On January 15, HarperCollins India launched ‘Reading for Pleasure’ — a year-long movement to make reading a daily habit. We love the idea, so we got seven mid-day editors to tell you what they read, and re-read, for pleasure
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The Cricket War, by Gideon Haigh
Recommended by: Clayton Murzello, Deputy Editor, mid-day
For precise detailing layered with writing style there are few cricket books to match ace Australian writer Gideon Haigh’s 1993 classic The Cricket War — The Inside Story of Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. Sample this: “Ian Chappell tugged at his cap at the non-striker’s end and turned to studying Roberts’s 23-year-old scion Michael Holding”. There were several books written on cricket’s great divide of the late 1970s, but nothing can match this. Pun unintended.
Plastic Emotions, by Shiromi Pinto
Recommended by: Fiona Fernandez, Features Editor, mid-day
From fact, to imagination, history and romance, this rollercoaster chronicle charts the mercurial life of Sri Lankan architect Minnette de Silva. Set during the island nation’s dramatic political timeline (1940s-60s), her relationship with Le Corbusier is at the core. Their French-kissed correspondence is lyrical, but real. Readers will enjoy this stormy affair between mentor and protégé. De Silva’s body of work slays gender and professional stereotypes. She was the first Asian woman to be elected an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The spirited saree-clad architect built her career amidst competition (read: Geoffrey Bawa). Her Mumbai links (JJ School alumnus), and her role as co-founder of MARG, will engage city readers. Ignore its broad spine because Pinto’s jugglery between past and present, romance and heartbreak salutes a woman with a spine.
Fermat’s Last Theorem, by Simon Singh
Recommended by: Sachin Kalbag, Editor-in-Chief, mid-day
For 358 years, one of the most intriguing problems in mathematics remained unsolved, until a nerdy and goofy-looking British mathematician named Andrew Wiles solved it in 1994 by standing on the shoulders of giants. Prof Wiles, then at Princeton University, used Galois Representations, the Taniya-Shimura-Weil Conjecture, Frey Curves, Ribet’s Theorem, etc, to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem (but hey, don’t get overwhelmed by these). The problem is named after Pierre de Fermat, a brilliant yet eccentric French jurist and mathematician from the 17th century. Simon Singh’s book, though, is not about the mathematical nuances of how Mount Fermat was conquered, but about the people that made it happen. It has drama (Wiles failed in his first attempt), it has intrigue, it has a little bit of laughs, and a lot of tears. Eventually, there is victory. I cried when Wiles’s proof was accepted. It is a book as much about mathematics as it is about the human condition.
Cosmos, by Carl Sagan
Recommended by: Sachin Kalbag, Editor-in-Chief, mid-day
Parents read their children their favourite books to put them to sleep every night. My father gave me Cosmos, and said, ‘Read it yourself.’ I was 11 at the time, so I can’t blame him. We were poor and he could not afford to buy me expensive gifts, and he usually gave me a book for my birthday. Cosmos, I learned later, is the world’s largest-selling popular science book of all time. For good reason. Cosmos is not an equation-riddled science book; it is a voyage of self-discovery. Sagan is a scientist, a poet, a novelist, a dad, a curious mind, and science communicator all rolled into one. This year, do yourself a favour — read (and re-read) Cosmos, and give the book to as many people as possible. It is the least we can do to make society a richer place.
Rafa My Story, by Rafael Nadal and John Carlin
Recommended by: Ashwin Ferro, Sports Editor, mid-day
The book that I often turn to when I need a positive push in life is tennis legend Rafael Nadal’s Rafa My Story, co-written by the Spanish champion along with British journalist John Carlin. One of the nicest sub-chapters in the book is when an 11-year-old Nadal has to choose between tennis and football, both of which he loved immensely. Nadal writes, “The pain [of leaving football for tennis] would’ve been greater had my football team not been taken over by a new coach. The previous coach, whom I loved, had understood that I couldn’t be relied on to turn up for all our training sessions [due to tennis commitments], but he let me play because I was the top goal scorer. But the new guy said that if I didn’t turn up to train as the other boys did, I couldn’t play. So that was that.” Just imagine, had it not been for that new coach, the 22-time Grand Slam-winning champion might have just ended up being a Real Madrid Galactico or better still, a FIFA World Cup winner with Spain!
Kim, by Rudyard Kipling
Recommended by: Samarpan Bhowmik, Head, Digital Marketing, mid-day
Every time I have reread Kim, it’s not simply for the intrigue of a grand adventure, the portrayal of India under the infamous “Empire”, or the illumination of cross sections of society. It is to witness the evolution of the titular character, as he journeys from boy to man. Also, while I have enjoyed being transported back in time, what truly stands out, even to this day, is Kim’s relationship with identity. Especially relevant in current times, the novel delves into the various influences on identity — of society at large, contemporaries, mentors, spirituality, and life experiences. It’s a coming-of-age story like few others and one I would wholeheartedly recommend.
Every Agatha Christie
Recommended by: Aastha Atray Banan, Editor, Sunday mid-day
Whenever I want to be comforted, and feel pleasure, it’s Agatha Christie to the rescue. The well-written, homely, murder-in-a-village trope will never get old. I love the subtle observations about human character, and her ingenuity has never ceased to surprise me. According to Agatha, evil is always present between us, and the person next to you could be a murderer. Exciting! At least, in fiction.
Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger, and The Outsider, by Albert Camus
Recommended by: Mayank Shekhar, Entertainment Editor, mid-day
There are two books, purely for pleasure, that I never have to re-read. Because they’ve lived rent-free in my brain, pretty much my entire adult life. And this, usually, happens with books read at a young age, anyway, that you develop a lifelong relationship with. One is JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. The other is Albert Camus’s The Outsider. Between both, I felt, it was the same lead character, Holden Caulfield, who grew up to become Meursault. Either way, you think books don’t change your life? I’ve been an existentialist ever since I met these two dudes!
My Dearest Self, by Nimna Vijay
Recommended by: Poulomi Chatterjee, Executive Publisher, - HarperCollins India
Aditi’s story — of emotional exhaustion, heartbreak and the inability to choose herself first — will appeal to anyone who’s ever felt pulled far from their core. For today’s readers, I would highly recommend Nimna’s emotional insights.
‘Reading has the power to restore mental health’
Anantha Padmanabhan, CEO, HarperCollins India
There are very few habits that have the ability to be life-changing. The uncomplicated and simple act of being immersed in a favourite book or story provides us the ability to disconnect, lose ourselves to imagination, and restore mental health! With this campaign we are hoping not only to have regular readers devote more time, but also have reluctant readers choose a book over a digital screen.
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