Curious Reader & What books mean to me...

A few days ago, Hamsini, a friend from Instagram and GoodReads pinged me saying she was doing a profile on readers she knows. I answered the questions she had, and the resulting post on Curious Reader is here, which I liked very much.
In the process of answering her questions, I put together quite some info about books that matter to me, and it made sense to record it all here. This post is in a Q&A format because I was answering questions for the profile.

What makes a book, 'great'/ an-all-time-favorite/ unforgettable for you? Rather, in GoodReads parlance, what are a couple of those ingredients that make the difference for you between a four-star and five-star book?
A quality book is something that stays in my mind - glimpses from the book should keep replaying in my mind, either when I am reading the book or much after. To name a few, I cannot forget - how my stomach squirmed when I was reading the chapter about the books being torn in Thirteenth Tale; some panels about life's deep truths from DayTripper; how Ifem and Obinze pine for each other while still going through their lives in Adichie's Americanah; Iyer's description of Iceland and Bhutan from Falling off the map; the panel from Blankets where Craig looks at Raina's face, and how they are in love; how I continue to chuckle at the thought of Marvin, the paranoid android sighing and saying 'brain the size of the planet...' in Adams' H2G2;  Sherlock with his bees in that one story from Gaiman's Trigger Warning; the scene where fish fall from the sky in Murakami's Kafka on the shore; the war crime scenes from his Wind-up Bird chronicle - I can go on like this about how some pages from a few books have stuck with me forever. It is books like that I mark as 'a zillion and a oneth' or with 5 stars on GoodReads. Its books like these that I read and re-read, and I even have in my library. Five-star books are also which have taught me something, about anything to open new perspectives - Isn't that why we read books?
Four-star books are what have been great reads, which I've enjoyed reading, for the pure joy of reading, even if they are not going to be unforgettable, and even if they have made me sad or go through various emotions. These would be examples of brilliant literature.

How do you discover books? Through friends you trust or strangers online or social media feeds or a particular go-to social media account or simply through amazon algorithms?
I go through a multi-step process of discovering books. I strongly believe that life is too short to be reading bad books, hence the multi-step.
I get my recommendations online from book lists on various sites/journals/magazines; from the Must-read shelf in my local library; from friends; or from people I follow on GoodReads. I check GoodReads ratings for every book that is recommended to me and will add it only if it is in the genre that I am interested in and if it has at least an avg rating of 3.5, and at least a few thousand ratings. I know this step is slightly flawed, because this means I will only be reading the popular ones that everyone else has read and liked, which is where I add the human angle of who has recommended the book to me - for example, books by a few Indian writers do not have a lot of ratings on GoodReads, which also hurts the average rating even though they are great books (Cuckold by Kiran Nagarkar is a good example for this). In such cases, I still go ahead and read the book.
Also, once added to my to-read list, I commit to reading at least 20% of the book before deciding to proceed or giving it up - this way, I ensure that I don’t waste time on a book I don’t like.
I know this sounds like too much work for something that should be simple, but then, since I read every day, for at least an hour, I must ensure that I spend time on something worth it.

How have you changed as a reader over the years? Are there books/ authors you loved as a child or in your teens/ twenties that you no longer do? Have you started or stopped reading a genre in the last few years?
Ayn Rand is a great example, I guess. I have read Atlas Shrugged when I was 18, and this book has had a considerable impact on my thinking. I've evaluated this over every few years since then, and I have found that still like this book - except, I do not agree with a few concepts from this book anymore. Fountainhead is another example - I tried re-reading this in my twenties, and couldn't even proceed past 20% - also, I do not agree with anything from this book, anymore. I loved GodFather and re-read it many times between the ages of 22-27, but I don’t think I can read this book again, now. I used to read a lot of Robin Cook and Sidney Sheldon too, in my early twenties, but I wouldn't read these books now.
The genres of books that I gravitate towards have changed from pure potboiler/bestseller fiction to fiction based on specific genres like magic realism, dystopia, historic fiction etc. I also have started reading non-fiction a bit in the last few years. I still enjoy reading a good love story, but I have become choosy in how the literature in such love stories must be. For example, as much as I love Eric Segal's Oliver's Story and Acts of Faith, I wouldn't be able to read them now.

Name one quirky/ life-changing you did for the love of a book or books in general. This could be giving up a career to take up another to move closer to the written word or taking a vacation to a place because a book they read and loved was set there or friendships you have formed based solely on books.
Well, friendships formed solely based on books is a good starting point - Almost a decade ago, I met two of my closest friends because we were all readers and were interested in the same genres back then. We were all in the same place in our respective lives, and we enjoyed each other's companies quite a lot. What started as a gathering to just talk about books turned into a friendship I cherish, a lot.
One time when I was visiting Mumbai, fresh after reading Shantaram, I almost did a Shantaram tour of Mumbai - visiting Cafe Leopold, driving by Dharavi etc. Looking for 221B Baker Street and Platform 9 3/4 in London are also some bookish things I did (for the record, both the places disappointed me with how they commercialized they are).
When am traveling to a new place, I look up for bookstores or libraries to visit in that place, and I make it a point to go there - like getting lost in the stacks of books in Atlantis bookstore in Oia, Santorini or the gorgeous library in Prague or the overcrowded Shakespeare bookstore in Paris.

I know you did an inter-continental move a couple of years ago- take us through what you did with your books in the move- did you give them away/ sell them? What were the emotions the move evoked in you with respect to books?
My husband is a reader too, so when we moved in together right after marriage to our first home, I distinctly remember that we had 16 cartons of books, and we were quite proud of the fact that this was more than our other possessions – clothes were a paltry couple suitcases each. Since then, we have moved every couple of years, and have managed to keep our possessions at the minimum, while still managing to keep the no. of book cartons higher. These were books that meant a lot to either of us, or that we re-read them quite a bit. But ever since we got our Kindles, we almost moved towards ebooks, and the paper books weren't re-read, for a few years. Since then, for every house move of ours, we have started looking at the books and culling them, quite mercilessly, if I may add. We gave away all the books we did not want paper copies of - in the beginning, this did not come without some pain, these books were dear to us, but in the interest of keeping our possessions to a minimum, this had to be done. To us, it was an interesting way to practice detachment, and we have practiced it since then.
When it is time to cull the paper books list, I used to keep the ones we didn't want as a pile at my desk in my workplace and drop a note so people could pick up whatever they liked. Before we did our move to the US, we dropped a note in our apartment complex asking people to pick up the books. Many kids and teens came over - chatted with us about books asking for recommendations etc and picked up what they wanted from the pile.
We enjoyed giving away these books as much as we enjoyed reading them, and that is the only thing that matters.
Now, I routinely give away anything that I do not think I will re-read. A few years ago, almost all my friends started giving each other books - something I absolutely love. This way, we all gave our books to people we loved, knowing well that the books will be loved.
Looking at our bookshelves today, there are very few books that we have held on to, and for this, am glad. The rest are all either on our Kindles, or as highlights in GoodReads.

Now in the land of amazing public libraries, how have your reading habits changed? have they changed? As a reader, do you prefer living in the US or India? Why?
The public library where we have is one of the best things about this country/state for me. For sure, living in the US is better for me as a reader - the ease with which books I would like to read are being available to me is a strong reason for this. This library has almost changed my reading pattern now - I do not rely solely on Kindle anymore, and have moved towards paper books again, and it feels amazing. Reading on paper books also means investing in good table lamps, reading corners and other accessories, all of which I enjoy now.

Has any protagonist or author actively shaped your worldview? Name them and describe the worldview they have shaped.
Here are a few examples of how my world has widened, thanks to a few authors...
- Mostly, I tend to identify with strong female protagonists. Though it has been years since I stopped reading Rand, Dagny Taggart's resilience has stuck with me. Scarlet O'Hara from Gone with the Wind is another protagonist with huge impact on my thinking - especially in my formative years. Growing up, I aspired to be as strong as both Dagny Taggart and O'Hara.
- I am inspired by Nadia Murad, the Nobel Peace Prize winner for 2018, and am thankful for the harrowing stories she told about the ISIS. This book has ensured that the atrocities committed in that part of the world alive in my head, not as mere news articles.
- Alison Bechdel's The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For opened my eyes to the lives of same-sex couples, and de-mystified the normalcy of a lesbian world too, as it should be.
- I keep bringing up Animal Farm and 1984 often in conversations, especially in these times, and shudder at how the world is changing. I think Orwell has changed my head forever in how I see the world.
- As a young married couple, the protagonists in Paulo Coelho's Zahir had a huge impact on us. This book taught us to not take the spouse for granted, a lot about personal space and the freedom to choose.
- I discovered Dervla Murphy in 2018, and now I want to be adopted by her. Her unique way of looking at the places she is traveling in, even in the face of unfavorable situations is interesting. Then, there is Pico Iyer, an author I absolutely love - his travelogues and unique perspectives have changed the way I look at a few places. Joe Sacco's books have shown me the untold stories in conflict-ridden places of the world. Adichie's books adhere to her line about the power of a single story. Michael Booth's The Almost Nearly Perfect people of Scandinavia has given me a great perspective about the Nordic way of living. It is thanks to these authors that I cannot anymore think in sweeping generalizations and for this, I am glad. 
- Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle has changed the way I look at food - I have started thinking about the seasons in which specific vegetables can be grown and looking at locally grown stuff more.
- Girish Karnad's Agnivarsha had changed how I looked at Brahmins and the caste-system, and that was a great seed to how I think about India's caste-system today. In fact, I saw the movie first and read the play after.
- Jack London's White Fang and Alexis Andre's Fifteen dogs has changed how I look at dogs. Yes, they are adorable animals, but I've learnt a little more about the evolutionary reasons behind why dogs are what they are, man's best friend.
- Robert Svoboda's Aghora is a book that has re-taught me Karma philosophy and opened my eyes to other forms to worship God, thus telling me that there is no One Right Way in religion.

Do you re-read books? If so, what kind? And why? What is the joy/emotion you derive out of re-reading?
I re-read entire books quite rarely these days. I tend to go back to reading certain chapters from certain books. In conversations with people, as I come across something I've read, if I feel nostalgic for the book or the protagonist's situation, I re-read those chapters. I re-read when I yearn to roll a few sentences off my tongue and feel the joy of reading that chapter all over again. I re-read to chuckle at some protagonist's travails and thus lighten the mood. Mostly, I re-read for the joy of reading.

Reading seems to be more than a hobby for you. It seems to be a passion you consciously devote time to- what are some activities do you actively compromise on to read? (this could be chores/ physical activity/ socializing/ tv watching/following a sport)
Yeah, I don't consider reading as a hobby anymore. I think I have gone past that stage. Like I eat, sleep or take a shower, I also read. Since this is one of the things I do, through my day, every day, I move my day around it to suit my reading. Most of my reading is done after I am done with everything for the day. This doesn't make it a last priority; it is just that I move all other non-work and non-life aspects to suit my reading. I don't watch TV for stretches of time (I only watch it when I am binge-ing on a series) so that gives me quite some time. Thankfully, I do not have a lot of chores, either I have help or I've become effective at managing them so that is never a factor. A few years ago, I noticed reading was so all-consuming that my social life was taking a hit - I had gone for months without meeting friends. Since then, I've been more conscious to ensure that reading doesn’t interfere with my social life too - I still spend several hours a week hanging out with friends.
I think what helps my reading is the fact that I am a homebody. I am at my content best when I am at home, and so I plan my entire day to give me more than a few hours of being home every day.

How have technology/ contemporary platforms affected/ influenced your reading? (audio books, Kindle, GoodReads, twitter) Has it influenced the kind of books you read?
Kindle has had a positive impact on my reading. I got my first Kindle in 2009, primarily to ensure I have books when I travel because books made a bulk of my luggage when I left home, even for a short holiday. But that soon became my primary medium of reading for the convenience it provided me. I realized I no longer must keep the reading light switched on at night, thanks to the Paperwhite which came along a few years after. And that helped me read a little more than before. Once I discovered the existence of graphic novels, reading them on my Kindle Fire has been easy - so I had switched to the Fire for a short while for my regular reading too. I am now back to my Paperwhite and I think I am going to stick with it forever.
I am terribly behind in picking up on the habit of audio books. I haven't even explored this medium, and I feel I wouldn’t feel the joy of reading that way - though I am aware that this is an unexperimented viewpoint.
GoodReads has helped me keep track of my reading. This site satisfies the need to track and have metrics. Similarly, the availability of books in online shops like Flipkart had changed how I got my books - I no longer had to maintain lists for when I visited the bookstore, I had the bookstore at my keyboard.
Social media, like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, on the other hand have been detrimental to my reading. If I had the phone at hand, I tend to check these apps and that’s a time-sink. If I want dedicated reading time, I keep my phone far away from me.

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