Before 2014 ends, and I actually say this to myself before every year comes to an end, that I should pen down a proper list of to-read books in a diary, so that, I won't trouble the booksellers trying to remember names of books/authors/publishers etc. when I buy them. This rarely happens though. Every time I am in bookstores, I usually have this printed Excel list of to-read books I've exported from Goodreads. It happened only once that I took some other bag on an outing and hence, forgot to transfer the contents including these printed pages that run over about 20 in number.
I've since grown wiser. Now, I also have a quick list of essential books to buy in my wallet, so that I always have access to the list. Since the beginning of this year, in 2014, I've also been writing in a small diary about books that I've come across, essays to read, excerpts from Nobel Prize Acceptance speeches and poetry too. These days I am reading a very interesting diary of a voracious reader and am absolutely charmed at the description of books and the passion for book collecting and the troubles he undergoes to get hold of books. Somewhere in the writings, I feel he is talking about me.
I spend hours at times reading news articles about books, staring at the bookshelves in my house, rearranging them and at times getting lost while completely forgetting the reason I started off in the first place. Gives me great pleasure. Perhaps, even more than Icecream does. I agree, Icecream and Books cannot be compared but some people speak of coffee/tea and books in one breath. Books melt in my soul, the way Icecream melts in our mouths. I have never come across a single day when I haven't read anything at all.
The bookshelves at my home are overflowing. One of the chairs in the drawing room is stacked full with bags of books. Nobody has used the chair to sit since 2005. Its always full with books. I replace some occasionally, yet new books evidently find their way on this chair. While reading Orhan Pamuk's Nobel Acceptance speech titled 'My Father's Suitcase', I am aware of my father's robust heavy trunks in the bedroom which are filled with books, magazines and newspaper articles. He has preserved all of them since his IAF days. Once a year, me and him, open the trunks and reread the books. When I was a kid, one saturday weekend Dad opened the trunks and when I returned home from school, my first reaction was jumping around the room and excited voices of both Dad and mine pouring over the contents of the trunk. We would spend endless hours on weekends and during summer vacations reading, stacking and buying books. Now that I've grown up, I often meet him in our favorite bookstore after office hours or during lunch hours and we end up buying two different bags of books. Its a very gratifying experience and I love devouring my Dad's suggestions on books to read. Often, he tells me of magazines with book reviews he has read. Its a cherished time we share, and brings me happiness more than anything else in the world does!
Here's an essential list of books and articles I intend to read and collect in the coming year, on top of my priority list.
1. The Arcades Project: Walter Benjamin, translated by Howard Eiland and Kevin McLaughlin, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002.
2. Walter Benjamin's Archive, translated by Esther Leslie, edited by Ursula Marx, Gudrun Schwarz, Erdmut Wizisla, Verso, 2007.
3. Walter Benjamin: A Biography, Momme Broderson, translated by Malcolm R. Green & Ingrida Ligers, edited by Martina Dervis, Verso, 1996.
4. Echoes down the Corridor: Arthur Miller, edited by Steven R. Centola, Viking Press, 2002.
5. The Fragrance of Guava by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza, Faber and Faber, 1998.
5. Living to tell the Tale: An Autobiography, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Vintage, 2004.
6. Adieux: A Farewell to Sartre, Simone De Beauvoir, translated by Patrick O' Brian, Penguin, 1985.
7. A Passion for Books, Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan, Three Rivers Press, 2001.
8. What is History? by E.H.Carr, Cambridge University Lectures, 1961.
9. Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford, Random House Paperbacks, 2002.
10. The Journals of Sylvia Plath: 1950- 1962 by Ted Hughes, The Dial Press, 1982.
11. The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath, edited by Karen V. Kukil, Anchor, 2007.
12. The Sovereign Sun by Odysseus Elytis, Temple University Press, 1979.
13. Testaments Betrayed: An Essay in Nine Parts by Milan Kundera, translated by Linda Asher, Harper Perennial, 1996.
14. The Complete Posthumous Poetry by Cesar Vallejo, translated by Jose Rubia Barcia and Clayton Eshleman, University of California Press, 1980.
15. Orientalism by Edward W. Said, Vintage, 1979.
16. The Edward Said Reader by Andrew N. Rubin and Moustafa Bayoumi, Vintage, 2000.
17. Disaffections: Complete Poems by Cesare Pavese, translated by Geoffrey Brock, Copper Canyon Press, 2002.
18. Notebook of a Return to the Native Land by Aime Cesaire, translated by Clayton Eshleman, edited by Annette Smith, Wesleyan University Press, 2001.
19. How to Change the World: Marx and Marxism 1840-2011, Eric Hobsbawm, Little brown and Company, 2011.
20. Cairo: My City, Our Revolution by Ahdaf Soueif, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012.
I am sure my list will expand soon till my next post. Keep Reading.
I've since grown wiser. Now, I also have a quick list of essential books to buy in my wallet, so that I always have access to the list. Since the beginning of this year, in 2014, I've also been writing in a small diary about books that I've come across, essays to read, excerpts from Nobel Prize Acceptance speeches and poetry too. These days I am reading a very interesting diary of a voracious reader and am absolutely charmed at the description of books and the passion for book collecting and the troubles he undergoes to get hold of books. Somewhere in the writings, I feel he is talking about me.
I spend hours at times reading news articles about books, staring at the bookshelves in my house, rearranging them and at times getting lost while completely forgetting the reason I started off in the first place. Gives me great pleasure. Perhaps, even more than Icecream does. I agree, Icecream and Books cannot be compared but some people speak of coffee/tea and books in one breath. Books melt in my soul, the way Icecream melts in our mouths. I have never come across a single day when I haven't read anything at all.
The bookshelves at my home are overflowing. One of the chairs in the drawing room is stacked full with bags of books. Nobody has used the chair to sit since 2005. Its always full with books. I replace some occasionally, yet new books evidently find their way on this chair. While reading Orhan Pamuk's Nobel Acceptance speech titled 'My Father's Suitcase', I am aware of my father's robust heavy trunks in the bedroom which are filled with books, magazines and newspaper articles. He has preserved all of them since his IAF days. Once a year, me and him, open the trunks and reread the books. When I was a kid, one saturday weekend Dad opened the trunks and when I returned home from school, my first reaction was jumping around the room and excited voices of both Dad and mine pouring over the contents of the trunk. We would spend endless hours on weekends and during summer vacations reading, stacking and buying books. Now that I've grown up, I often meet him in our favorite bookstore after office hours or during lunch hours and we end up buying two different bags of books. Its a very gratifying experience and I love devouring my Dad's suggestions on books to read. Often, he tells me of magazines with book reviews he has read. Its a cherished time we share, and brings me happiness more than anything else in the world does!
Here's an essential list of books and articles I intend to read and collect in the coming year, on top of my priority list.
1. The Arcades Project: Walter Benjamin, translated by Howard Eiland and Kevin McLaughlin, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002.
2. Walter Benjamin's Archive, translated by Esther Leslie, edited by Ursula Marx, Gudrun Schwarz, Erdmut Wizisla, Verso, 2007.
3. Walter Benjamin: A Biography, Momme Broderson, translated by Malcolm R. Green & Ingrida Ligers, edited by Martina Dervis, Verso, 1996.
4. Echoes down the Corridor: Arthur Miller, edited by Steven R. Centola, Viking Press, 2002.
5. The Fragrance of Guava by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza, Faber and Faber, 1998.
5. Living to tell the Tale: An Autobiography, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Vintage, 2004.
6. Adieux: A Farewell to Sartre, Simone De Beauvoir, translated by Patrick O' Brian, Penguin, 1985.
7. A Passion for Books, Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan, Three Rivers Press, 2001.
8. What is History? by E.H.Carr, Cambridge University Lectures, 1961.
9. Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford, Random House Paperbacks, 2002.
10. The Journals of Sylvia Plath: 1950- 1962 by Ted Hughes, The Dial Press, 1982.
11. The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath, edited by Karen V. Kukil, Anchor, 2007.
12. The Sovereign Sun by Odysseus Elytis, Temple University Press, 1979.
13. Testaments Betrayed: An Essay in Nine Parts by Milan Kundera, translated by Linda Asher, Harper Perennial, 1996.
14. The Complete Posthumous Poetry by Cesar Vallejo, translated by Jose Rubia Barcia and Clayton Eshleman, University of California Press, 1980.
15. Orientalism by Edward W. Said, Vintage, 1979.
16. The Edward Said Reader by Andrew N. Rubin and Moustafa Bayoumi, Vintage, 2000.
17. Disaffections: Complete Poems by Cesare Pavese, translated by Geoffrey Brock, Copper Canyon Press, 2002.
18. Notebook of a Return to the Native Land by Aime Cesaire, translated by Clayton Eshleman, edited by Annette Smith, Wesleyan University Press, 2001.
19. How to Change the World: Marx and Marxism 1840-2011, Eric Hobsbawm, Little brown and Company, 2011.
20. Cairo: My City, Our Revolution by Ahdaf Soueif, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012.
I am sure my list will expand soon till my next post. Keep Reading.
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