Books- eh, meh, bleh?
2021 was a year when I struggled to read books, as my motivation to read a book comes form the following purposes (in decreasing order of significance.)
- How often I can reference it in next few weeks?
- How well it fits in my long term arsenal of random quotes?
- How intellectual will it make my book shelf look?
With social circle limited to 6 people, out of which 2 were roommates, the referencing bit didn't work this year. Ageing humans around with their short attention span, and with OTT shows spewing catchy dialogues, books are serving short. With my two roommates (one nuevo-rich and other an neo-socialist) on a book buying spree this year, the shared shelf was growing on intellectual vibes as well
I could read about 25 books this year which was way off than my target of one book per week. I planned on reading a more fiction but ended up buying a lot of non-fiction(read engaging in Intellectual Masturbation was easier than to face difficult emotions). Here are my recommendations among books I read:
Aadha Gaaon: by Rahi Masoom Raza
Recommended by Ravish Kumar in one of the interviews. Ravish called it the most important book to understand villages in the heartland.
I have accepted the fact that I will not be able to live in my native village in any foreseeable future. This book challenged me emotionally and I have started looking for ways on how can I go back ?. It was surprising for me that I learnt more about the milieu of Poorvanchal from this book than from my elders.
Attached: Dr. Amir Levine & Rachel S.F. Heller
This was recommended by YouTuber Vaibhav Munjal who runs Chalchitra Talks. He hailed this book as the most important book you will ever read on relationships. And, Indeed it is. This books helped me almost like my therapists to figure out my patterns. I used pencils to marks answers to surveys in the books as they were so intimate; and I was not sure if I would like to reveal it to anyone.
Kashi Ka Assi: Kashinath Singh
This book is a commentary on socio political atmosphere of 90s. Set in Banaras, this book was due for a long time. I bought it as it came as a reference in Bharat Bangari’s monologue on politics. I am not sure if Bharat has written anything on his blog in a decade but you should definitely check out his writings; they ooze hope. This book will bring Banaras in front of you, You can smell the city through Kashinathji’s words. Banaras for me will be the only city where you can listen to Tamil, Bhojpuri, English and multiple European languages at the same time
Teen Ekant: by Nirmal Verma
I knew about the author Nirmalji, had heard him in a couple of interviews. When Maanav Kaul talked about this book in an interview, I had this instant craving to buy this. This is a collection of stories, all three of them have single characters narrating. This book rekindled the love for journaling, tracing origin of self doubts and just admiring them.
Don’t Think of an Elephant: by George Lakeoff
George talks about fundamental values which separate Democrats and Republicans. He traces how Republicans have been successful in building narratives in general. Why Republicans attack Obama in Obamacare strongly rather than attacking provisions of The Affordable Care Act.
The metaphor of how Democrats and Republican treat nation as a nurturing parent or strong patriarch was amusing and will stay with me for a long time.
Logicomix: Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos H Papadimitriou
This was impulse buy of the year, I saw this book in WhatsApp status of Shagun Dwivedi. This was my fourth graphic novel after Maus, Persepolis, and Biksu (which is an amazing Hindi/Chotanagpuri graphic novel).
This is a book about how to write a graphic book. I would not have learnt about foundational quest of mathematics, if not for this book. This book times the philosophical struggles of Bertrand Russel with incidents in his personal life. This is a must for anyone who has ever though why an axiom is regarded as truth if they are an assumption?
Ruktapur: by Pushyamitra
This book was a surprise. Pushyamitra covers unique stories, brings out the most important problems of modern Bihar. The author being a journalist captures each problem like a professional. The anecdotes are hilarious and sad at the same time. This book is a diary of development and democracy in my home state
This calls for another recommendation of another book Despite the State. If you want a primer in decentralisation, federalism and democracy look no further than these two.
Before the coffee gets cold: by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
The reason I couldn't move to another fiction book was one story form this book. It haunted me for a while, I cried while reading it, and I sobbed while re reading it. This is for everyone; who has craved for time travel. I was so full after this book that I didn't crave for any story for a better part of the year.
This book was recommended by Vaani of Chalchitra Talks. They host one common book to be read together in a months. I haven’t tried their book club but if you wish go visit Chalchitra Talks.
Here are a few other non fiction titles, which have catchy names and written by popular figures. Choose and pick if you like their names; all of them are worth the investment.
