A fine balance

Books that I have read, re-read or currently reading in the last 6 months with a single line opinion (In no particular order).

1. The catcher in the rye – JD Salinger
(Introduced me to Salinger. Must read)

2. Raise high the roof beams Carpenter & Seymour: an Introduction – JD Salinger
(Raise high the roof beams Carpenter is brilliant. Seymour: an Introduction is tedious, self-indulgent, repititive)

3. Franny & Zooey – JD Salinger
(Franny is normal Salinger. Zooey is marginally better)

4. Nine stories – JD Salinger
(Mixed bag. The ones I liked are 'Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut', 'Just before the war with the Eskimos', 'For Esme with love and Squalor' and 'Pretty mouth and green my Eyes')

5.Lord of the flies – William Golding
(Read for the concept.Deep.Normal writing)

6. A clockwork orange – Anthony Burgess
(Uses sometimes-difficult-to-understand slang. Great plot)

7.A fine balance – Rohinton Mistry
(Introduced me to Rohinton Mistry. Will remain one of my all time favourites)

8. Family matters – Rohinton Mistry
(Good. But my frame of reference is set by 'A Fine Balance'. Difficult to match)

9.Sacred Games – Vikram Chandra
(Cops & Robbers tale. Unapologetic. Racy read. Good)

10. Love & Longing in Bombay – Vikram Chandra
(Set of five stories. Good not great. Liked 'Artha' the most followed by 'Shanti')

11. Red Earth & pouring Rain - Vikram Chandra
(Tedious. Thought it pseudo-intellectual. Couldn't finish.)

12.A suitable boy – Vikram Seth
(Lazy, luxurious, great writing. Liked it)

13.Hullabaloo in the guava orchard – Kiran Desai
(really good writing in spite of the plot)

14. Selected short stories of Nikolai Gogol – Nikolai Gogol
(Currently reading. First signs good)

15.The Namesake – Jhumpa lahiri
(Good. Liked the 'Interpreter of maladies' much better)

16. The world according to Garp – John Irving
(Introduced me to John irving. Was startled by the book. Liked it)

17.The Cider House Rules – John Irving
(My John irving favourite. On par with 'The World according to Garp')

18.A prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving
(A whole book created on the thinnest premise. Couldn't wait for it to end)

19. The Hotel New Hampshire – John Irving
(Has all those John irving staples. Bears, Vienna. Good only in parts.)

20. The kite runner – Khaled Hosseini
(Kept me interested. Too formulaic. Maybe the best he will ever write)

21.The city of God – Paulo Lins
(Too full of violence, drugs etc. Got on my nerves after some time)

22.Sons & Lovers – D H Lawrence
(Didn't know what to expect. Liked it)

23.The Same Sea – Amos Oz
(Read a novel in this form for the first time. Loved it)

24.Pomegranate Soup – Marsha Mehran
(Has some really tasty looking recipes. Found the novel quite superficial)

25.The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
(OK. Didn't do anything great for me and definitely did not match the hype it has around it)

26. Bend in the river – VS Naipaul
(Introduced me to Naipaul. Loved it)

27. A house for Mr Biswas – VS Naipaul
(Long. Tedious. However, a good read if patient)

28.Babbitt - Sinclair Lewis
(Very very tedious. But liked it)

29.The Shining – Stephen King
(Typical Stephen King. Scared me. But forgettable as soon as you finish it)

30.The Secret life of bees – Sue Monk Kidd
(Nothing great. Pass)

31. Fried green tomatoes at the Whistle stop cafe - Fanny Flagg
(In the genre of 'To kill a mockingbird'. Comes nowhere near)

32.The Wedding – Nicholas Sparks
(Too too mushy. Read it when I had nothing else to read. But still don't know how I read it)


I have never read so much in such a time frame. I am the cat with the cream smeared all around my mouth.
And yes...I work too........Really. I do.