Reading has been a culture in my family and among my friends. It’s something that I took up from my surrounding. While I enjoy reading, I can never read murder mysteries and suspense. I find them very boring. Basically, I don’t like to read about destruction. A nice, engaging and positive story interests me more.
Also, I don’t believe in anything like a bestseller. I either go by the synopsis or pick up a book suggested by people whom I know are into reading good stuff as the content and writing style matter a lot to me.
As a kid The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald had a great impact on me. I read it in school and just couldn’t stop raving about the well-sketched characters and appealing plot. Then, I fell for classics like Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Jane Eyre.
I loved books by Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte because of the era they wrote interested me. At a time when most women authors wrote under ghost names, there were a few, who had the courage to come out in the open with the reality and what they felt about society. The characters in these classics are very insightful. Though I loved all the female characters, it’s Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice who stayed in my mind.
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is another favourite. The protagonist Scarlett O’ Hara is so inspiring and very courageous. I also like reading Indian authors. I think I can relate to the Indian characters more.
As told to Priyanka Bhadani