It is a source of much bemusement to my friends that although I can sit in one position for hours, reading - and the only parts of my body that move in that circumstance are my eyelids, to blink - I cannot sit in a movie theatre for two hours without fidgeting non-stop and wishing the stupid thing would end fast so I can get up and leave. Read more

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve had nothing new to read. That’s because I took a look at my bookshelves, realised I had these books because I wanted to keep them - i.e., presumably I had thought that they’d be good to re-read - and figured, what the bleep. Let’s avoid the bookshops for a bit. Let’s re-read. Read more

That was what I thought as I trundled down the highway in an auto, headed home late-ish on Sunday night after three days of doing absolutely nothing but reading and having a massage or two in beautiful, lush green Kerala. (It is SERIOUSLY a site for sore eyes, why on earth have I never been there before?) Read more

There’s a little boy I know whose father thinks books cause clutter.

I’m very sorry for this little boy because I’ve seen him read when he can get his hands on a book, and he reads hungrily. No, greedily. Like he can’t get enough of it. And of course, he can’t get enough of it. There are very few books in his house. They cause clutter. Read more

I was about to begin this post with a line I just remembered I’ve used before - ‘One of the happiest things about being a journalist is…’

So I stopped and thought I’d think of another opener, but I’ve changed my mind again. Because it’s 4 am by my computer clock, I’ve just sent the May 10 edition of Brunch to press, I’m waiting for the office car to return from dropping other late night workers home so I can go home, and I’m tired, okay? Read more

I’ve just started reading The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction and I have to say I’m having a really good time.

So far, I’ve read a very far-fetched but still gripping detective story, a murder story with a twist and a story about reincarnation. What I’m going to read next I don’t know, because with anthologies and collections, I don’t begin at the beginning and go on to the end. I close my eyes, open the book at random, and read whichever story or essay the book opened into. Read more