The Books I've Read in the Year 2011

Books blog: My Reading List...

1. Ice Station by Matthew Reilly

2. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

3. The Cobra by Frederick Forsyth

4. Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

5. Childhood Days by Satyajit Ray

6. My Story by Kamala Das

7. The Lost World & Other Stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

8. The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh

9. 9th Judgment by James Patterson

10. Dead Like You by Peter James

11. Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra by Ruskin Bond

12. Notes From a Small Room by Ruskin Bond

13. River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh

14. When Darkness Falls & Other Stories by Ruskin Bond

15. Temptations of the West: How to Be Modern in India, Pakistan and Beyond by Pankaj Mishra

Following is my personal take on each book I have read this year.
(Note: The reviews of the books are not in chronological order.)

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck:

Thank God I read this book. I bought it last year from Kolkata Book Fair at Kolkata. The rich depictions of Chinese village life that see Wang Lung's rise and fall of his fortunes were evocative enough to keep me, as a reader, in an absolute state of wonder for days together. 

I'll never forget this book. It changed my life. The story is about Wang Lung's life with his sons and wives and the good and the bad times they fall into. 

The Good Earth went on to win the Pulitzer Prize and was instrumental in Pearl S. Buck winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938. Read this rare gem and you'd know what I am talking about.

The Cobra by Frederick Forsyth:

I picked it up from Landmark. This book lives up to all of my expectations about racy fiction. 

I like reading Frederick Forsyth's books and this one has a nice jacket cover. 

I never knew that the international drugs cartel runs into – wait... not millions - but billions of dollars! and no wonder these drug lords are a bunch of ruthless animals who would stop short of nothing to wage bloody wars against any country's law enforcement agencies and protect their illegal and inhuman enterprise.

Ice Station by Matthew Reilly:

Normally I start off reading literary fiction every new year: i.e., the best of the best from the pen of Indian writers in English or translated works, but this year I made it an exception just for the sake of it. Reading Ice Station has been a roller coaster ride: A diving team disappears at the remote Antarctic research station and Scarecrow is sent in to secure it. 

The book is brimming with great adventures like when the sharks sense blood and converge inside the station's core and attack his team; alien-like elephant Seals out to kill everybody at sight. Not to be missed.

My Story by Kamala Das:

I had always wanted to read a Kamala Das novel and this is a book I am particularly fond of. Kamala Das's autobiography is unlike anyone I had read before. She was born in Thrissur District in Kerala and the book is a candid account of her own life. She was truly ahead of her times. A fine sense of intellect shines all through this autobiography. If you want to read something truly nostalgic about life in Kerala, then this is the book you are looking for. Really, a devastating book (that I have ever read in my life) from the prolific pen of a truly great poet and writer – an unforgettable reading pleasure.

The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh:

A very special historical novel about changing times in Mandalay, Burma. 

Set in the early 20th century, the book traverses through the changing economic landscape of the period in Burma, India, and then the British wars. A work of highest order from the fertile pen of Amitav Ghosh. I am mad about his writings. 

Amitav Ghosh is one of the best-known writers. Since this is a personal blog I might include his other books that I have read: The Shadow Lines, Sea of Poppies, etc. Sea of Poppies is the first volume of the Ibis trilogy.

River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh:

Amitav Ghosh's first book in the Ibis Trilogy: Sea of Poppies provided everything that I would like to read in a fine literary novel. The second book River of Smoke continues that dream in full gusto. He is a great master as far as Indian Writing in English (I.W.E.) is concerned.

His command over the language and world history is immaculately brilliant. 

I loved reading River of Smoke and I can't wait to read the final book in this trilogy. Oh! come soon.

Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra & Notes From a Small Room by Ruskin Bond:

I grew up reading Ruskin Bond books. I remember reading Grandfather's Private Zoo in school. 

Ruskin Bond books are a joy to read. He never disappoints.

His books are beautifully imagined. In these books, he revisits his beloved hill towns of Garhwal, small towns like Dehra where he grew up, and other nearby villages.

The other books that I have read this year are:

When Darkness Falls and Other Stories by Ruskin Bond:

This is a wonderful collection of short stories/memoirs.

What I immensely like and love about Ruskin Bond is his effortless way of writing simple touching sentences that really breathe life in the very act of storytelling. 

Simple sentences are so darn hard to write, but not with Mr. Bond. I have read so many of his books and I simply can't get enough of him. He is marvellous writer of English prose that sings!

Childhood Days by Satyajit Ray:

Since childhood, I have always been well-versed in Satyajit Ray's great iconoclastic movies. Books by him came later. I remember people reading his Feluda stories and time and again they have recommended his books to me. The book Childhood Days were particularly important for me to know the man who we all revere so much, apart from his great films like the famous trilogy Pather Panchali, Apur Sansar and Aparajito; Jalshaghar, Charulata, Devi, Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, Agantuk, and others that I have seen a countless number of times.

The book gives a vivid account of his childhood experiences and how he grew up in the city of Calcutta (Kolkata now). In the latter half of the book, he talks about the complexity of filmmaking. A must-read.

The Lost World & Other Stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was the first man to write about Dinosaurs before Micheal Crichton had a go at it. Of course, Mr. Crichton had also published a novel with the same name, the sequel to his earlier book Jurassic Park. 

Who can forget one of the main characters Prof. Edward Challenger, the Zoologist, in Conan Doyle's highly entertaining fantasy novel? 

The Lost World & Other Stories is one of the most unforgettable books I have read this year. I couldn't put it down.

9th Judgment by James Patterson:

James Patterson is the world's best-selling writer of racy crime novels. That's enough said about this writer. The book 9th Judgement is an entertaining read but what I don't understand is that his stories have begun to be so repetitive that it puts me off. I'd read quite a few of his novels but I feel I am done with his tosh. 

His Alex Cross novels were so entertaining. But these days he simply adds his name to other people's works to make them sell and sell well to rake in the moolah; I think that's totally a cop-out. What I'd really like for him is to write independent novels and stop authoring other people's works. Let them publish their own books if they have to, without taking Patterson's help. 

Dead Like You by Peter James:

I was not familiar with this author until I'd bought the book and read it. Roy Grace is his main man, the detective superintendent of the Police force. 

Women are raped by a brutal rapist and Grace is on the job to nab the offender. He manages to do that after investigating long and hard at it, for instance looking for many complex clues and trails and following the leads. 

This is a clever page-turner. I liked reading this crime novel. Since I have a fetish for crime novels, I look forward to reading more of them from Peter James.

Temptations of the West: How to Be Modern in India, Pakistan and Beyond by Pankaj Mishra:

The first part of the book Temptations of the West is an interesting read whereas the second half meanders into things like Bollywood stardom and that's where things fall apart. 

Exploring Bollywood razzmatazz for a writer of his new-found caliber I think is a wasteful exercise that doesn't carry any literary merit. He should avoid the money-making, underworld-infested Bollywood types and save his literary spirit for better use. In this book, Mishra talks about meeting politicians, religious fanatics, intellectuals, and even ordinary men and women. His travels in India, Nepal, Tibet, including godforsaken places like Afghanistan and Pakistan elucidating local history, politics is an interesting read.

Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer:

Only Time Will Tell is the first part of the Clifton Chronicles. For the first time ever, the book was launched in India by the author himself.

Best-loved author Jeffrey Archer has written another page-turner. This is the first book of a planned 7 book deal in the works. That's an ambitious undertaking that only a few writers of great caliber can be expected to come out unscathed.

Jeffrey Archer is a great storyteller and that's why we read so many of his books, one after the other. His books fly off the shelves and that itself, if you ask me, is a great endorsement that we love to read our Jeffrey Archer books so much. Every book of his is as entertaining as his previous one. I have read many of his books with great delight and I always find myself looking forward to his future works.

By Arindam Moulick

Pix courtesy: Internet