reading habit

Editor’s note

With The Curious Reader sadly closing shop, Reading Habit has been left to our tender mercies. Our first in-house installment: ‘The Book Addict’s Quiz’, a snappy round of pointed questions for self-professed avid readers. It’s our nod to the great tradition of bibliophilia.

 

 

Sandip Roy is, in fact, a well-known novelist (‘Don’t Let Him Know’) as well as a radio commentator and columnist. But we asked him not about the book he wrote, but the far too many books he’s read—alongside unsolicited commentary just to make it a bit more fun:) 

What is your most powerful childhood memory of a book? 

Reading Gerald Durrell's ‘My Family and Other Animals’ and for the first time wanting to exchange my family for his. And ‘365 Bedtime stories’ by Nan Gilbert about the families who lived on What A Jolly Street and wanting to exchange my neighbourhood for theirs.

<your parents must be proud…>

What line of literature or poetry do you quote ad nauseam? 

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne ceaselessly into the past.” from ‘The Great Gatsby.’   

<❤️❤️❤️>

What book do you regret re-reading? 

I tried to re-read ‘Fountainhead’ and ‘Atlas Shrugged’ to see why I thought they were so mind-blowing in my impressionable teens.

<we are shocked>

An author you adored as a child and have not thought about in years?

Rosemary Sutcliff and Richmal Crompton.

<hain? Yeh kaun?>

What book would you gift to your worst enemy?  

The collected works of Paulo Coelho.

<👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻>

I would love to see a movie/series adaptation of __ starring __ as __  

To be utterly self-serving ‘Don’t Let Him Know’ starring Tabu. But more seriously,  ‘A Suitable Boy’—but made 25 years ago with Shabana Azmi as Mrs Rupa Mehra, Tabu as Lata, Irrfan Khan as Haresh, Saif Ali Khan as Kabir Durrani, Rajit Kapoor as Amit Chatterjee and Rekha as Saeeda Bai.

<👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻>

A book review that was better than the book?

Unfortunately I know the author so I can’t tell you.

<chee, what a cop out!>

What book do you pretend to have read?

‘Shesher Kobita’ by Rabindranath Tagore.

<bad Bong alert>

What is the first “forbidden” book you read in secret? 

‘Stiletto’ by Harold Robbins

<not Nick Carter? so tame!>

What book/author still counts as guilty pleasure? 

‘The Magic Faraway Tree’ by Enid Blyton.

<ah, the white racist author aka the brown reader’s burden>

Send us a photo of your tsundoku pile

<150/100 for sheer creativity>

Thank you for playing, Sandip! Also: do pick up a copy of his book. It is seriously very good.