Ever since I can remember, my fifth appendage has been a book. I'm one of those kids who learned to speak/read before they could walk. And chances are if you have been travelling at the same time as me, and seen this Indian girl with her nose well into a book, notwithstanding turbulences, delayed trains, lousy weather, in short any and everything, this would be me. So, here's the confession. It's been 6 months, since I last picked up a book to read except for the latest HP. It's impossible to really put down in words how this has affected me, it's a void I try to fill with other hobbies, movies etc and I cant help feeling extremely sad and scared at this turn of events.
And it doesnt help that the memories of books I've read before have suddenly changed. I noticed sometime ago that I had been exclusively reading women authors. This wasnt a conscious decision on my part, it's just that any time I picked up a book which seemed interesting, it had been written by a woman. A quick bookshelf survey turned up a couple of books by male authors, but none for immediate reading - there's Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, which I havnt been able to get past the first couple of pages each time I've picked it up, there's Garcia Marquez's 100 years of Solitude which I'm not in the mood for at the moment, Che Guevera, which again needed major mood filtering and Ken Follett - the Pillars of the Earth.
So I read Pillars way back when, I was around 14/15 and I thought it was the greatest book ever, a grand epic story blah blah etc. I was so excited about it, I even picked up a copy to give to my gf T, on her bday. Of course, T read it and was not very impressed, I'm sure she thought it was a crapola gift, while I couldnt understnad how anybody couldnt like this book. She's generally rightabout things, so I wonder why I didnt reevaluate at that time itself. Anyway, this book has been collecting dust on my bookshelf for years now. Recently, I took it out for a re-read ..... and I cannot progresss beyond the mediocre writing, and humdrum plot. I can understand outgrowing someone like Archer, but Follett ?? Or else, in the intervening years, I've visited the Salisbury cathedral and didnt find anything inspiring about it. Maybe, the reality doesnt match upto my imagination. Maybe I have ADD. :( But, now I'm left wondering if every book I ever loved as a child is going to turn out to be a major disappointment :( Or worse yet, what if I've gone off reading completely?
And it doesnt help that the memories of books I've read before have suddenly changed. I noticed sometime ago that I had been exclusively reading women authors. This wasnt a conscious decision on my part, it's just that any time I picked up a book which seemed interesting, it had been written by a woman. A quick bookshelf survey turned up a couple of books by male authors, but none for immediate reading - there's Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, which I havnt been able to get past the first couple of pages each time I've picked it up, there's Garcia Marquez's 100 years of Solitude which I'm not in the mood for at the moment, Che Guevera, which again needed major mood filtering and Ken Follett - the Pillars of the Earth.
So I read Pillars way back when, I was around 14/15 and I thought it was the greatest book ever, a grand epic story blah blah etc. I was so excited about it, I even picked up a copy to give to my gf T, on her bday. Of course, T read it and was not very impressed, I'm sure she thought it was a crapola gift, while I couldnt understnad how anybody couldnt like this book. She's generally rightabout things, so I wonder why I didnt reevaluate at that time itself. Anyway, this book has been collecting dust on my bookshelf for years now. Recently, I took it out for a re-read ..... and I cannot progresss beyond the mediocre writing, and humdrum plot. I can understand outgrowing someone like Archer, but Follett ?? Or else, in the intervening years, I've visited the Salisbury cathedral and didnt find anything inspiring about it. Maybe, the reality doesnt match upto my imagination. Maybe I have ADD. :( But, now I'm left wondering if every book I ever loved as a child is going to turn out to be a major disappointment :( Or worse yet, what if I've gone off reading completely?
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3 comments:
Paps,so ur having the "I found this book great as a kid, but hate it now" syndrome eh. Hmm have u read Catcher in the Rye, trust me thats one of the best novels i read in recent times, witty, caustic, and not too long winded. U could also try The Rule of 4, i found it interesting.
ahhh, is it a common syndrome then ? i'm somewhat relieved !!! i have read catcher in the rye way back when .... the rule of 4 by caldwell ?? yes have heard it's interesting .... will see, will see ... thx!!
/p
hey that reminds me, have u seen the pics of Korea i sent u.
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