Browsing through my Facebook posts, I read about someone who bought 10 books in a sale for under Rs. 500. I checked out the books. All classics. I must have this one. I immediately logged on to the sale website. Tried long forgotten user ids and passwords till a combination got me through. It was just a few clicks and I got 8 in Rs. 500. Whew! The feeling was exhilarating. The delivery dates were longer due to the sale. I waited impatiently. On every door bell, I hoped to see the classics. There were a few misses before I finally got my hand on 4 of them first and the others came in rapid succession.
So far, so good. Now, to get these to assimilate with my existing books was another challenge. You see, the hubby has grounded me on the purchase of any new books till I complete reading the existing ones. He has his reasons. We transported atleast 4 cartons of books as we shifted residences of which 2 must be my TBR. And to find space for them in the new house was tough. We had decided to build a good bookshelf and put the books up for display. But, considering the non reading family I have, I vetoed it out. It was my private collection, books I had loved, cried with. I didn’t want to defend them in front of people who said, ‘So many books! Did you read them?’ ‘How much money you spend on them?’ ‘What do you do after you read them?’ I shook my head imagining their weird questions. I wanted to scream ‘Tum nahi samjhoge‘. They will never understand.
Coming back to the books. I did the best thing. Put it in the upfront shelf. Hiding something is never better than when you do it in plain sight.
And there they are lying, waiting for their turn patiently. I can watch TV and also look at books and smile in anticipation. But, you see I just discovered reading Malayalam and completed reading my first book called ‘Randamoozham‘ which is a cult classic for Malayalam readers. I have also borrowed the next set of books to read in Malayalam from the same author called ‘Naalukettu‘. I want to start on that one, but I am first reading the book I had promised to read to a friend of mine called ‘Satyameva Jayate‘. After this, I will be reading and reviewing my own books this year. I plan to read a lot of classics this year. To help me read diverse books, I will also follow the Write Tribe Reading Challenge for 2019. And there, just opposite to where I am sitting, the books are waiting for me to pick them.
Have you started reading in the new year? What are you reading? Any recommendations?
Hot cup of Kaapi 