‘I sell mirrors in the city of blind’
What did I do all this year?
Yesterday I closed my accounts; it was the last working day of the year. I calculated profit and loss, and also whatever I paid to the heavens and hells throughout the year, I found that I was at complete loss, materialistically. ‘Keep mind over matter’ advised my family. But…’matter’ too matters much, doesn’t it?
In the month of January, at the beginning of this year, I suddenly ventured into a new thing for my survival. A call came from one of my friends; he told me something; it stirred my mind; I took the decision; and from the very next day, I was doing something new. The hope emerged into my not-so-sinful heart that the new thing would change the way, and it created a lot of exciting moments. I noticed that all the year I was engaged in this, it created a lot of frenzy; it gave me a kick, sometimes a buzz, sometimes a thrill.
Hope and despair, both one by one, first rose and then fell. Almost every single day, I witnessed
a newfound ardour for my activity. Had you seen the vehemence of my riposte to the results I was getting on a daily basis, you would have called me a distraught fellow. Will I keep doing this the next year? I am not sure, but it was a great, engaging experience.
Though the year-end performance was a dismal one on personal front, it still enriched my overall experience.
Never ask me what I was doing.
And Books? What about them?
After a gap of almost 8 months, I somehow got back to the books in the month of May, and The first book that I read was Atonement by McEwan. Then, “Life of Pi”, I had hard copy of both books, so my reading journey began on paper, not on screen. Then I got into the contemporary novels, picked them up from the choice award list, and read 4-5 new authors. Interestingly, I noticed all the contemporary books that I picked up were from female authors, like Jodi Picoult, Sally Rooney and more.
I removed the lid from my poetry basket then and put there the names like, Allen Ginsberg, Seamus Heaney and Ocean Vuong. After putting them in the basket, I tightened the screw on the lid, which was never there.
Stephen King turned out to be the most read author for me as I read three of his books this year.
Jean-Paul Sartre, in his Nausea kept my life ‘existent’ in the name of existentialism for a few weeks. Denis Johnson‘s out-of-the way prose made a mark for me , I read his two titles.
The filthiest book, content-wise, that I read was the Crash, though I appreciated the craft of the author. Gilead, hooked me from the very beginning and made me emotional.
Two stunning books that I read in mid way were Death in Venice and The Train Was on Time. Both these books generated freakish feelings in me. Amazing books.
I read two bulky books this year Anna Karenina and The Stand, and both were fulfilling experiences.
The most surprising book of the year for me was Pilgrim by Timothy Findley. This was such a classic work. It was a hard copy lying on my shelf for more than six years, and I never knew its prose and craft were so amazing.
I read a bunch of poetry books, Allen Ginsberg jingled my heart. Death of a Naturalist was the most ‘natural’ poetry book I read, and Ocean Vuong perhaps delivered to me the most impressing poetry from the young poets.
I thoroughly enjoyed Wole Soyinka and Noël Coward plays this year.
I read more than half a dozen short stories from the classic authors too. Some of them for the first time.
I also revisited, Ray Bradbury,George Orwell and Oscar Wilde again this year.
Though my reading momentum stopped near the end of September, after keeping my rhythm and regularity for 5 months in books, I still feel satisfied and accomplished. Towards the end, classics like Anna Karenina and Passing and Pilgrim made my slog overs rewarding.
Here goes the complete list of my titles :-
Novels/novellas :-
1. Passing
2.Anna Karenina
3.The Stand
4.Nausea
5.Gilead
6.Violeta
7.Year of Wonders
8. Death in Venice
9.The Mist
10.Billy Summers
11.The Maid
12.Wish You Were Here
13.A Flicker in the Dark
14.The Frozen Deep
15.Train Dreams
16. Jesus’ Son
17.Down and Out in Paris and London
18.The Dead
19.Crash
20.Kappa
21.Fahrenheit 451
22.The Lady of the Shroud
23.The Picture of Dorian Gray
24. Medea
25. The Italian Girl
26.Beautiful Mutants
27. The Last Thing He Told Me
28.Beautiful World, Where Are You
29.Loving
30. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
31.Life of Pi
32.Atonement
33.Kindred
34.Pilgrim
Short stories:-
1.The Monkey’s Paw: W.W. Jacobs’s Best Classic Horror Thrillers – W.W. Jacobs’ Haunting Tale: Unraveling The Monkey’s Paw
2.A Good Man Is Hard To Find
3.The Rocking-Horse Winner
4.Master and Man
5.Mr. and Mrs. Dove
6.May Flowers
7..A Doctor’s Visit
8..The Legacy
9.The Call of Cthulhu
10.The Story of a Picture
Plays :-
1. The Lion and the Jewel
2. Blithe Spirit
Essays/others:
1.Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You
2.Modern Romance
3.Compensation: An Excerpt from Collected Essays, First Series
4.The Retreat Diaries
5.These Precious Days: Essays
6.Siddartha
7.Utopia
8.A Theft: My Con Man
Poetry :-
1.The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On
2.Our Men Do Not Belong To Us
3.Serenity: Poems
4.Time Is a Mother
5.Howl and Other Poems
6.Selected Poems
7.Death of a Naturalist
8.Spring Shade: Poetry
In books, the year was a 5-star for me, and though I read for a period of 5 months only, I was in good form, I guess. There were some amazing female authors I came across this year, and when I counted them, the tally went to more than 12 women novelists, all of whom I read for the first time. Though most authors from the list I read for the first time, if I reckon up, out of 62 titles across all genres, I read 39 authors for the first time this year( 18 novelists, 6 short story writers, 2 dramatists, 5 essayists, and all 8 new poets). Geography-wise, I also did well, as my readings revolved around the cultures.
So it was an amazing year, in books. The only regret is that I could not find enough time to write my thoughts on most of my book reads, which I’ll try to do next year.
So, friends, With this small recap of my book journey this year, I wish you all a lovely, healthy, and happy new year 2024 !
I’ll end up recalling Rumi.
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ― Rumi
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