Recently Read
May 2025
Recently Read: Recently I re-read three P. G. Wodehouse books. One was a Jeeves and Wooster novel and the other two were from the Blandings Castle series. Each was a nth re-read. Still each felt quite fresh. And still there’re times when the humor surprised me. I haven’t read much Ukridge nor have I read any book from his Golf series. But I have re-read many of his books many times. So I am happy that some of the portions still surprise me. If they come up with some ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ like idea of erasing memories, among the first of my memories I would like to erase are those of Wodehouse books. And once I’ve had them erased, I would re-read those books again. This thought is much older than PG’s tweet but essentially I totally agree with him.
Also, listened to Jimmy Anderson’s recently published autobiography Finding the Edge. Good, not great book. Jimmy- his emotions on the field aside- is/ was a great test bowler. In the era of T20, commercial interests dictate that the test cricket will suffer. Sorry for the opinionated generic statement: the quality bowling is rare in any form of cricket these days. So maybe we won’t see another fast bowler taking as many test wickets as Jimmy. Another opinionated statement ahead: Bumrah is probably/ almost certainly better than Jimmy. But possibly health/ injuries/ hunger to continue will be important factors in his career longevity.
May 2024
Recently Read: Reread: The Godfather (read after maybe 3-5 years.), Gone With The Wind (This is the book I loved most in the past; I have read it more than 10 times, less intensity this time and it saddened me), To Kill A Mockingbird (Another favorite, maybe re-read it 6th time. Still as good in moving me as it was the first time I read it.)
4/5 Marathi short story books by Shankar Patil, G. D. Madgulkar and Vyankatesh Madgulkar. I am, at heart, Marathi.
Backstage by Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The author was instrumental (he wrote the famous “M Document”) in bringing about reforms in 1991 and later. This book is a mostly an account of what went on in the background before, during and after the eventful years. The book was written recently (I purchased it- kindle edition- in February 2020) and it even talks about things like demonetization (2016). I was not old enough to understand the importance of reforms when India opened up in 1991. Or to understand the license, permit, quota raj of prior years. But in hindsight I can see the impact these things have had. I was old enough to feel proud of 1998 nuclear tests and later to see the impact of sanctions. And things like Satyam scam, Nuclear deal, etc. MSA (the author) explains these things in a manner which abstracts away the complexities. He is a very (repeating for emphasis) very good communicator. Recently (2-3 years), I have read and listened to things related to 1991. If interested, the 1991 project could be a good place to know about these things. And I have come to know about things and people. It was not a single person (Dr. Manmohan Singh) nor two person (Narasimha Rao, Dr. Singh) nor only three person (Rao, Singh, MSA) act. It wasn’t even a single stroke 1991 thing. A lot had happened in that direction before and a lot of people were involved. And what a bunch of people.
October 2022
Birdsong- Sebastian Faulks… started listening to audio book. But after first chapter or so it looks like a book I will enjoy reading. Appears descriptive in the vein of Gone With The Wind. I know I will feel all those feelings- joys and sorrows- more intensely while reading than listening. So abandoned the audiobook with good narrator. But I will pick up the ebook soon.
Phantoms in the Brain- V.S. Ramachandran Started Listening to the audiobook.
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt- Wilkinson
Thinking In Systems- Meadows… need to pick again soon.
How Buildings Learn: What happens after they’re built- Stewart Brand… need to pick again soon.
Why The Allies Won- Overy (re-read)… need to pick again soon.
Recently Read
The Mysterious Affair at Styles- Agatha Christie… from wikipedia: ‘Styles was Christie’s first published novel. It introduced Hercule Poirot, Inspector (later, Chief Inspector) Japp, and Arthur Hastings.’ I have been a fan of David Suchet’s Poirot from the series. Of course I have read multiple Christie and Poirot novels earlier. But this was after a while. I had forgotten the story from the series episode. Liked it. Crime fiction is not a preference. But I have recently made a point of reading at least one during occassional holidays.
The Splendid And The Vile A Saga Of Churchill, Family And Defiance During The Blitz- Erik Larson. ‘It was the best of the times, it was the worst of the times.’ The book talks about Churchill’s leadership before USA joined the war, his diplomacy to keep France going, his go-to people (what interesting insights!), family… A lot of book chronicles diary entries of various people around the PM- his secretary, daughter, letters between his sort of debt ridden son and son’s wife, ego clashes, his speeches, inspiring visits to the bombed areas, etc. His opinions about India and attitude towards the Indian Freedom Struggle and people aside (expressed elsewhere), Churchill was a great wartime leader.
Gypsy (Marathi poetry)- Padgaonkar (Re-read a favorite)
Vahi (Marathi poetry)- Mahanor
The Code Of The Woosters- Wodehouse (Re-read nth time)
Early Indians- Tony Joseph (good book but left midway… would pick it up again some day)
Pavsali Kavita (Marathi poetry)- Mahanor
Half Lion: How P V Narasimha Rao Transformed India- Vinay Sitapati. The author said on The Seen And The Unseen podcast episode that the book was about understanding how PVNRao was able to get the reforms rolling in spite of strong opposition, having almost no control or power in the parliament and within his party. So it is about how to influence when you don’t have much power or control. How could you resist a book with such premise? Probably the ideas will come in handy to a software engineer. The book was quite good. The prime minister was an intellectual being. Rao knew many languages, could write programs in cobol, shell scripts, and complained the new updates to his word processor program were just cosmetic. He could repair hand-pump, had ideas about crops yields. But his prime time comes just before and after he became the prime minister. He was denied a ticket to fight in the elections but the killing of party president and PM Rajiv Gandhi changed things and Rao became the PM. He chose his people carefully. (As per an un-named witness) Before 1991 budget was presented, Rao rejected a safe-playing draft budget asking Dr. Singh- ‘if this was what I wanted, why would I have asked you to be the finance minister’. And of course, his special guests were treated to dishes like Pithla, Okra, Bitter-Gourd. During political lean periods he reinvented himself (took spanish classes). He came across to me as a Ben Franklin kind of person.