Morning... Just awake... only barely...
Knock knock... who's there?...
BANG... CRASH... dust and bright light... a booming voice... "You have been tagged by your Pal!"
Mortification... So it was true after all... I try to turn around wanting to run for my life... Petrified... can't move... Astonishment... fear... confused... helpless... futility... resignation... "What do want me to do?"
Him: Answer a few questions.
Me: First tell me why this is happening!
Him: Pal has tagged you with the book-bug.
Me: Pal! He gets many ideas!
Him: Do you like to read?
Me: I love to read.
Him: What do you read?
Me: I read everything from comics to magazines and short stories to full novels. True stories, fiction, fantasy and accounts.
Him: What languages do you read in?
Me: I prefer English, although I have read a little in Hindi too.
Him: What are you currently reading?
Me: Inca Gold by Clive Cussler.
Him: How many books do you own?
Me: Too many. Running out of space to shelve them.
Him: Where do you buy books?
Me: No single place. I have bought at Crossword, I buy here in Melbourne from a second hand store, from Munna-Bhai in Mumbai...
Him: How do you choose a book to buy?
Me: I look for the reviews most of the times and my friends point me on to a book they have found to be good. Sometimes I just read blurbs at a bookstore and pick one up by intuition.
Him: What is your most recent buy?
Me: A compendium of three books in one hardback by Archer.
Him: What do you pplan to read next after Inca Gold?
Me: The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason. I have borrowed it from the St Kilda public library.
Him: Is that a good library?
Me: It is paradise to any book lover. A fantastic collection of books and CDs and DVDs and audio books too. And guess what, it is all free for any resident of this place.
Him: That is impressive, enough cause for envy amongst your friends.
Me: Yes, make sure you tell Pal.
Him: Do you gift books?
Me: If the person I am gifting likes to read or even would like to start reading, I would choose a book straight away.
Him: What was the last book you gifted?
Me: A set of two leatherbound classics to my best friend at her engagement.
Him: Any book that left a lasting impression on you?
Me: Many in fact. One specifically would be Acts of Faith by Erich Segal.
Him: Is there a book that you could not finish?
Me: A few. One comes to mind immediately: Five Patients by Michael Crichton. I am not made for such types of narrative I guess.
Him: Name a few books you would recommend to a fellow reader.
Me: The Class by Erich Segal
Malgudi Days/Swami and Friends both by R. K. Narayan
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
The Mill on the Floss (un-abridged) by George Eliot
The Black Arrow by Robert Lewis Stevenson
The Client by John Grisham
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
...and many more
Him: Which do you think is the best movie made out of a book?
Me: This is tough to answer. There are many to begin with. And there are different themes. I would leave this to the opinion of the individual. I will say only that I believe the charm of a book can never be truly captured on screen. Imagination that brings a book you read to life is your own while a movie is the imagination and interpretation of another, however good it may be.
Him: You have done well so far with all the questions. I have no choice but to leave you in peace now.
Me: In fact, come to think of it, I enjoyed the interrogation. Only you could have un-petrified me! Now get lost will you!
More light... dust... a chill blast of air... suction... mist... a warp... and suddenly quiet... I can move... I go to the kitchen for a glass of water... and to make some breakfast... Come to think of it, Pal, good on you... you have set me thinking. :-)
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8 comments:
Thanks Smashinguy...I always make people like you think otherwise GOD's effort of putting a brain in your head would be useless.:):):):)
The library you mentioned...hmmmm GOD why? why me?
Hey Pal, I have already thanked you for making me think. Anyway, I just last evening borrowed a DVD of M. Night Shyamalan's Signs, a VHS cassette of Laurel and Hardy and a VHS of I Love Lucy. I am all set for some serious fun (pun intended) :-) while you try to beat the heat in Bangalore! ;-))
Smashinguy to make things better for you,
recently purchased DVD's of
Gone with the Wind
Cleopatra
Rebecca
Sweet November
Sleepless in Seattle
Prelude to a Kiss
You've Got Mail
French Kiss
Mouna Ragam
Alaipayuthey
Lion King all parts
Finding Nemo
Prince of Egypt & other tales
Ice Age
I could not recollect names of other 3 classic movies...And SRIRAM has brought his major collection of Movies, Music and other promo events, trailers couple of weeks back to bangalore. Have fun.
PS: Hope I have made your life better there :):):)
Hey Pal,
You have caused intense stress and distress to me and a huge fire in my stomach by making such a huge list here! :-( However, I only have to wait a few more days and then I will pounce on you and your collection and then I will have them too!! Remember I am coming with a writer and they say, the writer is mightier than the DVD!!! ;-))
Dude, neat posts there. Esp the one on books. A friend recently went to the Great Ocean Road .. which prompted me to check your blog. When are you back in India? If back in India.. buzz me. Whos me? Your Cousin-in-law! :-))
Hey Ram,
This is Preethi from 98CSE. Remember me? Hope u r doing good. I accidently came across ur blog 2day. Good work here. I am trying my hands at blogging too. Check out: http://juzfun.blogspot.com.
Keep in touch!
Hi Rubic Cube:
I write this reply to your comment from Kuala Lumpur Airport. I am on my way back down under and I left last night from Bangalore. I was in Bangalore only a few hours and I tried your number a few times...was out of luck. I will drink some from your thought distillery shortly. :-)
Hey Preethi:
What a pleasant surprise!! An accident that actually was good eh?
I took a quick glance at your blog and it is nice. Good work. I will visit your blog regularly (I have saved it in my favorites). I am not one for the new Tamil movies and songs but you cant help hearing them in all the buses in Coimbatore (thanks to Suryan FM) and I hear all the ones you have mentioned several times a day! ;-)) Keep blogging!
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