SlishaCrazy

It has been a while since I last wrote here. In that time, life has expanded in the most miraculous (and chaotic) way: babies. With a tiny months old baby and a delightful toddler whose energy and curiosity never run out. Between feedings, nappy changes, and endless rounds of “why?” questions, I’ve discovered that "my time" is no longer mine to manage, but theirs to gift me in scraps. And yet, in those borrowed scraps of time, I still reach for books. Not as often, not as deeply as before—but enough to remind myself that the part of me who loved getting lost in stories still exists. Here’s what my reading life looks like these days: Bite reads: I’ve learned the art of dipping into books in the oddest moments—standing in the kitchen waiting for a bottle to cool, or sneaking a page while one child naps on me and the other builds a Lego tower. I used to devour chapters in one sitting; now I nibble, and somehow, even that feels satisfying. I did this kind of reading o...

Maintaining consistency...        After reading 51 books against a target of 50 in 2019, 34 of 35 in 2020 and 30 of 30 in 2021 , this year I had planned to read 33 books but a huge life change had set me back in my reading journey, finishing at 75%.  Ending the year at 25 books, here is a complete list along with covers of the books I would recommend.  Book 1. How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue: I've watched so many Telugu movies on big corporates ruining villages. But it feels raw and unnerving to read the story in the privileged language of English. It's fiction, but not. How we ruin the land, water and air will live on!  Book 2. Second Place by Rachel Cusk: It is a short book that I found difficult to finish. It received a lot of praise on the way it tackles male privilege. But I didn't understand that. To me, it was a woman's midlife crisis written up like an old English letter to some Jeffers. Book 3. The First Woman by Jennifer Nan...

To get back into reading, I set myself a nearly unachievable target in 2019 - to read 50 books. I read 51 brilliant books . But it also took away every spare minute I had. So in 2020, I set out to read only 35 books and I ended at 34 . This year, I set myself and even more achievable target - 30 books. And I completed it. Most importantly, I got the joy of reading back. Reading for the sake of reading and not to finish up any certain number. Here's the list, with a snapshot review of each. Book 1. I start this year with a delightful retelling of the Ramayana, Sita by Devdutt Pattanaik. It's possibly the tale most retold inspiring folksongs everywhere. The author draws out versions from different parts of India and South East Asia, gathering tidbits of stories together. Book 2. Oranges in a No Man's Land by Elizabeth Laird: It's a beautiful story of a young girl's matter-of-fact bravery in war-torn Beirut. What makes it special is not that it's from a ...

I managed to read 51 books in 2019. Here are my recommendations from the 51: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante Ferrante captures young female friendship in all its inexplicable beauty, in its interdependent on support and jealousy. I have never read a coming of age story that was so relatable. So honest that I felt the need to reach out to my own school friends. The struggle to rise above your circumstances and the self discovery feels universal. To me, the rest of the books in the series don't match up to it. I watched the National Theatre's adaptation into a play and was deeply disappointed but was delighted with the Italian TV show directed by Saverio Constanzo! Milkman by Anna Burns A wonderful read, it's a serious tale of The Troubles but the barely 16yr old girl's troubles are nonetheless all too contemporary and unsettling. It casually highlights the 'us vs them' peppered with witty sarcasm and all kinds of digressions. Characters remain u...

Read 51 books in this year 2019! In 2018, I signed up to one of those reading challenges to complete 50 books. If I could have done it in any year, it would have been 2018 given the significant amount of free time I had. Somehow I didn't even get through five books. Instead I worked on an adult colouring book and some origami, and also tried to learn python. Come 2019, I decided I should at least try. Also, I took a friend's advice on audiobooks and realised my library had a huge collection. So may be this year, I can read half that number. June update: I have read 19 books in the first half of the year. If I keep that up, I might actually end up reading more than 50 this year. But we all know that's unlikely. Yet, I felt I need to publish now, lest the post is too long. December update: this is the second version of that. 20. The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante: after My Brilliant Friend it was inevitable that I immerse myself in the follow up literary experience...