I studied in a kannada medium school. So till 12th standard, my book list comprised only of Kannada books. I used to read serials in Sudha, Taranga. In those days "dharavahi" was the one which came in magazines. TV was a rare luxury. I would read novels. But not too many of chiklit kind. May be because no one would read them at home. I even remember reading "Mukajjiya kanasugalu" by Dr. Karanth. How much I could really discern from these book, I am not sure. Bhyrappa, Gatti, Devanuru Mahadeva, Lankesh all these authors I have read in those days.
Once I came to Bangalore for my engineering, I decided I would read English books. I started from Mills and Boons. I might have read 4-5 books. Then I was nauseated by them. Then I moved on to detective books like Sidney Sheldon and Robin Cook. Yes, science fiction too.
I remember a hostel-mate - an architecture student who was raving about Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Not to be left behind, I read the book too but did not really appreciate the book. Same happened with "Good earth" by Pearl Buck. Reading these books at a more mature age, I really loved these.
Thus continued my journey into the world of English books. But I almost stopped reading kannada books. Not because I do not like them. Because I do not know the recent authors. Last month I entered into a book challenge to read Indian books. Good thing, because now I will have to read 13 kannada books. I can read English books by Indian authors as well. But a)Most Indian English authors' books lack depth. I blame their convent education and their upper middle class life. b) Kannada books can be read faster. There is no chance that I can finish 13 English books in 5 months. You know howlazy busy I am!
I picked up Vyasaraya Ballala's "Bandaya". It was basically about labor revolts in Bombay. The subject did not appeal to me. I left it half way and now I am reading PuChanTe. Chidambara Rahasya was easy to start as the initial part was full of humor and satire. And later the plot thickens and we are drawn into this world of town politics where things take a turn towards communal divide.
So now everyday I spend hours in Goodreads with the hope that I will get introduced to some new face of mesmerizing world of letters.
Once I came to Bangalore for my engineering, I decided I would read English books. I started from Mills and Boons. I might have read 4-5 books. Then I was nauseated by them. Then I moved on to detective books like Sidney Sheldon and Robin Cook. Yes, science fiction too.
I remember a hostel-mate - an architecture student who was raving about Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Not to be left behind, I read the book too but did not really appreciate the book. Same happened with "Good earth" by Pearl Buck. Reading these books at a more mature age, I really loved these.
Thus continued my journey into the world of English books. But I almost stopped reading kannada books. Not because I do not like them. Because I do not know the recent authors. Last month I entered into a book challenge to read Indian books. Good thing, because now I will have to read 13 kannada books. I can read English books by Indian authors as well. But a)Most Indian English authors' books lack depth. I blame their convent education and their upper middle class life. b) Kannada books can be read faster. There is no chance that I can finish 13 English books in 5 months. You know how
I picked up Vyasaraya Ballala's "Bandaya". It was basically about labor revolts in Bombay. The subject did not appeal to me. I left it half way and now I am reading PuChanTe. Chidambara Rahasya was easy to start as the initial part was full of humor and satire. And later the plot thickens and we are drawn into this world of town politics where things take a turn towards communal divide.
So now everyday I spend hours in Goodreads with the hope that I will get introduced to some new face of mesmerizing world of letters.
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