Believe it or not, I used to be a one-book-at-a-time person till recently. Strictly and ‘monogamously’ devoted to one book until it is done. Somewhere along the way I morphed to a ‘polygamous’ (or should that be polyandrous?) multi-book reader, enjoying three books at a time. Well, not at the same time of course, but at different times of the day.

There is usually the one I am reading on Kindle. My Kindle by the way, my bosom friend until now, has suddenly and out of the blue, turned foe. It has taken to merrily skipping ahead three, four or sometimes even seven pages away from where I am, leaving me frustrated to say the least. Fast reading is all fine, but to expect me to read like Superman or Superwoman is too much. Come to think of it, even they would have to glance at the page before they can read what’s on there, won’t they? My Kindle won’t even let me do that!

Ahh. I have digressed. Let me leave aside my woes regarding Kindle and move on to the book I am reading (or was reading before I had to stop): Manu S Pillai’s The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore. It’s an interesting book on the royal family of Kerala and through them some history of the state at the time as well. Very interesting as far as I am concerned since it is about my region. Incidentally, I had the good fortune to listen to the young author in the recently concluded literature festival.

The second book type of book that I read concurrently is a paper book. Yeah, these days one has to make clear the book is the paper kind or that it’s a physical book. In the past it was enough if one just said one was reading a book because there was no other kind of book. Anyways… The paper book I am into right now is one lent to me by a friend. Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. It comes highly recommended. There’s even a show by the name on OTT. But I am waiting to finish the book to take a look at it.

The third book I am reading is an audio book. This one is my go-to when on my walks and also when working around the house, or painting. The one I am reading.. or rather listening to right now is called Democrats and Dissenters by Ramachandra Guha. It is a collection of essays on contemporary issues affecting India and her neighbours written with wit and elegance.Coincidentally, he was also at the literature festival talking about one of his other books.

So what about you? Do you read? If you do, how many books are you reading and what are they?

©️ Shail Mohan 2024