Recently what I found trending on social media sites was the Book Challenge, where you note down 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. That’s one challenge I’d gladly accept, being a voracious reader. There’s never a time when I don’t have a book (or two), book-marked by my bedside. People close to me know that I will happily ditch a party to have a date with my book. My Early memories are reading piles of Reader’s Digests and Competition Success Reviews — all military kids would know what I’m saying. I think my father had really hoped that one of his four children would join the foreign services which never happened but the book certainly added to my knowledge base.
I love books, be it fiction, biographies or mythology. For me, one of life’s most simple pleasures is to open a book and learn from its pages. Some of them I still turn to, time and time again, for inspiration, guidance or simply comfort.
As a wide-eyed thirteen year old, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and its “happy-ever-after” ending appealed to me immensely. After I became a mother, along with immense joy and happiness came a sinking emotion called post-natal depression. Being away from family and home, I knew I had to rise above it and there began my journey with self-help books.
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne showed me that “If you can see it, you can manifest it”, and today I am living proof of this. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle spoke of the value of the present moment, a precious lesson in this chaotic world.
Entrepreneurship came with its own challenges and this time again books helped immensely, books like My Years with General Motors by Alfred Sloan Jr and Richard Branson’s Screw It Let’s Do It inspired me to keep my business thriving, how not to linger on past mistakes or be interrupted by naysayers — these books provided profound insights.
And here’s another category of books, remarkable stories of remarkable people. I pick biographies of people who I admire deeply, Steve Jobs by Isaac Walterson, Oprah by Kitty Kelly, Gandhi – An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth, Long Walk to Freedom Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, are a few books that moved me immensely. It took me into their world, their struggles and subsequent triumph.
I do enjoy reading fiction too as it provides an escape into another era. It sets your imagination wild and allows you to make your own movie in the mind. Which by the way, is a reason I never enjoy movies inspired by books. Some of my top favourites are The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, a conspiracy thriller that had me totally immersed in Robert Langdon’s world.
It’s refreshing to read amazing new Indian authors such as Ashwin Sanghi, who’s books are The Rozabal Line and The Krishna Key. What I love is how he depicts historical facts, camouflaged in fiction giving young readers an interesting take on Indian mythology.
Fianlly, the book that I am currently reading and am obsessed with is The 40 Rules of Love by Elif Shafak, a wonderful tale of spiritual longing and connection — between one another and the divine.
And just like always, once I am through reading it, I will need another compelling novel to cure me from my ‘book hangover’.
