January,books...

Every year I decide to finish the books which I already have,before buying more.

This year is no exception.I have started reading and finishing the books which I have already bought.But this hasn't stopped me from buying more books. 

I have already bought 9 books last month, 6 brand new marathi and 3 secondhand English.

I have finished 2 marathi books and 4 english books of the previous lot that I bought from Amazon. In between , I read a few from my local library. So roughly my speed has been more than one book per week,which is good,considering I have a 6 day,8 hour job and of the remaining few hours I devote 1 hour daily to my subject reading too.

Here is a short summary of the books read in January -

1.सय - by Sai Paranjape- I am going in reverse. I finished this today,just before lunch. Writing about it first,because it is very fresh in my mind.

The book is about the famous director’s journey in films and theatre . There is no mention of her TV serials,it would have been interesting to read about them too.The book does not have many stories from her personal life,which is actually fine,her creative journey deserves more attention in my opinion.

 She mentions the fact that it is not an autobiography but she writes a few pages about meeting her Russian father. 

I liked the book because she has written about the origin and development of her films and dramas. I have watched a few of her plays (‘Sakkhe shejari’ and its revival ‘Punha sakkhe shejari’...translation is ‘Close neighbours ‘ : both the plays were entertaining and light hearted.) I have also watched a few movies ...Sparsh ,Katha and Chashme Baddoor. In her movies,she narrates the stories of ordinary people in a very entertaining way.

2.कुंपणापलिकडचा देश :पाकिस्तान :by Manisha Tikekar- My family fears that I have become a ‘Pakiphile’, if there is such a word . 

This is my second book on Pakistan,after ‘Lahore’ ,I have written about which here. A third one is sitting in my bookcase...

The author stayed in Pakistan for a few months in 1990s when she was doing some research. The book is about the  people and culture ,a little history and more about the modern day citizens..their views,their aspirations and life. I liked it because it dwells in the now, the present mindset of the educated people in Pakistan.

3. Mr.Penumbra’s 24 hour bookstore by Robin Sloan: A literary mystery,involving an endearing old man ,a secret society and an eccentric bookstore full of books written in a secret language.I have a soft corner about novels with a literary background.This actually deserves a full length review....let's see when that happens...

4. The love song of Miss.Queenie Hennessy:

I have read the first book which was written from Harold Fry’s point of view. I have written about it here.

The central theme of the book is the idea of unrequited love, loving someone from far away,without him being even aware of it, loving someone for being a good and a gentle human being .Harold Fry is not a conventionally good looking man ,just an ordinary middle aged fellow, but Queenie loves him even then. This book is the about the journey of that love. This  journey that Queenie undertakes is healing and so is her solitude,but at some point her suffering starts feeling pointless.On the whole,I think the first book was better.

5.Death is now my neighbour : A Colin Dexter,Inspector Morse mystery- A detective story is always welcome and Inspector Morse is a favourite...probably his love of classics and cryptic crosswords appeals to me.There is a BBC TV series on Morse novels,which I might watch some time in future...I actually prefer books to television adaptations,only exception is book number 8 in this list.

6.Magpie murders:Anthony Horowitz-I started 2017 with this book.This was actually ordered by my son, who loves reading mysteries. This serves as a much needed break in the preparation of his 10th boards. He loved the book,I found it a bit childish.But the idea of a novel within the novel was great.So,another literary fiction.

7.The Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society: An extremely lovable and feel good novel. Just the thing needed after stressful workdays.

This book in written entirely in letter form,which is unique.It is about a group of people who discover books amidst the second world war. They are helped by these books when everything around them is bleak and hopeless. Another literary fiction.

8.Pride and Prejudice : Read it because I wanted to see how much true the movie and the TV version is to the book.

Now,I am in that space,where I have many books but can not decide which one to pick...