I have just finished Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin, a thought-provoking read. The Beautiful and the Damned: Life in the New India by Siddhartha Deb also made for a terrific read. The Steve Jobs Biography by Walter Isaacson was hugely interesting. If there is one genre of writing I'm violently allergic to, it is the bulk of Partition-based books going around, a subject done to death! Likewise, historical novels leave me cold.
Anuvab Pal , Filmmaker, novelist and stand-up comedian .
It has been a very chaotic year for me with very little time for serious reading. Though it came out some time back, my favourite book read in the year 2011 has to be A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. There is a certain kind of fluidity in the prose that is very appealing. Very simple in its essence, very comfortable in its pace, A Fine Balance makes for a charming read. It's very easy to get lost in the unhurried unstructured charm of this novel.
Deepti Naval , Actor, painter, poet, writer, film producer .
Although Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin by Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony was first published in 1998, this edition marking the 50th anniversary of the first man in space finally provided me a picture not only of a deeply fascinating individual in all his complexities but also the many other incredible persons who drove the early Soviet manned missions. Gagarin's life as a cog in a giant political machine, his drive that made him withstand many difficulties before and after he became one of the modern world's true heroes, his losing battle with alcoholism, his personal flaws and attempts to buck the flow of a totalitarian regime is a real-life epic.
Indrajit Hazra , Novelist, editor and columnist .
It might seem like a ‘light' choice but it's David Nicholls' One Day for me. At one level, the novel is a heart-catching ‘will they-won't they' love story but, spanning 20 years, it is also a social history of Britain, following two people from the 1980s into present times. Can't recall when I last read a book with a box of tissues by my side.
Jaishree Misra , Author .
It would have to be Jamil Ahmad's The Wandering Falcon . Ahmad was 78 when the book was published, and it reads like it. There's a lifetime of experience and stories in its pages. Set in “the tangle of crumbling, weather-beaten and broken hills, where the borders of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan meet,” every page of The Wandering Falcon describes a world that is far removed from our own. There is information here that you, as a reader, feel privileged to share, because it's the kind of information that seems to have been acquired at great cost to the writer.
Jeet Thayil , Writer, performer and poet .
The book I read this year that made an impact on my consciousness is Thich Nhat Hanh's Cultivating the Mind of Love . The Zen Master gives a heartfelt account of his personal experience with love and his sacrifices. This makes him and his philosophy very real and meaningful. The book is deceptively simple to read but carries in that simplicity some of the most profound ideals of Buddhist thought.
Mahesh Dattani , Playwright .
I think my favourite book for 2011 would have to be Open by Andre Agassi. His honesty is a refreshing change! I found the book extremely intriguing, as it provides an insight to the mind of a World Champion. It allows you to understand the struggles and obstacles faced by a sports person, enabling you to see the real person who skulks behind the mask of Superstar. Agassi is very open in his autobiography and speaks honestly of the mistakes he has made in the past, wrong choices he has made or the pressure he faced from his father to perform.
Pankaj Advani , World Billiards Champion .
The last good book I read was Sesh Lekha , by Rabindranath Tagore. It's a collection of the last of Gurudev's poems. This was during my exhibition of the same name at the National Gallery of Modern Art. They are beautiful poems, highly inspiring. This was a while back now. I'm hoping to find something as inspirational to read again.
Paresh Maity , Artist .
The Cat's Table , by Michael Ondaatje, is the most beautiful, haunting and ageless book I've read this year; it holds you as a magical boy's adventure might, rich with wonders and mysteries, yet underneath its carnival surface it's a plangent enquiry into exile and movement and broken families. All Ondaatje's novels shine with exquisite paragraphs, unexpected knowledge and exotic characters; but this one also proceeds with a directness and openness that suggest a deep personal investment, and open windows that he's never touched before, I feel.
Pico Iyer , Novelist, essayist and Travel writer .
Actually the best book I have ever read is life itself. It is a book I always read and learn from. And life is a book without beginning and ending. However, since you insist, the best book I read in 2011 is Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It is so touching. It delves deep into the human psyche. It deals with universal human emotions. The book is about the bond between a professor and his student. The teacher develops a terminal illness and what the student learns from him goes beyond the classroom. It is actually a simple work... no literary flourishes or dazzling language. But it moved me deeply.
Raghu Rai , Photographer .
The books that made a massive impact on me are the two novels by Khaled Hosseini. I was left enthralled by the vividness of imagery and the intense tug of emotions evoked in the reader. Afghanistan is alien territory for most of us and one knows so little of the place. Hosseini's prose brought alive the streets, smells and sounds of Afghanistan. What is amazing is the way the author switches gender sensibilities from one book to the other. In The Kite Runner , he was writing entirely from a male identity and viewpoint and in A Thousand Splendid Suns , he has done a complete switch and shifted to a woman's perspective.
Rajit Kapur , Actor and theatre person .
Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands was a book that made a huge impact on me. Meticulously researched by the authors S. Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges, the book lifts the veil to reveal the faces of female criminals operating from deep within the slums and by lanes of Mumbai Never before has this invisible female force of Mumbai's underbelly been exposed in this manner in any book. The characters, most of them unknown to the readers, come across as real, grounded, intelligent women with a huge appetite for risks and danger. An amazing work of writing from a man who also wrote Black Friday ! An ambitious and fearless work of research, absolutely nonjudgmental in its approach…..
Rinki Roy Bhattacharya , Chairperson Bimal Roy Memorial Committee and writer .
I had been hearing a lot about this book but was deeply sceptical, considering all the brouhaha an exaggeration. And then, one fine day, I sat down to read The Secret by Rhonda Byrne and my entire world did a complete somersault! I've seen tragedy very early in life and I belong to the tribe of people who perpetually follow the ‘yeh nahi hoga, who nahi hoga' train of thought. After reading this book, I learned to put all negativity aside and tune in to positive thoughts. Sudha Chandran, Actor, danseuse.
I would probably have plodded along reading books that friends and family members prescribed if I had not chanced upon My Autobiography by Charlie Chaplin. This was the book that was destined to change my life. As an actor specialising in comic roles, I discovered soon enough how fine the line is that divides laughter from tears. Your heart could be breaking from inside and yet you'd have to clown, lisp and ham it in front of the camera to make the audiences laugh and vice versa. Chaplin's lines gave me the ability to look at life in a new manner.
Supriya Pathak Kapur , Actor .
