Tagged !!!

Ah these book tags! I’m not particularly excited about writing this one, coz I don’t think I have a lot to boast about, as concerns books. This tag is just going to make me look ignorant and predictable! I haven’t read most of the really awesome books that a person my age should have read by now. I used to read quite a lot when I was in Doha. Somehow lost touch in the initial few years I spent in Pune. I’m actually grateful to Gau and Akshay for having brought "real" books back into my life.. Anyways, here goes-

* Total number of books that I own:
I haven’t really bothered to count, but I think it would roughly come to about a 100 !! I know, not that great… But as I said, I’ve taken up serious reading (again!) only in the last 4 years. Besides, a lot of the books I read are from the library. I buy books only during Crossword sales or when a friend strongly recommends one.

* Last book I bought:
That would be The Legends of Pensam by Mamang Dai. No, I hadn’t heard of it either, but I’d gone to this bookstore near my place to get a copy of The Namesake and this really cute store guy suggested this book, so I bought it !! (Whatever! Besides I didn’t have enough money to buy The Namesake, so settled for this one instead.) Haven’t read it yet, but it looks to be interesting..

* Last book I read:
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Well, I bought the pirated version of the book finally. (I’m not proud of it!) But it’s way better than the movie, which kinda confuses you in the end. Though one good thing about the book is that the story goes much beyond ABCDs (American Born Confused Desis yaar !!) and their identity issues.

* One book I couldn't finish:
Ummm…quite a lot of them actually. It took three attempts to finish The Alchemist. I still haven’t finished The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt. Don’t know why actually; guess it just got a little boring in the end. And I’ve been trying to read Atlas Shrugged for ages. Somehow I’m just not ready for another heavy duty dose of Ayn Rand, especially after Fountainhead.

* Five books which mean a lot to me:
This is going to be quite a run-of-the-mill list actually, because I haven’t experimented a lot with my reading. I think the experimentation will begin once I’ve read all the books on my must-have list..

- Doctors by Erich Segal:
Can I hear groans already?! Lol.. Ok, I know Segal is not something to be read more than once, but I’ve read Doctors four times already….and loved it each time! Of course, this may have to do with the fact that I’m fascinated by doctors, and this book tracks the lives of a whole group of Harvard Medical School graduates. Besides, I love the character of Barney Livingstone (one of the protagonists of the story). He, kind of, resembles this one person I know. And I love the friendship between him, Laura Castellano and Bennett Landsmann. It’s the kind of friendship I’ve always wanted. (No, this book is NOT a love story, as some people have assumed. People should read it before sprinting off to their own conclusions !!)

- The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone:
This is a biography of Michelangelo. I have to thank Anup for raving about this book so much that I had no choice but to read it. It’s easily one of the most inspiring books I’ve ever read.

- The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseni:
My sister picked up this book on a whim at one of the Crossword sales, and I thought it would be some silly kiddy book. (See how ignorant I am... Didn’t know this book was on the bestseller list for quite a few months.) But this is a book that everyone has GOT to read. The narration is beautiful, almost poetic. I think no other author has made me “feel” every scene so vividly. The best thing is- the protagonist is in no way a conventional “hero”. He’s flawed, weak-hearted, confused, gullible and even mean at times, but when he is given the opportunity to redeem all that he ever lost, he goes all out, faces his worst fears and gets it.

- Fountainhead by Ayn Rand:
I don’t think I need to say a lot about this book. It makes you think, and it redefines a lot of your ideas, in a way…

- The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling:
Ahhh…now these books have been faithful companions through some rather tough times- boring submissions, exams, or just not-so-exciting semesters. Can’t wait for 21st July. Yup, big plans for The Day…I’ve booked a copy already and apparently Twist ‘n Tales will be open right from 6 am !! I just hope it lives up to all the hype !! But I’ll kill JKR if she kills Harry, Ron or Hermione in the end. :-)

* I am going to Tag:
Now the people I’m going to tag are rather voracious readers (or atleast have read a lot more variety of books than I have, so I’m sure it’ll make for some interesting reading. Plus, it’ll give them a reason to update their blogs.. :-P.. So I tag Anup, Akshay, Keshav, Vipin and Niri. (I dunno if you read, Niri, but nonetheless…atleast now you can’t copy-paste my post !! :-P..)