Thanks to Srijith for this tag, although he threw this tag open. I just couldn’t resist this tag as books are a part of my life. In fact, I an the proud owner of a small library of some 200+ books (I don’t allow anyone to take the books outside my house, however)

Before I start, let me give some introduction. I read most type of books, but the ones that really interest me are (You guessed it) fantasies. Apart from novels and stories, I have a good collection of… er… semi-technical/technical books too. Can’t resist those either!! Some of my proud collections are copies of Readers Digest from 1996 till date. (Although RD is becoming more and more boring these days with more ads than articles)

The only thing I’ve never been a connoisseur of is poetry. I simply can’t comprehend poetry, however I try. My fellow bloggers might now have understood the reason why I never comment on their poems. I don’t consider myself good enough to comment. I don’t even read some. (Sorry! :-))

That’s it for the prologue, I’ll start with my tag, and try to make it short. 😉

One book that changed your life
I didn’t have to think twice to answer this. I have read several books, most of them entertaining, some of them teaching, and even make me reconsider my outlook.
But there were two books that changed my life.
The first is The Bhagavad Gita which my mom gave me as a birthday gift (when I was a teenager and had millions of questions and was skeptical about our beliefs.)
The second one is Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. Why? Read it, then you will understand why spirituality should be an important part of life.

One book that you have read more than once.
I have read all the books I liked more than once. Some of them were just to relive that world. So I rename the title as “The book I’ve read the most”. That would be Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I’ve read that about 9 times. (What?!! =)))
Other top contenders, apart from the Harry Potter series would be The Three Investigators series which were my childhood favorites, Love Story by Erich Segal(Ooh. I love that story!)
Why do I read Harry Potter so much? Because I like to live in that world. So I try to squeeze myself as a character in the storyline, without modifying it much. So I read it again and again and again to refine my story.

One book you would want on a desert island
Sorry for my ignorance, but does anyone find an island in a desert? Or is it “deserted” island?
Assuming the second, I want a blank book, whose page I can tear and insert into a bottle with a SOS message. 😛

I don’t wish to rip, tear, shred, bend, fold, deface, disfigure, smear, smudge, throw, drop, or in any other manner damage, mistreat, or show lack of respect towards my books.

To be serious, I would like to have a thick book, like Srijith. Probably all the Upanishads, as I will have all the time in the world to analyse them. They are really a treasury of knowledge.

Apart from those, I would also like to lay my hands on Roger Penrose’s Shadows of the Mind.

One book that made you laugh
The books that make me ROTFL are the Asterix series which I am crazy enough to buy for 300 rupees per book.
One book I’ve found “seriously funny” is Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome. Read my review on this book, which I wrote when my blog was still in its diapers.
There are a lot of other books that tickle your nerves or makes you smile… Swami and friends by R.K.Narayan, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams are some. I would like to go off topic a little to mention Sreenivasan, the ace Malayalam screenwriter, director and actor, whose screeplays deal with the social difficulties of normal people from a comical point of view.

One book that made you cry
I had to think a lot to recall a book that made me cry. The answer is Anne Frank’s Diary, for it’s portrayal of Nazi racism and inhuman activities from the eyes of a girl who was yet to enjoy life. Probably this is the only book that made me cry..I don’t remember.

One book you wish had been written
The memoirs of a crazy man by Deepak 😛 My autobiography.

One book you wish had never been written
I don’t think I wish that. Even if I absolutely hate some novels.

One book you are currently reading
If you really want to know, I am reading Ten lectures on Wavelets by Ingrid Daubechies.
For entertainment, I’m reading The Worm Ouroboros by E.R.Eddison.

One book you have been meaning to read
The 7th book in the Harry Potter series (Looking forward to reading it)
The prodigal daughter by Jeffry Archer
The Chronicles of Narnia series

I now tag, lemme think….

• Upasna
• Max
• Paro
• Miladysa
• Sanju Baba
• Ajith