Books

Reading books is my favorite pastime, covering different genres - fiction, biography, spirituality, religion, children's literature etc... My father was an avid reader, orator and writer with a few publications to his credit. He had a mini library at home. I started reading books from my father's library. My maternal grandfather, who happened to be my father's teacher, was also an orator and was writing a religious column and articles in the news papers of his time. He was a practical man, who thought ahead of his times. I have learnt my existential lessons from him.

I have read books across genres including fiction (by Agatha Christie, James Redfield, Paul Christopher, Dan Brown, R.K.Narayanan, Ruskin Bond, Robin Cook, Paro Anand to name a few), biography (M.K.Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Paramahansa Yogananda etc.), spirituality (Bhagavat Geetha, Srimath Bagavatham, Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra etc.), psychology/para psychology (Brian Weiss, Scott Peck, Gary Zukav, etc) and of course, children's literature (J.K.Rowling, Hergé, Rajaji and other Indian children literature). 

During my growing up years I have read Tamil literature, mainly fiction by Kalki Krishnamurthy (கல்கி கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி), Na. Parthasarathy (நா. பார்த்தசாரதி), Thi. Janakiraman (தி. ஜானகிராமன்), Akilan (அகிலன்), Jayakanthan (ஜெயகாந்தன்), Kothamangalam Subbu (கொத்தமங்கலம் சுப்பு), Devan (தேவன்), Rajam Krishnan (ராஜம் கிருஷ்ணன்), Indumathi (இந்துமதி), Sivasankari (சிவசங்கரி), Ra.Ki.Rangarajan (ரா. கி. ரங்கராஜன்), Su.Samuthiram (சு. சமுத்திரம்), Sujatha (சுஜாதா), Lakshmi (லக்ஷ்மி), Indira Parthasarathy (இந்திரா பார்த்தசாரதி) etc., and poetry by Subramanya Barathi (சுப்ரமணிய பாரதி), Barathidasan (பாரதிதாசன்), Abdul Rehman (அப்துல் ரஹ்மான்) etc.

In my opinion, books help you to relax, think, expand your horizon and spend time meaningfully. In this section I would like to comment on the books I have read.



Auto Biographies

A biography gives us insight into the person behind the personality. Of the biographies/ auto biographies I have read, I would like to share my opinion on the following three.
My Experiments with Truth, M.K. Gandhi - Other than the children's books on young Gandhi, I have not done any serious reading on Mahatma, until my 9th grade. At that... Continue Reading

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is my all time favorite detective fiction writer.  Her plots are well thought out, characters are refreshing and her focus is invariably on unveiling the mystery. Agatha Christie’s ‘Whodunit stories’are as clean as you can get. Her characters are realistic and one can easily relate to them, irrespective of the period and milieu, where the story... Continue Reading

J.K.Rowling - Harry Potter Series

Some years ago, I came across a review of the first Harry Potter book, which made me rather curious. So during my nest visit to library, I picked up “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. When I started reading, I just could not put it down... Continue Reading  

Pure Sequence by Paro Anand

A couple of weeks ago, while browsing through the books in the library, I came across a book titled ‘Pure Sequence’ by Paro Anand. I have not read any other books by this author. Hence, I thought of giving it a try and was in for a pleasant surprise... Continue Reading  

Ruskin Bond

Ruskin Bond is one of my favorite Indian authors. His trademark wry humor makes his books enjoyable. While reading his narrative, one can connect easily with the incidents and locales. I particularly enjoyed ‘Roads To Mussoorie’... Continue Reading

Robert Galbraith (J.K.Rowling)

When I first learnt that J.K. Rowling is writing under a pseudonym, I was rather hesitant to read these books as my impression of Harry Potter series remained quite strong. Nonetheless, when I started reading ‘The Cuckoo’s calling’, I was in for a surprise... Continue Reading

'The Painted Veil' by Somerset Maugham

This is the first book of Somerset Maugham I have chosen to read, and hence, I have had only the curiosity and no other preconceived notions. Nonetheless, I have never expected it to be an exemplary narrative. The story is set in Hong Kong and later in China, during the 1920s... Continue Reading 

Thomas Harris

When I was waiting at the library to return some books that I had finished reading, a paperback on top of a pile caught my eye. It was ‘Silence of the lambs’ by Thomas Harris. I had not watched the movie ‘Silence of the lambs’ nor the ‘Hannibal series’. I flipped through...  Continue Reading

Chris Kuzneski

Chris Kuzneski was recommended by the librarian when I was searching for new titles and authors to read. I first selected ‘The Prophecy’ simply because it was .. Continue Reading

'The Sacred Bones' by Michael Byrnes

Last week, I accidentally stumbled upon this book titled ‘The Sacred Bones’ by an unfamiliar author. I was intrigued by the back cover synopsis and started to read. Very interesting archeological thriller set in the backdrop of conflicts plaguing Jerusalem.... Continue Reading

Michael Baigent et al

I wanted to read ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail’ ever since I learnt that 'Da Vinci Code' was inspired by this book. Finally, I ended up reading both ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail’ and ‘Jesus Papers’ recently. Both these books present a continuum and hence, they are... Continue Reading

Mary Higgins Clark

Whenever I take a break from professional work, I seek out for books to read, especially crime thrillers as I find them entertaining and immensely relaxing. Mary Higgins Clark is one such author I chose to read during a break and found her books interesting, engaging ... Continue Reading


Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K. Rowling

I managed to get the new Harry Potter book on the release date and finished reading it in one sitting! When I got the book, I wasn’t sure how the reading experience is going to be as it is a 'play script' and Rowling’s descriptive narrative in earlier books... Continue Reading

Devan (தேவன்)

R. Mahadevan (மஹாதேவன்) was a well known Tamil writer, and Devan (தேவன்) was his pen name. He lived in the early 20th century (1913-1957) and served as... Continue Reading

'Amma' by Vaasanthi

Let me first confess that I am an admirer of Dr J Jayalalitha for her administrative capacity, grit and determination, and ability to succeed in a man’s world.... Continue Reading

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