Note: I chose this book, because I love dogs and I live with one, so I am always tempted by books that are about dogs. If you do not like dogs at all (!) I still think that you will like this book, because it is an interesting, inspiring, non-fictional narrative about life in a search and rescue team. There’s a lot in this book to interest people who like mysteries, but be warned, there’s going to be a lot of dog in it.

On to the review:

Susannah Charleson volunteers in a canine search and rescue team and when she learns the ropes she has to move on to the next stage, handling her own dog. For which she needs to train a puppy. Enter Puzzle.

Precocious, intelligent, talented, mischievous and extremely lovable, this is one happy puppy. If the blurb at the back of the book didn’t mention that Puzzle actually became part of the team, I would never have believed a naughty pup like her could ever get trained. But, she does of course. And she does a great job. (There were moments while I was reading the book when I decided I would just head up to Dallas myself and watch this amazing dog at work.)

Charleson is one gifted lady. She really understands the language dogs speak, she finds the right words to describe their every little action, and what’s more she writes it all really well. Not every writer can do this – putting into words the personality and motivations of a living creature. This is a talent I envy a lot (I have been living with my dog for three years and I still can’t put into words most of the things that he ’says’ and does).

Scent of the Missing is a sort of primer about life as a team member (human or dog) in a canine search and rescue team. The book is about what the job means to the dogs and the handlers, how their deep partnership is forged, what they fear the most, how they feel when a search yields results, and what it is like when they cannot find what they are looking for. Missing children, Alzheimer patients, corpses, people buried under rubble after a quake… there’s a lot of human frailties described in the book, a lot about different kinds of relationships and how society deals with the frightened and the lost.

I loved every passage Charleson wrote about Puzzle, from the first time she sees the Golden Retriever pup tumble all over herself, to how Puzzle begins to lord over the other older dogs in Charleson’s house (except for the oldest dog who she learns to respect and treat with unusual gentleness and seriousness) and then how she passes the gruelling tests that make her a reliable member of the canine search and rescue team.

What I like most about the book is how real everything is. There is nothing that Charleson exaggerates. She does not set out to show how heroic her team members are. She looks at her own life dispassionately, and does not hesitate from admitting her own weaknesses and errors in judgment. One of the most beautiful moments in the book is when Charleson is unwell and admits that she is afraid of being unable to keep up with her high energy dog through intense searches. What follows next in the book, is life-affirming. According to me, love is a lot like a good dog. It finds you, gets down to your level, stays with you, and gives you the strength to get through your lowest low.

Did I mention I loved this book?

A few pages into Open, I decided that Agassi is a really good storyteller, but he needed more editing. I was wrong. In retrospect (I just finished the book three minutes ago), I think he had a fantastic editor (and a fantastic collaborator).

Writing a book, is not easy. You can’t do it with a checklist. You can’t do it if you don’t want to. You have to want it really bad. And if writing is not easy, what comes next could very easily be worse. Watching it being taken apart by someone who only looks at the words on the page, not lifting up his/her eyes to understand why the author wrote what he/she did… Very rarely does an author, who is in the grip of his/her Muse, write pages that can escape without a red mark.

The Thin Red Line

As an editor, I find the duty daunting. Terrifying. Am I trampling the author’s voice, or am I helping it speak louder, reach further? It’s a very thin line between editing and destroying. Cut too fine and the author’s voice will bleed, be too liberal and let cliches walk away unscathed only to be waved away by readers who find the cliches disgusting, clunky, awkward…

Coming back to Open, I won’t have spoilers in this review, but I must say that there is a certain amount of repetition of a certain idea in the first few pages. I decided that this was overdoing it. Till I reached the last word and realised that emphasising the theme of the book, may seem a lot like repetition, but it isn’t. It’s a creative technique. And it works. Sometimes. Sometimes it is annoying. Switching tenses, inventing new languages, doing away with punctuation… it works for some stories, it bombs in the hands of some writers. Literary devices are mean that way. They ask a lot of the reader. They expect the reader to be patient, work it out by themselves. I guess it all depends on the story. All the verbal gymnastics in the world are worth nothing, if the reader doesn’t care about the people in the book.

The Celebrity Tell-All

But I am not talking about any old book. This is an autobiography. By a celebrity. Who rebelled against so many things that whatever he did became news, instantly. This book helps Agassi settle many scores, set down a fitting reply to people who humiliated him, made him out to be a ‘punk’ or a ‘paragon’. So people have had ‘expectations’ from this book. Revelations, secrets, private conversations replayed. That’s hot stuff! The thing is, how does one read a book that’s so loaded? What if you don’t like tennis, never loved Agassi, or what if you hated Agassi? Should you read this book?

I liked Agassi. But, you don’t have to. The book works even if you thought you were reading about just another anti-sports sportsperson who won several prestigious tournaments even as he lost spectacularly sometimes. While reading the book I remembered the Agassi I used to watch when I was in school (I lost interest in the sport and in him years ago). I was madly in love with him them. What was there not to love? He was a bad boy who cursed and wore denim and jewellery and played like a wild animal! But now I know why he looked that way. It’s not what I expected.

What Open is about

The writing style is crisp, hard, clear and carries you at a brisk pace through 386 pages. It’s not all about tennis, it’s not all about Brooke Shields, it’s not all about his hair. It’s about having choices made for you that you can’t fight or change. And having to live that life, and wanting to love it, but being filled with self-loathing, anger, frustrations that pummel you when you are trying your best. It’s about someone who believed that he didn’t deserve good things, and was scared that the good things he did get would soon be gone. All of this is so recognisable, so well-written, that it’s difficult to keep the book down.It’s a good story.

I wonder what it is like to write an autobiography. To be painfully truthful when you write about people in your life and not be afraid of the consequences. It must be a liberating feeling to speak the truth, no matter what it is interpreted as. To be able to finally say what was stuck in your throat all the time. To be Open… that’s an example of a brilliant play on words that’s all over the book.

There’s a lot to learn from the book too. About taking care of the body and the mind. Some people will find this book in bad taste, they will wonder at his audacity to name certain well-known tennis players and criticise them. But hey, isn’t that what people are paying to read? Some extremely well-written passages in the book, I am sure, will be quoted, and be used to define lives.

I guess Agassi had one really good collaborator in J.R. Moehringer, the Pulitzer Prize winning author, maybe that’s why the book works.

…”and what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?’

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

I don’t think I am using Alice’s words out of context in a post on graphic novels. Because it is true, pictures make a book a whole lot interesting. And if the book is full of pictures…? Well then, that’s just wonderful.

A graphic novel, a novel that integrates images and text, is not a new genre. Even though bookstore chains are suddenly acting as though they just heard about them (and I suspect that’s because of the sudden interest Hollywood is taking in some graphic novels).

Are comic books part of this genre? Well, yes, they are. Although some people would say that graphic novels have images of a higher quality than, say, comic books for children. But then there are crudely illustrated graphic novel bestsellers, and extremely intricate drawings in comic books. So well, let’s just say that this is a fuzzily defined genre.

Moving on. I recently got my hands on a few graphic novels brought out by Campfire. Journey to the Center of the Earth, Kim, Houdini (amazing illustrations)! And The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (reviewed here).

I know that there is a whole deluge of graphic novels in stores these days about superheroes and vampires, these novels aren’t like that, they are based on classics and their primary audience is the young reader. (For those who are interested, Campfire also brings out a mythology series, biographies and a few original titles as well).

Often, the only way you can tell if a graphic novel is good or bad (apart from the story of course) is whether you will want to see the pictures again (and again). In a good graphic novel you will see a whole page worth of descriptions distilled into one fine picture.The one good thing (or bad thing, it depends on what kind of reader you are) about graphic novels is that you spend a lot less time imagining the book, and spend more time getting into the story. The illustrations in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are good. Consider the setting, London 1886, the architecture, the clothes, the mannerisms, the nightlife, all deftly weaved into the panels, and you can focus on getting to know the eccentric Dr Jekyll, and the hideous spooky Mr Hyde.

Maybe you are like me, flying through the speech bubbles and the narrative boxes, and reading the pictures later. Or maybe, you have the patience to take the story in one panel at a time. In any case, I must say that the illustrations do a fine job of bringing Jekyll and Hyde to life. And the story has been crisply edited. I think the young reader will, hopefully, like getting acquainted with lots more classics this way. And these books are quite affordable (Rs 150 approx.).

Now, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, one of my favourite stories, is slightly disappointing. There’s lots and lots of amazing things happening to Dorothy all the time in this wonderful story by Frank Baum, and this means that in a graphic novel she has to be in almost every single panel. So, while the illustrators do a great job showing us what Oz looks like, I didn’t quite like Dorothy. She did not look endearing enough. I know, I know… each reader has his/her own idea about what Dorothy looks like, and I am afraid mine doesn’t look quite like the Dorothy in this book. And Toto too, is not as cute as he could have been…

But wait,  the parts about the wicked witch, and the flying monkeys, the poppy field, and the shape-changing elusive Wizard of Oz? Good job there. And best of all, the story has been abridged for young readers really well. So you get to read the whole book in less than 70 pages!

What I like best about the books Campfire is bringing out is that they have quite a few Indian illustrators on their team (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is illustrated by an Indian)! I feel very patriotic about this. And the paper and ink are top-quality. There’s a brief biography of the author, and a dramatis personae at the start. And at the end of each book, there’s a pleasant surprise. In Dr Jekyll, the last pages have a brief bio of some real life mad scientists, and The Wizard of Oz ends with a couple of pages on witches, wizards, and alchemists. Already I wish I had all this when I was growing up!

And I really liked the printed label inside this book that says , ‘This book belongs to ___’. I know several kids who are crazily proud about stuff like this, good touch there. And look at this page where they share credit -  ‘Sitting around the Campfire, telling the story, were:…(names of illustrators, editors, wordsmiths, pencillers, and others)’, it’s details like these that make you appreciate the team work that is put into a book like this.

You can tell me what you think about the book, and you could enter this contest to win copies of these two books! Yes, you could do that! Simple question…

There! Write in your comment, and I will announce winners on June 12! I have 2 copies each of the books to give away! So spread the word!

Going solo is either a very brave, or a very stupid decision. But, with a little bit of homework, you could be one among the brave army of entrepreneurs who can turn their passion and skills into a full-time profitable venture.

This is true.

In The Pitch: Business Lessons Learned on the Soccer Field, Linda Lord offers valuable sage advice about being a successful entrepreneur and having a wonderful, satisfying life beyond work.  She draws out valuable lessons from sport and shows how the principles of winning on the field can be adapted to winning in business.

The book is about Liz, a single mother, who is not doing well in business and is incurring the wrath of her teenage son who cannot stand their financial condition. But, Liz wants to hang on to her business and set things right. She also decides to make amends with her son, who has always been her pillar of support through trying times. Justin may not be the most adorable son, but his anger is understandable. Things begin to change when Liz listens to Justin’s soccer coach give the kids a pep talk. Liz makes the connection between business and sport and decides to ask her son’s coach for advice. But, what if the answer to her problems is to give up what she desperately (stubbornly) has been hanging on to?

Unfortunately, such things happen. Sometimes we believe in things we aren’t ready for, or have skills to handle. Learn about yourself, and based on what you find, choose a vocation. How do we manage to lose sight of such common sense?! But, we do.

What I liked about The Pitch is that it’s a very believable book. Liz is not some kind of Superwoman, she has her moments that make her look exceptionally strong and sometimes she is close to breaking down. I can identify with that! Having to justify one’s decisions all the time, to look calm, unafraid, poised, and confident all the time, to be able to deal with huge problems and accept the fact that there might never be applause… oh yes, that sounds familiar :/

There is no magic wand that wipes away her problems, she works on each problem area and finds a solution. Justin, the soccer coach, and other key characters  refrain from pontificating and aren’t just props! Also what I loved about the book are the chapter titles! They spell out the main takeaway from the chapter and act as quick doses of entrepreneurial wisdom! The book is easy to read in one sitting, and although the characters live and work in another culture, I think all the advice Liz gets can be useful for any kind of entrepreneur living anywhere! Now, on to the author interview. Hope you didn’t miss the giveaway announcement!

“…the purpose of life is to live in the service of myself and that every action, thought or deed that I commit from this point forward shall never be wasted in this regard… I shall endure no suffering, insult, mental torture or physical harm and I shall always find a way to have someone else endure it for me… I am a critic, the best of the breed…So shall I live, so shall die and so shall be remembered until all time is gone by.”

Eyebrows raised, I glanced at the title of the book and the author’s name again. The Art of Criticism: How to make people do what you want by Stanley Stephen. A bonsai on the cover. Hm.

I had done this glancing at the cover thing twice already. I had been skimming through the book, and at the very first words I read, I sat up, and blinked. A self-published author? And such fresh thoughts?

Let’s just say that self-publishing has its share of bad publicity. It’s the case of a few rotten apples at the top of the barrel. You read a few wannabe authors who unfortunately try to imitate a popular author and the lack of talent shows. And after that experience, you tend to glance away from all self-published books. It’s sad. Something should be done about it.

Like maybe reading The Art of Criticism and being willing to change your opinion about authors who prefer to not publish with the big names (who will ride their book to the bank).

This is a book about the art of criticism. The “subtler form of persuasion”. This is a great book for those who want an intelligent read about how the art of criticism has been fine-tuned through the centuries (there are refreshing perspectives here on certain religions and historical events). If you can adopt even a fraction of the advice the author gives you, I do not doubt for a minute that people won’t do your bidding. The advice on excelling in the art of criticism is common-sense, hardwearing stuff.

See, the book isn’t an easy read. I couldn’t read it in one sitting. It took me more than a week to read through only 89 pages. At times the words lead somewhere else than where you expected them to take you. At times my over-helpful, sensitive soul rebelled at the very ideas of manipulation and criticisms contained in the book. But, never let it be said that the content is uninteresting. It’s as if the author (or should I say ‘authors’ since Stephen says that the book was born in Mad Eddie’s head –a literary alter ego if there ever was one) was given one instruction only. Use your voice.

There is no real way of knowing what you can expect from the book before you start reading. Don’t expect long-winded explanations. Don’t expect a how-to-guide. There aren’t even too many examples to illustrate the important points. In fact, there isn’t even a very clear idea about who this book is for. Is it for only those who want to “get someone to do something for you, which he would never do under normal circumstances” or is it for those who have a more serious agenda, a stronger, deeper need to be on top of the game? I don’t know.

The author says he has deliberately refrained from spoon-feeding the reader, this is unfortunately something that I have a problem with. I must say that the language is extremely readable and free from all sorts of chaff. But still, I am personally not sure how many readers will get this book. I only got parts of it. To be honest, an extremely erudite, patient, and liberal reader is the probable target this book needs.

Let it be known – I love to cook. I turn on the music, I take out the vegetables (I am a vegetarian), and I spend at least an hour and a half trying to be clever and artful and create something not just edible but hopefully memorable. So, I was a little disappointed when I picked up Julie and Julia, a book I had heard a lot about (apparently this is the first cook-blog that turned into a book that then became a movie — starring none other than THE Meryl Streep). I was disappointed because nearly ALL the recipes require meat, poultry, or fish.

Well, never mind, I said, as I munched on some cleverly and artfully toasted bread, I will give away this book to someone who will like these recipes.

But, hold on. Vegetarians don’t go away. There’s something else about this book that demands attention. It is a very good book about taking chances, learning to step across the danger line and try something fantastic, no matter how trivial it may seem to other people. After all, if you aren’t happy with the way your life is right now, who else can set it right but you? It’s about learning to live (by cooking) a little dangerously.

Julie Powell, the author of the cook-blog/book, was down in the dumps when she decided to cook and blog her way through 524 recipes from the 1950 book Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Why? Because, the book reminded her of her happy childhood, when her mother would rustle up some tasty, thrifty, and clever dishes. Back then, women cooked through the night, poured their heart into the food they were making for their families, and the results? Perfect.

She gave herself a year to cook/blog and before the project was halfway off the ground, she realised it was affecting her, her marriage, her friends and her newfound internet friends, in a way she had never thought possible.

Now for some controversy. Apparently, the real Julia Child, a fiesty, witty and brutally honest person, never did like Ms. Powell’s enterprise. While Ms. Child, who had her own cookery show on a famous US TV network encouraged everyone to cook and love the art of it, she somehow ended up disliking the attention and adulation Ms. Powell’s blog encouraged.

So, the giveaway. How do you win a copy of this book?

Tell me your most cherished food-related memory.

There you go, not too difficult, right? The winner would be chosen (with the help of random.org) after six days. So I will announce the winner at midnight May 26-27.

I will also announce another giveaway on May 27, so I hope you come back for that. I will be hosting a virtual blog tour on May 27!!!

Sukham Ayu: Cooking at home with Ayurvedic insights (Jigyasa Giri & Pratibha Jain; Pritya; 2008)

While most people focus their culinary efforts on making the most of what they have in the kitchen, the authors of Sukham Ayu show us how it is easy to make the best of what we have. And going a step further, how we can make sure that not only will we enjoy each morsel of nutritious and wholesome food, but so will everyone we share our meals with. There is something comforting, and simply amazing about being able to drive away hunger and nourish the body.

To understand the value of such a book, let’s go back to the basics of food preparation. The first step one must consider while planning a meal, is finding out who is going to eat it. And what that person’s predominant dosha is. Dosha is a Sanskrit word which means bodily humour (Vata, pitta, kapha). To quote from the book, “what you need to eat is not elaborate menus with unavailable and exotic ingredients, but simple home cooked food using regional and seasonal availables that suit your constitution. This is the quintessence of an Ayurvedic diet in a nutshell…”

So, while black gram can be consumed by Vatas, Kaphas are advised to eat very little of it. While Pittas can eat apples, Kaphas are advised to only moderately consume this fruit. Also most importantly, when planning a meal, remember, “As the constitutional structure of each individual varies… you must consume food while the salivary glands are stimulated and stop eating once they go into respite…” (Quoting Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar in the book). So do not overeat.

The book helps you figure out which dosha you are (by answering a short list of questions), refer to the food guide to figure out which ingredients are most advised, advised in moderation and least advised for you, or just pick up any recipe in the book, since they are all tridoshik (suit each constitution). I personally liked the soopas and the chutneys. The vegetables and dals are sans the frills and all the better for it.

But, what I really liked about the book was the fact that it was such a labour of love for two intrepid women who had a book and the strength to bring it to life, all by themselves. Their book Cooking at Home with Pedatha won the Gourmand award for ‘Best vegetarian Book in the World 2006’ and Sukham Ayu stood second this year in Gourmand’s category of Best Health and Nutrition Cookbook in the World. So, I wrote to the authors to learn more about their experiences as authors/publishers and here’s what they said:

1. What life lessons can we learn (or have you learnt) from ayurveda and the art of cooking using ayurvedic principles?

Cooking at Home with Pedatha is about traditional Andhra recipes, where we learnt the true meaning of patience and perseverance in cooking. In Sukham Ayu, we learnt to understand our body types and the importance of the connection between the five great elements, us and the foods we eat. The journey brought to us awareness and knowledge of Ayurvedic principles.
It is almost as if we have come full circle with regard to food and health. World over, the human race has gone through (and still goes through) a notorious phase of throwing caution to the winds and eating recklessly. There is now grave concern and people are definitely looking out for a healthy way of eating, without compromising on taste. And this is where books like Sukham Ayu help. The idea of Sukham Ayu began with one such revelation. In a casual meeting with Dr Prakash Kalmadi, who spearheads KARE (Kerala Ayurvedic Research & Rejuvenation Establishment), he told us candidly how his life was transformed by Ayurveda. As Dr Kalmadi says, magic lies in moderation and balance. Live your life following simple Ayurvedic principles in your daily diet and regimen, and you will see the transformation for yourself.

2. The tridoshik preparations in the book are extremely easy to prepare. Which recipes are your personal favourites?

That is a tough question, and we really don’t know how to answer that. It is like asking about one’s favourite child. Each one is special to us, which is why it finds its place in the book. The ones that are not so inspiring are never included in the first place, even though we may have tried them a dozen times. We really like the concept of the home style recipes at the beginning of each section in Sukham Ayu. They are for the beginner; both for the novice cook as well as for one who wants to be introduced to Ayurvedic cooking. Once these are mastered, cooking as well as Ayurvedic cooking will be easy and fun.

3. What was the experience like at the Gourmand Awards. Could you share what you learnt from the festival, your experience preparing for it?

This is the fourth year we are attending an event organized by Gourmand. Each time is special, and we are always impressed by their meticulous preparation and friendly encouragement. And each time we come back feeling more charged and wanting to make more and better books.  We are also amazed that simple home cooked meals find such interested global audiences. The entire process is exciting – from deciding what to cook, search for the ingredients (this time, the search for fresh coriander took us to so many stores in Paris), preparing in the back kitchen and finally connecting with the audience. Thanks to researchers across the globe, Ayurveda is a word everyone has at least heard of. So it was not a new concept, rather people were interested to know more about it.

4. Will Pritya publish more cookbooks?

Yes, yes, yes…that is really something we want to and look forward to in our own unhurried, uncompromising style.

In a nutshell, I was both hugely disappointed, and pleasantly surprised by the fest. The JLF (which was held from 21-25 January this year) changed the way I will read books, shop for them, and think about authors. But, I do wish that there had been more space, more time between events to chat with readers, and more room given to the publishers and editors.

I found out more about the ‘reading culture’ of the day and age we live in than would have been possible by a walk through some of our best, or unknown bookstores.

Part I: Jaipur Literature Festival – Overview

First, the venue. Diggi Palace is where the festival has been held since the start. I did not get to see the palace, the sessions are held in the lawns and in the durbar hall. From what I have heard from JLF veterans the festival has been growing exponentially, and very soon the crowds will become unmanageable. I saw evidence of this on all the days I was there, except funnily enough, on the last day of the festival. On the first three days there was barely standing room in the most of the venues. So, if you are planning to go for the festival next year, carefully plan which sessions you want to attend, and get to the venue way before time. If you can’t get in, stand outside the tent and listen in. The acoustics are fine. That’s what I had to do sometimes.

Sessions: There is something happening in all of the four venues all the time. Starting from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m there are book readings, panel discussions, and interactions with the audience. After 6 p.m. the music performances begin.

Of the many sessions I attended, the ones I really appreciated were the ones in which the publishers got to interact with the authors and the audience. For me, those sessions were full of valuable knowledge. In my opinion, the book reading sessions could have been better utilised by having the author talk about his/her writing experience rather than simply reading from his/her book. But well, in a way, the book reading sessions helped me get acquainted with authors I had not read.

The speaker-audience connect:

What I really liked about the JLF was the egaliatarian-ness of it. Entry is free and you could find yourself sitting next to the author of your favourite series, or a lady who has read every single word ever written about Jane Austen, or a young boy who can demand from Roddy Doyle, ‘Why do you have so many dogs in your books?’.  For me, the most important event at the Lit Fest was where I got to listen to Alexander McCall Smith and asked him to sign my copies of his books. I even got to speak with him for 4 minutes 35 seconds!

And there were so many well-read people there! At the risk of sounding bookist, I was amazed at the wide variety of readers we have in this country (and the world). I should get out of Mumbai more often! There were readers who could converse with ease on esoteric subjects with authors who write mighty tomes on the subject, and there were intelligent conversations I overheard during tea and dinner between people who seemed to have been reading their way through life! There were several schoolchildren there as well, and they picked up an eclectic choice of books from the only bookstore at the venue. Large groups of them would flit from one venue to another, but I was kinda happy that most of them didn’t seem like they were hating the festival or were being forced to attend.

The Rest of It: While I wasn’t rushing from one venue to another, armed with my notebook and warm woolies, I was perenially looking for a place to sit and gather my thoughts. Because of the packed schedule I was unable to sit for several sessions that seemed to be more important than the one I had attended. So my advice, go with friends and split up. They have uploaded videos of some of the sessions, but not of quite a few that I had missed. Take notes, after you attend the fourth session of the third day, you start forgetting who said what and if you had heard this author say this about that author or vice versa. Move around during tea and dinner time. Dinner is served only to paid delegates, speakers, organisers and members of the press, there aren’t too many eateries around Diggi. It will be next to impossible to chat someone up at the venue because you just don’t have the time. 

Part II: Speakers

I will start with Devdutt Pattanaik. Unfortunately, I did not get to attend the session in which he was the speaker, but managed to listen in on the session where he was the moderator (the speaker was Roberto Calasso). And I was blown away by the exactness of his language. The precise, neat, complete way in which he can explain some of the most complex subjects of mythology. You really must read his works.

And Alexander McCall Smith. He is the real real reason I went to Jaipur, to be honest. I wasn’t thinking about the rest of the festival. Did you know that he writes at least 5000-6000 words a day, and he nearly never rewrites his first draft! Well! No wonder he manages to write so many books a year, and more power to him!

Geoff Dyer: Witty! I really liked listening to him talk about Travel Writing, and I hear that he is writing another book, this time based on his travels in the south of India.

Brigid Keenan: How had I ever missed hearing about her? She is also a travel writer. A hilariously reluctant travel writer. Scared of every form of transport, convinced that the vehicle or the driver is totally dangerous. I recommend her book ‘Diplomatic Baggage’ for those who want a different kind of travel writer to read.

Claire Tomalin: A diligent researcher I have begun to idolise. She has delved into the lives of so many literary greats (Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens’ mistress) and presented really important details about their writing and personal lives that she has managed to unearth.

Mridula Koshy: I picked up ‘If It Is Sweet’, a month ago and wasn’t able to take it in more than a page at a time, but that’s because the images she conjures with her words tend to stay on in my mind long after the the last words on the page have played out. I heard her speak about the art and the importance of short stories and I realised that this is a woman who can really make words do her bidding. She weaves her thoughts into words beautifully.

Nilanjana Roy: She was the moderator for quite a few sessions, and I ended up attending those sessions for her, even if I did not know the speakers on the panel. I loved the way she would reign authors and the audience in, finding similarities between what was said and what was once written by someone, adding depth and value to what the authors were saying.

Lord Meghnad Desai: I had read his columns in newspapers and expected someone who would always be way too serious for me. How wrong I was! I was entertained immensely by listening to his thoughts about Sita, and the kind of wife she was. I am preparing to wade into the fat tome he has written about Indian history.

Michael Frayn: An author I found in BCL one June many years ago, and in whose book I found some important advice which I cannot share in a public forum such as this. He is the author of the hugely successful play ‘Noises Off’ which I would have loved to see.

There were many, many more authors I would have loved to write in detail about, and I will. Soon as I get my thoughts together and read their books. If you could share with me your experience reading the works of any of these authors, do write in.

Oh yes, one thing did strike me as very odd. The Tehelka Readership Survey, the results of which were published to coincide with the festival. It got it all wrong, about everything. Sample size: 1152 people. Nine cities. And what they found was that Delhi and Mumbai have the lowert book budget, that women make up only 15% of the reading public (in English), and that not a single reader surveyed in Chandigarh or Delhi read for pleasure. The findings of this survey were unanimously slammed by Ravi Singh (Penguin India), Urvashi Bhutalia (Zubaan), Amitava Kumar (author) and V. K. Karthika (Harper Colins). And I am glad they slammed it in no uncertain terms. A sample size that small doesn’t make sense at all!

Lisbeth Salander intrigues me. I have never ever read anything like her before.

She is quiet when she should speak, she is violent when it is least expected, she refuses warmth and affection, she can focus like as if she is inhuman, she is super independent, brainy, and practical, and she is detached to the point of being unalive. Stieg Larrson has created an unforgettable anti-heroine in Lisbeth. I can never understand what she will do next.

A little history: Larrson was a journalist, and from what I can see in his books, he was an excellent researcher. He had delivered three manuscripts to his publisher, and died before the first one was published. They say that there is a fourth book, to the Millennium series, but it is unfinished.

So, the books in the Millennium series are:
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (you must start with this one, but it is VERY gruesome)
The Girl Who Played With Fire (less violent when compared to the first one)
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest (the fattest fattest one in the series, and according to me, ties up all loose ends)

It is so rare for an author to be able to sustain interest in a series of books that have the same characters. But, I was hooked from the first time I heard about this tattooed, bisexual, violent, petite, anti-social, brilliant woman (who rides a Harley Davidson in the second book, good lord!).

I tend to gush about Lisbeth, I think I may like her… a lot.

Coming back to the book, I wonder how the book is in the original Swedish, has anything been lost in translation? There are no literary flourishes in the book. The language is simple, to the point, and journalistic. The other characters, especially the journalist Mikael Blomkvist (very well drawn-out character), and his colleague and lover Erica Berger are very interesting too. The story goes back years, and there is lot of information about the war, the secret police and computer-stuff (I can’t reveal much about this).

A word of warning to those who are thinking about picking up these books: there are gory descriptions of violence, especially violent acts directed towards women. Trust me, I can’t stomach reading about a slap, so it is very strange that I read each word in these books, some of the rape scenes are so unflinchingly described. All the sadists, rapists, violent b*******… you get the idea. But, what kept me reading is how Salander gets out of the elaborate plot to get her locked away, and how she manages to help others, sometimes grudgingly.

Try reading the first one, and then you won’t want to stop. Unfortunately, for those who are surprised at finding how much they liked the books, there won’t be any more. There might be movies, which I am sure I won’t see, but there won’t be more Salander. Pity.

I read ‘Five Point Someone’ by Chetan Bhagat in early December and saw ‘3 Idiots’ yesterday. So, it’s fair to say that the book is still fresh in my mind. Now, I hear that Chetan Bhagat is upset about not getting enough credit for the story of the movie. Read what he has to say here, A Book, a film and the truth.
Also, Livemint reports, “While Bhagat believes that around 70% of the film is based on his book, the makers of the film have previously said that only 2-5% of it is based on the book and that it was like an original script after the changes….“My family sat in the theatre shocked, as sequence after sequence came from the book. 2-5% means three-six minutes, and I had told my family to look for the few FPS (Five Point Someone) moments and note them. However, there were so many that it became impossible to keep track. The plot line was same—people meet at ragging, the first class with definition of machine, the friends separate… From Alok (Raju) jumping to stealing the papers and calling out from Cherian’s (Virus’) office—the book came alive on screen”….”

I am not aware of all the facts. But, considering that this was a big-budget film, and featured one of the country’s biggest stars, imagine the process of marketing this film, and the process of scriptwriting… One would expect that, but naturally, lots of people would step on the author’s toes. And yet, I wonder….

See, I edit books. So I am acquainted with the pain and exhilaration an author feels watching his/her book come to life while he/she is writing it, and getting it edited, and watching it go off to the printers.

I watched the movie yesterday. The second half of the movie does not feature episodes from the book, BUT, it is a natural progression of what the characters might have done. The characters are based on the book. The first half features several key episodes from the book, and tells it like it is in the book. So, in my opinion, what the filmmakers have done is what fan fiction writers do with J.R.R. Tolkein and J. K. Rowling’s books. Expand on it, take the characters and watch them do new things. The credit must go to the author for the story. The script is another thing. I have seen movies based on books, and the author gets obvious credit, as does the scriptwriter. But denying the author’s contribution, that is just mean. And makes the filmmakers look like the villains, I hope they realise that.