Ten books from my 2021 list

My 2021 reading list stands at book number 112. I almost missed adding the Audible books I listen to during my morning perambulations around Karthi. I sometimes wonder if I walk for the exercise or to listen to the books! Due to the heavy rains of the past month, I have not been able to complete my current Audible book and I look forward to doing it next week. 

So here are my favorites from this year, not in order of excellence:

1. Layla by Colleen Hoover: The first book I read from this author was November 9,  which intrigued me because it's the date of my sister's birthday. She has the immense gift of drawing the reader right into the midst of the raw emotions of the protagonists. It is so admirable a talent. I liked Layla because Hoover has attempted a paranormal thriller romance. And it is thrilling till the very end. 
2. A Man called Ove by Fredrik Backman: Backman charmed me with the long-winding title of another book: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. Ove is a curmudgeonly gent who is determined to efface himself after his wife's death. He is so crotchety and obsessive that we are tempted to hate him at the beginning of the story. And then the layers are revealed slowly... Beautiful book. 
3. The Lord Wimsey Series by Dorothy L. Sayers: Do you know that this series is available for peanuts on Kindle? I had read most of these books from the public library, not in order, and skipped a few. But on Kindle, they are available in their complete glory. The difference between Sayers' works and her more popular contemporary Christie's works is that Christie's works are a little more of the cookie cutter variety, while Sayers' books are more literary in nature. And starting in the fifth book is the thread of romance between Wimsey and Vane. I wish they were in print today because I would have loved to buy the last three of the series: The Nine Tailors, Gaudy Night and the Busman's Honeymoon. They are worth going back to from time to time for their prose and the picture of England of those times. 
4. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein: Ezmo the dog has one ambition, to be as human-like as possible. In fact, he would like to take birth as a human being just to be able to shake his friend Denny's hand. Funny, sad, clever, suspenseful... All that you would want in a book. 
5. A Short History of the Girl Next Door by Jared Reck: A YA romance, heart-wrenching. Opening is so simple and trivial, one has no idea how it will punch later.
   
6. The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa: Another novel in which an animal is a narrator, only in this it is a cat. The cat and his partner travel across Japan, rediscovering a few old friends. 
7. Perfume by Patrick Suskind: The sheer revulsion evoked by the protagonist of this fantasy novel is remarkable. After reading it, I became proud of my anosmia as I would have been immune to the nefarious schemes laid by Grenouille!
8. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See: Till I read this book, I hadn't known that there were aboriginal tribes of Chinese. Through the life time of a girl from the Akha tribe, the novel covers a wide range of subjects: effects of the One Child policy, attempts to assimilate indigenous people into mainstream culture, child adoption scams, and the overarching story of tea. It was slow-going at the beginning, but I am glad that I persisted.
   
9. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett: Now here is an author who paints such wonderful word pictures that reading one of her stories is like stepping into a colorful, many-layered masterpiece. The characters stay around a long time after the book is closed. The house is the main character in this story: it repels some, it attracts some, some cannot get out of its magnetic field, some need to get rid of it and some need to acquire it. The dysfunctional extended family that revolves around the house somehow need it to complete themselves.
10. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman: If you miss the old-fashioned murder mysteries a la Christie, this is the book for you! A group of feisty seniors in an up-scale retirement home meet on Thursdays to discuss old crimes. But soon enough, they have to deal with murder on their door steps. Red herrings abound and ingenious solutions enlighten. Looking forward to reading the next in the series in the new year.
    

These are the books I liked the best this year, so far. Other titles that I liked very much: 

1. Zen in the Art of Writing: Ray Bradbury
2. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird: Josie Silver
3. The Flatshare: Beth O' Leary
4. The Winter Garden: Kristin Hannah
5. Love Lettering: Kate Clayborn
6. Recipe for a Perfect Wife: Karma Brown
7. The Housekeeper and the Professor: Yoko Ogawa
8. Garden Spells: Sarah Addison Allen
9. A Little Paris Bistro: Nina George
10. Needlemouse: Jane O' Connor
    

Ok, I shall stop here for fear of duplicating my 2021 reading list. I can guarantee you that if you pick any one of these, you are in for an engrossing read. Happy reading!

Glimpses from two years...

Compared to the photo folders starting from 2002, when we first switched to digital cameras, the one for 2020 is very sparse. Then, to my horror, I discovered that I had even omitted to make a folder for this year - 10 months into 2021! All our pictures are still on our phones and have not been synced. A mistake that I have sought to rectify. Along the way, I saw a few pictures that I wanted to share with you—in no particular order. I've highlighted earlier references to my blog in green. Click on them if you want to read more!

Celebrating my birthday with my sis and nephew (behind the camera) during MBIFL 2020. The last memorable time I visited a restaurant for a sit-down meal, I think.

 

Row of Ponkala pots waiting for the consecration and a line of devotees waiting for lunch... Last public function/festival attended..

.

The streets were quiet, no growling, prowling beasts. So the peafowl chose to cross over from the wildernesses and grace our yard.

My first haircut during the lockdown. Poor Ani was the guinea pig. I had put the trimmer at the longest setting for the back and sides. Unfortunately, Kunju distracted me as I was tapping off the hair on the trimmer and the length went to zero. I kept my head and uttered not one peep when disaster struck in the next swipe. Even while taking this picture, Ani didn't know how his haircut actually looked. It was two days later that he came to me saying, "Amma, I don't know why, but a part of the back of my head feels very prickly." I RAN!!!

 

My painting helper who made the project a breeze. Very protective of his coiffure, as you can see...

 

The black and white kitten who grew up into an exceedingly handsome tuxedo cat with white gloves and socks. He was so fond of snuggling that if he was allowed inside while I was doing Sudarshan Kriya or meditation, he would curl up in my lap and lie there the whole time. It helped center me better. He has since disappeared, but we are grateful for all the lockdown cuddles and candid picture moments like this...

 

Teach a kid to make chappati dough and he will give you this! I screamed when I opened the container to make the chappatis!!!

A picture that I love looking at and a process that I will never, ever repeat! Much as the color gradient is attractive, it was a headache to find books. Yikes!!!

 

Soaped hands are germ-free. Give soap to a teen with too much time on his hands and...

 

My coral jasmine making me smile in the midst of the pandemic. 

 

A pair of Indian cormorants nesting in Thekkady, the only trip we undertook in December before things got really bad Covid-wise in Kerala. 

No words required! Enjoy!!!

Blooms in 2021...

Phew! I have made it back to my blog before I completed one whole year of absence. Well, just about... Because as you can see, my last post was written on the 2nd of October, 2020. After that, I didn't feel like sharing anything on the blog. Instead, I dug deep into my cozy space and got entrenched in an effort to shut out the crazy world as much as possible. 

We have had our portion of goodbyes, the most painful being the demise of a brother-figure, a standup guy who was just 42. As I write this, my sister-in-law and her family are in their second week of Covid infection, resting at home in isolation. Fortunately, all of them are doing ok after the initial fever and symptoms.

Meanwhile, some things have been blooming here at Karthi...

like this morning glory vine that I have managed to keep alive in my balcony garden which you might remember... I bought this vine back in March from a nursery on the way back from Kottayam.

Then there is this beauty... 

... who came with us from Vandiperiyar when we went there in December for the only pleasure trip we've undertaken in the Covid era. She put out her first, single bloom just in time for DH's birthday in August. This time, there is another branch with promise of more to come...

 

This year, I have been able to take better care of my garden, pruning it back into shape, trimming, mulching and fertilizing on a regular basis. My cousin gave me a mulberry cutting three years ago. Look what I found last weekend!

 

 

Sometimes, I feel that the garden I am trying to grow is the one I am recreating from my mother's family home in my childhood. I have succeeded in getting the coral jasmine to bloom. The mulberry is another childhood favorite. My old friend the mulberry tree is still thriving at Kottayam although when I go there, I forget to visit. You could call my mulberry a granddaughter of that tree, because my cousin took a cutting to her home and grew it there, and I got mine from hers. Now if I could only get the plant that we knew as Nakshatra Mulla (star jasmine), a bushy variety of jasmine that truly looked like stars scattered over a velvety dark green bush. Two of those flanked the entrance to the front yard at my mother's home. Our childhood pictures were mostly taken at the side of either of them. 

Apart from gardening, copy editing, and a little bit of creative writing, here is what I have been up to...

This project has just completed two years in the making and is no where near finished. Gaaah!!!

More on that later. Meanwhile, if any of you love books, take a look at the tabs above where I have listed the books I have been reading since 2017! 

Hope to see you all again next week! Stay safe!

Remembering the Mahatma

Today morning I woke up weighed down by the political developments in the whole world. In one place, an egocentric bully is shouting down his opponent. In another, a power-hungry dictator is doctoring his country's elections and poisoning strong members of his opposition. Yet another wants to distract its populace from the consequences of crop failure, industrial backlash and other problems by threatening the sovereignty of its neighbors.

And here in India, the common man's last hope, the judiciary, has irrevocably gone to the dogs. That has been the unkindest cut of all. It was with all these burdening my heart and head that I sat down for my morning yoga practice. And this poem burst almost fully formed into my head. It flowed, like a soothing balm over my seared mind and put me back on an even keel. It was only later that I remembered that it is the Mahatma's birth anniversary today...

So here it is...

How I long for a leader...

Who embodies the virtues of justice, service to all and harmony

Who does not mow down, shout down or quietly poison his opponents

Who, even while being devout and religious, can see the good in all creeds

And see the needs and wants of oppressed humanity

Whose strength lies not in brawn, networking or TRP ratings

But the courage of his conviction and principles

Whose tenets of frugality, simplicity and truthfulness

Can ever withstand the test of time

Who doesn't need to posture and prance or create fake news

But gives up positions of power to serve the needy.

Alas, the world has produced only one Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

I hope that if the world has been capable of doing this once, it can do it again. That more will come bearing the spirit of this great leader inside. That there will come a time when the forces of Chaos are in abeyance. That there will be harmony, neighborliness and a world in which differences will be a subject of celebration and wonder rather than inspiration for hatred. 

Meanwhile, what can the common man do? Make a conscious decision to stop spreading hate. Stop making yourself small by assimilating the hatred messages. Recognize that the voice that tells you to hate your neighbor is manipulating you for its own selfish ends. Realize that hatred always breeds more of itself and there can be no end to it, once you give in. 

Bowing before the memory of the Father of our Nation...

Homeopathy at work at Karthi

The recent ruckus regarding the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies and ayurvedic medicines against Covid-19 is the inspiration for this post today. It seems that allopathic doctors are all riled up due to the state government recommending the use of homeopathic remedies as preventives. It is clear that they fear that these remedies will fail and that people emboldened by having taken the preventives will go out indiscriminately and cause a wider spread of the disease. I can understand their fear. 

What I write here is not a defense or condemnation of any branch of medicine. I also know just enough of the three major medical systems to know that each has different theories of how diseases are caused and how they can be dealt with. My aim is just to show you why I do not think that homeopathy is complete hogwash as some people think and reiterate. If you check the Wikipedia page on homeopathy (which some knowledgeable homeopath should consider rewriting soon), it will show a completely biased outlook favoring allopathic medicine and calling homeopathy a "pseudo-science". I wonder how there are medical colleges all over India that teach this pseudo-science!

The main accusations leveled against homeopathy while I was growing up were that:
1. It is very slow and healing takes a long time, even in the case of colds and flu.
2. You can't trust homeopaths because they give powdered allopathic medicine to speed up recovery.

It wasn't till 2015 when I heard the talk of a renowned homeopath presenting a program on TV that I started thinking of taking homeopathic treatment for my pre-diabetic condition. And that good doctor happened to be my husband's classmate and dear friend. Although we had known him for so long, it was a classic case of familiarity breeding indifference (not contempt, never). Here are a few instances of how he and his wife who is also a gifted homeopath have helped us over the years.

1. My younger son developed small white patches on his skin. I took him to a physician nearby who recommended vitamins and a lotion. Two months, no change. Next to a dermatologist at a reputed hospital. He prescribed a high-dose antifungal medication as well as an ointment. Two weeks later we went back with no change. This time he wrote out a list of six medicines. I was chatting with the pharmacist and casually asked her what all these were for. She said she didn't know the uses of any except one that was for itching. That puzzled me because my son's condition didn't include that symptom. Coming back with the meds, I did a detailed online search. What I found really shocked me. Two of those medicines were carcinogenic and banned for pediatric use. One would cause intense itching as a side effect (so that was what the anti-itching medicine was for). One was a high-dose steroid. When one of those meds was used, the user was to avoid sunlight (we weren't informed of this). Since I was already taking homeo medication, I rang up my doctor and tentatively explained the situation and asked if he could help. My son's case was taken over the phone, the medicines arrived by mail. Within two months, the condition was gone and has not returned.

2. My elder son developed eczema-like sores on his feet and lower legs. I thought it was due to his playing outdoors and applied topical treatments recommended by our local GP. Then I noticed that he was developing thick, raised, dark skin over the healed areas and wherever he had lacerations on his skin. This time I immediately called my homeopathic doctor who asked me to send him photos. He diagnosed it as lichen planus - and sent medicines immediately. But he also asked us to get it verified using a biopsy and blood test. For the test I had to go to a dermatologist. The list of medicines he gave me of course included a host of medications both topical and to be ingested. This condition has no cure in allopathy. So our elder son is on a long-term homeopathic treatment for the same. He still has dark scars on his skin from the early flare-up, but since then, nothing. 

3. One morning I was aghast to see that my urine was blood red. Needless to say, I panicked and called my homeopathic doctor. He directed me to start drinking water, ordered blood and urine routine tests as well as an abdominal ultrasound to rule out uterine bleeding. Yes, I had severe urinary tract infection. The medicine was twelve drops of a remedy in half a glass of boiled water. The doctor then educated me on the symptoms of UTI and told me to take one dose of the same medicine if I felt any of those symptoms coming on. This was amazing for me because after our trip to Rameswaram and Dhanushkoti in 2013, DH had fallen ill. He was first misdiagnosed with flu and treated only with Paracetamol till he was in a very bad condition. When we got to the hospital he was diagnosed with UTI and had to stay there for a week and take high-dose antibiotics to recover.

4. I got dengue fever in 2017. My homeo doctor recommended testing for dengue after she listened to my symptoms. After confirmation, I took only homeo medications and recovered completely. My blood platelet count was below normal only on the day I was diagnosed. On conducting regular followup tests on the doctor's recommendation, it never went below normal again. 

5. In May 2019, we visited a temple town in Karnataka. On the overnight train journey back home, our younger son felt nauseated, had a stomach ache, started vomiting and ran a slight fever. I did my best to soothe him and avoid dehydration. Reaching home, I called my doctor who asked me to give one dose of a remedy. The kid was up and asking for lunch by noon time. Over the course of the next week, the rest of the family developed symptoms of the same disease in varying degrees. My elder son and I escaped with mild symptoms as we took the remedy immediately when we recognized the symptoms. DH was caught outside escorting visiting family members around the city when he developed symptoms. But he too recovered within 12 hours of onset, with just one dose of remedy. This would not have been remarkable if not for what we learned on a visit to relatives in December 2019. A group of ten or so of them had been to the same temple town in May 2019 around the time we had been there and had all been felled by the same symptoms for at least a week each. Three of them required several days' hospitalization due to dehydration and high fever. Even family members who had not gone to the temple town caught the infection and were prostrated.

6. Before starting taking homeopathic treatment, I used to get colds at least once in a month or two and at least two or three times a year, these would blow up into infections (bronchitis, sinusitis and whole hosts of other itises) that would require the use of antibiotics. I am glad to say that I have not needed antibiotics for the last three years, touch wood! At the least sign of colds, I call my doctor and take the recommended remedy. I have found that if I catch symptoms early, just one dose can heal me. If I neglect the symptoms till they are worse, I might need three days' worth of remedies. But that is usually enough. 

7. I once ate fried dried shrimp in a chutney. Two hours later I started choking. At the time I had no cold or any other condition, so I connected it to the shrimp and called my doctor. She told me to take a dose of a remedy and wait to see if the choking sensation eased within ten minutes. It did, I could literally feel my air passages opening up again.

Of course these are only the more spectacular instances and I could go on. It has not been easy to adopt homeopathy for our ailments. Social conditioning has a lot of influence on us. DH who is a worry wort, tends to keep asking me, "Should we go to a doctor?" several times during my illnesses or the kids'. But over the years, he too has become convinced of the efficacy of homeopathy. These days, I can tell that his question is more out of habit rather than actual anxiety. 

Here are the things that I feel are different about my homeo doctors:

1. Detailed case-taking at the beginning to analyze each patient's idiosyncrasies.

2.The use of modern lab tests to confirm diagnoses rather than depending on just the listing of symptoms as in classic homeopathy.

3. Immense patience and readiness to accept the skepticism of patients.

4. Exact documentation on the progress of patients' conditions.

5. Their use of the Target Super protocol that they developed with years of clinical practice.

6. Telling the patients the exact names of the remedies, in most instances. I know this is usually not done mainly to avoid self-medication and consequent inefficacy of remedies. But since my doctors do not live in our town, we consult mostly over the phone. Therefore, we can actually be sure that we are not taking "powdered allopathic medicines."

My personal philosophy regarding the health care of my family has now expanded to include homeopathy in all instances except in dire emergencies or acute infections with sudden onset. I believe that homeopathy has a lot to contribute to medical care. In fact, once the era of antibiotics is over due to the development of superbugs, I believe we will have to turn to alternative medicine, especially homeopathy for help. I hope that all branches of medicine can be brought together, forgetting their differences, so that the most appropriate and effective treatment can be provided for each disease. The first step in any medical course should be the acceptance of other medical branches as well.

Therefore, in these Covid times, I am not very scared. At the slightest cold-like symptoms, I turn to my trusted doctor for help. But even with this ready help at hand, we strictly practice wearing masks, social distancing and sanitizing. And we don't go out unnecessarily even though we miss meeting our friends and family members.

If you want to know the basic principles etc. of homeopathy, you can take a free Udemy course: Introduction to Homeopathy by Ellen Bench, D.Hom, Homeopathic Master Clinician. It is very interesting and enlightening.

Working from home? Avoid this as much as possible!!!

One thing I have envied among several of my DH's admirable traits is his ability to drop off to sleep quite quickly. Once he decides to sleep, he folds his hands on his forehead for a few moments of prayer, then arranges himself on his back with his fingers neatly interlaced on his chest or lies on one side. The next thing you know, he is off gamboling among the sheep on the grassy meadows in the land of Nod. It doesn't bother him even if the light is on or there is a panchari melam going on outside our window. He prefers having at least a night light on and music playing in the background as he drops off to sleep.

In fact, this was one bone of contention in the early days of our marriage. I need pitch darkness and absolute silence to relax and sleep. After my prayers, I first have to lie on my right side, rest a few moments and then turn to the other side before I can drop off to sleep. Even then the goddess of sleep is very picky about granting her boon to me. "Going to bed after 11 p.m.? Toss and turn for half an hour!" she will curse with glee. "Couldn't put the book down till midnight before courting me, eh? Lie there, listening to the night sounds for one more hour," she will chortle. And if I watch a horror movie any time of the day? She will flounce off altogether, allowing all the horrendous characters of the movie to lurk in the corners of our bedroom, staring at me with glowing coals that are their excuse for eyes. And I will be left, clutching a slumbering DH's slack hand for reassurance and chanting the ten names of Arjuna to keep me safe from fear. She is so fickle that sometimes, even without any reason, she will just refuse to appear.

So it was with great surprise that we both noticed that DH was lying awake for long stretches in the third month of the lockdown. He started complaining of very fitful sleep. He also complained of getting up several times during the night. One night, I got up to find him on the living room sofa, watching a football game's highlights on his phone. "Hey, that is my thing!" I told him, meaning the vigil on the sofa, of course, not watching football. I don't do anything except read on my sleepless nights.  

I put it down to the stress of the times. After all, he is snowed in with work and absolutely misses our trips to his family and traveling in general. He also misses not going to the theaters to watch movies. I thought that all that was playing havoc with his peace of mind. DH is a great worrier even in normal times. But even in periods of greater stress than this, I had never seen him lose his sleep. Soon, his sleeplessness affected me too. Even though I religiously kept to an early bed time, turned myself as per my schedule, etc., I too lay sleepless. I tried to blame my sleeplessness on the new extra-bright LED streetlight that had been newly affixed near our gate and even plotted throwing a stone at it.

But last Monday morning, I was practicing Sudarshan Kriya when it suddenly came to me. (This has become a somewhat regular occurrence of late - I get ideas and solutions while doing Kriya or Sahaj Samadhi meditation). The brainwave was this: our bedroom is being affected by too much work energy! When the lockdown started, DH started working in our living room. Gradually, he started shifting to the bedroom post lunch because he wanted to leave the living room free for the kids to watch TV. Our younger one, would initiate the "transfer protocol" the moment he finished his lunch by carrying DH's laptop and other accessories to the bedroom without being told, so that he could start watching TV that much earlier. 

Even when June rolled around, online classes started and our kids' TV watching was restricted to after 9 pm, DH was still shifting work to the bedroom after lunch. Understandably, his shifting guy now had to be asked to help each day! The hunch that I got was that all that work was destroying the relaxing atmosphere of our bedroom, robbing us of our sleep. Therefore, I asked DH to remain in the living room the whole day instead of working in the bedroom. 

I am very glad to report that DH and I have been sleeping much better since the change. The first few nights were still rather restless ones, but there has been definite improvement. So much so that I have decided that the new street light will be safe from me for the time being. So if any of you have a bedroom doing double-shift as a home office and find yourselves having trouble sleeping, try working from another room and banish all work-related paraphernalia from the bedroom. Wait at least a week or two to see if it works!

Last Saturday, Chunchu and Pirate, our visiting cats brought us some more company and introduced them to the food bowl at Karthi!

They were both predominantly white, with little to distinguish between them at first glance. In a textbook case of inverted racism, I lamented the fact that we never seemed to get kittens or cats with more color to them than this "boring white". The cat family left and then came back with a new addition!!!

The white kitties have a brother!!! We promptly named him Jack after Susan Branch's kitty who appears regularly on her blog. So one of his sisters simply had to be Jill! The other sister has slightly longer hair fluffed out all around her, so we named her Fluffy. Just look at the three posing near our sanitiser bottle!!!

Here is Fluffy trying to climb our screen when our Lab Goldie made her first appearance in their lives! As usual, on her evening run, Goldie tried to come up the porch steps to meet us, but Chunchu and Pirate blocked her at the top of the steps and hissed and swiped at her. Goldie could easily dispatch both with a lash of her tail, but our goofy Lab beat a strategic retreat rather than get a scratched nose. 

Aww, aren't they cute??? Please feel free to gush over the overload of cuteness! Pirate is quite nonchalant about her brood. And we are so happy that we have got to see Akrami's grandkids!

All three kitties have already learned that the kitty bowl at Karthi is always stocked up with snacks. All day yesterday they rushed in whenever they heard the front door open to restock on food after all the combat practice they put in together. Even today morning, all three rushed in by themselves! For the time being, our garage is their home. 

Already they are exhibiting unique characteristics. Fluffy, as you have seen, is scared easily. Jack is always looking for nooks to explore and Jill is feisty. She played football with our elder son, talked back at DH when he refused to allow her to jump up on the sofa and sat calmly for a few moments in my hand and looked me directly in the eyes before indicating that she would like to get down. Her siblings were pure scrambling panic when I picked them up. Jack has two little white mittens and knee socks on his hind legs as well as a white shirt front and pink nose. He is so adooooorable! 

Be advised, if they like Karthi enough to stay, there will be more kitty pictures coming your way!

Best among my reads in 2020!

Wow! I just can't believe we've completed six months of 2020—the year I was so looking forward to... But as I had written in the first post, this year certainly has been momentous!!! We have all been subjected to an unprecedented event that has had all of us—even the home-loving introverts like me—scrambling to adapt and adjust. The new norms are bearable, but still take a lot of getting used to—like suddenly having to be a partially homeschooling mother to big children.

The one thing that has not changed in these cataclysmic times is reading. I still thrive on books. On physical books, on Kindle, whatever! Even in the seeming calm of not having to go out of the house, sometimes my mind finds it tough to switch off at night. That is when I creep out of bed and curl up with a book, reading into the wee hours of the night. 

If you look at my reading list for this year, you can see that it's a hodgepodge of all kinds of books. I have been reluctant to tell everyone about the books I read for fear of judgement. Especially because I have certain friends who read nothing but the most literary and mind-boggling books. I have become wary of asking them for book suggestions because the result is often akin to being hit on the head with one of those huge volumes of the Encyclopedia Brittanica. This year I have decided to make my reading list public, shedding all inhibitions! 

Here are the ones I liked the best among the books I've perused this year:

1. Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino: I am savoring my way through this author's detective fiction. Its pace is slow and soft, with plenty of brain and little action - a lyrical poem of a murder story. Last year I read The Devotion of Suspect X. Usually I gobble up any series that I am enamored of. But this, I am determined to take in slowly.

2. Martha's Vineyard - Isle of Dreams by Susan Branch: This multifaceted artist whose handwritten books are so adorable, completed her autobiographical trilogy with this one. It had long been on my wish list and I finally  succumbed to buying it this year. Chronologically, this is the second book of the lot. This and a Fine Romance are vying for the first place in my heart! Each of her books is a treasure for always. First you read it for the story, then for the lovely handwriting, then the quotes, then the artwork... it simply gives and gives!

3. A Job You Mostly Won't Know How to Do by Pete Fromm: A bittersweet story of a widower bringing up a newborn, trying to keep things together with help that is both wanted and unwanted, fighting depression, and trying to stay solvent at the same time. The tragedy is tempered with humor. The wild Montana landscape is as much a part of the protagonist's life as are the people in it. Looking forward to more Pete Fromm.

4. Open by Andre Agassi : I was a firm Agassi and Steffi Graf fan in my teens. This book should be read by all the youngsters who want to take up sports at a professional level. Of course, one doesn't need a scary father like Agassi Sr., but the dedication, the patience, the tolerance for pain and mind games... Granted, some of Agassi's criticism about famous sport personalities feels a tad bitchy, but hey, everyone is entitled to be the hero of his own life! Really worth reading. Perhaps one should  read Brooke Shield's There was a Little Girl too along with this.

5. Seven Secrets of the Goddess by Devdutt Pattanaik: Pattanaik is fast becoming an authority on Hinduism—the ever-evolving religion that expands indefinitely to envelope many beliefs, philosophies, deities and methods of worship. In this book, he examines the evolution of the worship of the feminine principle in Hinduism, the Goddess in her myriad forms and expressions. A true eye-opener. 

6. Shunya by Shri M: A novel about a holy man written in simple language, propounding great ideas. So easy to read that one might miss the gems that are embedded in it. 

7. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C A Fletcher: May be not the most reassuring thing to read in this pandemic era, but I was intrigued by the title. The world's human population dwindles due to a mysterious malady that spread a few generations ago. The world inhabited by Griz is sparsely populated and strangers are not always welcome or trustworthy. Then Griz has to leave his tiny, safe island to find his dog. The post-apocalyptic world is exquisitely detailed. Thrilling and lyrical. A beautiful twist at the end. What more can one want?

8. No Regrets by Kaveree Bamzai: The book's subtitle says it all: The Guilt-Free Woman's Guide to a Good Life. The book speaks to educated and employed women in somewhat affluent circumstances. The author provides advice for women who are tugged apart to bits by job and family responsibilities. The points she makes are valid and the presentation is so attractive that I liked the book very much even though I am a confirmed, voluntary stay-at-home-mother. 

9. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles: This is the book I like the best among those I have read this year. Usually I avoid Russian or Russia-themed books. It must be a reaction from having tried to read the classic Russian novels in my early teens and being put off by all the complex nomenclature of the characters. It seemed to me that they kept changing their names from paragraph to paragraph just to muddle me and I often had to go back to the beginning. I have never finished the Brothers Karamazov even though I tried valiantly several times. But I am happy that I overcame the aversion to read this one. I got the Kindle edition, but I have put the physical book on my wish list. Because I want to go back to the Metropol again and again, dip into the little attic room, run along the service stairs, have dinner in the restaurant, served by Count Alexander Rostov himself... A wonderful story of inventiveness, adaptability, courage and sheer joie de vivre.

10. The Hundred-Year-Old Man who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson: The title is long enough for a book! I came to know of this when Dr. Shashi Tharoor recommended it in an interview. Although we first get to meet Allan Karlsson when he does the thing described in the title on his hundredth birthday, his subsequent adventures are interspersed with episodes of the extremely colorful life of the man and the circumstances that have led him to bunk his birthday celebrations by climbing out of the window. The story reminded me of Forrest Gump. I look forward to reading the sequel.

There it is! I have limited myself to these ten even though there are many more that I more than just liked in the list. Hope I have whetted your appetite to try one of these!