I seem to have a lot of time on my hand these days. It may be because I am currently not actively working on any movie project (the latest one is under an awfully slow post production phase) or it may be because I am no longer on Facebook figuring out what everyone, from my best friends to my cousins thrice removed, are up to.
Of course, I could spend the time playing with Madam (which is what I respectfully call my daughter because she mostly acts like my grandmother), but she sometimes prefers to play on her own in her own imaginary world where she is the mother, doctor, chef, business executive or Bollywood item girl.
Also let me admit it, I like my me-time too.
So what have I been doing with this excess time? Well, I have been reading a ton of books.
Recently, I rediscovered the joy of the super awesome library system in Singapore, all thanks to Madam who insists on going to the library at least once a week. I also have been making full use of the cheap rates on Flipkart by getting them to deliver several books to my parents or in-laws' place and then getting them to bring the books over to Singapore when they visit.
This time around I got my mom to carry over 10 books to Singapore, much to her exasperation, "If I use up all the 20 kilos on Tiger Airways for your books, what is going to happen to my groceries?!!"
She had a point. Because of this atrocity, I had to have my favourite kadala (chickpea) curry without grated coconut because coconuts, which she usually packs over, were not available in time for the preparation. But the kuvva (arrowroot) payasam was saved in the nick of time, thanks to our helper who managed to procure the coconut the last minute, else I wouldn't have heard the end of it.
Anyway, coming back to my books, the first one I picked up from this lot was 'The Mark of Vishnu' - a collection of short stories by Khushwant Singh. It was the first time I was reading any of his works, so I didn't know what to expect. But I read the whole book within a single day - I loved the simplicity of the writing, the freshness of the concepts and the dry wit. Some of them did make my conservative self flinch with their boldness, but my final verdict is that I like Khushwant Singh.
Just as I was feeling rather pleased with my discovery of a new author whom I can continue to read, the hubby walks in, glances at the book and says, "Oh, you are reading 'The Mark of Vishnu'? It's a good one."
I was aghast.
Because the hubby never, ever reads fiction. He might have read a grand total of 10 works of fiction his whole life, which includes books from his childhood such as Wizard of Oz. Not that he reads a lot of non-fiction - he hardly gets past 30% of any book, but with fiction, he doesn't even bother turning the first page. So obviously, this was too much for me to take.
Me: "You have read Khushwant Singh?!"
He: "Of course." (ultimate smugness)
Me: "Wow!"
He: "You mean, you never read him before?"
Me: "Nope" (and I get a smirk in return)
He: "It is a really good one. The one about the snake."
Me: "Where did you read it?" (suspicion takes over)
He: "You know... I also read."
Me: "Tell me the truth."
He: "You know..."
Me: "This was part of your ICSE syllabus, right?"
He: *sheepish grin*
497 more to go.
Of course, I could spend the time playing with Madam (which is what I respectfully call my daughter because she mostly acts like my grandmother), but she sometimes prefers to play on her own in her own imaginary world where she is the mother, doctor, chef, business executive or Bollywood item girl.
Also let me admit it, I like my me-time too.
So what have I been doing with this excess time? Well, I have been reading a ton of books.
Recently, I rediscovered the joy of the super awesome library system in Singapore, all thanks to Madam who insists on going to the library at least once a week. I also have been making full use of the cheap rates on Flipkart by getting them to deliver several books to my parents or in-laws' place and then getting them to bring the books over to Singapore when they visit.
This time around I got my mom to carry over 10 books to Singapore, much to her exasperation, "If I use up all the 20 kilos on Tiger Airways for your books, what is going to happen to my groceries?!!"
She had a point. Because of this atrocity, I had to have my favourite kadala (chickpea) curry without grated coconut because coconuts, which she usually packs over, were not available in time for the preparation. But the kuvva (arrowroot) payasam was saved in the nick of time, thanks to our helper who managed to procure the coconut the last minute, else I wouldn't have heard the end of it.
Anyway, coming back to my books, the first one I picked up from this lot was 'The Mark of Vishnu' - a collection of short stories by Khushwant Singh. It was the first time I was reading any of his works, so I didn't know what to expect. But I read the whole book within a single day - I loved the simplicity of the writing, the freshness of the concepts and the dry wit. Some of them did make my conservative self flinch with their boldness, but my final verdict is that I like Khushwant Singh.
Just as I was feeling rather pleased with my discovery of a new author whom I can continue to read, the hubby walks in, glances at the book and says, "Oh, you are reading 'The Mark of Vishnu'? It's a good one."
I was aghast.
Because the hubby never, ever reads fiction. He might have read a grand total of 10 works of fiction his whole life, which includes books from his childhood such as Wizard of Oz. Not that he reads a lot of non-fiction - he hardly gets past 30% of any book, but with fiction, he doesn't even bother turning the first page. So obviously, this was too much for me to take.
Me: "You have read Khushwant Singh?!"
He: "Of course." (ultimate smugness)
Me: "Wow!"
He: "You mean, you never read him before?"
Me: "Nope" (and I get a smirk in return)
He: "It is a really good one. The one about the snake."
Me: "Where did you read it?" (suspicion takes over)
He: "You know... I also read."
Me: "Tell me the truth."
He: "You know..."
Me: "This was part of your ICSE syllabus, right?"
He: *sheepish grin*
497 more to go.
Haha! The final conversation is awesome! Da and Di material :)
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