Books and Coffee

A half read book and a hot cup of coffee

As ridiculous as it might sound, at the end of a long tiring day, a perfect date for me means a large cup of coffee and an interesting novel to read. Yes, you have the liberty to label me as an anti-social and a nerdy introvert! I find it pretty amusing when someone tells me that reading novels is a wastage of time. Or that someone likes to go through work-related books and not elaborate literary pieces.

An introvert raised as a single child, I have always found solace in my books. My love for storybooks started with Snow White, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Little Mermaid. My father introduced me early to the monthly kids magazines- Tinkle, Champak, Nandan and Chandamama. I do not know if these magazines still exist. Billu, Pinki and Chacha Chowdhary followed soon. The Famous Five and The Little Women too entered into my life. Being a true Bong, Anandamela was an absolute necessity during Durga Pujo. The lazy afternoons of summer vacations were sometimes spent on Tagore and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhay (I should not fail to mention that I only liked their happy ending stories and novels). Kakababu or Feluda, Sidney Sheldon or Sherlock Holmes- the choices were too many. And yes, I did secretly fantasize about the non-existent tall, dark, handsome and chivalrous men created by Mills and Boons (please note that my feminist views were not so fierce during those days.)

This was all before Harry Potter happened and I wanted to go to the Hogwarts. I fell in love with the reel-life Harry too. Unfortunately, I had to get into a muggle college. At this point, Paulo Coelho and Ayn Rand blessed me with a bit of maturity through their hard-hitting quotes. Being a member of the town library saved me. Gone with the Wind or Train to Pakistan- I was spoilt for choices without spending money on my bookish bucket list. I would be lying if I say that I appreciated Rushdie's Midnight's Children or Arundhati Roy's God of Small Things (currently, these books are on my reread list). After college, Harry Potter gave way to Prof. Robert Langdon who emerged as my newfound love. Of course, Chetan Bhagat and Amish accompanied me through long train journeys and bus rides.

The initial days of my job life were spent on trying to understand the success secrets shared by Stephen Covey and Jack Welch. Neither did I succeed to understand them nor did my corporate career grow by leaps and bounds. But thankfully, my love for books has prevailed. And I hope this love remains eternal, accompanied with numerous cups of coffee.

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