Bound Together

Just finished reading "Bound Together' by Nayan Chanda, which is about the history of globalisation. Nayan has done extensive research on the subject, and come up with wonderful nuggets of information, which are virtually eye-openers. Why, for instance, that globalisation has been with us since the beginning of humanity some 60,000 years ago, when the first ancestors walked out of present day Ethiopia in Africa. Savour this, succession of traders, preachers, warriors, adventurers have roamed the earth in myriad ways, creating conditions for humans to live in the present day with all its conflicts, wars, SARS, cyberattacks, WTO etc. The fact that all humanity originated from Africa and from a same mother is mind boggling to say the least. Absolutely absorbing book this.

letters to a young gymnast

I just finished reading "letters to a young gymnast" an autobiography of nadia comaneci. Written in the form of letters to a young and upcoming gymnast, it offers a glimpse into the life of one of the most popular olympic stars. Her penury post olympics and restricted freedom in the then communist Romania and her defection to USA through Hungary and Austria makes for a moving narrative. She also intersperses her narrative with her most famous gymnastic routines.

Cheiro Palmistry

Read this many years ago as a fad of the times. Don't believe in it entirely though esp the numerology part.

The Miguel Street

Just finished reading "The Miguel Street" by V.S. Naipaul, his first ever book. Set in Trinidad it is an irreverent look at the life of myriad characters who set their lives in Miguel Street, one part of Trinidad. The book is told from the eyes of a kid who observes the goings on in his part of the world. Being an early Naipaul, it is a good book.

The Lifetime Reading Plan

Just finished reading The Lifetime Reading Plan by Clifton Fadiman. This was the 1978 edition, which was revised by Fadiman in 1997 before his death in 1999. The Lifetime Plan is a must read for all book readers who wish to immerse themselves in the classics of all ages, from the 1600s onwards to the contemporary greats. The 1997 edition includes the Indian classics such as Ramayana, Mahabharata, Kalidasa etc. apart from Arabian, Oriental and African classics.

Season of the Rainbirds

Just finished reading "Season of the Rainbirds" by Nadeem Aslam, a Pakistani writer, my first by a writer from that country. It is a story of a small town in Pakistan in turbulent times, inter-religious relationship and hurtful memories from letters delivered from the past. For a first writer, time novel, it has suspense.

Dead Souls

I just finished reading "Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogol, my first by a Russian master. I am tempted to think this is probably the best book to be taken for reading of the Russian masters. The story does'nt sound as morbid as the title does, actually it is a wonderful parody of the Russian life and the society of the time. It is such a pity that Gogol had such a short life and only one book. The ending is not Gogol, ostensibly because he is said to have burned some of his manuscripts, so the ending is not the same class as the rest. A wonderful book.