“When someone is seeking…it happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything…because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal.” Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

I read this book in Malayalam and I am finding it little difficult to express, what it was like. I feel great, … I feel, I got something that will help me look at life and people from a perspective which is very much different from what it is now.

It’s tough to understand, sometimes, like when he says “There is no past, or future, …. everything is present. ..”  It is tough, when he says,

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So, what happened to my reading habit ?

Bad news first : I am yet to finish the book ” God of Small Things”.Now the good news : I am still reading it, and I am reading few other books too.

Yes, I am still reading God of Small Things. I loved it, and was inspired enough to rename my blog to, Blog of Small Things. Offline Blog was a temporary name, and I was looking for a new name all this time. So, here we are , with the new name, “Blog of Small Things” How is that ?

I visited my village library, paid a fine for not returning a book for 1 year. Librarian is a great friend of mine, so I got the fine amount reduced to Rs.100. And yea, I bought 3 more books from Cochin last week.

I am fighting my “readers block” ( Thanks Nikhil for that term ). It is tough, real tough. I tried lot of things, and got a lot of suggestions.

I am going back to Malayalam books now, because that is where I started, and that is where I should start correcting my reading disorders. Reading Malayalam books may help me make reading much faster, hopefully …..

Is there a book that changed your life ?

I know that there are lot of people who got influenced by books like “The Alchemist” … But, more than just an influence, is there a book that changed the way you look at your life ?  Or may be an author whose books changed your life ?

If I ask this question myself, I do not have an answer. May be I am yet to read such a book…. will you be able to suggest some books like that … ?

No !! This is not easy !! Not Happening !!

Hmm … don’t get confused friends… I am talking about my reading habit, which I am trying to save. It’s not as easy as I expected. I will tell you why….

I started reading ” The God Of Small Things” on 09 July . Now, it’s 17th July. So, it has been more than one week since I started reading that 339 pages book. I am at 177th page now. 8th of 21 chapters of the book. 22 pages a day, average !!.

That is really bad. I have a book waiting with 589 pages next to me. I need to read more books. I need to read more fast. I need to READ !!

What is happening with me ?  It’s simple. I will tell you how I am reading this book  …… Gmail > Book > Orkut > Book > Google Reader > Blog Comment > Book > Chat > Book > Dinner > Book ….

I know I am not going to finish it very soon if I am doing like this !! But, I am not going to give up this time. I will still read, and try to read more each day. ( Sounds easy but you know how tough it is .. right ? )

I will update you all  when I finish … reading it  … and one more thing .. I remember Poonam asking me about the next book … It is .. “ The Last Temptation of Christ “ by Nikos Kazantzakis,

I have lot of questions since I am trying to save my reading habit. What is the best time to read, is just one of them.

I am here to steal your reading techniques !!. Well, I will share it with others and it won’t be your own secrets anymore, so careful !!

1 What is the best time to read ?
2 How do you find more time to read ? ( or where and when do you read … )
3 Is there any particular spot, where you go to read ?  ( your bed room, terrace .. garden ? )
4 How many pages do you read, a day ?
5 Do you make note down things while reading ?
6 Do you buy books or get them from the Library ?
7 Do you read English books more, or your books in mother tongue
8 Which book is your all time favorite

Hmmm I think I have more questions, but later ….  if you have some tips to share, some strange habits ( ? ) or .. anything related to your reading habits…  share it !!

Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children wins 40-year Best of the Booker Prize …..

“Almost 30 years ago, his novel Midnight’s Children saw off the competition to win the Booker Prize. Today, Sir Salman Rushdie did it again, beating all previous Booker winners including the Nobel laureates Doris Lessing, J.M. Coetzee and Nadine Gordimer to carry away a one-off literary award celebrating the Booker’s 40th anniversary.

Midnight’s Children, considered one of the most important works of the modern age, has been voted the greatest Booker Prizewinner in the history of the award.”

This is a news indeed , especially when you are reading another Booker Price Winning Work !!

I am yet to read this book … sad .. right ? are there great souls who have read this book already ? will you share some thoughts with me ? .. I should look for the book now ..

Don’t you think it’s a good time to renew my Library membership, back home !! Yes !!! I should do it this weekend .. hmmm … Nostalgia .. again …  Just a small but important update about God of Small Things ..  I am at 60th page now … !!

Yes, the incomplete me because, I don’t read enough books these days. “These days” can be defined as “last 3 years”.

When I was in college, I used to read 3 - 5 books a week plus lot of magazines from College library and our village library. I always had a book with me, even while having my food. Just like how you look for your favorite brands in a supermarket, I searched for books by my favorite authors and tried to finish them one by one, - one author at time !!

So what happened to my reading habit ? It was a gradual change. It all started when I got my first job. When  I started working, I did night shifts most of the time. I enjoyed night shifts, and my teammates enjoyed me doing night shifts !! So when you do night shift, you need to sleep during the day time right ? Well, I used to sleep the entire day !! and slowly, my reading habit died !!

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