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Thursday, March 26, 2009

25 Lifelong Friends


There are some topics that are so close to my heart that I don’t write about them for fear of going on and on. But I guess some things are just destined to be. Jennifer tagged me to make a list of 25 writers who have influenced me most. Now I’m a person whose life has been about her books. I was reading before I had learnt to walk. The way I think, the way I live, the way I talk, the way I write, the way I dream, the way I love, have all been shaped by the books that I’ve read.
It’s difficult to limit myself to 25, but I’ve tried, and come up with this list of people whose books I find myself going back to again and again. The list is not in any specific order, except for Marquez, who’ll always come first in any list of mine. And oh, though they’ve influenced me in no small way, I’m saving the Bengali writers for another list, another day.
The following list includes the names of 25 of my favorite writers and those books of theirs that I’ve read and loved. But I’m not writing about why I love them. If you’ve read them, you’ll know. If you haven’t, I just hope that some day in your busy lives you'll find the time to do so. And then you'll know.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez – (One Hundred Years of Solitude; Love in the Time of Cholera; Of Love and Other Demons; Chronicles of a Death Foretold; Strange Pilgrims; The General in His Labyrinth)
Milan Kundera – (The Unbearable Lightness of Being; Life is Elsewhere; The Joke; Farewell Waltz)
Ian McEwan – (In Between the Sheets; Amsterdam; Atonement; Saturday)
Arundhati Roy - (The God of Small Things)
Alexander McCall Smith – (The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series)
Jhumpa Lahiri – (The Interpreter of Maladies; Namesake; Unaccustomed Earth)
Joseph Heller – (Catch 22, Closing Time)

Helen Fielding – (Bridget Jones’ Diary; The Edge of Reason)

Hector Hugh Munro (Saki) – (All the short stories)
Melissa Banks – (The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing; The Wonder Spot)
J.R.R. Tolkiens – (The Lord of the Rings)
Pablo Neruda – (all poems)

Amitav Ghosh – (Hungry Tide; The Glass Palace; The Circle of Reason; Sea of Poppies)
J.K. Rowling – (The Harry Potter series)

Harper Lee – (To Kill a Mockingbird)

Ogden Nash – (All poems)
Alex Hailey – (Roots; Queen)
Franz Kafka – (Metamorphosis and other stories)

John Steinbeck - (The Grapes of Wrath; Travels with Charlie)
J.M. Coetze – (Disgrace)
Arthur Golden – (Memoirs of a Geisha)

Yann Martel – (Life of Pi)
Sue Townsend – (The Adrian Mole series)

Vladimir Nabokov – (Lolita)

Roald Dahl –
(All the creepy short stories)


Upamanyu Chatterjee - (English, August)

John Updike - (Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit is Rich; Rabbit at Rest)


I tag:-Quaint Murmur, because her writing is so beautiful there is no way she’s not a reader.Happy, because I midwifed his lust for booksChirpy Paro, because she loves to talk booksAniket, because I want to know what inspires a man to write so deliciouslyShubhodip, because I know a bibliophile when I see one


Amritorupa Kanjilal also writes at Rivers I Have Known: Books, Reviews, and More. Please visit her there!  

23 paper boats came floating back to me:

buno mainak said...

salla,kichhu jani na,bangali writer der ekta list chai-chai.noile dhundhumar hobe.

Al Walling said...

=]

25 claps.

tho u did miss a couple of my faves, its okay. lol

Yamini Meduri said...

thanks little girl..!!
keep visiting ma blog...have a great time in ma land of dreams..!!!

Yamini Meduri said...

hello little gal i am back to read you...!!!

this is the first post that i read n i am glad that i did...!!!
i am a die hard fan of books...and i am sure gonna get each one of them as i dint read anyone frm your list..!!!

nice blog dear..!!!

Toon Indian said...

nice list..I like Roald Dahl ...Dan Brown , Frederek Foresyth are my favourites!!

SUBHADIP said...

Amritarupa..thanks for keeping my name in the valuable tag..a brilliant post..it inspires me that I should also try to list one about my favourite writers..touch job..yet the most lovable work to write about writers and books ..the best thing this earth have!Bangla list tairi holo?..

Catherine Vibert said...

I like it, great list. Especially your first, my hero! Your blog is beautiful!

Catherine Vibert said...

Your wish is my command! Let's trade links and that way I can keep up with your posts.

I in Kolkata in 2007. One intense city.

jaz said...

Awesome list! SO glad I tagged you. Some I haven't read and will have to check out. Thanks for sharing, LGL!!

Quaint Murmur said...

Wonderful List, and am not surprised we do have so many in common. When I saw Nash and Lahiri and Rowling, I was tempted to add them as well, but it was 25. Anyway, they're up there with my faves as well :)

What would we do without books I ask you...

Unknown said...

I can never write 25 names... i haven't read so many bookss...:(
In the world of all u geniuses...I am a beggar... :(

Pallav said...

i read couple of books which r in ur list.. but i really liked god of small things.. its really beautiful...

i too like reading..but nwadays i dnt get

cheers.. u have a good taste...
:)

Shubhajit said...

A number of books there in your list are there lying on my dad's bookshelves. I guess its time I read them! But then, there's so much to read...

And yeah, looking forward to your list of Bangla books as well...

zoya gautam said...

..from ur cmnt @ tan i've landed here-'(untie me)-i am prepared to drown'/
_how well read r u-it scares me-
_but ur 'jhorer" poem reminds me of-"aami jhorer kache elam aamar thikana"-thank u for this list..

zoya gautam said...

correction-"aami jhorer kache rekhe elam aamar thikana"/cmnt above

workhard said...

Oh, i really loved reading Roots by Alex Haley, i think im gonna check out Queens


Haiku

BrownPhantom said...

A list, many would be proud of. Nice coverage of genres and topics :).

Dialect Of Heart said...

I see we've a lot common as far as our reading list goes. thanks for dropping by my blog. :)

SSQuo said...

This list had a bunch of my favorites too. Good list. Found you through Self Proclaimed Shoe Addict, nice blog.

Sujoy Bhattacharjee said...

It is kind of tough to find someone who likes JK Rowling,Roald Dahl, Kafka and Yann Martel equally well.

Eclectic and varied tastes...perhaps we are missing a graphic novel here.

Cheerio

Anil Sawan said...

okies, i selected two from the list. hopefully ill get them in ma shelf soon :)

ShantanuDas said...

Ki bapar boloto? Ok. ok.. I know I have stopped reading books for last 100 years! .... my mind has gone into different directions.. .. which is a drastic change for me - I know that!!

.. but how come I never heard the name of your best writer? He is born in 1927 so he has been there when i was reading.. is it because his books did not come to INDIA when I was reading? Can u tell me when his books first landed in India?

Tchee Tchee.. Nah I will not be in your follower list anymore.. U have shamed me Intellectually..not as in 'Aantel' but real sense..!

Intellect was my only forte and I do club Books with Intellect BUT..... I will go away..

but yes.. bfr I go away .. I will buy all the books that I have not read here.. [Gimme some money somebody!! Sala Books are too costly nowadays!!

But money cannot be an excuse for not HEARING the name!! Tsk Tsk Tchee Tchee
Shame on ME!! !!

bbyee I will not be here anymore..

Sujoy Bhattacharjee said...

As I said...persepolis nad maus..