While I have been reading some, it has not been to the extent I would want it to be. I cannot read much fiction! I find the non-fictions, many of these great work of art, very thought provoking & sometimes intimidating. Intimidating because they are too good, too powerful and the intellect is stimulated far beyond my ability to contain the experience.
Amongst the somewhat story telling type, that I would think combines a little bit of imagination within the folds of the facts, I have been reading a lot of Patti Smith lately. She inspires me in some unconventional ways. I like books that inspire to explore, experiment & move forward. They help me in pushing my art forward. I have mentioned some of them in the series Opium of Art.
Lately my interest & focus have skyrocketed towards travel writings. Probably in a mental preparation for my life ahead! The Tao Of Travel: Enlightenments from Lives on the Road by Paul Theroux, The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African Belief by V.S. Naipaul & The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama by Pico Iyer are looking invitingly into my face everyday. I am not new to any of their writings. I chose these for now because they come very close to what I would expect my life to be in the future.
The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama by Pico Iyer would be an interesting read as far as I can tell. I have read very intimate writings of the Dalai Lama, including The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World Hardcover by Dalai Lama & Desmond Tutu, the last book that Desmond Tutu co-authored in reminiscence of his interactions with the Dalai Lama. But I’ve always admired Pico’s style of writing – especially those that give a hint of the inner world.
This batch is an interesting mix. I guess I was trying to find a middle path between a favorite writing style and the meaningness to the book. In that context, Naipaul’s Masque of Africa stands out. Although I have read some of his novels, I picked this one up because of its non-fiction true to experience nature.
In a video interview with Charlie Rose, Naipaul explains the basis of this book – a first hand experience & understanding of the belief systems, the customs of Africa that drives the people of Africa from deep down, keeping the politics & financials aside. Something that I wonder frequently these days – what drives me from deep down, how do my culture affect my choice of lifestyles & hopefully for doing the right.
Unfortunately, these books would have to wait for at least another week or so before I can get my hands & eyes onto them. I am finishing up a very intimate conversation with Sir David Attenborough in his book A life on the Planet. This is an interesting book – unfortunately it merely points out things that we already know, how man’s actions are bringing the ecosystem that thrives mankind is also mercilessly wiping out diverse species in our effort to emphasize our superiority & our needless thirst for excess.
I would recommend reading it though – if nothing else, it would leave you with some sense of guilty, having been part of it, willingly or not!