickass cocktails. ;-)
* Apart from Asimov I have not read much serious science fiction. So started reading Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Red Mars'. Astounding details. Much better than many sci-fi movies I have watched.
* Last year I also got drawn to Rumi and his poetry. So after gifting KT one poetry book, I could hardly resist the temptation. So bought myself a copy of Essential Rumi. Have not managed to assimilate a lot, but whatever I have read has been very evocative!
* And have ordered Ashok Banker's 'Prince of Ayodhya' from library. So with some good old Indian mythology hopefully the reading pace will be back.
Also read a few crappy books which I will not mention here.
I very badly want to read Teju Cole's 'Open City', Jonathan Safran Foer's 'Everything is illuminated', Patrick Rothfuss's 'Kingkiller Chronicles' and Haruki Murakami's '1Q84'.
To improve on the serious reading time, I have decided to let go of some clutter in the form of random links I end up clicking on twitter. Though most are knowledgeable, after serious consideration I am going to dedicate 30-45 minutes everyday to go through zite or flipboard. And not fall for anything outside that.
Also I have stopped reading on bus journey to and from work. I am going to try to dedicate one hour before sleep everyday. Lets see how that works.
Wow doing such self assessment is a feel good and motivation booster!
So even if I may not finish 60 books by the year end, I will know how much I tried.
What are you reading btw ?
Recommendations welcome :)
~nightflier
