Shah Rukh Khan may be the badshah of bollywood and all that but as far as we are concerned, him being a book addict is all that matters. In the past, he has gone on record as citing ‘The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’ by Douglas Adams as his personal favourite.
The Bollywood Badshah also confesses that he often finds himself reading several books at a time. “I read everything from news magazines to kids books, even graphic novels,” says he.
Yet another author – enigmatic & reclusive – passes away – J.D Salinger.
“Catcher” has sold more than 65 million copies worldwide, has been translated into the world’s major languages & almost always figuring in the list of the top ten novels of the 20th century.
Chetan Bhagat’s latest book, Two States, appears to have inspired five students of the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Bangalore to make it into a film for their project. We hope this won’t turn into another controversy, the likes of which could become another movie by itself!
All newspapers carry reports about the release in Bangalore yesterday of ‘Victoria and Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidante’, by Shrabani Basu, which we had mentioned in our post of January 17th. Had we some notice of this, we would have had some pictures (or even, a Q&A) here.
The latest issue of Tehelka magazine is entirely about what we love – books & reading. Titled ‘Books & Indians: Special Issue’, it has some stats about the Indian reader. Sample:
64% of total buyers of English books in India are from the most affluent socio-economic background
85% are male &
Most Indians read for self improvement, only 18% for pleasure!
Well, that confirms it. Indians are so serious & self absorbed in their self improvement that what is meant as a joke at times is taken as a slight!
