Why do i read, what i read

Its been a long hiatus. Except for a positive development on the personal front, i haven't been all that busy. Actually my work hours have reduced drastically and i sleep a lot less, but still i hardly find time to do anything. I have lost many hobbies and passions to laziness and it looks like blogging is the latest victim. But i have decided not to lose this battle without a fight, so here i am back to writing crap again.

Crossword has a sale on. I got an SMS announcing they are selling books at 70% off. So i ran to the nearest store hoping to pick up books at dirt cheap rates. Ha, it was a bluff alright. 70% off was for the books whose content resembled closely with a typical bombay times centerspread. But i am member, so i got a meagre 15% off, which was good enough for me to buy 7 books, the way they fool poor old book addict.

Many have asked me how do i choose what books to read. The answer is i dont, instead, i know what i dont want to read and thats how i start shortlisting. I avoid sections of management (MBA has taught me, reading books can't make you a good manager), health & fitness (explains why i look the way i do), parenting & cookery (long way to go still), religion and philosophy (I am an almost atheist) & self help books ( i hate when someone tells me how i should lead my life). There was a stage when i used to indulge in Famous five, Hardy boys, Secret seven, PG Woodhouse, Agatha Christe & Aliaster Maclean, and there were times when i used to secretly get a sneak peek of two pages of my mom's Mills & Boon & James Hardy Chase.(Reading a love scene is quite an expereince. Our generation have been spoilt by images of toned bodies making love, but there is an orgasmic pleasure of imagination that you get from the written word that is unbeatable).But that stage has passed, or so i like to beleive.

That still leaves me with a wide array of sections to choose from. I just walk into the book store pick up random books from the shortlisted sections and read the synopsis at the backcover. If it intrests me i will buy, otherwise i dont. This reliance on instinct has left me owning books that i could barely go beyond reading two pages, but its worth it. Because it gives me space to have an independent opinion and interpretation without being coloured by popular choice or critical acclaim. I plan to stick to it. This instinct told me to buy Inspite of gods, by Edward Luce, its turning out to be a mixed bag of which i will write in the next post. This post has been unusually long, so i will stop..Cheers