been reading some

I really really want to write and to read. On to my to-do list for today, I had noted that I must write a list of books I want to read over the next few months. In the past two months, I have been reading but it has been fast-food pop corn style of reading (mostly)* and I have left an abominable number of books half-read. What can I say, some books need an atmosphere, and others need attention, focus and some utilisation of the brains.  

*Here is the list, in no particular order:

Chicago Lightning by Max Allen Collins

           This was my first Max Allen Collins book, apparently of the True Detective fame. It was a collection of short stories, and mostly enjoyable, but the fact that they are based on actual events sometimes makes for a very dark reading. 

ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

           A staple Poirot novel, nothing to complain about, nothing too commendable either. 

The Silkworm by JK Rowling aka Robert Galbraith

           Actually a surprisingly good book, and in my opinion, much better than the first one in the series. I think telling you more about it might diminish your enjoyment if you decide to pick it up, so I will stop here.

The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov

         There are three stories in this book, and they are good. I guess that cannot count as a review, but I am in a bit of dilemma - when a book is particularly good, I enjoy reading it without knowing anything in advance. I think this book is good and I wouldn't want to tell you anything in advance, except it is a really cool premise and in my opinion, Asimov has quite a pop/paper-back style of writing, i.e., drama, sex and the lot in a nice comfortable way. 

10% Happier by Dan Harris

         The key selling point of this book really is that it is written by a rather successful journalist - his success made me pause when I read about the insecurities and the dramas that he sees in his life because all I saw was self-made-success-story-wonderful-family; and his being a journalist is interesting because he brings in a journalist's scepticism and attitude (you know how they walk an inch above the ground!). 

Spirituality, and thus introspection, meditation, finding a mentor to help you shape your life based on internal values, has been part of my life for a while and so I have heard his arguments before but it was interesting to see how he resolves them - and at this point, I was speaking to non-present sceptical friends wishing that I could read out passages to them! On the other hand, there is a question of balance that he repeatedly talks about. About balancing or rather reconciling, external worldly goals and internal values-based goals. At this point, quite funny for me, I was having a conversation with a non-present Dan Harris, nudging him to read the Bhagvad Gita! 

I think it is an enjoyable book and one that really provokes discussion, in a good way. 

Crooked House by Agatha Christie

            A staple Poirot mystery that I think I was probably re-reading and thus didn't enjoy as much. 

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

          Read this book cover to cover for the second time, and it is still a classic that takes you in. The language and the words and the worlds chug along and do not grow stale. What really took me by surprise, however, was the realisation that in midst war it is an incredibly nostalgic story; there is a deep sense of loss, even in heroic effort and victory, that things shall never be the same again. And then, one day, we won't be there to see any of it, anyway. This was quite a contrast to the hopeful peering into the future of Asimov's The God's Themselves, along with a sense that the world can be secured for our children and we will live in some form or another while they are safe.  

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Try
           This is about Richard III, the last king to die in the battle of the roses; the hunchback king about whom Shakespeare wrote a play. Having neither read the play, nor having read English history enough to know anything about the king or the battle, I found the passionate attempt to clear the kings much smeared name (apparently, Shakespeare made him a villain of the first order) quite fascinating. The book, for me, was quite reminiscent of Game of Thrones and since it was so much shorter in length and stuck with the one king, no matter how tragic, I enjoyed it more.