My passion ----reading

2 days back I read “JEFFERY ARCHER in Mumbai to promote his new book PATHS OF GLORY “and I wondered why so late? When his book is out in the market for so many days. and i had finished his new book almost one month back and mind you not the hard bound copy but the Xerox version available outside railway stations .That shows how easy it has become to grab any book ( price no bar) from the pavements, at traffic signals or outside stations.

When all the best sellers are available at throw away prizes then who will spend huge amounts to buy the original copies?

One thought led to another and I went back into flash back and just started musing over my reading pattern up till now . No, I am not referring to my Text books. Thank God that era is over. I am referring to reading for pleasure

Right from my school days, I was deeply involved in reading but at that time it was only Hindi novels and unending list of them too. Right from the classics like Premchand, Sharatchandra, Shivani to romantic and social Hindi novels (I used to specially enjoy the ones which were turned into Hindi movies) even suspense and thrillers too .You name it and I think I read those novels There were even those books which I was not supposed to read ------but then forbidden fruits are more sweet. isn't?

Then gradually started my transition from Hindi to English

When all my teenage friends were busy day dreaming about TDH boys in their life after reading Mills and Boons, I was engrossed in my Arthur Haileys, Chase, Perry Mason , Agatha Christies and above all Harold Robbins. Couldn’t help it as my dad had only these novels and he had never heard of Mills and Boons. Actually my first English novel was Airport by Arthur Hailey and second Carpetbeggers by Harold Robins. What a combination!!

And when my friends promoted to little heavy reading , I migrated to M & Bs, Barbara Cartland, Dennis Robbins etc. and funny person that I am , I never dreamt of TDH person in my life but I used to dream of those lovely gowns and breathtaking jewellery described in such details in Barbara Cartland novels . Actually that was the only part I used to look forward in those novels (may be this amounts to my passion even now for all sort of jewellery).Many a times I used to skip pages just to read the description of what the heroine wore in different balls, or outings.

Come to think of it I have had variety in my reading style.

I have read almost all of Jeffery Archer, Irving Wallace, Sidney Sheldon, Dan Brown ( he has only three), Chetan Bhagat ( frankly I dint like any one of his but just to show off and to be in times with latest trends I read all of them), Danielle Steel ( one of my favorite authors), Eric Segel ,some of Robin Cook, Jacqueline Susan ( I love Dolores ) quite a few of Jackie Collins, and many more. I don’t even remember the hundreds of books taken from local libraries or even at scrap shops( where they sell old papers and magazines) I never realized that I have read so many authors

It is not that I enjoy only fiction but depending on my mood I do relish management books, thought provoking essays and quotations ( I have tons of books on them), books on psychology, books on Reiki ( my latest passion, Feng Shui ( my passion few months back) Vastu, acupressure, Books related to diet, Health problems and if I am on one of introspective moods then I go for religious or spiritual books .

My greatest possession is my collection of books on all the subjects. They are my treasure. And out of this treasure the ones which are closed to my heart are some books presented to me by my father, my favorite book THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER gifted by my daughter ,some health books bought by my husband during one of his rare moods.

I don’t know whether this madness to read is good or not but I do need to read something before sleeping.
No one will believe but once when i had nothing to read I was forced to read from the newspaper bag which I had got when I had gone out to buy fruits and I didn’t have anything to read

And the credit for my this obsession to read goes to my dad

And I think I even passed on some of this passion on my daughter too. But unfortunately my son and my husband are not so fond of reading, so when my son bought his first novel One night @ call center by Chetan Bhagat , I couldn’t believe my eyes and I had a bet with him that if he finished that novel I will give him 200 Rs.

And and ------he did finish that and not only that he even bought two more novels and finished them (may be for those 200 Rs which I had promised him for each novel he finished)

And the only novel which my husband can boost of finishing is Rage of Angles that too because it was a story of an advocate.

I strongly believe that books are your best friend and the best company. I would trade an interesting book with a gossip session with anyone any time. I read as I want to live.