And it was all yellow – a bookish roundup

I love how the AtoZ forces me to go through a dictionary for fun; and the many words that the most difficult to choose for alphabets i.e. X, Y and Z actually have. I chose yellow for this post because of the Coldplay song and the way the lyrics so beautifully capture my love for reading:

Reading tales: Pride and Prejudice

When I was little, I had two books that were the size of a pocket square: Black Beauty and Pride and Prejudice. They were my pride and joy because of their size. They weren’t the same size as mom’s books and neither were they weirdly big like my sister’s children’s books. They were a unique size and solely mine. I read P&P multiple times but I couldn’t bring myself to read Black Beauty. Maybe because at the time, I didn’t see the point of reading a book about a horse.

Becoming the sun

Ever since I started to learn more about gender and gender expression, I have become fascinated with the concept of being gender neutral. The fact that there are people in this world who are going beyond the boxes we trap ourselves in and creating a space for themselves is both intimidating and empowering.

Reading tales: Bed of Grass

Books are something mom and I have bonded over right from when I turned sixteen. She has always understood the madness that descends on someone when they’re reading because she has lived through it too. She had indulgent parents when it came to books and reading and so she was an indulgent parent right back. I say was because I no longer ask her if a book is too expensive to buy – I usually just buy it!

Reading tales: The Lord of the Rings

I did not choose The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings chose me.

Back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, we used to get these 5-in-1 and 7-in-1 movie discs that were pirated copies of English movies. I had an entire folder filled with such DVDs and it was my favourite pastime to find pretty folders to lovingly organize my prized DVDs.

Reading tales: The Birth of Venus

Grocery shopping is my ultimate favourite thing to do. If I was looking to replace a library as my safe space, it would be a grocery store. So while I was in Singapore doing my Masters, since there wasn’t a library nearby, the local supermarket company Sheng Siong became my favourite place.

Reading tales: Teen Idol

Dehradun 2004.

I was in school and had just discovered the marvels of reading. A friend and I used to reach school before anyone else and we spent those fifteen minutes in bliss, discussing Famous Five and Nancy Drew. We had made a pact that she and I would buy different titles so we could swap books.

Reading tales: Assassin’s Apprentice

It was a balmy summer afternoon. The weather seemed in a good mood because there was a cool breeze blowing. Mom was chatting with a relative in the drawing room and I was in my bedroom, still innocent, unknowing how my life was going to change in the next few days.

Questions you should never ask a bibliophile

The thing I love about being a reader – or being a bookworm – is the bragging rights that come with it. You don’t find people bragging or congratulating someone for binging a series successfully. But say you finished a book in 24 hours and suddenly there will be people who will congratulate you and a bunch of others who will be jealous of your ability to concentrate on ONE thing for any duration of time.

Speaking of, I’m at 96% of my target for 2021! My digital library:

Not a book review: The Singing Hills Cycle

The Empress of Salt and Fortune and When the Tiger came down the Mountain – just the name of these books was enough to make me want to dive deep into them, albeit it was a short dive since both the books are about 120 pages long. After seeing the covers, the deal was sealed and what a visual treat these books have been.