I believe in discovering books on my own. I do not believe in recommendations because I am scared that most people do not know what I love to read or do not care to ask. It is a fact. Most people just put a book in your hands and tell you, "You must read this." There is nothing more to that interaction. And yet there are times when I am completely taken in by a recommendation and love it to the core. This was the case with, "Following Fish" by Samanth Subramanian that was highly recommended by a dear friend and rightly so.
"Following Fish" is a lot packed in one book. It is about food and about travel and about empathy and about different cultures existing in one country, which is India. Subramanian travels the length and breadth of the coastal parts of the country and discovers Fish, right from how the process of catching fish goes on to the making and to the cultures that influence this category of "sea food".
What I loved about the book was its simplicity of language and at the same the core remained intact. Not at any given time does Samanth move or change tracks rapidly. Even his travels were planned and thereby the writing that emerges is fantastic. The writing is easy and not at all taxing. In fact in most places it is even funny given the nature of a travelogue when infused with food at
04:03 PM, Apr 29, 2013
Mohsin Hamid is a gifted writer and a wonderful story-teller, so it is totally to his credit that his latest novel "How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia" is gripping. In fact, it left me wanting to finish the book, and I did so in one sitting or two. And that's despite the fact that it's not his best work, by far. Hamid is undoubtedly one of the leading...
01:00 PM, Apr 17, 2013
Mohsin Hamid's books are biting and raw in their nature of storytelling. Nothing is rosy and that his readers are aware of. Nothing is sugar-coated. He tells it the way it is and maybe that is why his readers like reading what he has to write. Hamid writes about the society, the way he sees it. Whether it is a story of a young man in love in his first...
07:53 PM, Apr 15, 2013
'Stringer' takes you to the wild, chaotic Congo and leaves you with questions unanswered. ...
05:13 PM, Apr 03, 2013
Penguin Books India is organizing it's fourth edition of 'Spring Fever' in New Delhi, a ten day literature festival from 15-24 March 2013. ...
01:32 PM, Mar 14, 2013
Reading "Calcutta: Two Years in the City" by Amit Chaudhuri is like taking a roller-coaster ride. ...
01:46 PM, Feb 20, 2013
There is no better way to get to know a film-maker than through his works. To watch them repeatedly - one after the other, till they charm you, make you smile, make you cry and make you think. That to me is the best way to know a filmmaker. To realize and understand what made him or her make movies like the ones you are watching, what is the psyche...
03:07 PM, Nov 23, 2012
Author Jhoomur Bose's book' 'Confessionally Yours' revolves around protagonist Polly. Polly, who is incapable of writing a good article for the newspaper " according to her editor. Polly cant have a baby soon enough for her mother-in-law... Polly is not pretty enough for her husband " who moans about his ex " when theyre having the best sex ever. Polly is not aggressive enough for her bitching colleagues and friends...
10:42 AM, Jul 26, 2012
Indian Literature is under-rated. I have always believed that most Indian writers (great ones at that) are often not spoken about or mentioned at all. Some great books are never discussed. That's a sad situation for a country that is so rich in literature - considering the number of languages stories are weaved in and then translated for the English reader's (like me) benefit, only not to be praised. One...
04:14 PM, May 02, 2012
David Davidar Age: 53 Profile: Co-Founder and MD, Aleph Book Company Career: Over 25 years as a publishing professional. Founder-publisher of Penguin India at age 26; was then variously CEO & Publisher, Penguin India; MD, Dorling Kindersley India; CEO, Pearson India; Publisher, Penguin Canada; President & Publisher, Penguin Canada; CEO, Penguin International Education: BSc, Madras University; Diploma in Publishing, Harvard University Interests: Tennis, swimming, music, movies, books. Q. Worldwide, publishing"as...
06:35 PM, Apr 30, 2012
We all have our literary heroes. Sometimes in the form of characters, which we have loved reading about and idolizing while reading or sometimes in the form of writers themselves, who bring stories and characters to life. For me, there are so many writers who have changed my life and the way I see things and the world around me and then there are those who stay on irrespective of...
02:06 PM, Apr 18, 2012
It is sometimes sad to know that readers (most of them) only remember Ismat Chughtai for 'Lihaaf' or 'The Quilt'. She has written a lot more and the 'more' is even more interesting than 'Lihaaf'. I remember the first time I was introduced to her works. I had turned twenty-three and my friend had taken me to watch a play, 'Manto Ismat Hazir Hain' produced by Motley, - which featured...
01:45 PM, Apr 18, 2012
When I first started reading, 'Behind the Beautiful Forevers' by Katherine Boo, it didn't strike me as a different book. I mean I had read the similar story in Suketu Mehta's, 'Maximum City' (Honestly I didn't think much of it), though it was in brief. It was still more or less the same - Mumbai and its dichotomy (like every major cosmopolitan), its slums, its smells and sights and the...
05:45 PM, Mar 26, 2012
New Delhi: In what is a landmark acquisition, Penguin Books India has acquired the Indian subcontinent rights to publish the acclaimed author Amit Chaudhuri's works. Penguin will be bringing out all his new writings, in addition to publishing the backlist. The first book by Amit Chaudhuri to be published by Penguin will be on Calcutta, which would be one of the most important non-fiction titles that Penguin will release next...
07:02 PM, Mar 21, 2012
Bimal Jalan is one of India's well-known economists. He was Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1997 to 2003. He has held several top positions in the ministries of finance and industry and in the Planning Commission. He was also Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and represented India on the boards of the IMF and the World Bank. His book 'Emerging India' was...
11:35 AM, Feb 22, 2012
New Delhi: Penguin India, known for publishing the best writing from the Indian subcontinent, will mark its silver jubilee celebrations in 2012 with a series of initiatives, including the launch of a list comprising some of the best loved titles in its 25 years. A series of events, activities and initiatives are planned throughout the year and a Penguin 25th Year Logo will be launched. Their silver jubilee theme is...
07:01 PM, Jan 18, 2012
New Delhi: The revolving doors at Indias English-language publishing companies are finally slowing down. A frenetic round of changes at the top or just below is almost over in terms of appointments and announcements. Penguin India, Random House India and Pan-Macmillan all have new editorial heads now. At Random House India (RHI), the top editorial post is effectively being bifurcated. As is the companys publishing imprint. Earlier brought out as...
04:00 PM, Jul 04, 2011
New Delhi: Chiki Sarkar, the former editor in chief of Random House India, has been appointed publisher of Penguin India, the largest English language trade publisher in the subcontinent. Sarkar has worked with best-selling authors including Jhumpa Lahiri, Anita Desai, Salman Rushdie, Mohammed Hanif, Daniyal Mueenuddin and Rujuta Diwekar. Before Random House, she worked for Bloomsbury Publishing in London for seven years. She is a graduate of Oxford University. "We...
03:05 PM, May 27, 2011
I am not a fan of Booker short listed authors or long listed ones, till they come highly recommended. I sort of get scared to read them and with plenty of reason, given the choices in the past couple of years and how they fell flat in my face. Right from The Sea by John Banville to the Gathering by Anne Enright. I did not have it in me to...
03:54 PM, Nov 23, 2010
Penguin India will publish
Beatrice and Virgil in 2010. ...
03:11 PM, Nov 23, 2009
